The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Abkhazia in geopolitical game in the Caucasus



Fifteen years ago, on August 14, 1992, one of the worst ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus - between Georgia and Abkhazia - developed into a full-scale war, which lasted for 14 months. Its main results were: 8,000 dead on both sides; $11.3 billion worth of economic damage; a changed ethno-demographic situation in Abkhazia: the Georgians have become an ethnic minority (in different estimates, between 150,000-200,000 Georgians were displaced; Georgia puts the figure at 300,000); Abkhazia's ethno-demographic losses in 1992-1993 were comparable to the Muhajirism of the 1860-1870s.

It would be no exaggeration to say that today the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia is playing the biggest role in a major geopolitical game in the Caucasus. The Abkhazian issue is the main bone of contention between Russia and Georgia. Pro-Abkhazian sentiments of some part of the Russian military and political establishment are conducive to Georgia's pro-Western course, which is also influencing Russia's chief political ally in the Greater Caucasus - Armenia. De jure, Abkhazia is part of Georgia. De facto, Georgian sovereignty does not extend to the territory from the Psou River to the Inguri River. The Abkhazian leaders do not control only a small part of the republic in the upper reaches of the Kodori River. Until July 2006, Georgia did not control it, either. But now Tbilisi is trying to turn this hard-to-access area into a bridgehead.

Georgia's military defeat in 1993 was not limited to geopolitical losses (Georgia lost 12.5% of its territory and 200 km of the Black Sea coast). As distinct from South Ossetia, it led to the massive Georgian exodus from Abkhazia. In different estimates, about 200,000 Georgians left Abkhazia. The Abkhazian leaders were ready to discuss the refugees -- the most urgent problem for Georgia. They merely wanted to sort out those Georgians who fought against Abkhazia in 1992-1993. Abkhazia has repeatedly voiced apprehensions that the return of the Georgian refugees and a change in the ethno-demographic balance in their favor might result in a new ethnic purge, this time by Georgia. The Abkhazian leaders were particularly concerned over the return of the Georgian (Mengrel) refugees to the predominantly Georgian Galsky region - as of 1989, Georgians accounted for 93% of its population. They have repeatedly rejected the idea of the "broadest possible autonomy" under Georgian jurisdiction. Until 1992, Abkhazia had all attributes of autonomy de jure, and the Abkhazians consider return to the autonomous status no more than idle talk.

In its approach to both the South Ossetian and Abkhazian problems, the team of the incumbent Georgian president is trying to change the format of these inter-ethnic conflicts and turn them into a Russian-Georgian issue. The ultimate goal of this transformation is to internationalize the problem and deprive Russia of its status of an exclusive guarantor of ethno-political stability in Abkhazia. Mikheil Saakashvili named the United States, Ukraine and Turkey as potential co-sponsors of the peace process.

We believe that under the circumstances, the most rational decision is to delay all issues pertaining to the republic's status until the settlement of major humanitarian problems (education, medical treatment, conduct of business, free movement and contacts between Georgians and Abkhazians). Only after progress is achieved in their resolution, it will be possible to discuss Abkhazia's status. This plan may seem cynical but this is the only chance to avoid re-division of property and spheres of influence and escalation of inter-ethnic tensions in Abkhazia. Russia and the United States could guarantee the immunity of property and power in Abkhazia. Obviously, the Abkhazian elite, which have been propelled to their current position by the military victory in 1993, will be ready to discuss the republic's status with Georgia only after receiving guarantees of keeping the acquired resources and administrative rents. In this way Russia will ensure peace and stability in its southern frontiers.

Sergei Markedonov is head of the ethnic relations department at the Institute of Political and Military Analysis.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070813/71171789.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia strategic aviation holds exercise over Pacific, Atlantic



Units of the 37th Air Army of the Strategic Command have begun tactical exercises with test launches of cruise missiles over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, an Air Force spokesman said Tuesday. "In all, over 30 Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers, Tu-22 Backfire-C theater bombers and Il-78 Midas will be conducting flights August 14," Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said. "During the exercises, the crews will test launch cruise missiles over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and fly to the North Pole." The exercises, which will run through August 18, are held under the command of Major-General Pavel Androsov, the commander of the Russian Air Force's long-range aviation. According to various sources, the Russian Air Force currently deploys 141 Tu-22 Backfire-C theater bombers, 40 Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers, and 14 Tu-160 Blackjack.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070814/71405929.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

The continuning attempts at sabotaging the forward momentum of the Russian Federation.

Armenian

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Russia train blast spurs terror inquiry



A device was placed just before a bridge in a bid to send the high-speed Nevsky Express crashing into a ravine, officials say.

Russian prosecutors launched a terrorism investigation Tuesday of a bomb explosion that derailed an express train, overturning carriages and injuring 60 people. An improvised device was placed under the rails just before a bridge in an effort to make the prestigious Nevsky Express crash into a narrow ravine, which could have caused many more casualties, authorities said. The high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, frequently used by businesspeople, foreign tourists, politicians and government officials, was traveling about 120 mph when it derailed Monday evening.

Television video showed a 6-foot-wide crater in the gravel rail bed, a broken rail and several cars lying on their sides. The bomb was equivalent to about 6 pounds of TNT, investigators said. Twenty-five of those hurt were hospitalized, five with grave injuries, authorities said. All of those hospitalized were reported to be Russian citizens. At the moment of the blast, which hit the front of the train, "our electric locomotive jumped up immediately and glass started flying," Alexei Fedotov, the engine driver, said on state-run television.

