Political Murder in Russia

[gags]

Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was recently gunned down in her Moscow apartment. Politkovskaya, who was well known for her reporting on the brutal war in Chechnya, is now the 13th prominent member of the media to be murdered in Russia since ex-KGB master Valdimir Putin took power. Russia appears to be rapidly reverting to a totalitarian state reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, or worse.

[softwareNerd]

Russia seem to be a true mess. It is interesting to see how various Eastern European countries have progressed over the last few years, and how China and India have progressed. We now have a wealth of data that confirms that "it's the politics stupid". More precisely, it's Rights that matter -- actual, implemented, upheld rights -- particularly the right to property -- when it comes to economic development. All the communist theory about it being the tools of production turns out to be addressing secondary issues. It is not the wealth one starts with that matters most to growth and progress -- the wealthy can squander their wealth just as fast as the poor can grow it.

I wonder if Russian politics is bad because of some underlying cultural (aka philosophical) flaw that is widely prevalent there. Some would say so, but I wonder if it's true.

[Olex]

Some would say so, but I wonder if it's true.

I would say so as well. Having come from post-Soviet country, Ukraine, the mentality of the society and the make up, i.e. the general and common trend is still largely Soviet, especially among adults and elderly. I think it is slightly changing with new generations that grew up mostly in post Soviet era (like me), but it is still a big problem there.

P.S. Russia is probably the worst country in this respect among ex-Soviet countries.