Russian Essay
Today Russia is on the verge of becoming a democracy, yet is losing control to President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is a form of government that advocates absolute rule, meaning there is a government leader who has complete control. The citizens today support Putin by giving-in to his authority instead of chasing after their own freedom. There are many factors contributing to this emphasis on authoritarianism, and it’s putting the goal of democracy in jeopardy.
The ideals of the citizens are one of the things that are preventing Russia from heading towards a democracy. The Russian citizens do not feel that their government system is flawed because they view themselves as a world power so they do not feel the government system should change. According to “Flight from Freedom” by Richard Pipes, seventy-eight percent of respondents to a survey think “democracy is a facade for a government controlled by rich and powerful cliques”. According to Pipes, Fifty-three percent of respondents to a survey definitely disliked democracy whereas only twenty-two percent expressed a preference for it. The survey also found that most Russians prefer a one-party system. A one-party system has only one dominant party and no other parties are allowed to exist.
A common theme in Russian society is order. The dictionary definition of order is an authoritative direction or instruction. According to “Flight from Freedom”, eighty-eight percent of the respondents prefer order over freedom. The Russian preference for order is also shown in the film “The Crocodile” in which a government official, Ivan Matveitch, gets trapped inside a crocodile. While inside the crocodile, Ivan Matveitch decides he does not want to come out because it is orderly inside versus the chaos outside. Ivan said, “Savages love independence, wise men love order”.
In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Raskolnikov believes in order over freedom as well. Raskolnikov commits two murders in the book. This can represent disorder because he is going against the law. He has the chance to remain free because someone else was convicted and put in jail. Despite this, he confesses anyway. By admitting to the crime, he is giving-in to order because he is giving–in to the government system. Through his confession, Raskolnikov feels that he can then go on with life because he has been punished. He would rather get punished for the murder then feel guilty and be free. Society as a whole is then restored and in balance in terms of order. Dostoevsky is conveying that Russians need order in their lives. Russians cannot move towards democracy because it will contradict with their ideal of order.
Another theme in Crime and Punishment is submission. Submission is defined as the act of submitting to the power of someone else. According to Raskolnikov’s theory, men are either “ordinary” or “extraordinary”. Ordinary men live in submission and cannot violate the law. Extraordinary men are able to violate the law in any way. Raskolnikov is extraordinary and commits crimes. According to his theory, he then becomes ordinary once again by submitting to the common law in confession. Raskolnikov, representing the beliefs of the average Russian citizen, finds out that he is not extraordinary (and neither are the Russian people, in this same respect) and therefore must have order and authoritarianism.
Another challenge for democracy is that Russia is nearly twice the size of the U.S. and has eleven different time zones. Russia is far too vast, spread out, and divided to be controlled by a democratic government. Russia’s climate and geographical features are different in certain areas. With such great geographical differences and priorities, it would be hard to elect someone that would be able to help everyone. A democratic government is essentially ruled by the people. If the people are so isolated in separate areas and have different issues, it would be hard for the government to be effective and the people to be content with their leader.
In the past, Russia has been led by a monarchist government with Czars in control. In “Eternal Russia” and The Russian Revolution by Robert Goldston, Czars (i.e. Romanov Dynasty) had complete control over the country. Some minimal input came from the Duma; however the Czar was allowed overrule the Duma. Like most monarchies, the Czar is normally chosen through a hereditary descendent from the previous Czar. Ideals are therefore fairly constant throughout the Dynasty, and certain ideals do not change unless there happens to be a revolution. Monarchist governments have absolute rule over the country, so, in that sense, a monarchy is like authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism was also seen in Russia’s past when Joseph Stalin was the leader. While he was the General Secretary, he had complete rule of the communist party and Russia. Authoritarianism is part of Russia’s past and it has helped Russia to become known as a world power. Because Russians have expressed success as a country under authoritarian rule, it reduces their interest in democracy. Democracy will not work if the people do not want to participate or see it as useless because they have been doing fine under authoritarianism.
Today, the world sees Russia as becoming a powerful country with substantial military forces. Russia is one of the richest industrialized countries in the world. The money they are making is helping them become known as a world power. According to “Flight from Freedom”, seventy-eight percent of Russian citizens insist on being a great power. The citizens would not allow the government to change if the country’s status as an indestructible world power lowered.
