A popular design for a souvenir t-shirt in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Certain think tanks inside the Washington D.C. Beltway might want to consider stocking up on these for their future Russia-related events…
There is a popular saying: “A fool can ask more questions than ten wise men can answer”. What the expression means is that it is much easier to assert something than it is to refute it. A great deal of the commentary on Russia these days is little more than a brief for the prosecution: a list of easily made assertions that can only be refuted with difficulty. A recent piece provides a good example. I will not identify the author of this jeremiad except to say that he is an academic (X, we’ll call him or her) and the piece was published by a respected institution and an earlier version was published in a major newspaper. In any case, anyone who knows his way around Google can find the original quite easily. The piece is a cascade of easily-made accusations, many of which do not stand up to scrutiny. But, refutations of X’s throw-away lines are difficult and time-consuming.
Russia is important. It’s not the most important thing there is, but it’s important enough. It has been a major player in the world for a couple of centuries and there is every indication that it will continue to be. It is therefore of considerable importance to discuss it without clichés and without writing either briefs for the prosecution or briefs for the defence. It would be a grave disservice to ourselves and our descendents to make policy towards Russia based on “bumper sticker” analysis: loaded and imprecise words (all taken from X’s piece) like “belligerence”, “self-righteousness”, “authoritarian”, “cunning”, “menace”, “brutally” are poor preparations for actually dealing with the real Russia.
Tuesday, March 18 2008, Condoleezza Rice shakes hand of President Dmitry Medvedev during her visit with Robert Gates to Moscow (Photo by ITAR-TASS)
Since the presidential elections of March 2, Russia has almost disappeared from the Western news media. Both liberal and conservative think tanks apparently decided to take a “moment of silence” concerning Russia. No wonder! So much money and effort had been spent trying to brainwash Americans and Europeans into believing that Putin would stay for a third term - or at least, if Putin did not do so, then Russians, like a herd of sheep, would vote 99% for his hand-picked successor with a siloviki background; that Garry Kasparov would run for president, but most likely get killed by the evil KGB; and even if none of the above took place, something else very bad and undemocratic would most definitely occur in Russia.
None of the above happened, and good news from Moscow apparently does not merit column space. Only the Financial Times published a stunningly honest article “Let the Russians Sort out Russia,” and the New York Times wrote a wonderful profile of Metropolitan Laurus, who healed a decades-old rift in the Russian Orthodox Church, and died on March 17 at the age of 80 in Jordanville, New York.
Putin’s Iron Grip on Russia Suffocates Opponents NYT Article Brings Sharp Responses From Russians
Yuri Mamchur
Last weekend, The New York Times published another piece of amazing anti-Russian propaganda. “…the city’s children, too, were pressed into service. At schools, teachers gave them pamphlets promoting “Putin’s Plan”…” Those who have been to Russia in the last decade drop the newspaper either with laughter or with anger. One of the Real Russia Project's advisors explained his bewilderment upon reading the article:
“If you know where I am coming from, you know I see little merit in the article. I do wonder who paid Levy to write such a fanciful piece. It doesn't explain Putin's 85% approval rating in the polls - not the marks of a despot, nor of a person whose followers need to go to the lengths described in the article to shore up support. I have been to Nizhny Novgorod; it is one of the most dynamic regions of Russia. I am going to forward the article to two friends working in Nizhny that I spent time with in the past several months - one Russian, and one an expat who has lived there since 1994. I expect that their comments would be consistent with hundreds of Russians I talked with on four trips this past year - it is silly to think that people need to be cajoled into supporting Putin, or Medvedev, for that matter."
