Posted on 10/15/2006 2:23:15 AM PDT by MarMema
On October 5, President Vladimir Putin made “an astounding statement for the leader of a multi-ethnic federative state,” “The St. Petersburg Times” wrote on its opinion page on October 10.
In a speech addressing regional authorities, Putin called on them to “protect the interests of Russian manufacturers and Russia's native population” in the country's outdoor markets. He blamed recent ethnic violence in Kondopoga on poor regulation and law enforcement in the area and called for tough new migration laws. “Putin did not name any particular ethnic group,” the newspaper noted, “but it is no secret that natives of the Caucasus, particularly Azeris, are responsible for the majority of trade in Russian outdoor markets.”
Until the statement, Putin and other officials “trod a careful line, supporting nationalist parties such as Rodina but refraining from making inflammatory statements about Russia's ethnic groups,” “The Moscow Times” pointed out and then quoted Vladimir Pribylovsky, an analyst who tracks Kremlin politics at the Panorama think tank, as saying: “I did not believe my ears when I first heard this. There has been a lot of nationalism, but there has not been any ethnic nationalism until now. ... This is a very dangerous game.”
But which native population did Putin have in mind when he called for the protection of the population’s interest, asked “The St. Petersburg Times.” Kondopoga's native population is Karelian and the town is in the Republic of Karelia that first became part of Russia in 1721 and belonged to Finland between the two world wars. “Even if he was thinking primarily of Azeris, Chechens, and Karelians when he made his speech to the council for national projects, that is not necessarily the way it will be heard,” the newspaper continued. “Recent events are more likely to conjure up thoughts of protecting Russia's native population from the Georgians. This is the clear impression state television is giving as it reports about raids on businesses that police say are owned by Georgian criminal groups and shows the apprehension and deportation of illegal Georgian migrants.” Putin's use of the term “native population” gives a green light for the radicalization of nationalist groups, commented Galina Kozhevnikova of Sova Information-Analytical Center, an independent group that monitors xenophobia.
“The St. Petersburg Times” called attention to “unprecedented harassment of individuals whose only crime was being a Georgian citizen or being born in Georgia.” The “current campaign of racial profiling” and a selective application of the migration law – the deportation on October 6 of 132 Georgians out of an estimated 10 million illegal migrants is a case in point -- reminded the newspaper’s editorial writer of ethnic cleansing. The writer called for a condemnation of this latest campaign and urged all citizens, even if they are from the “right” ethnicity, to remember anti-Nazi theologian Pastor Niemoller’s famous remark that began with “First they came for …” and ended with the chilling line: “When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.”
1. I don't see what is so racist in the statement, I think the authors are projecting a lot into what he said. Also no other publications have picked this up.
2. If you don't think there has been regional ethnic tensions throughout Russia since pretty much the start then you're naive.
The attack is the latest in a string of apparently racially motivated incidents to have hit the city in recent years. A student from Senegal was shot to death in an apparently racially motivated killing earlier this month; a Chinese student was treated after being attacked outside her apartment block Sunday, while a nine-year-old girl of mixed Russian and African origin was hospitalized after being stabbed near her apartment building March 25.
On March 24, a 34-year-old Ghanaian man was beaten up in the Kolpino suburb of St. Petersburg. Two young men have been arrested in connection with the attack, police said.
Other violent attacks on non-white foreigners in St. Petersburg in recent months include an attack on a man from Mali, who was stabbed to death in February, and the murder of a student from Cameroon last December and of a Congolese student in September.
Routine attacks by skinheads and youth gangs on foreigners with non-Slavic features have also been reported in other Russian cities.
The central city of Voronezh alone has seen at least seven apparently racially motivated killings over the past six years, including the murder of a Peruvian student in October last year.
"La Russophobe
A Not-for-Profit Russia blog recording the rise (and hopefully fall) of the Neo-Soviet Union."
Yeah there's a non biased source.
You should go rent Esenin or East-West or "The Assasination of the Tsar" if you want to see what a real soviet-union was or better yet book tickets to China.
