Russian democracy news stories on Newser

All Signs Point to Runaway Election Fraud in Russia

Polly Davis Doig — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:55:00 CST

The bad news just keeps rolling in for Pooty-Poot: The Wall Street Journal took a long, hard look at Russia's Dec. 4 elections and finds solid indicators of major, widespread, in-your-face fraud—by one measure, casting doubt on some 14 million of the 65.7 million votes purportedly cast. Seems...

Medvedev Rips 'Provocateurs, Extremists'

Mark Russell — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:34:17 CST

Outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev used his final state-of-the-nation address today to offer reforms in the wake of the massive protests and upheaval that have gripped the country since the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections , but he also railed against the "provocateurs and extremists" who threaten stability, reports the AP . Russia...

Putin's Party Walloped in Russian Vote

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:34:58 CST

Vladimir Putin's grand plans to be Russia's next president may have hit a snag: The PM's United Russia party suffered a major setback in parliamentary elections held today, reports Reuters , securing only 48.5% of the vote amid allegations of widespread voter fraud. That marks a significant drop from the...

Putin Officially Running for Prez

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:51:59 CST

Vladimir Putin has decided that he'd like to be Russia's top dog again, so his United Russia party today obliged him by formally nominating him to run for president in March's elections. Pooty-poot, who has relegated himself to the No. 2 prime minister job since 2008, has vowed to make...

Tyrant Putin's Return Bad News

Kevin Spak — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:52:05 CDT

The editors of the Washington Post congratulated Vladimir Putin today “on his exciting, come-from-behind victory to become Russia’s next president ,” won after a brilliant and moving electoral campaign. “Oh, no, wait. That’s not how things work in Russia today. Actually, the story is simpler: Vladimir Putin decided that he would...

Russian Opposition Party Barred From Elections

Mark Russell — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:21:05 CDT

Multiparty democracy continues to be a tad elusive in modern Russia, at least according to opposition leaders who had their application to register a new political party turned down by the Justice Ministry today, effectively banning them from participating in coming elections, reports the AP . The Justice Ministry provided several...

McCain Takes Hard Line on Putin's Russia

Jason Farago — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:35:04 CDT

John McCain says he favors expelling Russia from the G8 and forming a "league of democracies" to confront Moscow about rights abuses. The Republican candidate has fallen in with hard-line advisers, spurning pragmatists who favor dialogue and taking a tougher approach than his Democratic rivals. As Dmitry Medvedev prepares to...

Gorbachev Goes Easy on Putin, for Now

Wesley Oliver — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:13:46 CST

Gorbachev remains pals with Putin, even as the Russian prez pares back reforms that Gorbachev holds dear, the Wall Street Journal reports. The former leader reserves his blame for the Kremlin, and spares Putin, calling him "a very normal person"—even after Moscow shut down Gorbachev's political party and muffled...

Putin Rips West's 'Dirty Tricks'

Rob Quinn — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:26:38 CST

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a crowd of cheering supporters that opponents of his United Russia party are in the pay of foreign governments bent on weakening the nation, reports the Times of London. He ripped opponents as "jackals" who "slink through foreign embassies" and learn from "Western experts." United...