Content in the category russia

In a recent Op-Ed in The Washington Post, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney lambasted Pres

Summary:
Since he succeeded disgraced outgoing President Boris Yeltsin in 1999, Vladimir Putin has come to dominate the Russian political scene like no other man since Stalin. While some in the West might be inclined to dismiss his power as simply the results of "managed elections" or coerced compliance, the reality is that the vast majority of Russians approve of the policies of the former president, currently filling the role of prime minister while continuing to direct national policy and government decisions. As rumors increase about the possibility of a third term as President, once current incumbent Medvedev steps aside, the future direction of the Russian state is in question: will the government in Moscow continue its centralizing, authoritarian trend of silencing opposition and intimidating would-be dissidents, or is there a chance that falling oil prices could force the state to ease its human rights restrictions and allow for a fuller measure of democratic transparency? The main question that should be on the minds of both political analysts and ordinary citizens in the U.S. is not whether or not Putin would be willing to allow "real democracy", but whether or not the Russian people are in the position to accept and implement true democratic reform. The last time that 'democratization' happened in Russia, a combination of disastrously mismanaged privatization policies and effective seizure of state assets by organized crime elements brought internal government reforms to a halt and brought the country's people to their knees. Is Putin's continued popularity and ability to amass so much power a reaction against the failed post-Soviet years of poverty and corruption, or is it a testament to the enduring autocratic element in Russian culture?
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Key Facts:
• Nuclear power is fast spreading, and it is necessary to consider that some material for power may be used for weaponry.

As bastions of communism for much of the 20th century, both Russia and China have taken on select democratic ideals and experimented with varying forms of economic liberalization.  Despite these changes, there persists a repressive government that is shielded by a façade of economic growth and sustained by an active campaign to squelch civil society.