Russia’s power is also seen in the film “Alexander Nevsky”, in which Russia defeats Germany. Russia needed a highly respected leader to guide them. Alexander Nevsky led them in battles and is portrayed as an authoritative leader to the people. He is an authoritarian type leader because everyone respected him and would obey his commands. Present Russia is like that now. Russians respect Putin and want him to lead them like an authoritarian figure.
Authoritarianism is the form of government Russia is returning to, although they have been making progress towards democracy. However Russian citizens are against this return to democracy. Russia’s society does not have the correct outlook to change their form of government. Putin is now centralizing the government giving more power to himself. The people of Russia want to remain a world power and they believe order and authoritarianism is going to give that to them. The geography is also preventing the country from changing. With the country so spread out, no democratic government could effectively control the country. What Russians really want is a leader and a protector. The authoritarian government gives them just that, a leader and protector who has complete control. These are the reasons why Russia is shifting to authoritarianism and are not on the road to democracy.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Red Wings home winning streak comes to an end
The Oilers spoil the Red Wings 13 game win streak at home holding them short of tying their record.
The Red Wings started the game strong with a power-play goal by Henrik Zetterberg. This goal kept Zetterberg's point streak alive. He now has 14 goals and 27 points in his last 12 games. It seemed like the Red Wings were going to win easily because the goal occurred in the fourth minute. Later in the eighth minute on another power-play, Lidstrom took a shot from the right circle. It was then deflected by Tomas Holmstrom, who was screening the goalie, into the upper corner. The score was now 2-0 in favor of the Red Wings. Later in the third period, Ryan Smyth scored a power-play goal cleaning up his own rebound. The period ended with the score 2-1 with the Red Wings leading.
In the second period, Raffi Torres tied the game up in the twelfth minute with a shot from the bottom of the right circle. This was the first even strength goal scored in the entire game up to this point. The score remained the same until the fifteenth minute when Valtteri Filppula scored a goal. There was a mess in front of the net when the puck came loose and was put in by Filppula. The score was now 3-2 and remained that way until the end of the period.
The third period was fairly quiet with many scoring opportunities. The Oilers weren't pressured too much because they could play for the tie and then win it in overtime or a shootout because now every game was guaranteed a winner. And that's just what they did when Marty Reasoner scored in the eight minute after Hasek came out of net on an inopportune time. No goals were scored throughout the end of the period and throughout overtime.
It now came down to the shootout where each team chose three players to attempt to score a breakaway goal. Only one goal was scored and that was by Ryan Smyth who trickled it past Hasek.
Overall, the Red Wings played well even though they lost. They could of won it many times before overtime and the shootout if they only could have put away one of many scoring opportunities.
Hasek didn't seem to be in the right mind set because he was all over the place. He was caught behind the goal multiple times acting as a defender and lost his stick twice too. The Oilers third goal was scored after Hasek came out when he shouldn't have.
On other news, Niklas Kronwall put a hard hit on Edmonton right winger Joffrey Lupul who wasn't defenseless at the time. Lupul left the game with a concussion which infuriated the Oilers bench because they lost a player the same way the night before. This caused a physical game throughout the rest of the night. Also, the players and coaches were angry with the referee's who made a few "phantom" calls in the first period.
The Red Wings now have full control of the Western Conference being one full point ahead of Nashville. The Red Wings play Nashville tonight at 8:00pm.
The Red Wings started the game strong with a power-play goal by Henrik Zetterberg. This goal kept Zetterberg's point streak alive. He now has 14 goals and 27 points in his last 12 games. It seemed like the Red Wings were going to win easily because the goal occurred in the fourth minute. Later in the eighth minute on another power-play, Lidstrom took a shot from the right circle. It was then deflected by Tomas Holmstrom, who was screening the goalie, into the upper corner. The score was now 2-0 in favor of the Red Wings. Later in the third period, Ryan Smyth scored a power-play goal cleaning up his own rebound. The period ended with the score 2-1 with the Red Wings leading.
