What the hell is going on in Russia?
1. Journalism at the barrel of a gun
Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist, author, and above all critic of Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building Saturday.
Politkovskaya's most recent book is called "Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy."
She has said that in 2004, she was on her way to cover the Beslan school seige when she was poisoned, and too ill to make it to the site. That's the same year Paul Klebnikov, the editor of Forbes Russia, was found shot to death.
I read a good deal of Politkovskaya's work in 2003, when working on a paper about Chechnya. She has written extensively about the wars there.
Saturday was Putin's birthday.
2. Georgia on his mind
It hasn't been in the U.S. press a lot, but there is currently much beef between Russia and Georgia. Ever since the latter state started discussing joining NATO, things have been sour.
When Georgia arrested four Russian officers last month and charged them as spies, though, the sourness hit the fan. They were released a week ago, but Russian sanctions on Georgia remain.
Putin has been on a rampage, treating Georgia as if it's still just a republic - back in the USSR. Now Russia has apparently deported 132 Georgians, and has closed off rail and postal transportation between the two states. Russian authorities closed several Georgian-owned business in Russia. Some Georgians say it's mild ethnic cleansing, which is a term that shouldn't be thrown around.
But if Putin is a mild Stalin, perhaps he only performs mild atrocities. Let's hope he stays mild.
Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist, author, and above all critic of Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building Saturday.
Politkovskaya's most recent book is called "Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy."
She has said that in 2004, she was on her way to cover the Beslan school seige when she was poisoned, and too ill to make it to the site. That's the same year Paul Klebnikov, the editor of Forbes Russia, was found shot to death.
I read a good deal of Politkovskaya's work in 2003, when working on a paper about Chechnya. She has written extensively about the wars there.
Saturday was Putin's birthday.
2. Georgia on his mind
It hasn't been in the U.S. press a lot, but there is currently much beef between Russia and Georgia. Ever since the latter state started discussing joining NATO, things have been sour.
When Georgia arrested four Russian officers last month and charged them as spies, though, the sourness hit the fan. They were released a week ago, but Russian sanctions on Georgia remain.
Putin has been on a rampage, treating Georgia as if it's still just a republic - back in the USSR. Now Russia has apparently deported 132 Georgians, and has closed off rail and postal transportation between the two states. Russian authorities closed several Georgian-owned business in Russia. Some Georgians say it's mild ethnic cleansing, which is a term that shouldn't be thrown around.
But if Putin is a mild Stalin, perhaps he only performs mild atrocities. Let's hope he stays mild.
posted by bp at
4:13 PM
1 Comments:
Conflict between Russia and Georgia is not about Georgian independence. It is about Abkhazian independence. Who has Soviet-like behavior is not only Russia, but Georgia. Georgia denies freedom to Abkhazian people. Abkhazia is a small nation which is struggling for independence. West should support them.
By
Unknown, at 1:57 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home