Human Rights Activists Are Pushing US Away from Russia

The human rights organization Freedom House has advised the White House to abandon “reset” policies and change the tone of its interactions with Russia. Freedom House experts believe the course being taken by Vladimir Putin is proof of his definitive refusal to enact liberal reforms. According to the activists, Washington must continue its support of the Russian opposition and persevere in the fight against corruption in the Russian Federation. A further step must be for Barack Obama to refuse to hold any sort of meeting with Vladimir Putin.

The Freedom House analysts stated their recommendations in a report entitled “Contending with Putin’s Russia: A Call for American Leadership.” The tone of the 23-page document is made clear by the photograph on the cover, which depicts soldiers of the Moscow Special Purpose Mobile Unit (OMON) in full combat gear. [Translator’s note: OMON is the Russian equivalent of SWAT]

When he announced the beginning of the “reset,” Freedom House Vice President Arch Puddington stated that the U.S. administration did indeed hope to expand its contact with Russia, believing that Dmitri Medvedev would be able to pass some liberal reforms. But over the last few months, it has become clear that these hopes were not destined to come true: Just as before, Russian politics are controlled by Vladimir Putin, and his return to power in 2012 has “lead to a sharp deterioration in the nation’s political climate.”*

“Putin has pushed through measures to deter public demonstrations, smear and limit funding for nongovernmental organizations, and place restrictions on the internet,” states Arch Puddington. The human rights activists have become convinced that the central theme of Russian political life has become “[emphatic] anti-Americanism.” Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of organizing and financing anti-government demonstrations in Moscow. United States Agency for International Development operations have been discontinued, a whole range of bilateral agreements have been terminated and American adoption of Russian orphans has been prohibited.

Nevertheless, according to the Freedom House experts, the actions of the Russian leadership have gone unnoticed in Washington. The official faces of the U.S. administration are being extremely cautious in commenting on the Kremlin’s initiatives. A harsh response was not given even when the “pro-Kremlin youth groups and government television channels began harassing” Michael McFaul, the new U.S. ambassador to Moscow and the president of Russia defiantly refused to take part in the G-8 meeting last May.* “There can be little doubt that a new American policy toward the Kremlin is needed,” Arch Puddington assuredly stated.

According to the authors of the report, the Kremlin leadership’s main mistake is that the existing vertical power structures are based not on “electoral legitimacy … or formal state institutions,” but on the “personal support from the governing elites and security services.” If Putin’s influence were to wane, the entire system could collapse.

The experts at Freedom House have come to the conclusion that it is time for Washington to abandon hope that mutually beneficial relations may be established with Russia and to change completely its tone in negotiations with the Kremlin. The excessive compliance of the White House is seen in Moscow as weakness, and the administration’s attempts to “[maintain] good relations at all cost” has, according to the authors of the report, already diminished the international influence of the U.S.

The list of recommendations also includes a suggestion for President Obama specifically. The human rights activists believe that he ought to cancel his upcoming trip to Moscow and inform the Russian leadership that his participation in the autumn G-20 meeting will depend upon the human rights situation in Russia.

As of yet, the White House has not responded to the petition of the human rights activists. Washington does believe relations with Russia will undergo serious changes in the near future, but it is unlikely that these changes will be connected to the observance of human rights in Russia. “The reset policy has not brought results, and now the administration is discussing the need to reduce the range of issues about which Moscow and Washington can agree,” stated Marvin Kalb, a professor at Harvard University’s school of government. “The list will definitely retain the issues of nuclear disarmament, Afghanistan, and Syria. The White House will attempt to resolve all other issues without the participation of Moscow.”*

Translator’s note: The report that this article refers can be found here: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/contending-putins-russia

*Editor’s note: These quotes, though accurately translated, could not be verified.