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| Ibid. 87 ‘‘Russian Law Enforcement Raid Homes of Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia Employees The Moscow Times, Oct. 5, 2017; Anna Liesowska, Online Democracy Group Open Russia Refused Entry to Major Hotels The Siberian Times, Mar. 27, 2015. Vladimir Soldatkin & Andrew Osborn, Putin Critic Navalny Barred from Russian Presidential Election Reuters, Dec. 25, 2017. Statement of Michael McFaul, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Russia: Rebuilding the Iron Curtain, Hearing before the US. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, May 17, 2007. Peter Baker, Putin Moves to Centralize Authority The Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2004. that puts its own interests before those of its citizens. Under Putin’s leadership, the Russian government has undermined political processes, parties, and opposition that present a meaningful check on the Kremlin’s power. 83 Putin and his allies have neutered political competition by creating rubber-stamp opposition parties and harassing legitimate opposition. For example, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the founder of the Russian oil company Yukos, was imprisoned for more than a decade on a spate of charges deemed to be politically motivated. 84 His prosecution could be broadly interpreted as a signal to other powerful oligarchs that supporting independent or anti-Putin parties carries great risk to one’s personal wealth and well-being. Genuine opposition party candidates have also been blocked from registering or participating in elections. 85 At the same time, parties invented by the Kremlin to takeaway votes from the real opposition have received resources and support from the state and the private sector. Yet when these co-opted parties have asserted a degree of independence, they have had their leadership and resources gutted. 86 More recently, opposition activists attempting to join forces through the Khodorkovsky-supported Open Russia platform have been blocked from using hotels and conference facilities to hold gatherings, and some have even had their homes raided. 87 And the Kremlin appears set on quashing the 2018 electoral aspirations of anti-corruption activist and presidential hopeful Alexey Navalny, as the Central Election Commission declared him ineligible to run because of an embezzlement conviction, which international observers and his supporters allege was politically motivated. 88 Putin has also sought to centralize institutional power in Moscow and weaken the parliament as a check on presidential authority. Early in his first term, he undermined the authority of elected regional governors by creating seven supra-regional districts, to which he appointed mainly former generals and KGB officers. 89 By acquiring greater control over media resources, he achieved electoral victories fora growing swath of United Russia candidates and thereby reduced parliamentary autonomy. 90 In 2004, Putin radically restructured the Russian political system by eliminating the election of regional governors by popular vote in favor of centrally- directed appointments, characterizing this significant power grab VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 22 91 Ibid. 92 Ellen Barry & Michael Schwirtz, After Election, Putin Faces Challenges to Legitimacy The New York Times, Mar. 5, 2012. Marc Bennetts, How Putin Tried and Failed To Crush Dissent in Russia Newsweek, Feb. 26, 2016. US. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012: Russia, at 24. 95 Nastassia Astrasheuskaya & Steve Gutterman, Putin Foe Charged, Russian Opposition Fear KGB Tactics Reuters, July 31, 2012. Russian Opposition Politician Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead BBC, Feb. 28, 2015. Alec Lunh, Boris Nemtsov Report on Ukraine to be Released by Dead Politician’s Allies Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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