Posted by Sean on August 22, 2006
Two weeks ago, Suzi Weissman, who has a weekly program called Beneath the Surface on the local Pacifica station (KPFK) here in Los Angeles, interviewed Berkeley historian Yuri Slezkine on his outstanding book, The Jewish Century. I wrote a review of it months ago. You can read it here. I recommend the interview for more insight into this amazing and path breaking work.
Tags: Russia|Soviet Union|culture|history|academia|nationalism
Posted by Sean on August 22, 2006
Yesterday, I wrote about Putin and the task of controlling the regional power. An article in today’s Kommersant gives a picture of one of the methods the Kremlin is using to not only combat political opposition to its rule, but to combat corruption and oppositionists within United Russia itself. However, while this may be the end, the means hark back to both a Soviet past and the timelessness of generational conflict.
The method is a group of youths called Molodaia gvardiia (Young Guard). The name’s Soviet connotations can’t be missed. Molodaia gvardiia was the main journal and publishing house of the Komsomol, not to mention a synonym for its role in the Soviet Union. Its Komsomol roots, however, go much deeper than its namesake. Its task is to not only search for enemies of Putin; it also seeks to root out corruption and intransigent regional ..read more
Posted by Sean on August 22, 2006
Who is Razman Kadyrov? The Times London’s Tom Parfitt provides the answers in his Sunday feature, “The Republic of Fear,” on the 29 year old Chechen Prime Minister and son slain Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. Last spring, Parfitt followed the Moscow puppet for three days in his compound in his hometown of Tsenteroi. His account is intimate and revealing. Here is an excerpt:
Why do people love him, I ask. [Kadyrov] laughs. “Because I’ve got things moving and because I want peace. The only ones against me are those who hate peace.” It’s a nice sentiment. Just one problem: Kadyrov is a thug. His militia, the Kadyrovtsy – now partly absorbed into official security units – have kidnapped, tortured and killed his opponents and their innocent relatives. Although full-scale fighting has ceased, corruption and violence are still rampant.
Kadyrov’s populist touch has won admiration from some ..read more
