FIRST ORDER, THEN FREEDOM:

Last man standing (The Japan Times, Nov. 1, 2003)

There has been little public outcry about the fall of Russia's richest citizens. The oligarchs acquired their wealth through dubious means: a "shares for loans" deal with former President Boris Yeltsin that secured his re-election in 1996, in exchange for the virtual handover of many of the country's largest businesses. Mr. Khodorkovsky, for example, bought 45 percent of Yukos, for $159 million, only $9 million more than the government's opening bid for the company's shares. The deals were legal, but they stank, and ordinary Russians resent the men who profited from them. [...]

While most of Russia -- apart from democrats -- applauded Mr. Khodorkovsky's fall, the rest of the world has not been so sanguine. [...]

[I]t is plain that civil society is under assault in Russia. Mr. Putin is doing his utmost to extend his authority into every sphere of political and economic activity. While he claims he is attempting to restore the rule of law, his action looks more like the restoration of authoritarianism. Russia's democracy is being undermined from within. Neither Russia's citizens nor other governments should acquiesce to this assault.

The absence of a vital civil society in Russia is why it needs an authoritarian period to establish law and order. If Mr. Putin is prepared to be his nation's much needed Pinochet, this is a good sign.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 1, 2003 9:50 AM