Unlike most Chinese citizens, Russians enjoy unfettered access to free media online, and their response to the NYT was overwhelming in the first hours after the publication appeared on the Russian internet (or .ru-net). Many Russians took advantage of their access to uncensored Internet, free media, and uncontrolled blogging platforms to express their personal opinions and to prove the NYT wrong. A few Russian commenters agreed with the article's viewpoint - but if anything, this should only prove the NYT to be even more wrong, as according to the slant of most Western reporting in the last several years, Russians are not supposed to have access to free media, nor be able to express their personal opinions under the “iron grip” of President Putin…
Russia Sees Baby Boom in 2007 The First One in 15 Years
Yuri Mamchur
Something must be going right in Russia's economy and society. A significant increase in the birth rate of a country is only possible when more people have faith in their incomes and hope for the future. Some demographic experts attribute the recent growth in births to President Putin’s policy of making payments to Russian mothers, while others think that it’s just a coincidence.
On Friday the Kansas Times newspaper quoted the Russian Health and Social Development minister's happy announcement. According to new government statistics, last year the Russian Federation witnessed the highest number of children born since the collapse of the Soviet Union fifteen years ago.
Russians Under Attack by Careless Drivers... And The Government That Enables Them
Yuri Mamchur
Firemen working to recover the remains of a car hit by a Lexus on Moscow's Kutuzovsky Prospekt, September 14, 2007
One week ago Russia Blog reported about one government official’s motorcade, which purposely collided head-on with an old Lada sedan. That car and its passengers were unlucky enough to be caught on a highway that was supposed to be closed to civilian traffic. The government motorcade that collided with the car was carrying Vyacheslav Lebedev, head of Russia’s Supreme Court. The accident left one Russian citizen dead and two more severely injured. In spite of the reduced terrorist threat in the Russian Federation, the dangerous practice of escort vehicles knocking civilian cars out of the way of an official motorcade is still fairly common in Russia. This particular accident has captured the public’s attention because of the overwhelming number of witnesses. Apparently, the police “clean-up” crew could not do its job fast enough to prevent ordinary citizens from snapping pictures with their cell phone cameras.
The driving situation in the streets of Russian cities, particularly in Moscow, has always been chaotic (see this, this and this, or just scroll down the crime section of Russia Blog). But a new development is even more shocking. In separate incidents over the last two days alone, drivers have been involved in hit and run accidents with three children.
CNN interviews Alexei Pushkov, a Russian news anchor and former speechwriter for Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, about the state of democracy and foreign investment in Putin's Russia
Click on the extended post to watch another part of the recent CNN series Eye on Russia.
To mark the publication of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's memoir of exile, My American Years, the German magazine Der Spiegel recently published an interview with the 88 year-old Russian writer. While many Westerners today argue that Putin's Russia is resurrecting the Soviet Union, Mr. Solzhenitsyn, who actually survived the Gulag, has a very different view of modern Russian history.
On April 18, 2007 Discovery Institute's Real Russia Project was pleased to host distinguished Russian Studies scholar Herbert Ellison and international attorney Bill Robinson for an insightful and informative forum and discussion on the state of U.S.-Russia relations. The event was hosted at Ambassador John Miller. The speakers focused on recent events in the Russian Federation as well as Western stereotypes about Russia and how these stereotypes negatively impact trade and diplomacy.
This was an opportunity to hear the views of experts who are familiar not only with Moscow, but with Russia's more remote regions as well. Their insights into the politics, business and investment climate through out the country are helpful in discerning the truth behind many of the most common assumptions made about Russia in America and Europe.
Please continue to the extended post to read the full transcript of the event or download the PDF version.
In the last few days, the Wall Street Journal has devoted a fair amount of column inches to sensational headlines like “A Chess Champion Unites Disparate Critics of Putin - Kasparov Tries to Turn Kremlin’s Crackdowns to Political Advantage” (June 20, 2007) and “From Russia, Without Love: New Movie Slams Soviet Union” (June 21, 2007).
In the first article, the Journal’s Alan Cullison builds up the importance of Garry Kasparov as a major political leader in Russia. Never mind the fact that Kasparov the politician (as opposed to the chess master) is almost an urban legend in Russia. Russian liberals failed when they had their chance in the 1990s, and now even the best chess player in the world can’t help them to win the political game.
