February 21, 2011 By Citizen M

Opposition Politicians Refute Medvedev’s Reform Rhetoric

Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Milov, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov of the People’s Freedom Party, are taking no prisoners in a Washington Post op-ed:

Contrary to the wishful thinking many in Russia and abroad expressed when Medvedev took office – by de facto appointment – in 2008, his presidency has demonstrated no signs that his pro-democracy rhetoric might turn into real action. In fact, the opposite is true. This period was marked by increasingly restricted and falsified elections; war against Georgia; eased constraints on the use of armed forces abroad; the torture and death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the police-raided investment fund Hermitage Capital; police lawlessness and corruption; and continued oppression of political opponents and dissent. European energy consumers have experienced supply cutoffs, just one form of Russia’s open pressure on its neighbors. Blatant hooliganism of pro-Kremlin youth organizations is promoted.