Putin Awards Kadyrov With 'The Order Of Honor'
- Get link
- Other Apps
Putin Awards Kadyrov With 'The Order Of Honor'by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov a state award.
Russia's economic crisis 'will end Putin regime'
CNBC In spite of Russia's political isolation and the uproar over the death of Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, domestic support for Russian President Vladimir Putin remains strong. But one of the Kremlin's most vocal critics believes Putin's ultimate downfall ... and more » |
MOSCOW — Russian authorities appeared Monday to bolster claims that Kremlin opposition activist Boris Nemtsov was killed by an Islamist gunman over perceived criticism of Muslims – a theory quickly dismissed by Nemtsov’s backers.Read full article >>
 Комсомольская правда |
Президент наградил орденами Кадырова и Лугового
Комсомольская правда Владимир Путин подписал в понедельник указ о награждении орденом Почета главы Чечни Рамзана Кадырова. Он удостоен награды "за трудовые успехи, активную общественную деятельность и многолетнюю добросовестную работу". Тем же указом орденом "За заслуги перед ... Рамзан Кадыров получил орден ПочетаРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Президент России наградил Рамзана Кадырова орденом ПочетаИА REGNUM Путин наградил Кадырова орденом ПочетаГрани.Ру Радио Свобода -Русская Служба Новостей -Российская Газета Все похожие статьи: 132 » |
Murderers of Opposition Figures in Russia Rarely Caught and Those Behind Them Almost Never, Vishnevsky Saysby paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, March 9 – In the increasingly Orwellian world that is Vladimir Putin’s Russia, one in which the lie is the truth, it is important to remember that “with rare exceptions,” the murders of those the authorities don’t like are “not solved. Sometimes, those who carried the out are found, but those who ordered them almost never,” Boris Vishnevsky says.
While one would like to believe that those who killed Boris Nemtsov have now been arrested and that they will name those who ordered them to do so, the Yabloko deputy in St. Petersburg’s legislative assembly says, one can do so only with difficulty given the record (echo.msk.ru/blog/boris_vis/1507274-echo/).
He enumerates some of these cases and concludes that the current one is unlikely to be different:
- “For 20 years,” the murder of investigative journalist Dmitry Kholodov has not been solved.
- “For 16 years,” the murders of ethnographer and activist Galina Starovoitova and investigative journalist Larisa Yudina have not been solved. “In both cases,” Vishnevsky writes, “those who carried out the murders have been convicted, but those who ordered the killings have not been named.”
- “For 12 years,” the murder of lawmaker and journalist Yuri Shchekhochikina has not been solved.
- “For 10 years,” Vishnevsky continues, “the murder of Paul Khlebnikov,” the American journalist who worked on corruption in Moscow, “has not been solved.”
- “For nine years,” the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya has remained unsolved, with the triggermen convicted but those who ordered them to kill not named. Moreover, Vishnevsky says, as in the case of Nemtsov’s murder, pro-Kremlin types described her murder as “a provocation” against the regime.”
- And “for five years,” the murder of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova has not been solved either.That record does not inspire confidence about the current “investigation,” Vishnevsky says. Moreover, the situation now is even worse than it was at the time of some of these earlier cases. That is because the Putin regime has created an institution which means that it is “impermissible not to remember” even more long ago history.In 1905, the black hundreds Union of the Russian People was set up with the support of the Russian regime and even the blessings of the tsar. “Besides Jewish pogroms,” that group was responsible “at a minimum” for three political murders of opposition deputies of the State Dua, Mikhail Gertsenshtein, Grigory Iollos, and Aleksandr Karavayev.Now, 110 years later, and again “with the support of the authorities,” another black hundreds-type organization has been set up, the Anti-Maidan, whose leaders have declared that they will use any means necessary including “the fear of death” to block those who oppose the regime.Government investigators and the procuracy, Vishnevsky continues, “will not turn the slightest attention” to this group, one can be sure. And their failure to do so has further emboldened the Anti-Maidan groups who are now trying to further divide society by talking about provocations of one kind or another.Another Moscow commentator, Igor Eidman, makes many of the same points with particular regard to the Russian government’s new charges against Chechens for supposedly killing Nemtsov, charges that may blow up in Moscow’s face if Russians and others are paying attention (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=54FC89877193E).Kadyrov “had no particular reasons to kill Nemtsov,” Eidman points out. “Boris [Nemtsov] wasn’t involved in the investigation of the crimes of the Kadyrov regime as were the late Piontkovskaya or Estemirov.” Moreover, Nemtsov “did not denounce Kadyrov or become his blood enemy.”And given everything, “Kadyrov could organize the murder of Nemtsov only if he were directly ordered to do so by Putin,” the Moscow commentator said.Moscow will likely try to lay all the blame for the Nemtsov murder on the Chechens, invoking the always useful argument that these Chechens are motivated by Islamic extremism and were “angry” about the support Nemtsov and other Russian liberals had given to the Charlie Hebdo caricaturists.That may be enough for many in Russia and the West, but clearly, Eidman says, the Putin regime is putting most of its hopes that it will again evade being held responsible for murder in something else: “the short attention span” of Russians and others, who will soon forget this and turn to other news.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
A U.S. naval officer says Russian military vessels and aircraft were spotted in the Black Sea near an area where NATO plans to hold a military exercise.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he told senior security officials of his decision to take Crimea just hours after embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned power.
Nemtsov Ally Skeptical Of Russian Arrestsby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
An ally of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has dismissed the official version of the inquiry into the killing as “more than absurd.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in Tokyo ahead of the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, reminded the country on Monday of the need to squarely confront its wartime past.
BRUSSELS — Rattled by a newly aggressive Russia but still loath to confront the reality of violent conflict, Europe needs to draw clear lessons from the war in Ukraine in order to respond to a new and dangerous era, according to Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland who took over recently as representative of the European Union’s 28 leaders.
Mr. Tusk, who will meet President Obama in Washington on Monday in his role as president of the European Council, said in an interview that Europe was not yet ready to further tighten sanctions against Russia despite continuing provocations by President Vladimir V. Putin.
But he said he was eager for Europe to take a more robust stance alongside the United States in countering Russian efforts to redraw the borders of Ukraine, in dealing with chaos in countries like Libya, and in confronting the threat of jihadist violence in what he described as “the first chapter in a new and very dynamic history of new fears and new threats.”
The conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s annexation last March of Crimea, Mr. Tusk said, are “just one of many” crises that now threaten European security and require a concerted response by Europe and the United States.
The latest updates to the current visual survey of the continuing dispute, with maps and satellite imagery showing rebel and military movement.
“We have to start to live without illusions,” he said.
NATO, he added, forms the bedrock of European security and Europeans need to do more after years of steady defense cuts. Europeans should consider “a new and more ambitious defense and security policy,” and “not only as part of NATO,” he said.
Most European members of the alliance have failed to meet their NATO commitments on defense spending despite repeated pledges to Washington to do so.
Mr. Tusk’s views, shaped by his experience in Poland, are more hawkish toward Russia than those of many of Europe’s national leaders, and among his challenges is forging a consensus among the European Union’s member states, whose different interests, political forces and histories often inhibit robust common action.
“To build consensus between 28 democracies — because it’s not only states — but democracies” is very “difficult,” Mr. Tusk said, adding that a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia since it seized Crimea had shown Europe’s desire to remain united and went further than some European governments wanted.
