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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The Horror of Nashi Revealed

A reader directs us to a link which contains a page-by-page translation of Nashi's manifesto [UPDATE: unfortunately, this page has since been removed] a little red book which lays out, in horrifyingly neo-Soviet manner, the Nashi cult ideology of hatred for the West and worshipful adoration of Vladimir Putin, exactly like what went on in the time of Stalin. That's the cover above, where they brag about being "connected to the President." Here's a page from inside:

The pamphlet gives a statement from Mikhail Kasyanov in quotation marks, saying he's decided that after he's elected president he'll sell Russian oil to the West at 1/3 the market rate. The fact that Kasyanov has never said any such thing means nothing to Nashi's propagandists. A helpful reader has provided a link to his actual remarks, where Kasyanov simply says he wants to improve Russia's oil infrastructure and efficiency (these are infamous problems, about which Putin has done nothing, hoarding the oil windfall inside the Kremlin walls), thus lowering the cost of production and enabling Russia to sell oil at the same profit but a reduced price, driving down world prices while depriving Russian producers of nothing. By lowering the world market price, he would curry favor with the West, stabilize the Middle East and end Cold War II, thus dramatically reducing Russia's need to spend money on weapons while increasing its security. Nashi, of course, while totally perverting Kasyanov's statement in classic Soviet propaganda style, fails to mention that Russia spends a far greater share of its national income on weapons than other nations of similar per capita GDP, just as in Soviet times a massive burden on an impoverished population. Putin, instead, is antagonizing the world into seeking alternative sources of energy so that Russian oil will become obsolete and its economy a helpless, hopeless morass. Nashi, of course, says nothing about that either. Here's a second page:

The author has crudely Photoshopped a headline for the International Herald Tribune which declares, in woefully crude English, that the West has arrested Russian "hero" soldiers for war crimes in Chechnya. The fact that Russian soldiers are actually guilty of war crimes in Chechnya, and that the Kremlin has acknowledged this by paying compensation it was ordered to pay by the European Court for Human Rights, means nothing to Nashi.

Welcome to the Neo-Soviet Union!


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

A good propaganda work. Well illustrated, spectacular, clear and, in general correct.
After I started reading LR I like the "Neo-Soviet Union"-Russia more and more. It is a good sourse to learn good things about Russia.
The statement of the commenter(Kim Zigfeld?)[cite:The fact that Kasyanov has never said any such thing means nothing to Nashi's propagandists...] is not correct. He has. Look here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1595381,00.html
The other accusation: [...The author has crudely Photoshopped a headline for the International Herald Tribune which declares, in woefully crude English, that the West has arrested Russian "hero" soldiers for war crimes in Chechnya...] is not totally groundless. Yes, photoshoped. And they do not even try to hide the fact. The Russian text on the picture says: "This (is what) may happen tomorrow, if we sleep today".
Nobody is able to show the real tomorrow newspaper. So, everyone, who is not stupid can understand that the picture photoshopped to show the possible in the future action. Such a trick is the author's artistic right if he is not presenting the picture as the depiction of a real newspaper.
And the Russian text on the picture speaks not about Russian "hero" soldiers (in quotation marks)-which is Kim trying to be sarcastic, but about The Heroes of Russia which is the highest military award (Gold Star) for real heroism and bravery. Better than the USA "Silver Star"-because Russians, unlike Americans, do not save gold on the medals for their heroes.

La Russophobe said...

Sir, you are a despicable liar, and your attempt to criticize anyone else for telling lies is quite breathtaking indeed. The article you point to about Kasyanov clearly states that his goal is to improve Russian pipeline efficiency and thus dramatically reduce the cost of producing its crude oil, passing this savings on to the West as a means of stabilizing the Middle East situation. If Russia could produce and sell oil more cheaply, it could get the same profit and lower the world market price while selling at a lower price than it does today. Russia's production and distribution of oil is recognized to be woefully inefficient, and Putin has made virtually no efforts to improve the situation. It is shameless and disgusting propaganda on Nashi's part to claim that Kasyanov is going to sell Russian oil below the market price, depriving Russia of revenue it could otherwise obtain. He's never said that. Vladimir Putin himself, when he was in clearer mind just after 9/11, publicly said the West could rely on Russian oil as a bulwark against Islamic terror, and allowed placement of U.S. military forces on Russian territory to attack the Taliban.

