why does this not surprise me?

[winterbadger]

Responding to a series of deadly terror attacks, President Vladimir Putin on Monday moved to significantly strengthen the Kremlin's grip on power, with new measures that include the naming of regional governors and an overhaul of the electoral system. ...

Announcing electoral changes that would give the already dominant pro-Kremlin faction in parliament even greater power, he proposed a purely proportional voting system that would eliminate the individual races that now fill half the seats in the State Duma. ...

Putin, who has already cut deeply into the powers of regional governors, also said he would introduce legislation that allows him to nominate the governors, who are currently elected. The move appeared to signal he was intent on eliminating any vestiges of the governors' autonomy.

from the Washington Post

Comments

[motherwell.livejournal.com]

Since when does centralization of power make the security forces more honest, more competent, more responsive to changing threats, or more respectful of citizens' rights? If this were the case, Russian cops would be the envy of the world, and the Revolution would never have got off the ground.

Putin's response is completely inappropriate to the situation. And the saddest thing about it is, it's not just Putin; it seems to be a centuries-old Russian reflex: all of our problems can only be solved, must be solved, by an all-powerful central authority; any other course of action is too chaotic and terrifying to contemplate; no other party, business, civic group, or local authority can be trusted.

Equally sad is the fact this mentality is self-perpetuating: without local responsibility, the people have no incentive to act responsibly at the local level; the central authority is not accountable to them, therefore they feel no allegiance to it; in normal life, they steal from the "alien" central authority, and when things go wrong, they react chaotically, then react to the chaos by looking to the central authority to restore order and whip the untrustworthy local officials into shape.

In short, this doesn't look good.

[winterbadger]

Since when does centralization of power make the security forces more honest, more competent, more responsive to changing threats, or more respectful of citizens' rights? If this were the case, Russian cops would be the envy of the world, and the Revolution would never have got off the ground.

Ain't that the truth!

Putin's response is completely inappropriate to the situation. And the saddest thing about it is, it's not just Putin; it seems to be a centuries-old Russian reflex

Amen, brother!

Equally sad is the fact this mentality is self-perpetuating...

This is the greatest conundrum for me of the failed state: how does one stop this cycle of corruption, violent revolution, corruption, violent revolution? It's the great challenge for humanity for the next century, IMO, because without it large portions of the world are going to fall into chaos and misery.