In the second period, Raffi Torres tied the game up in the twelfth minute with a shot from the bottom of the right circle. This was the first even strength goal scored in the entire game up to this point. The score remained the same until the fifteenth minute when Valtteri Filppula scored a goal. There was a mess in front of the net when the puck came loose and was put in by Filppula. The score was now 3-2 and remained that way until the end of the period.
The third period was fairly quiet with many scoring opportunities. The Oilers weren't pressured too much because they could play for the tie and then win it in overtime or a shootout because now every game was guaranteed a winner. And that's just what they did when Marty Reasoner scored in the eight minute after Hasek came out of net on an inopportune time. No goals were scored throughout the end of the period and throughout overtime.
It now came down to the shootout where each team chose three players to attempt to score a breakaway goal. Only one goal was scored and that was by Ryan Smyth who trickled it past Hasek.
Overall, the Red Wings played well even though they lost. They could of won it many times before overtime and the shootout if they only could have put away one of many scoring opportunities.
Hasek didn't seem to be in the right mind set because he was all over the place. He was caught behind the goal multiple times acting as a defender and lost his stick twice too. The Oilers third goal was scored after Hasek came out when he shouldn't have.
On other news, Niklas Kronwall put a hard hit on Edmonton right winger Joffrey Lupul who wasn't defenseless at the time. Lupul left the game with a concussion which infuriated the Oilers bench because they lost a player the same way the night before. This caused a physical game throughout the rest of the night. Also, the players and coaches were angry with the referee's who made a few "phantom" calls in the first period.
The Red Wings now have full control of the Western Conference being one full point ahead of Nashville. The Red Wings play Nashville tonight at 8:00pm.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Hasek keeps Red Wings alive for the Win
Like most games recently, the Red Wings didn't start off very strong. It started off with the Blackhawks in the first period with a goal by Radim Vrbata in the sixth minute. The Red Wings were lucky leaving the first period with only one goal given up. The Blackhawks had pressure on Hasek throughout the first period. He sparked his team to get going.
In the second period, the Red Wings responded with a goal of their own by Kris Draper in the sixth minute. After the goal, the Blawkhawks didn't give up and began pressuring Hasek throughout the second period with many scoring opportunities.
In the third period, the Red Wings really go going. At the start of the period the Red Wings were tied 1-1 with the Blackhawks. Halfway through the period things weren't looking good when Chris Chelios got called for a penalty after an accidental high stick. Eight seconds after the penalty started, Pavel Datsyuk stole the puck from Adrian Aucoin at the blue line and scored a shorthanded goal after making his move. This gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Later in the same power-play, Bryan Smolinski connected with a slapshot from the right circle a minute and half later. The puck deflected off Mathieu Schneider pad and went right past Hasek, it was now tied again at 2-2. Later in the thirteenth minute, Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal in the midst of a penalty being called with a cross-ice pass from Datsyuk. This put the Red Wings up for good. Henrik Zetterberg sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the nineteenth minute.
Like usual, the Red Wings start off slow until Henrik Zetterberg pulls through late in the game. This seems to be a pattern with the Red Wings lately. After the game, they interviewed Hasek. He didn't seem to be satisfied with the win stating, "We played a team that's 20 points behind us, you should beat a team like that."
With this win, the Red Wings finally took control over the central division being one point ahead of Nashville. The Red Wings record is 39-16-6 with Nashville only slightly behind at 40-18-3. The Red Wings have the best record in the Western Conference and the second best record in the NHL. They are one point down to the Sabres.
Currently, the Red Wings are on a thirteen game home win streak. They are only one game short of the franchise record set in 1964-65.
Next the Red Wings will face the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. The Red Wings seem to struggle with the Oilers so we will have to see how it turns out. The Red Wings have twenty-one games left in this season with five more games against Nashville.
In the second period, the Red Wings responded with a goal of their own by Kris Draper in the sixth minute. After the goal, the Blawkhawks didn't give up and began pressuring Hasek throughout the second period with many scoring opportunities.