One of Mr. Tusk’s key concerns is that few Europeans are able “to think today about a possible hot conflict or war.” To do so, he said, was “unacceptable” in public opinion, a reluctance that he said had left Europe ill prepared to defend common Western values against assertive undemocratic forces in Russia and elsewhere.
“We have to use this Ukrainian crisis also as something like an education” for the whole of Europe about “how serious the situation can be” for other countries in the region.
A former activist in the Polish Solidarity movement, the trade union that led the fight to topple Communism in the 1980s, Mr. Tusk, 57, ridiculed Russian accusations that the West had created the crisis in Ukraine by orchestrating the protests last year that toppled the pro-Moscow president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. He noted that Moscow had characterized the Solidarity movement as a “one big provocation against Russia” by the West.
“I have no doubts who is the victim and who is the aggressor in this part of the world,” he said. “Personally, I would want maybe more engagement for Ukraine.” He denounced the murder last week of a prominent opposition leader, Boris Y. Nemtsov, in the center of Moscow as a poor omen for freedom and human rights in Russia.
After serving as Poland’s prime minister for seven years, Mr. Tusk stepped down in September to take over as president of the European Council, becoming the first East European to hold one of the bloc’s most senior positions after a laborious period of political horse-trading among member states.
He arrives in Washington at a moment when both Europe and the United States want to present a common front against Mr. Putin and to deepen their cooperation in addressing terrorism. Trans-Atlantic relations are “absolutely the backbone not only of our two continents” but also “the only guarantee that our values like democracy, free markets, free movement and human rights are based on real power,” he said.
Europe’s acute security concerns, he said, made a proposed trade agreement with the United States a strategic priority. He said it was essential that American and European negotiators reach an agreement on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership a deal strongly opposed by a host of European groups wary of globalization and American-style capitalism.
He acknowledged that the European Union’s complex decision-making made it difficult for the bloc to respond as swiftly and firmly to Russia and other security challenges as Washington would like.
But with some of the sanctions against Russia expiring soon, Mr. Obama was seeking support from his European allies to maintain pressure on Moscow, Mr. Tusk said. He added that it was currently “impossible” for Europe to reach the unanimity needed to impose additional sanctions, despite what he said were more than 1,000 violations of the cease-fire agreement reached last month between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government.
“Some politicians in Europe are ready to believe that there is a chance of good will” from Mr. Putin and from Russia, Mr. Tusk said, adding: “I am more skeptical.” There needs to be “a permanent effort” to guard against attempts by Russia to divide European leaders, he warned.
“Either by military or economic or other tools, I am afraid that Russia wants to rebuild control over the whole of Ukraine,” Mr. Tusk said.
He said the truce in eastern Ukraine — brokered by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President François Hollande of France in the Belarussian capital, Minsk — had clearly not stopped the fighting but had still helped to create a “situation that is better than before.” A new surge in fighting by pro-Russian rebels, he said, would prod Europe to strengthen its sanctions.
Powerful lobbies in Britain, France and Germany have already made it difficult for the European Union to impose more sweeping sanctions in order to protect industries like finance, arms and energy. More recently, a new left-wing government led by the Syriza party in Greece added a further hurdle.
Mr. Tusk said he had already used some diplomatic arm-twisting in the case of Greece, winning what he described as a pledge by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras not to be “a troublemaker.”
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of America’s largest college fraternities, closed its chapter at the University of Oklahoma late Sunday after a video posted hours earlier appeared to show fraternity members singing a racist chant. The university administration said it was investigating.
The video shows a group of young white people in formal wear riding a bus and singing a chant laden with antiblack slurs and at least one reference to lynching. A grinning young man wearing a tuxedo and standing in the aisle of the bus pumps his fist in the air as he chants, while a young woman seated nearby claps.
The chant vows that African-Americans will “never” be allowed to join the campus chapter. The video was first reported by The Oklahoma Daily, a student newspaper, that said it learned about it from an anonymous tip sent by email on Sunday.
Brad Cohen, the fraternity’s national president, said in a statement that after viewing the video, the organization’s board had decided “with no mental reservation whatsoever that this chapter needed to be closed immediately.”
“I was not only shocked and disappointed but disgusted by the outright display of racism displayed in the video,” Mr. Cohen said. “S.A.E. is a diverse organization, and we have zero tolerance for racism or any bad behavior.”
In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Sunday evening, Mr. Cohen said that he was “disgusted” by the behavior of the University of Oklahoma chapter and its members would be “dealt with.”
In a statement, the fraternity’s national organization said it was “hopeful” that it could someday re-establish a chapter at the University of Oklahoma “with a group of men who exemplify our beliefs and who serve as leaders on campus and in the community.”
The university president, David Boren, said in an emailed statement that the administration was also investigating the video.
“If O.U. students are involved, this behavior will not be tolerated and will be addressed very quickly,” said Mr. Boren. “This behavior is reprehensible and contrary to all of our values.”
In a message on Twitter, the Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP called for “a proper investigation” into the video and said it hoped “justice is served.”
The nine-second video was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday by a student group, the Unheard Movement, that first identified the people in it as members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, although the group did not indicate how it obtained the video or when it was filmed.
“This video contains language that is offensive, disrespectful, and unacceptable,” the group said in a statement posted alongside the video. “Even after 50 years after the events that occurred in Selma, Alabama we still have a reason to march. We as a people have indeed come a long way, but yet still have so far to go.”
The group said it would hold a demonstration on campus on Monday morning, and encouraged students to attend dressed in black.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is one of the country’s largest fraternities, with more than 15,000 members enrolled in chapters at over 2,000 universities. This is not the first time a local chapter has been punished. In February, Yale banned it from conducting on-campus activities until August 2016 as punishment for violating the university’s sexual misconduct policy at an initiation ceremony last year and then trying to impede the resulting investigation. In 2014, the University of Connecticut banned the fraternity for five years over hazing allegations.
Read the whole story
· ·
MOSCOW — Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the leader of the troubled southern Russian republic of Chechnya, linked the shooting death of a Kremlin critic to the controversy over French cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad, but the victim’s colleagues expressed doubt on Monday.
Mr. Kadyrov, writing on his Instagram account, said that he knew Zaur Dadayev, a former police officer charged in a Moscow court on Sunday in the killing, as a devout Muslim who had been shocked by the anti-Muslim cartoons of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and by those who supported their publication.
“Anyone who knows Zaur confirms that he is a deeply religious man, and that he, like all Muslims, was shocked by the actions of Charlie and comments in support of printing the cartoons,” wrote Mr. Kadyrov, who often uses Instagram to make public statements.
The Chechen leader also described Mr. Dadayev as a “true patriot of Russia” who had been awarded several medals for bravery for his work in fighting Islamic insurgents. He had left the North Battalion, a unit of Interior Ministry troops in Chechnya, for reasons that Mr. Kadyrov said were unclear.
The slain government critic, Boris Y. Nemtsov, 55, a former deputy prime minister turned opposition leader, was shot in the back four times within sight of the Kremlin walls on Feb. 27 by a man who fled in a car driven by an accomplice.
Although Mr. Nemtsov had defended the publication of the French cartoons, his friends rejected that as a motivation for the killing, convinced that it was his harsh criticism of the Russian government that ultimately made him a target. He had also criticized Mr. Kadyrov, most recently for parading his own thousands-strong private militia in Chechnya and saying it could be put to any service for Russia.
