Recommended Reading
Time to Back the Other Russia
French philosopher Andre Glucksmann wrote an impassioned editorial in Le Figaro, which has been translated and reprinted across Europe. It is available online in English here. A few excerpts: Khodorkovsky and Trepashkin are locked up in deepest Siberia. Every fourth or fifth Chechnen has lost his life. Gary Kasparov and his friends are receiving threats […]
May 4, 2007 | Continued
Baltimore Sun: “‘Democracy’ in Russia: Don’t try talking back”
It seems the time has finally come for the universal use of scare quotes around the word “democracy” when referring to the form in which it exists in Russia today. Surely it doesn’t meet the standards of any dictionary, let alone any notion of human rights. This piece in the Baltimore Sun says as much […]
Apr 30, 2007 | Continued
More Arrests in Nizhny Novgorod
Today’s Dissenters’ March in Nizhny Novgorod resulted in a dozen arrests. This was a relatively small event, organized to show that people would not be intimidated by the police brutality against the last rally in the Russian city, which is located 400 km to the east of Moscow. At that event on March 24, tens […]
Apr 28, 2007 | Continued
Kreisky Forum Honors Politkovskaya
The famous Vienna-based Bruno Kreisky Forum was the host to a 45-minute lecture and Q&A with Other Russia organizer Garry Kasparov on April 26. The subject was “Russia: Six Months Without Anna Politkovskaya,” a tribute to the investigative journalist assassinated in Moscow on October 7, 2006. Kasparov speech highlighted Politkovskaya’s courage and how she inspired […]
Apr 27, 2007 | Continued
World Press on Yeltsin’s Death
As during his reign as Russian president (July 10, 1991 – Dec. 31, 1999), Boris Yeltsin is many things to many people in memoriam. A sampling of descriptions from the world media include “revolutionary,” “flawed hero,” “a muzhik,” “hero, villian, buffoon,” “a drunk,” “courageous fighter.” Russia’s first, and some might say last, freely elected president […]
Apr 25, 2007 | Continued
Kremlin Rewards Top Crackdown Officials
The investigations into unlawful arrests and police brutality during the April 14 and 15th Other Russia marches are just getting started, but Vladimir Putin didn’t wait to hear from his Attorney General. Yesterday he personally signed promotions for the three top officers in charge of the Moscow operation.
Apr 24, 2007 | Continued
More Moscow Crackdowns
On April 22, there was another indicator of how the Putin regime deals with even the smallest sign of opposition. Human rights groups announced a peaceful walk to the city center of Moscow, with no banners or chanting, just an “excursion” to mark the location of the police violence against the April 14th March of […]
Apr 24, 2007 | Continued
Kremlin Extends Control of Media
The New York Times reports today on “increasingly small number of news outlets that are not managed by the Kremlin, directly or through the state national gas company, Gazprom, a major owner of media assets.” At their first meeting with journalists since taking over Russia’s largest independent radio news network, the managers had startling news […]
Apr 21, 2007 | Continued