The Man Without a Face: Six Questions for Masha Gessen
Vladimir Putin is emerging as an iconic figure for Russian politics in the period following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but he remains rather mysterious even at home, and widely misunderstood abroad. Now Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen has completed a comprehensive and penetrating look at the experiences that shaped Putin and the character of his stewardship of Russia. I put six questions to Gessen about her new book, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin:
1. Vladimir Putin has been elected once more as president of the Russian Federation, but this time observers say the outcome was marked by extreme fraud. How do you expect Putin to cope with a growing opposition that increasingly includes urban elites once close to him?
The smart thing to do would be to institute some reforms—this would pacify some of the protesters and possibly even effectively divide the movement. Outgoing president Dmitry Medvedev has indicated that he will introduce an electoral-reform package that would reverse some of the damage done in the Putin era, and he has indeed even formed a working group that includes at least one protest leader. So some optimists are hoping for a Gorbachev-style scenario, where the system slowly dismantles itself from the inside. I, however, hold out little hope for that. I think Putin will find it too difficult to resist his natural urge to punish the opposition and tighten the screws in the hopes of preventing further protest. And this, I think, will ultimately speed up his demise by consolidating and radicalizing the opposition.
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Vladimir Putin: Russia’s once and future president
The former KGB agent is elected to his third term as Russia’s president. But do Russians really respect him?
Was Putin fairly elected?
Not remotely, but that’s not to say anyone could have beaten him. Since he first took the helm in Russia, in 1999, Vladimir Putin has ruled with a modified form of Soviet-style authoritarianism that he calls “managed democracy.” The idea is that weakened state institutions, including the electoral system, yield to the designs of a strong leader. That entails some outright fraud; monitors found evidence of “carousel voting,” in which busloads of voters travel around casting ballots under different names, and in Chechnya, more pro-Putin votes were counted than there were registered voters. But managed democracy relies even more on subtler manipulations. Technical reasons are found to prevent opposition parties from registering. Massive state resources, including almost all TV and radio news, are brought to bear in favor of the Kremlin. Phony “opposition candidates” are put forward. Those tactics delivered Putin an official victory of almost 64 percent. That number was surely inflated, but Putin does inspire heartfelt devotion among many Russians.
Why do they admire him?
Putin represents stability, a welcome contrast to the chaos of the first decade after the Soviet Union dissolved, in 1991. Under Boris Yeltsin, a few tycoons, known as oligarchs, were allowed to plunder state resources in a period of wild privatization that plunged millions into poverty. Putin reversed that process, reasserting firm central control over Russian resources. During his reign, the Russian economy has grown by an average of 7 percent a year, poverty has been halved, and the average monthly salary of Russians has more than tripled. High global prices for Russia’s vast oil and natural gas resources played a big role in that success. But many Russians give Putin credit for the fact that they are much better off than ever before.
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Statement to the European parliament about Russian Elections by HR Catherine Ashton
Statement to the European parliament on the outcome of Presidential elections in Russia on behalf of HR CatherineAshton delivered by Danish Foreign Minster Villy Søvndal
Strasbourg 14 March
Mr. President, Honourable Members,
It is my pleasure to be here today to discuss with you the outcome of the Presidential elections in
Russia on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Ashton.
Let me first of all thank Parliament for the strong voice it has consistently been giving to European
citizens’ concerns about democracy, fair elections and human rights in Russia.
Russia is our largest neighbor, an important business partner and indeed a Strategic Partner for many global and regional issues. So it matters to our citizens what the situation with human rights and the rule of law is in Russia.
Parliament has followed both the Russian State Duma elections of 4 December and the Presidential
elections of 4 March very closely.
It has adopted several resolutions expressing the expectations of European citizens for Russia to live
up to her international commitments to ensure free and fair elections. You have also given High Representative/Vice President Ashton several opportunities to address the Plenary on these crucial issues.
In addition, several hearings have taken place since December on these elections and on human rights more generally, organized by the Foreign Affairs Committee, by the Subcommittee on Human Rights, by the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee with Russia, and by individual political groups.
Catherine Ashton has asked me to thank Parliament for all this important work. She also asked me to in particular convey the message that she shares Parliament’s concerns about the case of the arrest and death in pre-trial detention of lawyer Sergey Magnitsky.
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KYL STATEMENT AT FINANCE COMMITTEE HEARING EXAMINING RUSSIA’S ACCESSION TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, delivered the following opening statement today at a committee hearing examining the accession of Russia to the World Trade Organization (WTO):
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think that I understand the message this hearing is meant to convey: “American businesses want access to Russian markets. We should repeal JacksonVanik and grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations without delay and without conditions. It’s a slam dunk.”
But it isn’t a slam dunk.
Let’s stipulate that American businesses, farmers, and ranchers should be able to sell products to Russia, and that free trade is important and beneficial to the United States.
We still need to determine whether America is getting a good deal through Russia’s WTO accession, and whether more should be done to protect our interests. For example, Russia has never ratified the bilateral investment treaty that the Senate ratified years ago. That treaty would prevent Russia from expropriating businesses, an admittedly big problem in Russia. This is a very basic economic right that isn’t being protected.
In addition, one of our witnesses will discuss Russia’s failure to remit royalties, which is also not
directly covered by the WTO agreements.
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Kasparov, Nemtsov call McFaul’s Bluff
On Tuesday, I wrote about U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul’s objection to tying America’s economic interaction with Russia to the promotion of human rights. McFaul was in Washington for a conference and also to push for repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a piece of Cold War-era legislation that sanctioned Moscow’s trade status for restricting Jewish emigration. Now that Russia is joining the World Trade Organization, Jackson-Vanik disadvantages American businesses, and so it’s time to repeal it.
