The Russian Elections

Hi everyone! I'm coming to you today from my family's weekend getaway house in Galena, Illinois, about a 3-hour drive northwest of Chicago, right on the Illinois/Iowa/Wisconsin tri-state area. It's a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house situated on sixteen acres of secluded woodland with an eagle's eye view of the surrounding countryside. It is indeed the perfect country retreat and I am very happy to be out here for the weekend, getting in some much-needed R&R.

What's on my mind today? I've been following the news out of Russia. It seems that Vladimir Putin is in trouble of losing his grip on his decade-long control of Kremlin politics. This week's elections, which were essentially intended to cement support for Putin's United Russia party in advance of his election to become president again in March, proved (perhaps unsurprisingly) to be a rather corrupt affair, with allegations (and photographic proof) of ballot box stuffing and the like on behalf of Putin. The interesting thing, however, is that despite these allegations, United Russia still faired rather poorly with only some 50% of all votes cast in favor of the party. Speculation is that without these criminal tactics, United Russia would have done even worse. So...what does this say about Putin's chances of becoming President again in 2012? I'm thinking at this point it's a shoo-in, especially as Putin's personal approval ratings are still quite high despite the middling performance of his party at the polls. But, with a massive protest scheduled to hit Red Square on Saturday, and fearful whisperings of an Arab Spring-type revolution in the making, I'd think Putin and his Kremlin cronies might be a little less smug about their chances. Putin's accusation that Hilary Clinton was at the forefront of stirring up the anti-United Russia pot just smacks of desperation...well, maybe not desperation exactly but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

I'm curious to know what others think, especially those of you who are reading this blog in Russia. I know there's at least a few of you. I'm curious to know your in-the-trenches perspective. Are any of you planning to be at the protest tomorrow? If so, post a comment. Let me know what you're thinking. Let's get a discussion going. I have my own opinion about democracy in Russia--not unlike that alluded to in my post the other day about the democracy movement in the Middle East--but I'm curious to know your thoughts. Can a country as vast and diverse as Russia in terms of landscape and ethnicity with no real historical experience with democracy be expected to function as a Western-style democracy...or does it need a strong man-type (like Putin) to keep the country together? Share your opinions.

Oh...and my holiday party last night was great, thanks! Leslie, Shannon, Heather, Tom, Melissa, Craig, Mom and Dad and the family---thanks for coming over! The shrimp skewers came out okay after all and there was plenty of food and drink to go around! Cheers!

Ciao.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: "What are your thoughts and opinions about the elections in Russia? Should Putin be allowed to run as President in 2012? Why or why not?"