Another inconvenient fact is that Another Russia, the so-called political movement where Kasparov is the number one man, was until very recently sponsored by none other than the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who supports the forceful overthrow of the democratically elected Russian government and told the Financial Times that he had stopped funding the group because he viewed it as ineffective. Mr. Berezovsky is wanted in Moscow on multiple counts of fraud and racketeering. Nearly 500 contract killings and bombings related to Avtovaz took place during the oligarch’s unhappy ownership of that company, which is now under new management.
Russia's Declining Population - Who Do You Want to Blame?
Charles Ganske
This Russia Today video clip asks: what can the Russian government do to promote Russians having families again?
Thomas P.M. Barnett is an influential author and consultant who gets paid to present his theories about global politics to high ranking military officers and corporate executives around the world. He is also a former Sovietologist who was educated by the U.S. Navy to analyze what the Kremlin was up to during the 1980s. This is why a recent post Barnett wrote on his blog caught my eye.
In a post on June 20, 2007 (“A Good Sign for Russia’s Political Future”) Barnett wrote about the former world champion chess player and Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov:
“I don't expect Kasparov to dislodge Putin's crowned successor, but the sheer reality that he's been able to unite the opposition is a modest step forward. When this evolution moves into something more recognizable as rough pluralism, Russia's establishment and its opposition will move beyond the dregs/stars of the Soviet system, or the last generation of KGB versus the last generation of celebrities/poseurs.”
UPDATE: Tom Barnett has written a couple of funny responses to this post here and here .
Here at Russia Blog, we have written frequently about the so-called dedovshina (literally "rule of the grandfathers") abuse in the Russian army as one of the most egregious ongoing human rights abuses in Russia. Now it appears the Russian government is very slowly starting to do something about it.
Not only have more torture and abuse cases been prosecuted in recent months (mostly due to public outrage after exposes in the Russian media), but the Defense Ministry is starting to address the root of the problem: namely, bored, impoverished young men who have no desire to be stuck on army bases in the middle of nowhere, trying to survive in brutal condiitions that amount to indentured servitude. Making the Russian army an all-volunteer force, with decent (at least by the standards of Russia's regions) salaries might go a long way in preventing torture and abuse in the ranks before it starts.
Click on the extended post to read the full news story from RIA Novosti and links to previous Russia Blog posts on this topic.
Misrepresenting the Truth – WSJ Gives Khodorkovsky’s Defense Counsel a Platform
Yuri Mamchur
Mikhail Khodorkovksy and Platon Lebedev in jail (Photo by Itar-Tass) Read the original article in the extended post
Why are Beltway-types indignant about Enron, but not Khodorkovsky?
What is the motivation for a respectable outlet like The Wall Street Journal to continue to publish the lies and libelous screeds of a convicted felon?
Don’t people who support the rule of law understand that it involves prosecuting criminals and making them pay for their crimes?
“The Kremlin this week showed that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are dead in Vladimir Putin's Russia. With extraordinarily cynical timing, new charges -- this time, money-laundering -- were brought against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who once ran Russia's largest oil company, Yukos,” writes Robert Amsterdam, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s international defense counsel, on the pages of the WSJ.
“These charges have nothing to do with upholding Russia's laws,” continues Mr. Amsterdam. “They have everything to do with the fact that Mr. Khodorkovsky would have been eligible for parole later this year, having served half his eight-year sentence on a politically motivated tax evasion conviction handed down in 2005. Another show trial will surely propel the machinery of so-called justice toward another preordained guilty verdict.”
Tourists in Red Square on Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve – January 6, 2007
(Photo: Yuri Mamchur)
For tourists, the extended Russian winter holidays can be a wonderful time to visit Russia. From December 31 to January 14, most of the country shuts down and the usually gridlocked streets of Moscow are clear. Air fares for flights into Moscow and St. Petersburg are also substantially cheaper in mid-winter than in the summertime or pre-holiday season. Most Russians are also visibly more relaxed this time of year.
