We the undersigned--Reagan Republicans, all--think President Obama deserves credit for the broad direction of his "reset" with Russia. Although not without faults in the implementation, we welcome the President's effort to move American policy away from the sterile and gratuitous hostility toward post-communist Russia and its legitimate national interests that characterized the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

Between December 2011 and November 2012, the United States and Russia will be holding legislative and presidential elections. In Russia, it is widely assumed that Vladimir Putin will return to the presidency, a position from which he voluntarily stepped down in 2008. Despite criticism directed against him both at home and abroad, it is indisputable that tens of millions of Russian citizens from all walks of life esteem him as a strong leader who has restored their country to international respect and domestic stability.

Continue reading "Russia "Reset" Should not Be a Political Football in U.S. 2012 Election" »

Posted by Edward Lozansky at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Honorable Boehner, the Heritage event's keynote speaker, should be occupied with the problem of nearly $15 trillion U.S. national debt, and should not have time for a political circus like this one.

Next week's Russia event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. is astounding in its irrelevance and detachment from today's world's issues. The all-day conference titled "The Risks of the Reset: Why Washington Must Watch Its Step with Moscow" features the usual suspects, including Heritage's own Ariel Cohen, the famous Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov, and the speaker of the house himself (!) Honorable John Boehner (R-OH). In light of America's greatest problems of the day - the sinking economy and overspending on military actions abroad - the event surprisingly does not feature a single business executive or a military expert. Had they been invited, maybe they could explain how exactly Russia hinders the interests of American shareholders by inviting Starbucks, McDonalds, Mattel and other American corporations into the country, and what are the unknown evil Russians who blew up American cities and shoot at American troops...

To make it clear, no one is excited about Putin's announcement to return to the Russian presidency, aside from Putin himself, a handful of money-laundering bureaucrats, and nearly 27% of Russians (according to Levada Center survey); 27% is low, but better than Kasparov's 0.5%. If Heritage would love Kasparov to be the president of Russia, he first needs to challenge Russian communists and fascists who each have 8% of the Russian population's pre-election endorsement.

Continue reading "Heritage Foundation Strikes Again or Do They Really Care about American National Interests?" »

Posted by Yuri Mamchur at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caution: graphic video, a YouTube sign-in is required

While Vladimir Putin in stylish ties talks about liberalization and the need of another 12 years to fix things in Russia (after a 13 year trial?), Russians stopped believing in the rule of law, and the Russian countryside is building up its emotions for another revolution. In the Russian city of Bryansk, Irina Dobrzhanskaya (a 20-year-old inexperienced driver) was speeding about 10 miles above the speed limit on a major street/highway. (Usually, Russians double the allowed speed limit). A mother with a 3-year-old daughter was crossing the road on a crosswalk. Now, a few facts are important for a proper interpretation of the story before the punch line: the city officials didn't bother to put white crosswalk paint on the pavement (either the paint was stolen or the painters were drunk when the job was due); a police unit was present on the scene, but was occupied with collecting cash bribes about 30 yards away from the crosswalk; Irina was driving in the left lane, did not see the mother and the child, did not get the queue from a stopped bus (that blocked the view) that there may be a reason for why it had stopped...

Irina hit the mother and the child. The 3-year-old girl died. The bus drove away. Bystanders did not come to help. Police did not immediately leave its vehicle. Only one person walked slowly to the scene. Three-year-old Sonya was the eighth deadly victim of the crosswalk in three years. And everything was caught on tape!

Now, OMON (special units of Russian police) are guarding Irina's house. After immediately pleading guilty and offering all her savings and more to help the girl's family, Irina has already tried to commit a suicide and is now residing in a mental institution. Then, why does police guard her condo, located in an old five-story Soviet building? Because the town people promise to burn Irina's mother alive and kill Irina once she is out of the hospital.

Town people are remembering the 3-year-old Sonya with tears and pointing at the driver and the Kremlin with fists.

Continue reading "Russian People Try to Take Prosecution into Their Hands in the Absence of Law (and God)" »

Posted by Yuri Mamchur at 1:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the 1700-s British King George III called George Washington "The greatest man in the world." American history is taught well in Russian public schools, but probably wasn't delivered as well during the Soviet times when Vladimir Putin was a boy. Had Putin looked into the history books, he would've found out that he had given up the opportunity to become the Greatest Man in Russia's history. In fact, he lined himself up to become one of the less impressive men in history, one whose personal hobbies and views, combined with age and historically long terms at the steering wheel (surpassing even Stalin) may lead to some results other than a free market economy...

What is the secret sauce for being the "Greatest Man in the World?" It is simple: be humble. Or as Bob Lefsets, an LA-based music producer says about the record industry and technology at large, "It's all about the timing." Putin failed at both. Unfortunately, his failures are much more than just his personal business. What really hurts is the fact that Putin built a strong, wealthy country and the momentum of that could have made Russia a role model to all, including the United States - responsible spending, non-involvement in foreign affairs, strong financial system, and... That's where the list ends. When talking to a Moscow friend, I mentioned Putin's accomplishments, to which he responded, "What do all of them mean if he failed at the most important thing -- grooming the leadership among the future generations."

In 1775, when George Washington accepted command of the Continental Army, he promised Congress he would resign his commission when the war was over. Once the British withdrew, he was true to his word. Just before then, Washington had been approached by the officers who pledged their support if he decided to seize civilian power. In response, General Washington scolded the conspiring officer.

Continue reading "How Vladimir Putin Lost a Chance to Become George Washington" »

Posted by Yuri Mamchur at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)