Alex Massie Alex Massie

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is no longer just an authoritarian state; it is a dictatorship

The murder of Boris Nemtsov, even more than previous assassinations of journalists and other figures deemed unhelpful to Vladimir Putin’s regime, feels like a moment of grim significance. It represents a watershed, dividing Putin’s past from his future.

It is true, for sure, that Putin has rarely bothered to conceal his darker side. True, too, that too many people are prone to forgetting his actions – or rather the actions of people close to and supportive of Putin – in the Moscow apartment bombings which eased his path to power. Nevertheless, for a long time now, many people have preferred to turn away from the reality of Putin’s Russia.

Reality is a heavy puncher, however, and after the Crimea and the Ukraine comes this. The assassination of a prominent opposition figure just yards from the Kremlin’s front door. It is the action of a regime that feels it need no longer pretend.

Of course, Putin remains popular. Revanchist populism and nationalist assertion never lacks a constituency. Doubtless he would not need to cheat to win an election (even so, more than a third of Russians voted for opposition candidates last time Putin braved the electorate) but, of course, he would cheat, just to make sure.

Which, again, is why this feels like a pivotal moment. In its suppression of opposition, in its thuggish aggression, in its capricious and rigged “justice”, Russia is crossing the line that differentiates between democratic authoritarianism and outright dictatorship. Indeed, Putin crossed that line some time ago.

The difference is that now no-one can honestly claim they didn’t know. The Kremlin payroll maintains its army of paid-for trolls, typing out hysterical pro-Putin propaganda online and doubtless in print there are still some ready to make whatever excuses are necessary but, still, the rest of us can see clearly.

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