A few years ago my husband and I began reading and hearing about alarming police corruption in Moscow. They grabbed Americans and robbed them just off Red Square. Russian friends here told us to not go there anymore. I used to hitchike in Moscow with a 3 year old, for months, in 1996 and 1997. I was very comfortable there in those days. Now I would not go there at all.
Russia has changed in the last ten years to a country we no longer recognize.
OK some time to reply to this...hope you are interested enough to follow this.
There is a nationalist writer in Russia, Alexander Dugyn. He has become increasingly popular and recently was given an advisorship position to something...he is a rising politician. Look for him to run in the next election- just my belief.
Dugyn espouses a kind of future for Russia which is called Eurasionism, or now Neo-Eurasionism.
link here
and here is a link I just found which talks about this also
I ran into some of this stuff while in Russia between the years of 1995-1998. Then it was just cute or folksy. The Russians would tell me how they had the Dusha, or Russian soul. Of course we have a merchant culture, as they call it, and theirs is superior because they are spiritual, mystical, less crass, less vulgar, more "cultured", etc. The Dusha is something you cannot have unless you are Russian by blood, btw. The Russians have always been a bit messianic, this is nothing new.
Dugyn and his followers, however, take Neo-Eurasionism to the end = which is war with the west, considered inevitable.
Sadly Dugyn's philosophy appeals to many Russian Orthodox in Russia because of the mystical component and the idea of rejecting crass western materialism.
Underlying all of this, is yet another part of Neo-Eurasionism, which honors the USSR, because it was powerful and an empire. The logic goes that they screwed it up, yes, but they meant well and had the right ideas about empire.
You have, no doubt, seen some of this in the news recently or at least here when Putin has been criticized for honoring something Soviet.
Neo-Eurasionism is perfect for Russia, it has wide appeal to both the Orthodox *and* the Neo-Nazis, and all the nationalists who resemble Germans, moaning about the loss of their former great country.
I might add that the Poles, Lithuanians, and even some Estonians are on top of this while we sleep here in America. Russia is heading toward a dangerous state of fascism and it will only get uglier from here. Putin having said what he did made me feel slightly ill, because now I know he has adopted the new goals for Russia. one more link for you that relates to all of this
"Stanislav Belkovsky, the founder of the National Strategy Institute, said in February 2005: "I believe that the restoration of the monarchy, either formally or informally, is the only choice for Russia, since it is the only way to restore the sanctity of the supreme power."
Hope this answers your question...
"The Eurasia Party, later Eurasia Movement, founded by Dugin in 2002, is said by some observers to enjoy financial and organizational support from Vladimir Putin's presidential office.
The Eurasia Party also is supported by some military circles and by the leaders of the Muslim, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths in Russia, and the party hopes to play a key role in attempts to resolve the Chechen problem, with the objective of setting the stage for Dugin's dream of a Russian strategic alliance with European and Middle Eastern states, primarily Iran. Dugin's ideas, particularly those on "a Turkic-Slavic alliance in the Eurasian sphere" have recently become popular among certain nationalistic circles in Turkey.
One of the basic ideas that underpin his theories is that Moscow, Berlin, and Paris form a "natural" geopolitical axis, because a line or axis from Moscow to Berlin will pass through the vicinity of Paris if extended).
Dugin's theories foresee an eternal world conflict between land and sea, and hence, Dugin believes, the U.S. and Russia. He says, "In principle, Eurasia and our space, the heartland Russia, remain the staging area of a new anti-bourgeois, anti-American revolution."
Anyway, if you read about Dugyn and Neo-Eurasionism, you can see Putin has been dabbling there at the font for some time now. But this last statement of his shows his colors very clearly, imo.
When I was in college a longstanding theory called 'the heartland theory' which was a theory that the Europe - Asia super-continent - the heartland - would naturally dominate 'the periphery' - everyone else. This theory was used to predict USSR dominance, and to devise strategy in the board game 'Risk'.Sounds like they are adopting this old chestnut as a basis for hyper-nationalist ideology.
I also ran across this The allure of Nazi imagery in Russia
And this from a few months ago
Now I am going to google your theory.
