Russia Digs Its Own Grave at the Polls

Sunday’s elections were depressing. The problem is not that the results suggest that the authorities remain hugely popular despite the crisis, but that the authorities seem to be digging their own graves.

The country’s leaders are spending enormous amounts of money to calm nerves and maintain order. But they are failing to prepare themselves to cope with future problems or to restructure the political system to meet those challenges. They are simply squandering Russia’s accumulated reserves and burying their heads in the sand.