Government-Electoral Systems Other

It may seem Putin controls the Russian state personally. The reality is more dangerous

Yana Gorokhovskaia Tue 25 Aug 2020 09.41 EDT <embed> https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/25/alexei-navalny-putin-russian-activist-russia </embed>

Popular narratives about Russia are infused with the idea that Putin sits atop a highly centralised system that he controls manually. While Putin is certainly Russia’s most important decision-maker, the political system is not his personal well-oiled machine. Instead, the system has a set of operating principles – chief among them a lack of the rule of law – and perverse accountability, which sometimes produce outcomes that are less than optimal for the Kremlin.

We often see evidence of this during elections when some regions in Russia report official results that strain credulity as local poll workers strive to please superiors with a good showing for pro-regime candidates. The problem, of course, is that while these results get the job done, they cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election and provide ammunition for critics.

Russian democracy is a farce. Putin wants the same fate for America

<embed> https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/opinions/russian-democracy-is-a-farce-kasparov/index.html </embed> Opinion by Garry Kasparov

Along with the fear-mongering and violence, Putin exploited the legitimate grievances of the Russian people for his own gain. His themes were familiar ones: security, cultural preservation, ethnic tension. Twitter didn't exist then, but if it had, Putin would have been tweeting "Law & order!" in Russian. Those of us in the Russian pro-democracy movement had the dual challenge of protesting Putin's crackdowns while acknowledging the other problems the country faced.
I watched as Putin destroyed our fragile democracy by focusing only on his own power and wealth while mouthing nationalist rhetoric and attacking the free press. Now I'm watching Trump use many of the same techniques to chip away at democracy in my new home, although I cannot complain of exile when some of my Russian colleagues have been jailed or killed.

Ballot Fraud Gave Russia's Putin 22 Million Extra Votes, Says Expert

<embed> https://www.newsweek.com/ballot-fraud-gave-russias-putin-22-million-extra-votes-says-expert-1515314 </embed>

Examining 88 million votes, he shared graphs of his findings on Facebook, telling Forbes Russia he believed abnormalities suggested that up to 22 million votes may have been fraudulently cast in favor of the changes Putin had backed.
"There has been no manipulation of votes in Russian elections on this scale in the recent past. In absolute terms, this is unprecedented," he told the publication.
"In relative terms, a similar situation was seen at the 2016 State Duma elections," Shpilkin said, referring to elections for Russia's lower house of parliament.