"Of course, we were deafened. But we applied emergency braking and cut off electric power to the engine. Then our cabin roof simply flew away."

The blast occurred near the town of Malaya Vishera, about 300 miles northwest of Moscow. Law enforcement authorities said investigators had found wires that might have been used to trigger the explosion.

"The electrical wires, the so-called noodles, were discovered not far from the site of the explosion, in a ravine where the man who connected them must have been," an investigator told the Interfax news agency. Residents had seen suspicious men in the area in the last few days, authorities added. Composite drawings of two suspects had been prepared by Tuesday evening, Russian media reported. Politicians and analysts suggested that the attack could be linked to separatist rebels in Chechnya or other Islamic militants in southern Russia's troubled Caucasus region. Some Kremlin critics expressed concern that it could be a provocation aimed at influencing Russian politics, perhaps to offer President Vladimir V. Putin a pretext to remain in power.

A suicide bombing on a commuter train in southern Russia killed 44 people Dec. 5, 2003, two days before Russian parliamentary elections. Two months later, a device exploded on a subway car in Moscow, killing 41 people. Both incidents were blamed on Chechen separatists. Nikolai P. Patrushev, head of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the domestic successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said at an anti-terrorism meeting that Monday's incident meant security measures against extremists and terrorists must be strengthened in the run-up to parliamentary elections in December and a March presidential election in which a successor to Putin is expected to be chosen. Russia's Constitution requires Putin to step down next spring, at the end of his second term.

"Special responsibility lies with the anti-terrorist commissions in Russia's regions that . . . must provide for taking exhaustive measures to ensure reliable anti-sabotage and anti-terrorist protection of potentially vulnerable facilities, infrastructure and places crowded with people," Patrushev said in televised remarks. Irina Alexandrova, a train attendant, told state-run television that she believed the train's speed had carried it over the 60-foot-high bridge, and that if it had been traveling more slowly it might have fallen off.

"We were thrown about from side to side," Vyacheslav Zinurov, a popular singer who was in a carriage near the end of the train, said in a televised interview.

"Then the wagon swerved to the left. Dust and stones were flying about. Some people fell on the floor, but then they all got up. They were consumed with fear, having no understanding of what was going on. The train came to a stop, and the attendant came in and shouted, 'Is everybody alive?' "

An explosion that derailed a train bound from Chechnya to Moscow on June 12, 2005, was triggered with electrical wires and a battery, Interfax said. Chechen separatists were initially suspected in that blast, which seriously injured eight people. But two Russian nationalists were convicted in connection with the bombing and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. Igor Klyamkin, vice president of the Liberal Mission Foundation, a Moscow think tank, expressed concern that Monday's blast could have been staged by people who want to create a crisis to encourage Putin to change the constitution and stay on for a third term. Putin has sufficient support in parliament and among the public to make such a course plausible, many observers say. He has stated repeatedly that he intends to step down.

"The tense factional struggle within the Kremlin as to who should succeed Putin as president makes it quite believable that we could be dealing with a provocation resulting from this fierce struggle at the top echelons of power," Klyamkin said.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...news-a_section

Russian held over 'deaths' video

A man who says he posted a video on the internet which appears to show the murder of two men, has surrendered to Russian police, reports say. The man was being questioned in the town of Maikop, in southern Russia, officials told Russian media. The video apparently shows two men being killed, execution-style, by far-right extremists. A group calling itself the National Socialists of Rus says it carried out the attack. Russian police are investigating the authenticity of the video.

Attacks on foreigners

The suspect is reportedly a young man who is a follower of far right-wing ideas. He is not suspected of producing the material but of distributing it over the internet, a Russian interior ministry official was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. The clip, which was posted on some websites, shows one man apparently being beheaded and the other shot. One was from Russia's southern republic of Dagestan and the other from Tajikistan, captions on the video say. Violence against people from the Caucasus and from central Asian and other foreign countries has been increasing in Russia in recent years. Russian interior ministry spokeswoman Irina Zubareva told RIA Novosti news agency that the video was posted on websites hosted by servers in foreign countries. Relevant information had already been sent to the authorities in those countries, she added.

Heavy metal

The video, which has been removed from some of the websites which earlier hosted it, shows the alleged killings to a soundtrack of heavy metal music. The two men have had their arms and legs bound, and can reportedly be heard to say: "We were arrested by Russian national socialists." Two men wearing masks and camouflage gear are shown giving Nazi salutes before the apparent killings go ahead. Alexander Verkhovsky, an activist involved in monitoring racist crimes in Russia, told AP news agency that he had never heard of the organisation said to have carried out the attack, but the film appeared to him to be genuine.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6946810.stm

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Racism in Russia

Since the "Neonazis" of Russia have made news again I would like to briefly make a few comments about Armenian and Russian relations in the context of racist attacks against Armenians living in Russia. I initially did not want to discuss this topic at all because I saw it as unconnected to the true intent of this blog. What's more, this is a sociological problem in Russia that many non-Russian immigrants face and has no bearing on the geopolitical strategic aspects of Russo-Armenian relations. The fact of the matter is, Russian Neonazis or "skinheads" as they are at times called represent the Russian Federation just as much as the "KKK" or "White Power" degenerates represent the United States of America. However, since many individuals keep brining up this matter every time Russian-Armenian issues are discussed, I felt obligated to make a few comments and move on.

