Russia’s Elections Are Over Before They Begin

Russia’s elections for the State Duma, the country’s parliament, end today. Yet the winner was clear even before the voting began, because the chamber consists almost entirely of Putin and war supporters, after nationwide participation by the country’s only openly anti-war party was blocked.

That is why the most interesting thing about the election is not its outcome but what happens at noon today. Russia’s opposition has urged people to vote at precisely that time, in the hope of creating crowds at polling stations.

The possible crowds are, of course, of no significance in themselves. But their size could provide an indication of the level of support for the opposition — or at least of how many of its supporters have the courage to publicly express a political opinion against the regime. Even that, however, has little significance beyond perhaps causing some irritation to Putin — assuming anyone dares to tell him about it.

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The State Duma itself has an interesting history. Its first incarnation was created after Russia suffered defeat by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. The defeat was a tremendous humiliation for the Russians, as it was the first time a European great power had lost a war to an Asian state.

The defeat contributed to the revolution that broke out in Russia. As a result, the tsar’s absolute power was curtailed and a representative assembly, the Duma, was established. At the time, however, only a small proportion of Russians were allowed to take part in its elections. The impact of the lost war also extended to Finland, where the first Red Guards were established, the first Russification period came to an end, and Finland — then a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire — gained a unicameral parliament.

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There was no need for a Duma during the Soviet Union, but it was re-established in 1993, during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. It serves as the legislative body of the Russian Federation, responsible for passing federal laws as well as exercising parliamentary oversight over the government and other state institutions.

In practice, the Duma’s significance has dwindled to almost nothing under Vladimir Putin, and it has become more of a false façade for his dictatorship: it looks like democracy, but in reality it is merely a dictator’s rubber stamp. If even that.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Putin's Growing Crisis in Ukraine and an Uncertain Endgame for Russia
Independence and the Sword of Damocles
Is President Putin on his way to repeat the destiny of Czar Nicholas II?

Pedro Sánchez Sides with Europe's Fifth Column on Russia

In the last century, it was quite natural for the political left in Western countries to form a fifth column in support of the Soviet Union. After all, socialists and communists shared a common worldview based on the philosophy outlined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

However, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and as a result, a large number of more or less democratic, non-socialist states emerged in the area of the former socialist superpower. The largest of these was Russia, whose new leader, Boris Yeltsin, together with his administration, began to steer the country toward a market economy system, which had proven to be vastly superior to the socialist planned economy.

At the time, there was also a belief that the previously divided world would unite, and that its eastern part would develop toward a Western-style welfare state. There was even talk of “the end of history.”

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As I wrote yesterday, Finland has decided to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty on anti-personnel mines. The decision was made with an overwhelming majority, but most of the current far left voted against it. This is largely the same group that has opposed measures aimed at preventing Russia from exploiting asylum seekers as part of its hybrid warfare.

In Spain, the country is governed by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He, too, appears to be siding with Russia by asking NATO to exempt Spain from raising its defense spending to five percent of its gross domestic product.

Behind this may be Sánchez’s calculation that Spain, being far from Russia’s border, is not in danger—even if Vladimir Putin’s army were to cross the border into the territory of the European Union. Or perhaps, like the Finnish far left, he is simply unable to recognize the threat that the heir of the former Soviet Union poses to the West.

In any case, it is clear that Ukraine’s harsh fate as the target of Putin’s imperialist aggression has taught nothing to the socialists in Finland and Spain. That is why they form an ideological fifth column within the European Union.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the socialists in other EU countries will also display a similar nostalgic sympathy toward Putin’s Russia as the left in Finland and Spain. And, of course, how NATO and U.S. President Donald Trump—who originally set the five percent target—will respond to the situation.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Finland Decides to Withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty — But What Business Is It of Guterres?
Ukraine’s Former Foreign Minister Warns Against Another 1939
Should Finland Heed the Warnings of a Left-Wing Idealist?