Russia Admits Mujahideen Remain Strong in Caucasus

8/14/2019 Russia Admits Mujahideen Remain Strong in Caucasus

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''Gang kills seven in Russian sauna''

Publication time: 16 August 2009, 23:29

"Russian police are hunting gunmen whokilled seven women at a sauna and fourpolicemen at a checkpoint in the troubledsouthern region of Dagestan. In Thursday'sattack ... at least 15 gunmen opened fire on

a traffic police checkpoint on the edge ofBuynaksk. ... They went on to attack asauna at a nearby health complex, killingseven women workers there." This reportwas published by BBC News.

According to the New York Times, "more than 20 people were killed in violent clashes inRussia's North Caucasus region in the last two days, including a mysterious attack onseven women in a sauna, underscoring the Kremlin's continued struggles to bring thevolatile area under control."

It seems apparent, that two of the most respected international news media "don't

get it" once again regarding reporting from North Caucasus.

Well, let's start from the sauna. Generally in Russia and especially in Caucasus, a sauna isnot "a building equipped for a Finnish-style hot steam bath", as an English dictionary mayinform us.

A sauna in Caucasus is the place where the world's oldest profession is practised. Don'tmince words - it is a whorehouse, a brothel.

Further on, the Dagestani "police", the so-called law enforcement agency, is a bottomlessswamp of violence, terror and corruption. The militia on Nevsky Prospect, which frequentlyrob money from tourists, are harmless Sunday-school pupils in comparison with their brute

North Caucasian colleges.In Buynaksk, the mentioned sauna is situated less than 200 meters from the slain militia'spolice station. Without doubts, we may assume that this militia offered the whorehouse the"roof" for a percentage of the women's income. Maybe we should call them pimps? Well,they were shot only some dozen of meters from the "sauna" - if they were being on thespot for collecting of commissions or getting "treatment" we can leave unsaid.

This basic knowledge tells us, that the "militant gang" were out for killing some criminals inuniform, as well as their clients or subordinates, those "women working in the healthcomplex".

The attack is "mysterious" only for an observer physically located on the other side of an

ocean, or mentally even more distant from reality in their relying on Russian news sourcesin Caucasus reporting.

For an observant reporter, this militant action towards police and sauna workers (i.e.criminals and whores), didn't appear as a surprise. The mouthpiece of the NorthCaucasian resistance, the news agency and web portal Kavkaz-Center, published alreadyin beginning of August a "Message to the pimps and owners of saunas", a warning letterfrom an action group of Moslems in Shamilkala (Machachkala) to those engaged inwhorehouse business.

The militia, which truthfully may only be described as an organized crime organization, haslikewise been under fire from the fighters. This attack killed two birds with one stone, so to

speak.

For a person living in a civilized society, such acts of violence look quite undue andinappropriate. The problem is, however, that North Caucasus isn't a place of civilized life.It's a domicile of state terrorism, committed by an obsolete form of colonialism rule.
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Before the Russian army entered the mountainous area some 400 years ago, NorthCaucasus had quite a peaceful life and history, especially compared with nearby Europe.In the beginning, the social order was maintained by blood feud and an unwritten code ofconduct - the Adat in Chechnya, Aqeabz in Abkhazia and Khaabdze among Circassians.Later on, the unwritten code was replaced or completed by Shariah Law and Islamicmorale. Entering from the North, the occupiers brought with them a baggage of brutality,ruthlessness, genocides, corruption, immorality and indifference for the rule of law.

The root of the present turmoil in North Caucasus is to be found in these "gifts" of theRussians to the indigenous peoples of North Caucasus. People don't want to live as

subordinates to a foreign power, which unfortunately is offering no decent order and norule of law. This state of the nation force people to the ultimate step of taking up arms, inorder to grant themselves and future generations a better life.

Analyzing the attack of the headline, the chief editor of the Dagestani newspaper"Chernovik" (, Draft) finds the reason for this situation in the corruption inDagestan. According to Nadir Isayeva, when people can't change the situation within thepresent legal order, they start to act as part of an alternative legal framework - the ShariahLaw, she told to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

"It is when ordinary people as well as representatives of the Spiritual Administration ofDagestan are raising questions and are calling authorities to address the issue of

prostitution, which has widely spread under the disguise of saunas (this has been a bigtopic in public's discussion in 2005) and authorities fail to produce any solutions, that analternative dimension appears with its own laws in place", told Isayeva.

"According to the canons of the current legislation these attackers are outside of the legalframework. They believe themselves to be living in accordance with the laws of Islam andShariah. That is exactly why they are being called "illegal armed groups"."

"These people exist in an alternative legal framework, in which there is such a term ascriminal sentencing", says Isayeva.

Isayeva believes that what is happening in Dagestan does not fit into the official version of

events."There is a need to acknowledge that there is a parallel perception of the world, to find thereason for its existence. Otherwise, if one is going simply to call the situation using somewords which do not explain anything, like "banditry" or "looting", then the situation is boundto repeat", believes chief editor of the "Chernovik".

A commentary of Nadir Isayeva on the radio station "Echo Moscow" states that the saunaincident is not to be compared with banditry, but has to do with the struggle of localpopulation for morality, and the fighters regard themselves to be performing legal actions.Additionally, she said that "people basically support these actions of militants". Herstatement has caused an outcry in Dagestan.

Recall also that a "Chernovik" is the subject ofprosecution in Dagestan with charges ofextremism, i.e. the normal accusation against those who express opinions other than theofficial truth.

During the first 6 months this year, more than 30 policemen and military personnel havebeen killed in Dagestan. The unrest, which earlier occurred mainly in the mountainousareas nearby Chechnya, have during last years spread all over Dagestan.

Mikael StorsjHelsinki, FinlandFor Kavkaz Center

Photo capture:The Buynaksk "health complex".

Kommersant 15.8.2009

Photo: Bashir Aliyev / NEWSTEAM
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U.S. military trainers arrive in Georgia to help train Georgian troops


A group of US Marines will arrive in Georgia to help train its troops for a missionalongside coalition forces in Afghanistan, the US Embassy said Friday.

The move is likely to vex neighboring Russia, which has strongly spoken out against USmilitary assistance to Georgia.

The US Embassy said in a statement that the training will focus on skills necessary for thetroops to operate in Afghanistan. It said that a Georgian battalion is set to deploy toAfghanistan next spring.

The Embassy described Georgia's offer to send troops to Afghanistan as "a vitalcontribution to the mission of bringing stability and security to Afghanistan."

The training program will start Sept. 1 and no weapons will be provided to the Georgiansas part of the training, it said.

The Embassy didn't say how many US Marines will arrive in Georgia, but Georgia'sDeputy Defense Ministry Gela Berdzenishvili put their number at 85.

