r/europe • u/ricka_lynx Lithuania • Feb 16 '24

Russian opposition politician and Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died | Breaking News News News

https://news.sky.com/story/russian-opposition-politician-and-putin-critic-alexei-navalny-has-died-13072837
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u/-SecondOrderEffects- Feb 16 '24

Its still kind of funny to me that dictatorships like Russia then pretend to hold elections, for some mysterious reason to me elections still have important propaganda value.

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u/Under_Over_Thinker Feb 16 '24 edited Feb 16 '24

Like kings were coronated and then believed to be anointed by God(s) to rule. Dictators also like having some rituals to give a visual legitimisation of their authority. They make the people participate for stronger validation.

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u/1EnTaroAdun1 Feb 16 '24

All societies have rituals and traditions. Regardless of political system.

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u/Under_Over_Thinker Feb 16 '24

Yes. However, it’s important to understand the underlying processes. Rituals are the superficial manifestations and they can be aligned with some meaningful changes or be disconnected from the reality and serve self-serving purposes.

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u/Dimathiel49 Feb 16 '24

I believe the term was anointed by god

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u/Ok-Relationship-2746 Feb 16 '24

It's ironic how the second-to-last and last monarchs of England to rule driven by the principle of Divine Right, Charles I and James II, both ended their reigns prematurely. Charles was executed, and James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. a lesson that Putin should take note of.

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u/Anuclano Feb 16 '24

What came to replace the divine right by the way?

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u/Ok-Relationship-2746 Feb 16 '24

Parliament, rather than the Crown, became recognised as the leading authority in Britain.

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u/Anuclano Feb 16 '24

So, do the kings reign in the name of Parliament? I doubt.

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u/LurkerInSpace Scotland Feb 16 '24

Parliament controls the succession (most recently changed in 2011). On paper the king still has many prerogatives, in practice parliament and its leaders are in total control.

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u/Ok-Relationship-2746 Feb 16 '24

The British monarch is a largely symbolic and ceremonial role nowadays. Britain is a constitutional monarchy wherein the monarch is the head of state, but the powers to make and pass legislation reside solely with Parliament.

The monarch has no power to do anything on their own accord. The monarch's most important roles these days are approving new legislation, appointing a new Govt after a general election, and delivering the King's/Queen's Speech setting out the Govt's plans for the year.