Just as the far left is stuck in the Vietnam era, many on the right are stuck in the Cold War era. How else to explain all the hand wringing today (especially on Fox News) that Russia is holding elections today! There are folks in the opposition who are going to lose badly, and are planning and funding efforts for a coup d’etat, yet these overt calls to overturn the democratic process go unreported while Putin and his successes become some weird conspiracy theory that the Soviet Union thuggery is back.

First off, Putin’s party is winning because he purged the country of their real “Enrons”, the oligarchs who were stealing the riches of the country and destroying everyone else’s savings and lives. Putin also stopped pleading with the West and started to make demands as an equal – which Russia is in many ways. The result is Russians are financially much better off than when they were under Yeltsin and are standing up for their own interests on the national stage. And this positive turn of events in Russia is paying off at the ballot box today:

Russians voted Sunday in a parliamentary election in which the only question was whether President Vladimir Putin’s party would win merely a strong majority of seats or a crushing share.

The election followed months of increasingly acidic rhetoric against the West and efforts to stifle opponents, by law and by truncheon.

A huge win for Putin’s United Russia party could pave the way for him to stay at the country’s helm once his presidential term expires this spring. The party casts the election as essentially a referendum on Putin’s nearly eight years in office. Many of its campaign banners that festoon the capital read “Moscow is voting for Putin.”

The tycoon refused to rule out violence, but insisted the Kremlin would be responsible.

“It’s impossible to exclude (violence) in Russia. But the responsibility for this violence is the responsibility of government, as is all the time when the people go to the streets.”

Putin has said he would step down when his term ends and I see no reason why he won’t. I wonder when all the apologies will be coming when he does honor the constitution and let the next President take over. These claims of Putin setting up for a dictatorship is the same crap we hear about Bush and Cheney working to remain in power after 2008. It is mindless dribble.

But don’t take my word for it. This is what Reagan’s ally in ending the Cold War – Gorbachev – says about Putin:

Of course I did not avoid questions about my country, and there were many. Here are some of them:

Q: Do you agree with those who believe that during the presidency of Vladimir Putin there has been a retreat from democracy to an authoritarian system?

A: I disagree. Following the chaos of the 1990s it was vitally important to consolidate the powers of the state, to prevent its disintegration.

…

I see nothing wrong in Putin’s desire to influence the course of events in Russia. Like any citizen, he is fully entitled to it, all the more so since the country owes him a great deal and he earned the support he enjoys.

His decision not to run for president is not a popular one. Had he decided to change or circumvent the Constitution, a majority would have supported and reelected him.

I think he has shown wisdom and courage. Russia will need his experience in addressing the challenges of modernization and continued democratization.

For all those conspiracy nuts stuck in the Cold War note this point – if Putin wanted to he could LEGALLY have pushed to extend his term. He is that popular. But he hasn’t and probably will not. Gorbachev is admired in the West for bringing Russia out of the darkness of communism. I seriously doubt he is now willing to let Russia fall back into that darkness.

With that said, there are Oligarchs willing to used an armed insurgency to circumvent the democratic process, which would of course return Russia to oppressive authoritarian rule:

Berezovsky said Putin had violated the constitution and therefore his ouster was legitimate — and forecast a possible uprising like Ukraine’s Orange Revolution between elections in December and March.

“I don’t fund parties which are openly presented on the Russian political scene because it’s absolutely useless, but I (fund) people who are underground and that are trying to fight against the regime,” he told reporters.

“They are doing what underground movements all around the world are doing, they prepare people to go to the streets, to fight, to use force power against a criminal government.”
He said such an uprising could come after parliamentary elections on December 2 and before presidential polls three months later.

“I think it will be very dangerous months for Russia,” he said.
Asked when such an underground movement could emerge onto the streets, he added: “I don’t think it can work before parliament election, but it can work between parliament elections and presidential election.”

Picture this scenario where a French exile in the UK openly calls for the overthrow of France’s government, or a UK exile in France calling for the overthrow of the UK government. Yet this man is the darling of the West and liberal media (and some say an ally of UK foreign intelligence). When did the West provide sanctuary to those who call for the overthrow of democracies? Putin is popular – it is time deal with the fact he and his policies are preferred in Russia and our own views, as foreigners, are irrelevant.