Carnegie Moscow Center
Although Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is aware of the serious problems facing Russia, his address to the State Duma ignored Russia’s existing challenges and instead offered grand promises for the future with the apparent aim of positioning himself for the 2012 presidential elections.
The regime of personalized power that Russians have grown accustomed to is at risk of collapse. The People’s Freedom Party “For Russia Without Arbitrariness and Corruption” aims to play a role in helping change Russian politics through legitimate means.
The most likely reason that Russians have not risen up in a revolution like the people in Egypt is not the Kremlin’s tight grip on power, but rather the fact that there is no widespread popular demand for democracy in Russia.
Russia faces a range of challenges as it attempts to modernize and effectively use its power on the global stage in the coming decade.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s announcement of new initiatives for improving the investment climate in Russia and reducing corruption demonstrates his readiness to run for a second term.
Moscow's position on military intervention in Libya plays into Russia's foreign policy focus on modernization and cooperation with Western Europe and the United States and is likely to be a factor in the upcoming 2012 presidential elections.
Public confidence in Russia's ruling tandem has plummeted to record lows, and a majority now believes their country is headed in the wrong direction. The country needs reform, but it may be too late for the system to save itself.
Both the electoral system and the party system in Russia are in deep crisis; the political parties are not ready for a change in the relationship between the government and its people and are unable to position themselves to aid cooperation between the authorities and Russian citizens.
Putin’s Russia—which raised living standards, increased political apathy, and led to sovereign democracy—is over. As parliamentary and presidential elections approach, long-simmering social, economic, and political disputes are spilling into the open, and public politics are returning to the fore.
Russia’s economic performance exceeded expectations in 2010, but inflation continues to worry policy makers. While they are attempting to curb rising prices, they are avoiding other necessary reforms for fear of inciting protests as elections approach.