Berdzenishvili told reporters Friday that the first group of about 170 Georgian servicemenwill be sent to Afghanistan in November. More will be deployed later following a tour oftraining in France.

The United States helped train Georgian troops for their mission in Iraq before lastAugust's war between Russia and Georgia.

KavkazCenter


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Scandal: Zakayev's pro-Israel lobby!


Chechnya Peace Forum, which arrangedthe "negotiations" with Kadyrov'srepresentatives in Norway, defines itselfas a London-based human rights NGO.Investigations show this perception tobe quite modified truth.

Chechnya Peace Forum is not anorganization - it is just a media project,established by a media and lobbying

agency in the United Kingdom, Champollion Communications Consultancy. According toSpinProfiles, Champollion is placed in the category "Lobbying firms: Israel lobby".Champollion do promote many Jewish and pro-Israel media outlets, but the company hasalso handled Berezosky's media manipulating efforts, for example "InternationalFoundation for Civil Liberties" (IFCL).

According to Chompallion's web site, "we established the Chechnya Peace Forum inLondon to act as a focal point of global campaigning activity", and "we are honoured to beplaying a key part in the effort to establish peace, reconciliation and human rights in one ofthe most barbaric and victimized parts of the world". This phraseology is put into action bysupporting Kadyrov's rule in Chechnya, which sounds quite weird in real world butprobably is innovative in media business.

Chechnya Peace Forum has its official office in the premises of Champollion, and the"organization" is in fact a private limited company, consisting just of Ivar Amundsen and hispoor wife. All the activities, such as arranging venue and media campaign for Zakayev's

negotiations with Kadyrov's lackeyAbdurakhmanov, is handled by the staff ofChampollion. Chechnya Peace Forum itselfhas been listed as being a part of theneoconservative propaganda network in Europe. Part of this network "have sought topromote their anti-Muslim 'Eurabia' discourse, through alliances with the European far-right", according to Neocon Europe.

Well, what is then Champollion doing for Zakayev? Let's have a look at their web site:

- "We offer our clients trusted strategic advice, with a strong focus on understanding

and refining their message". The strategic advice seems to be luring Zakayev intoKadyrov's camp. The refined message implies recognition of Kadyrov's rule as legitimate,as Russia stands behind him and Russia is so big (sic)! The Baltic countries and Finlandprobably didn't ever understand how big is Russia, but they are all free and independenttoday.

- "We know how to establish, run and manage campaigns - and have a first-ratetrack-record of media delivery and successfully lobbying decision-takers". Is Kadyrovlobbed, or is it all just about manipulating Western media to believe that evil can be foughtby joining the evil? Poor Natasha Estemirova, she erroneously believed that wickednesscan be opposed only by truth. By advices of Champollion and Amundsen, she would havejoined Kadyrov and still be living in prosperity, with nothing else to fear but the Judgement

Day.

- "Handling all areas of a media operation: generating news ....". Generating news,does it imply creating news, such that Zakayev stopped the armed resistance to Russianarmy and it's puppets, beginning on August 1st?
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Using a high-profile media consultant is an expensive adventure. As the "euroichkeriangovernment" of Zakayev has no cadres, no staff, hardly no supporters and no workingorganization - he has been compelled to hire outside consultants to do the job. Rumourstell that Berezovsky has abandoned Zakayev - his diminishing importance makes it difficultto get a proper "return on investment" on the subsidiaries.

Zakayev was lucky to find another business man, helping him with expensive flat and costof children in English private schools together with youngsters of London's Russianoligarch colony. Ivar Amundsen came in handy, but there are costs involved in havingdepraved friends.

Ivar Amundsen has publicly been advocating for "Chechen traditions of culture andreligion". This means propagating for a "secular and democratic society", and accusing allChechens believing in Sharia Law for "fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism". Somebasic knowledge of Chechen history would made him understand that he herebydissociates himself from such Chechen leaders as Dudayev, Yandarbiyev, Maskhadov,Sadulaev and Umarov, just to mention all the leaders of Ichkeria. But in manipulatedmedia, he and Champallion give Zakayev the epithet "Maskhadov continuationgovernment".

Apparently, Amundsen does not know that Maskhadov imposed full Sharia rule inChechnya in February 1999, in November he proclaimed a state based on Sharia, with all

laws confirming to the Koran and Sharia? And the "secular democrat" Zakayev - he was, inFebruary 1999 by president Maskhadov, appointed chairman of the "State Commission onthe Development of a Sharia Constitution"!

Well, a talented actor can change his role according to place and audience. Today acredible Hamlet, tomorrow a convincing Caligula; yesterday promoting Islam, today beinga secular democrat, and tomorrow (without any doubts) supporting Kadyrov's "traditionalIslamic values". Unfortunately, for a politician such behaviour is called flip-flopping orsimply opportunism.

Amundsen's private business has raised serious doubts about how deeply he understandsthe values Chechens stand for. His has credentials as the major Norwegian bootlegger, i.e.business owner and chairman of the 'The Association of Norwegian Wine and SpiritSuppliers'. This organization sells 70 % of all alcohol in Norway. Among other things,Amundsen has been propagating for reduced alcohol taxes and an increase of Norwegianalcohol consumption from 9 liters to 10-12 liters pro person, as in France and Germany.When Human Rights activist speak about European values, they normally have othermeasures in their mind. Amundsen's motivation is probably businesslike - maybe theperson who stopped the war of Russia against Checnya 1st of August, maybe he also haspower to grant his friend monopoly of alcohol business in Chechnya? Chechens believingin Islam don't drink, but in Amundsen's and Zakayev's view of their future, there will alwaysbe enough Russians around.

Anyway, it's apparent that Amundsen has already become a ballast for Zakayev in the viewof all true Chechens, and it's likely that he will be washed overboard as soon as Zakayev'sFaustian bargain with Kadyrov has been closed. "Chechens shall not kill Chechens" is agood slogan created by Champillion, but who believes the "negotiations" are aboutstopping kadyrovtsy from killing and terrorising Chechen civilians?

No, the negotiations are about house and car - Mucuraev got as a present a house inDjokhar and a a jeep BMW X-5. Zakayev is the euroichkerian leader, possessing thephone number to both Amundsen and Saralyapov, he deserves a bigger house and abetter car!

Picture caption: The Janus face of Amundsen - a bootlegger promoting his business.

Source Verdens Gang, Norway.

Mikael Storsj,Helsinki, SchmelsinkiFinlandFor Kavkaz Center
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Trepashkin: FSB murder unit still in workPublication time: 2 June 2009, 11:19

Mikhail Trepashkin, a Moscow-basedjournalist and former FSB colonel, tells in aninterview in the Finnish newspaper HelsinginSanomat that the FSB unit specialized inassassinations is still working. Trepashkin'scolleague Aleksandr Litvinenko, who was

poisoned in London in 2006, has revealedthat he was employed by this special unit.

