"Expensive bureaucracy"

Political scientist Arkady Dubnov writes about the presidential election:

“Thanks to Peskov, he once again confirmed his verbose adjustment of the“ improper transmission of words ”<...> that the Kremlin finally chose the Turkmen path to retaining power Putin. But at the same time, they are still embarrassed to completely abandon the democratic rhetoric when they mention the elections, because "the president in his message said that the elections are democracy." “Although on the other hand, they cost a lot of money ...”, his spokesman complains.

Turkmenbashi the Great was more honest. At the beginning of his glorious path <...> on a non -alternative basis in 1992 he was elected president with a result of 99.5 percent of the vote. Two years later, he held a referendum on the extension of the presidential term, having received support for 99.9 percent ...

And a few years later, Turkmenbashi the Great proclaimed himself as a lifelong president and never held elections to his very mysterious death in December 2006. At first, in Ashgabat, they explained the cancellation of the elections with their high cost and meaninglessness, because the winner is known in advance. And then they refused it.

The revelations of Peskov <...>. But it is also impossible to completely abandon the elections, they are a grand training of the entire power vertical in the country, checking the loyalty to the Kremlin from regional elites, as well as the level of “learned helplessness” of the electorate, devoid of real alternative to elections. ”