“It sounds like our worst fears are confirmed,” Ilya Yashin, a political ally of Mr. Nemtsov’s, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday. “The fall guy will be called to account, while the real contractors of Nemtsov’s murder will remain at large.”
Russia has been fighting the most recent Islamic insurgency in Chechnya since 1994. As president of the republic, Mr. Kadyrov has been given a free hand there by the Kremlin, and he runs it using a mix of Stalinism, Sufi Islam and Chechen nationalism.
Human rights groups have frequently criticized Mr. Kadyrov for violence against dissidents, including abductions and killings.
Although a link to the Charlie Hebdo case was mentioned early as a possible motive for the killing of Mr. Nemtsov, his allies considered it unlikely. Three jihadists killed 17 people in Paris in January, including 12 members of the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo.
Five men from the North Caucasus were jailed on Sunday in connection with the Nemtsov killing, with two charged in connection with the murder and the other three remanded into custody for two months pending further investigation.
State-run news agencies quoted Judge Nataliya Mushnikova of Basmanny District Court as saying that Mr. Dadayev had confessed to involvement in the killing and that other evidence confirmed his participation. Television cameras were allowed into the courtroom briefly, and the only thing they caught Mr. Dadayev saying from inside the defendant’s cage was, “I love the Prophet Muhammad.”
Mr. Kadyrov wrote that Mr. Dadayev had served as the deputy battalion commander of the Interior Ministry troops, lauding him as “one of the most fearless and courageous troops of the regiment.” He had risen to the rank of lieutenant, the Chechen leader wrote, and had been awarded several medals for courage. Mr. Kadyrov said he had ordered an investigation into Mr. Dadayev’s background.
The other man charged in the case on Sunday, Anzor Gubashev, pleaded not guilty.
Despite the court appearances and the high-profile law enforcement officers working on the case, neither the court nor senior officials have revealed a coherent picture of the case so far, including the roles played by the suspects or any official account of a possible motive.
The three other suspects who appeared in court on Sunday, accused of being accomplices, were Mr. Gubashev’s younger brother, Shagid, a truck driver; Khamzad Bakhaev; and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, the official Tass news agency reported. All five were jailed for up to two months.
The central question for Russians, shocked by a killing in the very heart of Moscow, is who ordered the brazen assassination of Mr. Nemtsov. Since the shooting took place in one of the most heavily guarded districts in the capital, opposition figures have accused the government of complicity.
The Kremlin denied the allegations and initially attributed the killing to “provocateurs” determined to make the government look bad. President Vladimir V. Putin later said it was politically motivated.
Given the intense national interest in the case, the arrival of the men in court was broadcast on state television. Uniformed security agents wearing black balaclavas frog-marched the suspects, bent over and wearing handcuffs, into the courthouse. Security forces established a tight cordon around it.
A sixth suspect blew himself up with a hand grenade on Saturday night as the police closed in on his apartment in the southern city of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, the Interfax news agency reported.
Mr. Kadyrov, in his Instagram posting, seemed to refer to that incident, praising a man he named as Beslan Shavanov as a “brave warrior.” Mr. Kadyrov wrote that Mr. Shavanov had “perished the previous day during an attempt to detain him.”
Albert Barakhoev, the acting head of the Security Council in Ingushetia, the republic that borders Chechnya, was quoted by the state-run news agencies, Tass and RIA Novosti, as saying that all the other five arrests took place there.
The two main suspects, Mr. Dadayev and Mr. Gubashev, are between 30 and 35, he said, and have been in Moscow for years. Mr. Gubashev had worked for a private security company in Moscow as a guard in a superstore, Mr. Barakhoev said.
Ajmani Dadayev, the mother of Mr. Dadayev, told state television that the two Gubashev brothers were her nephews.
The Interfax news agency, quoting an unidentified source, said the police had been able to trace the first two men through cellphone activity around the location of the killing and from DNA evidence found in the car suspected of having been used in the getaway.
There have been a series of high-profile murders of government critics in Russia over the past two decades in which the mastermind was never identified.
Last June, for example, Moscow’s highest criminal court sentenced five men from the North Caucasus to prison for the 2006 murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a scathing critic of Kremlin policies in Chechnya and of Mr. Kadyrov. But her supporters say it remains undetermined who ordered her killing.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 3
5 Muslims arrested over Nemtsov murder, 1 ‘confessed’by The European Union Times
Moscow’s Basmanny district court has arrested five Muslims from Russia’s Islamic North Caucasus region in connection with the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure, who was gunned down last week.
Two judges are reviewing the charges against the five people brought before the court by the prosecutors on Sunday.
Two of them are Zaur Dadaev and Anzor Gubashev, who were identified as key suspects in the killing of Nemtsov after their detention on Saturday.
The prosecutors asked the court to arrest the duo by April 28, the current deadline for the investigation, saying that otherwise they may flee or interfere with the investigation.
According to the judge, who ordered Dadaev’s arrest as requested by the prosecution, he confessed his involvement to the police. The accused didn’t comment on this during the court session.
Gubashev pleaded not guilty to the crimes he is charged with.
The other individuals, who may have had a hand in the crime, are Gubashev’s brother Shagit and two identified as Ramzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov. The request for their arrest has been reviewed separately by another judge.
“The suspects denied their ties to the crime, but we have evidence of their guilt. It includes forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts,”an investigator told the court.
Zaur Dadayev admits guilt, says he’s implicated in Nemtsov murder.
The trio denied their involvement, with Eskerkhanov claiming to have an alibi. But the judge ordered their arrests as well.
Eskerkhanov and Bakhaev have been remanded until May 8 and Shagit Gubashev – until May 7.
The sixth suspect, Beslan Shavanov, 30, reportedly committed suicide on March 7, when police came to his apartment in Chechnya’s capital Grozny. The man, according to LifeNews channel, had barricaded himself in the apartment.
“In response to the police’s demand he surrender, he [the suspect] threw a hand grenade [at police forces],” a law enforcement source told the news channel. Shavanov then detonated another grenade, killing himself.
The President of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, commented on the arrest of the five suspects on his Instagram account on May 8. He specifically spoke about Dadaev, saying he knew him “as a patriot of Russia” who used to serve as deputy regiment commander in one of the Chechen Republic’s interior ministry units.
Kadyrov has ordered a “thorough investigation” of Dadaev’s retirement from the unit, saying that he “does not understand true reasons and motives” behind his decision.
However, the Chechen leader noted that the suspect, as a deep believer, had been “shocked” by the Charlie Hebdo scandal and all the “comments in support of printing the cartoons.”
Kadyrov has also confirmed Shavanov “died during attempts to detain him”.
Nemtsov was killed by a gunman a few meters from the Moscow Kremlin, triggering a flurry of condemnations and calls for a swift investigation. The assassination happened two days ahead of an opposition rally, which Nemtsov helped to organize.
While political motive is considered the most likely in the killing, the investigators said they were considering other scenarios, including a business or personal conflict. Likely political motives behind the killing according to the investigators include a provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation in Russia, possibly by Ukrainian radicals, and revenge by Islamists for Nemtsov’s support of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo following an extremist attack.
Read the whole story
· · · · · ·
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities said on Sunday they had charged two men over the killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and said one of them was a former senior policeman from the mainly Muslim region of Chechnya who had confessed to involvement in the crime.