"This unit still exists, and the same peopleare still working there", Trepashkin told the newspaper.

In a book published together with Juri Felshtinsky, Litvinenko told that he had been amember of this secret assassination unit. The unit belonged to URPO, the Directorate ofAnalysis and Suppression of Criminal Organizations, which is a secret organization aswell. The Directorate was said to be abolished after the revelations of Litvinenko andTrepashkin.

Trepashkin was jailed 2003-2007 due to illegal possession of a handgun and later also forrevelation of state secrecies. Many human rights organizations appealed at that time forTrepashkin. Allegedly, one reason for the detention of Trepashkin was his investigations inthe Moscow Bombings in 1999, which seem to have been orchestrated by FSB itself inorder to establish Casus Belli, a reason to start a war.

Litvinenko was poisoned in London by radioactive polonium. In their investigations,Scotland Yard wanted to interview Trepashkin but the request was denied by Russianauthorities. The main suspect of the murder, Andrey Lugovoy, also refused interrogations.Lugovoy is nowadays a member of the State Duma of Russia. The Duma has also anothermember with an internatonal warrant for murder, Adam Demilkhanov, who is suspect of the

murder of Sulim Yamadaev in March 2009..According to Trepashkin, the assassination unit existed already in 1996. Trepashkin alsotells that the unit reports directly to the Chief of FSB. Vladimir Putin was Chief of FSBbefore Yeltsin appointed him his successor as President of the Russian Federation.

According to a law enforced in 2006, Russia may commit "counter-terrorist actions" alsoabroad. Predominantly, this stands for a licence to kill people in opposition to the presentrulers of the Kremlin.

"Members of this unit have been visiting Boston, in order to find out Felshtinsky's dwellingplace and his movements", Trepashkin tells. About his own security he says that he "is asafraid as anybody else".

Trepashkin took part in a seminar organized by Finrosforum, the Finnish-Russian CivicForum. The annual seminar discussed this year political prisoners in Russia, the situationof ethnic and religious minorities and issues connected to the colonization of NorthCaucasus. Among the speakers were Fatima Tlisova, who gave a speech about theCircassian Genocide, and Islam Tumsoev who spoke about the North Caucasian struggleagainst the invaders during last centuries and still today.

Mikael Storsj

Helsinki

KC
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Democracy a la Caucasus

Publication time: 27 December 2007, 17:27

The frauds in the Russian parliamentaryelections December 2 were more obviousthan ever before. Garry Kasparov made astatement that these elections were the"dirtiest" in the nation's history, and he

added "The fact is, they're not just riggingthe vote. They're raping the democraticsystem". The pre-election harassments ofthe opposition and the complete governanceof Kremlin in the media were not enough tosecure the victory in figures big enough for

those in power.

The allegations include a disproportionate share of absentee ballots used in polling places,voting numerous times by visiting different polling stations, ballot stuffing and machinationsinvolving electronic ballot counting machines, campaigning at polling centers, voter bribery,and ballots in the ballot box before voting began. Not surprisingly, the Organization for

Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly and other Europeanorganizations stated that the elections were not fair'.

The opposition has filed a big number of complaints to the Central Election Commission,using evidence such as video recording of a local electoral commission voting on behalf ofsoldiers in the election zone No 730 in Moscow.

Nevertheless, the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, toldRussian television he knew of "no serious violations in the course of polling day". AndPutin thanked the Commission for the "highly professional work" done during thecampaign season of the State Duma elections.

Absurdity in Caucasus

According to a proverb, there are differences in degree also in the hell. In these elections,the real face of Russian "democracy" is shown in Caucasus. Here the lackeys are soeager to please their Kremlin masters, that the puppets' actions are like a Christmaspresent to those being critical to the Russian Potemkin village of democracy.

In Chechnya, an outlandish 99.2 % voter turnout was registered, and 99, 4 % of Chechenvotes went to Putin's ruling party United Russia! Kadyrov stated that "this is an answer tothe question of confidence in us", not noting how absurd and totally ludicrous the resultsare for the legitimacy of the Russian parliament. Apparently, the Mujahideen came down

from the mountains in order to vote for Putin? According to independent observers, thereal voting turnout in Chechnya was some 15-20 %, and mostly just state workers weretaking part, as reported by Chechnya Weekly.

The rest of Caucasus was not left very far behind Chechnya. The official turnout numberswere similarly "impressive" - 98 % in Ingushetia, 97 % in Kabardino-Balkaria and 94 % inKarachaevo-Cherkessia and 92 % in Dagestan.

Ingushetiya.ru reveals the fraud

The proprietor Magomed Yevloev of the Ingushetiya.ru website announced that only 6-8 %

of Ingushetia's eligible voters turned out for elections. The Ingush puppet president MuratZyazikov replied in an interview in Kommersant, that such accusations are "nonsense,"adding that the turnout was "massive".

However, ingushetiya.ru didn't leave the contradictory views just to the level of a war ofwords. The web site started a campaign of collecting testimonies by Ingush people under
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the motto "I didn't vote".

The participants file complaints to the Attorney-general of Ingushetia, stating:

I have not participated in the elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly ofRussian Federation, on December 2, 2007. Now it has become known, that someone atthe polling station with my disapproval has got a ballot paper and used it for voting, whichconstitutes a flagrant violation of my constitutional rights and election laws.

I ask you to conduct an investigation upon this fact and to take steps to bring those guiltyof the falsification to the responsibility provided by law

The statement is signed and includes the passport number of the complainant.

There are 163.000 people entitled to vote in Ingushetia. Officially 98 % of these voted.However - by December 23 ingushetiya.ru had got 57 898 complaints, which is 36 % of allvoters in Ingushetia! And the campaign is still continuing.

Musa Evloev, the chairman of the Ingush election commission calls this campaign "realstupidity and nonsense" and advice the protesters "it is better to go and get prepared forthe New Year".

If there won't be established any proper investigation about the fraud, the complainantsplan to bring this issue to the European Court of Human Rights. If this is legally possible,we might face a very interesting situation within a few years - an ECHR verdict outlawingthe Duma elections, and demanding the Russian government to pay compensation to thecomplainants.

President Zyazikov and his puppet government has had strained relations toingushetiya.ru already for some time. Zyazikov has made several unsuccessful attempts toeliminate the web site, using charges such as "incitement of racial hatred" etc. The directorand owner of the site,Magomed Yevloyev, has also accused Murat Zyazikov for attemptedmurder:

"I knew that Zyazikov would go to any lengths to close the site. The fact alone that heordered my assassination says a lot. I am telling Murat Zyazikov that the sum of US ,000paid for my assassination was voluntarily handed over to me by the would-be killer, and ithas been used for the good of the people of Ingushetiya - with it were bought some of thecomputers as part of the charitable programme People's Computer'."

