The Death of the Democratic Club (By Andrei Illarionov)
The Group of Eight, as a club of advanced democratic states, will cease to exist.
....
Perhaps it will be reborn later as the G7, or G4 or G3 or some other entity -- for Russia this question is academic. There won't be a place for it in the new club.
By coming to St. Petersburg, leaders of the G7 will demonstrate their indifference to the fate of freedom and democracy in Russia. They will provide the best possible confirmation of what the Russian authorities never tire of repeating: that there are no fundamental differences between Western leaders and Russian leaders.
Like us, Western leaders are interested only in appearing to care about the rights of individuals and market forces; like us, they only talk about freedom and democracy.
The G8 summit will serve as an inspiring example for today's dictators and tomorrow's tyrants.
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2006/ ... 6.html#top