Interest in a Palace Coup against Putin Said Growing among Russian Elites by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, March 8 – Despite his efforts, Vladimir Putin is not a remake of Stalin and thus could be overthrown in a coup because he has not only violated the social contract he had with the Russian people but has with the murder of Boris Nemtsov shown that he is prepared to kill members of the elite who cross him, according to Ivan Yakovina.
As a result, the former Lenta.ru online specialist and current Ukrainian Novoye vremya correspondent says, some in the elite are already thinking that they must strike before he turns on them; and unlike Stalin, Putin won’t find it easy to prevent them from doing so and succeeding (nv.ua/opinion/yakovina/dvorcovyy-perevorot-lihie-90-e-i-pokushenie-na-putina--37950.html).
Putin has been trying to transform himself into the Stalin of today both by his foreign policy actions and by his moves at home, shifting from “’soft’” suppression of those who oppose him to prison and exile and now to “the physical elimination” of their leaders with the urder of Boris Nemtsov.
“The murder of a representative of the contemporary Russian ‘nobility,’ a former vice premier who was close to Boris Yeltsin and someone who was personally acquainted with many world leaders,” Yakovina says, “is a signal to all representatives of this class, the highly-paced bureaucrats, the oligarchs near the thrown and the many-starred generals.”
Until Nemtsov’s murder, “the unwritten rules” or more precisely “understandings” included the idea that once you entered the very highest circles, you might suffer if you crossed the Kremlin leader but you would not lose your life and your relatives would not lose theirs either.
“In Russia where human life is cheap,” the commentator says, “such a privilege is worth a lot.” And Nemtsov’s murder calls that into question for those around Putin himself, none of whom believe the tales the regime has put about concerning who is to blame. Those, Yakovina says, are “for ‘the 86 percent’ and the West.”
Russia’s “ministers, oligarchs and generals understand perfectly who in fact did away with the politician … and from now on, anyone suspected of disloyalty could be next.” That has to worry them because “the occasions for such suspicions are becoming ever greater,” the analyst suggests.
Many have talked about the ways in which the violation of the social contract between Putin and the population have occurred, but this violation of the one between the Kremlin leader and the top elite is much more serious, at least as far as the politics in Moscow in the coming days, weeks and months are concerned.
Putin’s “legitimacy” in their eyes is disappearing, and many of them – and not just the opposition but his most active supporters in the past – are now talking about the risks to themselves and what they should do to prevent him from acting against him as he has against Nemtsov.
Obviously, Putin is concerned about this. “In recent times, he has become paranoid in his fears of an attack,” Yakovina says. He has increased his guard force, he has reduced the circle with who he is in contact, and he has “almost ceased to appear in public.”And viewed from Putin’s perspective, killing Nemtsov was a way to increase his personal security.
That is because, the analyst continues, “in an atmosphere of total terror and general suspiciousness, it will be much more difficult for the elites to organize a conspiracy.”But it won’t be impossible because “building a wall against a putsch in contemporary Russia is not so simple.”
“The main problem is that Putin is not Stalin,” Yakovina says. He is only a pale copy of the original. Moreover, he is surrounded by a different kind of elite, something that will mean that the use of repression will not have the same consequences for him as it did for the Soviet dictator.
“In the Russian elite” now, he continues, there are a large number of willful and energetic people who emerged from “’the wild ‘90s’ not only alive but also extremely cruel and successful.” Such people are unlikely to sit idly by and wait until they follow Nemtsov into the grave.
Instead, Yakovina says, they are going to focus on the source of their “financial and political problems and the threat to their security and the cause of Western sanctions.” That source has a name – Vladimir Putin – and ever more of them are going to want him out of the way.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Over 100 people have been detained and questioned in Chechnya over the past two weeks, since three men were killed in a mysterious explosion south-west of Grozny late on February 23, according to the Moscow-based human rights watchdog Memorial.
Suicide Or Homicide? In Ukraine, Old-Guard Officials Dying Mysteriously by noreply@rferl.org (Marichka Naboka)
Between January 26 and February 28, five Ukrainian officials with ties to the regime of ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych have been found dead of apparent suicide. What's behind the wave of mysterious deaths?
 The Guardian |
Putin risks further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, says Philip Hammond
The Guardian Vladimir Putin risks a further round of punitive EU economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow-backed separatists mount another large offensive in the Ukraine, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond has said. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, ... European Official Not Ready to Stiffen Russia SanctionsNew York Times Baltic states shiver as Russia flexes musclesBBC News EU shows little appetite for more Russia sanctionsReuters Center for Research on Globalization-Daily Sabah-Deutsche Welle all 593 news articles » |
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4
 Fox News |
Russian court charges 2, detains 3 others in killing of Putin critic
Fox News MOSCOW – A Russian court on Sunday charged two men in the killing of leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov and ordered three other suspects to remain in jail pending a decision on whether to file charges. Russian news agencies said one of those ... Nemtsov suspects detained in Russia, prompting skepticismThe Columbian all 1 news articles » |
European Official Not Ready to Stiffen Russia Sanctionsby JAMES KANTER and ANDREW HIGGINS
Donald Tusk, head of the European Council, said he was eager for the bloc to take a more robust stance against Russian efforts to redraw Ukraine’s borders.
 New York Times |
European Official Not Ready to Stiffen Russia Sanctions
New York Times BRUSSELS — Rattled by a newly aggressive Russia but still loath to confront the reality of violent conflict, Europe needs to draw clear lessons from the war in Ukraine in order to respond to a new and dangerous era, according to Donald Tusk, the ... EU shows little appetite for more Russia sanctionsReuters EU reluctant to impose more sanctions on RussiaDaily Sabah The 'Democrat' Brzezinski Says Russia's Putin Wants to Invade NATO Center for Research on Globalization Deutsche Welle- Wall Street Journal-BBC News all 396 news articles » |
 Wall Street Journal |
Russia Formally Charges Two Men Over Nemtsov Murder
Wall Street Journal MOSCOW—Russian investigators formally charged two men from the restive Caucasus region with the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and said three more suspects had been arrested in the case. The string of arrests, which began Saturday, ... Russia's anti-US sentiment now is even worse than it was in Soviet UnionWashington Post Reports: Suspect in Russian assassination dies in blastUSA TODAY Nemtsov killing: Russia court charges two men with murderBBC News CNN -New York Times -Yahoo News all 1,729 news articles » |
 РИА Новости |
СМИ: известный финский журналист избит на Украине
РИА Новости Журналист Антеро Эерола стал свидетелем того, как артиллерия силовиков в Светлодарске обстреливает позиции ополченцев. После того, как он сообщил об этом прессе, его избили несколько неизвестных. Работа оператора. © Fotolia/ popstock. МОСКВА, 9 мар — РИА Новости. СМИ: на Украине избит известный финский журналистКоммерсантъ На Украине избили финского журналистаКомсомольская правда Неизвестные избили на востоке Украины финского журналистаРоссийская Газета Взгляд -Газета.Ru -Красноярские новости - krasnews.com Все похожие статьи: 21 » |
 Wall Street Journal |
Russia's anti-American fever goes beyond the Soviet era's
Washington Post MOSCOW — Thought the Soviet Union was anti-American? Try today's Russia. After a year in which furious rhetoric has been pumped across Russian airwaves, anger toward the United States is at its worst since opinion polls began tracking it. From ... Reports: Suspect in Russian assassination dies in blastUSA TODAY Five Are Detained in Slaying of Putin CriticWall Street Journal Nemtsov killing: Russia court charges two men with murderBBC News CNN -The Guardian all 2,003 news articles » |
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 5
Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies.