Mikael Storsjo

Helsinki, Finland

Kavkaz Center
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Rewriting history in Russia

Publication time: 26 December 2007, 12:17

Rewriting history in order to fit presentneeds is a temptation few authoritarianregimes seem to be able to resist.Another inevitable consequence ofauthoritarian exercise of power is thenecessity of indoctrinating thepopulation and especially unresistingyouth.

Thus, what we can expect in Putin's Russiais a new history book for schools. In August, a history handbook for teachers titled "AModern History of Russia: 1945-2006 was presented at a conference for high schoolteachers where president Vladimir V. Putin spoke.

"History of Russia. 1945-2007"

Now these plans have matured into further action, despite criticism from both domesticscholars and foreign observers. On Wednesday, December 26th, the Ministry of Educationand Science will consider and adopt a new list of textbooks for teaching in schools nextschool year. Among them is the "History of Russia. 1945-2007 ". This textbook is set upfollowing the history handbook mentioned above. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta25.12.2007 the new textbook is a shortly abridged version of the handbook, supplementedwith teaching about the infamous "sovereign democracy". All events during last eight yearsare interpreted from the perspective of official propaganda.

Some examples: The abolition of direct elections of governors is justified by "lack ofeffective executive power in crisis situations", demonstrated the school seizure in Beslan.In the Yukos affair, the authors believe, "oligarchs finally buried hopes to preserve itscontrol of the Russian state". Further, "in 2004, after the Yukos case the federal incometaxes and charges, compared to 2003, increased immediately 133.8%".

Nothing is mentioned about the sad truth that FSB killed almost all the victims in Beslan(as well as in Dubrovka). Nothing about how manifold the number of oligarchs hasincreased, and that the fortune of the new Russian billionaires has grown several 100times during the Putin regime. Also, the impact of the rising oil price is convenientlyforgotten, as well as the well-grounded conclusion that the authoritarian economy hasdestroyed a considerable part of the revenues of petrodollars. (Foreign Affairs: The Myth of

the Authoritarian Model). And you might also question, how effective the executive powerin Ingushetia has been since Murat Zyazikov was appointed president of the republic (well,this FSB general was appointed through a fraudulent election before the "reform" whichmade such farces unnecessary).

About the "sovereign democracy" the textbook authors argue: "Most of today's countriesdeliberately delegated part of its sovereignty to international structures, or other states,having received security assurances in return and economic benefits." And just a fewpages later is an example of such a state: "After the overthrow of Shevardnadze in late2003, and Saakashvili's victory in the presidential elections in early 2004, Georgia hasbecome a country totally dependent on the United States."

Stalin portrayed as hero

Other pearls of the new Russian history writing are found in an article in the FinnishnewspaperHelsingin Sanomat describing the new handbook. The article is presented herein a moderated version, with some quotations from the article "Yes, a Lot of People Died,
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but ..." in New York Times 12.8.2007.

According to the new handbook, the administration of Stalin had many of thecharacteristics of the traditional despotism of the days of Ivan the Terrible and Peter theGreat. Stalin's administration also "solved the problems of the modernisation of the statethrough the concentration of power and repression".

The handbook portrays Stalin not as an extraordinary monster, but as a strong ruler in along line of autocrats going back to the czars.

Thus, just like Chancellor Bismarck who united German lands into a single state by "iron

and blood," Stalin was reinforcing his state by cruelty and mercilessness. Strengtheningthe state, including its industrial and defensive might, he considered one of the mainprinciples of his policy. According to the handbook, indirect evidence of this can be foundin the memoirs of his daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva. Every time he looked at her dress healways asked the same question, making a wry mouth: "Is this foreign-made?" and alwayscracked a smile when I answered, No, it was made here, locally."

Thus, Stalin followed Peter the Great's logic: demand the impossible from the people inorder to get the maximum possible. ... Consequently, the result of Stalin's purges was anew class of managers capable of solving the task of modernization in conditions ofshortages of resources, loyal to the supreme power and immaculate from the point of view

of executive discipline....Once a modern industrial foundation was achieved in this way, "the character of Sovietsociety began to change, and the result of this development was the acceptance of thedemocratic values characteristic of developed states".

Stalin is described as the "most successful" of the Soviet leaders, and his severemeasures are understood as a way to turn Russia into a great power.

There is a chapter on Stalin's terror in the history textbook, which focuses on the periodbetween 1935 and 1937. The book mentions 800,000 executions and 18 million who werelocked up in camps, but it does not give the total sum of the victims of the terror whichcontinued until the 1950s.

The book sees the forced collectivisation of agriculture as an unavoidable step toward anindustrialised state. The destruction of the "kulaks", and the Ukrainian famine and itsmillion victims are not mentioned at all.

Concerning the year 1940 the book notes that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania "joined theSoviet Union", (voshli v sostav). In this connection it is not mentioned that the Red Armyoccupied the Baltic countries, that their leaders were imprisoned, and that the occupierorganized "elections".

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 is mentioned in the book without legal or historicalassessments. On the contrary, the policies of the Western powers are seen to be partly to

blame for the events, and "many experts" are said to be of the opinion that "the SovietUnion had no option but to agree to a pact with Hitler". By doing so Stalin managed toimprove the country's security.

Finland rejected proposals by Soviet diplomats to move the border for the sake of thesecurity of Leningrad. The Soviet Union would only have taken "the prosperous area ofVyborg in return for another area twice as big in Kostamuksha".

The handbook does not forget to put forward the false flag operation in Mainila, which wasrefused by Russian historians already in the 1990s. According to the handbook, the SovietUnion began the war against Finland on the pretext that the Finnish side had opened fire.Anyway, the writers concede the patriotic fighting spirit of the Finns, the slow progress of

the Red Army, and the massive losses.The Finnish chain of fortifications, the Mannerheim Line, was difficult to breach, and inaddition, "Britain and France were beginning preparations to attack to help Finland. .....Even Germany openly showed sympathy toward Finland."

On the 1990s the book notes that the declarations of independence by the Soviet republics
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"did not yet mean that they wanted to disengage from the Soviet Union". The handbookquotes president Vladimir Putin as saying that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was the"greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century".

Stalin popular still today

Well, in the West, Stalin is remembered for the numbers of his victims, about 20 million,largely his own citizens, executed or allowed to die in famines or the gulag. They includeda generation of peasant farmers in Ukraine, former Bolsheviks and other political figures

who were purged in the show trials of the 1930s, Polish officers executed at Katyn Forest,and Russians who died in the slave labor economy. Stalin's crimes have been tied to hispersonality, cruelty and paranoia as well as to the circumstances of Russian and Soviethistory.

But do the Russians need this new history writing in schoolbooks for children? Isn't theauthoritarian media enough to convince the people about the blessings of Stalin, strengthand autocracy? That is implied by an opinion poll conducted in February 2006 by PublicOpinion Fund. As to what people think of Stalin, we can judge by this:

If we speak as a whole of the role of Stalin in Russian history, was he positive or negative?Positive: 47 percent; negative: 29 percent; did not answer: 24 percent.

