Is Russia ready for Western-Style democracy – which includes true pluralism and checks on the executive? It’s a debate that’s been going on since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This article from Izvestia – once the official mouthpiece of the Soviet government – openly, unapologetically and arrestingly admits that the answer is no. Nor does it wish to be.
In a fascinating exposition of why the China model of authoritarian economic development is better than Western-style democracy, columnist Alexander Livshitz writes for Izvestia in part:
“China’s domestic economy is confidently on the rise. Industrial production is increasing at a rate of 11 percent per year. The world’s leading corporations are rushing to curtail their activities in other countries to relocate in the Celestial Empire. That’s not surprising. The situation there is stable. Inflation is close to zero. Over the past year the Bank of China has pushed down interest rates five times. So credit is available.”
“Yes, we have the Duma, political parties, elections and other democratic institutions. The same set as in other states. But there are fundamental differences. We always need a leader. A commander. A head. Once it was the czar. He was replaced by a general secretary. Now it’s a president with a prime minister. That is, there’s a person at the top who can do almost anything – is responsible for everything. There’s nothing that can be done about it; that’s the kind of people we are …”
By Alexander Livshitz
Translated By Yekaterina Blinova
October 28, 2009
Russia – Izvestia – Original Article (Russia)
In the last century, Americans were the ones who pulled everyone else out of the Great Depression. Today, there is another tow truck – and it’s not a diesel. It’s not electric. It’s Asiatic – with a Chinese engine.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US