The previous issue is here.
According to a source in the investigation, Zaur Dadayev, the former Chechen policeman charged in the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, has claimed his motive was Nemtsov’s statements on the Charlie Hebdo murders by Islamist terrorists.
UPDATES BELOW
Special features:
- Alexey Navalny On the Murder of Boris Nemtsov
-Theories about Possible Perpetrators of the Murder of Boris Nemtsov
-Novaya Gazeta Releases Sensational Kremlin Memo: ‘It is Seen as Correct to Initiate Annexation of Eastern Regions of Ukraine to Russia’
-Former Russian Intelligence Officers Behind Boisto “Track II” Talks – and Now the Flawed Minsk Agreement.
-Theories about Possible Perpetrators of the Murder of Boris Nemtsov
-Novaya Gazeta Releases Sensational Kremlin Memo: ‘It is Seen as Correct to Initiate Annexation of Eastern Regions of Ukraine to Russia’
-Former Russian Intelligence Officers Behind Boisto “Track II” Talks – and Now the Flawed Minsk Agreement.
See also our Russia This Week stories:
Remembering Boris Nemtsov, Insider and Outsider (1959-2015)
Ultranationalists Angry over ‘Capitulation’ of Minsk Agreement,
‘Anti-Maidan’ Launched by Nationalists, Cossacks, Veterans, Bikers
The Guild War – How Should Journalists Treat Russian State Propagandists?
Ultranationalists Angry over ‘Capitulation’ of Minsk Agreement,
‘Anti-Maidan’ Launched by Nationalists, Cossacks, Veterans, Bikers
The Guild War – How Should Journalists Treat Russian State Propagandists?
Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs.
The 'Democrat' Brzezinski Says Russia's Putin Wants to Invade NATO
Center for Research on Globalization Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. President Obama's friend and advisor on Russia, is a born Polish aristocrat who has hated Russia his whole life but who hid that hatred until after the communist Soviet Union collapsed and he then publicly came out as hating ... and more » |
 Российская Газета |
Глава МИД КНР: объем торговли между КНР и РФ в 2015 году должен составить $100 млрд
Коммерсантъ Практическое сотрудничество между Китаем и Россией в 2015 году должно принести новые достижения, объем двусторонней торговли должен достичь $100 млрд, заявил на пресс-конференции в Пекине министр иностранных дел КНР Ван И, отвечая 8 марта на вопрос «РИА Новости». Глава МИД КНР назвал отношения между Пекином и Москвой не зависящими "от третьих стран"Интерфакс Власти КНР намерены достичь объема торговли с РФ на уровне $100 млрдРБК Пекин: объем торговли между Россией и КНР в 2015 году должен достичь $100 млрдГазета.Ru НТВ.ru -Российская Газета -Русская Служба Новостей Все похожие статьи: 11 » |
 ИА REGNUM |
Захарченко: ДНР готова оплачивать российский газ
ИА REGNUM Донецкая народная республика в состоянии оплачивать российский газ без помощи Украины. Об этом заявил глава ДНР Александр Захарченко, сообщает НТВ. «Украинская сторона варварски уничтожила вентили на газопроводе, который ведет в ДНР. Они их полностью испортили, ... Самопровозглашенная Донецкая народная республика заявляет, что в состоянии самостоятельно оплачивать газ из России.Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Захарченко: «ДНР» готова самостоятельно платить за российский газTrans-Port Захачренко: Армия ДНР всегда может снова занять позицииНовости Украины | Новостное агентство ХАРЬКОВ Газета.Ru -KM.RU- НТВ.ru Все похожие статьи: 120 » |
 РБК |
Глава Еврокомиссии призвал к созданию общеевропейской армии
BFM.Ru Председатель Европейской комиссии Жан-Клод Юнкер призвал к созданию общеевропейской армии. Об этом Юнкер заявил в интервью, публикуемом сегодня газетой Welt am Sonntag. По его мнению, создавая армию, Европа сможет убедительно реагировать на угрозу миру, как в ... Глава Еврокомиссии предложил создать армию ЕвросоюзаРоссийская Газета "Намекнуть России": глава Еврокомиссии призвал создать армию ЕвросоюзаNEWSru.com Председатель Еврокомиссии призвал к созданию армии ЕвросоюзаРБК Lenta.ru -Полит.ру -Аргументы и факты Все похожие статьи: 51 » |
DESNA, Ukraine — In a military training class north of Kiev late last month, volunteer instructor Viktor Mosgovoi led 30 would-be officers through hours of jumps, breathing exercises and group massages — Ukraine’s first mandatory psychological training for recruits. Read full article >>
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6
 NEWSru.co.il |
Саудовская Аравия стала крупнейшим импортером оружия в мире
NEWSru.co.il Саудовская Аравия обошла Индию и стала крупнейшим в мире импортером оружия Согласно отчету, опубликованному британским исследовательским центром IHS, в 2014 году Эр-Рияд потратил на закупки оружия 6,5 миллиарда долларов – на 54%, чем годом ранее. Главная причина ... и другие » |
 РИА Новости |
Как появился Международный женский день
Газета.Ru Если на протяжении XIX века об эмансипации женщин только говорили, то с началом нового столетия все в большем числе стран они в разной степени становились равными мужчинам в правах. Вот и Международный женский день явился порождением протестного женского движения ... Женский день с ароматом борьбыФедеральное агентство новостей No.1 С днем 8 марта, или немного историиЭхо Москвы в Саратове 8 марта: прикольные, смешные и красивые поздравления с праздником маме, жене, любимойПитер ТВ www.elle.ru -ТВ Центр - Официальный сайт телеканала Все похожие статьи: 118 » |
Russia Holds Two More Suspects Over Nemtsov Killingby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
State media reported March 8 that Russian police have arrested two more men over the killing of opposition activist Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead last month in the center of Moscow near the Kremlin.
Russian security officials have detained four men, all reportedly Chechens, on suspicion of the murder on February 27 in Moscow of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Why Putin Says ‘Glory to Ukraine’ – and Other Russian Anecdotes by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, March 8 – Few nations in the world are more given to and gifted in the use of anecdotes about many things including their leaders, than the Russians. Sometimes that is because anecdotes say more in a few words than articles can say in hundreds, and sometimes it is because anecdotes have a deniability factor, always useful in repressive conditions.
Russians have been coming up with anecdotes about Vladimir Putin since the very beginning of his rule, but they are now becoming ever more widespread; and Belaruspartisan.org offers a healthy selection of the latest, some of which of course are recycled from the Soviet past much like Putin but others of which are uniquely his.
Below are a few of those from this remarkable Belarusian collection (http://club.belaruspartisan.org/forum/clubpartisan/194140/).
- What is the latest Russian paradox? Having just won an election, Putin needs the military to defend him against the people who voted for him.
- A police officer approaches a Russian at a demonstrator and tells him that it is impermissible to call for the overthrow of Putin. The protester says he hasn’t; he’s only called for honest elections. The police officer responds that honest elections are the overthrow of Putin.
- Two political prisoners are talking. The first asks the second what he was sent to jail for. The second says he drew a cartoon showing Putin as an idiot. Then, under what provision of the law did they sentence you, hooliganism or extremism? No, the second replies, for revealing a state secret.