If Nazi-Germany would be described only in terms of building autostradas, stabilizedeconomy, strengthening the national character, etc. - maybe the German chancellor AdolfHitler would get as high ratings also today? Maybe higher - after all Hitler killed much lesspeople than Stalin.

Mikael Storsj

Helsinki, Finland

Kavkaz Center
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The legitimacy of power in ChRI

Publication time: 22 November 2007, 15:52

The government's legitimacy of power is akey issue in present discussion around thegovernmental bodies of Chechen Republicof Ichkeria. It would be much more difficultfor us "outsiders" to support ChRI and thearmed resistance without having oursympathy grounded on views aboutlegitimacy.

The legitimacy of ChRI statehood itself is nota subject of discussion. But recently some people have made attempts to change thegovernmental structure of ChRI, while they until now have unequivocally supported Majlis-ul-Shura (State Defense Committee) and Umarov as the legal president of a legitimateChRI.

A legitimate power in a country must be based upon the legislation, the constitution beingmost important. Every independent sovereign state has a constitution (well, the UK has adifferent system, based upon statue law and case law). In this confusing situation that hasarisen through activities of Zakayev and his allies, it's good to have a close look at theconstitutional basis of ChRI. As it is easily shown, a dividing line between"constitutionalists" and "emiratists" is a very artificial one, having no foundation inhappenings during the last few years.

The Constitution of ChRI

In ChRI there is a valid constitution, adopted in duly order 12.3.1992. The wording inEnglish can be found on the web site ofInternational Constitutional Law (ICL).

The parliament has made two amendments; 11.11.1996 and 3.2.1997. The amendmentsseems to be mainly in Article 4, where is stated that the state religion of Chechnya isIslam, but the article also states freedom of religion. This amended Constitution is found inRussian on chechen.org web page, and a fairly good computer translation to English canbe found here on links http://tinyurl.com/yw2peforhttp://tinyurl.com/22yq3n.

A combined emergency session of the ChRI Parliament and Government was arranged inGrozny 23.9.1999, as a consequence of the Russian attack on Chechnya. Two weeks

later, 5.10.1999, martial law was introduced on the entire territory of the CRI. In the middleof October, the State Committee of Defense was created, akin to a war office and beingthe supreme body of power in Chechnya.

An emergency joint session of the State Committee on Defense, Councilof National Security, the Cabinet and Parliament of the Chechen Republic ofIchkeria was held 5.6.2000. This meeting decided to "give the President of ChRI allnecessary additional powers of the supreme executive and legislature powers." Thismeeting decided further "to count any decisions of all state structures, authorities andcontrol systems of ChRI valid only after the approval of these decisions by the Presidentand the State Committee on Defense of ChRI."

In summer 2002 there was made some further amendments to the Constitution, basedupon Maskhadov's decree in February 1999 upon a Sharia reform and martial law. Thedecision was made by Great Majlis Shura, a constitutional assembly representing allbranches of authority. Nota Bene - in the common decision was stated, that this amendedConstitution acts to the end of the war and the adoption of a new Constitution. Moreinformation about these amendments can be found here.
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Whether to call the decision of 2002 as a "constitution" or not is not essential - it wasclearly a decision according to the martial law, which will expire after martial law is liftedand situation is normalized. I can't see any reasons to engage in hairsplitting regarding thisissue.

All those people now attempting seizure of power to the "parliament" have accepted abovementioned procedures to be constitutional till this moment, during more than 8 yearsalready. If the martial law and the State Defense Committee suddenly are declared illegal -don't these usurpers realize, that they simultaneously declare their own activities and titlesduring last years null and void?

The hypocrisy is totally unveiled - suddenly there are other legal bodies of the ChRI, andthe "parliament" can't accept Abdullaev as vice president, "since nobody introduced thisproposal to the Parliament of the ChRI." Well, nobody either introduced Sadulaev to thenon-existing parliament - was he also an illegal vice president and subsequently an illegalpresident? Was Dokku Umarov also an illegal vice president, as he was appointed by theState Defense Committee in June 2005? No parliament session was held regarding any ofthese nominations, even less there was "approval by majority of votes of the member's ofthe Parliament" (article 75).

Following quotations show that Zakayev still in January 2006 fully accepted the role of theState Defense Committee and the succession of the presidency, the change in ideas came

later on.

"[The decision in summer 2002] was in actual fact the practical implementation of theclause on the State Defense Committee in the Chechen Constitution, which delegates theSDC the highest executive power at the time of war. This act was also supported by aspecial statement issued by President Maskhadov (Shaheed, insha Allah!). PresidentAbdul-Salim Sadulaev is elected President in accordance with the Constitution, which is abase of his legitimacy as President."

"I shall remind, that under initiative of Aslan Maskhadov, with it is conducted also consentGKO - MSH CHRI, the supreme body of authority a wartime in territory of the country,Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev the post of vice-president of the Chechen State has held. And afterdestruction of Aslan Maskhadov, in full conformity with Constitution of CHRI, has begunperformance of the duties of the President of the country."

The idea of establishing a State Defense Committee in autumn 1999 was, in fact Zakaev'sas this quotation of a speech 2.10.1999 shows: "Zakayev asked the Chechen leadershipto declare a "holy war on the infidels" in the republic, impose martial law and create a statedefense committee". This was, apparently, a good idea at that time and during the next 8years to follow?

One more quotation, in December 2001 Zakaev strongly defended the President's right tochoose vice president: "As for my opinion on these decrees on cadres, I should say thatChechen President Maskhadov is authorized by the constitution to dismiss or demote."

Violations of the Constitution

The constitution has indeed been violated in words and deeds in the history of ChRI, evenbefore the war and Martial Law demanded shorter procedures. Maskhadov made a decreein February 1999, according to which Sharia law was introduced and the lawmakingactivity of the parliament was suspend. Furthermore, Maskhadov created a "StateCommission on the Development of a Sharia Constitution" which was chaired by AkhmedZakayev, at that time Minister of Information, Culture and Communications. Apparently, theconstitution wasn't that sacred among some people earlier as it seems to be today, when

the "constitutional crisis" apparently is a pseudo-event hiding the real issues behind thisconcept.

Also remember Zakayev's "Manifesto" in July 2006, where he publicly argued that thestatus (=independency) of ChRI may be a subject of negotiations with Russia, i.e. "talkswithout prior conditions". Zakayev's initiative at that time caused an outcry among people
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(constitutionalists?) who wanted the Constitution to be sacred and above negotiations withthe enemy.

