article link
On Monday, Russia's highest court, the Constitutional Court, ruled that is was lawful for President Vladimir Putin to ignore term limits and stay in power through 2036, and possibly through life. The previous law had a two consecutive term limit with each term lasing 6 years. Putin has been in power since 2000 (President: 2000 - 2008, 2012 - Present, Prime Minister: 2008 - 2012) and the next election will be in 2024. The court had previously ruled in 1998 that their first democratically elected president Boris Yeltsin could not ignore term limits, yet are now allowing Putin to run for two more six year terms. This was passed despite thousands of Russians signing a petition urging judges to not pass this amendment. Both houses of parliament and regional parliament have quickly signed the new amendment. This ruling by the court has shown the power Putin has over the judicial system and Russia as a whole and greatly limits the freedom and democracy of Russian citizens.
Questions:
1. What is your reaction to Putin possibly being in power for the rest of his life?
2. What does this mean for democracy in Russia?
3. What affect do you think this move will have on Russia's foreign affairs?
I don't want to say that democracy shouldn't exist in Russia, but they hardly have any informed voters anyway. Even with a truly democratic election, voters are influenced by propaganda and would probably vote for Putin anyway. Democracy may have disappeared, but did it really exist in the first place? As for foreign affairs, Russia, and Putin in particular, has been a thorn in the side of many countries including the US. However, even since taking power in 2000, nothing truly terrible has happened. With Putin, I feel that we have a strange sense of predictability. At least we know how he is and how to deal with him.
ReplyDeleteAll the power to him. I don't want to say that dictatorship is a good thing, but I do believe that having an uniform global democracy is a bit bland. It reminds me too much of the Federation from Star Trek, tantalizing yet prosaic. As much as we like to believe in the unfailing righteousness of our Western perspective, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the meek do not inherit the earth. Fortune favors the bold, and when some democratic leader comes around, rallies popular support, and avoids accidentally ingesting polonium or shooting himself in the back of the head, then long may he reign. I don't think this will affect foreign affairs: the people who are eager to censure Putin will continue doing so, and those who have found prosperity with Putin in power certainly won't mind the status quo. Does our president mind Putin in perpetuity?
ReplyDeleteIn theory, Russia may appear to have a democracy but in practice, I don't believe Russia is one. If Putin is able to serve as president and simply ignore term limits despite the fact that thousands of Russian citizens signed a petition advocating for term limits, then is Russia even a democracy? It seems like Putin is able to just do whatever he wants which to me seems more like a dictatorship than a democracy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of Justin's points. I'm not going to compare global politics to a sitcom, but... okay, who am I kidding, I'm totally going to do that. It's always the same thing anyways, the champions of democracy conflict with more middle eastern countries, Japan, China, and Korea argue, etc. etc. Even if Putin had term limits, what happens when they end? Are Russian voters rallying behind anyone else right now? The only thing that affects foreign affairs is change, and I don't see much changing right now.
ReplyDeleteLike many others have said, there practically is no democracy in Russia anymore—it’s more or less just for show now. Like Justin pointed out, even if elections were not predetermined, there is the chance of elections panning out the same way because of propaganda and other influences. I do not think foreign affairs will change much because people know what to expect from Putin, and these relationships have already been established.
ReplyDeletePutin possibly being in power for the rest of his life is largely undemocratic, but with the state of democracy that Russia is in right now, it is not a surprise he was able to get the amendment to pass. As stated previously, Russia's democratic system isn't really democratic, and with the end of term limits, I do not see a very bright future for democracy in Russia. In regards to foreign affairs, this might put democratic countries more on edge as they see Russia turning more away from a democratic government.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this ruling may be a sign of conflict between Russia's executive branch and citizens. With Putin's approval ratings gradually declining from 85 percent in 2008 all the way to 69 percent in 2020, higher government officials may be trying to secure Putin's presidency with an iron hand against the interests of the people, who have already voiced their concerns through petitions and threats. This is a not only an utilitarian measure, but also a symbolic one that goes against democratic values. That being said, Putin's approval is still above 50 percent, and regardless of this ruling, Putin could still stay in power for a long time due incumbency advantages and government corruption. Regarding foreign affairs, I do not think this will significantly affect Russia-U.S. relations in the short run, given the relatively positive relationship between the current presidents. In the long run, it might lead to increased sanctions and tariffs, as seen in recent kerfuffles between democratic and not-so-democratic countries.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.statista.com/statistics/896181/putin-approval-rating-russia/
The abuse of political power has been a serious issue in Russia in recent years, and this Court ruling will likely continue that trend, possibly allowing Putin to declare himself a President for life one 6 year term at a time. This pattern,as scary and undemocratic as it is, has unfortunately been the reality for Russians for some time now. Just two years ago during the last presidential election, Putin won an overwhelming majority of 74% of the vote, but the election was found to be far from legitimate due to Russian interference (much like another country's election). In this case, not only was the main opposition leader barred from the race, but video recordings from many polling locations showed election officials stuffing boxes with ballot papers.
