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09.11.2009 Russian Politics in Review October, 2009 The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to political issues in Russia with a focus on politics impacts life in Russia and to what extent the political field can be cause diverse or reflective of the population. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up.   Elections Capital immune to election fever Sunday's Moscow City Duma elections would seem to provide Muscovites with a lot to choose from - six different parties plus numerous individuals for single mandate seats. The one choice they will not be offered, apparently, is a solution to the everyday problems that affect their districts. Pro-Kremlin party sweeps Moscow elections The pro-Kremlin party dominated an election for Moscow city council and other local votes across Russia, results released Monday showed.  With 99 percent of the Moscow vote counted, United Russia won 66 percent and the Communist Party 13 percent. No other party cleared the 7 percent threshold to win seats on the city council. Moscow Court Orders Vote Recount At Yabloko Party Leader's Polling Station A court has annulled the results of the Moscow city duma election at the polling station where the leader of the Yabloko party, Sergey Mitrokhin, voted, the party's press services has said. An Inconsequential Vote  As Moscow enters the last days of campaigning before elections to the city Duma on Sunday, opinion polls suggest that a United Russia landslide is all but certain. But although the campaign has been fought fiercely, with opposition parties of all strips complaining of foul play by the administration, most Muscovites are convinced that the election is only a show of a contest, that their vote will change nothing, and that the City Duma is pretty irrelevant anyway. A Stolen Election in Moscow Last Sunday, voters went to the polls in 75 out of 83 Russian regions to elect local and regional governments, including the Moscow City Duma, the legislative council of Russia’s largest and richest city of over ten million people. Kremlin tells ruling party: no shame in victory The Kremlin has told ruling party activists "not to be ashamed" of crushing the opposition in regional elections last week, ordering them to react toughly to protests against the results. Election Observer Discusses Fraud Allegations In Southern Russian City Allegations of fraud in Russia's municipal elections continue to pile up. And several undercover videos that have surfaced on the Internet now add weight to the charges. Why Russians Ignore Ballot Fraud It spread on the Russian Internet, along with similar findings by a small band of amateur sleuths, numbers junkies and assorted other muckrakers.  Out went their call: This election was dirty! We demand a new one!  The country’s response, though, was to avert its eyes.   Medvedev Beginning of Meeting with Leadership of United Russia Political Party Colleagues, this is our third meeting in what has become a series of regular meetings now. You have sent me your nominations of a number of candidates [for the posts of regional governors], but I have not made any actual appointments yet, not presented any candidates to the [regions’] legislative assemblies for confirmation yet. Does Medvedev Deserve a Nobel Prize Together with Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Medvedev is responsible for changing the tone and direction of international politics, in a genuine effort to create a better world for all of us. Not unlike Obama, Medvedev inherited a foreign policy plate that was driving his country into isolationism and debilitating self-pity. President Medvedev speaks up for endangered architectural heritage Russian president Dmitry Medvedev took up the cause of the country’s endangered architectural heritage during a government meeting, paying attention to the illegal destruction of nearly 2,500 listed buildings over the past decade. Meeting with Members of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs I will say a few words to get the discussion going though do not expect anything particularly original. I am more interested in hearing what you have to say, all the more so as more than a year has passed since we last met in this format at the Kremlin. We had earlier meetings too, and informal contacts since, but it was a year ago that we last got together here or anywhere else in the Kremlin.   Opposition Russian Activists Still In Detention After Protest Dozens of opposition activists detained by police during a demonstration in Moscow remain in custody.  