Presidents and Russia: The Erosion of Russian Democracy in the 21st Century
The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in what many hoped would be a new era of democracy for a nation in which the concept had been conspicuously absent for centuries. More or less fair elections were held and it gave those in the west hope that the reign of dictators such as Joseph Stalin was at an end. In 2000, Vladimir Putin was elected as President of Russia in the first round of what might otherwise have been a runoff election, gaining more than 52% of the vote. A testament to the relative fairness of the election is found in the fact that Putin under performed his poll numbers, which had projected him to carry around 57% of the vote. Even Putin himself acknowledged this in his acceptance address. Although he had won a plurality in nearly every part of the country, his strongest support came from European Russia, though he failed to receive a majority of the vote in Moscow.
Western support of Russian democracy had translated into an improvement in the Russian economy and when Putin ran for re-election in 2004, he had increased his popular support and faced no significant challengers for re-election. The strong economy had resulted in opposition parties experiencing a strong decline in support. His campaign strategy was simply for him to appear presidential, though the campaign did participate in negative campaigning against candidates who actively challenged their candidate. In his four years as President, Putin had also taken control over the Russian media, and this permitted him to deny coverage to many of his opponents, while generating favorable coverage about himself.
In 2008, Putin was constitutionally prevented from running from a third consecutive term as President. Dmitry Medvedev was elected as the new President, and in turn Medvedev appointed Putin as Prime Minister. From the beginning of Medvedev's tenure, it was clear that Putin was still the power broker in Russia. Putin was still the country's most popular politician. While previous prime ministers had served as subordinates to the president, Putin was different. Journalists saw the two as co-rulers of Russia and termed their leadership a "tandemocracy."
As Medvedev's term progressed, Putin resumed a stronger role in Russian politics. Putin appeared to take the lead in addressing Russia's financial crisis is 2008, as well as its war with Ossetia. Putin's control of the party is evidenced by the fact that On November 27, 2011, at the pre-election Conventon of the United Russia Party, Putin was unanimously nominated as the party's presidential candidate.
In the 2012 campaign, Putin's rhetoric was strongly nationalistic and anti-western. In a speech given at a major rally, he warned Russians "not to betray the Motherland, but to love her, to unite around Russia" and he told his audience that foreign interference in Russian affairs would not be tolerated. At the time, protest in Russia was occurring, causing many to fear that these protests could instigate a revolution directed from abroad. Putin won the election in the first round, gaining more than 63% of the vote. Putin gained a majority of votes in each regions of Russia. The lowest result was Putin in Moscow (46.95%), in all other regions, Putin received more than 50%. This time, he was elected for a term of 6 years as President.
This election however was met with anti-Putin protests, which were quickly put down by the state. The most notorious protest was at a performance by the all female band known as Pussy Riot on February 21. The members of the band were arrested, and subsequently tried and convicted. At another protest, an estimated crowd of between 8,000–20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on May 6. The protestors clashed with police and 80 people were injured and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. Putin's campaign staged a large counter-protest of Putin supporters at which an estimated 130,000 people came to the Luzhniki Stadium, Russia's largest stadium. It was not a voluntary show of support, as many of the attendees stated that they had been paid to come, were forced to come by their employers, or were misled into believing that they were going to attend a concert.
Putin was once again re-elected in 2018, this time running as an independent candidate. Putin, as expected, won the election, gaining 56,430,712 votes (more than 76%), outperforming his poll number. His highest vote percentages were received in Sevastopol, Chechnya, Tuva, Crimea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan, in each of these regions he gained more than 90%. Even in his worst performing regions, in Yakutia and Altai Krai, he still received over 60% of the vote.
One of Putin's opponents in the 2018 election was Alexei Navalni. Navalny is a YouTube sensation where he has over six million YouTube subscribers. He uses his social media channels to publicize reports of corruption in Russia, and he also organized political demonstrations. In a 2011 radio interview, he referred to Russia's ruling party, United Russia, as a "party of crooks and thieves." In March 2017, Navalny released a documentary entitled "He Is Not Dimon to You" in which he accused Dmitry Medvedev, then prime minister under Putin, of corruption. This led to mass protests across the country.
