Allegations of voter fraud have long bedeviled Russia's electoral process. For
years, ruling elites silenced opponents and compromised voter secrecy. Amidst
a booming post-Yeltsin economy, many observers assumed ordinary Russians just
didn't care about voting rights. They were wrong.
On December 4th, Russia staged parliamentary elections. The results delivered
a rebuke to the ruling party, United Russia, and its de facto leader, Vladimir
Putin. Though still Russia's largest political force, United Russia won just
50 percent of the vote—a far cry from its previous 2/3 majority.
But mounting evidence suggests that even these results are overstated. Video
footage of ballot stuffing and vote tampering cast doubt on the official electoral
outcome. Enraged by the allegations, Russians have taken to the streets. On
December 5, one day after the election, some 5,000 people gathered in Central
Moscow. They charged Putin and his followers with electoral theft.
Putin's critics say the protests indicate a democratic dawn in Russia. They
say the protests demonstrate the public's unease with the status quo. Many are
fed up with corruption and police abuse, and growing numbers blame Putin. Some
analysts even predict that Putin will be forced into a second round of presidential
elections come March 2012.
Putin's supporters make a different case. They say Putin's Russia is unfairly
branded as anti-democratic. Sure, the country is no liberal democracy, but it
is a major improvement over the Yeltsin era. Putin has brought stability and
economic growth, they say, and he should be thanked, not blamed.
As Russians prepare for Presidential elections, what do you think Putin's fate
should be? Is Russia ready for a post-Putin era?
By Marlene
Spoerri
For more information see
Singinau, "Electoral
fraud in the Russian election," YouTube, December 4, 2011 [video is
in Russian]
David Speedie, "Putin
and his Russia don't deserve the bad rap," Christian Science Monitor,
November 15, 2011
Photo Credits in order of Appearance:
FOTOBANK.ER
LokiiT
www.kremlin.ru
[also for pictures 9
and 10]
George
Shuklin
Ilya
Varlamov [also for picture 8]
Remy
Steinegger/World Economic Forum
golos.org
