[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9420-S9421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE SITUATION IN RUSSIA: BACK IN THE USSR

  Mr. McCain. Mr. President, I have spoken often about Vladimir Putin's 
``creeping coup'' against the forces of democracy and market capitalism 
in Russia. It is with regret that I note today that the coup is no 
longer creeping--it is running full steam ahead. President Putin is 
crassly using the horrific Beslan attack to consolidate autocratic 
rule. The people of Russia, no safer because of the Kremlin's power 
grab, will ultimately pay the price. Their freedom and the future of 
Russia as a democratic state are at stake.
  The terrorist attack on a school in Beslan illustrated once again the 
ugly face of extremism that will stop at nothing--not even the 
deliberate killing of schoolchildren--in pursuit of its political aims. 
Like millions of others around the world, this terrible event moved my 
heart, and I offer my sympathy to the families who have suffered so 
grievously throughout the ordeal. As with all deaths in terrorist 
attacks, nothing anyone does can bring back the lost. It is the duty of 
political leaders to remember the fallen by taking steps to ensure that 
such attacks do not again occur.
  And yet Mr. Putin chose the immediate aftermath of this attack not to 
address the root causes of Chechen terrorism, nor to take meaningful 
steps that would enhance the safety and security of the Russian people. 
Instead, he used the attack as an excuse--an excuse to consolidate 
power and further remove the Russian people from democracy.
  President Putin has announced that, because Russia faces terrorist 
threats, significant changes within the government are required. In the 
broadest sense, he is right. In the midst of the Beslan hostage 
standoff, government officials repeatedly lied about what was happening 
inside the school. The military was unable to rescue people and could 
not coordinate a response. Furthermore, recent accounts indicate that 
during the near-simultaneous bombing of two Russian passenger aircraft, 
the suicide bombers bribed their way through checkpoints and onto the 
planes. These problems stem from the

[[Page S9421]]

Kremlin's lack of transparency, the government's lack of 
accountability, and from widespread corruption and ineptitude. And so a 
reasonable observer might guess that the Kremlin seeks governmental 
change that addresses these problems. But a reasonable observer would 
be wrong.
  Instead, Mr. Putin has proposed changes that would concentrate his 
personal power and nearly extinguish the embers of democracy in his 
country. His allies have told journalists that the president planned 
for months to centralize political authority, and merely took advantage 
of the Beslan seizure to unveil the decision. And, as the Washington 
Post has pointed out, he has not removed security officials who have 
failed to prevent repeated terrorist strikes over several years.
  The total effect of President Putin's new proposals would be to move 
Russia a long way down the road to autocratic rule. He would eliminate 
the popular election of Russia's 89 regional governors, and instead 
appoint them himself. He would eliminate independent members of 
parliament, so that Russians could vote only for political parties 
rather than specific candidates, Political parties--such as like the 
powerful one headed by Mr. Putin--would determine the slates. In last 
December's elections, district races accounted for every independent 
and liberal now serving in the Duma. Under Mr. Putin's plan, these 
races would be abolished. I speak of all of these ideas as 
``proposals'' because the electoral changes require parliamentary 
approval. But that should not be difficult--Mr. Putin's party controls 
more than two-thirds of the seats.

  As shocking as these recent moves are, they are simply the latest and 
most egregious in a long string of antidemocratic actions. In his time 
in power, Mr. Putin has tried to eliminate independent media by 
imposing restrictive laws. These have led to the takeover or arbitrary 
closing of all independent national television channels. The 
international media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranked 166 
countries in its annual World Press Freedom report. Russia came in 
148th. Last year, five reporters were killed under suspicious 
circumstances, and many reporters were harassed, imprisoned, or 
physically beaten.
  But the media is not the only sector to fear the wrath of an 
increasingly authoritarian Kremlin. Mr. Putin has asserted control over 
Russia's energy industry and used government power--including 
imprisonment--against executives who oppose him. The world has watched 
with concern over his single-handed attempt to put Russia's largest 
privately held oil company out of business. And, having lost their 
rights to free speech and press and to engage freely in an open market, 
the people of Russia are now on their way to losing the right to vote.
  The Kremlin's imposition of old-style central control will not make 
the people of Russia safer, it will merely curtail their freedoms. But 
terrorism in Russia does not result from too much freedom. If anything, 
it stems in part from the Kremlin's reluctance to address the 
legitimate aspirations of the Chechen people for autonomy or 
independence. Moving in the opposite direction, increasing central 
control and decreasing the say of citizens in how their nation is 
governed, will do nothing but aggravate the problems for which Mr. 
Putin proposes solutions.
  Sadly, many Russians have responded to the Kremlin's new proposals 
not with outrage but with fearful plaudits. Regional leaders--many of 
whom may lose their jobs when they are replace by Kremlin appointees--
have nevertheless praised Mr. Putin's power grab. The Tass news agency 
ran a headline last week entitled ``Regional leaders hail Putin's 
latest moves as a panacea for all Russia's ills.'' This kind of 
response is eerily familiar, a reminder of the ridiculous propaganda 
fed to the Russian people and the world by the Soviet police state. I 
though that the Russian people have moved beyond this sordid past, 
throwing off the shackles of oppression and ushering in a new day of 
freedom. I will bet that the people of Russia though the same. But 
obviously Mr. Putin and the Kremlin have other ideas.
  As the world's beacon of freedom and democracy, the United States 
must make clear our fierce opposition to the path that Russia's 
leadership is currently on. As much as we value Russia's cooperation in 
other areas of our bilateral relationship, they will have little 
meaning if Moscow reverts to it old ways. Mr. Putin, the world is 
watching your next move.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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