Anne Applebaum, a London political columnist working on a history of Soviet concentration camps, writes about Russia’s Dying Democracy

But if

there was any silver lining to the chaos and corruption of the

Yeltsin years, it was that at least something resembling a free

press together with what was starting to look like democratic

political parties remained in their wake. Now, although some

elements of informal civil society are still intact …, the press is less and less free and the

democratic politicians are vanishing fast. Why destroy them?

Couldn’t economic reform have been carried out within the

framework of democracy?

Clearly, Putin thinks not. And the dangers are clear. While some

in the West will applaud any attempt to force through some

economic reform, Putin’s elimination of his potential opponents

leaves open not only the possibility of a relatively benign, even

“progressive” dictatorship, but for far less benign future

dictatorships led, perhaps, by Putin’s assassin, or by his

bodyguard, or whoever. When the palace coup happens, nobody

will be around to object.

Slate