From the New York Times:
As a bill extending Russia’s presidency from four to six years barreled through the Russian legislature on Friday, it fell to the old-timers from the Communist Party to put up a fight. “Why do we have to do this today?” said Viktor I. Ilyukhin, a Communist legislator, during discussions today in the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament. “Why are we in such a hurry? A strict authoritarian regime has already been established in this country. There is already an unprecedented concentration of power in one person’s hands.”
He makes an interesting point: how much more authoritarianism can really be sustained? Or perhaps more importantly, what’s the point?
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“How much more authoritarianism can really be sustained?”How much? Well, how much was sustained in the time of Stalin?How many Russians were willing to turn in their neighbors and then look the other way as they were wiped out?How many Russians have supported Mikhail Khodorkovskky, or Oleg Kozlovsky, or Mikhail Kasyanov, or Garry Kasparov?As much authoritariansm as $60/barrel of oil can pay for, which is quite a lot indeed.
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