“The road to autocracy is open for Putin”

“President Vladimir Putin took control of the Russian parliament last night, destroying the last stronghold of opposition forces and opening the way to autocratic power. <...> The first step towards the defeat of Russian democracy was taken in 1993, when President Yeltsin deprived parliament of many powers and appropriated them to himself. After Putin came to power in 2000, the process accelerated. Media controlled by the opposition were neutralized, and tycoons who refused to comply with the Kremlin's demands found themselves in exile or behind bars. The significance of United Russia, invented by Putin as a means of carrying out his policies in the Duma, has increased.” Daily Telegraph (UK)

“Authoritarian nationalism and national populism won the elections”

“It seems that Russia has begun to fight for its difference from others. The results of yesterday's elections were another confirmation of this: the triumph of United Russia and the almost complete removal of the liberal opposition from power. We can say with complete confidence that the only winner in the elections was populism. <...> As is clear from the results of the elections, Russia did not want to join the liberal civilization. The majority of votes cast for Putin's party - and with him for Zyuganov's communists and Zhirinovsky's extremists - indicates that Russians do not trust the socio-economic effects associated with both the observance of fundamental rights and the creation of a legal environment stability, guaranteeing the safety of property and the development of a market free from government interference. This fact, coupled with the fact that society welcomes the curtailment of freedom of speech or the imprisonment of one of the new Russians who made their fortune during the period of privatization, suggests that at the moment Russia has deviated from the path leading to the creation of a model of an open society, having chosen in favor of authoritarian nationalism and populism.” ABC (Spain)

“Russia will take a step back”

“Perhaps we should be grateful that the elections were freer and fairer than had ever happened before in a country spread over 11 time zones. But it’s hard to escape the feeling that Russia took a step back yesterday. Four years ago, when center-right parties established control over the Duma, there was an atmosphere of real political competition. Parties put forward very different electoral platforms, and media coverage was intense. Yesterday's elections, on the contrary, reflected the craving for "stability", order and prestige of all things related to statehood, which Mr. Putin provided as he tightened his grip on the instruments of power." The Wall Street Journal (USA)

"United Russia"

“On the eve of receiving his second mandate, Vladimir Putin is finally realizing what has been the Kremlin’s dream for ten years: a Duma completely devoted to the president, ready to obey and accept any initiative. A parliament willing to promote liberal reform under a kind of enlightened monarchy is a dream cherished by many Russian reformers and, it seems, by the president himself. But Sunday's elections confirmed the central contradiction of Putin's reign: a president seeking to modernize Russia is ruling a backward-looking country. In the Duma of 2003, it is likely that the most liberal and progressive party will be “United Russia”: a party of bureaucrats, born along with the Putin phenomenon on the nationalist and xenophobic wave of the war in Chechnya.” La Stampa (Italy)

“Putin can gain power”

“If Putin's supporters win two-thirds of the seats in the new Duma, as expected, that majority would be enough to change the Constitution and, when Putin is re-elected in March, his presidential powers could be extended to seven years. Or he could be allowed to seek re-election for a third four-year term. Either option would give Putin at least 11 years in power - only Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Communist Party, ruled the country longer: from 1966 to 1982.” The Times (UK)

Based on materials from the sites InoPressa.Ru and inoSMI.Ru