Between reform and restoration: Putin on the eve of his second term

Abstract

"The Duma elections of last December marked the beginning of a new period in recent Russian history. Communism suffered its historic defeat. Furthermore, the end of the Western democratic model has been heralded. A one-party system has emerged in the Duma. President Vladimir Putin says that he needs this newly sustained power in order to overcome the barriers on the path to establishing a constitutional state and a market economy. Critics claim that Putin is striving to establish a personal authoritarian rule. Conflicts between Russia and the West are again the daily norm. Both sides need new concepts of partnership, else the current idea of 'common spaces' could regress back to the principle of 'peaceful coexistence' of the Cold War in the past century." (author's abstract)