Russia's Weakened Democratic Embrace

Public opinion is tracking political developments in Russia. Russians have been considerably less enthusiastic about democracy in recent years than they were in the early 1990s. Today, unlike then, when public cries for freedom were leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union, a majority believes that their country would be better served by a strong leader rather than a democratic government.

And the latest Pew Global Attitudes poll finds the Russian people would choose a strong economy over a good democracy by a margin of almost six to one.

These findings can only add to Western concerns that, under the government of President Vladimir Putin, democracy is in retreat in Russia.

Recent passage of a law clamping down on foreign nongovernmental organizations and foundations operating in Russia and the resignation of a top economic adviser to Putin, Andrei Illarionov, who had earlier charged that Russia "is no longer a democratic country," have focused world atttention on the propspects for democracy there.

a majority believes that their country would be better served by a strong leader rather than a democratic government.

That's an interesting paradox. Another one is... most Freepers would agree that a) everyone (like Iraqis) wants a free and democratic government and b) Russian don't.

I cannot speak for 1997 or 1998, nor can I speak for where you were located, which was clearly in the boondocks. I can say that has not been true in the major metropolitan areas, and in Volgograd. I have friends who are Baptist missionaries at Ulan-Ude, near Lake Baikal, and I believe they would also disagree with you. That said, I do agree the Orthodox Church pushes against other denominations.

"I cannot speak for 1997 or 1998, nor can I speak for where you were located, which was clearly in the boondocks. I can say that has not been true in the major metropolitan areas, and in Volgograd. I have friends who are Baptist missionaries at Ulan-Ude, near Lake Baikal, and I believe they would also disagree with you. That said, I do agree the Orthodox Church pushes against other denominations."

Strange response. If your Baptist missionary friends didn't live in Ussurriysk in 1996, 1997, then what did I say that they could disagree with?! But since you responded so defensively, let me say that there were denominational "Baptist" missionaries in Ussurriysk while we were there who were give-away artists, pandering to the communist mindset, and kow-towing to the Orthodox leadership in order to keep their visas. Those "Baptists" would have claimed that the country was becoming freer-and freer, when it was not.

We stayed there on business visas and did our work more-or-less underground to avoid having our visas challenged by the Russian Orthodox priests, and we were smuggling Bibles into China as well, so we did not want the word "missionary" stamped in our passport or appearing on a visa in ANY language, I hope you understand.

It was a Russian official who tried to stop our Bible ministry into China.

Another group antagonistic to American missionaries in the Russian Far East was the Peace Corp!

> "'Cause the Russians have already tasted enough of the
> Western-promoted democracy."

> Are you talking about Clintonism which is completely
> different than a 'representative republic' wherein
> certain unalienable rights are endowed by the CREATOR.
I am talking about the 'for export only' variant of democracy. I do not think that Bushism in this respect differs from Clintonism.

Of course real democracy, which has to be of native origin, not imported, is a good thing. But I have a premonition that an attempt of building one in Russia will be resisted by your country just as well as by the ruling class of mine.

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