But there is also a dark side to the extended holidays for unsuspecting travelers visiting Russia’s cities – namely, Russian cops shaking down foreigners for bribes because they lack valid stamps on their visas. This corrupt practice targeting foreigners takes place even on Red Square, next to the walls of the Kremlin. Russia Blog has heard from three Americans and one Italian citizen who were stopped by the militsia on or near Red Square during the first week of January. All four foreigners were threatened with detention at the nearby migration processing center on Tverskaya Street unless they paid a “fine” - on the spot and in cash - for not having a properly stamped visa.
Moscow – Yesterday, January 23, Russian traffic police finally published the new law about “special” number plates and blue lights. The new law is named “On Escorting Motor-Vehicles by Motor-Vehicles of Traffic Police of the Russian Federation.” The law was passed to fight chaos in the streets of Moscow and other major cities caused by government officials and well-connected or wealthy private individuals abusing these privileges to get through traffic. Russia Blog has written before about the unique perils of driving in Russia (see the extended post for more information).
The Russian government has been widely blamed in the Western media for the recent murders of the Russian journalist Anna Politovskaya and former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko. The day after Litvinenko died from radiation poisoning, Yegor Gaidar, the former Russian Prime Minister who served with President Boris Yeltsin, became violently ill while visiting Ireland.
Mr. Gaidar, along with Anatoly Chubais, was one of the architects of Russia’s “privatization” schemes during the 1990s, and as a result is not well-loved by ordinary Russians. I have heard Mr. Gaidar speak at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. twice in the last three years. In the years since he left government service, he has traveled around the world delivering presentations strongly critical of Putin’s administration.
If Gaidar had died as a result of poisoning, it would have been very difficult to argue that the Kremlin was not behind this recent wave of political assassinations. However, Mr. Gaidar survived, and the first thing he did when he became conscious enough to make his own decisions was to fly back to Moscow. Mr. Gaidar apparently feels safer receiving medical treatment close to the Kremlin than he does abroad. That fact should give Westerners who assume that the Russian government sanctioned these awful crimes pause.
New Zealand’s Crackdown on NGOs Ignored by Western Freedom Activists
Yuri Mamchur
Will this Kiwi grow up in a free country?
A new bill introduced in New Zealand’s parliament threatens to crack down on non-profits. “A new law could strip charities of their tax-free status if they get too involved in politics. The move has led to fears that charities such as Greenpeace and the Sensible Sentencing Trust may be less inclined to speak out," says the One News website. According to the new bill, many tax breaks will be taken away from NGOs, and harsh audits will be authorized to determine the purpose of NGO activities; supporters say that the bill will combat abuses in the non-profit sphere in the country.
The reason Russia Blog pays any attention at all to this Kiwi controversy is the fact that Wellington’s legislation seems to be more strict than the law issued by the Russian Duma and signed by Vladimir Putin. There was a huge negative media outburst a year ago in the Western media regarding the Russian NGO bill when it was being discussed. On October 19th the new Russian law came into effect, sparking another wave of outraged articles and reports with scary titles like “Crackdown on Democracy”, etc. The question is: Where is the well-deserved outrage in the American and European human rights communities about this new New Zealand bill? Or are human rights activists implying that somehow freedom is less precious for New Zealanders than for Russians?
A Closer Look at Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Rankings
Charles Ganske
147th in the world - behind the Democratic Republic of Congo?
The France-based non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders recently released their Worldwide Press Freedom index, which ranks Russia as 147th on a list of 168 countries in terms of protecting journalists and media expression. Russia’s 147th ranking is five spots behind the Democratic Republic of Congo, the site of the bloodiest conflict in the world, and just a few spots ahead of Iraq, where 85 journalists have died violently since 2003. Russia even allegedly lags nineteen spots behind Kazakhstan, where President-for-Life Nursultan Nazarbayev erected a golden statue of himself and whose government has threatened to sue the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his "Borat” comedy act.
