“Democracy the Loser as Putin Triumphs” — analysis from the right-wing Daily Telegraph:
Analysts at one financial firm, Aton, summed up the shock in a research note: “Yesterday’s election shows what the people actually think: they are stridently nationalist, want wealth redistributed and have little interest in liberal or democratic values.” Igor Mintusov, of Nikkolo M, political campaign consultants, said: “It is a sad day for liberalism. The liberals in Russia are finished in the short term.” [12/9/2003]
Bear in mind that the election was entirely “democratic,” the real loser was not majority rule, but individual liberty. “Liberal” in this context means, roughly, “individualist.”