October 4, 2007 — Contents

THURSDAY OCTOBER 4 CONTENTS

(1) Announcement re: Politkovskaya

(2) Kiselyov on Putin’s Plan

(3) Another Day, Another Group of Russians Incinerated

(4) Goble on Russia’s Fifth Column Abroad

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !

Politkovskaya Announcement

We will post our Politkovskaya memorial content on Friday evening and will not post again to the blog until Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, we are pleased to announce the following upcoming events related to her memory, in New York, London and Brussels, thanks in part to Jeremy Putley (if you know of any other such events, please post them as a comment):

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Brussels, October 3, 2007:

One Year after Anna Politkovskaya’s Murder: Where Is Russia Heading and What Is the Position of the EU in this Regard?

A briefing by Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch
7 Avenue des Gaulois
1040 Brussels
Metro: Merode
9:30 am

Speakers:
Tanya Lokshina, DEMOS center (Russia)
Oleg Orlov, MEMORIAL Human Rights Center (Russia)
Sacha Koulaeva, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, FIDH
Lotte Leicht, EU Director, Human Rights Watch
Dick Oosting, Director, Amnesty International EU Office

One year after Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, the human rights situation in Russia remains bleak. Journalists continue to risk their lives, civil society is openly curtailed and torture and disappearances remain common, particularly in the Northern Caucasus.

What has the EU done to that end, and what more is needed? Leading human rights NGOs invite you to attend a press conference to address these questions.

The press conference will include the participation of two prominent Russian human rights defenders who will be in Brussels for the EU-Russia human rights consultations taking place on the same day.

Please RSVP to Juliette Le Dore.

Almut Rochowanski
Coordinator, Programs and Advocacy
Chechnya Advocacy Network
almut@chechnyaadvocacy.org
http://www.chechnyaadvocacy.org
(1) 212 459 9363
(1) 646 467 0637 (mobile)

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October 6:

The Harriman Institute and the Barnard Slavic, Theatre and Music Departments present: A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya

James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
Broadway and 121st Street
New York
7:00pm

Created by Amy Trompetter
Music composed by Alexander Bakshi
Featuring Barnard and Columbia Students

A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya commemorates the life and death of a Russian journalist, who persisted in her clear-eyed reporting on the war in Chechnya despite having been poisoned and issued multiple death threats. She was shot on October 7, 2006 while entering her Moscow apartment. A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya features new music by renowned Moscow-based composer, Alexander Bakshi, and the visual poetry of Amy Trompetter’s giant puppetry. At the top of his field in the Russian theater world, Alexander Bakshi liberates and stretches sound to express narrative and dialogue. Amy Trompetter’s iconoclastic puppets, ranging from the tiny to the gigantic, honor Anna’s life and death, her tenacious observation of indefensible war, her bold expose of political folly, and her lament for the suffering of women and children.

To reserve tickets, please call the Box Office at 212-854-5638.

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October 7:

The Life of Anna Politkovskaya: A Panel Discussion

Refectory, Union Theological Seminary
Broadway and 121st Street
New York
5:00pm

Participants:

Ann Cooper, Coordinator, Broadcast Program at the Columbia Journalism School, and former Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Rachel Denber, Acting Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division
Mary Holland, NYU School of Law
Michaela Pohl, Vassar College

Moderator: Catharine Nepomnyashchy, Director, Harriman Institute

The panel discussion will be followed by a brief reception.

Attendance of the panel discussion does not guarantee seats at the performance of the Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya at 7pm. Please reserve your tickets at the Box Office (212-854-5638).

* * *

October 7, 2007:

The Harriman Institute and the Barnard Slavic, Theatre and Music Departments present: A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya

James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
Broadway and 121st Street
New York
7:00pm

Created by Amy Trompetter
Music composed by Alexander Bakshi
Featuring Barnard and Columbia Students

A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya commemorates the life and death of a Russian journalist, who persisted in her clear-eyed reporting on the war in Chechnya despite having been poisoned and issued multiple death threats. She was shot on October 7, 2006 while entering her Moscow apartment. A Requiem for Anna Politkovskaya features new music by renowned Moscow-based composer, Alexander Bakshi, and the visual poetry of Amy Trompetter’s giant puppetry. At the top of his field in the Russian theater world, Alexander Bakshi liberates and stretches sound to express narrative and dialogue. Amy Trompetter’s iconoclastic puppets, ranging from the tiny to the gigantic, honor Anna’s life and death, her tenacious observation of indefensible war, her bold expose of political folly, and her lament for the suffering of women and children.

To reserve tickets, please call the Box Office at 212-854-5638.

