I haven’t given an update on the investigation of Anna Politkovskaya’s murder in a while. The problem is that there have been few new developments. Given the Russian authorities track record in solving journalists’ deaths, we shouldn’t hold our breath. Nor should we be so quick to substitute dramatic fantasy for truth. For example, Kommersant is reporting that the head of the Movement for Human Rights Lev Ponomarev received a letter implying that “Movladi Baisarov’s Highlander special division, FSB agents and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov were involved in her killing.”
Ponomarev told Kommersant that the letter was received at the electronic address of his organization, and he forwarded it to Novaya gazeta and other media outlets. The letter is allegedly written by former members of the Highlander division – Timur from the village of Kirov, Aslambek from the Lenin state farm, Imran Kurkaev, Adam “the Dentist” and Roman Karnukaev from Samashek. They say that Kadyrov suspected Baisarov’s brother, who was assassinated, of being involved in the killing of his father, president of Chechnya Akhmat Kadyrov. Therefore, Ramzan Kadyrov distanced himself from Baisarov, although some of his fighters defected to Kadyrov. They committed Politkovskaya’s murder, the letter says, after being shown her apartment building by an FSB officer named Dranets. After they returned to Chechnya, they were killed as well, and their bodies burned. After that, Basiarov, who knew about the operation, was killed.
And the Apollo moon landing was shot on a CBS back lot. As if Politkovskaya’s apartment was a secret! It’s not like she lived in the Batcave. I don’t think even soap operas have more dramatic plotlines. Unsurprisingly, there are some quick to slurp up the letter’s veracity. As for the people who actually knew and worked with Politkovskaya, they were far from hoodwinked. Kommersant adds,
Journalists at Novaya gazeta did not consider the letter news. “Other members of the staff and I received similar letters several times,” said the newspaper’s military reviewer Vyacheslav Izmailov. “Their authors have accused Baisarov, Kadyrov and even Boris Berezovsky. I am familiar with the text of the letter received by Lev Ponomarev. In my opinion that information has nothing to do with the truth.” The text of the letter can be found at the Chechen separatist website kavkaz.tv. The press service of the president of Chechnya called the letter “nonsense” and refused to comment further.
Now I don’t doubt Kadyrov’s involvement but I would actually like to see some evidence first. Because if he is behind her murder, some pretty indefatigable proof will be required to nab that gangster.
All that said, I’m looking forward to reading Politkovskaya’s posthumous A Russian Diary A Journalist’s Final Account of a Country Moving Backward when it is published late May.
Dear Sean,
It’s really kind of sad, and certainly pathetic, that you’re puny little excuse for a “brain” can’t grasp what any thinking person can easily see, namely that if Novaya Gazeta knew it all on Anna, she’d still be alive (or at least her killers would be in jail) — and that if you did, you wouldn’t be so obscure. Your arrogance and self-delusion (to say nothing of your jealous) is quite horrifyingly palpable, and the hypocrisy in your prior claim to favor open discussion of various views revolting. Even more sad, though, is the possiblity that you thought you could sucker me into posting something about you as free advertisement. Instead, I’ll place it here (where virtually nobody will see it).
By the way, I demand an apology for your mendacious lie that I said anything supporting the veracity of the RFE report. I merely reported its existence and let my readers draw their own conclusions. You, by contrast, wrote a totally one-sided dismissal of the story, hypocritically doing exactly what you (falsely) accused me of doing.
You clearly wish to have a bigger audience, yet you continue doing exactly the opposite of what would make that possible. You pursue a course eerily similar to that chosen by Russia itself.
Love and Kisses
Kim Zigfeld
*****************
SEAN GUILLORY: MENDACIOUS LIAR
Yesteday, La Russophobe reported that Radio Free Europe had carried a news item on the existence of charges coming out of Chechnya that a Chechen hit squad, working with FSB assistance, had committed the murder of hero journalist Anna Politikovskaya.
