'New Russia' Ailing; Stand Up, Mr. Bush

Because Bush wants Putin's support on foreign policy issues, he may be tempted to remain silent at the summit about negative trends inside Russia. This would be a mistake. If Bush ignores clear signs that Russia is backing away from democracy, he will undermine democratic forces in Russia -- and he will bring into question the U.S. commitment to fostering democracy abroad.

The evidence of an erosion of democracy in Russia under Putin is now overwhelming. Since coming to power, he and his government have seized control of Russia's last independent national television networks and silenced or changed the editorial teams at several national newspapers and weeklies. Reporters Without Borders, which recently published its first worldwide freedom- of-the-press index, ranked Russia 121st out of 139 countries assessed.

On Putin's watch, state intrusion in Russian society has increased dramatically, from the arrest and harassment of human rights activists to the creation of state-sponsored "civil society" organizations whose mission is to crowd out independent actors. Even businesses are not immune from persecution: Over the summer, the state launched a politically charged criminal investigation into the giant oil company Yukos after its chief executive gave money to opposition political parties.

In Chechnya, Putin's armed forces continue to abuse human rights on a massive scale. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush remarked, "We want to cooperate with [the] Russian [government] on its concern with terrorism, but that is impossible unless Moscow operates with civilized restraint." It's true that Al Qaeda has supported terrorists in the region who continue to attack innocent Russians. But the gross violation of international norms by the Russian government in combating the problem has left a trail of devastation that will take years to overcome -- and has brought Russia no closer to ending the Chechen conflict.