After Putin's landslide victory, Russian protesters took to the streets, with accusations of fraud and corruption. Now that the protests have somewhat died down, the opposition has decided to try to infiltrate the Moscow City Council, which is firmly held by Putin loyalists. Mikhail Velmakin, a young politician, hopes that by being elected to the Council, he'll be able to get other people elected that represent the people and their needs, and loosen, and perhaps free Russia from Putin's grip.
I think that while the idea of this is a decent one, it'll probably be messier/harder to execute. Putin hasn't stayed in power for so long just by sitting around, and he's sure to catch a whiff of this and jail these people for some uppity reason or another.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-protesters-take-up-politics/2012/03/26/gIQAuRZofS_story.html
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Current Event #5: After Bo being ousted in China, a mysterious death stirs up the rumor mill again.
Last week when the new political star Bo Xilai was fired from his position as Chonqing's party boss due to allegations of corruption, rumors abounded of secret workings of the top tiers in the CCP, and plots to maintain power and influence in their own circle. When Neil Heywood, a British consultant believed to have close ties with Bo was found dead in his apartment last week, many questioned the manner of his mysterious death. China had to go so far as to censor their internet search, making it impossible for their citizens to look up Heywood at all. British authorities have asked China to re-investigate Heywood's death--but right now, things are looking kind of shady.
To me, this seems really typical of a regime where the freedom is limited. To maintain their tight circle of power in their little inner ring, it's not really surprising if the CCP had a hand in Heywood's death, or some ulterior motive for firing Bo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/after-bos-ouster-a-mysterious-death-adds-to-chongqings-churning-rumor-mill/2012/03/28/gIQASEmZhS_story.html
To me, this seems really typical of a regime where the freedom is limited. To maintain their tight circle of power in their little inner ring, it's not really surprising if the CCP had a hand in Heywood's death, or some ulterior motive for firing Bo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/after-bos-ouster-a-mysterious-death-adds-to-chongqings-churning-rumor-mill/2012/03/28/gIQASEmZhS_story.html
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