Is Moscow Behind Georgian Unrest?
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posted by zaina19 on November, 2007 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 11/16/2007 11:23 AM Wednesday, November 14, 2007 Is Moscow Behind Georgian Unrest? By Claire Bigg Russia -- Supporters of Young Russia movement protest outside Georgian embassy in Moscow, 12Nov2007 Anti-Georgian demonstrators outside the Moscow embassy on November 12 (AFP) November 14, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Trading accusations has been a recurrent -- if not dominant -- feature of Georgian-Russian relations since Tbilisi's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, was swept to power in 2003. With Georgia in the midst of its worst political crisis in years, fingers are again pointing in Moscow's direction. Saakashvili has spearheaded the accusations, blaming Russian intelligence services for orchestrating a week of opposition rallies in Tbilisi that spiraled into violence on November 7 after riot police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets to disperse rock-throwing protesters, injuring hundreds. Saakashvili, labeling the protests a Russia-backed attempt to overthrow his government, declared a state of emergency. Angry rhetoric has long been the standard for exchanges between Moscow and Tbilisi. The latest turmoil, however, opened the floodgates ... >> full
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Watchdog calls off Russia poll plan
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 11/17/2007 9:58 AM Watchdog calls off Russia poll plan Publication time: 16 November 2007, 16:37 Europe's main elections watchdog, the OSCE, has given up its mission to observe Russia's parliamentary polls next month, citing a lack of co-operation from the Kremlin. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Russia have been locked in a war of words over monitoring the forthcoming elections. The fallout casts doubt on the credibility of the polls. Russia, a member of the OSCE, is obliged to invite the organisation's monitors to assess whether votes are free and fair. The OSCE said Russian authorities "remain unwilling to receive observers in a timely and cooperative manner". In a statement the OSCE said it would be "unable to deliver its mandate under these circumstances" to monitor the 2nd December. It claims it had repeatedly pressed the Kremlin to approve the monitoring mission, warning it that delays would hamper its chances of doing a proper job on election day. Urdur Gunnarsdottir, a OSCE spokeswoman, ... >> full
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Wretched Russian conscripts
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 11/17/2007 10:11 AM Wretched Russian conscripts Publication time: 15 November 2007, 19:25 Throughout the history of modern warfare it is difficult to imagine a more wretched existence than the lot of the common Russian infantryman. From the Napoleonic wars to the Second World War, Russian commanders have taken the view that their soldiers are little better than cannon fodder whose survival is the least of their concerns as they seek to defend Mother Russia. Even heroic Russian military engagements, such as the magnificent resistance of Stalingrad in the 1940s, managed to achieve success only through the almost wilful sacrifice of the lives of tens of thousands of conscripts. And those who were lucky enough to be taken prisoner by the Nazis found themselves before a firing squad or exiled to certain death at a Siberian slave camp the moment they were repatriated. It should come as no surprise, then, that the plight of young Russian conscripts sent to fight in Chechnya is little better ... >> full
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Cowardly Kremlin Paying Protection to Chechen Warlords
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 11/17/2007 1:08 PM Saturday, November 17, 2007 Cowardly Kremlin Paying Protection to Chechen Warlords Paul Goble reports that Russia has not "solved" its Chechnya problem, it is simply paying protection money to some gangsters, buying time. So much for "crushing them in their outhouses." In exchange for declarations of undying loyalty from non-Russian leaders in the North Caucasus, Moscow has been sending the governments there ever more money even though these regimes act pretty much as they want and do almost nothing to make their territories safe for ethnic Russians. In a commentary posted on the APN.ru website yesterday, Vladimir Tor points out that between 2002 and 2006, Moscow sent to Chechnya alone some 30.6 billion rubles (1.25 billion U.S. dollars) for reconstruction and to create the illusion of peace and stability there. But that level of funding, enormous relative to Moscow’s subventions to other parts of the Russian Federation is not enough for the Chechens: In July, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov asked ... >> full
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Chechen Leadership In Exile Seeks To Salvage Legitimacy
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 11/19/2007 2:15 PM [ rfe/rl banner ] Chechen Leadership In Exile Seeks To Salvage Legitimacy By Liz Fuller November 15, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Adducing the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (ChRI ) Constitution adopted in March 1992, the ChRI parliament in exile ruled on November 6 that ChRI President and resistance commander Doku Umarov has effectively relinquished his presidential powers by proclaiming a North Caucasus emirate of which he claims to be the leader. A statement signed by ChRI parliament Chairman Zhaloudi Saralyapov and posted on November 6 on chechenews.com affirmed that the authorities of the president and government chairman now devolve upon the Chechen parliament. Representatives in exile of the ChRI parliament and government responded to the initial rumors of Umarov's proclamation of a North Caucasus emirate with outrage and concern. They not only suspected -- and continue to suspect -- that Umarov has been manipulated in a bid to provide Russia with a new pretext for renewed reprisals against the population of Chechnya and ... >> full
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