Yet Another Anti-Putin Journalist Brutally Beaten
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s party, called “United Russia,” operates a flashy website for the indoctrination of young people under the rubric “Young Guard.” On August 11 the website carried a blog post headlined: “Traitor Journalist should be Punished!”
It described the leading Russian newspaper Kommersant as “an underground den for those who hate Russia, a nest of vipers, centipedes and other disgusting creatures from the world of journalism.” The “traitor journalist” YG was describing was Oleg Kashin, who worked for Kommersant, and is one of the most famous and well-respected scribes in the country. (His Russian language blog is here.)
On November 6, less than three months after YG called for it, Kashin was punished. Reuters reported:
A leading Russian journalist was in a coma on Saturday after two men broke his legs, jaw, and fingers in an attack which his editor said was likely to be linked to his coverage of banned opposition groups.
If you are so inclined, you can watch it happen.
YG’s blog post on Kashin leaves nothing to the imagination. It carries a photograph of Kashin and a second photograph showing masked YG activists attacking a building which has been set on fire. It accuses Kashin of “cold-blooded criminality” in his reporting on, for two examples, the fact that the Kremlin was losing control over the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, where regular protests were flouting its authority, and other opposition rallies across Russia.
The report that enraged YG involved a group of environmental activists who dared to demand that the Kremlin not destroy a beloved local forest while building an interstate highway. That highway is a personal pet project of Putin’s, and it seems he will brook no interference. Soon after Kommersant published the story about the forest, its offices were raided by Putin’s Gestapo seeking Kashin’s computer files.
And there is a history of violent attacks on journalists who dare to report the significant public opposition to the project: two other journalists who wrote prominently about the opposition activities were assaulted with baseball bats, resulting in the amputation of a leg.
The YG blog post about Kashin was blunt: violence towards journalists like Kashin, it stated, was a natural result of Russian patriotism and “being branded and accomplice of bullies is not a sin” when acting on such feelings.
That the post remains proudly displayed on Putin’s website for the young although it has been exposed throughout the Russian blogosphere, that Putin has said nothing to condemn and done nothing to discipline those who act on his behalf — these are the last nails in the coffin for those who claim that Putin has not been directly supportive of violence against the opposition. None of this, for those who know Putin, is surprising.
This can’t be true, Bush saw Putin’s heart! The Russians are our friends and an allies – eta pravda! (To Putin: y-b tvoyu mat.)
Russia has exchanged a communist oligarchy for a fascist oligarchy. They are still an unreliable, volatile, nation that should not be trusted. Although they still have a substantial number of nuclear weapons, their military is only a mere shadow of its former self and is not much of a threat outside of Russia. Their navy is almost non-existent, which means that they cannot project much power and the military forces they do have can barely deal with problems in a place like Chechnya, let alone in places like the Middle East or Asia. In short, they are a dog with a loud bark but with not much of a bite anymore. Let them kill themselves inside of their own country. But I would never trust them with another signed agreement ever again. It would be more than pointless, it would be foolish. We have bigger things to worry about, like Iran getting nuclear weapons. Oh, and by the way, the Russians are helping the Iranians get nuclear weapons. Isn’t that yet another reason not to trust them?
Don’t disagree but would say that it makes little difference what the tyranny is called…. facist or communist. It all boils down to authoritarian tyranny by a few over the manny, resulting in crimes against the world. Those that were controlled and died at the hands of Hitler, or the hands of Stalin were not treated much differently and in the end were dead. Liberty and individual freedom is the answer to quality of life…something the Russians do not understand and regardless of their exposure to it, never will. It may be “a cultural thing” We must find ‘leaders’ who support our fundamental beliefs in individual freedom. Recently we have failed…
Wait until the present administration starts actions against Fox news or other conservative journalists in America.
I predict that at the present rate of liberal hate to the conservatives, we won’t have long to wait.
I understand that human rights violations of this gravity are upsetting.
What I fail to understand is why so many Americans burden themselves with always wanting to correct the problems of other sovereign nations. America is not the police of the world. Let the UN take care of it, or even better, let the Russian people take care of it.
Russia has a population of 142 million. This pool of people is large enough to rise up and remove the government, if they want. Doing always other people’s dirty work is futile. “The man who receives charity will, at the end, always hate his benefactor”
I guess this is another example for Capital Hill to communicate an alternative other than what the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue mutters.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.b9761a6dd74acc50652592c49cffc83e.21&show_article=1 shows where the presumptive incoming House International Affairs Chair is coming from. So, it is up to her and her colleagues, and their staffs to make sure the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is in sync with the House International Affairs Committee.
Because the narrative of the White House being out of touch isn’t only applicable to money.
That should have been House Foreign Affairs Committee, instead of the old label of House International Affairs Committee.
“then relegated it to the bowels of the State Department to be interred in a daily press briefing”
Of course this was not nearly as outrageous as the dastardly act of building houses for Jews in Jerusalem.
“an underground den for those who hate Russia, a nest of vipers, centipedes and other disgusting creatures from the world of journalism.”
Lol sounds like how a lot of conservatives view the NY Times.
Barely twenty years after the complete collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians are back to pissing in our soup in every region of the world. How did State and CIA allow this to happen? Not only did State and CIA fail to predict the collapse, they did nothing to stop the former head of KGB from seizing control in the aftermath.
What do we pay these people for?
Russians are good at painting things as a struggle between extreme good and extreme evil and Kim (obviously Russian) is just as good as Molodaya Gvardia whom she criticizes. I have looked at the blog Kim refers as “Traitor Journalist must be punished.” The translation is wrong in fact the title is in plural and is “Traitors Journalists must be punished” (see http://www.molgvardia.ru/node/19397). Why Kim would make such a mistake?
