Elections in Russia, 2018: Managed Democracy?
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1574 ... March 22, 2018
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Elections in Russia, 2018: Managed Democracy?
David Mandel
This article examines the bases of popular support for recently re-elected Russian president Vladimir Putin. Although this support is strenuously "cultivated" by the regime by various illicit means, it nevertheless has a genuine basis that needs to be understood by people on the left who are trying to develop an enlightened position in the escalating confrontation between the "West" and Russia.
Putin's speeches during his brief electoral campaign did not point to any major changes in domestic and foreign policies. In the international realm, one can expect the continued degradation of relations with the "West," for which the West is largely responsible. One can also suppose that there will be a significant effort made to prepare... Putin's succession after 24 years in power (starting in 1998 as Security Director to the end of his current presidency in 2022). However, his leaving power is not certain in a system where personal relations of corruption play an important role.
Some spokespersons for the regime have themselves described it as a "managed democracy." This is a regime that is somewhere between a classic dictatorship (one that tolerates no organized and public opposition) and a capitalist democracy that does tolerate political liberties (but in which the interests of the dominant class are guaranteed by means other than brutal repression). "Managed democracy" tolerates political freedoms, but only to the degree they do not present a serious threat to the continuity in power of the political élite.
