2012 Russian Elections Thread

So, for those not in the know, this election is being held on march 4th of this year, and is looking to be pretty big. For the last few months, major rallies have been held in Russian cities, protesting government corruption, electoral fraud, and promoting massive change in the country.

The Communist party of the Russian Federation is currently the second largest party in Russia, controlling 32% of the seats in the state duma, and enjoying support up to 70/80% in some regions. The fascist 'National-Bolshevik' party also controls around 16% (?) of the state Duma, and is showing itself to be more and more a major force in Russia, along with many other various capitalist type parties.

With political, and social dissent being so high at the moment, anything could happen, and a rebirth of the Soviet Union is more than likely. I feel it need not be said here that a lot is at stake, both at a national, and international level.

I'll end the OP with this video -

ZYUGANOV 2012!

I reckon Putin will snatch the victory by only a close margin though. How much I would love to see the communists win the election, I honestly can't see them over taking Putin in the electoral race. However, if Putin does win third term in office then there might be a uproar in the capital and other major Russian cities, quite possibly following a huge protest and some expected trouble to break out.

For the communist party of the Russian Federation if they don't win the elections they might resort to a revolutionary movement and quite decide that getting into power by democratic means through state Duma isn't possibly in anyway with government corruption and blatant electoral fraud, this however could allow the communist party to resort to a Bolshevik style movement.

I honestly can't wait for the more anticipated elections to be held on the 4th March. I'm going to be distracted by this, but to be fair this is the most highly anticipated thing in this year so far. COME ON ZYUGANOV!!!!

If Russia were to devolve into the civil war that Soviet is predicting as a result of these elections an intervention might be in order. The last thing the world needs is another Russian Civil War.

An intervention in my mind would be entirely wrong, unless innocent people were actually being slaughtered or something like that.

There are more Weapons of Mass Destruction in Russia than there are in any other nation in the world. If internal conflict and instability were to erupt there you better believe that an intervention would be the number one priority of any nation that values it's security.

Sounds like Kaiserreich.

God, is there anyone you won't bomb? Let internal issues stay internal.

It's not an internal issue when corrupt and influential figures sell suitcase WMDs to terrorist organizations intent on using them against western nations. Or when, in the midst of all the chaos of civil war, weapons start to go missing. If anyone knows my political views, they would understand that regularly I am an extreme non-interventionist. Nations such as Russia, or more likely, Pakistan, are special cases due to their being highly militarized, unstable and corrupt, and possessing WMDs. I would say the same thing if France, Britain, Israel, India or China were to suffer internal conflicts. It only takes one weapon to fall into the wrong hands, and countless innocent western lives could be lost.

All the more reason to get the current government out if it is that corrupt. I am not saying you do not have a point however.

Indeed, solving corruption should be one of the top priorities in Russian politics. However "solving" the problem outside of the system through violent and revolutionary means Soviet suggested would be extremely counterproductive and would necessitate immediate and extreme action by an external police force of the western nations in the interests of world security. Needless to say, such a scenario is far-fetched and unlikely to happen in the near future. At least in the case of Russia.
What we should really be worried about is the stability of Pakistan, an unstable nation full of corruption with close ties to and within close proximity to many terrorist organizations that would love to deal a devastating blow to the western nations with the WMDs they could easily acquire in Pakistan. Scary stuff.

Though I seem to have strayed off topic. Fortunately I don't see a communist victory in Russia any time soon. The United Russia Party is too popular and the communist "ideology" in Russia is well past it's hey day. Russian Politics will begin to further resemble the modern politics of western nations in the near future, and communism will die for good. Not overnight, but it will.

I personally think we need to start doing something about Russia's corrupt politicians. Even though personally I want to see A Just Russia win.

Who is "we"?

Developed countries with functioning democracies.

So you think that other nations should fix Russia's political system for them? Why? How? Under what justifications? I'm sorry but that is a crazy idea if I've ever heard one.

we need to do more to make sure elections are fair and counted properly. Making sure the government doesn't target opposition leaders. make sure they do not interfere with campaigns of other parties. The reason for this is that Russia is not a free country it isn't democracy.

You didn't answer how or under what justifications. And to your why: So what if it isn't as free as it could be? If the Russian people really wanted something dona about it, then they would take action. Not our problem, and certainly not worth the trouble. And why just Russia? What sets them apart?

You're nuts if you think Putin will lose.

70% of Russians say life was better in the USSR, the CPRF has support in the 70/80%'s in some regions, and it's support has grown by 3x since the last election, to a point where it is the second largest party in Russia. Stalin was recently made a saint of the Russian orthodox church, in part to encourage more people to attend service, and he was also voted the 3rd greatest Russian of all time. I don't see the Communist party dying down any time soon. In fact, it has been doing the exact opposite for some time now.

Your attitude on the matter is entirely hypocritical. I'd suggest you read up on the matter before posting any more.