Expert: 'Election' dispelled any illusion of negotiating with Putin
Russia's election result dispelled any illusion the West might have had of being able to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, Andrei Hvostov told Vikerraadio Monday. He added that the election result will be used to support the war and entrench the dictatorship.
The Russian Central Election Commission reports that Putin got over 90 percent of the votes in occupied territories in Ukraine. Writer and historian Andrei Hvostov said it is hardly surprising.
"As I've heard, these so-called electoral procedures lasted for a week. Not three days as was the case officially in Russia. They used the time to get as much as they could," Hvostov said.
"As concerns Chechnya and Tuva, the master of the Kremlin performing so well in the periphery is known in Russian politics as "electoral sultanates." And this phenomenon is now spreading to purely Russian areas," Hvostov said.
He noted that such stellar results might not always be dictated from the Kremlin and could instead be tied to the ambition of local rulers. "It may be a sign of extreme diligence, providing the ruler with the best possible result. A way of showing that everything is under control in the region. It is a way of furthering one's career – giving the master the best possible result mathematically."
Hvostov said that Putin has started believing his own propaganda. "He is said to watch certain television programs, whereas they only spew lies. But if a person watches these propaganda shows from one evening to the next, they will eventually start to have an effect."
The historian suggested it is like stepping into a trap of your own making. "You commission a kind of propaganda, tune in and eventually start believing all of it. Self-deception on a truly grand scale."
"Perhaps it is also the case with these election results," Hvostov added.
He explained that events in Russia only seem laughable in the democratic West. "The part of the world known as the gilded billion, or whatever that disparaging term was."
Russian propaganda networks also showed "foreign observers" from nondemocratic states.
"So-called foreign observers – one was from Syria, others from Zimbabwe, Botswana. They were extremely satisfied with everything. The person from Syria said that this is just like Bashar al-Assad is elected."
Hvostov said that while Putin doesn't initially get many votes in every polling station, the results are doctored.
"I caught a program by Dozhd (TV Rain) yesterday. They had gotten their hands on an authentic election report from somewhere in Barnaul, which likely had not yet been tampered with. In that particular polling station, Putin got roughly 70 votes, while the local communist candidate Kharitonov got 700. The communist candidate was ten times as popular as Putin in the region," Hvostov suggested.
The expert suggested that referring to the state of affairs in Russia as a civil war is a prosaic exaggeration. "We could then also describe the situation in the U.S. as a spiritual civil war. In terms of physical clashes... Although the attack on the Capitol – civil war could be smelled on the air. But these are split societies in which different groups are clashing head-on."
Hvostov said that the Russian opposition is satisfied with the results of the anti-Putin action from Sunday. "At least that part of the opposition living abroad and more or less out of reach of the Russian repressive apparatus. Even though hammers can still be taken to members of the opposition in Lithuania. But they are very satisfied with how the action went Sunday. People turned out at noon and formed long lines," Hvostov noted.
He added that Russian authorities tried to prevent the action from taking place. "They spread false information to suggest the event was postponed from noon to 5 p.m. There were even attempts to arrest people."
The point was to get the authorities riled up, Hvostov suggested. "The opposition admitted that one of the aims of the action was to make the authorities nervous. Make them worry too much. Because if they lose their cool and worry too much, they start making mistakes. The latter in turn unmask their weakness or uncertainty."
"Some observers suggested that the main topic of the so-called election was not Putin versus his so-called opposing candidates, but rather Putin and the war. The war was the chief candidate," the historian said, adding that Putin's result will be used in the interests of the war.
"They can now say that the lion's share of the Russian citizenry backs Putin. And because Putin is at war, it also means they support the war, and if the population supports the war, they can also be asked for a greater contribution through taxes. Taxes or a mobilization of some sort. Everything is possible," Hvostov said.
The expert noted that Putin has gotten over the shock of the war's unsuccessful start and is now using it to reinforce his dictatorship. "War makes it possible to build a dictatorship, quite literally. Bury all opposition under the tarmac, as the Russian saying goes. Do all the things you can't do if there's no war."
Hvostov believes that Putin has no reason to end the war or engage in peace talks. He added that the election result dispelled any remaining Western illusions of it being possible to negotiate with Putin.
"Political scientist (Andrei) Makarichev says that the performance that was put on with these elections was necessary for the Kremlin's legitimacy. A dictator needs this kind of all-encompassing love or support of the people," Hvostov said, adding that Russia could go down the path of North Korea with Putin's personality cult.
"It has been said of Putin all along that he has learned to talk directly to the people as the first man in the country so to speak. It is a manifestation or proof of the divine power of a dictator that they talk to the people directly, without intermediaries. And the crowd goes wild," Hvostov suggested.
He said that when the North Korean dictator appears in the flesh, people faint. "Russia is going down a similar path. After six more years of him in power, perhaps we'll see public pictures like in North Korea. See Putin appear among the common folk and people faint out of excitement."
Mihkelson: It was giving the dictator a new 'legitimate' term
"It baffles me to see the international media be very calm and actually call it an election. That Putin won by a landslide etc.," Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee head Marko Mihkelson (Reform) told "Terevisioon" Monday.
"What sense is there in talking about an election when we are dealing with a fascist dictatorship where politics as such has been liquidated. What we saw was the dictator being given a new 'legitimate' term," Mihkelson said.
He added that should Putin survive the next six years, he will be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Marcus Turovski
Source: "Vikerhommik," "Terevisioon"