No sooner had she done so than that wacko Sean Guillory crudely accused her of “slurping up the veracity” of the report. Sean pointed to an anonymous report in Kommersant (though he didn’t link to it) which stated:
Journalists at Novaya gazeta did not consider the letter news. “Other members of the staff and I received similar letters several times,” said the newspaper’s military reviewer Vyacheslav Izmailov. “Their authors have accused Baisarov, Kadyrov and even Boris Berezovsky. I am familiar with the text of the letter received by Lev Ponomarev. In my opinion that information has nothing to do with the truth.” The text of the letter can be found at the Chechen separatist website kavkaz.tv. The press service of the president of Chechnya [Ramzan Kadyrov] called the letter “nonsense” and refused to comment further.
Note that although the Kommersant statement makes reference to “journalists” from Novaya Gazeta, it only quotes one, and he says “my opinion” not “our opinion.” You should, because Sean didn’t. He also failed to mention that Kommersant has been taken over by a Kremlin-friendly oligarch. Apparently, Sean doesn’t read his own blog. But after all, even if he doesn’t (it’s clearly a wise move), wouldn’t it have been better to quote Novaya Gazeta on what they think, rather than Kommersant? It’s no secret that Novaya Gazeta believes Politkovskaya was either killed by Kadyrov or someone who wanted to make him look bad. It’s also no secret that the paper has failed to identify her killer (despite posting a million-dollar reward) and that Politkovskaya publicly complained about NG editor Dimitry Muratov failing to do enough to challenge the Kremlin on Chechnya. So what NG thinks about the killing isn’t the last word in any case (except in the world of a crypto-Stalinist like Sean, who while claiming to favor an broad exchange of views and ideas imperiously condemns those that don’t jibe with his personal biases).
Note, most importantly, that there is not one single word in LR’s post even discussing, much less supporting, the veracity of the RFE report. All LR did was to bring it to readers’ attention and say that it was “horrifying” prospect. It is, quite simply, one of Sean’s predicably mendacious lies to suggest that LR expressed the opinion that the article was to be believed. All she did was say that it existed. Guess what kind of person engages in these kind of sordid tactics?
Sean claims that, according to the allegations, the FSB showed the Chechen hit squad where Politkovskaya lived. Based on this, he concludes that the report is not to be believed since, according to him, everyone knew exactly where Politkovskaya lived. He cites not one shred of evidence that her address was common knowledge, nor does he cite any evidence that the allegations limit the FSB’s involvement to locating the apartment. Not exactly scholarship, is it?
Why would Sean act this way? Various possibilities exist.
Could it be, perhaps, that LR’s recent status report on the Russia blogosphere revealed that Alexa ranked Sean’s blog as having the second-lowest level of traffic for all Russia blogs with cognizable traffic data, while LR had one of the highest levels? Could it be related to the fact that, since then, LR’s Alexa ranking has increased from 1,397,769 to 1,042,706 while Sean’s ranking has dropped off the measurable scale from it’s prior position at 4,234,450? Sean’s blog has existed since October 2004, 2.5 times longer then LR, yet LR has generated more than twice as much traffic. Does Sean feel the need to tell such ridiculous lies about this blog in a cheap, shoddy attempt to drum up publicity for his sorry little exercise in futility?
Could be.
Or it might be that Sean was simply smoking some extra special wacky weed when he wrote his post. One indication such is that that while Sean quotes Kommersant as stating the press service of the president of Chechnya [Ramzan Kadyrov] called the letter ‘nonsense’ and refused to comment further” he then goes on to state “I don’t doubt Kadyrov’s involvement.” In other words, Sean believes Kadyrov may have been involved in the murder, and Kadyrov has condemned the RFE report, and so does Sean. Not exactly high-level “thinking,” is it?
