Almost half of Russian voters think that this year’s parliamentary elections will be marred by fraud, and will not reflect the will of the people, is the key finding of a suvey by the Levada Centre.
Some key stats:
- 45% think that the election result will not reflect the will of the people
- 39% think local officials will fix election results
- 25% think opposition candidates may be excluded from the election
- 8% think the election will be fair
- 33% will consider the new parliament illegitimate
- 65% want an “against all candidates” option on ballot papers
Interesting results, although one should be careful not to read too much into them. I suspect that, if you asked a random sample of British voters whether they thought Parliamentary elections in the UK reflected the will of the people, you’d receive a somewhat similar answer.
And electoral fraud isn’t just a problem confined to Russia – take a look at this roundup of electoral fraud (and other problems) from last week’s local elections in the UK.
About Andy Young
Mike:
I’m repeating myself:
“They’ve yet to prove that Serbianna is a propaganda organ.”
Let’s agree on the terms of this definition first, shall we?
What would it take to convince that Serbianna is a propaganda outlet?
Otherwise it’s going to be a pointless discussion.
Let’s agree on terms and conditions first, and then go on…
And here is an addition:
By which criteria do you classify the BBC as propagandistic?
Clear, objective criteria please. And, you have not yet answered my quick analysis of the Tiraspol Times piece.
Mike
would you blame me for not reading your piece? If you concede that Russia doesnt have free tv reporting, which is what this is all about, then I’ll read your piece.
Fair enough?
Mike, you wrote you already replied to the following question:
Do you believe that Russian TV is as free to criticize Putin as US TV is free to criticize Bush and UK TV is free to criticize Blair? A simple yes or no will suffice
I’m sorry, but I didn’t see your reply. Maybe you did and I missed it. It’s a simple question that deserves a simple answer–please repost your reply to my question. Thanks!
An amazing conversation. The same points keep getting adressed and answered again. Simple yes and no answers are often for simpletons. Putin is more popular than those others leaders and for good reasons. Russians tend not to be concerned with two faced media comments from abroad.
Why is not db direct in what he seems to be claiming? Who is db to second guess others? How do db’s points relate to the commentary at Serbianna? This db does not deal with pertinent matters and is not so challenging towards those more suspect.
Stop feeding the trolls Mike.
The last two posts under db weren’t mine.
There’s a certain exercise of discipline in replying to repeatedly misleading comments. Some (stress some) of which are clearly insulting in manner. When that behavior is returned, the protested hypocrisy of some further reveals their warped side.
RM – I did in fact address your inquiry on propaganda. On the other hand, you didn’t answer my questiion on what specifics of my lengthy former Yugo. commentary are “nutty”.
Mike,
you’re beaten, pure and simple. Only a fool or someone disingenuous would claim that Russia has an uncensored media free of government interference. For all your bluster and rubbish, you have failed miserably to refute that point. You can crap on all you like; no-one is fooled but you. Then again, thats all that matters to you it seems.
I rest my case.
A TKO, with the defeated obviously punch drunk, as per his wildly broad and unsubstantiated comments.
Mike, you wrote you already replied to the following question:
Do you believe that Russian TV is as free to criticize Putin as US TV is free to criticize Bush and UK TV is free to criticize Blair? A simple yes or no will suffice—Kolya
Well, I am not Mike but I’ll take a shot at that one. Having never seen UK TV I will exclude them from my answer, but as far as Russian TV being as free as US TV I would say more or less so. US TV is censored- though I suspect that it, as well as Russian TV, is more of a self censorship than a govt imposed one. But it is still censorship no matter how you look at it.
How do you think US got into Iraq anyway? I was in US at the time and witnessed it with my own amazed eyes, how every channel was to scream in unison WMD! WMD! and Saddam and Osama are plotting together! Do we have to wait until there is a mushroom cloud over an American city!? (That mushroom cloud comment got a mileage for weeks on all stations) But little to none deviation from this script was allowed and certainly no one was allowed to even stop for a moment to question this information- to do so did not necessarily mean some govt officials were going to drag you off to some jail in the middle of the desert and throw away the key, but more like it would lead to the station being branded as ‘unpatriotic’ and to be placed onto the wrong list, meaning shunned by the people and govt insiders and informants and possible loss of access to the more important govt meetings that included press.
I could only imagine what would have happened at the time if some channel had decided to break ranks and start airing Chirac interviews stating that US was wrong about Saddam and Iraq and it would be better to wait and let inspectors do their job. I have a feeling what would happen is Americans would be marching at the station demanding to send out the cheese eating surrunder monkey traitors and throwing packs of freedom fries at anyone who had the nerve to step out from the building.
As to the Russians, well the ones I know are really no different. They maybe a little more tolerant than Americans in some ways, but they are not going to stand for long to hear their own stations broadcasting foreigners (or agents of foreigners such as Scott Ritter was accused of amongst other things) opinions that they are a horrible people guilty of decades of brutal sin against the rest of the world, and are living in an evil country ruled by a vicious dictator. They dont want to hear that Estonia was right to desecrate war graves of those that they personally consider heroes. They dont want to hear that Putin was wrong to have troops re-enter Chechnya back then, and that they should have just let the terrorists keep attacking and killing innocents while the govt wastes years persuing impossible liberal fantasy of a happy happy political solution where everybody wins, and they certainly do not want to hear how much more free and democratic and better everything was in general under Eltsin- as they look around at their own personal lives they know better and start to question ‘Better for who?’
So in the end, do I think US and Russian TV censored? Yes, I believe so but not so much by the govts but rather by the perceived wants and expectations of the people. Somehow I suspect though if the stations had a choice they may instead preferred to be ruled by the govt- I cant help but think it would really be much easier…
I withdraw from this conversation.
Nice set of comments Amruschik.
Many are unaware of their subjective perceptions, in terms of what they consider as important gauges for judging a free media.
I would’ve been interested in getting RM’s reasons why he found my former Yugo. commentary to be “nutty”.
Anglo-American mass media folks have been known to duck the hard critiques levied against them. Instead, choossing to poke at Russian media.
Mike,
you had no case to rest. All you had was off the point bullshit about Soros, the BBC and Yugoslavia, all off the point. The usual hopeless rants that have got you banned from most places and unpublished elsewhere.
Amruschik – I dont dispute for a second that no-one wants to hear bad news or engage in self-flagellation. But reporting bad news, criticism and proper analysis of the affairs of government are fundamentals of any properly functioning democratic society. Maybe that doesnt suit Russians, but at least give them a chance to make up their own minds. If they dont like it, they can always change channel and watch Dom-2 or Golod.
My last on this one.
Michael, I lost respect for you and I no longer consider your commentaries either credible or worth reading. No well informed person (and I assume that you are one) can in good faith claim (or imply) that Russian TV is as free to report on Putin US or UK TV is to report on Bush and Blair.
And to put up examples of BBC or CBS (or any other US broadcasting company) self-censorship or abuse does not prove that there is the same kind of censorship in the UK and the US as in Russia. This is like saying that Colombia and Venezuela are just as safe as the US and the UK by bringing up examples of violent murders in the US and the UK. Silly stuff.
To love your country, culture (or even family does not mean to either close your eyes or deny its flaws.
Kolya, as someone else noted, simple sound bite yes or no answers are often for simpletons. I’ll have no part of that.
The nerve for you to tell me how to answer a question or point.
I already answered that point with some others making supporting contributions.
On your very last point, I don’t rubber stamp everything done by official Russia. This was previously noted with supporting examples.
”The nerve for you to tell me how to answer a question or point.”
You never answer anyones points anyway, and you most certainly didnt here.
Not at all and your act has long since played out.