The former Chechen vice president Vakha Arsanov was dismissed from his post by adecree of President Aslan Maskhadov on the 31st August 2001, apparently in conflict withthe constitution, if there wouldn't have been common decisions about Martial Law andState Defense Comittee. Arsanov run on the same ticket as Maskhadov in the presidentialelections in January 1997. Arsanov actually survived Maskhadov by a couple of months,but apparently in captivity. Arsanov himself did not accept the dismissal, but no"consitutionalist" raised his voice at that time, Zakaev instead applaused it. Those who

suffer from a lack of principles can easily change their mind, of course; occasionally evenmany times before the end of the day.

The Legitimacy of the ChRI Parliament

The parliament was elected in January and February 1997. The legitimacy was a bitquestionable already from the very beginning. 63 seats were to be filled in elections27.1.1997. The voting turnout was big enough to elect only 5 members of parliament - the58 remaining seats were to be filled in a second round of parliamentary elections. Thesecond round 15.2.1997 got only 27 additional valid deputies; altogether there were only

32 deputies out of 63 elected yet. The Central Election Commission of the ChRI anywayaffirmed the election of deputies in 11 more constituencies, despite is was contradictory tothe Law. This was caused by political expediency, as the republic did not have theresources to fund an additional campaign of parliamentary by-elections. The newcomposition of the parliament could not begin work in the absence of a quorum (42deputies).

Somehow the "parliament" has complemented itself - according to one list of membersthere are 63 members. Nota Bene - only 32 elected according to law, and 20 not elected atall! Some of the names we now see in the press behind decrees, such as Dokka Amagov,have got his "authority" from some unknown source.

There are some 8-10 deputies still reachable in the West. But it seems apparent, that the"parliament" after increasing itself also has taken steps to reduce itself!

The worst indictment against this "parliament" is the very undemocratic way some of itsmembers have taken command; issuing "parliamentary decrees" without having consultedeven the few deputies available outside ChRI. Ahyad Idigov, Chairman of the Parliament'sCommittee on Foreign Affairs, has in public requested how it's possible for the chairman ofthe "parliament" to issue decrees without even requesting other members, such as Idigovhimself and many otherdeputies as well! In his statement, Idigov asks Chechen patriots tounite around president Umarov and calls the actions of Saralyapov a constitutional coup!

The nonchalance and carelessness about basic democratic rules and the constitution itself

seems almost unimaginable - do they really think that international community will give anykind of legitimacy to this body, the Saralyapov "parliament"?

Unfortunately, the parliament of ChRI has lost its constitutional authority already in 1999.The elected Chairman of the parliament, Ruslan Alikhadzhiev, stated already in autumn1999 that "the present conditions demand the concentration of power in the hands of theState Defense Committee and the government". He knew, of course, that there was noquorum anymore, thus the parliament could not handle it's duties as a governmental body.

After 1999 many deputies, chairman Alikhadzhiev among them, has been killed or died. Ahandful of deputies are "available" in the West, but the great majority has really changedside to the occupiers and their puppets.

Already in October 2002, 14 Members of the Parliament met a Moscow envoy in Chulgi-Yurt, a meeting which was condemned by the ChRI leadership. Well, things got evenworse - Akhmat Kadyrov organized a meeting for ChRI deputies in Moscow in autumn2003, where "42 of the 43 deputies who are still alive today" decided to impeach AslanMaskhadov. According to analyst of Prague Watchdog, " ....if not all of the 42 deputies
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sided with Moscow, then a significant number surely did. Therefore it must be assumedthat this number greatly exceeds those who sided with Maskhadov (although, neither partyhas publicized a precise list of"their" deputies).

Saralyapov may continue to declare decrees in the name of the "parliament", but hislegitimacy could hardly be weaker or more non-existent. Even the Russian PR show inorder to impeach Maskhadov and dismiss him from office in September 2003 was a moreserious attempt than Saralyapov's present ego-trip!

Umarov's presidency and the Caucasus Emirate

Some debaters argue that Umarov's video message should be regarded as an "automaticresignation" from the presidency. I do have an opposite opinion. I have also seen thatthere are a few impartial observers that share my opinion. The interpretation of Umarov'sstatement is ambiguous enough to exclude any kind of automatic disregard of theconstitutional rules of dismissing a president, however convenient such a trick might be.

Andrei Smirnov's analysis in his article in Jamestown Foundation is quite convincing. Themain point is - "the idea of the Caucasian Emirate is not new and has a quite long history.The rebel leaders in the North Caucasus understand that they can win only if they unite

the whole Caucasus, but history shows that it is possible only on a religious basis".In anotheranalysis Smirnov says: "At first glance, Dokka Umarov's statement soundsrather radical, but that is only at first glance. First, one cannot see here any declaration ofa "Caucasian Emirate," as Zakayev puts it. Dokka Umarov calls himself Amir of theCaucasian Mujahideen and says that all rebels in the Caucasus should obey him, butthere is nothing new in this declaration. Umarov became Caucasian Amir at the same timeas he became the president of Ichkeria after the death of his predecessor". Further, "in hisspeech, Umarov does not mention the word Emirate at all. Moreover, Umarov says nothingabout the end of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria."

Mayrbek Vachagaev, Maskhadov's former chief of staff and spokesman, writes: "It needs

to be underscored that nothing significant has yet happened ...... Since nothing hasofficially occurred, there is still no real issue to be discussed."

No cold shiver runs down my back when I hear the word "Emirate". The word does nothave to imply a religious dictatorship forced upon the other North Caucasian republics -these people are not Taliban although Islamic believers. The Emirate might very well meanthe same as a confederation of Moslem states from the Black Sea to the Caspian. Thebasic concept does not determine whether a specific republic wants to join or not - but theBalkars or Adyghes that now take part in the Chechen fight for freedom do have right todream about freedom for their own nation as well? Decisions about choosing a secularIslamic government or a stricter Sharia based society - that belongs to the future. In ordernot to exaggerate differences between different persons in ChRI government, maybe it'sgood to remind ourselves that all ChRI presidents from Dudaev to Umarov seems to havebeen supporters of some kind of a Sharia based society. The Sharia reform was declaredby Djohar Dudaev already in March 1995. Nobody has argued for a pure secularstatehood, as in Turkey, as far as I can remind myself, not even Zakaev.

But the focus should be kept clear in mind - just now it's about getting the Russians outfrom Caucasus; anything will be a better solution than the present one. The presentdispute with all overtones does not promote the decolonization of Caucasus.

I think that a much more far-reaching decision than any talk about some Emirates was thedecision to export the war to the other republics, which was decided already during

Maskhadov's time. It's not just about Chechens fighting against Russians in Ingushetia orDagestan - it is about involving a growing number of people from other republics to thisfight. As the fight for freedom is common, having no borders between the republics, it isalso quite reasonable to dissemble that the result shall be common to some extent? It'squite OK for me to call that idea an Emirate, and such an idea is not in conflict with thesovereignty of ChRI, I suppose.
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One further thing - Umarov's talk about common enemies with other suppressedMoslems, that Moslem land shall be deliberated also outside Caucasus and that all infidellaws are invalid - isn't that some kind of quite common Islamic rhetoric? Only someingrained Islamophobe would draw conclusions about starting terrorism towards civilians,joining Talibans in Afghanistan and Al-Qaida in Iraq from such a statement.

