Putin's Power Grab

An unsettling post comes from The Moderate Voice about Putin's recent acts to grab power following the Beslan massacre (Hat-tip to InstaPundit.) He lists several quotes that highlight other's thoughts about what Putin is up to, and I fail to see how any of this will assist in battling terrorism.

I have not posted on the Beslan massacre, basically because my thoughts on it have been two-fold and I needed some time to sort through them. One is that it is yet another example of Islamic-fanatacism and as sad as it was, perhaps it will push the Russians to do more in the global war against such elements. However, there is no doubt that the seeds of this attack were planted years ago when the Chechens first began to break away. In some ways, I have applauded Putin's resolve to keep them from doing so, as I would an American President from allowing say California or Texas to break away. At the same time, the methods of surpressing the autonomy of the area, as well as the bungling of the many fights between Chechens and Russians surely make this issue slightly different from the over-all global war against Islamic fanatics.

Further, as the Moderate Voice suggests as well, cracking down and drawing more power to the Kremlin, and thus moving further away from the promise of democracy Russia first had upon the fall of the Soviet Union only plays into the terrorists hands. It will certainly sow seeds of anger and bitterness among the Russian people which only makes matters worse in that country. However, I have understood Putin to be a bit of a modern strong man anyway, so this power grab does not surprise me that much. I just hope it does not hamper the over-arching concerns about fighting terrorists. We could use Russia's help fighting this war, but not at the cost of the Russian people's freedom. Perhaps that was a solid working basis for partnership during World War II, but not in the 21st century. That is all.

Comments

[Keiper]

I don't wanna hear any one else say Bush is a dictator. Jeez, some Americans think they have it bad...

I especially like the quote, "Instead of attacking terrorists, he's attacking our electoral system." It's true - I can understand the point that to fight terrorism you need unity, but this isn't going to bring you that unity. Or perhaps my defination and Putin's defination of unity are totally different. It's not only going to distract the Russian state from their current task at hand, and I agree it will only add to the Chechnya problem.

Then again...when I look at how easily people have forgotten September 11, maybe Putin's form of "unity" does seem smart...