The list goes on. The Palestinian Authority is ranked thirteen spots ahead of Russia, even though reporters have been kidnapped or threatened by Hamas for reporting weapons smuggling tunnels dug under houses, the launching of rockets at Israeli towns, and the indoctrination of children to create suicide bombers. Lebanon, where Hezbollah recently threatened reporters with death for filming rocket launchers that the militia had cynically placed in crowded neighborhoods, is ranked 107th. The list also ranks the “extra-territorial” United States, which includes the U.S. military in Iraq (not just the country’s struggling new government) as 119th in press freedom, while the Israeli-administered Palestinian territories were ranked 135th -- far behind several war-torn African countries that do not have a history of press freedom or strong civilian control over their militaries.
NGO Registration in Russia: Crackdown or Incompetence?
Yuri Mamchur
Thursday, October 19, 2006 marked a new era for foreign NGOs in Russia. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International didn’t file their paperwork before the deadline set by Russia’s new NGO law, and had to temporarily suspend some of their activities. All of these organizations are still allowed to conduct administrative work – accounting, planning, answering telephones, but they won’t be able to get back to their full operations until they complete their registration.
Meanwhile, the Moscow offices for the Carnegie and Ford Foundations, American Trade Assembly, United Families Foundation, Oxfam and many other foreign NGOs have successfully registered and are continuing their work. Yens Zigert, director of the Moscow branch of the German Heinrich Boell Foundation, said: “This was the fastest case of registration I’ve ever seen in my practice.” He also said that the only German foundation that didn’t get registered yet is the Friedrich Naumann Fund. Svetlana Brezhneva, head of the Moscow office for the British foundation CAF, said that they still had not registered, but were continuing their charitable activities. “We were promised to get registration next week,” said Brezhneva.
Once again, Russia Blog takes a closer look at what the new NGO law is, how it is different from comparable laws in other countries, including the US, and why some NGOs have more problems registering on time than others.
MOSCOW- On Saturday, October 7, the prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building. Her assassin, a tall-dark haired man wearing a large cap to conceal his face, was caught on tape. The Novaya Gazeta newspaper where Politovskaya worked has offered a $930,000 reward for details leading to the arrest of whoever was involved in the killing.
Today Reuters is reporting that during a phone call Sunday afternoon regarding North Korea's nuclear test, President Bush raised the issue with President Putin of attacks on journalists in Russia. Putin responded that Russian law enforcement would thoroughly investigate the crime and have every resource at their disposal. In the official White House statement, President Bush urged Russia to “conduct a vigorous and thorough investigation to bring to justice those responsible” for the crime. Yuri Chaika, Russia’s Prosecutor-General (counterpart of the U.S. Attorney General), has taken charge of the case.
Novaya Gazeta, which has former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev as one of its publishers, claims that Politovskaya was working on a major new expose of human rights abuses by security forces in Chechnya. The fact that the murder coincided with President Putin’s birthday (birthdays are very important in Russian traditions) suggests that someone wanted to send a message, and has led many Western media outlets to charge that the Kremlin or security services were behind the crime. USA Today, the largest circulation newspaper in America, compares Vladimir Putin to Josef Stalin in their editorial today. Many Russian analysts, in contrast to their Western counterparts, have asked: who benefits from Mrs. Politovskaya’s death?
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his military advisors
On Monday, Russia Blog documented the economic pain from the Georgian government's game of chicken with Russia. Now several American foreign policy thinkers are asking what the U.S. has to gain from further conflict in the Caucuses, and leaders of the Georgian opposition are speaking out, telling Westerners that the democratic promise of the 2003 Rose Revolution has been betrayed by the politics of impoverished nationalism.
This week America's Future Foundation and German Council on Foreign Relations scholars Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman published an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune with the pointed title "Let's Get Real". The co-authors of the book "Ethical Realism: A Vision for America's Role in the World" call for a major initiative to permanently resolve the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the disputed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Lieven and Hulsman ask why the West maintains double standards about self-determination for NATO-hosting Kosovo but not for parts of Georgia that host Russian troops and wish to join the Russian Federation. Lieven and Hulsman single out Senator John McCain for criticism, alleging that sympathy for the Georgian cause in Congress has unintentionally fueled Saakashvili's delusion that Washington will bail him out in any confrontation with Russia.
