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Saturday, July 07, 2007

An Uncivilized Country, Part I: Nation of Sheep

Only a truly barbaric, uncivilized nation of sheep could be so fundamentally incapable of generating a civilized, coherent opposition. What we see in Russia today is not one iota differnt from what we saw during the time of Stalin: Cowardly, barbaric Russians turning their backs on the rise of dictatorship and turning in their neighbors for short-sighted personal benefit, actions that ultimately and inevitably bring down the nation. Think about: a $3/hour average wage, a sub-60 year adult male lifespan, cold war brewing, and the best opposition Russia can create is a card-carrying fascist. They're doomed, that's all there is too it, doomed. The Christian Science Monitor reports:

Eduard Limonov has been called a fascist, a communist, and an ultranationalist. The Kremlin has repeatedly banned the leftist National Bolshevik Party (NBP) that he leads as an "extremist" organization and arrested over a hundred of its activists.

Yet for the past year, Mr. Limonov and his mainly youthful followers have been a mainstay of the Other Russia movement, a pro-democracy coalition led by chess champion Garry Kasparov. Other Russia has staged a series of high-profile street rallies aimed at forcing the Kremlin to ensure that upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections will be open and free.

"The Kremlin fears us because they think our party can become the avant-garde of a Russian [version of Ukraine's pro-democracy] 'Orange Revolution,' " says Limonov, a bespectacled and goateed novelist who lived in the US before returning home to take up radical politics in the early 1990s. "And that fear is not unfounded," he says. "Our existence is seen as a menace by a state that represents a handful of rich amid a sea of poor people."

As the Other Russia heads into its first anniversary conference this weekend, the coalition seems to be splintering and its hopes of fielding a single opposition candidate to oppose Vladimir Putin's yet-to-be-anointed successor appear in tatters. This week, one of the movement's main backers, the liberal former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, pulled out saying that "the Other Russia has fulfilled its mission," and will not be needed in the "next, decisive stage of the political struggle." Mr. Kasyanov, who has announced his own intention to run for president, said he would be seeking fresh opposition forces with whom to ally.

One reason for the coalition's crisis may be its political diversity, which was hailed just a year ago as its greatest source of strength. Mr. Kasparov brought together liberals, moderate nationalists, and neocommunists who all had a stake in fighting for free elections. "[The Other Russia] has shown our citizens that completely different political forces ... can unite in defense of constitutional principles," Kasyanov said as he was leaving the movement this week.

Limonov's prison-hardened NBP activists have been the largest, and most fearless, contingent at the Other Russia's pro-democracy rallies over recent months. The group's name and symbol – a black hammer and sickle on a red field – seem to evoke some kind of fusion between Nazism and Communism. Its penchant for guerrilla street actions, such as occupying government offices and hanging anti-Putin banners from buildings, has won it more police attention than any other political group in Russia.

"Over 150 of our members have been through the school of prison and labor camps by now," says Limonov, who recently spent two years in jail for what he calls trumped-up charges of illegal weapons possession. "Through that experience, they have become unafraid. That's why the authorities consider us the most dangerous, because we are more courageous and we do what the others won't."

Limonov admits to having flirted briefly with right-wing ideas in the early '90s and he attracted notoriety by supporting Serbian nationalists during the civil war in Bosnia.

The NBP today is a "purely leftist" party that calls for taxing the rich to help the poor, fighting racism, and promoting democracy, Limonov says. Although he insists that the party meets all the requirements for registration under Russia's tough political laws, it has been rejected five times by the authorities. "We are the champions in getting banned," says Limonov.

"Nowadays it's illegal to even speak the name of the National Bolshevik Party," under Russia's harsh anti-extremism laws, says Lev Ponomaryov, a leading Russian human rights campaigner. "There is nothing particularly radical about the NBP and they do nothing that's actually extremist, but all opposition forces like this are gradually being weeded out of the political field," by the authorities, he says.

