An authoritarian Russia has no future

Russia cannot remain a command state forever, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung with a view to the planned return of Vladimir Putin as president: "The biggest country in the world is being ruled according to a rigid command structure. United Russia is not a party that develops ideas. And the parliament is not a place where debates take place. That may be partly explained by the collapse of the Soviet empire and the tumultuous, anarchistic Yeltsin years. But it is no longer of any help. ... The population ... is weary of all the rhetoric from Moscow about a blossoming Russia, of which it sees little evidence. ... And since Putin now lets his citizens travel to Antalya, London and Garmisch-Partenkirchen it has become far more difficult for Russia to impose a system situated somewhere between Switzerland and North Korea. A critical mass has not yet developed, but Putin must understand that more and more Russians long to enjoy freedom in their own country as well."

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