Mike

I gather that there are a lot of nouveau Stalinist structures around the world.

Can Tymoshenko's economic and foreign policies be considered as more moderate than those of Yanukovich and Yushchenko?

Mishka, do you have a crush on Yulka?

Galicia isn't the only part of Ukraine thinking like that.

Mike is right about Galicia being very nationalistic. Of course, this feeling can be found in other parts of Ukraine as well.

Mike, would you describe Putin's government as nouveau Stalinist?

Class:

Great contributions (Zhana included). It would be great to get others involved.

Tymoshenko's foreign policy is more Russia friendly than Yushchenko and the current Ukrainian foreign minister. She isn't more Russia friendly than Yanukovych. In this sense, she can be seen as a moderate.

There's nothing moderate about how she amassed tremendous wealth. Likewise with her populist outbursts that included a failed attempt to have a Rada session stormed with a street throng because she didn't like how the parliamentary discussion was going.

Yes, besides Galicia - I recognize that an anti-Russian strain exists in other parts of Ukraine. However, as Andy pointed out, this sentiment is more limited elsewhere. As I've previously noted, there's plenty of pro-Russian sentiment to be found in the southern and eastern portions of Ukraine. The central part (inclusive of Kiev and Poltava is a kind of mixed bag).

I don't see Putin as being particularly nouveau Stalinist. On the whole, a Putin cult of personality mindset is relatively limited. As Russia Blog Editor Yuri Mamchur has stated, Putin doesn't fully control the country. This has some good and not so good aspects. The not so good aspects include some distant Russian republics from Moscow having great autonomy along with an arguably greater autocratic leadership. This explains why the Russian constitution was changed to give the presidency greater authority. The hope being that the more democratic center could better influence positive change.

Look at the 24/7 Russian government funded English language news network "Russia Today." It employs the talented Mark Ames of http://www.exile.ru. Ames is an open admirer of anti-Putin National Bolshevik Party leader Edward Limonov. Russia Today also employs Peter Lavelle, who wrote a not so Russia friendly article in UPI this past 12/28. In that article, Lavelle describes Yanukovych's support for Russia in the recent Russo-Ukrainian energy dispute as "bizarre" because (as per Lavelle) the Russian position hurt Ukraine's citizenry. I remain quite disgusted at that article, knowing how many in Ukraine see the Yushchenko government as the main party at fault for escalating that energy squabble. It's tough for me to believe that Lavelle was unaware of this as well. I get the impression that he was writing what the UPI venue wanted to have communicated.

Perhaps we all have a little Stalin in us (some more than others). When it comes to the coverage of Russia and some other issues, I regularly see a nouveau Stalinist manner in English language mass media. There're a number of people expressing agreement with me. They dare not be so open about it out of fear of not appearing at certain high profile venues. I choose to be open about it in the hope that this will encourage a freer English language mass media.

Russia Blog should be applauded for encouraging a spirit where diverse views can interact.

The important point about Tymoshenko is that Ukraine rejected the pro-Moscow axis once again, with nearly three quarters of the country voting against it despite all the influence peddling that Russia attempted.

Ukraine will move into the Western camp and there is not a thing Russians can do about it. It need not have happened, except that Russians are so insular and arrogant as to fail to realize that Ukrainians perceive them EXACTLY as Russians perceive Americans.

As for Mr. Averko's statement that "Perhaps we all have a little Stalin in us," this could only be said by someone who didn't have any family members murdered by Stalin (or by Stalin himself!).

Kim Zigfeld is an overly presumptuous individual.

I lost an uncle in the Finnish war. My family doesn't hate the Finns at all for that. Our hatred is towards Stalin for sending untrained youths to a certain death thanks to poor military planning.

Kim Zigfeld is apparently unaware that the Russocentric candidate Viktor Yanukovych whupped the Orange candidate in the recent Rada elections. Polls show that most of Ukraine's citizenry don't see Russia as an enemy and that many view Russia as an ally.

This article of mine goes into further detail on the realities which Kim Zigfeld ducks:

PERSONALIZING NEWS ISSUES TO UNDERSCORE AN AGENDA

Kim Zigfeld is an overly presumptuous individual.

I lost an uncle in the Finnish war. My family doesn't hate the Finns at all for that. Our hatred is towards Stalin for sending untrained youths to a certain death thanks to poor military planning.

Kim Zigfeld is apparently unaware that the Russocentric candidate Viktor Yanukovych whupped the Orange candidate in the recent Rada elections. Polls show that most of Ukraine's citizenry don't see Russia as an enemy and that many view Russia as an ally.

This article of mine goes into further detail on the realities which Kim Zigfeld ducks:

PERSONALIZING NEWS ISSUES TO UNDERSCORE AN AGENDA
http://english.intelligent.ru/cgi-bin/loadtext.pl?id=7870&file=articles/text_e0092.htm

Her's the link to that mentioned article of mine:

http://english.intelligent.ru/cgi-bin/loadtext.pl?id=7870&file=articles/text_e0092.htm

This Kim Zigfeld isn't nice or fair.

Mishka and myself are Russian. We should hate our Russian heritage? Non-Russians in the USSR were better?

Stalin was a Georgian, "Iron Feliks", the founder of the NKVD, was Polish by birth...etc.

Right you are Charles.

