Russian people to be deprived of the right to vote

[lovuian]

http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/350/14418_reform.html

Russian people to be deprived of the right to vote
10/11/2004 12:50
Forthcoming political reforms stipulate that the Kremlin will appoint both governors and mayors

Only 30 of 89 federation units will remain in Russia soon. The number of Russian governors will be reduced three times too - Russian regions' heads will be appointed directly from Moscow, without any coordination with local parliaments.

The political reform, which President Putin announced several days ago, has already made elections to local parliaments highly dramatic. Russia held parliamentary elections in three regions yesterday - in Irkutsk, in the Mary-El republic and in Sakhalin. The elections in those three regions became as important as gubernatorial or even presidential elections: the role of legislative assemblies in appointing regional heads would be considerably increased in Russia.


more...

It looks like Putin is grabbing more and more control!!!

[saltpoint]

1. Dubya's good pal Vladimir...

...has a taste for tyranny. And the charm of a lamprey eel. If Bush were truly a world leader, he would strongly denounce Putin's power-grab. Where have you gone, Mikhail Gorbachev?

Maybe Kerry can suggest it Wednesday evening in Tempe.

[lovuian]

2. I agree notice Putin is taking over during Bush's watch!!!

This is going to take Russian back to the dictatorship again!!!

[ogradda]

4. no no no no

see if you are *'s FRIEND it is ok to be a tyrannical dictator.

[mikehiggins]

10. All well and good

but at least Putin knows what he's doing.

It seems to me that the anti-Putin sentiment grew a lot since he started putting the screws to the rich folks who were trying to buy into the political system, just like here in the US.

As long as he left THEM alone, he was a democratic reformer. Once he crossed them their friends in Wall Street and DC came to a whole new place, vis a vis the secret policeman.

Our free and independent press is hardly a reliable source when the word comes down about what the bosses think.

[saltpoint]

11. I wish you were wrong on our press --

-- but I think you are right.

It's sad, and a little frightening, too.

[necso]

3. The whole Russia thing

isn't working out too well. And haven't we been underfunding the securing of their nuclear materials -- and the Nunn-Lugar program (which finances the destruction of Russian nuclear warheads)?

...

So I get to thinking, whatever happened to the Nunn-Lugar program.

http://nunn-lugar.com/

...And I am still not sure that I know.

[Hekate]

5. Is this what W saw when he "looked into Putin's soul"? n/t

[SoCalDem]

6. He saw himself..

People forget that Putin was KGB..

He "played" at the democracy-thing, until it looked like it might actually happen.. He's a realtively young guy, and he wants to stay in power.. Elections can be so "messy"..he might actually lose.. The person in charge gets to set his own "income".. Why would he risk losing it??

[Hekate]

7. I figured that, too

And I never forgot that Putin was KGB -- it's the reason I thought Bush's declaration was so damn creepy for a US president.

Ugh.

Hekate

[mikehiggins]

8. Its beginning to sound

like Florida

[mbperrin]

9. Why should Russia be different than the US?

hmmm?