President Vladimir

[smoltchanov]

Low 70s, though he could also be in the high 60s. Either way he will improve on his 2012 result

+100

[smoltchanov]

Between 72% and 77%. What a "democracy".

US counts it's "democracy period" since 1776. Russia - since 1991. Ask us 215 years from now, we may be more democratic then US))). In 1803 American democracy had a lot of it's own problems, and even slavery existed and was rather widespread)))

[smoltchanov]

Between 72% and 77%. What a "democracy".

US counts it's "democracy period" since 1776. Russia - since 1991. Ask us 215 years from now, we may be more democratic then US))). In 1803 American democracy had a lot of it's own problems, and even slavery existed and was rather widespread)))

Basicly only white men could vote in 1803 and I'd argue even then America's elections were freerer than the one Russia is holding now in 2018.

I would argue the opposite..

[smoltchanov]

I would argue that Russia's elections are actually mostly free. Why? Because they have very little reason to rig them. Western polling agencies found Putin just as popular as their Russian counterpart agencies did. He is insanely popular there. My entire family there adores him, and there are very few who actually dislike him. Russia has a culture of wanting a strongman who gets up in the face of their enemies and commands with an iron fist. Believe it or not, some cultures prefer other methods of governance besides democracy. It's almost all that they have ever known. Besides a few points during the Russian Revolution and its multiple short provisional governments, and perestroika (debatable), Russians have basically been under a strongman iron fist rule for as long as people remember. Its really hard and unappealing to stray from something that is basically all that you have ever known, and it takes a miracle and a radical event to actually even have a chance of sparking change. I do think today's election in Russia was real, just with an entirely different populace.

+100. Those of us, who prefer a Western-style democracy (like me), are in deep minority in Russia, and it will take a very considerable time for situation to change. Remember the election of late 1991, few month after unsuccessfull communist coup? It seemed, that everything favored the pro-western "Choice of Russia" electoral block, with Egor Gaidar as it's leader. And what a "surprise" it was, when Zhirinovsky's LDPR finished first with some votes to spare? For everyone, but Russians, who knew how popular is "patriotic populism" in Russia. and how unpopular is standard western liberalism...You can't break a million's voters habit in a short time. And it's these habits, that were used by Putin and his team later...

[smoltchanov]

The ironic thing is that both Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping are somewhat genuinely popular at home, although the extent that's due to various restrictions is hard to gauge.

As i said - Russians generally value "stability" over "liberty" (especially older generation, for which "there is no war" is a sufficient argument to reelect "tsar" indefinitely). Probably something similar (with even bigger "Eastern" mentality) in China. No surprises here. Again, as i said many times - it takes time to change it. A generation from now the differences will already be substantial, 2 generations - very much so. I like parallels with US Civil Rights movements: first decisions, undermining segregation (abolition of "whites only" primaries, and pro-civil rights plank in Democratic platform) were made in 1940th, but it took about 30 years for Civil Rights position be accepted (and - very grudgingly) by majority of the white southerners. And all this - despite general support of civil rights by federal government, very active Civil Rights movement, and so on. In Russia we don't have a support of central government for reforms now (unlike Gorbachev's period, for example), and fear of even theoretically possible repressions is still strong (especially among older generation, who heard from their fathers and mothers a recollections of Big Terror of 1937-38, and, generally, still remembers Stalin). It all takes time, you can't leap...

[smoltchanov]

Russia has a culture of wanting a strongman who gets up in the face of their enemies and commands with an iron fist.

I hear that often, but I'd rather say that people just don't see much value in democracy (although not opposed to it in principle) and would support anyone, strongman or not, who will bring order, stability and improvement of standards of living.

I mean us Americans also want someone who will bring about those things, but we are still very different.

Again - you have quite different history in 1776-1991 period. So, difference is only natural.