Corruption

 In most countries people would raise their eyebrows, if the major of a large city was making his wife enormously rich by awarding her company large building contracts. In Russia corruption seem to a part of everyday life, so when this happens in Moscow it is not really a big surprise. This has been going on for quite a while and it has not been kept a secret.

Now the major, Jurij Luzjkovs has been fired by president Medvedev. So there must be some logic behind that this happens now. Speculations has arisen about a possible conflict between president Medvedev and prime minister Putin. In a Russia where mainstream media is not free and under heavy control it is logic that media was used to discredit Luzjkovs and to serve Medvedev's purposes. It is obvious that he has been corrupt, so nothing wrong there. But the way it has been handled does not tell a story of a true democratic society.

It is obvious that a conflict between Medvedev and and Luzjkovs, perhaps Putin is also involved somewhere. The first thing that comes to mind is some sort power struggle, where Luzjkovs may have some sort of power ambitions or has challenged the ruling duo. I guess the last thing is not yet said in this matter...

[Russia] [Corruption] [Democracy] Share on Facebook

...Medvedev and Putin

No surprises here, Medvedev won as expected and foreign power will surely come with critique regarding the election and the way it was carried out. With large companies forcing their employees to vote a certain way, media that is almost totally controlled by the ruling party and other pressure on the public to vote a certain way.

One can only wonder how loyal Medvedev will be to Putin and how long he will follow in his footsteps.

[Russia] [Election] [Putin] [Medvedev] [Democracy]

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And the winner is...

As opposed to the US election, which is still looks quite even and undecided, there is the Russian election. The outcome of the election has been clear for a long time, Medvedev will take over after Putin. After being ruled by the strong leader Putin, Russia has reclaimed some of its former glory, but also create large inequalities and a tightly controlled society.

The question is what will Putin do. It would be hard to believe that he would leave power; rather he would seek alternative position from which he can influence the outcome. Especially, since Medvedev is a long time coleague of Putin. Putin has created a growing economy with huge more or less state controlled corporations, such as Gazprom. The power structure he has created has several of his closest men in high positions, giving him an enormous power.

What will happen now after th election? Will anything change?

[Election] [Russia] [Putin]

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