During the last several years several dozen Armenians have been murdered in racially motivated killings. While it is common knowledge that Russians generally speaking tend to be a racist people, an aggressive people, what's not clear is who is ordering the murders of Armenians in Russia and why. It is now becoming more and more obvious that Armenians are being targeted by special interests perhaps as a way to drive a wedge in Russian-Armenian relations. After all, there are large numbers of Turkic peoples and Joos living within the Russian Federation, there are also large numbers of Georgian and Chechen mobs in Russia, and these people will always be a danger towards Armenians for they see us as their competitors and enemies. On an interesting note - the leader of one of Russia's largest right-wing extremist organization, of all people, is a Joo.

It should also be pointed out that a vast majority of killings involving Armenians in Russia have been mob related. However none of this means that the average Russian in the street will have warm sentiments towards foreigners in Russian, especially Caucasians, whom they see as taking advantage of the nation. It is also well known that many Armenian immigrants in Russia bring shame upon our people, much like many Armenians in southern California. However, unlike in the United States, where the standard of living remains high and the socio-political climate stable, the Russian Federation has been suffering severe social malaise and economic depression for well over a decade. As a result of their socio-political and financial upheavals, Russians have naturally began to grow increasingly intolerant and aggressive.

I would like to point out a government study conducted in the mid-90s that revealed one out of six Russian adolescents at the time were mentally/emotionally disturbed. That is a staggering number - one out of six children in Russia had metal problems. Those children incidentally are now young adults with mental problems. It is well known that the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union saw a drastic rise in violent crime, severe corruption, unemployment, moral degradation, broken families and illiteracy. Today there are perhaps millions of troubled and disgruntled young men and women roaming the streets of major cities in Russia. And these are the vulnerable citizens of the country that are being manipulated to do the dirty work of special interests, be it the NSB, organized crime, or foreign based entities.

Broadly speaking, it is in all peoples psyche to be chauvinistic, it's a human trait. Aren't we Armenians chauvinistic in our own special way? Aren't we smarter than the "otars"? Don't Armenians look down on Russian men as being drunkards? Don't Armenian men look at Western women, specifically Russian women, as w-h-o-r-es? And it's not just us, don't the English, French and the Spaniards boast about their former empires? Aren't Germans and Japanese still stuck up? And how do you think the term the "ugly American" came into existence? If Russians are more high nosed than the average westerner it's because for the past several centuries they have been a major military power/economic power/political power/cultural power - and unlike many of the other major powers around them they continue to be one today. Also, Russians have collectively had enough of foreigners meddling into their business.

The hard reality today is that certain street elements in Russia are being used towards sinister purposes by special interest groups and government agencies. This situation will not change for some time. Thus, we Armenians have to work with what we have. Armenians in Russia, numbering over 2 million, need to be more proactive in fostering better relations with their Russian neighbors. Armenian migrants in Russia need to act more respective of their hosts. To this effect, Armenian community groups need to be assembled to remedy these types of problems. Cultural awareness programs like the ones recently commissioned by the authorities there need to increase in number and scope. Individual Armenians need to work on this, Armenian businessmen need to work on this, Armenian officials need to work on this, our Church needs to work on this.

We have had a natural alliance with Russia for severals centuries, our relations with them actually go back a thousand years. We have also had our political problems with them as well. In the big geopolitical picture, today and for the foreseeable future, Armenia and Russia will need each other. Unfortunately, due to our geopolitical predicaments in the Caucasus we need them much more than they need us. And therein lies the danger for us. For us, our relationship with Moscow is a matter of survival, for them their relationship with Armenia is simply a matter of geopolitics. Nevertheless, the strategic relationship between the two nations seems to be heading towards a very good direction. I don't foresee any obstacles getting in the way of Armenia's crucial strategic alliance with the Russian Federation.

The following is a compilation of various new articles concerning the racists phenomenon in the Russian Federation and its effect upon the Armenian community there.

Armenian

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THEY KILL EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE RUSSIANS


Russian racists in demonstrations in Moscow

“The manifestations of fascism appeared in Russia after the defeat of the Soviet Union”, said NA Deputy Speaker Vahan Hovhannisyan referring to manifestations of race discrimination in Russia. «Russia suffered a defeat in the cold war. The ideological defeat was that communism proved to be ideologically empty; the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia lost territories which later became its enemy. The economic defeat was that the whole economy of the Soviet Union collapsed, and the fact that Russia continues to survive is conditioned by the natural resources and not by the development of the economy», Vahan Hovhannisyan said.

According to him, the skinheads who speak about the Aryan spirit and the purity of the blood know nothing about fascism. “If for example Mussolini or Franco who were the founders of fascism appeared in the Russian Underground, the skinheads could beat them too as they do not differ from the Armenians in the color of their skin. So the basis of such violations is not ideological; it is simply the frustration of the society expressed through such horrible acts”. Vahan Hovhannisyan thinks that Russia does not combat against these phenomena properly. As for the attitude of the Armenian authorities, he is not aware of it. In an interview to “A1+” deputy of the Russian State Duma Alexander Dzasokhov noted that he treats the Armenians living both in Armenia and out of it with deep respect. “I have many Armenian friends. Every death is a tragedy, but it does not refer to Armenians more than to other nations. The Armenians living Russia are part of our history. We also have many Armenian professionals in the Law enforcement agency. We must join our efforts in order to prevent suchlike cases in future. ”

