How far has the internet transformed politics? Those with any doubts should check out
http://www.putin2004.ru (don't worry, there's even a version in very well translated English). Yes, even the President of Russia has launched a website to promote his (almost certain) re-election bid.
As an ITAR/TASS press release (courtesy of the Johnson's Russia email list; home page is
here, but they only post selected items on the web) explains:
Russia: Putin launches web site promoting his re-election bid
ITAR-TASS
Moscow, 11 February: The official web site of presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has opened on the Internet. It is located at www.putin2004.ru and consists of four sections. The home page of the site features Putin's message to visitors, in which he thanks them for their support.
The section "Vladimir Putin" consists of several parts: "Biography", "Speeches", "Photo gallery" and "Press". The "Personal" section is of particular interest. It contains excerpts from the president's book "From the First Person" and from interviews with Putin, in which he speaks about his private life and such nongovernment matters as family, friends, religion and hobbies. Quotations from Putin's wife Lyudmila and his daughters Mariya and Katerina are also there.
Another section - "Putin's activities" - has been designed as a rolling news page, where the first story was the announcement by the chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation that the presidential election campaign had begun. [Passage omitted]
The section "Four-year results" consists of three parts: "Fighting poverty", "Economic growth" and "Strong army". Information, including concrete figures, on the rate of changes in each field during Putin's term of office is displayed there. The section "Priorities" talks of the main directions of Russia's future development: "Rooting out poverty", "Modernizing the army" and "Consolidating society".
The site also contains the addresses and telephone numbers of Putin's public reception offices and his central and regional election headquarters. Activists who wish to support the candidate can acquaint themselves with the rules of election propaganda and download Putin's photographs in the required format. All this information is displayed in the "Headquarters" section.
It is a very spiffy website -- funded not by the Russian government but "by the candidate's campaign fund in accordance with Russian election laws," and the site also contains a compendium of election laws. It is noteworthy that the English language portion features a "speech to campaign reporters" and "answers to questions by campaign reporters." Though I wasn't able to find a button to donate by credit card.
Although there isn't a blog (sorry, not quite there yet, although I'm sure Putin is hoping to embark on the 100 ruble revolution -- which, since there are currently 28 rubles to the dollar, would be particularly remarkable), the news dispatches are updated well, featuring, as the TASS blurb suggests, your classic political soundbites. His "results of the past four years" page leads with an essay on "the struggle with poverty" (of course, lest this sound impressively progressive, we should remember that it is also impressively Soviet sounding; and yet, at least there it is, well featured on the President's website -- hmm, I think I'll try to find the "struggle with poverty" section on Bush's site).
The other two pages in the "results" section deal with similarly politically important topics: economic growth and a "strong army."
So why is a semi-authoritarian President who is expected easily to win re-election putting up a website? Well, of course these sites are always partially propaganda, but it is demonstration that Putin gets the form if not necessarily the spirit of democracy. His presentation of his goals and accomplishments has as much or more in common with the self-presentation of western politicians as it does with the Soviet past. And that, at least, is something.