Political experts close to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have publicly criticized the state of democracy in Russia and advised him that the country’s progress hinges on genuine political pluralism.
“Russia has reached the limit beyond which it must shift to democratization in order to pursue its own modernization,” political analyst Igor Bunin said on Wednesday as he presented a report on the subject.
Apart from its contents, the report was notable for being ordered by the Institute for Modern Development, a quasi-governmental research group whose supervisory board is chaired by Medvedev himself.
The document was circulated in Moscow as Medvedev prepared to attend his first G8 summit next week, where other major powers will be watching him closely for clues about his political values and future intentions.
Basing their conclusions on interviews with around 40 political experts and business leaders in Russia, the authors of the report said the two-term presidency of Vladimir Putin saw strong economic modernization in Russia.
But they cautioned that “Implementation of the country’s development strategy from now until 2010, stressing innovation and high-technology ... is impossible in the [current] vertical and hierarchical system dominated by the bureaucracy.”
Bunin called on Medvedev to lead a “revolution from above” and lead as an “enlightened European.” The report said flaws in the current system included a “servile parliament” and lack of political pluralism.
In a rare display of tolerance, representatives of genuine political opposition groups were invited to join other experts close to but critical of the Kremlin to discuss the report and formulate recommendations for Medvedev.
Viktor Sheinis, a member of the opposition Yabloko party, said the Kremlin had spoken many “just words” but under Medvedev had to take concrete steps to show it was serious about real democracy.
“Perestroika became a reality when Mikhail Gorbachev pulled troops out of Afghanistan and freed Andrei Sakharov from exile,” Sheinis said.
“We see nothing of the kind today,” he added, referring in particular to jailed former Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
In an interview with reporters from G8 countries released yesterday, Medvedev said he had no intention of granting a pardon to Khodorkovsky, quashing recent speculation that such a move might be forthcoming from the new president.
Another opposition leader, Nikita Belykh of the Union of Right Forces, said he doubted the Medvedev administration was any more interested in broadening democracy in Russia than the Putin administration had been.
“A portion of the corrupt elites have passed the point of no return. Their personal security is put in danger with democratization,” Belykh said.
In his G8 media interview, Medvedev acknowledged that free political competition in Russia was crucial to the country’s future development.
But, echoing the line taken by Putin, he said this competition had to remain within the confines of the law and should be “rational.”
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