In 2013 and again in 2014, Navalny received suspended sentences for embezzlement in two criminal cases which were considered to be politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) later ruled that the cases violated Navalny's right to a fair trial, but his sentences were never overturned. In December 2016, Navalny launched his presidential campaign for the 2018 presidential election but he was barred by Russia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) from running due to his prior criminal conviction. He was unsuccessful in his appeal to the Russian Supreme Court and in 2017, the CEC stated that he would not be eligible to run for president until after 2028. In response, Navalny initiated a campaign known as "Smart Voting" in which he attempted to convince voters to consolidate their votes against United Russia.
Among those protesting the convictions against Navalny were President Barack Obama. Through his White House spokesperson Jay Carney, Obama called Navalny’s harsh prison sentence as "the latest example of a disturbing trend aimed at suppressing dissent in civil society in Russia.” Carney added that the charges of embezzlement against Navalny were “politically motivated,” adding that the case reinforced U.S. concerns about the rule of law in Russia.
In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalized in serious condition after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He was flown to Berlin for medical treatment and discharged a month later. Navalny openly accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. The EU, UK and US responded by imposing sanctions on senior Russian officials. On January 17, 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was detained on accusations of violating parole conditions which he was under as a result of his 2014 conviction. The violation alleged was his failure to report to Russia's Federal Prison Service (FSIN) twice per month during his illness. At around the same time, Navalny released a documentary entitled "Putin's Palace", which accused Putin of corruption. Navalny's arrest and the documentary once again led to mass protests across Russia. On February 2, 2021, Navalny's suspended sentence was replaced with a prison sentence of over two and half years' detention in a corrective labour colony in Vladimir Oblast. While in prison, both Navalny and some human rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Russian authorities of subjecting him to torture. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International accused Vladimir Putin of slowly killing Alexei Navalny through torture and inhumane treatment in prison.
When asked about this issue, President Donald Trump avoided criticism of Russia over the issue. Asked directly about the case, President Trump said, "So I don't know exactly what happened. I think it's tragic, it's terrible, it shouldn't happen. We haven't had any proof yet but I will take a look," he said. Rather than directing any criticism at Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Beijing posed a greater threat. He said, "It is interesting that everybody's always mentioning Russia and I don't mind you mentioning Russia but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so."
Earlier this month, Navalny was sentenced to an additional 9 years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial. Now a former President, Barack Obama has stated that Russia has violated the "basic principles of human decency." The increasing crackdown on protests, the highly questionable election results, and the politically motivated arrests and imprisonment of Putin's political enemies
Western support of Russian democracy had translated into an improvement in the Russian economy and when Putin ran for re-election in 2004, he had increased his popular support and faced no significant challengers for re-election. The strong economy had resulted in opposition parties experiencing a strong decline in support. His campaign strategy was simply for him to appear presidential, though the campaign did participate in negative campaigning against candidates who actively challenged their candidate. In his four years as President, Putin had also taken control over the Russian media, and this permitted him to deny coverage to many of his opponents, while generating favorable coverage about himself.
In 2008, Putin was constitutionally prevented from running from a third consecutive term as President. Dmitry Medvedev was elected as the new President, and in turn Medvedev appointed Putin as Prime Minister. From the beginning of Medvedev's tenure, it was clear that Putin was still the power broker in Russia. Putin was still the country's most popular politician. While previous prime ministers had served as subordinates to the president, Putin was different. Journalists saw the two as co-rulers of Russia and termed their leadership a "tandemocracy."
As Medvedev's term progressed, Putin resumed a stronger role in Russian politics. Putin appeared to take the lead in addressing Russia's financial crisis is 2008, as well as its war with Ossetia. Putin's control of the party is evidenced by the fact that On November 27, 2011, at the pre-election Conventon of the United Russia Party, Putin was unanimously nominated as the party's presidential candidate.
In the 2012 campaign, Putin's rhetoric was strongly nationalistic and anti-western. In a speech given at a major rally, he warned Russians "not to betray the Motherland, but to love her, to unite around Russia" and he told his audience that foreign interference in Russian affairs would not be tolerated. At the time, protest in Russia was occurring, causing many to fear that these protests could instigate a revolution directed from abroad. Putin won the election in the first round, gaining more than 63% of the vote. Putin gained a majority of votes in each regions of Russia. The lowest result was Putin in Moscow (46.95%), in all other regions, Putin received more than 50%. This time, he was elected for a term of 6 years as President.
