In Putin’s Russia, More Echoes of the Authoritarian Past
The Russian Bear is more and more trying on his on Stalinist garb, and apparently liking the fit. Government seizures of private businesses, economic blackmail as foreign policy, and now, a crackdown on domestic dissent:
Russian opposition activist Garry Kasparov was among about 170 people arrested as police moved against a banned anti-Kremlin rally in Moscow.
The former chess champion was freed several hours later after being fined $40 (£20) for public order offences.
The huge security operation was launched to prevent protesters from gathering at Pushkin Square.
President Vladimir Putin denies he is trampling on democracy, accusing the opposition of destabilising Russia.
Mr Kasparov leads the United Civil Front group, part of the opposition coalition The Other Russia.He said he had been “walking with a group of people along the pavement without any slogans” when riot police had surrounded them.
“They grabbed everyone without distinction, without asking any questions,” he said.
Recently, the Atlantic Monthly polled the following 42 foreign-policy experts (Kenneth Adelman, Graham Allison, Ronald Asmus, Samuel Berger, Max Boot, Stephen Bosworth, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Daniel Byman, Warren Christopher, Wesley Clark, Richard Clarke, Eliot Cohen, William Cohen, Ivo Daalder, Lawrence Eagleburger, Douglas Feith, Jay Garner, Leslie Gelb, Marc Grossman, John Hamre, Gary Hart, Bruce Hoffman, John Hulsman, Robert Hunter, Tony Judt, David Kay, Andrew Krepinevich, Charles Kupchan, John Lehman, James Lindsay, John McLaughlin, William Nash, Joseph Nye, Carlos Pascual, Thomas Pickering, Kenneth Pollack, Joseph Ralston, Susan Rice, Wendy Sherman, Ann-Marie Slaughter, James Steinberg, Anthony Zinni) on Russia under Putin. 69% said Russia was now harming U.S. economic and security interests, and 62% said he would leave a generally negative legacy in his wake.
The only surprise is that the percentages weren’t higher…
Maybe now that Amnesty Int’l and HRW have a big name political prisoner held by a real violator of human rights, they’ll lay off their “new gulag in Cuba” for a little while.
In Soviet Russia, car drives you!
Another echo of the Soviet past is that Pravda is back to publishing “news” editorials that are a combination of moral equivilency and outright lies. According to the Bill Handel radio show, todays edition of Pravda claims that Don Imus was silenced by American military rulers for threatening to tell the truth about 9/11.