RUSSIA: Manipulated vote confirms Putin’s power
Domestically, President Putin has not for a long time faced an election that risked denting his power, and after a vote held in June he could stay in power until 2036, if he so chooses. The vote, which overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal to change the constitution, wiping the presidential terms Putin has already served from the slate, was often described externally as a referendum, but did not even comply with the formal criteria that would have allowed the government to describe it as such.
Human rights activists are like mushrooms after the rain: we multiply in reaction to human rights violations. After each new wave of repression, activism increases and new CSOs arise. As new restrictions are imposed, human rights activism is expected to increase.
Leonid Drabkin
