The Russian school tragedy that left at least 339 people dead has created an unsettling vacillation: Russia is behaving as the United States did after Sept. 11, but to a more severe degree.

Accused of being a weak and feeble leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin has come into the spotlight seeking an increase in executive power — a move that puts so-called democracy in Russia in grave jeopardy.

Using terrorism as a facade to seek greater personal authority, Putin announced a plan Monday to end democratic elections of regional governors and presidents.

Instead, the governors would be approved by their regional legislatures — not a wholly awful reversal, except that the only eligible candidates will be appointed by Putin himself.

This is not Putin’s first soir‚e with trying to appear strong after the school massacre and other terrorist attacks have imploded his nation’s guise of national security. One week after the Sept. 1 attack on a Beslan school, the Russian government invoked the right to use a pre-emptive strike on any nations harboring terrorists — a disturbing parallel to the U.S. strike on Iraq.

Where attacks are frequent, terrorism is becoming synonymous with nationalism. The United States attacked countries “harboring” terrorists post-Sept. 11 with the safety net that opposing such actions was un-American. President Bush garnered colossal support for attacking Afghanistan immediately after the attack and maintained those high levels in bombing Iraq. The Patriot Act — the legislation that copiously removed Americans’ civil rights — passed with red, white and blue approval.

Just like the U.S. attacks and the Patriot Act, Putin’s undemocratic plan is likely to pass with massive approval — doubt is always removed when the president’s party controls two-thirds of the legislative seats. But would the people of Russia disagree with this turn of events?

Probably not. Post-Soviet Russia is a society craving order because it has none. What good is democracy for a people whose children are being brutally murdered?

But for those in opposition to Putin, this consolidation of power means one thing: disenfranchisement from the government.

Even Bush, Putin’s ally, has found fault in Putin’s power consolidation. “As governments fight enemies of democracy, they must uphold the principles of democracy,” Bush said.

Democratic ends will never be reached with unjust means. Putin needs to learn quickly that death is no excuse for oppression.