Weekend's Events - December 11th 2011

Russia

Finally it happened.  The social compact between the Kleptocracy and its subjects mutated into something approaching the relationship between state and citizen and all of the implications of legitimacy - or lack of - that this highlights.  Without the props of apartment bombings, a Chechen war, a war against the oligarchs - or certain of their number - or any other narrative; United Russia relied on its status as the 'ruling party' and guarantor of so called stability to try to attract the votes it manifestly failed to garner.  Given that ballot boxes were stuffed like the proverbial Christmas turkey and United Russia - the notorious party of 'crooks & thieves' -  still could not breach the 50% watermark is an indictment of monumental proportions against the regime.  The dramatic decline in UR's fortunes should not be underestimated.  The last Duma elections gave UR a constitutional or 2/3rds majority but it's likely that, given the overwhelming advantage of one sided & fawning TV coverage, UR would in 2008 anyway have received a comfortable absolute majority based on the will of the people.  The 'dark arts' probably just made the difference between that and the constitutional majority that was so important for the then impending Putin & Puppy Dog tandem. 

Despite the fact that workers of state enterprises were instructed to vote one way on pain of the dole; despite the fact that no true opposition parties were permitted to register for the elections; despite the fact that the Caucasian republics - ruled by strongmen for whom the rule of law is even more of an abstract concept than for Moscow's 'Siloviki' - returned stupendous results for UR of circa 99%; despite this entire grotesquely undemocratic and amoral reality, it took the falsification of over 20% of the votes in Moscow - that is to say merging the gap between exit polls of around 27% and a manufactured tally of around 48% - to give United Russia a majority in the Duma this time.   UR returned around 30% in many districts including St Pete and 'stuffing' the result was either too hard or too obvious or many of the districts were deemed too inconsequential!! As if the Russian people could not be insulted further, the ruling elite could not be bothered to falsify the votes in certain regions on the basis that ballot stuffing in the capital would give the desired result.  But it is testimony to how disconnected the regime is from reality that - as far as we know - the most egregious examples of falsification took place in the capital where the people are the most educated, have the greatest opportunities that are not based on the largess of UR and are the most web savvy and 'socially networked' group of the whole Russian Federation. As the apathy of the past 10 years & more seems finally to be giving way to mobile & vigorous indignation; it was very definitely not a clever strategy to target Moscow as the epicenter of such an audacious attempt at political swindle.

I personally know many of the people who went to Bolotnaya Square yesterday, not knowing if they would be arrested or beaten, the same people who told me over and over that they had no interest in politics.  Many of them I am sure are less motivated by political objectives than one main and fundamental imperative which is to be treated with respect - intellectually, physically, morally.