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In English:
Most people have heard of the former Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, but not
many are aware of the recent elections in Russia. This month, we'll take a look at
some of the current political events happening in Russia.
Boris Yeltsin was the first Russian president who was democratically elected. His
presidency started in May 1991, and ended, suddenly, with his resignation, on
December 31, 1999, six months before the end of his term. Yeltsin appointed his
Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, as the acting president. He served in this capacity
until the presidential election, at the end of March 2000. Putin received over 52%
of the votes in this election, leaving his eleven opponents trailing very far behind.
Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader, placed second with less than
30% of the votes and liberal reformer, Grigory Yavlinsky, placed third with only
6% of the votes. Putin was democratically elected, with absolute majority, the
new Russian President.
Mr. Putin, a former KGB officer, is a widely popular politician in Russia. His
strong handling of the war in Chechnya and his no-nonsense political views
appeal to many Russians who want strong leadership that will be able to solve
Russia's enormous economic, political and social problems.
As president, Putin immediately declared that he would continue Yeltsin's
democratic and free market policy. He hopes to lessen the economical hardship
and the deep poverty that millions of Russians have been experiencing for so
many years. He also promises to preserve human rights and to crush the
widespread crimes and corruption by having a strong government. His goal,
obviously, is to achieve economical stability and to reestablish Russia's status of
a super power.
Meanwhile, Putin is conducting a war in Chechnya. This war was started by
Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, for whom Chechnya was a test of his ability to
keep Russia's republics from breaking away. In December 1994,
Yeltsin dispatched troops to crush a revolt by a government that declared itself
independent. Chechnya, made up mostly of Muslims, is rich in oil, rendering the
reasons of this war economical as well as ethnic and religious. The UN has decided to investigate
allegations of Russian atrocities in Chechnya. The UN Commissioner of
Human Rights, Mary Robinson, visited Moscow in mid-April in order to look into
the matter. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to visit neither any Chechen
villages nor the detention centers.
While the UN is asking Russia to investigate allegations of execution, rape and
other abuses, Russian president Putin maintains that this military campaign is
aimed at restoring human rights in this war-devastated region.
Ref:
CNN.com