"Our ideal is one of geopolitical solidarity against Western Civilisation. Unlike those who support the neo-Capitalist or Faustian ethic of the West, we in the Eurasian Movement wish to hasten its decline and fall. In order to achieve this, we must promote revolution both on the periphery and at the very core of Capitalist power. In other words, we must aid those revolutionaries fighting on the Asian frontiers of exploitation, whilst simultaneously destroying Europe’s military and economic installations from within the heart of the Beast itself.
"We stand shoulder to shoulder with all opponents of America and the New World Order, whether it be the National-Bolsheviks of Russia, Islamic freedom fighters or the committed National-Anarchists of England and Germany. Ours is the struggle that will finally see the ancient links between Europe and Asia re-established."
And this makes it all clear about why Putin is supporting both Iran and North Korea.
Putin will do the same thing that the USSR did... Force russian culture on everyone within Russia's influence.==
USSR didn't do it. For example USSR published more ukranian books then today Ukraine publishes.
Other thought everyone who don't wnat russian culture infleunce inside Russia is free to leave her.
“The St. Petersburg Times” called attention to “unprecedented harassment of individuals whose only crime was being a Georgian citizen or being born in Georgia.” ==
ONLY "Born in Georgia" ILLEGALS "harrased" by police then it is good thing. Illegals should be deported.
Citizens of georgian origin arenot touched.
"Her mother, who lives alone in Moscow, was born in Georgia but has lived in Moscow most of her life. Recently, she received a visit from a police officer, who interrogated her, asking her what she did for a living (she is also a professor), and how long she had lived in Moscow, among other things. The Russian police have been visiting the homes and businesses of all Georgian nationals.
But if her mother is a Russian citizen, and has been for decades, how did they find her? She explained to me that when you move into a neighborhood you have to register at the local police station, and even though you might have obtained Russian citizenship, you are still considered a Georgian. Her mother was frightened, and while she said that the police officer who was sent to her home was sympathetic, My co-worker, whose husband is also Georgian, was glad that they had made the decision to move to Canada to escape potential harassment."
Enjoy your country! We don't have police visiting homes of people because of their ethnic origin. I wouldn't want to live in or visit a country where that happens.
The Russian police have been visiting the homes and businesses of all Georgian nationals. ==
When I recetly moved to my current apartment in here Moscow I got visited by local police officer(uckastkovii). But I'm not no georgian national or even georgian ethnic.:)
It is usual practice in Moscow. Remember here were terror acts as explosions. SO now police checks out who came.
"..But if her mother is a Russian citizen, and has been for decades, how did they find her? She explained to me that when you move into a neighborhood you have to register at the local police station, and even though you might have obtained Russian citizenship, you are still considered a Georgian..."
You need to register with the migration service (not police) when you come to new place it is true.
But I'm sorry this "though you might have obtained Russian citizenship, you are still considered a Georgian.." is direct lie:). So stupid lie that I got fun about it:)).
We don't have police visiting homes of people because of their ethnic origin. ==
Sometime police in search on ILLEGALS got visited some homes were ILLEGALS could live.
I wouldn't want to live in or visit a country where that happens.==
So you shouldn't live in USA where police or Feds also visited some homes in search of ILLEGALS.
SO I consider this your source as the "gray propaganda". Means some small true facts covered with big lies with some biased interpretation. It is something like commies did in USSR. I remember thier propaganda so I easy can recognize same traits.
What a pack of lies.
I was in Red Square weeks ago, before visiting Vladimir and Suzdal, and while walking around red square; touring St Basils, and touring the churches in side the Kremlin we had absolutly no run ins with theives or you're idiotic allegations of police theives.
Things have really turned around for Russia since the last time a Georgian occupied the Kremlin.
Yeah nothing is as good a measure of public sentiment as a geocities site is.
I wonder if that includes Chechen Islamic freedom fighters.
The Bolsheviks wanted to destory Russian culture, and replace it with the concept of "Soviet Man."
I posted this today also on bloggers for a reference place and also because I like how the Georgian sums it up at the end.
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