Boogeyman: The Iron Grip of Vladimir Putin - McD - The Awkward Teenager Show

By: Duncan Stangel

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Unfree nations arise in one of two ways. They can either be authoritarian by design due to a coup d’etat, military rule, or absolute monarchy. Some nations like Myanmar, Burkina Faso, and Thailand fit this style of governance. The newer variety features free nations that have begun to “backslide” away from democracy and toward authoritarianism. Hungary, and today’s topic, the Russian Federation, were once democratic nations that have slipped toward totalitarianism. Russia has spent significant time in the spotlight due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, in addition to the various meddlings that appear every other week about some sort of mysterious scandal. More recently, it has been a potential permutation of what America’s future could look like.

Throughout its history, Russia has been a chameleon. Parts are considered Asian, while others are European. Some parts are cold, and others are temperate. And it has been ruled by every form of government ranging from absolute monarchy to communist dictatorship to democratic republic. Today, the government is dominated by one man: Vladimir Putin. His story as a spy turned political operative contributes to his mystique. Even after twenty years at the helm, he is a relative unknown beyond the few interviews he has given. His career means that little is understood about his work for the Soviet Union. While more is known about his later years in the public eye, controversies such as poisoning and imprisoning rivals and limiting democracy are safely-assumed truths.

Putin’s rise is fascinating because of the framework within which he operates. It is incredibly similar to the government we know (and sometimes love) in the US. There is a president that runs the military, makes treaties, and was limited to two terms. The legislature is bicameral, with the Duma and the Federation Council being the lower and upper houses respectively. There is an extensive court system, including both criminal and constitutional courts.

This system is incredibly common among democratic republics. And it can make someone wonder: How did a democracy backslide into a totalitarian state by the hand of one man? Upon taking office as President of the Russian Federation, Putin’s domination wasn’t assured. He still faced stiff opposition from many of the oligarchs who had made their fortunes by taking control of state-sponsored energy companies during privatization. While nothing can be traced directly to Putin, there was significant suspicion when many of these powerful business figures were charged with crimes such as “tax evasion” or “racketeering.” They were the kinds of vague corporate crimes used in the US to put away Al Capone. It wasn’t fully true, but it got them out of the way. Journalists and ex-government officials received worse treatment, often being poisoned or killed for releasing information. The radioactive isotope polonium-210 was used during the famous 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. British courts found that the order for this poisoning likely came from Putin himself.

Using any means necessary, Putin removed any potential adversary. Then, he began to take control of the media. Before Putin took office… “the early 1990s were an unprecedented time of cooperation between media and government, a kind of golden age of the Russian press,” says Maya Vinokour, assistant professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at NYU. “Gorbachev’s glasnost had opened the door to muckraking in the name of reform.” However, Putin’s tightening grip on power led to the government taking control of elements of the free press by removing the oligarchs. Almost as if Trump doctored a tax evasion charge for Rupert Murdoch and then purchased Fox.

By removing any potential opposition and seizing the press, Putin was now in control of the narrative and could decide what stories to report and what should be left in the shadows. Anyone who has watched the movie V for Vendetta understands that controlling the news means that outright lying to cloak true events is likely to become a regularity. In 2008, Putin led the founding of Rozkomnazdar, the Russian censorship agency that has shuttered many independent Russian newspapers with their own variation of “content strikes.” One of these is Novaya, one of the oldest papers in Russia, and noted by Vinokour to be one of the last ones standing. It was forced to close its doors indefinitely just last year. Control of the media has given Putin ample opportunity to move in the shadows and expand his own geopolitical interests.

Putin’s growing concentration of authority and perpetual government control (he has been president since 1999, except between 2008 and 2012 when his closest ally was in charge) have allowed him to begin tampering with mechanisms beyond those of civil liberties. First and foremost, Putin has controlled the elections in Russia through a variety of tampering practices since he came to power. It is a foregone conclusion that his party, United Russia, will win each and every election with no less than 50% of the vote. While protestors have attempted to vote for unsanctioned parties, instead of United Russia and the “approved opposition,” the votes are often uncounted, or overwhelmed by an influx of other votes of unknown origin. By controlling an individual’s ability to share their opinion, it is easier to control the flow of information from the media. That’s why Putin and his oligarchy have a vice grip on the country. No one is there to stop them.

Putin’s ability to manipulate the Russian government should have ended long ago. However, his ability to erode important government cogs like elections and free speech has made a lifetime dictatorship a likely possibility. Americans should be warned by what Putin has done. It only takes one savvy individual to call elections into question and determine what is okay and what isn’t. Eventually, democracy will be destroyed if enough time is spent actively doing so. The system will always be fragile, but it is up to elected leaders to buffer this fragility. When few of these leaders are present, democracy and the republic suffers. Russia isn’t an unfamiliar reality. It is the one we are heading toward.