Consequences of this mess

It's a bit premature to consider the consequences of this present mess, but I'm afraid that it

will hurt the Chechen issue quite badly. This split among the ChRI leadership has gone abit too far in order to make it possible to smooth things over.

It is an attempt to coup d'tat - that cannot be denied after witnessing how a handful ofpeople declare that they have seizured the power and dismissed the establishedgovernmental structure. President Umarov can hardly leave the situation as such. In orderto maintain authority and ensure governmental efficiency he has to dismiss the disloyalpeople. I suppose that many able of such will recite Hamlet's words "And thus the nativehue of resolution; is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought", but I fear it's already toolate after this long and harsh campaign against the President to return home.

If the split continues, we will see a divided Diaspora and circle of supporters in Europe,

while the military command in Caucasus most probably can maintain the discipline of thetroops; another outcome would be most disastrous. What will be the role of Zakayev insuch a situation? In order to negotiate, you must be able to offer the other side something.Without commanding the fighting troops, there is quite small negotiating power available.As Sadulaev truthfully said in June 2005: "This war can be stopped only with the war."

One disgusting feature of this actual dispute is the accusations thrown towards the allegedopponents. Accusations about a "Russian plot" and 500 million dollars given to Udugovlack credibility, such can be forgotten. The same applies to similar accusations againstMayrbek Vachagaev, Maskhadov's former spokesman, who was declared to have beenbought by FSB as he didn't condemn Umarov in the present witch-hunt. It's a bit worse to

accuse compatriot Chechens for paving the road to the second war, although we all knowthat the real casus belli wasn't the apartment bombings in 1999 neither the Dagestanincident, but a decision that was made in the Kremlin long time before. Stepashkin hasadmitted that the decision about a new war was made in Kremlin in March 1999, but verymuch circumstancial evidence tells us that Russia never had idea to keep the Khasavyurttreaty, it was just about recovering their breath before taking revenge.

The worst thing is, however, accusing big parts of the Chechen Resistance of being Al-Qaida linked, liable to "terrorism", influenced by "wahhabism" and "radical islamistic" ideas.

Believe me, Yastrzhembsky will quote many recent documents and statements infuture ....... why to help the Russians by such harsh exaggerations in internal disputes? I

hope people engaged in ChRI activities would follow the guiding rule "My country, right orwrong" in their public appearance, also when there are differences of opinion.

Mikael Storsjo

Helsinki, Finland

KavkazCenter
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Chancellor of Justice in Sweden denies Russian request to stop Kavkaz-Center

Publication time: 16 October 2006, 08:22

The Russian efforts to stop the freedomof expression and maintain a newsblockade on independent reporting fromCaucasus have experienced a newsetback. The Chancellor of Justice inSweden has denied a Russian request tostop Kavkaz Center, which todayoperates also in Sweden.

In May this year, the prosecutor HkanRoswall seized the Kavkaz Center's servers, in order to start investigations aboutinstigation of violence. The prosecutor's measures were caused by a request from theRussian Embassy in Stockholm. However, Kavkaz Center maintained to reopen the website within a few days on new server hardware, and brought the case into court. The firstresult of these court proceedings came a couple of week ago, when the Stockholm citycourt allowed Kavkaz Center's representative 1250 Euro as compensation for costs. Also,the prosecutor has given the confiscated servers back to Kavkaz Center.

- This money will be used to invest in even more robust server equipment, tellsMikael Storsj who has maintained Kavkaz-Center's servers. Our new server may thus beregarded as a gift to Kavkaz Center from the government of Sweden.

- Anyway, we are going to continue the court proceedings in the Court of Appeal.Seizing our servers was a crime, and obvious reasons related to common order demandsus to get the guilty persons convicted.

The Chancellor of Justice is the sole authority in Sweden who may concern himself with

matters regarding freedom of expression. In June, Kavkaz-Center was granted a certificatestating that the web site has so-called constitutional protection under the ConstitutionalLaw of Freedom of Speech. Hence, ordinary prosecutors or any police have no right toconcern themselves with any measures against the web site.

Then the Russian Embassy in Stockholm recently filed a new request to the Chancellor ofJustice, asking him to stop the web site. The request was accompanied by translations intoSwedish of many web pages in Kavkaz-Center.

Last week the Chancellor made his decision not to start any kind of preliminaryinvestigations in this case. The Chancellor Gran Lambertz stated in his decision, that "thecontent of these texts cannot, according to my opinion, be regarded as instigation of

violence or racial agitation".

Further, the Chancellor states that crime stipulations in the Constitutional Law of Freedomof Speech, even if such crimes were present, would have the aim to protect the commonorder in Sweden. Thus Lambertz states, that " instigations [in the press] of crimes in Russiaor racial agitation directed against people living there is consequently not punishablehere".

The Russian efforts to stop Kavkaz Center have led to a blind alley in Sweden. This is atrue victory for the Freedom of Expression, and obliges us to continue our independentnews service in order to cover events in the Islamic world, Caucasus and Russia, with aspecial focus upon events in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (C.R.I.).

KavkazCenter

Department of International Information


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Olympic Games on the soil of Genocide?Publication time: 3 July 2006, 12:37

Last year Moscow lost the contest of hostingthe Summer Olympics in 2012. According tothe chairman of Russia's Olympic Committee,Leonid Tyagachev, the decision was not a

sports question, but a political question. Hepointed out the conflict in Chechnya as amajor reason forMoscow's loss.

Unfortunately, Tyagachev hasn't learnt hislessons yet. The Russian olympic boss, who is the ski coach of Putin and a frequenttamada (table chairman) at his family parties, is today involved in promoting Sochi for thewinter Olympics in 2014. This idea is completely absurd - it's like planning to celebrateOlympic Games in Auschwitz or Treblinka.

The Circassian people don't have the lobbying force of Jews or Armenians. Accordingly,the Genocide of the Circassians is almost a forgotten crime against humanity. TheHolocaust Industry has quite far succeeded in defining genocide as crimes against Jews,but many people also know about the Genocide of Armenians in Turkey 1915-18. Still, theCircassian Genocide is both proportionally and in absolute numbers much more horrifyingthan the fate of Armenians some 50 years later.