Source: http://www.a1plus.am/en/?page=issue&iid=39791

Putin Names Fighting Ethnic Hatred Top Priority for Russia


Russian neonazis demonstrate

Russia`s President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with political party leaders that an appropriate response would be soon given to racial, interethnic and inter-religious hatred, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday. “Those who preach racial, national or religious hatred must know that their views will provoke an appropriate response,” he said and added that it is evident that countering extremism is not only a state responsibility, although the state should address it first and foremost. According to the president, civil society and political parties should have a clear position in regard to the problem. Putin also noticed that ordinary citizens in particular should change their attitude toward crimes concerned with racial, interethnic and inter-religious hatred. The president thinks that the wording of laws countering extremist activity should be absolutely clear, and that punishment should be inevitable and appropriate to the gravity of the crime. Putin thanked lawmakers for adopting laws making it possible to ban extremist parties from participating in elections. Increasing violence aimed at people with non-Slavic appearance has prompted Russian and foreign human rights groups in recent months to raise concerns over the alarming spread of racist and xenophobic attitudes in the country.

Source: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/12/...response.shtml

Murder of ethnic Armenian in Moscow – “blow on Russia’s image on the threshold of G8 summit”


Armenians in Yerevan protesting the murder of Armenians in Russia

Non-Governmental Russia’s Armenians Union (RAU), which once succeeded in liberation of Russian seamen, held captive in Nigeria, is planning to protest against xenophobia in Russia now. As RAU Head Ara Abramyan has informed REGNUM, the organization prepares protest actions in connection with murder of 19-year-old ethnic Armenian, Russian citizen Artur Sardaryan, committed in car of Moscow suburban electric train. According to the RAU leader, first of all, the murderers wished to damage Russia’s image, “to lead it astray, out of the way of democracy and development.” Ara Abramyan is sure that “Nazis have deliberately chosen for their bloody crime time, preceding St. Petersburg G8 summit.” “It is an obvious provocation, directed not against Armenians as such, but one, which directly strikes on Russia’s image on the threshold of such important event,” the RAU head believes.

It is worth reminding that Artur Sardaryan was murdered on May 25 in a Moscow suburban electric train. According to eye-witnesses, the crime was committed by group of young men, scanning “Long live Russia!” and other nationalistic slogans. Only on May 29, the murder received publicity. As REGNUM informed, Sardaryan headed to his home town of Pushkino. At least two persons stopped the train, operating emergency break, and ran away, after the murderer attacked. Office of Transport Public Prosecutor at Russian Railway’s Yaroslavl Line instituted proceedings in connection with murder, committed by a group of people and caused by national hatred. About a month earlier, analogous case took place in Moscow Pushkinskaya metro station, when 17-year-old student, born in Armenia, Vigen Abramyants was murdered in presence of numerous witnesses.

Source: http://www.regnum.ru/english/russia/649092.html

Annually Azeri Criminal Groupings in Russia Assign $50 Million for Murders of Armenians


Armenians protesting racist attacks in Russia

“Annually Azeri criminal groupings assign $50 million for the organization of murders of Armenians,” Russia FM’s Advisor for Nationalities in 1999-2001 Vsevolod Maryan stated during round-table discussions dedicated to the crimes committed in Russia through national hatred. In his words, the situation should be given a straightforward account. “The reports of press are a tiny part of what’s really going on. At least 3000 Armenians were killed in Russia during recent ten years,” Maryan said.

In his opinion, the crimes through national hatred originate from the collapse of the USSR. But if at that times they were spontaneous, now “they are organized by a ruling grouping, not only Russian but the Azeri one as well.” “Anyone, rich or poor, can fall victim to nationalist policy in Russia. It will concern not the “persons of Caucasian nationality”, as Yuri Lujkov (the Mayor of Moscow) called them, but Armenians,” Vsevolod Maryan considers. He motivates it by the fact that “while Armenian honestly earn money Azeris establish contacts with powerful structures in Russia”. That is why the killed Caucasians turn out to be Armenians. “Armenians are deliberately killed in Russia in order to drive the last nail into the coffin in the South Caucasus,” Vsevolod Maryan resumed, reported IA Regnum.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/print/?nid=18427

Armenians of Moscow don’t participate in initiatives of Caucasian peoples

The Armenian community of Moscow doesn’t take part in the initiatives of “representatives of Caucasian peoples,” Yuri Navoyan, the chairman of the Russian-Armenian Commonwealth NGO told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Various organizations always want to involve Armenians in the settlement of their problems with Russia. However, everyone should solve problems without using the representatives of other nationalities. This is our position,” Mr Navoyan said. Representatives of Caucasian peoples are planning a picket for July 13. The action will be held against leaders of ultranational groupings inciting national hatred. The coordination council of the Azeri youth is going to join the picket, Day.az reported.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

And to place all of the above into better perspective, as well as demonstrate why Putin will undoubtedly be considered one of the finest rulers to have ever walked this earth, I give you this excellent commentary written by Justin Raimondo.

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The Legacy of Boris Yeltsin - Corruption, crony capitalism, and Russia's near-demise



Communism wounded Russia, grievously, almost irreparably – and Yeltsinism delivered the death blow. The legacy of Boris Yeltsin, who presided over what Paul Klebnikov described as "one of the most corrupt regimes in history," is, quite literally, the death agony of the Russian nation. As David Satter pointed out in the Wall Street Journal: "Between 1992 and 1994, the rise in the death rate in Russia was so dramatic that Western demographers did not believe the figures. The toll from murder, suicide, heart attacks and accidents gave Russia the death rate of a country at war; Western and Russian demographers now agree that between 1992 and 2000, the number of "surplus deaths" in Russia–deaths that cannot be explained on the basis of previous trends–was between five and six million persons."

