Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

People tire of democratic facade in Putin’s Russia

The Guardian – Prince Edward Island

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russians have swarmed the streets in the tens of thousands across the country in protest of the Dec. 4th parliamentary elections, in which Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party maintained its majority of seats in disputed fashion.

Outraged by the extensive allegations and reportings of electoral manipulation, Russians have called for new, transparent elections and even for the resignation of the prime minister himself. Yet, there is more to this sudden public outburst than meets the eye. Rather, it is a manifestation of general dissatisfaction with the state of democracy and corruption in the Russian Federation.

Twenty years after the fall of communism, little in Russia has changed. Political power and financial wealth remain concentrated in the hands of an inner circle of elites who dominate all facets of society. To the frustration of the Russian people, the development of a multi-party democracy, which once seemed genuine in the 1990s, has given way to the resurgence of authoritarianism and elitism under Mr. Putin and current President Dmitri Medvedev.