- Putin is asked what the rest of Russia is if Moscow is the Third Rome. Putin replies: The rest of Russia is a second Honduras!
- Putin is asked why he always lies. Putin replies: “I don’t lie … I simply never tell the truth…”
- Having declared that “the Americans are guilty of all the misfortunes of Russia,” Putin in fact has acknowledged that he is an American spy…”
- Putin tells the Russian people that the temporary problems will soon be over. Then the permanent ones will begin.
- US President Obama tells Putin that Western economic sanctions can destroy Russia in three years. Putin replies: “That’s nothing; I can do it in one.”
- Putin calls on the spirit of Peter the Great who denounces him for all the harm the current president has done to Russia. Putin replies that he has some good points: he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, and he lives in a way that will guarantee he lives for a long time.Peter the Great responds that that is something very bad too. For you to worry about your health, may be good for you, the tsar say. But for Russia it is bad.
- Putin is asked if he is worried about thebrain drain out of Russia. He replies that there is no reason to because he’d never used them anyway.
- Putin’s reform program: First, make people rich and happy. A list of those who are to be that is attached.
- Medvedev runs into Putin’s office and shouts that the Nazis have entered Moscow. Putin tells him to calm down: those aren’t Nazis; they are just postmen in the new uniforms Putin has designed for them.
- When a Western journalist asks how many thousand Russian troops have died in battles with the Ukrainian army, Putin replies that Russian soldiers enjoy taking their vacation in the Donbas so much that many of them aren’t returning.
- Why didn’t the Kremlin publish the names of the 300 Russian journalists Putin gave awards to for their coverage of the Crimean operation? Because to have done so would have revealed those of FSB agents.
- Why do some Jews in the Donbas love Putin? Because now, the people there blame him and not the Jews for all shortages.
- Having conducted negotiations with Hollande and Merkel about the withdrawal of Russian forces which “aren’t in the Donbas,” Putin declares that there were not any negotiations either.
- Patriarch Kirill believes in Putin the father, Medvedev the son, and the holy Russian Bureaucrat. Putin believes in the evil one, the devel and in Patriarch Kirill…
- Having seen his latest ratings in the polls, Putin quietly says “Glory to Ukraine!”
Read the whole story
· · ·
Putin risks further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, says Philip Hammond by David Feeney and agencies
UK foreign secretary warns any new offensive by Moscow-backed separatists would say EU ‘turn the temperature up’ on ‘difficult’ Russian president
Vladimir Putin risks a further round of punitive EU economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow-backed separatists mount another large offensive in the Ukraine, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond has said.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Hammond said the post-cold war detente between Russia and the west had soured under Putin’s presidency to the point where it now sees western countries as adversaries.
Continue reading...
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 7
Five appear in court in Moscow over the killing
Read the whole story
· ·
Wall Street Journal |
Judge: Suspect in Russian assassination confessed
USA TODAY Russian authorities announced Saturday they had detained two suspects from the Muslim-dominated Caucasus region in Nemtsov's death. Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov said Dadaev served with Interior Ministry troops in volatile ... Russia Formally Charges Two Men Over Nemtsov MurderWall Street Journal Nemtsov killing: Russia court charges two men with murderBBC News Putin risks further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, says Philip HammondThe Guardian CNN- Yahoo News- CBC.ca all 1,621 news articles » |
A sixth suspect in the recent killing of high-profile Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov has blown himself up following a standoff with police in the Chechen Republic, report says.
Beslan Shavanov blew himself up after throwing a grenade at police forces who had come to arrest him in the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Grozny, on Saturday, state-run news channel Russia 24 reported on Sunday.
According to CNN, the report emerged as Russian authorities announced five other arrests related to the Nemtsov killing.
Meanwhile, Zaur Dadayev, a former deputy commander for the Chechen police, admitted to his role in Nemtsov’s murder after a Russian court indicted him and Anzor Gubashev, who worked for a private security company in the Russian capital, Moscow.
"The participation of Dadayev is confirmed by his confession," said presiding judge, Nataliya Mushnikova.
Gubashev has denied any manner of involvement in the case
On February 27, Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead as he was walking across a bridge in full view of the Kremlin and Red Square.
SRK/NN/AS
 Вести.Ru |
В Армении нашли повешенным пропавшего российского пограничника
РБК Пропавший в конце февраля контрактник пограничных войск в Армении ефрейтор Артур Афян обнаружен повешенным. Об этом сообщил прокурор области Ширак Раффи Асланян, передает ТАСС. Тело Афяна нашли у супермаркета, который расположен по дороге из Гюмри, где ... В Армении найден повешенным российский пограничникУкраинское национальное информагентство Пропавшего в Армении российского пограничника нашли повешенным в ГюмриNEWSru.com Пограничник российских войск, который пропал в Армении две недели назад, найден повешенным в городе Гюмри на севере республикиРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Взгляд-Вести.Ru Все похожие статьи: 111 » |
MOSCOW—
A Russian judge said Sunday a former Chechen police commander has confessed to his involvement in the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, while authorities continue their investigation of four other suspects.
All five appeared in a Moscow court and were detained as officials questioned them about the February 27 shooting death of Nemtsov, a staunch foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nemtsov was shot four times in the back as he walked across a bridge with his girlfriend in sight of the Kremlin.
Judge Nataliya Mushnikova said one of the men charged with murder in the case, former deputy Chechen police commander Zaur Dadayev, signed a confession although no details were disclosed about his role. But the judge said a second suspect charged with murder in Nemtsov's death, Anzor Gubashev, denied his involvement.
Television footage showed Gubashev, who worked for a private security firm in Moscow, sitting in a jail cell holding a piece of paper over his face to hide it. Other images showed heavily armed police quickly escorting three hunched-over suspects into a small courtroom and locking them in barred cages.
Besides Dadayev and Gubashev, authorities identified the other three suspects as Gubashev's younger brother Shagid, Ramsat Bakhayev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov.
Meanwhile, authorities said a sixth suspect blew himself up with a grenade as police tried to detain him in the Chechen capital, Grozny.
Before the judge disclosed Dadayev's involvement in the killing, his mother, Aaimani Dadayeva, told the Interfax news agency, "I can't believe it. He could not have committed this crime." She said her son has worked for Chechen law enforcement agencies for the last decade.
Motive still unknown
Despite the detention of the five suspects, no information has emerged about a possible motive for the killing. Nemtsov's allies say his assassination was ordered at the highest levels of the Russian government to silence critics.
All five suspects are from the restive North Caucasus region where Russia has fought two fierce wars in the last 20 years against separatists in Chechnya allied with Islamic fundamentalists. Security forces continue to clash with insurgents.
Putin has called the killing "a provocation" and vowed the government would do everything to ensure those responsible are "properly punished."
One of Nemtsov's closest allies in the opposition, Ilya Yashin, expressed his skepticism on Facebook after the arrests were announced, saying it is "hard to judge" whether these are the real perpetrators. He said it is extremely important that in addition to the shooters, those who ordered the killing are also identified and detained.
Nemtsov's killing occurred two days before he was to have led an anti-war and anti-Putin rally in Moscow. The opposition figure had also been working on a report about Russian military involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
After his death, the planned rally was transformed into a tribute to Nemtsov.
