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The Spectacle Blog
The Obama administration is ignoring, and thereby enabling, the Russian government’s gross abuse of human rights and its gutting of the country’s democracy, according to Russia’s former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
“We have no democracy at all. We don’t have any future of a democratic state. Everything has been lost, everything has been taken by the people by the authorities,” Kasyanov said in a wide ranging interview with Foreign Policy. “The power has replaced all institutions … like Parliament, like independent judiciary, like free media, etc. That’s already obvious for everyone.”
The former Russian head of government, who was ousted by current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2004, is on a mission this week to send a two-fold message to U.S.-based Russia watchers: that the upcoming elections next year in Russia will not be free and fair, and that the “reset” policy of the Obama administration has wrongly caused the United States to abandon its role as a vocal critic of Russian democratic and human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko complains that the West is ignoring increasing — and pernicious — Russian influence over her country.
View all comments (17) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by John Tabin
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/10/20/the-trouble-with-the-reset-but
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Alan Brooks| 10.21.10 @ 12:28AM
After Bush tried to build antimissile installations in Poland, I don't trust what is being said about Russia.
Russia has to defend its interests, and so do its allies in the Russian Federation; the antimissile proposal failed because it should have, after what Russia has been through, why ought they trust the West? Just for instance, the Brest Treaty of 1918 was far worse than Versailles.
Quite apart from democracy, you lack compassion for Russia, and its sacrifices in WWII. Such is not very Christian.
CalMark| 10.21.10 @ 1:22AM
Oh, poor, poor Russia. All those countries it has conquered, enslaved, and plundered; all those people its leaders murdered--including a whole lot of Russians, to say nothing of the millions of Ukrainians, Tartars, Jews, etc.
But I guess "they did what they had to do" to protect themselves from the evil, pernicious West.
Poor, poor, poor Russia. Hey, I've got an idea: go live there, and help them, Alan. You sure won't be missed here.
lech walesa| 10.21.10 @ 7:01AM
please come to poland and tell us more aboutthese friendly russians...
i promise a big crowd of polish peoples...whose ancestors were murdered in cold blood by your beloved communists...
and then we will hang you from the highest pole in poland
please, come
David W| 10.21.10 @ 9:50AM
COME ON!!! WWII STARTED IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OF COLLUSION BETWEEN THE NAZIS AND THE COMMUNISTS!! Part of the sacrifices of the Soviet people was due to the absolute stupidity of the Soviet Dictator and his henchmen who destroyed the military due to their paranoia. And the comment about not being very Christian. Does telling the truth make one a non-Christian, no matter how painful it is?
Eric Cartman| 10.21.10 @ 10:44AM
Russians stink like potatoes, vodka and Limburger cheese. Send them soap-on-a-rope.
Franklin| 10.21.10 @ 12:42AM
Every day I wonder what else will go wrong - progressives don't disappoint me, there's usually more than one per day. It almost doesn't shock me anymore, but it grinds me down. Hearing about all the voter fraud that could happen (I'm from Minnesota, I KNOW it happens - remember Al Franken?), I'm beginning to turn off the news. Don't know how much more I can handle, but must stay strong. I pray every day that lies, fraud, greed, evil and hate will be exposed so that the "little o" lovers will see the truth.
Simeon.Cana| 10.21.10 @ 5:10AM
With all due respect to Alan Brooks, you need to spend some time in the history section of the Library. The Brest-Litovsk treaty of 1918 was imposed upon Russia by the German empire. It was abrogated completely when Germany was defeated just 10 months later. The 'west' are the ones who saved Russia from that german-imposed treaty.
Russia has had a rough time of it internationally, but that pretty much started in 1917 when Soviet Russia embarked on a process of fermenting world revolution by attempting to destabilise domestic governments in Europe and around the world. At the ame time, it nationalised foreign industries, cancelled its own foreign debts arbitrarily, and stole foreign property and funds inside the country. If they wanted to be better treated by the world, perhaps thay should not have given the world such a colossal middle finger as soon as the new Soviet state was founded.
Now obviously, that was a long time ago, and the Soviet state is long dead, but Russia needs to get its OWN house in order and stop trying to pretend it is still a superpower. Massive, rampant corruption at all levels, state theft and opression, one of the highest murder rates on the planet, and a completely disintigrating infrastructure all plague the state that still feels the need to keep thousands of nukes it cannot afford, and a huge conventional army that is crumbling away due to neglect and corruption.
Eric Cartman| 10.21.10 @ 10:41AM
If Liberals cared even a scintilla about "Massive, rampant corruption at all levels, state theft and opression (sic), one of the highest murder rates on the planet, and a completely disintigrating (sic) infrastructure" they would have done something about Detroit, the Liberal Heaven-On-Earth since the late 50s.
Simeon Cana| 10.21.10 @ 11:01AM
Forgive me but... What?
What on earth does your little rant have to do with anything at all? How does corruption in Russia have anything whatsoever to do with US liberals, or Detroit? Were you even trying to make a point here?