This blog is doing a great service.

Mike, that intelligent.ru article is probably your best. Was that your last article there? Intelligent.ru has become a shill for Peter Lavelle's material.

Kim

Love of Russia doesn't mean a hatred of America.

Mike

That article you linked was great.

Andrew

What happened at that site? A question for Mike as well.

Folks:

I really appreciate the feedback, inclusive of the non-posted private emails I've received. Nice to know that there's an interest in the involved subject matter.

In answer to Alexandra, the English language mass media coverage of Russia is grossly inept. I'm sorry to say that this includes some of those considered as being on the Russia friendly side. I've had some not so nice experiences with people who have lacked a certain nobleness. Rather than repeat myself, I link this material of mine:

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@743.SUdtjVCBuHj.16@.77480649/1231

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@743.SUdtjVCBuHj.18@.77480649/1232

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@743.SUdtjVCBuHj.60@.77480649/2115

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@743.SUdtjVCBuHj.61@.77480649/2116

This is what wiki has to say on YT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuliya_Tymoshenko

Re: Kim's last post

Kim really shows a great ignorance about the media situation in Russia and America.

I reference the archived 2005 Media section of Intelligent.ru which has a series of fact based articles on the subject:

http://english.intelligent.ru/archive/media.htm

What I said about how Ukraine's citizenry view Russia, is a well established matter of fact. The Party of Regions beat Yushchenko's party and Tymoshenko's populist bloc. In addition, to the Party of Regions, there're a number of smaller parties in Ukraine favoring closer ties to Russia.

Kim appears extremely warped as I've seen no one at Russia Blog defend Stalin.

Is Kim some kind of a plant to make those thinking like myself look brilliant? If so, we don't need such help.

I already replied to Kim's propaganda about Chechnya at another Comments section of Russia Blog.

Henry:

The above Tymoshenko article references Wiki (not that I'm always such a big fan of that source).

Kim, please show how 75% of Ukraine is anti-Russian.

Mike isn't making up the fact that many in Ukraine favor close ties to Russia. He also confirms an anti-Russian faction in Ukraine.

Do you have any remorse for his uncle's death and Mike's family's grief over his passing? You come across as a very cold and shallow person.

What is it that you factually know to the contrary?

Andrew said what I was about to post.

Kim, it's obvious that you know little about Russia and have some deep rooted prejudices. Mike Averko doesn't appear to be making up anything. You continue to harbor very biased views going against reality.

Mike, those Guardian links about your troubles with the media are distressing. I wish you well.

My father never killed a Finn. Where did I ever say differently? My father was a Finnishphile.

In Kim's simple world, one can argue that those American soldiers who died in Vietnam should be considered as being exempted from remorse.

In Vietnam, a bigger country attacked another country, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Oh yes, I know that Ho Ch Minh was no democrat. Neither was Mannerheim in Finland.

There was no Viet Cong like oppostion to Ho in North Vietnam. Meanwhile, in South Vietnam, there was support for Ho in the Viet Cong. Eisenhower is on record for saying that Ho would have won an election in South Vietnam.

I can't hate Kim because the exhibited stupidity factor is just so extreme. Kim can't even correctly report on the recent Rada results.

Once again, the Finns didn't kill my father and I never said such.

Any sane minded persaon reading this exchange will have Kim pegged as the sole loon.

The Nazi concept of the big lie is to repeat a fallacy over and over again, while not addessing the fact based views running contrary to the given propaganda line.

All of the individuals referred to in my previously cited Intelligent.ru article "Personalizing News Issues to Underscore an Agenda" are real people, who have complimented me on that piece.

As for the referenced Ukrainian-American acquaintance of mine, "she" (Kim Zigfeld's statement to the contrary) is a he and he said what I claimed (in the opening of the above article on Tymoshenko) at another venue.

http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/international/easterneuropeandrussia/index.html?offset=20707

People who know me well enough recgonize that I scorn politcally censored environments. A point discussed in this Comments section of Russia Blog.

Zhana, Andrew, Charles and Mike:

All of you have made informative contributions.

At this stage, it's clear that Kim isn't able to engage in an acceptable discourse of fully grasping what has been communicated.

Mike, please concentrate your efforts on writing new articles.

I look forward to reading them.

Yeah, this is getting kind of like professional wrestling.

Alexandra is right Mishka.

Kim is a waste of your time.

Your time is better spent on writing some more brilliant articles.

Hey Mike, Lavelle's forum has been awfully quiet lately.

Do you think that your emailed retorts about it have had any kind of an influence?

Possibly Andy. Though there would obviously be no kind of a formal admission.

Here's a Yulia Tymoshenko update:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4918658.stm

Orange mixed with blue makes for a color other than orange. Never mind that the initial orange coalition wasn't monolithic.

A point noted at the end of my above article.

And you just told another lie.

Yanukovych isn't a member of the CP. He once was as was true of Yushchenko and perhaps Tymoshenko (I'm not so sure of the latter).

Off hand, if I'm not mistaken, Yanukovych's party received 35% of the vote. This doesn't include the Communists and others like Vitrenko's party.

Did Tymoshenko and Yushchenko form an alliance?

What are your new articles going to be about Mishka?

Mike

As a second notice, you should let Kim be.

You did a wonderful job.

You can't be 34668 serious?!?