Russia Shows Freedom Setback — Survey

MosNews | December 21 2005

As a number of the world countries have shown gains in freedom over the past year, Russia has been registered among those who suffered setbacks, a survey said.

The Freedom in the World survey by Freedom House, a non-partisan American-based organization dedicated to promoting democratic values across the globe, was quoted by The Star as saying the reason for the poor marks from Russia was the anti-democratic tendencies of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership.

Those tendencies “appeared, if anything, more pronounced,” the survey said.

Countries upgraded to “partly free” included Ukraine, Kyrgystan and Georgia, where peaceful protests have led to greater democracy. But, the report warned, “further gains in the region will likely depend on the development of the kind of mature and credible opposition that emerged in Ukraine and Georgia prior to their non-violent revolutions.”

The lowest rating was given to Uzbekistan, for “state violence against demonstrators, the repression of civil society, and an overall decline in human rights conditions.” Turkmenistan, another dictatorship, also won bottom marks.

However, the survey said “the past year was one of the most successful for freedom since (we) began measuring world freedom in 1972.”

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