Putin Shuts Down the Presidential Election Before it can Begin

Filed under: Russia

The Other Russia opposition group reports from Russia than over the course of the last week, following the announcement that dictator Vladimir Putin would support the "election" of his sycophant Dimitri Medvedev as his successor, three major contenders for the presidency have been forced to drop their bids. First there was Garry Kasparov, pictured above. Other Russia reports:

According to Russian law, a potential candidate must gather at least 500 supporters (an "initiative group") in one place, gather their signatures, and announce his or her candidacy in their presence. Kasparov had intended to do just that, and had already booked an appropriate venue. Shortly before the meeting was to take place, the management revoked their contract, citing technical reasons. Bulinov believes the actual reason was administrative pressure, noting that one initiative group had already been held in the facility on the 9th, and another was scheduled for the 14th. Opposition groups have frequently encountered these situations, where a private venue receives a threat from above, and backs out of previous agreements. Bulinov asked the CEC to note Kasparov's special situation, and proposed two possible solutions. The first was for Vladimir Churov, the director of the CEC, to step in and protect landlords from political threats to their business. The second was to allow the United Civil Front to relocate their initiative group. Both requests were denied, and the activists were told that a change of venue requires a five-day notice. Unfortunately, the last day to begin a presidential campaign is December 17th, less than 5 days away. Left with no legal means to announce his candidacy, Garry Kasparov has opted to rescind his name from the roster. As an act of protest, and to demonstrate his support, the leader of the Other Russia coalition will continue campaigning unofficially. He has already begun collecting signatures from around the country, and is raising grassroots support.

The Associated Press added: "Meanwhile, Kasparov's wife and daughter were detained at St. Petersburg's airport Wednesday as they tried to board an international flight, Kasparov's supporters said. They were released after having their documents checked and after the flight had departed."

Next came "Vladimir Bukovsky [pictured, right], a famed writer and human rights activist." Other Russia states:

Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio reports that the Soviet dissident's attempts to form the necessary "initiative group" have been blocked. According to Russian law, a group of at least 500 people must meet to put forth a candidate. Bukovsky, who had fled the Soviet Union in the 1970s, returned to Russia this year to pursue a presidential campaign, and has been a critic of President Vladimir Putin. At the last minute, the hall Bukovsky's supporters had booked backed out of its contract. The administration of the "Korolevsky" (King's) concert hall told Roman Dobrokhotov, the leader of the "We" movement, that they had submitted to pressure from the FSB. The Russian security agency apparently had a "chat" with the management. Fortunately, Bukovsky's application to the Central Electoral Commission had listed an alternate address, and he still plans to announce his candidacy on Sunday.

Finally there was Alexander Donskoi (pictured, left), who Other Russia says is "facing even firmer resistance, and is now behind bars for what he says are political reasons." They report:

On December 14th, Aleksandr Donskoi, received notice from the "Severny" (Northern) Cultural Center that they could no longer host his initiative group. In a letter, the management claimed that the building needed emergency repairs, and that it was "necessary to turn off the electricity on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of December." Donskoi's supporters believe the actual motives were political. Donskoi, who is the mayor of the northern city of Arkhangelsk, has had problems ever since he announced plans to stand for president in February. All of a sudden, numerous investigations of corruption and perjury began to surface. The mayor was accused of falsifying his university diploma, and using his status as mayor to improve his business dealings. In September, he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment and fined 75 thousand rubles. Since August, he has been behind bars for a third charge he calls bogus: abusing his power of office, and using city resources to hire private security for himself and his family.

This comes right on the heels of the political murder of one of Other Russia's activists and the forced commitment of a second to a mental institution.

And Other Russia is far from the only target: Blogger Robert Amsterdam reports that the Kremlin has just expelled a leading opposition journalist (Natalia Morar, pictured at the microphone) to her home country after she published a spate of critical articles in the opposition paper New Times. The Wall Street Journal has more details, as does the Moscow Times.

It is exactly the same strategy the Kremlin pursued during the recent parliamentary elections: First exclude from the ballot, next intimidate and attack all rivals, then finally rig the remaining results. Other Russia reports that election results show that the greater the turnout in a given region, the more support there was for the Kremlin, up to 100%-100% in some areas, just as in Soviet times.

And it reports that now, in the wake of the total exclusion of all liberal, pro-democracy parties from Russia's legislature, one of the major liberal parties is now facing bankruptcy.

The AP reported: "Kasparov's spokeswoman, Marina Litvinovich, accused the government of pressuring the owners of Moscow auditoriums and meeting halls. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusation absurd. 'The Kremlin isn't involved in renting out halls, and blaming the Kremlin in any way in this case would be considered incorrect.'" In light of the pattern described above, it's clear that Peskov is the one who is talking neo-Soviet absurdities, as if the entire world were comprised of morons incapable of discerning the Kremlin's malignant activities, just as was the case in Soviet times.

Other Russia calls the West to task for being all talk and no action in the face of this continuing pattern of neo-Soviet outrage: "The reaction of the leading western nations to such blatant fraud was stronger than their usual weak expressions of "concern" regarding the extinguishing of the democratic flame by the Putin regime. There has been little in the way of action, however, or even the suggestion of action. Russia's continued and unchallenged presence in the Group of Eight (G-8) major industrial democracies remains a mystery."

How can we expect the Russians to rise up and stop this madness if our leaders don't demand that they do so, and pledge their support to help? How can this barbaric nation be allowed to remain a fox in the G-7 hen house?