It's truly mindbogglingly that you can claim to criticize propaganda while engaging it it yourself. That you would defend the actions of the Nashi youth cult, no different than those of the Komsomol under Stalin, shows that you are a foe far more dangerous to Russia's survival than any foreign enemy. Just as in Soviet times, you believe all is well in Russia and the only problem is foreign enemies. Just as in Soviet times, the day of reckoning will come for you. The USSR is no more, and you do all to be sure that Russia will follow that same path.

Anonymous said...

The Blog with the original scans is closed now. Here you will find the censored propaganda-broschure nearly complete.

La Russophobe said...

KRUSE:

Thanks for the tip! I'm going to ask Lyndon if he'll do a version in English.

Anonymous said...

I am a liar? You are just a rude, old woman. Your new addition to the text of your comment, made after I gave you the link, is the stupidest something I ever read in the Internet.
This is market economy lady! There is no such thing on the market like "a fair price". The prices on the market are determined by the balance of the demand and the offer. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait oil industries have the high-tech infrastructure-why the prices do not go lower? Because of the Russian poor pipe lines? Imbecilic view. To compensate for what Kasyanov wants to have done, Russia will need to sell three times! more of oil than she sells now.
For the stupid ones I can explain it in simple way: Let say there is a farmer who grows pumpkins and makes $12000 from selling them on the market. He also has $20000 on his saving account. What Kasyanov offers is: to invest $20000 in buying a tractor and fertilizers, to get 10% increase in crop and sell it for $ 4400. So in a year the farmer will have 4400 instead of 12000 and no savings. And you call this a good business? Well let the Russophobes do business this way.
And since when the Middle East crisis is a Russian concern? It affects oil prices because the USA keeps troops in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states, and are in bad relations with Iran and the Islamic world. How solving Middle East crisis may help Russia with cutting her military spendings? By stopping NATO from moving closer or by closing the USA military programs.?

Anonymous said...

Here is Russian version of this brochure. Without translation.

http://ninieltorwen.livejournal.com/123729.html

Unknown said...

I read your article and looked over the original brochure. You have a very interesting blog and I appreciate the information you have presented and the opportunity to comment.

Putin has made it very clear that he is no friend of the West. Most recently in his partnerships with Iran to promote their nuclear and military ambitions. The brochure that I looked at similarly was very anti-US and pro Russia, but that's all I'm picking up. In condemning a group like this, comparing it to the Hitler youth is easy to do. People love to do this with groups as mainstream as the boy scouts. I don't see much substantiation of this comparison in the brochure. The brochure actually condemns fascism rather than supporting it showing neo-fascist youth as something that could be if the Russian youth ignore the current plight of the country.

This being said, Russians have a tendency to practice exclusionary patriotism. While working in Russia I found the focus of many on racial purity and antisemitism very disturbing. The very name of this group "Nashi" reminds me of the common idea that you need to be "Nash/Svoy chelovek" ("our guy"/one of the guys - Russian - not a Jew, an Armenian, Georgian, etc). While this disturbing trend is widely evident in many Russians, I still didn't see it reflected in the brochure. I'm hoping that this is not simply because of my limited familiarity with this group.

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha. Oh this is good comedy. You show you are "obviously" not biased in any way! It is NOT Russia's job to raise the West and provide Free oil to the West. Russia acts in its own best interests ignoring nations hostile to it and building up a strong defense to avoid a repeat of Napoleon's and Hitler's invasions. I as a Ukrainian don't always agree with what Russia is doing. But they are still brothers/sisters to us so I still care about what happens there.

Your hot air is pure nonsense. As Russian Patriot said the false Newspaper headline is meant as a warning of future events. When Russians who fought TERRORISTS(emphasis added for you who think murdering pregnant women is a lawful act by "rebels") will be treated as war criminals by Western "liberators". The same thing happened in Yugoslavia.

Here is a mild warning to would be "liberators", don't even try to send one soldier into Russia, unless you want your capitals in ruins(like Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, and Vienna).