Gorbachev: Putin has “Castrated” Democracy in Russia

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 19 August 2011

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19 August 2011

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has killed off democracy in Russia, says former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Speaking to the BBC on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the unsuccessful Soviet coup d’état attempt, Mr. Gorbachev denounced Mr. Putin and his team for killing development in the country, which needs to start pushing towards democracy again.

20 years ago today, Mr. Gorbachev had been placed under house arrest by hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) who were opposed to his plans for reform in the country.

The coup lasted for only two days, but the event is widely considered to have led to both the demise of the CPSU as well as the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

20 years on, Mr. Gorbachev has now expressed his disappointment that Russia has thus far failed in its attempt to build democracy.

"Putin and his team are for stability, but stability kills development and results in stagnation," said Gorbachev as quoted in Ria Novosti.

"The electoral system we had was nothing remarkable but they have literally castrated it."

While Mr. Gorbachev was quick to acknowledge that the Putin years had seen some achievements, he also stated his belief that the Russian Prime Minister should not stand again for President next year, as it was time for a change.

“Our senior management should be updated,” said Mr. Gorbachev, as quoted by the Financial Times, to a press conference on Wednesday. “There comes a time when you need to get out of this rut.”

Mr. Gorbachev’s remarks are just the latest in his series of attacks on the Russian Prime Minister and the ruling United Russia Party.

The elder stateman, who turned 80 this year, also showed remarkable candour and wit during his press conference on Wednesday when he joked with journalists about his role during the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“You journalists, foreign and local journalists, you criticise Gorbachev, saying he was weak and flabby. But what if this weak piece of flab had not been at that particular post at the particular moment, only God knows what might have been done to us,” he said.

Despite his latest remarks, Mr. Gorbachev is still widely respected and admired in Russia. According to the BBC, Mr Putin, who once described the collapse of the USSR as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century", had congratulated Mr Gorbachev on his 80th birthday in March with a telegram.

He praised him as "one of the great statesmen of modern times, who have made a significant impact on the course of world history".

Watch Gorbachev's Press Conference:


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