Russia fears a recession will hurt pro-Kremlin politicians, so it's moving up elections

Russia fears a recession will hurt pro-Kremlin politicians, so it's moving up elections

MOSCOW -- The Kremlin is moving to bring next year's parliamentary elections forward and set up snap gubernatorial votes in several provinces this year, maneuvering that analysts say shows the authorities fear a deepening recession could weaken them and galvanize the opposition.

The State Duma elections in December 2011 catalyzed the largest show of dissent in Vladimir Putin's 15-year rule and authorities propose moving the 2016 poll from December to September, shortly after the August lull when political life shuts down as many Russians head to the dacha or abroad.

The opposition has united in the Democratic Coalition cobbled together in the wake of prominent politician Boris Nemtsov's assassination in February, hoping to finally establish a beachhead in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.

But Kremlin foes will find it hard to campaign in the summer despite grim economic forecasts -- a big reason, analysts say, for the mounting effort to move the Duma elections from December 2016 to September.

In a sign that the election calendar change could be a done deal fairly soon, Putin ally Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the Duma, was quoted by Russian news agencies on June 1 as saying that there was a "legal basis for moving the date of the elections."

Naryshkin said such a shift would not violate the constitution but "must be done through legislation" -- which poses no problem because of the four parties now in the Duma, only the Communists oppose the idea, and they do not have enough votes to block it.

Naryshkin said the change would be "perfectly reasonable" because parliament considered the following year's budget in the autumn, suggesting it would be better not to have a lame-duck chamber tackling that task.

It's The Economy...

Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst who heads the Mercator Group think tank, says the real motive is "the worsening economy and the expectation that voters will grow disgruntled with politics."


Read more: www.rferl.org...

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Putin is continuing to move farther into panic mode... I am curious how much longer the Russian people are going to tolerate his shenanigans.

Well, apart from alleged election fraud in some areas, a criticism of the 2012 Russian elections was that Putin was given predominant media coverage at the expense of the competition. In the last three years the media has become increasingly controlled and obedient to the Russian authorities, so the opposition will have a significant disadvantage from the outset.

originally posted by: paraphi
Well, apart from alleged election fraud in some areas, a criticism of the 2012 Russian elections was that Putin was given predominant media coverage at the expense of the competition. In the last three years the media has become increasingly controlled and obedient to the Russian authorities, so the opposition will have a significant disadvantage from the outset.

Hey at least they still have parties. The US would never worry about such a thing since both parties are paid by the same oligarchs/corporations.

See we cut this stuff out at the pass. The supreme court even rules for the elite. Now they are the only ones making big enough contributions for our politicians to care about public policy.

a reply to: luthier

Putin rules, then hands things over to a puppet, then "big surprise" he takes the reins again

Yea Russia is squeaky clean when it comes to politics.

+Edit+ - How much wealth has rooty-poo accumulated since he's been Czar now? I think he counts as elite. Russian politicians must get paid really well if he isn't on the take.

originally posted by: 200Plus
a reply to: luthier

Putin rules, then hands things over to a puppet, then "big surprise" he takes the reins again

Yea Russia is squeaky clean when it comes to politics.

+Edit+ - How much wealth has rooty-poo accumulated since he's been Czar now? I think he counts as elite. Russian politicians must get paid really well if he isn't on the take.

What are you even talking about? No i dont think russia is remotely clean.

I just dont think the us is? How rich do presidents in the us make from their coffers? Plenty. Even senators become millionaires after being in office.

Here is some good reading before we go pointing fingers? Maybe we shoupd take care of our massive problems before pointing at others faults.

www.telegraph.co.uk...



en.m.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: Xcathdra

Putin's play is a typical Third World ploy.
They better remove that guy quick before he gets Russia into a world of hurt.
Almost single-handedly, he is responsible for their dire position.
Almost reminds me of Hitler building toward WWII, with grandiose ideas but lacking the magnetic (but valueless) personality.

originally posted by: luthier

Hey at least they still have parties. The US would never worry about such a thing since both parties are paid by the same oligarchs/corporations.

Why bring the US into a thread about Russia,comrade?

You made a comparison and I made a comparison.

Keep those fingers to yourself next time if you don't want people saying anything bad (true) about dear ol' Rooty-Poo.

originally posted by: 200Plus

originally posted by: luthier

Hey at least they still have parties. The US would never worry about such a thing since both parties are paid by the same oligarchs/corporations.

Why bring the US into a thread about Russia,comrade?

You made a comparison and I made a comparison.

Keep those fingers to yourself next time if you don't want people saying anything bad (true) about dear ol' Rooty-Poo.

Again i dont understand you? Are you a propaganda shill? Putin is a dirtbag destroying his country. But what leg does the us have to stand on? We have better mind control?

Have you ever heard of the telecommunications act? Probably not. What about citizens united? The us has made humungous terrible strides towards becoming a place like russia.

a reply to: luthier

What the hell does the US have to do with the elections in Russia being moved on account of an impending recession.

That is as easy as I can make it for you.

Any simpler and I'd have to use crayons.

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: Xcathdra

Putin's play is a typical Third World ploy.
They better remove that guy quick before he gets Russia into a world of hurt.
Almost single-handedly, he is responsible for their dire position.
Almost reminds me of Hitler building toward WWII, with grandiose ideas but lacking the magnetic (but valueless) personality.

