Dissidents push for a different Russia

The often vitriolic debate may fail to capture the full complexities of Putin-era Russia, say some experts. The shackles on democracy, press freedom, and grass-roots organizing are real, but they remain mild by Soviet standards and actively target only the most outspoken critics. On the other hand, the state no longer attempts to control people's private lives – as the Communist regime did – and modest prosperity has enabled millions of Russians to travel abroad, build their own homes, and launch Western-style careers in recent years.

"When someone says we're going back to the USSR, I say you must have forgotten what the Soviet Union was like," says Vladimir Posner, a longtime commentator. "I'm not very happy with the way things are going, but at least [those at the Different Russia meeting] have the possibility to behave and talk that way. If this were the Soviet Union, they'd all be in jail right now."

Still, Moscow's moves have increasingly drawn the attention of the US since the Washington-based Freedom House, which rates governments around the world, downgraded Russia from "partly free" to "not free" two years ago.

"We have concerns, such as the overcentralization of power and the plight of civil society in Russia," said a Western diplomat. "I wouldn't be surprised if that figured in the official [G-8] agenda."

But the foreign ministry has criticized Freedom House's reports. "Why the need for this continuous exercise in tarnishing Russia's reputation?" asked the ministry in a statement. "It could be that someone ... wants to maintain the pressure being put on us and is using the theme of human rights through an old habit, as it was the case in the USSR period ..."

Putin reached out to some civil society groups last week in a Kremlin-backed "Civil G-8" forum, though critics called it a mere public relations exercise. The president pledged to bring the concerns of environmentalists and AIDS activists to the G-8. Later, in a recent online forum, Putin said that the fact he was answering a critical question suggested that "democracy is in good hands and developing in the right direction."

Though authorities have avoided sweeping measures to block the "Different Russia" gathering, Russian G-8 envoy Igor Shuvalov last week warned Western governments to ignore it.

"If high officials take part, we will view this as an unfriendly gesture," he said. Several foreign observers, including two from the State Department, are expected to attend.

Some say this week's Moscow gathering signals the return to Russia's political landscape of "dissidents" – those tiny bands of Soviet-era activists whose trenchant criticism was sharply at odds with the USSR's self-satisfied image. Conference organizers allege that police have tried to intimidate dozens of delegates, including threats of arrest, in a bid to prevent them from taking part.

"It's an inspiring thing that so many of them have the courage, like the Soviet-era dissidents, to go ahead despite the bullying," says Lilia Shevtsova, an expert with the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

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