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Wed, Dec 14th 2011, 19:37

Andrea Aquino, NYU, Bronze Contributor (23)

"Putin can no longer claim popular legitimacy to deflect criticism." I strongly agree with this point. Given the state of our world today, and the leap in democratic civil action, Putin cannot afford to carry on the way he has, resistant to reform and ever ready to repress those who express alternate opinions. Putin is and will lose his grip on power, and he should look to the world today to see how easily this can be done. Russia is a large country, that could easily garner the same strength of civil society that Egypt and Libya have seen.

Tue, Dec 20th 2011, 20:49

Arthur Zielinski

What now for Russia? Vladimir Putin's setback has provided the still-forming civil society in Russia the chance to give vent to its feelings, but whether or not it is powerful enough to influence events is still unclear. The Medvedev/Putin duet has given Russia a simulation of democracy, and an increasingly vociferous middle class has acquired a taste for the real thing.

The doubt is, however, that Russia does not have the institutions to support a democratic system similar to Western European/Anglo-Saxon models. The oligarchic/ ex-nomenklatura system is beginning to crack, but it is unclear, if it disappears, what can replace it. Russian society is at a crossroads, inasmuch as it is clear what no-one wants, ie chaos, or its antithesis, a neo-Stalinist model. The challenge before Russian society is now great - how does it want to be run as a modern, functioning country, managed for the benefit of all of its citizens, and with their full participation? It is too early to be pessimistic, but for Russia, and hence for the World, there is a danger here.

It is a truism that only Russians can decide their own fate. But what will they choose? The most likely scenario for the time being is more of the same. At present Vladimir Putin has a firm grip on power, but his choices may be limited to the traditional Russian tragi-comedies of liberalise and perish, or crack down and survive. One hopes there is a newer, better version for the peoples of Russia.