May 29, 2020
VLAD WHO?:
Where Is Russia's Strongman in the Coronavirus Crisis? (Alexander Baunov, May 27, 2020, Foreign Affairs)
Putin might have taken the occasion of the crisis to display some strong personal leadership to the public. Instead, his interventions have come across as belated and confusing. He gave his first speech about the pandemic only on March 25, three days after Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, announced restrictive measures to control the virus's spread. From that point, information and even leadership seemed to emanate from Moscow rather than from the central government. Putin never declared a state of emergency and seemed to follow behind events rather than anticipating them.Perhaps most remarkably, Putin's public reticence has carried over to his behavior behind the scenes. A leader whom one might have expected to consolidate power in a crisis has instead returned a lot of decision-making powers to regional governors. The move is particularly curious because for nearly two decades, Putin has consistently worked to strip power from local strongmen and vest it in his own hands. Now, when the news is grim and the policies restrictive, Putin has chosen the local governors to play the bad guys responsible for the health-care failures and personal constraints. For himself he has chosen the role of benefactor, bestowing gifts in the form of nonworking days and financial assistance.The trick hasn't worked as planned. Putin's approval rating has fallen to a historic low of 56 percent from a peak of 86 percent. Russian citizens--accustomed to news of Russia's strong macroeconomic performance, triple surplus, and solid reserves--had imagined that in the event of a disaster, a powerful and generous Putin would take full control, overcome the crisis, and help the people. That vision has turned out to be far removed from reality. The president and his central government loosened the reins in the midst of the crisis rather than tightening them. Putin receded into the background, allowing others to take responsibility for tackling the epidemic and issuing less financial assistance than people expected. He has left his supporters unnerved and embarrassed.
Opponents of liberalism like to misunderstand the End of History and pretend that Vlad and the PRC represent challenges to it. But the point is that they are only interested in retaining power to themselves, not in doing anything with it. they have no alternative ideas to offer or implement. It's what makes them harmless in historical context.
Posted by Orrin Judd at May 29, 2020 8:29 AM