The Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg, where the fifth meeting of the parliamentary leaders of the G8 countries will take place.
Photo: Nikita Infantyev
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Thanks for the Opposition
// Useful Relations between Russia and the Council of Europe
This year Russia has chaired two important international organizations: the G8 and the Council of Europe. And although the G8 is often called the "international politburo," Moscow's chairmanship came off fairly well. After all, in that elite club of the world's leading powers many problems are decided by bargaining: we'll concede to you on this, and you concede to us on that. That's a method that Russia has mastered.
The Council of Europe is another matter. The top position in that organization, which has 46 member countries, is, of course, honorary. But the catch is that the council specializes in human rights questions, and the deputies to its parliamentary assembly are more free than diplomats and government officials in their criticism of countries where there are problems with human rights. They do not confine themselves within the rigid framework of larger national interests.
Thus Russia seemed to prepare for its chairmanship of the Council of Europe almost as if it were preparing to mount the scaffold. The fear that the European deputies were just waiting for Russia to finally assume the chairmanship in order to open fire with criticism from all sides undoubtedly had Moscow tossing and turning at night for a long time before Russia took the chair in Strasbourg.
However, as the last six months have shown, there was nothing terrible waiting for Russia in the Council of Europe. Many touchy subjects (Chechnya, relations with Georgia) were either completely bypassed by the council or were remarked upon only in passing. Belarus, which is being carefully shepherded by Russia, was also somehow overlooked by the deputies. Serious criticism was addressed to Moscow only on one issue: Russia's reluctance to prohibit capital punishment. But even the Russian representatives have admitted that the criticism is appropriate, because the country really does need to ban capital punishment – if only because it says so in the Russian constitution.
In a word, the Council of Europe thus turned out to be not nearly as terrible as Moscow had feared. And there's nothing surprising about that.
In large measure, the council is essential for Russia. In essence, for the Russian government the Council of Europe fulfills the role of the political opposition, which in Russia itself has already withered away.
Criticism from the council, like that from any other opposition, is naturally not especially pleasant. And that unpleasantness often turns into reproaches from Moscow (justified or not especially so) in the direction of Strasbourg. However, as an opposition faction the Council of Europe has many indisputable advantages in comparison with a real internal opposition. For one, the Strasbourg opposition largely tries to be politically correct. And the council's deputies probably have no designs on running the government in Russia.
But that's not even the most important thing. It is well known that without serious opposition any government is doomed to begin to decay and will eventually self-destruct. And if only for that Moscow should be grateful to the Council of Europe, even if no love is lost between them.
Gennady Sysoyev
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 16, 2006
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