A few weeks before the shooting, Nemtsov told the Russian news website Sobesednik he thought Putin wanted him dead, and did not hold back his contempt for the Russian leader.
"I'm afraid Putin will kill me. I believe that he was the one who unleashed the war in Ukraine. I couldn't dislike him more," Nemtsov said.
Nemtsov was a deputy prime minister in the 1990s, and many Russian observers predicted he would succeed then-President Boris Yeltsin.
After President Yeltsin chose Vladimir Putin as his successor, and Putin was subsequently elected in 2000, Nemtsov became one of Russia's sharpest and most outspoken Putin critics, especially following last year's uprising in Ukraine.
In September, Nemtsov told VOA that Putin wants revenge for Ukraine's overthrow of its pro-Russian president.
He said Putin fears that what happened in Ukraine could happen in Russia, and sees a pro-European Ukraine as a threat to his own power.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Women to Converge on UN to Demand Equalityby webdesk@voanews.com (Margaret Besheer)
Hundreds of women are expected to participate Sunday in a march in New York City promoting gender equality by 2030. Their ranks are to include the U.N. secretary-general, a Nobel laureate, celebrities, activists and many men who will be expressing their support for women’s rights. The march, from the United Nations to Times Square, was to kick off two weeks of discussions at the U.N. on women's rights, expected to draw thousands of participants. The events will mark the 20th anniversary of a women’s conference held in China that produced the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action calling for gender equality and the empowerment of women. The declaration was adopted by 189 countries in 1995, but activists agree its pledges have only been partly fulfilled. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking Friday at an International Women’s Day event, said the Beijing Declaration remains an ambitious but realistic agenda for empowering women and girls, but he noted there are still obstacles to overcome. “The attitudes of societies -- the attitudes of men -- in all regions are still stacked against women,” he said. Ban said women still do most of the unpaid and low-paid work. He said there are only about 20 women who are heads of states or governments, and he noted that in many countries women are still denied their sexual and reproductive health rights and are the victims of early and forced marriages. Over the next two weeks, activists will address how to implement laws and change attitudes to improve women’s lives. The head of U.N. Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said women need to raise their voices and use the power of their vote. Another critical factor, she said, is working with men -- "to include men that want see change, so we that can increase the muscle of the people that can speak truth to power.” Many meetings are planned to evaluate and plan to improve the situation of women regarding gender discrimination, as political leaders, in the business sector and as stakeholders in national reconciliation processes. The conference will also look at violence against women, which affects one in three women worldwide. The subject has been even more in the spotlight recently, as girls and women have been abducted, raped and sold by terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State. The U.N.’s Mlambo-Ngcuka said that women are “in the eye of the storm” more than ever before. “In fact, it is, indeed, in many parts of world, more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier,” she said. Conference participants hope to mobilize political will and international unity to end abuses of women’s rights and help women prosper in the 21st century.
Read the whole story
· ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 8
President Barack Obama has said the United States would "walk away" from nuclear talks with Iran if an acceptable deal cannot be reached with Tehran.
Люди в темные времена by Радио Свобода
 |
Личная и философская переписка Ханны Арендт и Мартина Хайдеггера вышла в русском переводе. Как читаются...
|
From: Радио Свобода
Views:
294
ratings  |
| Time: 55:00 | More in News & Politics |
Alleged killers from North Caucasus region are formally arrested, along with three other suspects
Read the whole story
· ·
Interest in a Palace Coup against Putin Said Growing among Russian Elites by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Staunton, March 8 Despite his efforts, Vladimir Putin is not a remake of Stalin and thus could be overthrown in a coup because he has not only violated the social contract he had with the Russian people but has with the murder of Boris Nemtsov shown that he is prepared to kill members of the elite who cross him, according to Ivan Yakovina.
As a result, the former Lenta.ru online specialist and current Ukrainian Novoye Vremyacorrespondent says, some in the elite are already thinking that they must strike before he turns on them; and unlike Stalin, Putin won’t find it easy to prevent them from doing so and succeeding.
Putin has been trying to transform himself into the Stalin of today both by his foreign policy actions and by his moves at home, shifting from “’soft’” suppression of those who oppose him to prison and exile and now to “the physical elimination” of their leaders with the murder of Boris Nemtsov.
“The murder of a representative of the contemporary Russian ‘nobility,’ a former vice premier who was close to Boris Yeltsin and someone who was personally acquainted with many world leaders,” Yakovina says, “is a signal to all representatives of this class, the highly-paced bureaucrats, the oligarchs near the throne and the many-starred generals.”
Until Nemtsov’s murder, “the unwritten rules” or more precisely “understandings” included the idea that once you entered the very highest circles, you might suffer if you crossed the Kremlin leader but you would not lose your life and your relatives would not lose theirs either.
“In Russia where human life is cheap,” the commentator says, “such a privilege is worth a lot.” And Nemtsov’s murder calls that into question for those around Putin himself, none of whom believe the tales the regime has put about concerning who is to blame. Those, Yakovina says, are “for ‘the 86 percent’ and the West.”
Russia’s “ministers, oligarchs and generals understand perfectly who in fact did away with the politician…and from now on, anyone suspected of disloyalty could be next.” That has to worry them because “the occasions for such suspicions are becoming ever greater,” the analyst suggests.
Many have talked about the ways in which the violation of the social contract between Putin and the population have occurred, but this violation of the one between the Kremlin leader and the top elite is much more serious, at least as far as the politics in Moscow in the coming days, weeks and months are concerned.
Putin’s “legitimacy” in their eyes is disappearing, and many of them – and not just the opposition but his most active supporters in the past – are now talking about the risks to themselves and what they should do to prevent him from acting against him as he has against Nemtsov.
Obviously, Putin is concerned about this. “In recent times, he has become paranoid in his fears of an attack,” Yakovina says. He has increased his guard force, he has reduced the circle with who he is in contact, and he has “almost ceased to appear in public.” And viewed from Putin’s perspective, killing Nemtsov was a way to increase his personal security.
That is because, the analyst continues, “in an atmosphere of total terror and general suspiciousness, it will be much more difficult for the elites to organize a conspiracy.” But it won’t be impossible because “building a wall against a putsch in contemporary Russia is not so simple.”
“The main problem is that Putin is not Stalin,” Yakovina says. He is only a pale copy of the original. Moreover, he is surrounded by a different kind of elite, something that will mean that the use of repression will not have the same consequences for him as it did for the Soviet dictator.
“In the Russian elite” now, he continues, there are a large number of willful and energetic people who emerged from “’the wild ‘90s’ not only alive but also extremely cruel and successful.” Such people are unlikely to sit idly by and wait until they follow Nemtsov into the grave.
Instead, Yakovina says, they are going to focus on the source of their “financial and political problems and the threat to their security and the cause of Western sanctions.” That source has a name – Vladimir Putin – and ever more of them are going to want him out of the way.