Yesterday the Japan Times newspaper published an article by Georgian opposition leader Igor Giorgadze, accusing Saakashvili's pro-U.S. government of jailing its political opponents. Since few Americans (even those who closely follow world politics) may have the opportunity to read this story, we have decided to reproduce it in the extended post.
My name is Jen McLaughlin. My husband and I have adopted three children that were born in Russia. While looking for articles about the orphanage abuse that occurred in late July, 2006 in Krasnoyarsk, I came across your story about the "Boys for Sale". It has had a profound affect on me. Thank you VERY MUCH for doing the research, then reporting your findings. I view the article differently than most of the folks who replied, I view it as a mom who realizes that the abused boys could have been my sons, and still could be.
In February, 2006, I contacted the Krasnoyarsk Ministry Of Education (MOE) regarding siblings of my sons’ that may be in the Orphanage system. I found that my son, Patrick, has a brother who is living in a Krasnoyarsk orphanage. (That is why I was researching articles about the orphanage abuse.) Since the MOE has yet to disclose which orphanage he is in, one of the five abused could have easily been my son's brother. Since finding out about Igor, I have been desperately working on getting him home to live with his brother, my son. The immediate problem is that their birth mother has yet to terminate parental rights and the MOE cannot locate her. Due to my desire to share the rich Russian Culture and their heritage with my children, I hired a searcher who located my sons’ birth families in September of 2004. He provided me with the birth mother’s sisters' addresses and mother's address. So I believe she can be found.
First Verdict in the Case of Private Andrei Sychev
Yuri Mamchur
Private Alexandr Sivyakov in court
Moscow - today a court ruled in the mutilation case of Private Andrei Sychev, who was beaten and sexually abused by his comrades at the Chelyabinsk Tank Academy on December 31, 2005. As a result of his injuries, Andrei Syvhev had both his legs and genitals amputated earlier this year.
The prosecution of this case was very political and highly publicized. Russian army officials were caught trying to cover up for the guilty NCOs and division officers at the base where Pvt. Sychev was abused. Several officers misrepresented the entire story, claiming that the private was a poor soldier and that they were not aware of any abuse taking place. President Putin was personally outraged by the case and asked the court to find and prosecute the guilty parties. The case has created a major push in the Duma to speed up desperately needed reforms in the Russian army.
Private Alexandr Sivyakov was convicted of torturing Private Sychev, and was sentenced to four years in prison. Both prosecutors and the defense argue that this sentence was too lenient for the crime of maiming a young man for life. The victim’s family is demanding harsher punishment and calling for Pvt. Sychev’s commanding officers to be brought to justice as well. The defense argues that Pvt. Sivyakov was the scapegoat for the negligence of the officers, and could not be held entirely responsible for the actions of his comrades who mutilated Pvt. Sychev.
Special Report by The Real Russia Project of Discovery Institute
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. media’s overarching, if unspoken, perception of Russia and Eastern Europe is that this region doesn’t matter much any more. Though some still see Russia as a dangerous enemy, most mainstream media appear to have lost interest in what happens there, except for occasional sensational events. As a result, there is inadequate awareness in America of the fascinating cultural, political and economic developments taking place in today’s Russia.
Relying on old Cold War stereotypes ignores centuries of Russia’s history and shows a lack of curiosity about its future. Such indifference is not in the interest of America or its citizens, and it threatens to shut down imagination about potential cooperative relations with Russia and her neighbors. The Real Russia Project aims to focus on the emerging new Russia with accurate and fair reporting and analysis—without fear or favor.