Or maybe it’s just simple (and frustrated) ego mania. One can’t help but get the impression from Sean’s post that he, THE MIGHTY SEAN GUILLORY, is the one with “real” insights about who killed Politkovskaya, and every other fact of importance where Russia is concerned, so the world should simply listen to him and have the illumination revealed. Given that, it must be quite frustrating for little Sean that nobody actually does so — and that so far he’s been unable to bring those killers to justice. He probably believes that all Super Sean needs is a bit more time.
Or maybe Sean is simply a dishonest propagandist.
Or maybe he’s just a moron. He may have thought his post would get LR to link to his blog and hence generate publicity for him. However, she’s done that several times before and the wise public continues to ignore him. An intelligent person might see a strategy of winning this blog’s respect as being a better pathway to generating a bigger readership.
You be the judge.
You have yet to answer the main question — exactly how enormous IS your ass?
I must say that of all the “mendacious liars” operating in the Russia-related blogosphere, Sean is my favorite. Keep up the good work.
May I also take the opportunity to thank Kim Zigfeld for again making me laugh with the phrase “mendacious liar.”
[Kim: FYI: mendacious is a synonym for dishonest and a liar is someone who is prone to not tell the truth. May I add that you are an "insane lunatic"?]
LR: Damn! You got me. My link to you was all part of a nefarious plot to increase my miserable ranking! Foiled again! But we shall meet again . . . I assure you (insert evil laugh).
Not only are you an insane lunatic, you are an egotistical narcissist.
Smoochie smoochie,
Sean
Your beloved wacko mendacious liar propagandist
Sean,
I trust you will remember from the original ‘Highlander’ that The Kurgan (the villain) was (cough)…Russian…
Here we are!
Born to be Kings!
We’re the Princes of the Universe!
When I first found out you were a Marxist, I was crestfallen because you seemed like such a nice guy. I decided though, that since you were such a nice guy, I would continue to peruse your site to help you out with your low traffic.
However, now that I find you have been trying to trick Kim into giving you a link to your blog, and as such getting free, unearned traffic (just like something a Marxist would do, I suppose), I must bid you good day sir!!!
Thank goodness there is someone like La Russophobe to keep track of all the dishonesty which abounds in the English language Russo-blogosphere. God bless him…or her.
It just goes to show that we commies are always trying to somethin’ for nothin’. But now that LR has exposed my communist plot, what is a poor, low ranked commie like me to do to boost his sorry traffic? But alas, I should have know better. As Comrade Lenin said, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.”
To get back to the lecture at hand (a phrase which originates here, as far as I know, and just seemed right), Jamestown’s Chechnya Weekly also wrote about the letter dismissively today. And while I respect their reporting, they would probably be the first ones to “slurp up” anything that makes Kadyrov look bad if it had any credibility.
And to get back off-topic, I prefer Vysotsky’s take on that old Lenin chestnut:
“????? ????, ??? ?? – ?????,
??? ???????? ????? ??????:
??? – ??? ?? ???, ??? ? ?? ????,-
? ?????, ??????.
??? ????? ?????????? ? ????,
?? ??? ????? ? ????????? ????:
‘??? ?? ???????? – ?? ???,-
?? ??????, ????!’”
Anyway, Sean’s real tactic is clearly to enrage Kim so much that she spends all her time writing lengthy comments replete with irate invective and has no time left to combat the neo-Soviet Union.
Sean wrote: As Comrade Lenin said, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.”
After WW II many compassionate Americans sent CARE packages to Europe, feeding the poor and hungry. May I now return the kindness and send some relief to “Sean the starving Marxist” ? Sean, what do you need the most ? Bread, butter, milk ?
Sean wrote: But now that LR has exposed my communist plot, what is a poor, low ranked commie like me to do to boost his sorry traffic? .
Simply continue your good work ?
Bread, butter, milk? No way. Send over some of that great German beer! LA is a horrible beer town.
Beer bottles are pressurized, no way to send them via airmail. Sea transport takes way to long and then there are all those thirsty sailors and seamen. I am afraid I will have to send milk instead
But …. you can still come here to visit me.