Source: WAMU's Diane Rehm Show
Speaking on the Diane Rehm Show, Carnegie’s Lilia Shevtsova joined Andrew Weiss, director of the Center for Russia and Eurasia at RAND Corporation, and Svetlana Babaeva, senior analyst at the Russian News Agency (RIA Novosti), to discuss Russia's recent presidential elections.
Shevtsova outlined the widespread irregularity and fraud in the recent elections, which occurred despite the authorities’ need for domestic and international legitimacy. “Putin strangely preferred numbers instead of getting legitimacy,” she said.
Shevtsova also noticed that the Putin's current system of power could not survive with real freedom of media, parliamentary elections, and independent courts.