Eric Cartman| 10.21.10 @ 11:14AM
Aren't you a proud Liberal? You seem to want us to emulate Socialist states, right? You obviously back Socialist goals, right? Well, there was no larger experiment in Socialism than Russia. You seem to go on about how, although you really don't like big government, various government programs are the only answer for whatever it is you are blabbering about.
Now comes Detroit: Your types of government programs and meddling and answers to problems that have no correlation (like bussing in Detroit would fix black tests scores) can be traced directly to what Detroit is today - a failed city returning to farmland. A rat hole, if you like.
So, your concern about Russia's numerous problems are funny, since your prescription for America will inevitable lead to the same crap. See? It's a comment on your belief system. Jeez! I really have to explain that? I'm sure the others got it.
Simeon Cana| 10.21.10 @ 11:21AM
Firstly, the 'appeal to silence' is a shabby and childish tactic. I have no idea if 'the others got it' but I rather doubt they did as your post was not only factually wrong but staggeringly irrelevant to the issues at hand.
Secondly, I am in no imaginable way a socialist, or even close. But it does not surprise me that, as soon as you disagree with anything anyone says, you find it easier to throw around psudo-insulting lables rather than actually deal with the facts or issues. Typical of kids playing on their parents computwers behind the mask of internet anonymity.
Thirdly, while I hestate to bother trying to educate you on history or politics, in fact Soviet Russia had very little to do with 'socialism', and everything to do with communism, in particular Stalinist communism. And while the two are related, they are related in the same way capitalism and fascism are related.
Actually, the largest experiment in Socialism (apart from Lenin's NEP, but of course you have never heard of that) was the 'Swedish model' of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Neither of which I like or would advoctae for the US at all. However, I would rather keep my mind open to all solutions, especially solutions PROVEN to work elsewhere in the world, rather than stick my head in the ideological sand and hope I dont have to face reality.
Eric Cartman| 10.21.10 @ 11:37AM
Firstly, you seem to be dissing your own tactic since you seem fond of saying things like "as every sane person . . . blah, blah, blah." So I'm only using your shabby tactic against you. See?
Secondly, numbering your responses like this is what gets college freshmen in trouble when writing their first English Comp paper.
c. Your a Liberal Ahole socialist blowhard who feels (because you aholes never think) that spouting fake statistics makes your arguments better.
IV. Communism is Socialism with a gun with a smelly Russian' finger on the trigger - just because the Swedes like it and other Eurotrash counties have adopted it because they love being hugged by their government, doesn't mean it works here. Go live there, then.
Fifthly, you're a pompous ass who I'm sure thinks you have all the answers to every problem - like all good Liberal Ahole Nazis do.
Simeon Cana| 10.21.10 @ 11:44AM
So in other words, your only answer is a bunch of juvinile schoolyard insults; a desperate deflection in the hopes that nobody will notice you are incapable of actually debating on point or on the issues due to your educational limitations.
Good to know.
The great thing about a profanity-laced infantile diatribe like your cartman, is that I have no need to rebut it to make you look foolish, you did that all by yourself.
You are a disgrace to yourself, your family and your country. I'm so sorry our educational system has failed you so badly.
Eric Cartman| 10.21.10 @ 11:56AM
Firstly, I did attend Detroit Public Schools for a couple of years - so there's that.
Secondly, no one really cares about your bullshit - go peddle it elsewhere.
c. It's always fun bugging pompous asshole like yourself because it always ends up in the same place - idiots cutting and pasting Liberal BS from the Daily Kos web site and finally sputtering insults because your own tactics are turned on you.
IV. You are going to lose in November and your Liberal wet-dream health care is going to be taken apart piece by piece. Enjoy watching it.
Simeon Cana| 10.21.10 @ 1:25PM
Again with the fictional 'appeal to silence' tactic. Obviously people care little boy, obviously you care, considering how much effort you put into your profanity lasted irelevant rants to me. I imagine its your adolescent pride speaking, after all, having been so completely humiliated by your own total ignorance about political reality, you probably felt you had to lash out somehow. Its kindof sad.
Secondly kid, I'm a conservative republican and always have been, as I have stated many times before you even got involved in this litle beat-down. This isnt about left vs right kid, its about right vs wrong, and educated versus completely ignorant.
You are a sick joke here, trolling for attention and trying to hide from your own proven stupidity. I pity your parents.
fsilber| 10.21.10 @ 1:29PM
In the days when we feared communist world conquest, we took it upon ourselves to oppose its spread. However, some Libertarians, even then, believed that we should mind our own business.
All the moreso today. The world's reaction to Bush's invasion of Iraq demonstrates that even our friends do not want the U.S. to exercise international moral leadership.
Roger K| 10.21.10 @ 2:49PM
its a bit of jump to call the us invasion of iraq 'moral leadership' dont ya think?
they followed us when we were displaying moral leadership into afghanistan. they recognised that there was little to no moral leadership in invading iraq, and stayed out.