Putinisation is a term popularised by Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament which has been used to describe a perceived movement away from liberal democracy in certain Eastern European countries in imitation of the regime of Vladimir Putin in Russia.
Contents
Poland
In January 2016, Schultz used the term to characterise the Constitutional Court crisis then engulfing Poland, warning of a "dangerous Putinisation of European politics". This referred to actions by the Polish Law and Justice party to change the makeup and voting rules of the Court. Protestors against the reforms carried banners reading “We say no to being Putinized!”
The BBC's Newsnight programme subsequently broadcast a segment asking 'Is Poland being Putinised?' which drew complaints from the Polish Foreign Ministry.
Beyond Poland
The term has also been used to describe the regime of Hungarian leader Victor Orban and the attempts by Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to increase the power of the presidency. It has also been applied to an "intensifying campaign" against human rights organisations in Israel by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Georgian Human Rights Centre has complained of the "Putinization" of media outlets in Georgia in the early 2000s.