However, some opposition groups, including the liberal Yabloko party, say they've avoided joining the Other Russia in part due to the controversial presence of Limonov's NBP. "The National Bolsheviks stick to their name and fascist flag, and hide their real aims," says Yabloko's deputy chairman, Sergei Mitrokhin. "We don't want to struggle for democracy under nationalist banners. It discredits democracy," he says.

The powerful Communist Party (CP), on the other hand, has refused to join the Other Russia due to what its leader Gennady Zyuganov called the English-speaking and pro-American Kasparov's connections with "foreign moneybags."

Yabloko announced last month that its chairman, Grigory Yavlinsky, will run in the presidential polls, slated for next March. Several other opposition leaders have also declared, including Communist chief Mr. Zyuganov, former Central Bank chief Viktor Gerashchenko, Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

The dream of a single opposition to stand against Putin's heir has been shattered "because the CP and Yabloko have made their own collaborationist pacts with the Kremlin," says Limonov. "We wish they would be more courageous."


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

We don't want any US sponsored parties here, so get the F@@K out of our country, stupid Kasparovs, Limonovs, ugly Novodvorskaya, the bitch Politkovskaya and other miserable US scum. Putin will get rid of you anyway.

By the way, the current situation in Russia now reminds me of the Soviet times. E.g, the streets. They are now full of social ads and political mottos like "Support Putin's plan! We vote for strong Russia" and so on, lot's of slogans and other stuff, like in USSR.

And you, the miserable US scum, is starting peeing in your pants now. This website is a proof to that.

Bye.

La Russophobe said...

STALIN:

By "great" we assume you mean "great killer of Russians" since he killed more Russians than any other person in history. That's really harsh. Why do you hate Russia so much?

BTW, thanks for proving how wrong we've been about Russia with your eloquent humanism and intelligent, reasonable discourse.

Anonymous said...

Its funny how the Russian opposition demonizes Russian domestic opposition, the only hope for real debate and transparency crucial in a REAL democracy, as US stools.

Also in typical fashion, instead of either arguing and stating why Russian domestic opposition is bad for the country and why they should be marginalized, they wish for them to disappear via assassination or threat like Joseph does.

Real countries handles these thing differently and maturely. Whack ideas like communism and fascism are marginalized via mature discussion and debate. Immature and rightly insecure countries like Russia kills its own citizens to state a point.

Stalin the Great. You are a hack. If you are really a Russian, I will laugh when the pile of cards you call Russia collapse in on itself. You are fucked when your mighty Kremlin is scared of a chess player.

Anonymous said...

It gives me great pleasure to see La Russophobe have to ally herself with a pedophilic foreign national (French citizenship) who has done a complete 180 on his political views in order to get his hands on Western money, Misha "Two Percent" Kasyanov (supported by such fine people as the terrorist financier Boris Berezovsky, and the killer Leonid Nevzlin), and a non-Russian from Azerbaijan who doesn't even conceal the fact that he works for an organization which states that it's main interest is "identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security." America is a great country (or used to be until the unholy duo of the Democrats and neo-cons choked it), but someone who fancies himself as a Russian politician should really not be doing that.
As long as the opposition to Putin/Ivanov/Medvedev consists of the above individuals, I can stay secure in the knowledge that Russia has a bright future that the forces of evil will not destroy.
La Russophobe, I've always wondered if you're:
a) A paid agent of those who fear a strong Russia.
b) A bitter emigre who left because you couldn't find enough opportunities to steal.
or c) A paid agent of Putin (Any sane person with any basic knowledge of Russia will come away liking Putin even more after reading this drivel)

I am going to laugh if this comment isn't posted, as that'll simply expose you as a person pursuing an agenda who is unable to respond to reasoned criticism.

La Russophobe said...

KIRILL:

It gives us great pleasure to watch the antics of a drunken Russophile moron like you. This post ATTACKS the Russian opposition as being pathetic and the Russian people for being so uncivilized as to be unable to generate a non-pathetic opposition. You are utterly illiterate and probably drunk as well. Go back to your vodka bottle, you idiot.

Based on your own "logic" one can easily speculate that you are a paid agent of the Kremlin.

Based on your paranoia, it's clear you're a Russophile moron.

