Russia may face severe political crisis - Die Welt

Russia may soon face a severe political crisis, an article published recently by German newspaper Die Welt reads.

The changes Russian society is undergoing are irreversible and the country's political system may collapse soon, the author of the article, Yulia Smirnova, quotes Mikhail Dmitriyev, a member of the Strategic Research Center, as saying.

According to Dmitriyev, who foresaw the dramatic changes in Russian social life a year before the December 4 parliamentary elections brought thousands of Russian people to the streets of Moscow and other cities, where mass opposition rallies were held, the middle class' distrust of the government and the political elite cannot be overcome and may soon lead to the regime's collapse.

The situation in Russia is similar to that in the USSR in the late 80s, Dmitriyev believes.

He underlines that alternative political forces are already emerging.