Less Free Worldwide
Russia was even less free in 2006, the Freedom House concluded in its Freedom in the World annual report promulgated yesterday. For the first time, Russia got the lowest score for the civil rights, having been rated equal to Cuba, Libya and North Korea in this indicator. Russia is by far not the leader in terms of the civil rights, the country’s authorities claim, but it is not an outsider either.
In terms of political freedom, Russia is in league with Angola, Gabon and Pakistan, Freedom House said in its Freedom in the World edition, having scored Russia equal to Cuba, Libya and North Korea in terms of the civil rights.
In Russia, the report said, marginalization of independent mass media and the opposition representatives continues along with the never-ending crackdown on the opposition parties and non-profit organizations. Moreover, the spirit of xenophobia is encouraged in Russia, first of all in respect of the Georgians. So, the conclusion is that the authoritarian regime in Russia could become an example for other states of the former Soviet Union.
This point of view is shared by Andrey Illarionov, once advisor to President Putin. “The area of former USSR” is the least free political region of the world. “The share of retaliatory regimes is 40 percent here. For comparison, it is 37.7 percent in Africa. And the blame for it is on Russia in many ways,” Illarionov specified, adding that “Russia is exporting unfreedom worldwide, which is manifested through development of bilateral relations with authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. The mater at stake is an attempt to create a new International of authoritarian regimes and dictatorship.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 01, 2007
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