Once again I am struck by the insight and sensitivity to the nuances of Russian politics by Mary Dejevsky of the Independent newspaper. She has written a great article :”Russia under Putin will be different this time” which all the Russian pundits would well benefit from reading .
The in-depth analysis ends: “So far, Russia's calls have been largely drowned out by the euro crisis and US election skirmishing. Even if they come across loud and clear, however, they could still go unheeded because of the prevalent belief abroad that Putin III will be more interested in aggressive grandstanding than in cooperation. Less than a week into Putin's third term is far too early to second-guess where he wants to take Russia and what he will have to say.”
The shrill cries of anti-Putinism dominate our newspapers and airwaves. Anders Aslund, the Swedish economist calls for Russia to be expelled from the G8 economic grouping; The Guardian joins the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Independent and others in painting a bleak picture of Putinism while hailing the middle class protestors who have taken to the streets and increasingly are battling with security forces as they seek to ‘occupy’ parts of the Russian capital.
A hard dose of facts would serve to disabuse our media colleagues of their trendy enthusiasms. Putin won the presidency of Russia. If you strip away the myriad claims of vote rigging, ballot stuffing etc he would still have won 50% of the vote. If you discount the votes of conscripts, convicts and the inhabitants of mental health institutions he would still have the biggest vote of all the presidential candidates and would have won in a second round.
The vocal protestors which mustered up to 100,000 people at their peak are still a tiny proportion of Russia’s 142 million population.
As a leading foreign equity strategist told me the other day, “Exxon, Nestle and Pepsi don’t rely on the newspapers to guide their investment decisions on Russia. They have their own massive offices and networks in Russia that far outnumber the news bureau of the leading western media.”
“Police fired teargas and water cannon Saturday as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital to demand sweeping electoral reforms.
“The otherwise peaceful rally was disrupted when hundreds of protesters pushed aside barricades and were met with teargas and chemical-laced water.
“Police spokesman said at least 222 people were arrested but expected the figure to rise.
It is curious that the BBC reported that members of A Just Russia party walked out of the Russian parliament after a speech by President-elect Vladimir Putin which called for political unity. The walkout by A Just Russia came after Mr Putin said Oleg Shein, the party's mayoral candidate in the city of Astrakhan, should have gone to court before launching a hunger strike.
Fueled by a multinational campaign by William Browder, the American-born British founder of Hermitage Capital investment fund for whom Magnitsky worked, the case continues to dog Russia’s relations with Europe and the United States.
This week the BBC said of Magnitsky, “His high-profile death at the age of 37 was taken up by human rights groups as one of the most glaring examples of corruption and prison abuse in modern Russia.