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Russian Elections

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
Looks like that nobjockey's in again.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's a fix.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »
    It's a fix.

    That doesnt sound like the Russian way at all. :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Looks like that nobjockey's in again.

    I presume your term 'nobjockey', is just an endearing term for an 'upper class horse rider'? :p;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Seems like it. But then we all knew that beforehand, didn't we? Hmm, what's worse? A democracy that's fixed, or a dictator who's upfront about it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Democracy never really took hold did it, and lets face it for some Russians they havent ever had it this good, the country is awash with oil and gas money. Its a shame that the poor continue to be poor and there is almost total control of the democratic process by the Kremlin. Oh and there is widespread state censorship and control of all TV broadcasts.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    Democracy never really took hold did it, and lets face it for some Russians they havent ever had it this good, the country is awash with oil and gas money. Its a shame that the poor continue to be poor and there is almost total control of the democratic process by the Kremlin. Oh and there is widespread state censorship and control of all TV broadcasts.
    I'm just amazed that all the channels haven't been renamed Putin TV yet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go pick up my copy of the Daily Kremlin...

    Seriously, I never thought I'd say this, but you're spot on. With Boris Yeltsin around, democracy never stood a serious chance of survival. How could it, with a bumbling man who seemed to spend half his time dancing? (and very badly at that) And now, we've got Vladimir Putin, a man who recently allowed a half-naked picture of him to be circulated.

    Mind you, I reckon that might have helped him with the female vote. Just pray to God that Gordon Brown, whenever he has the guts to call an election, doesn't do the same. :nervous:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And of course there is the feeling that Russians want a strong leader, want someone who is the tough man.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    And of course there is the feeling that Russians want a strong leader, want someone who is the tough man.
    Well, we could do with a strong leader here too. Unfortunately, we're out of luck. Our Prime Minister is so bad at the job that I now want to start a campaign to see Tony Blair re-installed at No. 10 Downing Street. Our main opposition leader is an old Etonian who managed to lose £1billion whilst he worked at Carlton. (anyone remember ITV Digital?) And our third party changes leader once every five minutes.

    Ultimately however, the Russians were happy enough with their current leader, so they let him carry on in the job. He must be doing something right. He appears to be fairly popular in Russia itself, (I think his long-stated opposition to the Iraq war has helped him win votes to no end) so that makes it difficult to work out how much vote-rigging has actually gone on.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I actually prefer a weak leader. They're more accountable to the people who vote for them (or at the very least, The Sun).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    "US urges inquiry into Putin election landslide

    The US has called for an investigation into claims of vote-rigging after President Vladimir Putin's party swept to a landslide victory in Russia."


    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/03/wrussia203.xml

    Oh the irony! It's killing me!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote: »
    I'm just amazed that all the channels haven't been renamed Putin TV yet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go pick up my copy of the Daily Kremlin...

    Seriously, I never thought I'd say this, but you're spot on. With Boris Yeltsin around, democracy never stood a serious chance of survival. How could it, with a bumbling man who seemed to spend half his time dancing?
    :


    l_42a42818ee5edc799016158af00ce976.gif
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Rigged? Maybe. But given the overwhelming (and genuine I hasten to add) support Putin enjoys I'm sure that even 100% fair and transparent elections would have yielded the same result. It's just getting so much coverage because the United States of the BBC (and the US and the UK) don't want Putin anywhere near power because under him, Russia hasn't been at the whim of the West as it was under Yeltsin and Gorbachev. Mother Russia has money, oil and power and naturally, if you're an imperialist superpower, the last thing you want is another one challenging your position; especially one that posesses so many commodities you value so highly.

    Under Putin, like Budda says, most Russians have never had it so good. Yes there are serious problems but show me a country where there aren't. Russia's advantage is, at least in theory, it's never been better equipped to deal with those problems than under Putin.

