STATE DUMA-2011: FEATURES OF NATIONAL VOTING

The 4 December elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation were, perhaps, the most scandalous electoral process in the history of Putin's Russia. After the hard times of the 1990s and the relatively stable 2000s, Russia saw elections showing the transition of the political system of this state to a qualitatively new level - a level that does not give a clear answer to the question of where the road will lead Russia in the future.

According to the final results of the elections published by the CEC, the turnout was 60.21 per cent. The ruling United Russia party gained 49.3 per cent of the vote, the Communist Party - 19.2 per cent, Just Russia - 13.25 per cent and LDPR - 12 per cent. In accordance with these data, United Russia will have 238 seats in the new Duma, the Communists - 92, Just Russia - 64 and Liberal Democrats - 56. Yabloko, the Right Cause and Patriots of Russia, who also stood in the elections, failed to get over the seven-per-cent hurdle that secures access to the Duma.

The official results of the election make it possible to qualify them as another success for the Vladimir Putin - Dmitriy Medvedev ruling tandem, as well as the organizations they head - United Russia and the All-Russia People's Front. And initially, before the elections, the ruling force itself considered the expected victory to be a decisive battle ahead of the major political action next year - the presidential election in which United Russia's candidate for the presidency will be the current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the election results caused strong protests among opposition forces. They turned out so unexpectedly vigorous for the authorities that observers were almost unanimous in talking about the onset of very difficult times in Russia, threatening to turn into a serious political crisis, almost the most impressive since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Claiming that the election results were rigged, opposition political forces immediately began to stage mass protests. The West expresses support for the opposition, at least liberal political forces. Western criticism of the Russian authorities has already led to some deterioration in relations between Moscow and the Euro-Atlantic world.

For example, international observers from the OSCE concluded that the State Duma elections were "not competitive enough", noting "frequent violations during the vote counting". PACE President Petros Efthymiou also noted numerous irregularities during the parliamentary elections in Russia, especially in the process of vote counting.

However, the most severe criticism of the Russian authorities came from the United States, which officially expressed its deep concern about the parliamentary elections in Russia and called for a comprehensive investigation of "credible reports of fraud". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling the elections in Russia "not free and unfair", stressed: "The Russian voters deserve a full investigation of manipulation and fraud. They deserve a free, fair and transparent election and leaders who report to them."

The criticism by the US state secretary caused an outrage in Moscow. Russia's Foreign Ministry described the American statement as unacceptable. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that levelling accusations against Moscow at a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Vilnius,

Hillary Clinton "went there just to get the attention of her voters and voters of the Democratic Party".

According to the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the former State Duma and United Russia member, Konstantin Kosachev, "our post-election situation is our situation, and only we, citizens of Russia, can determine the parameters of the elections and ultimately evaluate them". He warned of Russia's possible strong reaction if the statement made by the US state secretary about the State Duma elections is followed by any action on the part of the US administration. "I do not think so, and in any case, I hope that the US government will not draw any practical conclusions from this strange statement by Clinton, as it would be totally outrageous," said Kosachev.

Vladimir Putin's reaction to Washington's statement was highly significant. Complaining that "the state secretary gave a description and assessment of the elections and said that they were dishonest and unfair before receiving a report from the observer of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights", and noting that "in our country, people do not want the situation to evolve as it was in Kyrgyzstan or in Ukraine in the recent past", Putin said it was unacceptable for foreign countries to influence political processes in Russia. According to him, Hillary Clinton actually gave a signal to some figures in Russia, who "heard this signal and began active work with the support of the US State Department".

The "active work" mentioned by the Russian prime minister resulted in demonstrations in several Russian cities. On 10 December, Bolotnaya Square in Moscow became the venue for the largest opposition rally in more than 10 years, i.e. since the rise of Vladimir Putin to the summit of Russian politics. The originality of this event in terms of the political activity of the masses is proved by the fact that the Russian authorities took unprecedented steps to prevent the real threat of destabilization in the country. The Russian Interior Ministry explained the movement of military convoys in the Russian capital and its surroundings in the following way: "In connection with the holding of permitted mass demonstrations and in order to prevent possible attempts to stage unauthorized protests, the total number of mobile reserves has increased, including at the expense of the internal troops."

Meanwhile, opposition rallies adopted resolutions demanding the abolition of the election results, new elections to the Duma and the resignation of the CEC chief, Vladimir Churov. Simultaneously, Russia's main opposition force - the CPRF - stated that the elections to the State Duma were "illegitimate both from a moral and political point of view" and evaluated the results of the elections "as a major defeat for the ruling regime".

In turn, the Kremlin believes that the demands to abolish the election results voiced at the rallies are unfounded. At the same time, to defuse domestic political tensions, the ruling force is even ready to agree to form a coalition, which, in fact, can mean an end to United Russia's monopoly on power in the country. But, more importantly, even if the events develop in this way, the current Russian leadership is confident in the stability of its positions in the political life of the country and, accordingly, in the immutability of its ongoing strategic policy formulated by the Kremlin as "Strategy - 2020".

Indeed, there are many people in Russia who see no alternative to Vladimir Putin, who is ready to return to the top post in the state in a matter of a few months. They believe that the current prime minister raised Russia from its knees, did not allow the territorial unity of the country to be destroyed, returned the feeling of national dignity to the Russians and also managed to prevent the fall of the Russian economy during the global crisis.

Nevertheless, the current situation in Russia is unpredictable because within Russian society there is no common view on the future of the country. Therefore, experts do not exclude the probability of the most spectacular incidents - almost a new Russian revolution ahead of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution.

At the same time, it is important to note that Russia's position in the world will depend on the outcome of the current domestic political confrontation in Russia. It is, in particular, the impact of the nature of the Russian government on relations with Russia's closest neighbours, as well as the future of the dialogue between Moscow and the West - a factor that plays a fundamental role in global politics.