Putin's Russia is not democratic

I will first refute the points you made in R2. You make three main points: 1)I do not claim that liberty and democracy are the same thing. I implicitly claim that the two are closely related, and that a true democracy is not possible without a certain degree of liberty. However, I do this through a very careful examination of how Russia's election were essentially rigged through infringements of liberty. Democracy is not simply a form of government where people decide their rulers. It is necessary that people FREELY choose their leaders. If this were not the case, then elections where government scare people away from voting would be considered legit democratic elections. 2)You misunderstand what I mean by "competitive." You seem to believe that I mean an election where there is fierce competition between different alternatives. This is NOT what I mean. When I use the term "competitive" I essentially mean "fair." By "competitive," I merely mean that fair competition is POSSIBLE. If competitive elections were not necessary for a legit democracy, then elections where the government removes opposition from the ballot would be considered legit. In this case, an election could be carried out and the government could abide by the results, but the outcome was predetermined and thus the election was not fair. 3) Distinction between "liberal democracy" and "absolute democracy" is not relevant to this debate. My arguments about freedoms of the press are not designed to show that Russia isn't a free country, they are designed to illustrate how Russia rigs elections. Again, I am aware the Western countries have censored the press. Again, I will point out that I am only bringing up censorship insofar as it precludes the possibility for a fair election. Now I will re-explain my previous points in order to try and present a clearer story about how Russia essentially rigs elections and is thus undemocratic: 1)Freedom of the Press Putin's government controls most of the information the public gets regarding election campaigns. Those who are critical of his government or support opposition are silenced. This control of information gives Putin a clear unfair advantage in electoral campaigns. When a government utilizes its power to control the results of an election, it is rigging and it is undemocratic. 2)Putin's government tampers with regional elections. The Kremlin coerces politicians into switching party lines and pledging loyalty to Putin's government. Local politicians who are afraid of or were bought by the Kremlin then work to sway the voters in the way that Putin wants. This is undemocratic for the obvious reason that there is direct tampering with local elections and also because it is another example of how the Kremlin uses its resources to stack the deck against opposition. Suddenly the election has become an issue of who has the most power and the ability to force support. The opponent of the incumbent could never hope to match such power, and thus the election is unfair. If an election is unfair, it is not a democratic election. To make a comparison, this would be like if a Democratic politician of the USA forced many Republican senators and governors to switch parties and then coerced them into campaigning and endorsing for him. (Note: The country and parties were simply examples and aren't representative of any political statement) 3) Putin used reforms and arbitrary enforcement of the law to gain support from oligarchs and the economic elite. This amounts to using government power to secure campaign financing. Even worse, Putin used his power to BLOCK financing for the opposition. This is an example of an institutionalized inequity in the electoral system. The state literally acted to ensure that the opposition would not be able to secure funds for campaigning. This action is essentially the same as forcing an opposition candidate out of the race and is another example of Putin's government rigging the election. 4) Russian elections have failed to meet OSCE criteria for democratic elections. This is an example of an international agency declaring that Russia IS NOT DEMOCRATIC. This is an important piece of evidence in this debate as it indicates that the global community does not feel that Russia conducts its elections in a democratic manner. My opponent has not brought forth any evidence illustrating that Russia's elections are fair enough to be considered democratic. Finally, I would like to restate my claim that simply having elections is not enough for a state to be considered democratic. This is why authoritarian states that use violent tactics to prevent opposition from voting and forcibly prevent opposition from getting on the ballot are not considered democracies. The signature of a democracy is a COMPETITIVE ELECTION, which is to say an election that allows for fair competition. Russia's elections are NOT fair; the government sets them up so that the opposition to the incumbent is at an inherent disadvantage. The government actively works to construct a system where it has control over the results of the election. For this reason, Putin's Russia is NOT democratic.