How INTERESTING that you have NOTHING to say about Mark Ames reporting on Edward Limonov as if he were just an ordinary opposition candidate. Could that be because he's your lord and master, you scum-sucking piece of filth? Your hypocrisy is truly mind-boggling.

Unknown said...

La Russophobe,

I'm from Finland so excuse my moderate English skills.

Why do you use insults against posters who do not insult you? I think Kirill's post was well thought and written.

Most of the Russians like or even love their President and they have every right doing so. They have done a great job of stabilizing the country and making the economy strong.

There was some forces in the West that do not like a strong Russia. They include "businessmen" and private bankers whose interest is a weak Russia that is easy to loot. I believe that people like Kasparov and Berezovsky work for these forces. They are the enemy of Russian people and should be dealt with.

I hope Russia prevails these forces and becomes even stronger and healthier than it is today. World needs a strong, healthy and rich Russia.

La Russophobe said...

PETEH:

Why do you presume to tell us how to run our blog? If you don't like it, don't read it, you idiot. How dare you try to control how we express ourselves? Make your own blog if you have better idea! Get lost, fool!

Meanwhile, to answer your question, because we KNOW who Kiril is and YOU don't.

Lots of Russians loved Stalin when he was committing mass murder, and the same is true of Hitler. Does that mean outsiders should have respected their attitude? If you think so, you're a maniac. George Bush was elected twice and millions of Americans support him -- does that mean he can't be attacked?

Your drivel is silly and contributes nothing of substance to this post. As such, it's basically SPAM. You are repeating stupid Russian propaganda and making yourself look like the idiot you are.

Anonymous said...

Dear La Russophobe,
I find it rather ironic that you attack stalin the great by implying that he lacks "eloquent humanism and intelligent, reasonable discourse.", then proceed to insult me (nice try, but apparently at least some of your readers see right through it) You seem at least semi-literate, so I was expecting something better.

My "paranoia" seems to be well justified after hearing the likes of you, Senator McCain, Senator Biden, and the expansion of U.S. the U.S. into the post-Soviet space by various means, including buying elections (I forgot, remind me of Yushenko's approval rating. How's Ukraine's marionette, "democracy" government working out for them?).

I did not find a reason to comment on Mark Ames' article, as it was relatively correct, considering it was written for the average Western reader. How would you prefer Ames refer to Limonov?

It is true that considering who he is, Ames could have done a better job reporting on Limonov. He could have noted Limonov's penchant for young girls, or the fact that he's an emigre with foreign citizenship. He also could have written that Limonov is a "nationalist" who receives almost all of his funding from abroad.

Yes it is true that Russia needs an opposition party, if only because Ivanov/Medvedev may not be the same as Putin, and may try to pursue their own interests that are not compatible with those of the country. While I do not agree with their views, I feel that Fair Russia may one day grow into a real opposition party. Unlike the band of saboteurs and spies that is The Other Russia, Fair Russia actually has some honorable politicians that attempt to do what is best for Russia, albeit in their own way (Victor Alksnis, for example).

It gives me great pleasure that all that the forces of evil have left to cling to is this band of jokesters. Russia still has many problems, some of which are not being solved in the optimal way, but I, along with 70+% of Russians can ensure that we continue on the right path.

La Russophobe said...

KIRILL:

70% of Germans thought Hitler was on the right path when he sought to erase Russia from the face of the earth. So they were right, huh? 70% of Russians thought Grandpa Stalin was right, where's the USSR today? Is the judgment of a people who are going extinct and working for $3/hour really worthy of that much respect in your demented "mind"? If so, we truly pity you.

We didn't attack Stalin, we thanked him profusely you illiterate moron. It gives us great pleasure to see you speak of a "pedophilic foreign national" (we guess you mean Vladimir Putin, belly kisser) and then to complain when you get the same yourself. You're like a spoiled little child educated in a forest by mushrooms.

You are deeply mentally ill if you think the fact that one commenter agreeing with you means you are right. Presumably if three commenters think you should be boiled in oil, then it should be done, right? Your pathetic excuse for a brain is an embarrassment to this blog, as are your insipid "comments."

