Putin On A Show

Having fortified his flank at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the way to restoring his nation’s Soviet-era international glory. The upcoming summit of G-8 industrialized democracies is precisely the kind of event the Kremlin sees as its passport to global stardom.
Not very long after he took office, U.S. President George W. Bush began singing paeans to Putin’s sincerity. That look in his eyes was simply unmistakable. When the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Moscow barely took notice. Full-fledged G-8 membership was but a small token of appreciation from his allies.
This extended endorsement coincided with the period Putin began moving against his political opponents, big business, the independent media and started centralizing the power his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, had devolved – deliberately and by default – to the regions.
The U.N. Security Council deliberations preceding the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Moscow’s meddling in Ukraine’s political process, and the Kremlin’s curbs on international non-government organizations deepened doubts about Putin’s worthiness as an international statesman.
The democratic path chosen by Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and Baltic countries prompts sneers in the Kremlin, which has developed special friendship with Belarus, Iran, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. The sole criterion Moscow meets for continued membership of the G-8 is the size of its economy.
By refusing to attend the St. Petersburg summit, it is argued, G-8 leaders could send a powerful signal to Putin to mend his ways. Such a drastic step, on the other hand, could alienate Russia and encourage it toward other misadventures. So which way will Russia’s G-8 partners decide?
They will probably go ahead with the summit in St. Petersburg. Putin, after all, enjoys considerable popularity among ordinary Russians. If anyone comes up with overwhelming evidence of rigged opinion polls, well, we can see to that then.