This election however was met with anti-Putin protests, which were quickly put down by the state. The most notorious protest was at a performance by the all female band known as Pussy Riot on February 21. The members of the band were arrested, and subsequently tried and convicted. At another protest, an estimated crowd of between 8,000–20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on May 6. The protestors clashed with police and 80 people were injured and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. Putin's campaign staged a large counter-protest of Putin supporters at which an estimated 130,000 people came to the Luzhniki Stadium, Russia's largest stadium. It was not a voluntary show of support, as many of the attendees stated that they had been paid to come, were forced to come by their employers, or were misled into believing that they were going to attend a concert.
Putin was once again re-elected in 2018, this time running as an independent candidate. Putin, as expected, won the election, gaining 56,430,712 votes (more than 76%), outperforming his poll number. His highest vote percentages were received in Sevastopol, Chechnya, Tuva, Crimea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan, in each of these regions he gained more than 90%. Even in his worst performing regions, in Yakutia and Altai Krai, he still received over 60% of the vote.
One of Putin's opponents in the 2018 election was Alexei Navalni. Navalny is a YouTube sensation where he has over six million YouTube subscribers. He uses his social media channels to publicize reports of corruption in Russia, and he also organized political demonstrations. In a 2011 radio interview, he referred to Russia's ruling party, United Russia, as a "party of crooks and thieves." In March 2017, Navalny released a documentary entitled "He Is Not Dimon to You" in which he accused Dmitry Medvedev, then prime minister under Putin, of corruption. This led to mass protests across the country.
In 2013 and again in 2014, Navalny received suspended sentences for embezzlement in two criminal cases which were considered to be politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) later ruled that the cases violated Navalny's right to a fair trial, but his sentences were never overturned. In December 2016, Navalny launched his presidential campaign for the 2018 presidential election but he was barred by Russia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) from running due to his prior criminal conviction. He was unsuccessful in his appeal to the Russian Supreme Court and in 2017, the CEC stated that he would not be eligible to run for president until after 2028. In response, Navalny initiated a campaign known as "Smart Voting" in which he attempted to convince voters to consolidate their votes against United Russia.
Among those protesting the convictions against Navalny were President Barack Obama. Through his White House spokesperson Jay Carney, Obama called Navalny’s harsh prison sentence as "the latest example of a disturbing trend aimed at suppressing dissent in civil society in Russia.” Carney added that the charges of embezzlement against Navalny were “politically motivated,” adding that the case reinforced U.S. concerns about the rule of law in Russia.
In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalized in serious condition after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He was flown to Berlin for medical treatment and discharged a month later. Navalny openly accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. The EU, UK and US responded by imposing sanctions on senior Russian officials. On January 17, 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was detained on accusations of violating parole conditions which he was under as a result of his 2014 conviction. The violation alleged was his failure to report to Russia's Federal Prison Service (FSIN) twice per month during his illness. At around the same time, Navalny released a documentary entitled "Putin's Palace", which accused Putin of corruption. Navalny's arrest and the documentary once again led to mass protests across Russia. On February 2, 2021, Navalny's suspended sentence was replaced with a prison sentence of over two and half years' detention in a corrective labour colony in Vladimir Oblast. While in prison, both Navalny and some human rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Russian authorities of subjecting him to torture. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International accused Vladimir Putin of slowly killing Alexei Navalny through torture and inhumane treatment in prison.
When asked about this issue, President Donald Trump avoided criticism of Russia over the issue. Asked directly about the case, President Trump said, "So I don't know exactly what happened. I think it's tragic, it's terrible, it shouldn't happen. We haven't had any proof yet but I will take a look," he said. Rather than directing any criticism at Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Beijing posed a greater threat. He said, "It is interesting that everybody's always mentioning Russia and I don't mind you mentioning Russia but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so."
Earlier this month, Navalny was sentenced to an additional 9 years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial. Now a former President, Barack Obama has stated that Russia has violated the "basic principles of human decency." The increasing crackdown on protests, the highly questionable election results, and the politically motivated arrests and imprisonment of Putin's political enemies