“Lack of credible opposition”

(According to his Wikipedia article, Kharitonov even quit in the previous political party he was in because it became part of United Russia)

It’s not that I think Russia is a free and fair democracy, it’s clearly filled with corruption like all liberal democracies. it’s just the misinformation about why and the utter hypocrisy and -100 self-awareness on criticising it.

• Navalny was never that popular, nore were any of the opposition members who were “banned” (for allegedly forging signatures). Nobody contests this, just western media like to act as if he mattered at all, and will never dare admit that the real opposition to Putin is commies (even if name only).
• Russia has not banned any of the actually major opposition parties, while Ukraine actually has explicitly banned almost all opposition.
• Acting like it’s not common practice in all western democracies to deny people from being listed on ballots due to bureaucratic technicalities. They all do it.
• Putin’s vote share does actually line up with widely accepted polls of his popularity. Russia is a country at war with a 1/6th of the world, the West, so it’s little surprise to have an especially high rate now.

My constant reaction to libs arguing Putin is Hitler is “Sure whatever, now admit the state of democracy in your western country is about the same or worse and how that is the problem, Putin isn’t special.”

I’m so sick of this idea in the west that elections must always be really “close” or else they won’t be legitimate somehow. They literally argue that actual popular support for a politician is somehow undemocratic.

(Not saying that Putin is just really popular and doesn’t gerrymander and manipulate votes the same way every capitalist government does, I’m just so fucking sick of this idea that every vote needs to be “close” like a fucking sports game in a movie.)

Every newspaper in Britain is running with the ‘no real opposition’ line on the Russian election.

While simultaneously talking non-stop about a snap election between the Tories & Labour.

While also running lots of Tory-soothing stories about how Labour have vowed not to undo Tory policy.

Beyond parody.

In Russia, you are given exactly one option for President and everyone is required to agree that he is the only person fit to lead the country.

In America, you are given three choices. One of them is a senile baffoon who will most assuredly spell the end of the Republic if he is elected. The other is a throwback to the 1980s who is coasting entirely on name recognition. And the third is a failson without any credible leadership qualities, who simply runs because he doesn’t have anything better to do.

One of these countries will have 75% election turnout. The other will be lucky to crack 60%. Care to guess which?