Leftist parties (socialist and socdem) were doing so well in the Duma after the collapse of the USSR and the Russians got a taste of capitalism that Yeltsin - with the backing of the US - in a metaphorical but also very literal sense - attacked the legislative branch and consolidated all functional power in the executive. Again, with US backing. Putin is just using the levers of power than Yeltsin and Clinton handed to him.

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No, they wanted a comprador colony. They stopped getting that around 2008 so Russia is back to mortal enemy.

Actually, democracy is only valid when the vote margin is 0.1% in favor of the loser who loses on an idiosyncratic technicality of how votes are divided up and counted, and both candidates are less popular than a police precinct being burned down by protesters.

Whenever the government has popular approval that’s populism and is bad, actually. If ever you find yourself with too much public support you have to strategically triangulate towards your opponent and alienate your base to make the election fair and democratic.

Putin has an 86% approval rating in Russia

There’s a case that constant 51/49 polls are a sign that American democracy is faltering on a nechanical level.

Good ideas in politics should be widely understood. One would hope to see 70/30 or more splits on most issues coming to a direct vote.

Without the FPTP electoral model, everyone would have to play the coalition card, which would likely lead to majorities larger than 51/49 for most legislation. Of course, it’s also odd that even a two party systrm splits the country almost exactly evenly despite social shifts. It’s like looking at a trench war that’s been going on for 150 years. It’s almost like business likes and supports a government prone to rictus.

If there wasn’t so much cash floating in the system, it would be harder to coax the masses into voting against their own interests, again reducing the number of campaigns swung to a 51/49 outcome.

Putin is actually very popular, idk why people on the left can’t simply accept this fact, but every time stumble on some platitudes, the western political upbringing is showing. Yes, people are capable of voting en masse for not ideal candidate.

I remember reading somewhere that winning ~80% of the vote was evidence of a rigged election. The anglo skull volume is too pressurized to fit the idea of “popular government with policies the people want” inside it.

Acting like it’s not common practice in all western democracies to deny people from being listed on ballots due to bureaucratic technicalities. They all do it.

There are like 2 dozen candidates in the 2024 US general presidential election who will not be listed on any ballots for far less legitimate reasons. Candidates get dropped because they would make the list too long.

I’m pretty sure the average liberal thinks this was supposed to be an election between Navalny and Putin. That’s how misinformed they are.

You’re also right. Putin is massively popular in Russia at a level libs can’t seem to comprehend. The only major opposition he has involve the communists, but they mostly align with Putin’s foreign policy anyway. Most polls show Putin with a 85% approval rating and libs will always think numbers like that are unfair or fabricated.

“Sure whatever, now admit the state of democracy in your western country is about the same or worse and how that is the problem, Putin isn’t special.”

Hey wait but isn’t that almost a whataboutism??? CHECKMATE TANKIE

now admit the state of democracy in your western country is about the same or worse and how that is the problem, Putin isn’t special

Getting this through people’s skulls (in Russia too) is such a monstrous task, feels like a sysiphean labour

Slutsky lmao

For real. US elections are multi-year multi-billion dollar media extravaganzas managed by an army of consultants and media professionals

Well they had a real choice, several times, between Putin and a various copies of Yeltsin.

It’s honestly the best part of this war, the libs really go mask off over it.

Russia has spent all of their budget on the war, so they can no longer afford podium stands and speakers have to hold them up themselves.

there’s a thin black metal pole underneath it that’s camouflaged by Putin’s suit. You can see the contours of it if you squint

Replacing all your podiums with vending trays so that candidates can rove through the crowd and distribute snacks while speaking.

Same in Beijing.

Sky News did this with people queuing to vote at the Embassy in London. They found one person who said they were going to spoil their ballot in protest of Putin. They were the only person they got a quote from even though they went back to the street report twice.

I am reminded of Yanis Varoufakis’ story about German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble screaming at him that “elections can not be allowed to change economic policy!”

One of them is a senile baffoon who will most assuredly spell the end of the Republic if he is elected. The other is a throwback to the 1980s who is coasting entirely on name recognition. And the third is a failson without any credible leadership qualities, who simply runs because he doesn’t have anything better to do.

I am disturbed by the fact I can’t tell which one is which

even wikipedia has this about the observers:

On 14 March, delegations from 36 countries arrived in Russia at the invitation of the Russian Federation Council as foreign observers of the election, who in fact do not represent observer missions but a visitors’ programme.[121][122] On 17 March 2024, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC), Ella Pamfilova, announced that 1,115 international observers and experts from 129 countries were monitoring the electoral process.[123] They included Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan Sikandar Sultan Raja.[124]

so what the media is actually saying they need to have some kkkrackers there to “observe”

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