Empire or democracy
Democracy and imperialism are mutually exclusive. No empire was, is or can be democratic. The British Empire was not, the imperial People’s Republic of China is not, nor will imperial Russia become a democracy, even when a self-professed democrat is installed at its helm. The necessary precondition of democratization in an empire is decolonization.
In February 2024, the death (or rather, extrajudicial killing) of the leading Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny sent shock waves across the democratic world. It could have been a subdued affair, as in the case of the Chinese 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Beijing arrested him on trumped up charges in 2008 and withheld medical care, leading to the dissident’s premature death in 2017. The Chinese authorities did not want to turn Liu Xiaobo into a martyr for democracy. Hence, he was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. No grave means no pilgrimage site.
April 11, 2024 -
Tomasz Kamusella
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AnalysisIssue 3 2024Magazine
Image of the propaganda map titled "Portugal is not a small country" meant to show the size of its colonies contrasted against Europe.
The studious absence imposed by the authorities rapidly translates into a steep decline in the remembrance and recognisability of the late activist. In 2008, Liu Xiaobo dared to co-author Charter 08, in emulation of Czechoslovak dissidents’ Charter 77 (announced in 1977). Charter 08 was unveiled on the 60th anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Chinese totalitarianism loathes democracy, liberal values and human rights.
Why did then the Kremlin not follow the now typical silencing procedure, applied in totalitarian regimes after the untimely demise of another popular oppositionist with political aspirations? First, the expected preoccupation of the West with Navalny’s suffering, death and funeral helped in averting the gaze of the world’s public opinion from the second anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. To Moscow’s glee, the same purpose had been served by the terrorist organization Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, followed by the Israeli intervention in Gaza. The Kremlin immediately unrolled the red carpet for Hamas leaders in Moscow. On top of that, the West failed to meet its pledges of weapon supplies to Ukraine. Kyiv had no choice but to withdraw from Avdiivka that after the months-long battle regrettably fell into the Russian hands. Moscow’s propaganda hails the victory as a proof that Russia is winning the war. This official conclusion helped legitimize the March 2024 “election” of Vladimir Putin as the country’s life “president”. In reality it was nothing else but a ritualized reappointment to the Kremlin’s throne.
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democracy, empire, Imperial russia
