Report: Chechens Grateful for Bombing of Grozny
Michael C. Moynihan | December 4, 2007, 11:40am
Via Reuters, some details of Vladimir Putin's dodgy landslide victory in Saturday's election. According to recently released figures from the country's Central Election Commission, Putin managed a Saddam Hussein-like showing in Chechnya, a country not previously known for its slavish devotion to the Kremlin line:
Russia's volatile Chechnya, once President Vladimir Putin's biggest headache, ironically turned out to be a big success story for him in Sunday's election, according to official figures.
But the Central Election Commission's figures, showing that Chechens voted in droves for the Kremlin chief's party United Russia, had some locals scratching their heads.
[...]
The figures indicated that 99.2 percent of voters in the war-ravaged region of southern Russia had taken part in the poll and 99.3 percent of them had voted for United Russia.
This was the highest vote for Putin anywhere in Russia, where overall turnout was 62 percent and just over 64 percent of votes were cast for United Russia.
Full story.
(Hat tip: Rob W.)
joe | December 4, 2007, 12:53pm | #
RC,
joe, you can't really beleive that it is now impossible for Chavez to expand his power base. Nothing is eternal in politics, but he's been shut down for now.
Chavez ruled as a dictator for years - shutting down the vote, shutting down the opposition media, killing political opponents and banning demonstrations. He was very much a dictator during this period.
Chavez never shut down a vote. Chavez restored the democratic system after the oligarchs' coup, and has held internationally-certified elections throughout his reign, including the one he lost Sunday.
Chavez didn't shut down the opposition media - there are loud, boisterous anti-Chavez newspapers, radio, and televation stations in Venezuela.
Chavez does not appear to have had anyone killed during his rule - at least, that's what HRW says. As opposed to Pinochet, whose orders to torture and disappear people are well-documented.
Chavez has not banned demonstrations - loud, boisterous demonstrations were held frequently in the runup to this election.
do you, or do you not, classify Chavez as a dictator? You mean personally, or in terms of the position he occupies?
As an individual, Chavez certainly demonstrates many of the personality traits of a dictator. Did you see that he's starting a program of building "self-sustaining model cities" in the jungle? Never a good sign.
But in terms of how he has governed in the Venezuelan government, Chavez is better characterized as an authoritarian president than a dictator. He has acted within the rule of law, made himself subject to the constitutionally-prescribed election system, pursued his political agenda through legal and democratic means, and oh yeah LOST AN ELECTION WHILE HE CONTROLLED THE MACHINERY OF THE STATE.
You tell me dictators lose elections all the time. Name one dictator who was in control of the government and lost an election.