I think its a little more complicated than that. Who would take over for putin? Some one better or worse? How did it go when saddam left? Or kadaffi?

originally posted by: 200Plus
a reply to: luthier

What the hell does the US have to do with the elections in Russia being moved on account of an impending recession.

That is as easy as I can make it for you.

Any simpler and I'd have to use crayons.

Ahh i stumped you because you dont understand us policy. So now you have to move to imsults since you have no substance.

I am compairing and contrasting my government electoral process to the country in question. This is called reason. This is how people use emperical data to scrutinize.

Is there a rule i dont know about or is your box of crayons just the equivilant of a spoiled kid taking his ball away from a game because he isnt winning?

a reply to: luthier

I will explain the difference to you. American politicians get richer by millions . Putin's cronies get richer by billions . Using that as a gauge you can see which system is the most corrupt .

originally posted by: Greathouse
a reply to: luthier

I will explain the difference to you. American politicians get richer by millions . Putin's cronies get richer by billions . Using that as a gauge you can see which system is the most corrupt .

How does that prove greater corruption. It just proves consolidation of wealth. In the US everyone is on the books. Wealth is spread out. Its also the corporations that get the benefits of politics not the actual politicians.

Its just different distribution. Russia also didn't start two trillion dollar wars for the purpose of the military industrial complex.

You have to look at an inclusive study and make clear definitions before you make a vague assumption like that.

Maybe the us politicians are better at hiding money.

originally posted by: 200Plus
How much wealth has rooty-poo accumulated since he's been Czar now? I think he counts as elite. Russian politicians must get paid really well if he isn't on the take.

well, Putin's salary is fairly modest - around $150,000USD. Lower than other world leaders, but then Russia's economy is not that big.

However, for someone with such a modest salary he has allegedly accumulated a vast fortune from his acquisition of cheap shares in state owned companies like Gazprom and other interests. His circle of advisors and other key political allies have also miraculously benefitted from his Midas touch as they benefit from his favours at the expense of the average Russian. People disagree about his net worth, but most people agree it's pretty extreme.

People who complain that US / Western politics is corrupt have not looked at how Russia works. There's a reason why Russia is considered one of the most corrupt nations.

> Putin's salary
> Putin's worth $200bn
> Or is Putin worth $70bn
> TheTelegraph view
> Corruption in Russia

I don't understand what Russian elections have to do with the US. It doesn't suprise me though that someone has already mentioned it though, as if somehow pointing to the US being corrupt too should either negate all conversation about Russia or justify what Putin and his cronies are doing on the world stage. Its doesn't. This is a thread about Putin moving the elections. Bringing the US into it seem disingenuous and off topic.

a reply to: luthier

Incorrect

All you have to do is look at Putins cronies bank accounts .

I do not know what they are worried about. If you do not support Putin you soon find your business taken over and you either end up in jail, dead or just go missing. And if you are media outlet who dares to say anything you have not been told to say then you also end up shut down or taken over. You can not even complain online anonymously now. I wish a better day for the Russian people but, it looks more and more that if they want that day they are going to have rise up or hope for a military coup.

originally posted by: Megatronus
I don't understand what Russian elections have to do with the US. It doesn't suprise me though that someone has already mentioned it though, as if somehow pointing to the US being corrupt too should either negate all conversation about Russia or justify what Putin and his cronies are doing on the world stage. Its doesn't. This is a thread about Putin moving the elections. Bringing the US into it seem disingenuous and off topic.

Why? Its like a pot calling the kettle black. Does anyone here know what the telecomm act is and what it did and who passed it? How can trust what the media reports? You have to dig deeper into history books.

Again I am comparing corruption to my own government and my government has been elected an oligarchy by a scientific study reviewed by peers.

Russia is grossly corrupt. We just aren't that far behind. Why are there so many comments about my comments being comparing the us to Russian electoral process. How do you compare corruption? What are your definitions of.

Roosevelt added a whole new supreme court justice to pass the new deal.

Russia is corrupt newsflash? No kidding.

the us government is an oligarchy and so is Russia.

Both country do what ever the big business men want them too and the corruption both go to the highest level.

The op should read.
Putin fears a recession will hurt pro-Kremlin politicians, so he is moving up elections.
He is so damn funny.

originally posted by: luthier

originally posted by: Megatronus
I don't understand what Russian elections have to do with the US. It doesn't suprise me though that someone has already mentioned it though, as if somehow pointing to the US being corrupt too should either negate all conversation about Russia or justify what Putin and his cronies are doing on the world stage. Its doesn't. This is a thread about Putin moving the elections. Bringing the US into it seem disingenuous and off topic.

Why? Its like a pot calling the kettle black. Does anyone here know what the telecomm act is and what it did and who passed it? How can trust what the media reports? You have to dig deeper into history books.

Again I am comparing corruption to my own government and my government has been elected an oligarchy by a scientific study reviewed by peers.

Russia is grossly corrupt. We just aren't that far behind. Why are there so many comments about my comments being comparing the us to Russian electoral process. How do you compare corruption? What are your definitions of.

Roosevelt added a whole new supreme court justice to pass the new deal.

Russia is corrupt newsflash? No kidding.

the us government is an oligarchy and so is Russia.

Both country do what ever the big business men want them too and the corruption both go to the highest level.

Its like a pot calling the kettle black

I believe you're analogy is flawed as shown by the substance of your post .


It should read it's the pot calling the kettle blacker.