the opinionist

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. are at their highest since the demise of the Cold War. Where to begin? Diplomatic saber rattling with the U.S., macabre though unproven murders of Kremlin critics, Russian alliances and military weapon sales to rogue nations and labeled ‘evil doers’, ratcheted threats to former soviet states seeking NATO membership, natural gas and oil blackmail against European Union and chilling military alliances with China.
There are many reasons to be very concerned with Russia. I’d like to mention just five.

As is apparent, the Bush administration has been unable to multi-task during its two terms in office and the activities that are ‘Iraq’ have resulted in the mismanagement of the delicate relationship with Russia and, as a result, things appear to have gotten out of control.

It seems the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has taken the Godfather Don Michael Corleone’s sage advice to heart: “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

Secretary Rice has picked up the diplomatic ‘phone’ and is hustling to mend fences and pull the Russians into pseudo-friendly embrace. What is the purpose?

First Reason | Weapons Sales

Russia’s state-owned arms exporter – Rosoboronexport – is selling conventional weapons technology to the any interested parties at bargain basement prices. This includes nations on the U.S. state-sponsored terrorists hit list including Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela. China, who recently announced a 17.8% increase in military spending, is Russia’s biggest weapons buyer and has helped make Russia the world’s largest arms exporter.
So keen is Russia to promote and sow global instability, it will even trade weapons with nations with bad credit; as it happily announced a willingness to accepted payments in oil and gas (enthusiastically labeled ‘hydrocarbon credits’)

Contrary to easily pledged counter arguments from critics of the U.S., the Pentagon yesterday (Wednesday March 7) announced it is scrapping its arsenal of air-launched nuclear weapons – known as Advanced Cruise Missiles – as it rebalances and refines its nuclear stockpile.

[previous posts on Rosoboronexports]

Second Reason | Roll-Back of Democracy

Since Russian President, Vladimir Putin, came to power on December 31st 1999 he has both restored the Russia economy, its people and their pride and, at the same time, rolled back the democratic process started so precariously in the Eighties by President Boris Yeltsin.

Critics of President Putin have been silenced, either permanently – by mysterious suicides, heinous acts of murder or KGB-style poison – or by ambiguous judicial charges that accompany lengthy prison terms. This includes former friends and associates of Putin’s that dared contradict or criticize Putin’s democracy-killing putsch.
Such examples include Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, who as an inside man to Boris Yeltsin’s fire-sale of Russian nationalized industries (the creation of the Oligarchs) – controlled a massive chunk of Russia’s Yukos Oil Company. Khodorkovsky became an outspoken critic of Putin’s dictatorial power grab and he was silenced by Putin and the oil corporation effectively given to Putin’s KGB associates. Despite imprisonment in Siberia, Khodorkovsky has written a lengthy but wholly fascinating diatribe against Putin’s Russia.

Russia’s media has been nationalized or otherwise discredited. Its journalists either bribed, threatened or murdered. Those brave enough to write about Putin’s Stalin-like seizure of power have been murdered. There are plenty of examples, including the recent murder of journalist and retired Russian Colonel, Ivan Safronov. He dared to investigate and report on the sale of Russian military weaponry to Axis of Evil nations – Iran and Syria. He fell to his death from his apartment window in a strange act of suicide.

Who can forget the recent poisoning of former K.G.B. agent Alexander Litvinenko in London and the murder, execution style of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya on the front steps of her apartment in Moscow?

The New Yorker magazine ran a terrifyingly gripping article on President Putin’s Russia entitled ‘Kremlin, Inc. | Why are Vladimir Putin’s opponents dying?‘.

Third Reason | The Resumption of the Cold War Mentality

In recent months Putin’s Kremlin has become the global mouthpiece for anti-U.S. sentiment. As mentioned in previous posts, Putin’s speech at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy, brought back not-so-fond memories of cold war accusations and blustering reminiscent of a shoe-thumping Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev.

A story by CBS News today goes further and reports on Putin’s paranoid declaration that “Russiaphobia” has taken hold of western governments and Russia is being suppressed now it’s started to become a potential economic and political threat to the interests of the U.S.

This could be discounted as sad blustering by a KGB-controlled Kremlin soulful and desperate for the good old days of Soviet empire. Unfortunately the undiplomatic sabre-rattling appears to also contain not so vague threats to former Soviet nations, including the Czech Republic, that NATO membership and the establishment of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile shield tempt conflict with ‘Mother Russia’.

Combine these actions with Russia’s recent natural gas and oil blackmail of western Europe and you have a trend of aggression and power-posturing that threatens the economic and political stability of the European continent.

Fourth Reason | Putin’s Successors Offer More of Same or Worse

President Putin’s constitutionally restricted two terms in office near their end and Russian citizens, and indeed the world, are in election mode. It has already been mentioned repeatedly that Putin favors two of ‘his men‘ to succeed him as President.

In an article published earlier this week by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, it seems Putin is working furiously to shut out any other presidential hopefuls, to ensure the succession of power from Putin remains firmly within his control.

Putin’s Russia suppresses all opposition – be it political or media-based. Putin’s successors will be groomed for more of the same.

Fifth Reason | Human Rights Abuses to the Hilt

What is not often discussed by the media is Russia’s secret but ruthless war against the separatist rebels inside Chechnya. This is Putin’s Iraq but the atrocities and massive human rights violations actioned upon innocent Chechen citizens by Russias military are not reported by outside media and are suppressed almost perfectly within Russia.

It is estimated that over 18,000 Russian soldiers have died since the 1991 Chechen uprising against the then dismantled Soviet Union. Hundreds of thousands of Chechens have been murdered, forcibly relocated or suppressed by a Russia unwilling or unable to grant independence to a war torn nation.

In a stinging indictment of Russia’s human rights abuses – political, economic, social – the U.S. State Department yesterday released a shockingly detailed report that condemns President Putin but will not silence him.

In Conclusion …

Russia, it appears, is unhappy with its lot in life and is seeking to shake it up a little. The result is an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable Russia. This is bad for everyone regardless of your politics.

French author – Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderios de LaClos – in his 1782 book “Les Liasons Dangereuses” (Dangerous Liasons) said it best, “Revenge is a dish best served cold”.

It appears Putin’s Russia has an appetite for a fresh cold war.

Posted on March 8th, 2007 under Chechnya, Putin, Rice, Russia •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback