Window On Eurasia: Russian Regime Beefs Up Internal Forces To Defend Stability And Itself
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posted by eagle on February, 2009 as Imperialism
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 20 – Even at a time when it is cutting back on a variety of public programs elsewhere, the Russian government is investing sizeable sums to boost the size and effectiveness of force structures designed to counter domestic challenges, even providing them with weapons specifically designed for crowd control.
This “crisis militarization” of Russia, RBC-Daily reports today, means that the domestic forces which now total more than 2.5 million personnel outnumber the country’s armed forces which exist to defend the country, a trend that various experts suggested reflects Moscow’s growing concern about deteriorating social and economic conditions across the country.
Dmitry Oreshkin, a leading Russian political scientist, said that it is clear that the regime is worried about “internal security” given the social fallout of the current economic ... >> full
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Window On Eurasia: Russia’s Growing ‘Virtual’ Civil Society Under Regime-Sponsored Attack
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posted by eagle on as Imperialism
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 20 – Civil society in Russia, to the extent it exists at all, resides almost exclusively on the Internet, a kind of “utopia” or “place that does not exist,” Moscow media report. And they add that this fragile set of institutions continues to grow despite attacks by hackers, threats from the government, and the burdens imposed by rising prices.
In one article in “New Times,” Tatyana Shcherbina writes that the Internet has created a new model for society, one that can be described as a utopia in which “the city states” that have emerged are the blogs on “the Living Journal” or “ZhZh,” its Russian acronym, to organize themselves as a community (newtimes.ru/magazine/2009/issue102/doc-60628.html).
This unique “world” has its own citizens, its own leaders, its own policemen, and its own criminal class, ... >> full
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Window On Eurasia: Yeltsin Successors Boosting Stalin To Justify Their Own Authoritarianism, Moscow Analyst Says
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posted by eagle on as Imperialism
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 20 – Even before the end of Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, those who hoped to succeed him launched a campaign to promote the idea that there were no alternatives to what Stalin did in order to justify the kind of authoritarian system they wanted to build, “a special operation” they continue to this day, according to a leading Moscow commentator.
In an essay posted online this week, Irina Pavlova, a historian who writes frequently on the way Russians view their past, says that she has long suspected that “the campaign to elevate Stalin” which began in the mid-1990s was “not spontaneous” or “a demand from ‘below’” (grani.ru/Politics/Russia/m.147716.html).
Instead, she says, efforts to promote Stalin and his system as the only possible course Russia could have taken was “a special ... >> full
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RFE/RL: Signs Could Point To New War Despite Russian, Georgian Step Toward Stability
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posted by eagle on as Imperialism
Signs Could Point To New War Despite Russian, Georgian Step Toward Stability
Temporary respite? A Russian tank during the pullout from Gori in central Georgia in mid-August
February 20, 2009
By Ahto Lobjakas Talks this week in Geneva between Russia, Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia reached a minor milestone with an agreement on "incident prevention" mechanisms intended to give international monitors access to the entire zone of conflict following last year's Russia-Georgia war.
But EU sources say it remains unclear whether Moscow and the Russian-backed authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have a genuine desire to see the deal work.
The scheme commits both sides to cooperate on preventing security incidents in and around the breakaway regions of South Ossetia -- where Moscow and Tbilisi fought a war in August -- and Abkhazia.
Any accord is seemingly fragile, with the two sides still deeply mistrustful of ...>> full
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Window On Eurasia: Turkish President’s Visit Highlights Tatarstan’s Role As An International Actor
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posted by eagle on as Imperialism
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 17 – At a time when many in Moscow are speculating that the Kremlin will soon replace him, Tatarstan President Mintimir Shaimiyev hosted Turkish President Abdulla Gul in Kazan for talks that more closely resembled an exchange between two chiefs of state than between the head of one country and the leader of a small portion of another.
Gul’s visit to Kazan followed his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow where the two agreed to dramatically expand their cooperation in the south Caucasus and elsewhere, but for many in the Tatar capital and elsewhere, the Turkish leader’s time in the Middle Volga republic was more important both symbolically and practically.
Not only did Gul bring to the Tatar capital the 200-person strong delegation of officials, businessmen ... >> full
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