* * *

At the Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

RAW in WAR – Anna Politkovskaya Awards
Fri 5th October, 7pm (please note the earlier start)

Price: FREE

With John Sweeney (BBC), Mairead Corrigan Maguire (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), Natasha Kandic (human rights lawyer from Belgrade), the recipient of the first RAW in WAR Anna Politkovskaya Award and Mariana Katzarova (founder of RAW in WAR).
The event is organised by RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in WAR).

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Sun 7th October, 4.30pm Price: £5.00

Followed by Q&A with filmmakers Jean Michel Carré and Jill Emery

Location: Frontline club, 13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ

A year after the murder of renowned Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and coinciding with Vladimir Putin’s 55th birthday, The Putin System takes an in-depth look at the rise of Russia’s controversial president. A pawn in the KGB system, Vladimir Putin patiently, and invisibly played all the rules of the game to reach the throne of power, never forgetting his true allegiance. Since March 2000, the Kremlin’s grand arbitrator, has unscrupulously orchestrated a new system: The massacre in Chechnya, in the name of Russian sovereignty, the quasi abolition of a free press, the crushing of political opposition and of democracy, the “privatization of the state” by government oligarchs, the elimination of “enemies” inside and outside Russian territory. Any opponents to Putin’s system are the enemy within, the American “wolf” and the West, the enemy without. Added to the sale of nuclear and conventional weaponry, oil and gas are Putin’s new weapons, his empire and his challenge to the world. From the communal flat in St Petersburg where he was king of the gang, to the Kremlin Palace The Putin System shows the methodical rise to power of a man who has employed every means to become one of the most important and authoritarian leaders in today’s world. The worst is perhaps still to come…

“When you control the past, you control the present, when you control the present, you control the future” George Orwell and Vladimir Putin…

Produced and Directed by: Jean-Michel Carré and Jill Emery
Length: 95 mins

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Thu 18th October, 7.30pm Price: £7.00

With Mary Dejevsky (The Independent), Andrew Jack (The Financial Times), Darya Pushkova (Russia Today Channel) and Prof Robert Service (Oxford University). Moderated by Nick Paton Walsh (Channel 4 News).

Location: 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ
A year after Anna Politkovskaya’s murder and the beginning of the Litvinenko affair and with just five months to go before presidential elections, Russia’s relations with Britain and other western countries are increasingly strained.

In the last year alone, aside from the Litvinenko affair and the resulting diplomatic expulsions, tensions have grown over Czech and Polish plans to host the US missile defence shield and over disagreements on the future of Kosovo. For the first time in nearly two decades Russia is beginning to flex its international muscles. Now the Kremlin has announced an increase in military spending and put long-range bombers back in the air adding to a growing sense that a new Cold War may be in the offing.

Our panel discusses Russia’s relations with the west and the reasons behind their deterioration.

Mary Dejevsky – columnist and editorial writer for The Independent.

Andrew Jack – former Moscow Bureau chief of the Financial Times, author of Inside Putin’s Russia: Can There Be Reform Without Democracy?

Darya Pushkova – London bureau Chief of Russia Today TV Channel.

Prof Robert Service – Professor of Russia History, St Anthony’s College, Oxford University. Author of A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin.

Moderated by Nick Paton Walsh Foreign affairs correspondent for Channel 4 News. Formerly Moscow correspondent for the Guardian (2002 – 2007).

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !

Kiselyov on Putin’s Plan

Writing in the Moscow Times, pundit Yevgeny Kiselyov examines Putin’s plan for Russia:

The three major political events of the last three weeks in Russia — the change of prime ministers, the reshuffling of the Cabinet and, finally, President Vladimir Putin’s decision to top the election ticket for United Russia — all show one thing to be true: There is just one real politician in this country and his name is Putin.

Judging from events over these last three weeks, Putin measures the merit of a government figure by his ability to make major political decisions in conditions of absolute secrecy. Putin loves to throw up his own smoke screens around decisions, intentionally fueling a host of rumors and leaking information to the press that soon turns out to be pure disinformation.

The day before Putin replaced Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov with Viktor Zubkov, high-ranking administration officials told a number of journalists that Putin would name First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov to that post the next day.

Before the new Cabinet was announced last week, remember how rumors had spread wildly about the many imminent dismissals, how ministries would be either merged or split and other huge changes in the government.

Recall that as recently as Friday, information purportedly coming from United Russia’s leadership suggested that the top three players in the party would be Ivanov, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko.

And then, as always, came the surprise twist. The president, as if he were relishing the way he always catches people off guard unexpectedly, announced his decision. And, as usual, it was not what people expected at all.

Now we can pose a few hypothetical questions.

