Global Studies II

Unit II Russia
Russian Democracy Has Disappeared?
Clifford J. Levy, New York Times
1. What is human rights? According to the author, identify human
rights issues the current political regime in Russia have violated.
Human Rights are the basic morals and respect that every person is entitled
to regardless of religion or race or any factor that would make them different
form someone else. One instance of Russia violating human rights is when a
newspaper journalist, Mikhail Beketov, beaten senseless right outside of his
home and left to bleed in the snow. Today, he is in a wheelchair and his brain
is so damaged that he cannot even get a simple sentence out. It was only
because he wrote about corruption issues that the government did not like.
Another violation was when Khodorkovskys company, Yukos Oil, was sold to
Putin because Khodorkovsky was put in jail for only offering support for people
opposing Putin.
2. Identify political corruption issues Mr. Levy identifies in Russia
today.
Vladimir Putin is the main reason for political corruption in Russia. First of all,
he manipulated elections so that he could be reelected for president for a
second term. This was bad for Russia because when Obama came into office
in 2009, he wanted to make relations with Russia better, but Putin didnt
agree. Instead of going towards democracy and working with the U.S. like
Obama wanted, he went backwards. He decided to eliminate elections for key
regional governors and city mayors. People who are opposed of the Kremlin
are constantly denied permission for rallies.
3. How does Mr. Gorbachev, the previous Russian premier, feel about
the current leaders? Why does he feel this way?
Gorbachev agrees with the opposition political parties because he thinks
Russia should be a democracy. He said, Democracy begins with elections.
Elections, accountability, and turnover. Gorbachev has been serving in jail for
this for the last 7 years. He also is concerned that the overall effect is a justice
system that in some ways has changed very little since Soviet days. He also
says he wants a civil society.
4. The caption for the picture on page one is titled, Batman and
Robin. Explain this caption.
The picture is captioned this because in a leaked diplomatic cable, Medvedev
was described as playing Robin to Putins Batman. Putin used Medvedev so
that he could run for a second term by handpicking Medvedev as his
successor. After he won, he appointed Putin as his Prime Minister. Medvedev is

Russias actual leader, but Putin takes more of the credit and continues to
have hold power.
5. According to the author [and Mr. Gorbechev, democracy begins
with: Elections, Accountability, and turnover.
6. In addition to the aspects of democracy identified above, which
other key ingredient is necessary for a democracy? According to the
author, how does Russia meet this ingredient? Back up your answer
with facts.
Another key aspect of democracy is respect for the rule of law. Russia is
always manipulating the rule of law to serve the governments needs. For
example, critics of the Kremlin are denied permission for rallies, and the police
arrest anyone attending unauthorized demonstrations. Another way that
Russia does not respect the rule of law is that they barely ever follow basic
human rights. For instance, the Beketov beating and when Khodorkovskys
business was sold.
7. Identify two cases the author identifies where the Russian
government has failed the democratic test.
In one case, there was a situation with a Russian journalist named Beketov.
Beketov was writing about the problems within Russia. He was warned to stop
writing, but he continued and as a result, he was beaten senseless outside of
his home from government personnel. This is a violation of a basic human
right, freedom of speech. Another way they failed the democratic test is that
when a defendant is acquitted, the verdict is almost always overturned
because they feel intimidated by authorities. The justice system is still the
same as it was in Soviet days, so it is still not fair or democratic.