In the third period, the Red Wings really go going. At the start of the period the Red Wings were tied 1-1 with the Blackhawks. Halfway through the period things weren't looking good when Chris Chelios got called for a penalty after an accidental high stick. Eight seconds after the penalty started, Pavel Datsyuk stole the puck from Adrian Aucoin at the blue line and scored a shorthanded goal after making his move. This gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Later in the same power-play, Bryan Smolinski connected with a slapshot from the right circle a minute and half later. The puck deflected off Mathieu Schneider pad and went right past Hasek, it was now tied again at 2-2. Later in the thirteenth minute, Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal in the midst of a penalty being called with a cross-ice pass from Datsyuk. This put the Red Wings up for good. Henrik Zetterberg sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the nineteenth minute.
Like usual, the Red Wings start off slow until Henrik Zetterberg pulls through late in the game. This seems to be a pattern with the Red Wings lately. After the game, they interviewed Hasek. He didn't seem to be satisfied with the win stating, "We played a team that's 20 points behind us, you should beat a team like that."
With this win, the Red Wings finally took control over the central division being one point ahead of Nashville. The Red Wings record is 39-16-6 with Nashville only slightly behind at 40-18-3. The Red Wings have the best record in the Western Conference and the second best record in the NHL. They are one point down to the Sabres.
Currently, the Red Wings are on a thirteen game home win streak. They are only one game short of the franchise record set in 1964-65.
Next the Red Wings will face the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. The Red Wings seem to struggle with the Oilers so we will have to see how it turns out. The Red Wings have twenty-one games left in this season with five more games against Nashville.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Red Wings come through late against the Dallas Stars
Going into the third period, the Red Wings were down by one. During a power play in the second period, Niklas Kronwall (Detroit) was late getting back on Defense which left Mike Ribeiro (Dallas) wide open for the put away in the lower right behind Osgood. The score didn't change until the middle of the third period.
It looked like the Red Wings were going to lose late in the third period still trailing when Henrik Zetterberg took it into the Dallas zone behind the net. He then back handed the puck through his and his defenders legs setting up Pavel Datsyuk with an easy tap into the lower corner.
This seemed to spark the Red Wings because they had several scoring opportunities within the next few minutes until they struck again. In the fifteenth minute, Zetterberg had an opportunity at the top of the slot and took a wrist shot which went past the screen into the upper corner of the net.
With about a minute left in the game, Dallas pulled their goalie to give them one last chance. A quick turnover by Dallas sent the Red Wings sprinting the other way. With thirty seconds left in the game, Schneider sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Despite early struggles, Detroit seemed to play their game. Only down by one throughout the second period, the Red Wings stuck with it. With late opportunities the Red Wings were able to pull through. Tonight, they had difficulty putting the puck into the net because they had constant shots on Mike Smith (Dallas) throughout the third period. In the end, the Red Wings worked hard to get the win.
It looked like the Red Wings were going to lose late in the third period still trailing when Henrik Zetterberg took it into the Dallas zone behind the net. He then back handed the puck through his and his defenders legs setting up Pavel Datsyuk with an easy tap into the lower corner.
This seemed to spark the Red Wings because they had several scoring opportunities within the next few minutes until they struck again. In the fifteenth minute, Zetterberg had an opportunity at the top of the slot and took a wrist shot which went past the screen into the upper corner of the net.
With about a minute left in the game, Dallas pulled their goalie to give them one last chance. A quick turnover by Dallas sent the Red Wings sprinting the other way. With thirty seconds left in the game, Schneider sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Despite early struggles, Detroit seemed to play their game. Only down by one throughout the second period, the Red Wings stuck with it. With late opportunities the Red Wings were able to pull through. Tonight, they had difficulty putting the puck into the net because they had constant shots on Mike Smith (Dallas) throughout the third period. In the end, the Red Wings worked hard to get the win.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
5 Writing Group Questions!
Who is your favorite flex teacher and why?
What is your favorite sport and which team in that sport is your favorite?
If you could kill anyone in the world, who would you kill and why?
Who is your best friend and what significant role do they play in your life?
What is your least favorite source in flex? (Any year)
What is your favorite sport and which team in that sport is your favorite?
If you could kill anyone in the world, who would you kill and why?
Who is your best friend and what significant role do they play in your life?
What is your least favorite source in flex? (Any year)
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