Russian Democracy

A good sign: the Russian people are not rolling over. Pensioners are standing up to Vladimir Putin's increasingly authoritarian rule and his popularity is dropping. In a country as powerful and proud as Russia, there is very little the outside world can do but watch and wait. Will the Russian people demand representation and a government with checks and balances? Or will a strongman take over by offering panem et circusem to a populace whose sense of liberty has been dulled by centuries of serfdom and, more recently, servitude under the Communists.

Thanks to CS Monitor, once again.