GEOPolitical News :: PUTIN: Ludicrous Referendum Confirms Geopolitical Divorce from Ukraine

Victor Tregubov at the Atlantic Council  has written a great little piece on their blog about Russian supremo Vladimir Putin´s latest initiatives. Starting with holding a somewhat farcical “referendum” scheduled for 1st July [2020] will will effectively pave the way for Russia´s Capo di tutti capi Vladimir Putin to extend his rule over the country until 2036.

While the referendum is being officially positioned as a vote on a series of constitutional amendments, only the most credulous of observers would doubt that the true purpose of the exercise is to prolong Putin’s reign indefinitely. Nor is there much suspense regarding the result. Indeed, given the purely decorative nature of voting in Putin’s Russia, the only real debate is over the size of the coming government majority.

As Russians look forward to a future of endless Putinism, Ukrainians are preparing for local elections in October. Like all of Ukraine’s national votes since the country’s 2004 Orange Revolution, this ballot is expected to be fiercely contested. Allegations of misconduct will be hurled back and forth, while numerous incidents of bribery, administrative abuse, and other electoral shenanigans can also be expected. There will be clone candidates, dirty tricks, and populism galore. Nevertheless, by the standards of the post-Soviet region, the vote will be remarkably free and fair. This somewhat dysfunctional but nonetheless vibrant form of democracy is increasingly taken for granted in today’s Ukraine, with implications for the balance of power throughout Eastern Europe.

However, the referendum simply confirms Russia´s Geopolitical divorce from democratic Ukraine and underlines the growing distance between two countries that were once widely seen as virtually indivisible. However, the diverging post-Soviet paths adopted by Russia and Ukraine may not be as surprising as they might initially appear. Indeed, is it possible to argue that this divergence reflects fundamental differences in mentality and political culture that have roots in the distant past. Russian society has traditionally favoured a more collectivist approach marked by a preference for strict hierarchies and autocracy. Historically, the exception to this rule was the more democratically inclined Republic of Novgorod, which was utterly destroyed by the Moscow czars.

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