For your information, this blog is by far the most popular source of information about Russia in the blogosphere. Your haughty gibberish about us only makes your insignificance that much more plain. You haven't included a single link or any shred of substantive value in any of your babblings. Hundreds of people visit this blog every day, and they don't come to see your empty gibberish. By the way, Kirill dear, how many visit YOUR blog each day?

We published your comment. You attacked us in advance saying we wouldn't, yet you don't thank us when we do. That indicates you are the childish idiot we took you for at the start.

You did not apologize for grossly mischaracterizing the content of this post where Mr. Kasyanov is concerned, and your comments about the American legislators are simply bizarre, totally irrelevant to this post, which doesn't mention either of them. As such, they are spam. Instead of admitting your error, you try to change the subject. Truly pathetic.

Now you rationalize Mr. Ames while attack us for exactly the same thing he is doing, because you approve of his Russophelia and disapprove of our Russophobia. That's the worst kind of intellectual dishonesty and renders you beneath contempt.

CollegeCabbie said...

First of all, it is ludicrous to blame "Grandpa Stalin" for something that happened nearly 40 years after he died. Second of all, before the war, Hitler was a great leader (Of course not counting the Holocaust, but most Germans were not aware of its extent, and we also have to account for the unfortunate trait of all of humanity to not care about what happens to others), and during the war, his approval was boosted by the wartime patriotism.

I am pretty sure that if Mr. Putin were a pedophile neither you nor I would know it, as that man could kill and rape 10 children a day without anybody's knowledge, considering the resources that he has. Mr. Putin was probably the victim of not thinking over what his publicists told him (to portray himself as closer to the people), as there is no other reasonable explanation of the event.

Unfortunately for you, my "pathetic " brain is capable of engaging in reasoned discussion without the numerous personal attacks that you seem to favor.

Perhaps if you actually read my comment, rather than responding to the evil "Russophile" with a mental template consisting of personal attacks and mis-characterizations (see the first paragraph of your post), amybe you would realize the comments about Biden and McCain were referring to my "paranoia" as a Russian which you brought up.

Can you please explain to me where I mischaracterized Misha "two percent" Kasyanov, as I do not see what section of my post you are referring to. If you are indicating that he is not supported by the Chechen supporter Berezovsky, or the murderer Nevzlin, you have obviously not been keeping up with the public statements of Mr. Berezovsky, nor have you been reading the blog of Mr. Nevzlin.

I do apologize for the comment I made in my first post about you not posting my response. I was wrong to make it in advance of anything happening, and I do commend you for putting it up and responding to it, even if it is in the insulting manner that you used.

Additionally, I am not sure what you are referring to the in the latter portion of your second paragraph, as well as your last paragraph. I would like to hear which specific inaccuracies exist in Mr. Ames article, other than the ones that I mentioned.

La Russophobe said...

KIRILL:

An intelligent person would realize that there is only one reason to comment on this blog, and that's to try to influence the publishers. An intelligent person would realize that using imperious, arrogant words like "ludicrous" would accomplish exactly the opposite and wouldn't do it. But you, it seems, are not in that category.

You are a card-carrying maniac. Most Germans know EXACTLY what happened during the holocaust. They spend a huge amount of time in their schools and public places studying and remembering it. Russians could learn much from them. It's Russians who have no idea about the crimes Stalin committed or their own role in perpetrating them.

Yeah, Kirill, you're right. The greatest killer of Russians in world history had nothing to do with the country's downfall, nothing at all. Where did you get your brain? K-mart? Blue-light special? You embarrass us with you cosmic dishonesty and ignorance, and the hubris necessary for an obscure, blogless idiot to declare things "ludicrous" as if he were God Almighty is just plain funny. You should see yourself, dude!

You should also get out more. We have the photos of Mr. Putin pulling up a kid's shirt in public and kissing his stomach. In any civilized country, that person would be out of office, probably in prison. But as we all know, Putin isn't in a civilized country.