Once upon the time, the historical Circassia was a great nation of Caucasus. Prior to thetsarist imperial conquest, Circassia covered an area bigger than 55.000 square kilometerseast of the Sea of Azov and south of the river of Kuban - an area almost twice as big asArmenia today. The indigenous people of Circassia were in excess of two millions, morenumerous than the Swedes at the middle of the 18th century. This people had a very longhistory on their ancient land, it was a nation of high cultural and social structure. TheCircassians enjoyed strong trading ties already with the ancient Greeks, especially with theAthenians. Circassians even participated in the Olympic Games during classical times!

The Circassians fought against Russian conquest during a century, from 1763 to 1864.After the defeat of Imam Shamil in 1859, the Russians were able to concentrate theirmilitary forces upon Circassia. This led to a huge massacre and forced deportation of thepeople. The magnitude of brutality and evilness was unforeseen in human history. Thegreat majority, more than 90 percent of the people of Circassian descent, were forced tolive in exile. But those who managed to escape were lucky - at least one millionCircassians were killed, and the number of victims of this Genocide was probably even

more than 1 million.

During the desperate fight for the future existence of their people, the leaders of theCircassian tribes gathered at the place where now stands the Black Sea resort of Sochiand appealed for help from the Ottomans and Britains. This appeal was totally in vain. Thecivilized world of those days didn't respond more than it does to Chechen appeals in ourtime.

Now Putin plans to organize Olympic Games on this soil of Genocide. On the web pagehttp://www.sochi2014.com of his campaign for Sochi is mentioned that the town is a "cityof diverse ethnic origins with one-third of the population of non-Russian nationality". In1864 exactly 100 percent were non-Russians, but this people were killed in order to

arrange Lebensraum for the invaders. It's not possible to kill 1-1 million people in a fewyears without extensive cruelty. Let's cite the Russian historian Berzhe who was an eye-witness of the deportation in the harbor of Novorossiysk:

"The late, inclement and cold time of year, the almost complete absence of means ofsubsistence and the epidemic of typhus and smallpox raging among them made their
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situation desperate. And indeed, whose heart would not be touched on seeing, forexample, the already stiff corpse of a young Circassian woman lying in rags on the dampground under the open sky with two infants, one struggling in his death-throes while theother sought to assuage his hunger at his dead mother's breast? And I saw not a few suchscenes."

The Olympic Father, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, would turn over in his grave if he knewabout the attempts of present Russian leadership to arrange Olympic Games upon thegraveyards of a people who sent their best sons already to the ancient Olympic Games.The Olympic ideals are based upon high principles, i.e.

"to contribute to building a peaceful and better world .... in the Olympic spirit, whichrequires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play".

Let's also remind of the "sacred truce" from the first known ancient Games when it wasread and stated:

"May the world be delivered from crime and killing and freed from the clash of arms."

Russia is today a country in war. The colonial war in Caucasus did neither start nor stop bythe final solution in Circassia. In present time the Empire is committing Genocide againstthe Chechen people and practicing a harsh policy of oppression against all other

Caucasian peoples. The idea of arranging Olympic Games in Caucasus, on Circassianland, is cynical and grotesque.

The applicant city Sochi is located in a war zone, a part of the Caucasian Front of the on-going second Chechen war. The distance to Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria is some 250km, to Kislovodsk in Karachay-Cherkessia some 200 km, to Maikop in Adygeya some 100km, and to the mainland of Chechnya about 400 km, just to mention a few of recent battlefields in Caucasus. The planned ski contest area of Krasnaya Polyana is some 10 km andthe Sochi-Adler Airport only 5 km from the border to Abhazia, a region belonging toGeorgia but presently occupied by Russia. The Russian attempts to incorporate Abhaziamight soon even escalate into an armed clash.

Thus, the security issues of Caucasus should be a major concern among those who planto bring athletes of the world to the scene. The entire Caucasus is burning today and readyto explode. The reasons can be found in the destructive Russian politics in the region. Thecolonial warfare in Caucasus is characterized by top-level corruption, economicmismanagement, massive police brutality, political and religious oppression and constantviolations of human rights. The uprising of the indigenous Islamic peoples of Caucasus is anatural and justified consequence. Even Dmitrii Kozak, Putin's representative to theSouthern Federal District, has predicted a sharp rise in radicalism and extremism andemergencing of "a macro-region of sociopolitical and economic instability" encompassingthe entire North Caucasus and parts of Stavropol Krai.

The short victorious war that Yeltsin started in Chechnya 1993 has been far moredisastrous for Russia than the Russo-Japanese war that von Plehve started in 1904.

The Russian society is quite sick today. The Freedom House rating changed last year tothe level "not free". On the Corruption Perceptions Index Russia is placed at position 126among 159 countries - well below countries such as Zimbabwe, Nepal and Mongolia.

The life expectancy ofRussian men is the lowest in Europe, only some 58 years

In spite of immigration from CIS countries, Russia's population has been sliding downduring the last decade, and with present trends the population could drop down below 100million by 2050, less than Egypt and Vietnam.

The economic growth has been quite high in Russia during recent years, but it is more dueto price increase of raw material exports than increase in productivity. The economy hascharacteristics of a developing country, not of a super power.

The present Russian leadership has apparently an irresistible temptation to build up a newPotemkin scene in the South, this time in shape of Olympic Games. Russia plans to invest12 billion dollars in the games of Sochi, money desperately needed for health care of the
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"lumpen proletariat" and in order to take care of tens of thousands of St.Petersburg streetchildren. On the other hand, there is a lot of oil money in Russia today. The problem is thatthe money is so unequally distributed.

Forbes report about a boom in the number ofRussian billionaires in dollar. RomanAbramovich is far from the only loyal oligarch in the vicinity of Kreml.

This is the ugly background of the Russian campaign for Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.

However, this situation creates also a genuine opportunity to inform the world about thegenocidal and colonist features of Russian politics in Caucasus.

The 114 members of IOC (International Olympic Committee) should all be addressed withcomplete and versatile information about the background and reality of Russian presencein Caucasus well before the IOC session in Guatemala City in July 2007. Also, they shouldall be informed about what kind of religious and ethnical cleansing may be expectedamong the regional population if Sochi would be elected.

Probably the election of Sochi as candidate city is only a consolation prize to Russia, agreat sports nation, anticipating the final decision in favour of Salzburg. Anyway, it's anopportunity for Russians to consider if Caucasus is an area important enough to degradeRussia to a second-class member of the world community.

The eight time zones east of Ural covers the major part of Russian territory with a sharplydiminishing population - there is Lebensraum and natural resources enough, without anyobstinate aboriginal people. Regarding Caucasus, maybe it's soon time to realize the goodidea of"Security in Exchange for Independence"?

For Kavkaz-Center

Mikael Storsj

Helsinki, Finland
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4791848.stmhttp://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=16187http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/islam/conception/security_for_freedom.shtmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4791848.stmhttp://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=16187http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/islam/conception/security_for_freedom.shtml

Russia Admits Mujahideen Remain Strong in Caucasus

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