Photo: Russia’s Democracy in happier times.
Russia’s Democracy, grandson of Tsarist Russia and son of a disastrous experiment in Communism, is dead. It was 17 years old.
A sickly child, Russia’s Democracy survived several bouts of Coup and Crippling Insurgent Wars. Recently, Russia’s Democracy’s health took a downturn, as an advanced case of Strong Man Syndrome led to restricted civil liberties, constraints on the media, and the murder of several journalists.
Russia’s Democracy finally succumbed to reports that the Kremlin is planning to rig the upcoming presidential ‘elections‘. The centrally co-ordinated plan to force civil servants to vote for Putin-puppet Medvedev, inflate voter turnout figures, and stuff ballot boxes overwhelmed Russia’s Democracy at approximately 7:40 AM this morning.
Russia’s Democracy is survived by an ugly, former-KGB troll of a man who has nothing but bad things planned. For everyone.
The experiment in Communism had a much fuller and happier life than Russian democracy to date. If Russian democracy technically made it into adolescence it’s been brain dead since the 2000 presidential election, when the one somewhat viable non-Communist party (Otechestvo-Vsya Rossiya, led by Moscow mayor Luzhkov and former PM Primakov) gave up before the election in the face of the popularity of Yeltsin’s hand-picked successor Putin. Of course, they might have been at least allowed on the ballot if they’d pressed on… not the case now.