Let's Be Realistic About Russia

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120961042778558541.html ^ | May 1, 2008 | Vacslav Glukhov

[RusIvan]

Garry Kasparov criticizes Western countries for providing the autocratic regime in Russia with much needed legitimacy and for ignoring violations of basic human rights in Russia ("Russia's Pre-Olympic Nightmare," op-ed, April 26).

Mr. Kasparov ignores the truth that there is only so much that other countries can do to encourage Russia to be freer and less autocratic. It is the job of Mr. Kasparov and other leaders of the Russian opposition to invent and promote a social and economic model that combines freedom and governability. They need a model that combines Russian traditions deeply rooted in the country's autocratic history on the one hand, and the need to waken the country's social and economic creativity, on the other. Unfortunately, so far, Mr. Kasparov and his colleagues have failed to produce anything viable. They enjoy negligible support in Russian society, their methods are questionable and their social and economic ideas are either boring or completely absent. The damage that Mr. Kasparov and his politically incapable colleagues, who call themselves liberals and supporters of free society, have done to the ideas of freedom and capitalism in Russia is immeasurable. Considering that Mr. Kasparov enjoys freedom and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an entrepreneur who attempted to work out a feasible economic alternative to the country's archaic traditions, is in jail, the regime does not regard Mr. Kasparov as anything more than a nuisance.

[RusIvan]

Just want to add from my self. The author got it right. I always told here that so-called "democratic opposition" has negligible influence in Russia now. It is thier fault because they are serving not to Russia but to the western goverments and they are on complete payroll from them. So for me it is better Putin then Kasparov just for the "lesser evil".

[Just mythoughts]

How exactly does one measure evil. Evil according to as it is Written has the same destiny... whatever the measure allll evil eventually ends up on the same path. And NO my comments are NOT just specific to Russia/Putin or Kasparov, because we in the US of A have plenty of like minded greater and lesser evils.

[JohnLongIsland]

some pundit wrote a while back, forget about the commies, the russian people’s state of mind is still in the romanov era.