Following State Duma elections in December, can Putin leave office early? Yes, he can. As the leader of United Russia — which will undoubtedly win an impressive victory — this maneuver would allow Putin to become the speaker of the State Duma.

Could the president, after his term, become prime minister of the new government that will be linked to the majority held by United Russia in the Duma? Yes, he can.

Could Putin make changes to the Constitution and other legislation to significantly increase the powers of the prime minister? Yes, but this is highly unlikely. Putin is cautious regarding changes to the Constitution and constitutional law. It’s clear that he would like to make such changes to facilitate a smooth transition of power and to avoid violating the letter — but not the spirit — of the law. As Putin says, he doesn’t like his “ears to stick out,” which is to say that on the surface, everything should be in strict conformity with the law. But Putin does not always abide by the law. Remember how after the terrorist crisis in Beslan he canceled the election of governors.

Could Putin put forward newly appointed Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov as his presidential successor? Yes.

Could he leave Zubkov in the prime minister spot and choose someone else as his successor instead? Putin could easily pick anyone he wants. Remember how the so-called political elite generously praised the wisdom and correctness of the Zubkov appointment. The bureaucrats that surround Putin have made it easier for him to elevate anyone he wants to become the next president.

Could Putin refuse to name a single successor, and instead let a few members of his “team” fight it out among themselves in a serious, though not very amusing, campaign battle? He could do this as well.

Could he choose to forego both the presidency and the prime minister post and limit himself to the relatively easy job of chairing the committee that will manage Russia’s preparation for the 2014 Sochi Olympics? That is also a possibility.

What will Putin actually do?

Nobody knows. It is possible that Putin has not yet made a final decision on whom to name as his successor. But we do know the decisions he has made so far, and this gives us some insight where he might be leaning.

First, Putin clearly intends to keep his inner circle, the political elite, the media and the entire country in the dark as long as possible regarding his plans in order to avoid becoming a lame duck president.

Second, Putin is building an intricate system of checks and balances that will be in place when the next president takes the oath of office in May 2008.

Third, it is difficult to find evidence to support the hypothesis that Putin is tired and dreams of returning to a private lifestyle when his term ends. Even if what he said Monday regarding his willingness to serve as the future prime minister proves only a diversionary maneuver, it in no way suggests that he has grown tired of holding the reins of power. On the contrary, he is basking in the strong authority that he has built for himself.

Of course, nobody knows for sure what exactly the president will do. What we have instead is a bunch of rumors, gossip and media leaks that have been carefully orchestrated. But recent events lend support to what I have heard from Kremlin insiders — that Putin is preoccupied with two issues: How to leave politics altogether and remain the most influential person in Russia, or how to return to the presidency.

Today, eight years after the question, “Who is Mr. Putin?” was first asked, we can say with confidence that he is an extremely ambitious person who thinks seriously about his future place in history. No Russian leader has ever managed to remain influential as a political figure once he has left office, nor has any leader ever returned to power after being dismissed or after leaving his post voluntarily.

Now imagine how Putin’s ego is stoked when he imagines himself chairing the Group of Eight, the world’s most prestigious political club, once again in 2012. By then, not a single one of his fellow leaders who were present at the last G8 meeting will likely still be in office. But Putin will be there, immensely enjoying his role as a senior, venerable global diplomat and all the privileges that go with this status.

No, those who predicted that Putin was headed for a well-deserved rest were far too hasty in their judgment.

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !

Another Day, Another Group of Russians Incinerated in Putin’s Russia

Semester abroad in Moscow? Think again, my dear, think again. The Moscow Times reports:

A fire roared through a management institute in southeast Moscow, killing at least seven people and injuring 36 others. More than 200 firemen and rescue workers, along with 55 fire trucks and two helicopters, were deployed to tackle the blaze, which erupted at 1:30 p.m. at the Moscow State Institute of State and Corporate Management, near the Pervomaiskaya metro station. Several people escaped the flames by jumping down onto rescue nets held by firefighters, while others climbed out of windows onto tree branches or down drainpipes, witnesses said. Yaroslav Modin, a 16-year-old student at a nearby institute, said he saw around 10 young people on the roof of the building running around desperately trying to find an escape route. Some of them jumped to the ground before firefighters arrived with safety nets, Modin said. “People were screaming loudly, and then some of them jumped,” Modin said. “I think some of them fell straight to the ground.” One young woman crashed into a tree while trying to leap from the building into a safety net, said Vlad Savra, a 15-year-old student from a nearby school that was evacuated when the fire broke out. All seven people who had died as of Tuesday evening succumbed to smoke inhalation, said Sergei Lyapin, spokesman for the Moscow branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry. Investigators were trying to trace the source of the fire. Emergency Situations Ministry official Yury Nenashev told reporters at the scene that authorities were not ruling out the possibility of arson. “I won’t present the results of the investigation so far, but it is already clear that the fire significantly blocked escape routes,” Nenashev said. More than 100 people were evacuated from the building during the blaze, which was brought under control by 3:30 p.m. Smoke still hung heavy in the air at 5 p.m., and firefighters were still dousing the smoking ruins.