The Yeltsin era was marked by a precipitous fall in living standards, but some prospered. Given privileged access to "privatized" state property, the clique around Yeltsin amassed fantastic wealth. The one who perhaps profited the most was Boris Berezovsky, whose methods were described by Klebnikov: "Using his access to the highest officials of the Russian government and his reputation as a close friend of the Yeltsin family, Berezovsky hammered away at the privatization projects that would put key state industries in his grasp."

Yeltsin's clique, which included his daughter, was known as "the Family" – not as in "family values," or the Partridge Family, but as in the Russian equivalent of The Sopranos. The rule of the commissars had been succeeded by the reign of the gangsters, criminal elements who seized control of the national economy and engineered a complete takeover of the state apparatus, not for any ideological motive or ostensibly "patriotic" purpose, but simply to enrich themselves. Their strategy made use of the "shock therapy" approach to privatizing the economy as advocated by Harvard professor Jeffrey Sachs. The process was set up to favor Yeltsin's courtiers, who paid rock-bottom prices in a rigged auction. The industrial base of the Russian economy was sold off for a song: the whole process amounted to a spree of looting such as hadn't been seen since the sack of Rome.

Yeltsin didn't seem to notice, which is hardly surprising, since he was drunk for most of his tenure in office. And in Yeltsin's Russia, vodka was the only commodity that was cheap and plentiful. If this was an effort to calm the roiling currents of post-Soviet politics and anesthetize the populace while the oligarchs made off with the nation's assets, it didn't entirely accomplish that goal. There was an anti-Yeltsin upsurge in 1993, and the Duma threatened to impeach the Russian president: in response, Yeltsin declared the parliament dissolved and sent in his tanks to take the building, which was ringed by tens of thousands of anti-Yeltsin demonstrators.

This is the guy who is now being hailed as a great democrat and admirable leader by the Clintons, two of the old crook's biggest enablers. Bill Clinton and his cronies funneled billions in American "aid" to Yeltsin 's kleptocracy, most of which disappeared down a rabbit hole and eventually wound up in the oligarchs' foreign bank accounts. Putin is routinely blamed for the Chechen war, yet this too is part of the Yeltsin legacy. It was Yeltsin who started that war, invading Chechnya in 1994 to protect the interests of certain criminal gangs in Moscow and other major Russian cities, who had a falling out with their Chechen brethren in the homeland. Describing the group around Yeltsin who pushed for war, Gen. Aleksandr Lebed bitterly declared: "This is not the party of war. This is the party of business."

Having consolidated its hold on power, the Yeltsin clique, with Berezovsky's funding and support, proceeded to divvy up the spoils, including cementing their domination of the "private" media. Organized crime networks replaced the state security services as centers of power, with Berezovsky and his fellow oligarchs at the apex of it all. Using strong-arm tactics and engaging in not a few assassinations, the oligarchs – Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, and Leonid Nevzlin, among others – drove rival gangs out of business and established their economic and political supremacy. The oligarchy decimated the economy, demoralized the Russian people, and dissolved the rule of law in the acid of corruption and criminality. Is it any wonder that Yeltsin's death is hardly being mourned in Russia? I would venture a guess that more than a few cups are being raised to his demise.

Understanding the Yeltsin legacy and its catastrophic effect on Russia is key to grasping the Putin phenomenon. Although the former KGB officer who rose from obscurity to become the most formidable Russian leader since Peter the Great owes his present job to Yeltsin, the Yeltsin clique didn't fare so well at the hands of their fallen leaders' designated successor. Putin turned against "the Family" and drove most of the oligarchs out of power and into exile, where they are even now scheming to make a comeback. The ersatz "privatizations" arranged under the previous regime were overturned, to a large extent, and the "entrepreneurs" of the Russian Mafia were reined in, if not eliminated entirely, to the point where they no longer threatened the state's monopoly on coercion. The reintegration of formerly state-controlled assets into the "private-public" arrangements mapped out by the Putin administration is widely seen in the West as evidence that Russia is "backsliding." Similarly, the takeover of major mass-media outlets by pro-Putin businessmen is cited as proof that Putin represents a new "authoritarianism." Yet all that has happened is the passing of power from the oligarchs to the latter-day czarists of Putin's United Russia party.

Gregory Yavlinsky, the liberal parliamentary leader, had this to say about Yeltsin's regime: "The government that was formed was without any clear ideology. It was neither red, nor white, nor green. It was based solely on personal greed. You got a system that was corporatist, oligarchic, and based on monopolized property rights and semi-criminal relationships."

With the oligarchic and semi-criminal elements purged by Putin, what remains is the corporatist structure, which is now in different hands. Railing at the Russian president from their posh places of exile in Londongrad, Switzerland, and the French Riviera, the oligarchs' indictment of Putin boils down to one principal complaint: they are no longer in power. Flush with cash, and intent on revenge, exiled oligarchs such as Berezovsky pour their money into phony "human rights" front groups that regularly denounce Russia's "reversion" to authoritarianism. Some, like Andrew Illarionov of the Cato Institute, go so far as to accuse Russia of launching a military bid to regain its lost empire and advise the West to "consider itself in a new Cold War-like era."

