Putin: Why Autocrats Don't Take Critics Seriously

On a slippery slope it's hard to discern when one loses one's footing. But in my opinion this weekend was that moment in Russia. Vladimir Putin arrested his most august critics, including chessmaster Garry Kasparov and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov. With the move, Putin goes from megalomaniacal autocrat to despot.

Peter Finn of The Washington Post quotes another jailed figure, opposition political leader Nikita Belykh, as saying that he "was just about to begin talking when police appeared, grabbed me by the legs and arms and shoved me into a paddy wagon, where I am now."

Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili have faced ear-splitting opprobrium from the diplomatic and press corps since they did similarly in the last two or three weeks. But with Putin it's regarded as more of the same, as if to say, "Who could expect better from a barbarian?"

That's why, when pressed by the West to reverse their actions, both Musharraf and Saakashvili listened with just one ear, if at all. There's no price to pay, and no credibility behind the West's disingenuous dismay.

Photo: foxypar4
Rights: Creative Commons