The demonstrators gathered in Moscow's Pushkin Square on October 12 to protest the alleged violation of election laws during the Moscow City Duma elections on October 11. Russian opposition stage walkout, blame Putin Russian opposition parties walked out of parliament on Wednesday in a rare act of protest against disputed regional elections, with the Communist Party blaming Vladimir Putin for an unworkable system of governance. Walkout leaders demanded a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev. Opposition returns to “comfortable chairs” after parliament walkout Russian opposition parties in the State Duma will not be able to revise the results of regional elections, but the authorities will pay more attention to them. Russian Communists seek election chief's resignation over fraud Russia's Communist Party, which earlier walked out of the lower house of parliament in protest against alleged election violations, demanded on Wednesday that the country's election chief resign. Gorbachev Criticizes Russia's Ruling United Russia Party Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which he blamed for fraud in regional elections as widespread allegations of serious violations prompted general outrage and calls to reform the country's authoritarian political system. Opening Remarks at Meeting with Leaders of Political Parties Represented in the State Duma. “We're not going to change the rules: regular communication – what I promised after my election as President – is continuing. Last time we met in an exotic location, in Krasnaya Polyana. I hope everybody enjoyed it.”   Commentary Lavrov warns against pitting Russian president against premier Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against pitting Russia's president against the prime minister.  Asked at a news conference in Moscow where the center of power is in Russia and who "plays first fiddle," Lavrov said: "You should not pit the Kremlin against the White House [the Russian government]. Administrative Dislocation of the Vertebra Comment Two events have joined together that are not formally connected – Sunday’s elections and Saturday’s protests in St. Petersburg against the skyscraper, popularly known as the “gasscraper.” They came together on a symbolic plane, but also in political practice. Because they both answer the question of who rules cities, to what degree public opinion is influential, and whether any kind of change is possible. Kremlin warns against wrecking Russia with democracy The Kremlin's chief political strategist warned in an article published that Russia risked collapsing into chaos if officials tried to tinker with the political system by flirting with liberal reforms.   Regions Russia’s Governors Retain Real Powers despite Putin’s Power Vertical Although Russia’s governors are now appointed by Moscow rather than elected by the voters of their regions, they in many cases have remained extremely powerful and even independent because of their length of service and ability to rely on “a complex balance of interests.” Putin Calls For Restructuring Regional, Municipal Govt Network Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for restructuring a network of regional and local authorities and stopping their enlargement. Strong Presidency System Has Led to Ethnocracy in Russia’s Republics The introduction of strong presidencies in Russia’s republics after 1993, a move many then believed was essential to the implementation of reforms, has led to “the partial confederalization” of the country, the conversion of republics into “the feudal property of criminal elites,” and the undermining of the rights of all minorities living there. Troubled towns face axe The government is scrambling to come up with a massive bailout plan for Russia's 400 single-industry towns, or monogorods, while officials do not rule out the forced uprooting of whole towns to other parts of the country. Experts say relocation, one scenario presented by officials at the Regional Development Ministry at a seminar last month, will be costly but inevitable for some towns.  A participant at the seminar, Sergei Veber, the mayor of the troubled town of Pikalyovo, confirmed the scenario. Olympic Victims Winning the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi was a triumph for Russia, and in preparation the authorities are pushing ahead with large-scale building projects to create the crown jewel of Russia’s sports complexes. But ecologists and local residents are unhappy with the construction of the Olympic transport infrastructure. As Clinton Continues Russia Tour, Many Ask: Why Kazan In what officials describe as an effort to see Russia "beyond the Moscow ring road," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will spend several hours in the city of Kazan on her second and final day of a Russia tour. The Dissident Who Came In From the Cold Nikita Belykh is radically remaking Russia's vast Kirov region. The country's democratic future may depend on his success.   Youth In the Name of Dignity (Nashi) The pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi filed a lawsuit against four European newspapers last Friday, over coverage of the organization’s picketing of Alexander Podrabinek, a human rights activist and journalist who published an attack on the reputation of Soviet war veterans.   Study Politics in Russia The Library: Politics in Russia SRAS Resources for Teachers   Find out more! SRAS Travel Services More Study Abroad Programs Internships in Russia Heath and Safety in Russia The SRAS Newsletter Journal for Students More Free Resources!  Questions or comments? Contact the editor « back to News archive print this page email this page