ReplyDeleteI think that we can now all agree that democracy in Russia is officially dead. They had a good run during the 1990s but that period is over. This move should surprise nobody. Putin has been turning himself into a dictator since the day he got into power. As a result I doubt that this will change Russia's foreign policy. They will continue doing the same things they always did.
ReplyDeleteThis didn't surprise me in the slightest. Democracy doesn't exist in Russia, we know this. Putin is going to be president forever. I don't think it will change Russia's foreign affairs much, if anything it solidifies their geopolitics as is. Because Putin remains in charge, not much will change.
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all surprised about this vote, or about Putin being in power for the rest of his life. It's a shame this story is being lost in the shuffle of the coronavirus panic, but I'm not surprised about the actual story itself. As to the impact on Russian democracy, I think the impact will be minimal because Russia didn't really have a democracy to begin with. The same goes for the impact on Russia's foreign affairs: Putin being in complete power has been the way of things long before this vote, so I believe the impact will be negligible.
ReplyDeleteAriela Leventhal
DeleteTo be honest, it's not that surprising, especially given how dictators across the world such as China's have been taking steps to guarantee lifetime rule. This may actually just be due to me living under a rock, but it seems like what Putin does hasn't actually affected global matters too greatly, except where elections were concerned. I'm not saying that it's not a bad thing, but at least it's predictable, and perhaps future leaders of our country can better react.
ReplyDeletePeople who are in power do not want to decrease or lose their power, especially one such as Putin who has held on to power for so long. It is not surprising at all Putin would want to pass a bill that puts him in power for the rest of his life. He has power over so much in Russia, that he can easily do this without much resistance.
ReplyDeleteBased on this new information, it does not seem like there is going to be a democracy in Russia anymore. Considering that the petitioners were against this and the officials ignored them, something suspicious seems to be arising in my opinion. I do not understand how almost unanimously every member of parliament agreed to pass this bill that would allow Putin to say in power potentially for the rest of his life. I’m not sure how this is going to affect Russia’s foreign policy but I suspect they will continue with the trend they are on, and potentially Putin may open a few more relationships.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it is not that surprising that Putin has enough political power to secure his position in Russia’s government for life. As previously mentioned, Russia never really had a true democratic government, but this new bill definitely reveals how tyrannical their government really is. I don’t think that foreign affairs will change dramatically since Putin has been in power for a long time already.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone has said, it is clear that Russia is no longer going to be a democracy. I am unsure what type of power Putin has that has parliament wrapped around his finger. I think that this will negatively affect Russia's foreign affairs because of the questionable power.
ReplyDeleteIt is honestly frightening to imagine Putin being in power for the rest of his life. Anyone with that much power should scare anyone who values democracy and liberty. This situation is especially disturbing considering Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, and Putin's close relationship with Trump. Others have mentioned that Russia has never really been a democracy, but it's still very unfortunate that any previous semblance of democracy is now completely gone.
ReplyDeleteBy going back on their earlier judgment with Boris Yeltsin, I think there will a considerable amount of public sentiment. I believe this will cause stagnation in the development of relations and policies for Russia, whether good or bad. For those who like Putin, things should remain good, but the opposite also applies. For those who dislike him or those countries who have poor relations with Russia because of him, things will likely not improve. Term limits were enforced partly to avoid stagnation of this type, so I am curious as to why they decided against their prior judgment. It makes me wonder if there is any corruption in government involved. Putin is not as autocratic as some previous rulers, so this is not as concerning. However, it does raise some questions, and not just from Russians.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the comments above and am not surprised that Putin is going to remain in power for the rest of his life. Russia is not really a democracy considering that even though thousands of their citizens signed a petition against this, their government is not heeding to their people's needs or wants. I think that Putin is just trying to keep his power for as long as he can and seeing that both parliaments are accommodating this just shows how much control he has over them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Putin being in power for the rest of his life is Russia's first step to losing hold of their democracy. This has the hallmarks of a rising dictatorship in which the Russians are subject to Putin's every whim. I do not think that this will affect Russia's foreign affairs much an everyone is already used to Putin being in power and so things will likely continue as they were for most countries. However, there are some countries like the U.S. that will be averse to keeping relations with a country that has a dictator and so this could start another Cold War.
ReplyDeleteA leader being in power for life is not unprecedented at all, so it depends on whether Putin is able to lead his country well. One thing this does signify is that Russia's democracy is somewhat of a token democracy, like China's, and doesn't bode well for Putin's ability to be a gracious and wise leader if he does serve indefinitely. I think this will also strain relationships with democratic nations, who could fear Russia is trending back to a dictatorship.
ReplyDelete