Is Russia Still Committed to Glasnost - Assignment Example

Is Russia still committed to glasnost? Pros Yes, Russia is still committed to glasnost because the journalists know what is possible in Russia andwhat is not as far as freedom of the press is concerned. 2. Yes, Russia is still committed to glasnost because the current Russian president recently expressed his opinion that democratic modernization is the only option for Russia’s future growth. 3. Yes, Russia is still committed to glasnost because the current president has made lot of changes in the foreign policies which were aimed to bring the former Soviet Union back in the picture. 4. Yes, Russia is still committed to glasnost because much higher levels of tryst is currently existing between Russia and western countries. 5. Yes, Russia is still committed to glasnost because Russia has opened its doors to a new glasnost, this time an open approach to cybercrime. Cons 1. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because freedom of speech is not available in Russia today 2. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because even the President does not understand the differences between freedom of speech and glasnost 3. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because Vladimir Putin is trying to reconstruct former Soviet Union. 4. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because journalists who try to report the truth is punishments from the people. 5. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because the people are not much keen in protecting their freedom. 6. No, Russia is not considering glasnost seriously at present because even the local elections were reported to be hijacked by the politicians. Is Russia still committed to glasnost? Many people across the world have doubt about the future of glasnost in Russia. The presidents who ruled Russia after the Gorbachev era have formulated contradictory policies. For example, Vladimir Putin wants the former Soviet Union back and he has formulated many policies for achieving his aim by removing the glasnost policies. On the other hand the successor of Putin, Medvedev is currently implementing many policies for strengthening Glasnost in Russia. “The journalists in Russia “know approximately what is possible and know approximately what isn’t. They may try to push the envelope at times, so that what is prohibited at one time may be permitted, but that is the game”i . Even though freedom of expression is still limited in Russia, at least the journalists have the ideas of the do’s and don’ts in Russia at present. Earlier, before the implementation of glasnost, freedom of the press was limited and the journalists were wandering in the darkness in their search of what is legally permitted in Russia and what is not. The current Russian president contends that true and lasting progress can be made only by free and creative citizens, confident of their liberty”. Medvedev has already realized that no progress--economic, political, or social--is possible without restoring a modicum of trust between the state and society, the power and the peopleii. Medvedev is doing everything possible for protecting the basic rights of the people of Russia. In his opinion, policies without the backing of the people may not last long. In other words, he has more respect towards the people than his predecessors which is a good sign for the democratization of Russia. He has realized the necessity of glasnost for the progress of Russia. Even in the communist China, the call for democracy is strengthening day by day. Under such circumstances, it is suicidal for Russia to embrace communism again. A change of political regime almost always precipitates an alteration in at least some important elements of a countrys foreign policy. This is so because new values mean a new ideology--new ideas about how the nation should live and what it should strive for. In turn, ideology defines priorities and priorities shape policiesiii Earlier Soviet Union opposed American policies blindly because of the cold war. But now Russia is cautious while expressing their opinions about the foreign policies of the west. In fact Russia supported America’s war against Iraq. Moreover, Russia recently banned the sales of missiles to Iran because of the America’s protest. Earlier this kind of actions from Russia was impossible to digest. But Russia has realized that they need the support of the West for their economic progress in an extremely globalized world economy. As a result much higher levels of trust and cooperation than exists today between Russia and the Westiv. Russia has opened its doors to a new glasnost, this time an open approach to cybercrime. In stark contrast to the cooling of relations between the US and China, a new accord on cybercrime and cyber security has been quietly gaining momentum between the old Cold War adversaries, Russia and NATO. The first public signs of this "glasnost" came when the Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC), the organization responsible for the coordination of Russia’s telecommunication development and activities, appealed boldly to the international community for a “RuNet without spamv Earlier, most of the activities inside the Russian territories were opaque to the external world. But now, Russia is ready to increase their ties with the west in preventing cybercrimes in Russia. They are not foreseeing any harm in opening their firewalls to the west. In other words, currently Russia is not adamant in its policies and they are ready to invite or accept the West’s cooperation in areas possible for mutual cooperation. Even though Russia is keener in sustaining glasnost, some of the incidents happened in Russia in recent times is not encouraging for the supporters of glasnost. For example, “freedom of speech does not exist in Russia today”vi. Even though, media is operating more strongly in Russia at present, it doesn’t mean that anybody can express their opinions without fear or prejudice in Russia at present. “The murder of the prominent investigative reporter, Anna Politkovskaya, in October 2006, and other apparent contract killings of journalists, shows that exposing "inconvenient truths" remains a risky profession in Russia”vii. More than 200 journalists murdered in suspicious circumstances in Russia since 1993. Even President Dmitry Medvedev “does not understand the differences between freedom of speech and glasnost”viii. Russians don’t have the proper understanding of the word freedom of speech. Since freedom in any form was not granted in the former Soviet Union, Russians doesn’t know the exact meaning and application of “freedom of speech”. “Miklos Haraszti of the European security body, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), echoed that anxiety about the "lost habit" of defending freedom in Russiaix. Surprisingly, Russians are not much keen in protecting their freedom. They are keeping a mechanical approach towards the governmental policies which is not good for the future of glasnost in Russia. “Vladimir Putin is widely seen as attempting to reconstruct to former Soviet Union, in part by strong arming now-independent republics once part of the Soviet Union”x. Putin is a prominent figure in Russian politics even now. In fact he enjoys more popularity than his successors in Russia. Unfortunately, Putin has little belief in glasnost. He is dreaming about the reconstruction of the former Soviet Union and for that he cannot support the glasnost policies. “The October 2009 local "elections," widely reported to be shamelessly rigged to ensure the victory of United Russia”xi. The manipulations in elections will never strengthen democratic values in Russia. People may not recognize the importance or value of democracy properly, if the elections were conducted using unfair means. Read More