Russian President Vladimir Putin has found it “expedient” to make
changes in the Russian system of government, which will weaken regional
governments while substantially increasing his own power, according to
official Russian sources.
“This (new law) will mean that we live in one strong country and in
one state — Russia,” Putin declared.
Putin enjoys wide support in his move to further centralize power in
Moscow. “For the first time there are no serious differences on (this)
significant issue,” the Russian president boasted. “This is the rule of
law,” Putin said, invoking a phrase similar to that used recently by
U.S. President Bill Clinton justifying his own government’s questionable
actions in the Elian Gonzalez case.
The Voice of Russia World Service, the official broadcasting service
of the Russian government, carried Putin’s remarks on the new measure.
The law, introduced May 18 in the Russian legislature and expected to
take effect by Dec. 1 this year, would give the Russian president power
to replace any regional leader and disband any parliament guilty of
enacting legislation “in violation of federal law.”
The speakers of both Houses of the Russian Parliament and “many
governors” support this new limitation on regional autonomy.
The measure quickly follows a presidential decree forming seven new
federal districts that are to oversee the Russian governors, and answer
directly to the Russian president.
Under this latest move, Putin has begun a flow of power back to the
central government, and reverses a trend toward decentralization that
started with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin has recently demonstrated his resolve to maintain his concept
of law and order with a police raid upon an opposition media group. The
May 11 raid upon the headquarters of the MOST media group is seen as
additional proof of Putin’s turn toward one-man rule.
Putin’s strategy of centralizing power is receiving wide support —
from Gennady Seleznev, communist speaker of the Duma (the lower house of
the Russian legislature) to Sergei Kiriyenko, former prime minister and
leader of the “opposition” group Union of Right Wing Forces.
Kiriyenko has just been named head of one of Putin’s newly formed
presidential districts.
Putin’s maneuvering for greater personal power follows similar moves
by governments across the expanse of the former Soviet Union. Most
recently, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma sought, and received, vastly
increased presidential power over the legislature.
Putin and Kuchma are following in the steps of neighboring
post-Soviet ruler, Belarusian President Alexander Lukasheko. Leaders
across Europe have condemned Lukashenko for his dictatorial methods,
human rights abuses, and a singularly unreformed (i.e., still Soviet)
Belarusian economy.
Lukashenko makes no secret of his admiration for Josef Stalin.
Putin and Kuchma recently joined with Alexander Lukashenko in a
symbolic display of unity during a solemn dedication of a WWII
battlefield. Russia and Belarus have developed the closest relations following the formation of a union state between the two eastern European nations. Ukraine, however, retains observer status in the union (as does, incidentally, Yugoslavia).
The anthem of the former Soviet Union today serves as the anthem of the Union of Russia and Belarus, and is sung at the Union’s parliamentary sessions.
As Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine grow closer, the presidents of these states are employing the same authoritarian tactics — methods reminiscent of an earlier, darker era.
The death of Obamaism, and the historic MAGA opportunity
Josh Hammer