Fires in state-run facilities such as orphanages have been common in Russia; fire codes are often ignored, and safety officials are often lax when it comes to enforcing regulations. A fire tore through a dormitory at People’s Friendship University in November 2003, claiming 44 lives. In February, a court found five university officials guilty of violating the fire code, and a city fire inspector was convicted of negligence. A blaze at a drug rehabilitation center in Moscow killed 46 women in December. A private institution, the Moscow State Institute of State and Corporate Management was founded in 1995, according to its web site.

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !

Goble on Russia’s Fifth Column Abroad

Scholar/blogger Paul Goble explains Russia’s neo-Soviet attempts to develop a “fifth column” to undermine the West:

The Kremlin’s effort to organize and direct what the Russian officials call “compatriots” abroad – a term many of them apply collectively to Russian citizens living abroad, Russian emigres of all waves, and former Soviet citizens living outside the CIS – has provoked protests from both emigres and domestic groups. Many Russian emigres and domestic nationalist groups object to the Kremlin’s lumping together such disparate groups. Others complain Moscow’s involvement opens them to charges of being a Russian “fifth column.” And still a third group, otherwise sympathetic, object to the heavy-handed way Russian officials are carrying it out.

Earlier this year, Russian officials said that they hoped to create “coordinating councils of Russian compatriots and former citizens of the USSR” around the world. A week ago, Russian emigres staged a demonstration in Prague against the effort to set up the first of these bodies for Western Europe. According to a Russian nationalist site in Moscow, the emigres said that they objected to “the administrative command methods [used by the Moscow organizers], the depoliticization of the Russian diaspora in Europe,” and the subordination of its activities to the Russian government. A small group of emigres assembled outside the Russian Center of Science and Culture in the Czech capital. Among the slogans on their signs was “”No to an all-European Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots! Yes to a European Russian Forum! Yes to a constantly acting World Russian Assembly.” Other slogans included “The Coordinating Councils of Russian Compatriots are an experiment in offering to Europe a Supra-National Identity—the [non-ethnic] Russian people” and “The Multi-national Russian people is a utopia! Like the utopian idea of the Soviet people [which] lead to the destruction of the USSR.” And still another banners said, “Coordinating councils of Russian compatriots are a propagandistic, administrative measure for the liquidation of an independent Russian diasporas in Europe!” and “No to the neo-bolsheviks and neo-communist from United Russia.” Inside the Cultural Center where the meeting was being held, participants heard Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Duma International Affairs Committee, say that the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party would “in the near future” develop its own conception for the support of compatriots abroad.”

Moreover, the Russian news agency, NewTimes.ru, reported on September 24th that Moscow plans to organize six more regional compatriot conferences and some 60 national conferences over the next year alone, all of them on the model of the Prague session and intended to lead to the creation of coordinating councils. Given Moscow’s support for this effort, such organizations almost certainly will be created. But the protests in Prague and the anger among some Russian nationalists at home make it likely that this will be yet another brainchild of the Kremlin that will prove to be stillborn.

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !

October 3, 2007 — Contents

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3 CONTENTS

(1) Annals of Cold War II: Again, Russia Menaces America

(2) Goble Exposes Neo-Soviet Lies

(3) Annals of “Pacified” Chechnya: War in the Streets

(4) Tymoshenko Spits in Putin’s Eye

(5) Repeating History: How Russia Lost the Moon

NOTE: La Russophobe‘s first installment as Russia Correspondent on the Pajama’s Media megablog is now in print. It deals with an outrageously skewed description of Chechnya by the New York Times, just another in a long series of egregious lapses by the Gray Lady in recent months. Check it out, and feel free to leave your comments on the important subject of getting accurate information about Russia as the neo-Soviet crackdown escalates. LR’s post on Publius Pundit in regard to the Ukraine elections continues this discussion. Clearly, America needs a new “paper of record.”

NOTE: LR reviews the Ukrainian election returns, and Russia’s outrageous threats against the Tymoshenko government, in her latest Publius Pundit entry. Comments as to Russia’s continuing threats to Ukrainian security are most welcome.

NOTE: Here’s an interesting new blog discovery: A Soviet Poster a Day.

Thanks for reading La Russophobe !