New Russia or Newer USSR?
The Old Russia, a New USSR, or is there any Difference?
The death of a former KGB agent in a most esoteric way started me thinking about what the real sort of political climate exists in Russia these days. His death is not the only one that should have raised some red flags either. This former KGB agent was investigating another suspicious death of a anti-Putin Journalist. She was not the only one to die in recent times either. A second anti-Putin journalist was also murdered. Russia is denying responsibility for the action, but the substance used, Polonium 210, is an esoteric radioactive isotope. It must be deliberately created for any serious useable amount ; it is a very rare natural element. This shrinks the list of countries that would have it to a very small amount,5 at most; Russia is the only one out of the 5 that would have had a good reason to silence this critic of their regime. The following link verifies this information as to the scarcity of this compound. http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele084.html
I think the red flags should have been raised around the time the results of the Duma election of 2004 were made public. In one fell swoop, all of the reformist factions were swept out of power, replaced by people loyal to Putin, old line pre-1991 communists, and at least 2 particularly virulent groups of Nationalists. I find it somewhat amazing that most people I talk to that are under 30 or so see nothing dangerous about Russia, while most who are over that age see something chilling in similarity to what happened in 1917. Consider the following analogies:
There was so much optimism around in 1991 that it gave one a heady feeling. That soon faded as the world came to realize that Russia had not really changed that much. Replacing the Communists were former Communists who set themselves up as Oligarchs; 90% of Russia’s GDP was in the hands of a very few people. The Russian Crime Syndicate, under the communists only a minor annoyance, grew to full flower in an alarmingly short period of time. Rather then do anything to remove the corruption, Yeltsin and later Putin thrived on it. There is nothing even slightly democratic in Russia now that serves as a government; it is only a thin shell for what lays underneath:
An angry and wounded bear relegated to third world nation status, a Gross Domestic Product less then that of the UK, and an arsenal of thermonuclear devices rivaled only by what the USA has. That is on top of its other domestic problems, such as a low relative life expectancy for its male population and a total failure to improve the welfare of most of its citizens.
The optimism of 1991 has long faded away, leaving a Russia that is only a faded replica of the USSR of yore. I know there are many who say Russia will yet find its own path and eventually do right by its citizens and cease to be the dire threat it is now, but I still remain cynical: A wounded animal is always dangerous, and bears especially so.
The Jaded Bard
The death of a former KGB agent in a most esoteric way started me thinking about what the real sort of political climate exists in Russia these days. His death is not the only one that should have raised some red flags either. This former KGB agent was investigating another suspicious death of a anti-Putin Journalist. She was not the only one to die in recent times either. A second anti-Putin journalist was also murdered. Russia is denying responsibility for the action, but the substance used, Polonium 210, is an esoteric radioactive isotope. It must be deliberately created for any serious useable amount ; it is a very rare natural element. This shrinks the list of countries that would have it to a very small amount,5 at most; Russia is the only one out of the 5 that would have had a good reason to silence this critic of their regime. The following link verifies this information as to the scarcity of this compound. http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele084.html
I think the red flags should have been raised around the time the results of the Duma election of 2004 were made public. In one fell swoop, all of the reformist factions were swept out of power, replaced by people loyal to Putin, old line pre-1991 communists, and at least 2 particularly virulent groups of Nationalists. I find it somewhat amazing that most people I talk to that are under 30 or so see nothing dangerous about Russia, while most who are over that age see something chilling in similarity to what happened in 1917. Consider the following analogies:
- In November 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power using a front group( The Petrograd Revolutionary Military Council (PRMC)) to do so. It was not in essence a coup, since the Czar abdicated earlier in the year, but it served as a means to an end.
- In December 2004, the Duma election resembled something more like Germany in 1933 then an actual free election. Reformist candidates were attacked, beaten and threatened during the electoral process and even during the election itself. When all was done, the Duma was dominated by only the four groups mentioned above.
- Shortly after seizing control of the government of Russia, the Bolsheviks began exterminating every royalist, republican, and anyone else they foresaw as a threat. It was about in May of 1918 that the Bolsheviks stepped forward from the shadows and declared they were in charge. The Civil war that erupted lasted almost 5 years.
- With the Duma cleaned of anyone who would have possibly opposed him, Putin went after the Oligarchs who funded the opposition candidates. The one who had Soviet Oil interests locked up was stripped of their holdings and they were forced to flee to exile. Two reporters who were against Putin and an ex-KGB Spy have been murdered since that time as well. All that remains is for Putin and Russia to reveal their true intentions to the world, and if Russian history has anything to say, it will not be a pretty sight to see.
There was so much optimism around in 1991 that it gave one a heady feeling. That soon faded as the world came to realize that Russia had not really changed that much. Replacing the Communists were former Communists who set themselves up as Oligarchs; 90% of Russia’s GDP was in the hands of a very few people. The Russian Crime Syndicate, under the communists only a minor annoyance, grew to full flower in an alarmingly short period of time. Rather then do anything to remove the corruption, Yeltsin and later Putin thrived on it. There is nothing even slightly democratic in Russia now that serves as a government; it is only a thin shell for what lays underneath:
An angry and wounded bear relegated to third world nation status, a Gross Domestic Product less then that of the UK, and an arsenal of thermonuclear devices rivaled only by what the USA has. That is on top of its other domestic problems, such as a low relative life expectancy for its male population and a total failure to improve the welfare of most of its citizens.
The optimism of 1991 has long faded away, leaving a Russia that is only a faded replica of the USSR of yore. I know there are many who say Russia will yet find its own path and eventually do right by its citizens and cease to be the dire threat it is now, but I still remain cynical: A wounded animal is always dangerous, and bears especially so.
The Jaded Bard
posted by CryHavoc at 8:40 PM
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