The goal of this rather motley crew is to restore Yeltsinism without Yeltsin, but the oligarchs and assorted "dissenters" – ranging from Eduard Limonov and his National Bolsheviks to Illarionov and chess-champion-turned-politician Gary Kasparov – have little support outside the editorial offices of Western newspapers and U.S. government agencies engaged in "democracy promotion." The "color revolutions" that occurred in former Soviet satellites such as Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have faded to black, and Putin's popularity in Russia has so far foiled the oligarchs' attempts to subvert the country from within. Berezovsky has to content himself with calling for the violent overthrow of the Russian government from his palatial London headquarters, hoping that the professional regime-changers in Washington and London will lend a sympathetic ear and, perhaps, some material support.

In the meantime, however, with the ill-gotten gains of several oligarchs stashed in Swiss bank accounts and sloshing around Londongrad and Washington, there are plenty of think-tank presidents who wouldn't mind getting a cut of that particular action. Expect the propaganda assault on Putin's Russia to get more vociferous and the drumbeat to "do something" about the rising "threat" of Russia to get louder and more serious. Yeltsin's legacy to Russia – poverty, privation, and a renewed adversarial stance by the West – is the "gift" that just keeps on giving.

Source: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10867

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Hugo Chávez has become the Putin of Venezuela, and Venezuela has become the new Cuba for the Russian Federation.

Armenian

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Chávez’s Bid for Russian Arms Pains U.S.



A proposed contract between Russia and Venezuela that could transfer thousands of sniper rifles to Venezuela has raised concerns in the United States about the potential use or regional distribution of the weapons by the socialist-inspired government of President Hugo Chávez. The rifles are the latest variant of the Dragunov, a long-barreled, semiautomatic design with a telescopic sight. It is derived in part from the much more widely circulated Kalashnikov assault rifle. First manufactured in 1963 for use by militaries and intelligence agencies in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations, the Dragunov and its clones have become among the most lethal and effective weapons against American troops and their allies in Iraq.

Venezuela is negotiating a contract with Rosoboronexport, the Kremlin-controlled arms export agency, to purchase about 5,000 modernized Dragunov rifles, according to officials at Izhmash, the rifle’s manufacturer. Venezuela has about 34,000 soldiers in its army and 23,000 in its national guard, according to estimates by Jane’s Information Group, which analyzes military forces and regional risks. Because sniper rifles are specialized infantry weapons and not typically issued to large numbers of soldiers, diplomats and military officers and analysts said, a purchase of several thousand Dragunovs would not seem to have a conventional military use for Venezuela’s armed forces.

“Sales like this, and other sales of military equipment and arms to Venezuela, don’t seem consistent with Venezuela’s needs,” David J. Kramer, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said by telephone. “It does raise questions about their ultimate use,” he added. “We’re not sure what their purpose would be.”

Mark Joyce, the Americas editor for Jane’s Country Risk, part of Jane’s Information Group, said that a purchase of thousands of sniper rifles would fit with the continuing military reorganization in Venezuela under Mr. Chávez. The changes emphasize large civilian reserve forces, which bypass the traditional military chain of command and report directly to Mr. Chávez and could become the core of a domestic guerrilla force if Venezuela were invaded.

“Obviously, what he has in mind is some sort of urban, guerrilla war against an invading force, and the model for that is Iraq,” Mr. Joyce said. Venezuela has purchased 100,000 AK-103s, a modern Kalashnikov rifle that shares much of the underlying design of the original AK-47. With Russian technical assistance, the country is also planning to build a plant to produce its own Kalashnikov line and a second plant to make the ammunition that Kalashnikovs fire. These contracts do not defy any sanctions and are legal. But they also drew criticism in Washington, which has expressed worry that Mr. Chávez’s government was buying more weapons than it needed and could distribute weapons to South American guerrillas or terrorists.

Mr. Joyce noted that Venezuela had long been accused of providing weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a large and heavily equipped Marxist group that the State Department classifies as a foreign terrorist organization. Venezuela has disputed those allegations. Washington’s concerns about Mr. Chávez led to a suspension of United States arms sales to Venezuela in 2006. Mr. Chávez has scoffed at the suspension and negotiated equipment purchases from Russia, including military jets, helicopters, rifles and, potentially, submarines.

The Venezuelan Embassy in Moscow declined several requests since last week for an interview about the latest proposed contract, details of which were discussed last week by officials at Izhmash. On a tour last week of the factory where Kalashnikov and Dragunov rifles were being assembled, Vladimir V. Farafoshin, a deputy director at Izhmash, said that the full order of 100,000 AK-103s had been manufactured and delivered to Venezuela, and that Russia was negotiating the sale of “about 5,000” Dragunovs as part of a separate arms deal.

New Dragunov rifles were being assembled nearby as he spoke, although their destination was not clear. Vladimir P. Grodetsky, the general director at Izhmash, expressed satisfaction with the contracts with Venezuela, saying that the country was a reliable partner that made its scheduled payments regularly and on time. The gun manufacturing lines at Izhmash, which were almost halted after the collapse of the Soviet Union, have increased production in recent years. The contracts with Venezuela are its largest foreign sales that are publicly known.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/wo.../16russia.html

Push by Chávez to Abandon Term Limits on Presidency



President Hugo Chávez outlined a proposed overhaul to the Constitution on Wednesday night that would allow him to remain in power indefinitely through perpetual re-elections, an intensification of his efforts to assert greater state control over political and economic institutions. Taking aim at opponents who say he is assuming too much power, Mr. Chávez said, “I recommend they take a pill, what do they call it, a Valium.” During a meandering, theatrical speech at the National Assembly here, he said, “We have broken the chains of the old hegemonic oligarchy.”

