Julian Pecquet: Russia Skewers US Election as Undemocratic!!

The Russian government is lambasting the US presidential race as an undemocratic spectacle, amid growing concerns about the country's own commitment to free and fair elections. The Foreign Ministry this week accused America of hypocrisy, following reports that some US states would turn away international election monitors at the polls. The Kremlin funded Russia Today television station, meanwhile, is serving up a steady stream of outraged US election coverage, reporting on topics such as the lack of polling places in Indian country, and the short shift given to third party candidates by the American media. The US electoral system, Russian elections chief Vladimir Churov declared this week, "is the worst in the world." Observers say the attacks against America's election system are largely fueled by domestic politics in Russia. Voting has become a touchy subject for the Kremlin, following the massive demonstrations that pro democracy activists staged against the legislative elections that were held in December. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the fraud allegations that sparked the turmoil raised "serious concern." Further, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said President Vladimir Putin's election to a third six year term in March was marred by "serious problems." The US Russia relationship "has become a part of the chess game of domestic Russian politics," said Matthew Rojansky, the deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's not surprising that attacking the United States, and trying to diminish the credibility of what is said by Americans and what comes from Washington, is very much now in the interest of the Russian authorities," Rojansky said. "It says something about the state of the relationship. There's not a lot of trust right now. We're defaulting to a lot of bad old habits, this kind of tit for tat criticism, which was common during the Cold War."