In the Absence of Rule of Law – Xenophobia and Vigilantism
Yuri Mamchur
A young ultranationalist lights up a rally
Kondopoga, Karelia Region – this small industrial town not far from Finland has been the center of attention for two weeks straight in Russia. Northern Russians living in the area are known for their calm character; it is usually difficult to provoke them into a fight. But on the night of September 1, 2006, angry Kondopoga rioted and set fire to a school attended by Muslim children, as well as a public market, several grocery stores, and a restaurant, all properties owned by local Chechen migrants; they also fought with police SWAT teams that tried to disperse the riot. The next morning, September 2, thousands of people gathered without a demonstration permit. Most of the crowd demanded that city officials deport “every settler from Caucuses in the next 24 hours.”
Russia Blog will try to explain why this usually peaceful town of 40,000 has been guarded around the clock for two weeks by SWAT teams and army units, and why dozens of Russian members of Parliament, human rights activists and anti-immigration groups have entered the fray. The incident might look like a brief spasm of xenophobia, but the roots of the conflict run deep.
A sign at Uralskie Samozveti summer camp showing activities available for kids
Anapa, Russia -- In this city where the unfortunate Flight 612 departed from a few days ago, there is now another public scandal. This time the topic is so broad and common that it is hard for foreign readers to believe but easy for many Russians to dismiss: the so-called dedovschina (peer brutality and abuse). These violent habits are frequently tolerated in schoolyards and summer camps across Russia and culminate when boys grow up to be soldiers who kill and maim their comrades in the Russian army.
In this case, middle school kids from big cities were caught severely abusing their peers from small towns and suburban villages at the Uralskie Samozveti summer camp. Four teenagers were found guilty of raping 12-year-old boys, but only two teens will be held responsible. Two of the perpetrators were 14 years old; the other two are only 13! Towards the end of the session, the victimized kids were using cell phones to send SOS text messages to their parents.
One father was outraged when he first saw his son after the boy returned from three weeks at camp. The boy had lost 20 pounds in 20 days, going from 90 to 70 pounds. Some boys had visible bruises as they stepped off the train in their home towns. This time the parents will push hard for serious criminal investigations of the teenage abusers, as well as the camp counselors and administration.
MOSCOW -- Yesterday a bombing occurred at Cherkizovsky, one of the city's largest open air marketplaces. Ten people are dead and forty injured. A little town within the big city, the Chekizovsky market sells textiles and household items. The majority of business owners leasing space at the market are immigrants from former Soviet republics, mostly people from the Caucuses; and yesterday they were targeted by skinhead terrorists.
This explosion is the first terrorist violence Moscow has suffered in many months. What is most disturbing to Russians and foreigners alike is that the attack was not work of Chechen jihadists or other Islamist terrorists. Instead, the bomb was likely placed by homegrown Slavic fascists, to target Russia’s minorities.
Russia Blog has discussed the problem of neo-fascism and racist violence in Russia in several posts (see the Crime section). Last May Day, skinheads proudly marched through the streets of Moscow, chanting anti-Semitic, anti-American and anti-black slogans. Yesterday the skinheads dramatically escalated their war on Russia’s minorities from racist attacks on individuals to terrorism against ethnic community landmarks.
A Russian army private died in the Moscow suburbs on August 4, 2006. ITAR-TASS reported that Dmitry Panteleyev came back drunk after being absent without leave. An officer on-duty overreacted and severely beat the soldier, who suffered a serious concussion. A few hours later the private died from head trauma in a local hospital.
This incident comes after a recent investigation launched in Volgogradskaya Oblast, where two officers were caught “renting” soldiers for housekeeping and construction work. This is a very common practice in Russia, when an officer on duty makes his privates change into civilian clothes and “sells” them as a cheap labor to local households. A couple of years ago, the fee was $5 a day per soldier; inflation has since boosted it up to $10. The money usually goes to the officers, but soldiers are also happy, because digging trenches in nice backyards around families is better than running laps with machine guns. Also, some households treat privates well, providing them with nice meals and drinks.
However, all this raises one big question: where is the professional Russian army?