Mr. Chávez, whose current term ends in 2012, also laid out a dizzying array of other proposed changes to the Constitution, all to be put before a congressional vote and a national referendum. He called for a work day of no longer than six hours, the power to designate military regions for “defense reasons,” the creation of regional governing entities that would be managed by vice presidents appointed by the president, and demarcating Venezuela’s sovereignty in parts of the Caribbean by possibly building artificial islands. The president’s opponents see such proposals as window dressing to accompany Mr. Chávez’s polemical re-election ambitions, which include expanding presidential terms to seven years from six. Manuel Rosales, the governor of Zulia State and the main opposition candidate in the presidential elections last December, said in televised comments that after Mr. Chávez’s call to abandon term limits, the other proposals were “adornments.”

Criticism of the effort to change the Constitution has sharpened around fears that Mr. Chávez, who has been in office since 1999, could use it to diminish the power of elected governors and mayors, of which a handful in the country still oppose him. Seemingly undeterred by the criticism, which he described as lies coming from counterrevolutionaries, Mr. Chávez delivered a speech sprinkled with references to Machiavelli and Aristotle and more recent Marxist Italian philosophers like Antonio Gramsci and Antonio Negri. State television championed his proposals Wednesday, and supporters gathered before television cameras near the National Assembly to chant “Fatherland, Socialism or Death!”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/wo...html?ref=world

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia's resurgent military



Fueled by billions in oil wealth, it looks to reclaim the USSR's status as a global military power. As a newly self-confident, oil-rich Russia teams up with China in joint military exercises Friday, it is moving to reclaim the former Soviet Union's status as a global military power. A seven-year, $200-billion rearmament plan signed by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year will purchase new generations of missiles, planes, and perhaps aircraft carriers to rebuild Russia's arsenal. Already, the new military posture is on display: This summer, Russian bombers have extended their patrol ranges far into the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, forcing US and NATO interceptors to scramble for the first time since the cold war's end.



"Diplomacy between Russia and the West is increasingly being overshadowed by military gestures," says Sergei Strokan, a foreign-policy expert with the independent daily Kommersant. "It's clear that the Kremlin is listening more and more to the generals and giving them more of what they want."

Economic bloc ups military teamwork

On Friday, Mr. Putin will join leaders of China and other members of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Russia's Chelyabinsk region to view the final stage of the group's most ambitious joint military maneuvers yet, to include 6,500 troops and over 100 aircraft. Also on hand will be leaders of SCO observer states and prospective members, among them India, Pakistan, Iran, and Mongolia. At an SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan Thursday, Putin stressed that while Russia is not seeking to build a cold war-style "military bloc," he does see the SCO expanding from its original purpose as an economic association to take on a greater military role.



"Year by year, the SCO is becoming a more substantial factor in ensuring security in the region," he said. "Russia, like other SCO states, favors strengthening the multipolar international system providing equal security and development potential for all countries. Any attempts to solve global and regional problems unilaterally have no future," he added. The SCO, founded in 2001, is often referred to as a "club of dictators" due to less-than-democratic ex-Soviet members such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. The group has been holding joint war games since 2005, when it also demanded that the US vacate military bases it had acquired after 9/11 in former Soviet Central Asia, whose oil and gas reserves are garnering increased attention from the West.



"The SCO clearly wants the US to leave Central Asia; that's a basic political demand," says Ivan Safranchuk, Moscow director of the independent World Security Institute. "That's one reason why the SCO is holding military exercises, to demonstrate its capability to take responsibility for stability in Central Asia after the US leaves."



New naval base, long-range missiles

Moscow's growing military footprint – and the apprehensions of others about it – is evident in a spate of recent news events.

• Last week the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia accused Russian warplanes of invading its airspace and firing a missile, which failed to explode, at a radio station. Russian officials denied the allegation and suggested that Georgian leaders fabricated the incident. Tensions have been high between Russia and Georgia over Moscow's support for two breakaway Georgian regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are protected by Russian "peacekeeping" troops.

• Russian naval chief Admiral Vladimir Masorin announced this month that Russia may reclaim a naval base at Tartus, in Syria, from which Soviet warships used to keep tabs on US ships. "The Mediterranean is an important theater of operations for the Russian Black Sea Fleet," he said. "We must restore a permanent presence of the Russian Navy in this region."

• In July, amid worsening relations between Russia and Britain over the still unsolved poisoning death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, two Russian Tu-95 bombers flew deep into NATO territory for the first time since the cold war's end and, according to Britain's defense ministry, briefly entered British airspace before being escorted away by British fighter planes.

Last week, in another post-Soviet first, Russian bombers "revived the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet US aircraft carriers and greet US pilots visually," ending up near the American Pacific base of Guam, Russian Air Force Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov told Russian media. He added that the pilots on both sides "exchanged grins."

• Russia has recently conducted tests of new land- and sea-based intercontinental missiles, which are expected to soon replace the country's aging Soviet-era nuclear deterrent. As a partial response to US missile defense plans, Russia will develop a missile defense "project that will include not only air defense systems but also antiballistic missile and space defense systems" to protect Moscow and other Russian centers, Russian Air Force chief Col. Gen. Alexandr Zelin told Russian media last week. Critics are skeptical that, despite major Putin-era infusions of cash, Russia's weak industrial base can deliver on the Kremlin's ambitions to restore a global military presence.



