When democracy arrived in Russia after the collapse of communism in 1991, it was pretty much free for all. The country was under the grip of criminal syndicates, oligarchs and sundry opportunists. The economy, remote controlled by the IMF, was in free fall, without the bottom in sight.
And yet in the western view, “God was in his heaven and everything was right with the world.” The suffering of the Russian people didn’t matter to them. Rather, the pictures of once proud pensioners now reduced to trading their World War II medals for a loaf of bread were gleefully published by TIME, Newsweek, and The Economist.
Had Moscow continued on that path, the country would have been destroyed. The heart of Russia’s industry would have been ripped apart; its navy would have rusted in ports; its mighty rocket forces would have degraded in silos.
During Putin’s first stint in power (from 1999-2008), the Russian economy recorded an average growth of 7 per cent annually. During this period, industry grew 75 per cent, while real incomes more than doubled. The monthly salary of the man in the street went from $80 to almost $600. The IMF, which worked overtime to destroy Russia’s state owned corporations and banks, admits that from 2000 to 2006, the Russian middle class grew from 8 million to 55 million. The number of families living below the poverty line decreased from 30 per cent in 2000 to 14 per cent in 2008.
How did Putin achieve that? First up, he rejected the notion that western democracy and values are universal. This is precisely what Lee had done in Singapore. As the Singapore Prime Minister was fond of saying, “I do not believe you can impose on other countries standards which are alien and totally disconnected with their past.” In his view, “to ask China to become a democracy, when in its 5,000 years of recorded history it never counted heads” was completely and utterly arrogant.
In western democracy the party or candidate that gets the most votes is the winner. Such a system may seem fair but in reality can create terrible outcomes. For instance, a large number of candidates can divide votes so that a totally unpopular candidate can squirm his way to power. This has happened most starkly in India where the Congress party ruled India for over six decades despite not getting the majority of the votes. In the US, western democracy could not prevent the theft of the 2000 Presidential elections where Al Gore got more votes than George W. Bush and still lost, leading to the 2003 Iraq War.
Putin has rejected such forms of kleptocracy – rule by thieves – the West has been exporting. “We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly,” he said in St Petersburg, in 2006.
In 2012, after winning his third term, Putin pursued a tough course on unruly dissent. For instance, members of Pussy Riot who performed a lewd dance in a church were jailed. NGOs that got money from foreign sources were legally required to be registered as foreign agents. “Direct or indirect foreign interference in our internal political processes is inadmissible,” he said. “Those who receive money from abroad for their political activities and serve alien interests shouldn’t engage in the politics in Russia.”
http://russia-insider.com/en/how-lee-kuan-yew-and-putin-exposed-democracy-bogey/ri8164
Mike
And yet in the western view, “God was in his heaven and everything was right with the world.” The suffering of the Russian people didn’t matter to them. Rather, the pictures of once proud pensioners now reduced to trading their World War II medals for a loaf of bread were gleefully published by TIME, Newsweek, and The Economist.
Had Moscow continued on that path, the country would have been destroyed. The heart of Russia’s industry would have been ripped apart; its navy would have rusted in ports; its mighty rocket forces would have degraded in silos.
During Putin’s first stint in power (from 1999-2008), the Russian economy recorded an average growth of 7 per cent annually. During this period, industry grew 75 per cent, while real incomes more than doubled. The monthly salary of the man in the street went from $80 to almost $600. The IMF, which worked overtime to destroy Russia’s state owned corporations and banks, admits that from 2000 to 2006, the Russian middle class grew from 8 million to 55 million. The number of families living below the poverty line decreased from 30 per cent in 2000 to 14 per cent in 2008.
How did Putin achieve that? First up, he rejected the notion that western democracy and values are universal. This is precisely what Lee had done in Singapore. As the Singapore Prime Minister was fond of saying, “I do not believe you can impose on other countries standards which are alien and totally disconnected with their past.” In his view, “to ask China to become a democracy, when in its 5,000 years of recorded history it never counted heads” was completely and utterly arrogant.
In western democracy the party or candidate that gets the most votes is the winner. Such a system may seem fair but in reality can create terrible outcomes. For instance, a large number of candidates can divide votes so that a totally unpopular candidate can squirm his way to power. This has happened most starkly in India where the Congress party ruled India for over six decades despite not getting the majority of the votes. In the US, western democracy could not prevent the theft of the 2000 Presidential elections where Al Gore got more votes than George W. Bush and still lost, leading to the 2003 Iraq War.
Putin has rejected such forms of kleptocracy – rule by thieves – the West has been exporting. “We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly,” he said in St Petersburg, in 2006.
In 2012, after winning his third term, Putin pursued a tough course on unruly dissent. For instance, members of Pussy Riot who performed a lewd dance in a church were jailed. NGOs that got money from foreign sources were legally required to be registered as foreign agents. “Direct or indirect foreign interference in our internal political processes is inadmissible,” he said. “Those who receive money from abroad for their political activities and serve alien interests shouldn’t engage in the politics in Russia.”
http://russia-insider.com/en/how-lee-kuan-yew-and-putin-exposed-democracy-bogey/ri8164
Mike