Will Russia remain a democracy or will it slowly evolve intoauthoritarianism, or even dictatorship? This is the question mostoften asked in the West. But let us put forward an alternatequestion: Was Russia a democracy before Putin?
At best, Russia under Boris Yeltsin was a manipulativedemocracy; at worst, it was a pseudo-democracy, cloaking Yeltsin'spersonal rule and the free reign given to oligarchs and bigbankers. Indeed, by the end of his administration, only theoligarchs and liberal reformers closely connected to the Kremlinremained as Yeltsin's base of domestic support. Yeltsin-type"democracy" was applauded in the United States and Europe, but hadweak support among most Russians. Many in the West have chosen toignore how the electoral process under Yeltsin was repeatedlymanipulated in ways that negated the essence of democracy. Theelections of 1996 were a fiesta of manipulation, outwardfalsifications, use of dirty money and the servility of theso-called free media--in fact mainly controlled by oligarchs andfinancial groups. The majority of Russians believed that democracy"Yeltsin-style" meant freedom--to loot, commit crimes and becorrupt. The financial default of 1998 was a clear verdict onYeltsin's economic and social policies.
Most Russians believe that Yeltsin's pseudo-democracy hasbrought only turmoil, decay and corruption to Russia. And whileopinion polls indicate that most Russians value basic politicalfreedoms, they do not want to live under a faux-liberal regimedominated by big money. For the majority of Russians, what is mostimportant is for Russia to become an economically developed, richand powerful country.
