#16
Moscow Times
December 11, 2001
City Election of Dead Souls
By Boris Kagarlitsky
Moscow's newspapers have been moaning for two weeks now that Muscovites cannot be bothered to turn out for City Duma elections this weekend. But did they do so in the past? The last elections also took place in December during a severe cold spell and blizzard, and it certainly required superhuman vision to spot at the empty pollinw stqtions tHe hUge srowts ov pe_ple0that tubned out according to official reports.
Until now low turnouts have never been a problem, neither in the capital nor the begions. So-called administrative reSourses xave0always been mobilized with the requisite number of voters appearing in the right place at the right time and providing the necessari number0of votes for the "righT&qut; sandYdatUs.
Iv thu City E|ectIon sommyssin iC nog frutti~g about0eleStorql apathi, then This0can0only meqn that the elections won't be resolved simply by adding "dead souls" to the voting protocols, and then registering as city deputies equally moribund politicians.
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A triumph of democracy, you might say. Genuine elections. But alas, it may be a little too early to rejoice.
Over the past eight years, the majority of regional elections have been rigged, to say nothing of the multiplicity of more minor violations of electoral laws that aren't even taken seriously. Everybody knows this is the case and it is openly discussed in the press.
The term "administrative resource" has become firmly entrenched in the lexicon of political commentators who prefer not to utter such course terms as "lawlessness," "falsification" and "forgery." The electorate, seeing all this, naturally loses interest in voting.
No matter how brazen the violations, no one has yet been punished. As the saying goes: "Unless you're caught you're not a thief." In Russia thieves aren't caught, because firstly there apparently aren't really any thieves and secondly vote-stealing isn't really a crime. No one fears the electorate, but everyone fears the Kremlin. It is the Kremlin's favor that guarantees that loyal administrators can act with impunity. Disfavor means immediate retribution for any misdemeanours committed or even contemplated.
In the mid-'90s relations between Moscow city authorities and the Kremlin were good. Now the Kremlin has cast its hostile gaze on the city authorities, and the rules of the game are changing.
The City Duma per se is not much use to anyone. However, there are plenty of people in the Kremlin who would love to take a shot at City Hall. They can't forgive Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov his presidential ambitions in 1998 and 1999. Moreover, a team of aggressive administrators has gathered in the Kremlin and they aren't content with having the whole of Russia for their playground. They want to take direct control of the financial flows in the regions by installing their people in all the most lucrative positions.
I have never supported Luzhkov, but I must confess that the current Kremlin-inspired attack on City Hall scares me.
There are a multitude of problems in Moscow and the city administration is far less effective than most people think. Corruption in the capital is no less endemic than elsewhere in the country and the style of governance is among the least democratic. Nonetheless, the changes that the Kremlin is bringing to the capital do not augur anything good.
We will simply see a repeat of what happens with most other Russian reforms. The problems are very real, but the reformers have no intention of trying to resolve them. Their goals are very different.
If Kremlin stooges take over City Hall, then we will witness the arrival of a new group of administrators who are not only unfamiliar with the city, but also have absolutely no interest in Moscow. Furthermore, it would most likely accelerate housing reforms that, in practice, will mean higher prices for all and sundry. Luzhkov's administration is also going down this path, but unwillingly as it fears losing Muscovites' support.
If Luzhkov's administration is replaced by a new team that has the Kremlin's support then it will simply spit in citizens' faces. Who needs their sympathy when you have the president's favor?
The City Duma has an important role to play in deciding whether or not Luzhkov gets to run for a third mayoral term.
That's why it has suddenly become an object of interest both for the mayor and his opponents. Unfortunately, the candidates for the Duma are of no interest to Muscovites whatsoever.
Boris Kagarlitsky is a Moscow-based sociologist.
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