Why we might miss Putin in 2009

Posted October 26th, 2006 by Micah H. Naftalin

In a call-in tv show on Wednesday, October 25, Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed he would honor the Constitution and not seek re-election, according to the Moscow Times. Saying he would nonetheless "retain influence," he highlighted corruption as Russia's chief domestic problem, and agreed that improving the justice system was required to properly address mounting hate crimes.

Here are some reasons why we think there must be radical reform, reasons we will not miss Putin:

The dysfunction of rule of law, as measured by corruption, antisemitic and xenophobic hate crimes and propaganda and discrimination against religious minorities continues to get worse.

Intimidation of human rights NGOs and independent journalists -- murders and bureacratic obstacles -- has reached the point of impunity.

We thus applaud the conclusion of Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, who said in a column last Saturday on Washingtonpost.com, "The Darkness Spreading Over Russia":

(T)he idea that the Russian authorities would be targeting liberal journalists and human rights activists as enemies who need to be silenced should be of the utmost concern to the United States and Europe, which still seem to regard Russia as a responsible partner.

So, why might we miss Putin?

The convictions of the Russian Jewish leadership provides a hint. Because of his strong language opposing antisemitism, they see him as the principal bulwark against pogroms. I see some cause for this concern.

But antisemitic, xenophobic and nationalistic attitudes are rife in Russia's justice and security apparatus. There are no adverse political consequences for them or for the many governors, mayors, police and prosecutors in the provinces that share these behaviors. Such attitudes reflect nationalistic and chauvinistic public opinion, which is also high. Tellingly, at the last parliamentary election, fully one-third of the deputies elected to the State Duma campaigned on antisemitic and xenophobic platforms.

Given this political atmosphere, in a country where presidents are essentially hand-picked, the pool of presidential candidates in Russia is polluted. Things could get even worse for human rights and democracy in a post-Putin regime.

Time for civil society reform in Russia is running short for human rights advocates, monitors and their supporters in the West.