But I argued that McFaul’s emphasis on repealing Jackson-Vanik was a dodge, since its repeal is uncontroversial. The real issue is whether it should be replaced by legislation that would hold Vladimir Putin’s administration accountable for its atrocious human rights record. Were McFaul not representing the Obama administration, I added, he might very well support such action–McFaul is the author of several books on promoting democracy in the post-Soviet space. Today, Garry Kasparov and Boris Nemtsov, two outspoken Russian opposition figures, take to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to make those points, and a few others.
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U.S. Senate Mulls Jackson-Vanik Repeal
The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance has held a hearing to consider the permanent normalization of trade with Russia, a move that the Obama administration and business leaders are pushing for but which raises the sensitive issue of Moscow’s human rights record.
Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus (Democrat-Montana) urged his fellow lawmakers on March 15 to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment — Cold War-era legislation that denies Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) — for the sake of the still-fragile U.S. economy.
Doing so, he claimed, could result in a twofold increase in the volume of U.S. exports to Russia, which are currently worth around $9 billion annually.
“If the United States passes PNTR with Russia, U.S. exports to Russia are projected to double within five years,” he said. “If Congress doesn’t pass PNTR, Russia will join the WTO anyway, and U.S. exporters will lose out to their Chinese and European competitors.”
With support from the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, Russia completed its 18-year quest for membership in the World Trade Organization last year. The Duma is set to ratify membership in the coming months.
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Sen. Kyl takes strong stand against top Obama administration trade priority
The number two Republican in the Senate on Thursday threw a wrench into White House plans for quick passage of a Russia trade bill.
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) flagged his opposition to granting Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR). The Russia bill is the top trade priority of the Obama administration this year.
Russia is slated to join the World Trade Organization this summer. If Congress does not repeal the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Cold War-era law which makes trade relations conditional on Russia allowing free emigration, Russia will be allowed to retaliate against U.S. exporters.
“I think that I understand the message this hearing is meant to convey: ‘American businesses want access to Russian markets. We should repeal Jackson-Vanik and grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations without delay and without conditions. It’s a slam dunk.’ But it isn’t a slam dunk,” Kyl told a Finance Committee hearing.
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An unbeatable insight into the minds that control Russia
Foreigners seeking to explain the paranoia of Kremlin’s elite need only look to the country’s state-sponsored television.
Russia Today, the state-financed television channel for foreigners, is a must-watch. Not because of journalistic excellence: it has glitzy presentation but huge holes in its coverage and bizarre quirks in its editorial outlook. But it does give an unbeatable insight into the minds of the people who run it – and into the regime that sponsors it.
To be fair, I should note that the channel has substantial strengths. It reports thoroughly on official utterances and it covers most of the headline stories in Russia with reasonable professionalism. In that sense it is quite different from the old Soviet media, which simply ignored topics that did not fit the official line. Russia Today has reported, for example, on the grotesque posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in prison after exposing a $230 million (€175m) fraud against the Russian taxpayer, perpetrated by officials. It also rarely misses a story about UFOs or life on Venus.
But the hallmark of Russia Today is anti-Westernism. It gleefully highlights weaknesses, anomalies and double standards in countries that like to criticise Russia. The message is blunt: get your own house in order before lecturing others. Human-rights violations, political corruption and economic weaknesses get a particularly enthusiastic outing, even when the factual basis is tenuous or non-existent. One commentator says that the US is fascist. Another report claims that Nazism is on the rise in Germany and the Baltic states.
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The Right Way to Sanction Russia
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate will hold a hearing to discuss the accession of Russia to the World Trade Organization and the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment that impedes American trade relations with Russia. The Obama administration has portrayed it as little more than overdue Cold War housekeeping while touting the imagined economic benefits for American farmers that could result from freer trade with Russia.
But the reality on the ground in today’s authoritarian Russia is far more complex. We support the repeal, both as leaders of the pro-democracy opposition in Russia and as Russian citizens who want our nation to join the modern global economy. It is essential, however, to see the bigger picture of which Jackson-Vanik is a part.
The “election” of Vladimir Putin to the presidency is over, but the fight for democracy in Russia is just beginning. At both major opposition meetings following the fraudulent March 4 election, we publicly resolved that Mr. Putin is not the legitimate leader of Russia. The protests will not cease and we will continue to organize and prepare for a near future without Mr. Putin in the presidency. Getting rid of him and his cronies is a job for Russians, and we do not ask for foreign intervention. We do, however, ask that the U.S. and other leading nations of the Free World cease to provide democratic credentials to Mr. Putin. This is why symbols matter, and why Jackson-Vanik still matters.
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To learn more about what happened to Sergei Magnitsky please read below
- Sergei Magnitsky
- Why was Sergei Magnitsky arrested?
- Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and death in prison
- President’s investigation sabotaged and going nowhere
- The corrupt officers attempt to arrest 8 lawyers
- Past crimes committed by the same corrupt officers
- Petitions requesting a real investigation into Magnitsky's death
- Worldwide reaction, calls to punish those responsible for corruption and murder
- Complaints against Lt.Col. Kuznetsov
- Complaints against Major Karpov
- Cover up
- Press about Magnitsky
- Bloggers about Magnitsky
- Corrupt officers:
- Sign petition
- Citizen investigator
- Join Justice for Magnitsky group on Facebook
- Contact us
- Sergei Magnitsky
