Global Studies II

Unit II Russia

Name _Ryan Dempsey______

Date _4/23________
Russian Democracy Has Disappeared?
- Clifford J. Levy, New York Times

Directions: After reading the article mentioned above, answer the questions below. Please
answer in complete sentence format.
1. What is human rights? According to the author, identify human rights issues the current
political regime in Russia have violated.
Human rights is a right that is believed to belong justifiably to every person. That the leaders are
attacking Russian journalists.

2. Identify political corruption issues Mr. Levy identifies in Russia today.

Dubious land deals, crooked loans, under-the-table hush money, Russian journalists being beaten,
opposition of politicians, and abolition of some local elections.

3. How does Mr. Gorbechev, the previous Russian premier, feel about the current leaders? Why
does he feel this way?
The economy has been good but at the same time, the country has become less free. Putin became
the leader again because Medvedev picked him as Prime Minister.

4. The caption for the picture on page one is titled, Batman and Robin. Explain this caption.
That Putin is like Batman and Medvedev is his side kick.

5. According to the author [and Mr. Gorbechev, democracy begins with:

_______Elections_________, __Accountability__________, and __Turnover________.

6. In addition to the aspects of democracy identified above, which other key ingredient is
necessary for a democracy? According to the author, how does Russia meet this ingredient?
Back up your answer with facts.
The respect for the rule of law. Which in Russia is frequently manipulated to serve the
governments needs. Critics of Kremlin are routinely denied permission for rallies, and the police
detain anyone attending unauthorized demonstrations.

7. Identify two cases the author identifies where the Russian government has failed the
democratic test.
Monitors found evidence of carousel voting in which a busload of voters travel around casting
ballots under different names. And detaining anyone attending unauthorized demonstrations.