International Development

International Development in Eatern Europe: Visit this page for news, resources and opinions on International Development topics: economic, educational, health and environmental policies.

2/24/2004

News from Mother Russia
Eager Putin couldn't wait another month, when the people of Russia will officially re-elect him, to reorganize his government and in a surprise move yesterday the President of Russia sacked his government on national television. No, this isn't another profession of "controlled democracy", an euphemism used widely today to characterize Russia's shaky steps towards pluralistic society. The Russian President has a constitutional right to ask his government for resignation (although the Constitution doesn't stipulate that it has to be done on live TV). BBC reported that Putin's decision did not reflect on the government's performance, which was satisfactory "on the whole". The move is a preparation for the economic and political changes he will initiate after his re-election. I've always thought that Russians, although not religious, are very superstitious. Well, we can't really say that Putin is jumping the gun, with voter rating 80% and rising, his re-election is a sure thing.
Listen to NPR analysis

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home