Democracy gets in Putin's way? Goodbye Democracy.

Oligarchy/Cleptocracy is falling out of style...

Most of the people currently in power in Russia, and the other new "democracies" in Eastern Europe, are the same people...or the same type of people...who were in power during Soviet times. There is massive systemic corruption in these places. For two decades now there have been promises of change, but there hasn't been any change. This has made life intolerable for intelligent, hard working and ambitious people. So these election results are no big surprise.

Oh, and Putin's super macho PR bullshiat isn't going to help either. Putin really needs to hire some professional New York or London based PR people.

RexTalionis: thismomentinblackhistory: Vladimir Putin picked me up at 7:00 p.m. in a black Escalade and regaled me with stories of the Cold War as we sped through an underground tunnel in Moscow. In seemingly no time, we were at his palatial mansion on the Baltic Sea. He prepared me dinner, shirtless. I was so hungry. He had set out dozens of platters. After hours of cooking he emerged with a single plate of tapas: tiny sea scallops, perfectly seared. They must have been some kind of exotic scallop because they were purple. He stared into my eyes. It was getting uncomfortable.

It was then that I noticed there was a wedding taking place out on the beach. When I asked him about it, he said that he allowed weddings on his property to offset the costs of upkeep.

This is supposedly what Putin's home looks like.

[scrapetv.com image 600x387]



More like this

You people don't understand. Russia was attacked by everyone through the centuries so they need strong man and not democrazy
/Amerikantsy takije tupyje..

Putin...





Link

<b><a target="_blank" href="http://www.fark.com/comments/6788608/73463886#c73463886">Fissile </a>:</b> <i>Most of the people currently in power in Russia, and the other new "democracies" in Eastern Europe, are the same people...or the same type of people...who were in power during Soviet times. There is massive systemic corruption in these places. For two decades now there have been promises of change, but there hasn't been any change. This has made life intolerable for intelligent, hard working and ambitious people. So these election results are no big surprise.

Ignorant Rubbish.

This is true in some places - that is, Russia and Belarus. Otherwise, it's not the same. Ukranie for example has a terrible government, but it's not a government of the "same old" USSR mentality people - the current Ukraine government happens to be one of people who came of age during the post-USSR "bandit" period. The rest of go east of the Kurzon line (that is, out of the former USSR and into other parts of Eastern europe) and your idea that the people in charge are those who had power in soviet times is utterly laughable. We might not like the people always - Poland has chosen some stinkers, recently, but they are certainly not "communist era power brokers."

If you go into central asia, your comment is slightly more true - Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are two good examples But even there, power has shifted to people who can deliver natural resources to Russia. In that sense, the "true" leaders are the same russian kgb tied shiatbags that have always ruled the region, but the nominal leaders are not necessarily that.

but as far as eastern europe goes, well, no. you're just wrong.

Heard that the Communist Party was the next most popular party.
What the royal authoritarian fark Russia.

Meet the new boss...

Perhaps they could form a union. Create some republics and bind them together.

"This is supposedly what Putin's home looks like."

Is that his wife? I thought he recently upgraded to a new, improved model (Olympic gymnast half his age or something?)

Nice use of camo sweaters/pants on both of them though - lower the lights a bit and they will blend completely into that couch.

bigworld: [kprf.ru image 338x307]

Meet the new boss...

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24005106-putin-had-aff a irs-and-beat-wife-as-kgb-boss.do

At first I read it as ЗАСТАВЛЮ ВЕРНУТЬ УКРАИНУ!

Will Putin be able to carry out Stalinist-scale purges to shore up his voting base? The article mentioned that party officials in some of the regions that delivered fewer votes than required could be disciplined. Historically, that doesn't mean something like a smaller bonus.

Subby, this is for you:



Heh. Just farking with you.

/ But seriously, that was a groaner.

RexTalionis: This is supposedly what Putin's home looks like.

[scrapetv.com image 600x387]

Holy propaganda failure. +1, would LMFAO again.

This is progress and interesting to see Mededev say that his, and Putin's, party need to get their act together. If this was the US, Nancy Pelosi would just say that losing 77 seats in Congress was a triumph for the Dems and that their appeal is just becoming more discriminating.

Don't worry. There will be a miraculous swelling of support for Putin's party around the time of the next presidential elections.

Good for the Russians, they don't need the kleptocrats.

KarmicDisaster: Good for the Russians, they don't need the kleptocrats.

If they still want them, they can have some of ours.

Voter turnout at 146%?

Apparently there was a good bit of foul play going on.

KarmicDisaster: Good for the Russians, they don't need the kleptocrats.

Yeah, but what exactly are they replacing it with?

So, Zhirinovsky's LDPR gained again in the Duma. Huh.

In the summer of 1993, I interviewed him as part of what was going to be an honors thesis. Most sensible people told me there's no way that clown was going anywhere. Then came the fall of 1993, and the subsequent rise of the LDPR. Most sensible people told me then that their success was a flash in the pan, that they'd go away, and in a couple of years, nobody would remember them.

It's been an eighteen-year flash in the pan. Sometimes, I wish I would have finished that thesis.

RexTalionis: This is supposedly what Putin's home looks like.

Tan Scotchgard is the new black.

Russia needs to get their shiat together for theirs and our sakes. The pissing contest needs to end.

Perhaps there is some disputin' the Putin. At least his partisan politics :D

This is very surprising and encouraging. Given that the state runs the media over there, I thought that a Putin dictatorship was inevitable. Maybe there is some hope.

When even the Communist party is telling you the elections were rigged you may have a problem.

SPLITTERS!

/Dog's tongues. Otter's noses. Occelot spleens.

After hearing this, I'm investing in Polonium futures.

RexTalionis: This is supposedly what Putin's home looks like.

scrapetv.com


OMG... Putin stole my long-dead grandmother's living room! That bastard!

Welcome to democracy, comrades.

The people are willful, no?