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Political decompression and Russia's emerging public

Russia's leaders have long recognized a need for competitive politics. They tried twice, in 1995 and in 2006, to create a two-party system from above. Most observers among those who even took note of these attempts ridiculed them. Both times, they stressed that the parties created from above were "pro-Kremlin," so the attempt to create a two-party system could not be serious. Such observers failed, and still fail to recognize that there are powerful reasons why the Kremlin needs...