Read the whole story
· · ·
 НТВ.ru |
Анархисты требуют от СИРИЗЫ освобождения арестованных террористов
Маяк Центральный офис правящей партии СИРИЗА в Афинах захвачен группой радикалов, сообщает РИА Новости со ссылкой на AFP. Анархисты требуют освободить арестованных по делу террористической организации «Заговор огненных ячеек» и закрыть тюрьмы особо строго режима. Центральный офис партии СРИЗА захвачен анархистамиПравда.Ру В Афинах анархисты захватили центральный офис партии СИРИЗААргументы и факты Анархисты захватили центральный офис партии СИРИЗАПолит.ру Комсомольская Правда в Украине -НТВ.ru Все похожие статьи: 23 » |
 НТВ.ru |
В Черном море пройдут учения кораблей стран НАТО
Газета.Ru В Черном море 9 марта начнутся военно-морские учения флотов стран — членов НАТО, говорится на сайте организации. В маневрах около берегов Болгарии примут участие корабли США, Италии, Германии, Канады, Турции, Болгарии и Румынии. «Наши моряки рады посетить Варну и ... Учения НАТО в Чёрном море начнутся 9 мартаНТВ.ru НАТО, Румыния и Болгария проведут совместные учения в Черном море 9 мартаРБК НАТО, Румыния и Болгария проведут 9 марта военно-морские учения в Черном мореСЕГОДНЯ Российская Газета -Корреспондент.net Все похожие статьи: 33 » |
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 9
 International Association of Athletics Federations |
Russia leap from scandal to top of European medal table
Reuters In the first major international athletics event since the scandal emerged last year, Russiafinished the three-day championships at the O2 Arena in Prague with six golds -- twice as many as any other country -- and two silvers. France were the next ... Russia dominates but Belgium enthrals with European indoor 4x400m record in ...International Association of Athletics Federations all 107 news articles » |
 |
Басманный суд Москвы 8 марта постановил арестовать пятерых подозреваемых в убийстве российского оппозицио...
|
From: Радио Свобода
Views:
2728
ratings  |
| Time: 03:07 | More in News & Politics |
Tibetan Self-immolates in Ngababy webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
A women in Tibet has died after setting herself on fire in the first reported self-immolation protest of 2015. The Free Tibet organization said the woman, Norchuk, was in her forties. It says she self-immolated Friday near Trotsuk township in Ngaba county. It says authorities took her remains and cremated her before her family could carry out a funeral. A day later, a monk in Ngaba protested by walking through a town and shouting for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet. In December, three Tibetans self-immolated in one week. Sources tell VOA that one of them was a monk named Kalsang Yeshi who went to a security post outside his monastery in China's Sichuan province and called for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama before setting himself on fire. He is believed to have died at the scene, although his body was taken away by Chinese security forces.. The refusal of the police to allow family members to know of his condition or to hand over his body for proper funeral rites has led to a tense situation in the area where all Internet and phone communications have been cut off. His self-immolation follows that of Sangay Khar, a 34-year-old father of two, on December 16, and Tsepey Kyi, a 20-year-old woman. Authorities have not commented on any of the recent self-immolations. There have been more than 130 such acts in Tibetan areas of China since 2009, but they have been less frequent in recent months, following the imposition of fines and other penalties for families and others with close ties to self-immolators. Last month, Tibetans in exile said a court in southwestern China gave out two- and three-year prison terms to three Tibetans for their alleged involvement in a self-immolation last year. China has said the suicide protests are acts of terrorism. This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Tibetan service.
Read the whole story
· ·
People Around the World Mark International Women's Dayby webdesk@voanews.com (Dorian Jones)
Women and men around the world are marking the economic, political and social achievements of women for International Women's Day. The day is an opportunity to call for greater equality so women and their families can live fully successful lives. Organizations around the world choose their own International Women's Day themes that are specific to their local context. In India, women from all walks of life participated in car and bike rallies to demand justice and safety for women. While in the Philippines, women's rights groups marched through the capital Manila main in a call for minimum wage increases. Demonstrations and marches also took place in Turkey, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Afghanistan where a group of men donned burkas (head-to-toe covering) in support of women's rights. In a statement Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama said "the gap between women’s inherent value and how many of them are treated every day is one of the great injustices of our time." He said that his administration will continue to work to ensure that women and girls are treated as full and equal human beings in rights and dignity. On Saturday, Palestinian women marched a day ahead of International Woman's Day, at Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the end of Israeli occupation, the release of Palestinian prisoners and the end of Gaza siege. Protesting Violence Against Women In Istanbul, Turkey, This year’s event is dedicated to a 20-year-old student who was murdered while resisting sexual assault. The murder has raised growing concerns about violence against women. Many women marched through the streets of Istanbul carrying images of 20 year-old student Ozgecan Aslan, who was killed last month after resisting being raped. Her murder has prompted unprecedented nationwide protests by women against violence. Textile worker Gunay, who attended the Istanbul women’s day protest, says there is a new feeling of empowerment amongst women. She said, "We are woman, we are equal, we are free. Today we are having big laughters, we are wearing mini skirts, we are dressing up in lots of colors." She added the women are no one's slave and they are beautiful. Many protesters carried images of other women who have been killed. According to last official figures, released in 2009, under the decade-long rule of the Islamist rooted AK Party, there has been 1,400 percent increase in murders of women. Since then, no official figures have been made available. A recently published survey claimed 45 percent of women in Turkey have suffered violent attacks by men. Of those 67 percent said they would not report attacks to the police. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provoked the outrage of women’s groups when he declared women cannot be considered equal to men. Many attending the women’s day protest blame the government for failing to confront violence against women. Protest marcher Feliz, an accountant, worries about the direction the country is heading in. She says the politics are getting worse, with male leaders wanting women to give birth and sit at home with children. She says women have many issues, and are in rebellion looking for their rights. She says women want their voice to be heard, especially about so many women being killed. International Women’s Day protests have also been held in cities across Turkey. The opposition parties are expected to turn the growing anger towards the government over its policy towards women into an electoral advantage in the June general election.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Kremlin’s ties with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in spotlight as one suspect linked to military unit run by former militant and police say sixth man blew himself up in Grozny as they tried to detain him
Their heads bowed and their arms handcuffed behind their backs, five men were marched into a Moscow court by armed men in balaclavas on Sunday, accused of involvement in the murder of Boris Nemtsov.
The five men accused of complicity in the murder of the opposition politician are all from Russia’s restive north Caucasus region, and one of them, Zaur Dadayev, has admitted his guilt, according to the judge.
Continue reading...
Nato’s spokesperson, Oana Lungescu (Letters, 6 March) shamelessly misquotes Mikhail Gorbachev to support her contention that the alliance never gave a commitment not to take in new members. She writes: “Gorbachev said: ‘The topic of “Nato expansion” was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years.’” Readers might wonder which years Gorbachev was referring to. The interview from which that sentence is taken makes clear that he had in mind, in fact, the years 1990-91, when German reunification was on the cards and a promise was given not to deploy Nato forces in the former East Germany (a promise which Gorbachev says has been kept to this day). He goes on to say that the question of expanding Nato further afield did not even arise at that time, because “not a single east European country suggested it, even after the demise of the Warsaw pact in 1991. Western leaders didn’t raise the issue either.”
But when the matter did arise, in 1993, Gorbachev says: “I from the very start called it a great mistake. It was certainly a violation of the spirit of those declarations and assurances that we were given in 1990.” He goes on to say: “We now have a crisis in European relations. One of its causes, though not the only one, is the unwillingness of our western partners to take account of Russia’s point of view, legitimate interests and security. Verbally, they applauded Russia, especially during the Yeltsin years, but in deeds they took no account of it. I am thinking mainly of Nato’s enlargement, the plans to deploy a missile shield, and the west’s actions in areas important to Russia (Yugoslavia, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine). They literally told us: it’s not your business. As a result an abscess built up, and burst.”
Continue reading...- Get link
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment