In my last post, I observed that Russian democratic opposition leader Alexei Navalny had acquired the requisite signatures to be on the presidential ballot next spring of the Russian Federation against authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin, who is seeking a fourth term. I also observed that Putin does not respect human rights or tolerate dissent or allow for fully free and fair elections. Today, the Putin-controlled electoral commission has prohibited Navalny from being on the presidential ballot because of the trumped-up charges against him, the kind of charges against critics, dissidents or opposition leaders typical for Russia and other authoritarian regimes.
Like other dictators who act is if they are strong and who are intimidating in order to hide their weakness and insecurity, Putin is afraid of free and fair elections because he would not only lose power and perhaps the assets he has used his office to enrich himself with, but also face charges for his crimes against humanity.
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