A Putin Ally Won 98% Of The Vote And Celebrated In A Full Suit Of Medieval Armor
WP- Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, marked his landslide reelection this weekend in a manner that somehow seemed befitting. To no one’s surprise, he was ahead with about 98 percent of the vote after a partial count of ballots from the Sunday election was announced. Rights groups accuse Kadyrov, in power since 2007, of ruling the Muslim-majority republic with an iron fist as a loyal lieutenant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2011 parliamentary elections, about 99.48 percent of Chechnya’s vote went to Putin’s ruling United Russia party. Their relationship is not dissimilar to that of a feudal lord and his vassal. Maybe that’s what Kadyrov had in mind when he showed up at a ceremony on the evening of the vote clad in a suit of medieval armor, with a conical helmet, a longsword strapped to his waist and a spear in his hand.
Listen. Russia obviously sucks. We have our history with them. Putin seems like a G but there’s clearly evidence that he’s a pretty big asshole. But then there’s shit like this that almost makes a dictatorship seem totally worth it. Like I totally get it. Why run the risk of potentially losing all of your power when you can simply be friends with Putin, rig the election, win 98% of the vote and celebrate in medieval body armor? That sounds AWESOME. That sounds like the best bachelor party ever. Now two ways about it. It makes legitimate democracy look fucking stupid if you think about it. Sure, actual democracy makes society fair and just but if I were a politician in a position of power, why change? I wouldn’t. I would rig elections, kill opponents, go shirtless horseback riding with Vladimir and wear a suit of body armor 24/7. That’s the life.
PS- Those 2% who didn’t vote for that guy better watch out. He’s about to go knocking on doors in that body armor like The Mountain in Game of Thrones.
He is also known for the harsh practices of the security forces under his watch, thought to carry out widespread torture, kidnappings and extrajudicial killings of political rivals and dissidents.
h/t josh