Perhaps if you read this post you'd know it has nothing whatsoever to do with Biden and McCain, and you'd stick to the topic, which is one of the rules of this blog. Keep up your irrelevant babbling and your comments will simply be deleted. See, it's what Russophile propagandists do when they don't like the subject at hand. They try to change it. So if you don't want to be taken for one, don't do that. Get it?

You claimed this post indicates we support Kasyanov. It does nothing of the sort. This post is an attack on the incompetence of Other Russia and the opposition in general, of which Kasyanov is a part.

CollegeCabbie said...

Perhaps you were not educated on what the past tense indicates. Notice the word most "Germans WERE not [...]" in my comment. It is irrelevant what they know about the Holocaust now, as we were discussing then. Your commentary either indicates a second grade education, or more likely, a total inability to read the thoughts of someone who disagrees with you.

Compare Russia in 1953 and Russia in the early 1930's to see what I meant by your comment being ludicrous (Also remember there was you know, a minor war in the middle).

Once again, I brought up Biden and McCain in reference to the paranoia you brought up, which is something that you would understand, had you taken the time to actually read either of my two last posts (That reading thing is something you seem to struggle with a bit).

I am also unsure of what you're trying to say, as you go from supporting these clowns (Saying that it is Russians fault that they don't support them), to agreeing with me, yet claim you have a consistent viewpoint.

The reason I comment on your blog is that I am intrigued how someone who seems to be educated can spawn the content that you have on your site, and I wish to learn more about your motivations and thought process.

La Russophobe said...

KIRILL:

You are an outrageous liar. We did not create our content, 90% is republished from OTHER sources. That's the whole point of this blog. You have the IQ and morality of a turnip.

CollegeCabbie said...

Apparently you don't even write the red portions of your entries, as I assumed you did, but rather just copy and paste them from the material your financiers send you, because if you did write them, you would know what I was talking about.

La Russophobe said...

KIRILL:

You are an outrageous liar. Our comment clearly states that about 10% of the content on this blog is original, which includes original essays and the red introductions. We also do original translations of material from the Russian press.

The vast maajority of your comments have to do not with our red text, which merely introduces the subject matter in most cases, but with the black source material, and not once have you made an explicit distinction between them.

You simply can't tell the truth or be fair, can you? It's really very ironic. You attack this blog for being to one-sided and hard on Russia, yet you do EXACTLY the same thing to us. Your remarks are TOTALLY one-sided in attacking us and defending Russia, not blended 50-50 agreement and disagreement as you seem to expect from us.

CollegeCabbie said...

Okay, it appears we need to go through this together.

"Only a truly barbaric, uncivilized nation of sheep could be so fundamentally incapable of generating a civilized, coherent opposition."

It is Russia's fault that they created a pathetic opposition.

"What we see in Russia today is not one iota differnt from what we saw during the time of Stalin: Cowardly, barbaric Russians turning their backs on the rise of dictatorship and turning in their neighbors for short-sighted personal benefit, actions that ultimately and inevitably bring down the nation."

The pathetic Russians don't want to supoort the opposition that is fighting the evil Satan Putin.

Choose a viewpoint and stick with it.

Everything I posted in quotes comes from red text.

La Russophobe said...

There is nothing the least bit inconsistent in those two statements, and your hubris in lecturing to us about what we can and cannot say is remarkable.

The first statement is that there is no credible opposition in Russia because of Russian cowardice and laziness. The second statement is that this is a pattern in Russia, because exactly the same thing happened in Soviet times.

Can't you at least try to read what we've written? Your pathological need to find some kind of mistake in our text is flattering, but your frenzy prevents you from doing anything other than embarassing yourself.

CollegeCabbie said...

Okay, first you blame Russians for not being able to create an opposition, then you blame them for not voting for this opposition.

Choose whether this opposition is bad ("The Russians are incapable of creating an opposition") or good ("Why don't these stupid Russians vote for the opposition").

Maybe you should consider letting Russians solve these problems themselves, rather than solving it for them. The "opposition" would have a lot more credibility if it was actually created by Russians, rather than created for them by people like you.