    Also as Budda says, Russia needs a strong leader. It's no coincidence that pretty much without exception through history, she has been at her most prosperous under a strong helm and rendered totally impotent under weak leaders.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Under Putin, like Budda says, most Russians have never had it so good.

    He never said that at all. He said some Russians have never had it so good. I assume he's referring to the billionaires living off Russia's oil money. He also goes on to say that the poor continued to be poor. You can't buy a wife from anywhere other than a country poor people are desperate to leave. :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mother Russia


    What am I missing - what's maternal about Russia?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is it not just bad rhyming slang?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Under Putin, like Budda says, most Russians have never had it so good. Yes there are serious problems but show me a country where there aren't. Russia's advantage is, at least in theory, it's never been better equipped to deal with those problems than under Putin.

    Also as Budda says, Russia needs a strong leader. It's no coincidence that pretty much without exception through history, she has been at her most prosperous under a strong helm and rendered totally impotent under weak leaders.

    In a strange way you might be right, granted they are living is a quasi-dictatorship, but if there is food on the table and a job to go to most people dont really care.

    But - its not good for a lot of people (the Chechens for example) and there are still lots of people who have next to nothing.

    And there is the whole censorship thing, the murders of journalists and protestors, the banning of any protests, the murdering of dissidents.

    Its a mixed bag, and for those who keep their head down and do ok I can see why they like him. What concerns me is that it is heading more and more towards a dictatorship, which are never good in the long run.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Rigged? Maybe. But given the overwhelming (and genuine I hasten to add) support Putin enjoys I'm sure that even 100% fair and transparent elections would have yielded the same result. It's just getting so much coverage because the United States of the BBC (and the US and the UK) don't want Putin anywhere near power because under him, Russia hasn't been at the whim of the West as it was under Yeltsin and Gorbachev. Mother Russia has money, oil and power and naturally, if you're an imperialist superpower, the last thing you want is another one challenging your position; especially one that posesses so many commodities you value so highly.

    Under Putin, like Budda says, most Russians have never had it so good. Yes there are serious problems but show me a country where there aren't. Russia's advantage is, at least in theory, it's never been better equipped to deal with those problems than under Putin.

    Also as Budda says, Russia needs a strong leader. It's no coincidence that pretty much without exception through history, she has been at her most prosperous under a strong helm and rendered totally impotent under weak leaders.

    what i don't get is that it didn't need to be unfair, he probably would of won massively anyway :chin: unless he is planning to put through some major constitutional changes, which of course are in the pipeline now

    reminds me of nixon, from what i've read around the time he probably would of won anyway, without all the problems that watergate bought about
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Also as Budda says, Russia needs a strong leader. It's no coincidence that pretty much without exception through history, she has been at her most prosperous under a strong helm and rendered totally impotent under weak leaders.
    I'd suggest one reason for that is geographical. Russia is by far the largest country in the world, although it doesn't have the biggest population. You'd need a strong leader to rule over such a massive country.

    Some people raise the issue of Chechnya here. There's no doubt that this needs to be resolved one way or another, but I don't see Putin in any rush to sort it out just yet.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Seen at b3ta...




    russian-elections3.gif


    :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    reminds me of nixon, from what i've read around the time he probably would of won anyway, without all the problems that watergate bought about

    Nixon beat McGoven like a gong, there was no need for Watergate at all - but then if he'd just burnt the tapes when they were first brought up he would have gotten clean away with it. He was either too arrogant or too stupid to do so.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote: »
    Nixon beat McGoven like a gong, there was no need for Watergate at all - but then if he'd just burnt the tapes when they were first brought up he would have gotten clean away with it. He was either too arrogant or too stupid to do so.

    exactly, in russia they jut done it to make sure - in the long run it will work against them though, sometimes people have to go through shitcreek to see what they've allowed...

    didn't know this but in russia these days there's 40% more FSB on the streets per citizen than when the USSR was about
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,875,648 The Mix Honorary Guru
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    2087098514_973f60d313.jpg

    2087081136_0bf5d9ca4d.jpg
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