The blog laments that some journalists interview criminals (in this case perpetrators of chemical attack) and do not collaborate with criminal investigators who is looking for them. The complaint is not unreasonable as such (Reminds me of Reuther interviews Iraqi terrorists and not reporting to Army how they got it. Eventually it led to criminal charges).
More interesting thing: The recent addition on the top of the blog condemns the attack on Kashin in no uncertain words and call to punish the perpetrators. They comment on themselves as follows “Есть цивилизованная политическая борьба, а есть отмороженная уголовщина. Есть художественные образы, а есть жизнь. Призываем всех это понимать.” Translation: There is civilized political struggle and there is dead wrong criminality. There are literally images and there is life. We ask (our readers) to understand it. So it is not as simple as Kim paints it.
The problems with Russians is constant use of strong literally images. “Fascists, poisonous serpents, traitors” is what they use to describe those journalists. “Fascists” is what Kim uses to describe “Molodaya Gvardia” and Putin. And that is complete bull in both cases. It is surprising how easily PJM readers got in this rhetoric and adopted usage of fascist imagery.
The problem with PJM is that it serves exclusively to American radical chauvinist fascist nut-job hatemongers- warmongers- free market fundamentalists who believe that the best thing US can do is to dominate and control the world by attacking nations and then building puppet governments and the best way to deal with countries like Russia is nuclear war. Kim Zeigfild is perfectly fit to feed the imagination of American fascists who read PJM with crazy images they want to consume. …Just kidding…It is a sample description of yourself which is as precise and unbalanced as Kim’s take on Putin’s Russia.
Hey where is Abe Foxman and ADL? Anyone will like to sponsor meeting of PJM, Molodaya Gvardia and ADL to discuss usage of fascist images in political debates?
David Levavi
: How did State and CIA allow this to happen? Not only did State and CIA fail to predict the collapse, they did nothing to stop the former head of KGB from seizing control in the aftermath.
So, it is job of CIA to control who gets elected as President in Russia and perhaps other contries around? LOL. Say it more loudly and you will see America hating chavinists get elected as presidents in every country you care to think about.
No, I cant believe it. Just look at this potz! He think that it is job of CIA to control election in other contries. And that is the way to promote democracy. And after that he thinks that it is unfair that people hates him and the left call him American-fascist-imperialist-dictator-chavinsits-scumbag?
Whenever I read PJM I catch myself thinking that US indeed riched the state of Obamhood and indeed deserved to be rulled by radical socialist president who would destroy it, so that the rest of the world is safe. I push this thought away reminding myself that most Americans care about right things like their own freedom, money and prosperity and do not wish to mess with internal politics of every rat hole of the world. Only a handful of “compassionate conservatives” like Dick Chenney, Bush and redneck PJM readers would love to spend all taxpayers money for controlling politics in foreign nations. Obama is their punishment from God.
Sergey:
“So, it is job of CIA to control who gets elected as President in Russia and perhaps other contries around? LOL.”
Calling me a Potz (Russian-Jewish pronunciation, I guess) Qualifies as an ad hominem attack, I think, Sergey.
Yes, I do think the CIA should be more proactive. The Russians are a servile people unworthy of democracy and they need American guidance.
David,
It was not ad hominem attack but a personal insult, intentional one.
The Russians are a servile people unworthy of democracy and they need American guidance.
What about the black? What about the Jewish? They too need American guidance? According to you, I betcha they need.
Now IMHO, I do think that people like you are worthy of personal insults and worthy of having Obama and Soros trying to ruin their country. If it were for people like you it would be already ruined, long ago. But fortunately, you do not represent US. You are just a potz who feed on PJM scum and do not represent anybody. Obama is just a rod of God to punish us for your abominable ideas. And when we repent and throw scum like you from our ranks, the Lord will throw His rod in the fire.
And just to make it clear, what I hate the most about your attitude: the most abominable, most detestable and most un-American thing about people like you is the amount of tax payers’ money which you would like to spend for social engineering abroad, that is in Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. Should not you outsource such programs to George Soros?
No, David, Americans do not deserve the burden of ruling all the nations and paying for the social engineering abroad. Do you think those whom you offer you guidance will thank you for your guidance? Osama Bin Laden already did in 9/11/2001. Did you get enough? And, as Kim rightly pointed it out: Russian food sucks, people there are boring and life is boring as well, so they, the Russian have nothing to lose if they decide to commit suicide. Do you want to get from them what you got from OBL? Do you want them to nuke you sometime on 9/11/2014? If you plot to fix their election they will like to do it to you just for entertinement.
I normally mock the left who portray US as evil Empire that messes with democracy over the globe. If you care to watch elections in Iraq and Afghanistan you can realized that one has to be a lunatic, completely delusional nut to believe that US can control election results.
But now, I see a nut who believes that it is not only possible, but desirable. The left’s comic vision of US as evil Empire got positive realization in the head of one (or few)right wing maniacs. I can’t believe that I will see it. The maniacs who think that someone out there deserve the unsolicited guidance of American government should prepare their a$$ for kicks from all directions, including (1) from people who do not want unsolicited guidance, (2) from US taxpayers who do not wish to bear cost of providing such unnecessary and utterly expensive guidance. It does not pay well to be a maniac.
I hope that by now I made myself completely clear, so that even a nut like you can see the problems with providing unsolicited guidance.
Who knew? They tore down the Berlin wall for nothing, huh?
I guess I am a traitor cuz I wish the JournOlist folks would get the crap kicked out of them. Color me red.