"Now our military leaders have enough money to create a kind of caricature of the Soviet armed forces, and they want to do a lot of the same old things," says Alexander Goltz, military expert with the independent online magazine Yezhednevny Zhurnal. "But their plans are a confused mixture of realistic goals and unworkable Soviet-style symbolism," says Mr. Goltz.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0817/p01s06-woeu.htm

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia, China, Iran issue veiled warning to U.S. to stay away from Central Asia



BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: The leaders of Russia, China and Iran have warned the outside world to leave Central Asia alone to look after its own stability and security, in a veiled message to the United States issued on the eve of major war games between Russia and China. Leaders issued a statement Thursday, at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, that was an apparent warning to the United States to stay away from the strategically placed, resource-rich region. "Stability and security in Central Asia are best ensured primarily through efforts taken by the nations of the region on the basis of the existing regional associations," the leaders said at the end of the organization's summit in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hu Jintao of China and leaders of four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations that are part of the SCO were all also set to attend Friday's military exercises in the Chelyabinsk region in Russia's Ural Mountains. Some 6,000 Russian and Chinese troops, dozens of aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles and other heavy weapons will be participating the games — the first such joint drills on Russia's territory. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an observer at the summit, criticized U.S. missile defense plans as a threat to the entire region. "These intentions go beyond just one country. They are of concern for much of the continent, Asia and SCO members," he said.

The SCO was created 11 years ago to address religious extremism and border security issues in Central Asia. In recent years, with Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia signing on as observers, the group has increasingly grown into a bloc aimed at defying U.S. interests in the region, which has huge hydrocarbon reserves. Ahmadinejad is attending the annual summit for the second consecutive year. In 2005, the SCO called for a timetable to be set for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from two member countries, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan evicted U.S. forces later that year, but Kyrgyzstan still hosts a U.S. base, which supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.

Russia also maintains a military base in Kyrgyzstan. Putin didn't mention the United States in his speech at the summit, but he said that "any attempts to solve global and regional problems unilaterally are hopeless." He also called for "strengthening a multi-polar international system that would ensure equal security and opportunities for all countries" — comments echoing Russia's frequent complaints that the United States dominates world affairs. Moscow has also bristled at Washington's plans to deploy missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, saying the system would threaten Russia security. The United States says the missile defenses are necessary to avert the threat of possible missile attacks by Iran.

Hu also said signaled that security for Central Asia was best left to the nations themselves. "The SCO nations have a clear understanding of the threats faced by the region and thus must ensure their security themselves," he said. Moscow and Beijing have developed what they dubbed a "strategic partnership" after the Soviet collapse, cemented by their perceptions that the United States dominates global affairs. China hosted the first-ever joint maneuvers in August 2005, which included a mock assault on the beaches of northern China and featured Russia's long-range bombers.

The SCO, whose members are some of the world's biggest energy producers and consumers, also discussed ways to enhance energy cooperation. The U.S. has supported plans for new pipelines that would carry the region's oil and gas to the West and bypass Russia, while Moscow has pushed strongly to control the export flows. China also has shown a growing appetite for energy to power its booming economy. A further sign of the group's intention to influence energy markets was the participation in the Bishkek summit of Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, whose country is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the former Soviet Union after Russia. Turkmenistan is not a SCO member; the president was attending as a guest.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...ity-Summit.php

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia says Iran poses no threat


(Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov)

Russia sees no threat emanating from Iran, the "rogue state" the United States is building its missile shield in Europe against, the Russian foreign minister said Thursday. The U.S. announced in January plans to place a radar and a host of interceptor missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic to fend off what Washington sees as a growing missile threat from "rogue states," including Iran. "In analyzing the Iranian leader's statement and the quite precise information at our disposal, we can see no such long-term threat," Sergei Lavrov told the media on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) underway in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlier Thursday that the deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Europe threatened not only Iran but also the whole of Eurasia. Asked when Russian and U.S. experts would hold a second round of consultations on the proposed U.S. missile shield, the minister said: "In September." Lavrov also said that although Russia and China had not yet considered cooperation in missile defense, the two countries "share a vision of how to provide security." "We and China are analyzing the U.S. global missile defense plans targeting Europe and the East," the diplomat said. The SCO, a regional group largely seen as a counterweight to U.S. influence in Asia, comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and has Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia as observers.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070816/71949222.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

BBC Removed From FM Radio In Russia



A Moscow FM radio station has informed the BBC's Russian Service that it will no longer carry the British broadcaster's programming. The holding company FINAM, which owns the Moscow station Big Radio, told the BBC that its broadcast license no longer permits it to rebroadcast programming from other media. Konstantin Eggert, editor in chief of the Moscow bureau of the BBC's Russian Service, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that this is not the first time the broadcaster has had problems broadcasting on FM.

"The BBC has had problems with its broadcasts on FM earlier in Russia," Eggert said. "At the end of 2006, the Moscow radio station Radio Arsenal stopped broadcasting the BBC's programming. And in the beginning of 2007, Radio Leningrad in St. Petersburg also did this [removed BBC programming]. Radio Leningrad informed the BBC that local licensing authorities demanded that it remove the BBC's programming."

The BBC said it intends to appeal the decision with Russia's federal broadcasting authorities. Big Radio was the last FM station in Russia to broadcast the BBC's programming. BBC still broadcasts in the Russian language on the Internet and on AM in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle...E2B664BD6.html