Vladimir Putin is no ordinary two-faced politician. For Russia’s
Janus-like president, double-speak, disingenuousness and duplicity are a
way of life. For 20 years, he has shown himself the master of having it
both ways. But is he about to be found out? As riots shake Moscow, with the promise of more to come, is an end to the long, dark night of the Putin supremacy a dawning possibility?
On the infrequent occasions when Putin openly presents himself to the Russian public, he cultivates the persona of a caring, fatherly figure, not unlike a tsar, valiant in the cause of people and nation. Kremlin publicists project images of a bare-chested, no-nonsense tough guy and stern, stalwart patriot, as was the case on Sunday when he was pictured reviewing a St Petersburg naval parade.
But the alternative reality was also on show at the weekend, when riot police violently attacked pro-democracy demonstrators enraged by official attempts to fix upcoming municipal elections. More than 1,300 people were arrested. It was the most serious disturbance since 2012, when protests targeting Putin’s rule brought a sweeping crackdown on civil and legal rights. In this netherworld that is Putin’s Russia, any pretence of meaningful democratic and electoral processes has been all but abandoned. Political opposition is discouraged and penalised. Free speech and peaceful assembly are severely restricted, media are censored, courts and judges are nobbled, and NGOs, religious minorities and human rights activists are harassed and persecuted.
Nor, on the dark underside of the Putin presidency, is he the universally respected, almost omnipotent figure his backers and boosters like to pretend. His latest nationwide telephone call-in show in June produced sharp criticisms, despite the risk of reprisals. “Just one question: when will you leave?” one brave caller asked. Another compared Putin to Leonid Brezhnev, whose Communist-era reign remains synonymous with harsh economic times.
The Russian regime’s shocking treatment of Alexei Navalny, the best-known opposition leader, is cruelly reminiscent of that cold war period, when dissidents were jailed and tortured. Navalny was picked up again last week, for no good reason, and jailed for 30 days. Now it is feared he may have been attacked in prison with a chemical agent, as has happened to so many Putin opponents in the past.
Read More at:Putin’s treatment of protesters and rivals shows weakness, not strength | Simon Tisdall | Opinion | The Guardian
The Digest Group
Almere-Digest
EU-Digest
Insure-Digest
Turkish-Digest
For additional information, including advertising rates - e-mail:Freeplanet@protonmail.com
On the infrequent occasions when Putin openly presents himself to the Russian public, he cultivates the persona of a caring, fatherly figure, not unlike a tsar, valiant in the cause of people and nation. Kremlin publicists project images of a bare-chested, no-nonsense tough guy and stern, stalwart patriot, as was the case on Sunday when he was pictured reviewing a St Petersburg naval parade.
But the alternative reality was also on show at the weekend, when riot police violently attacked pro-democracy demonstrators enraged by official attempts to fix upcoming municipal elections. More than 1,300 people were arrested. It was the most serious disturbance since 2012, when protests targeting Putin’s rule brought a sweeping crackdown on civil and legal rights. In this netherworld that is Putin’s Russia, any pretence of meaningful democratic and electoral processes has been all but abandoned. Political opposition is discouraged and penalised. Free speech and peaceful assembly are severely restricted, media are censored, courts and judges are nobbled, and NGOs, religious minorities and human rights activists are harassed and persecuted.
Nor, on the dark underside of the Putin presidency, is he the universally respected, almost omnipotent figure his backers and boosters like to pretend. His latest nationwide telephone call-in show in June produced sharp criticisms, despite the risk of reprisals. “Just one question: when will you leave?” one brave caller asked. Another compared Putin to Leonid Brezhnev, whose Communist-era reign remains synonymous with harsh economic times.
The Russian regime’s shocking treatment of Alexei Navalny, the best-known opposition leader, is cruelly reminiscent of that cold war period, when dissidents were jailed and tortured. Navalny was picked up again last week, for no good reason, and jailed for 30 days. Now it is feared he may have been attacked in prison with a chemical agent, as has happened to so many Putin opponents in the past.
Read More at:Putin’s treatment of protesters and rivals shows weakness, not strength | Simon Tisdall | Opinion | The Guardian
The Digest Group
Almere-Digest
EU-Digest
Insure-Digest
Turkish-Digest
For additional information, including advertising rates - e-mail:Freeplanet@protonmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment