Over the weekend, Vladimir Putin announced his intention to run for president of Russia in 2012, which he will assuredly win because United Russia will almost certainly win sixty percent of the vote, at least. I come as a man of mixed feelings to this news.
As a democracy advocate, I’m saddened that United Russia through Putin-Medvedev has been able to retain power in such a manor through high tresholds and outright exclusion of opposition parties. However, the Russian people seem to like Mr. Putin and his policies and honestly looking at the American government at the moment, I got no right to complain.
There is a good side to the continuation of Putin policies in Russia. Russia has a wide range of politicians that express a range of views including many rabid nationalists. Although not a tremendous fan of Putin, I am wise enough to understand that Putin has specific policies and that although they are not exactly Western friendly in some cases, they are at least tolerable. This is more than I can say for some of his rivals. Besides as long as most Russians don’t mind politics this way, who am I as an outsider to judge?
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