Is Russia on the verge of an 'Arab Spring'?

Hundreds are arrested during massive demonstrations, as anti-Putin protesters charge that Sunday's parliamentary elections were fraudulent

Police detain an activist during a rally Tuesday, as hundreds of Russian demonstrators protested the allegedly-fraudulent results of the country's parliamentary elections.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Mikhail Voskresensky)

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party was embarrassed in Sunday's parliamentary elections, claiming just under 50 percent of the vote for the State Duma, compared to 67 percent in 2007. And it might have been even worse if not for alleged electoral fraud that seems to have bolstered Putin's party. Now, as angry demonstrators gather in Moscow and other cities to decry the election results, Russia is dealing with some of its biggest protests in years. Already, hundreds have been arrested, and there's even talk of a Russian "Arab Spring." Is Putin the next Mubarak, or is that just wishful neocon thinking?

This may be the start of a "Russian awakening": "No less than Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Mr. Putin invited the backlash by choosing to retrench rather than reform his regime," says The Washington Post in an editorial. Russians are fed up with Putin, and he further infuriated the populace by "manipulating the election system to eliminate alternatives." Putin's regime intimidated the independent group monitoring the election, and prevented liberal, pro-Western parties from even registering. Let's hope these protests are only the beginning of a "Russian awakening."

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