Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007
From: "Steven Shabad" <steve.shabad@verizon.net>
Subject: JRL #217 - Item #27 on Bukovsky [re: Dissent]
Without in any way defending the drift back toward authoritarianism under Vladimir Putin, I can't resist pointing out two obvious ironies about Vladimir Bukovsky's return to Russia. The Reuters dispatch reports that he plans to run for president and also held court in one of the city's biggest bookstores about what he called "a return to Soviet-style repression." As pointless as Bukovsky's plan to run may be, can you imagine that happening in the Soviet era? And can you imagine him criticizing the Soviet authorities during those years for more than five minutes without being picked up?
The stifling of dissent in Russia today is deplorable, but let's keep it in perspective. While access to the media is dominated by the Kremlin, Russians at least are no longer subject to the pervasive fear of speaking their minds that dominated the Soviet system. Whereas the Soviet regime managed virtually every aspect of society, the Putinists are more efficient, controlling only the levers necessary (the parliament, the media, etc.) to prevent any opposition from developing. Both systems are repressive, but the degree is different.