Thursday, February 19, 2009
THE REAL STATE OF RUSSIA
The effects of the economic crisis are becoming more tangible by the day. Rouble is weakening against both the US dollar and the Euro. Prices on the products of basic necessity are going up while people are losing jobs. All this while on the evening news Prime Minister Putin claims that rouble will become a reserve currency and that everything will turn out jolly well. Those who still have their jobs haven’t had their salary paid in two-three months. My neighbour, driver for a private textile company, my friend, journalist of one of the top selling newspapers and my buddy, Special Forces officer stationed in the problem region of Dagestan-all had their salaries held back. Private businesses are disappearing at the same scale they appeared in the early 90s. Stray dogs are sniffing at people’s bags looking for food. You see people asking for money before you get into the metro, then before you get on the train and on the train. Old women in headscarves, men in military uniform and children. According to official information during the last week of the number of unemployed has risen by 93 thousand now reaching 1,735 million people.
When the world has first entered the crisis zone, Russian officials were quick to call Russia ‘an island of stability’. It is still unclear what this statement was based on, what is clear is that it was false. Those in power have been choosing their words more carefully since then but are still attempting to paint a rosy picture using an old and reliable formula that goes like this: no matter what happens Russia is becoming stronger and will come out on top while America disintegrates. Very few believe what they’re saying and least of all themselves. The main problem of this country is in lack of action from the people more so than the actions of the government. When the government lies, no one calls their bluff and holds them responsible. There is no way of really knowing what’s happening with the economy because everyone knows aware of the games being played in the shadows. Corruption does not allow the economy to be transparent and therefore understandable accessible to the masses. Government in the meantime has gone back to trying to distract people with information about Russian enemies, oligarch Berezovsky and others.
The paradox of this country has been and still remains as follows: no one knows what is going on and what the real situation is, with power division and economy among other things, except for those physically present in Kremlin.
Will this crisis have any political consequences remains to be seen. For now, it appears, Russian people should count solely on their own survival instincts.
When the world has first entered the crisis zone, Russian officials were quick to call Russia ‘an island of stability’. It is still unclear what this statement was based on, what is clear is that it was false. Those in power have been choosing their words more carefully since then but are still attempting to paint a rosy picture using an old and reliable formula that goes like this: no matter what happens Russia is becoming stronger and will come out on top while America disintegrates. Very few believe what they’re saying and least of all themselves. The main problem of this country is in lack of action from the people more so than the actions of the government. When the government lies, no one calls their bluff and holds them responsible. There is no way of really knowing what’s happening with the economy because everyone knows aware of the games being played in the shadows. Corruption does not allow the economy to be transparent and therefore understandable accessible to the masses. Government in the meantime has gone back to trying to distract people with information about Russian enemies, oligarch Berezovsky and others.
The paradox of this country has been and still remains as follows: no one knows what is going on and what the real situation is, with power division and economy among other things, except for those physically present in Kremlin.
Will this crisis have any political consequences remains to be seen. For now, it appears, Russian people should count solely on their own survival instincts.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
ASSASSINATIONS? ALAS, IT IS MOST COMMON.
Moscow, Russia
Puddles of melted snow and militia with German Shepherds. People with traditional funeral flower, red carnations that I seem to buy too often these days, are lining up to the coffin of Stanislav Markelov, the attorney shot and killed, along with a young journalist Anastasia Babyrova, in broad daylight in central Moscow on Monday. I take my place in line, among well-known human rights activists as well as youths with nose rings and green hair. One of the gravediggers, as they pass through the crowd, notes in a somewhat inappropriately upbeat tone that it started to rain.
Seeing a few TV crews I think to myself that a funeral of someone assassinated this way in America or UK would have had live CNN coverage. And, indeed, I notice that CNN crew is present here, unlike the Russian government channels. Markelov was know for taking on tough, controversial cases, that uncovered some ugly facts about corruption among Russian government officials, as well as kidnappings, torture and murders in the southern republic of Chechnya. The case of murder of a Chechen girl by Russian Army colonel was perhaps the best publicised one but not the most potentially dangerous.
It is also no accident that the journalist killed along with the attorney worked in Novaya Gazeta. In the atmosphere of censorship and self-censorship in the Russian media Novaya Gazeta is unique. It has an incredibly strong investigation unit and is a newspaper whose goal it is to talk about the things that are wrong with Russia, as that is the only way to attempt to cure the society and the system. Novaya Gazeta has had five of its journalists killed over a period of few years, including Anna Politkovskaya, to whose murder in 2006 Vladimir Putin was forced to respond by foreign journalists. In a healthy society and a free country one should be free to criticise the policies of the government, choose without fear to represent in court people who’ve been crushed by the system, expose through writing government’s dirty ugly secrets. Today Russian political regime, which keeps sliding towards being totalitarian, roots and flourishes on war, terrorism and corruption, using instability as one of its playing cards.
In Russia, as soon as you take on certain taboo subjects, as a journalist, a writer or an attorney, good people around you start telling you that they admire your courage and that they are concerned for your safety. I seem to have these conversations practically on a daily basis. Of note is the silent response of Kremlin to the most recent murders. Agenda of its residents, evidently, does not take such minor factors into consideration.
There is one thing I now absolutely believe - even though those in power might not have directly ordered the assassinations, they side with the killer and not their victims.
Moscow, Russia
Puddles of melted snow and militia with German Shepherds. People with traditional funeral flower, red carnations that I seem to buy too often these days, are lining up to the coffin of Stanislav Markelov, the attorney shot and killed, along with a young journalist Anastasia Babyrova, in broad daylight in central Moscow on Monday. I take my place in line, among well-known human rights activists as well as youths with nose rings and green hair. One of the gravediggers, as they pass through the crowd, notes in a somewhat inappropriately upbeat tone that it started to rain.
Seeing a few TV crews I think to myself that a funeral of someone assassinated this way in America or UK would have had live CNN coverage. And, indeed, I notice that CNN crew is present here, unlike the Russian government channels. Markelov was know for taking on tough, controversial cases, that uncovered some ugly facts about corruption among Russian government officials, as well as kidnappings, torture and murders in the southern republic of Chechnya. The case of murder of a Chechen girl by Russian Army colonel was perhaps the best publicised one but not the most potentially dangerous.
It is also no accident that the journalist killed along with the attorney worked in Novaya Gazeta. In the atmosphere of censorship and self-censorship in the Russian media Novaya Gazeta is unique. It has an incredibly strong investigation unit and is a newspaper whose goal it is to talk about the things that are wrong with Russia, as that is the only way to attempt to cure the society and the system. Novaya Gazeta has had five of its journalists killed over a period of few years, including Anna Politkovskaya, to whose murder in 2006 Vladimir Putin was forced to respond by foreign journalists. In a healthy society and a free country one should be free to criticise the policies of the government, choose without fear to represent in court people who’ve been crushed by the system, expose through writing government’s dirty ugly secrets. Today Russian political regime, which keeps sliding towards being totalitarian, roots and flourishes on war, terrorism and corruption, using instability as one of its playing cards.
In Russia, as soon as you take on certain taboo subjects, as a journalist, a writer or an attorney, good people around you start telling you that they admire your courage and that they are concerned for your safety. I seem to have these conversations practically on a daily basis. Of note is the silent response of Kremlin to the most recent murders. Agenda of its residents, evidently, does not take such minor factors into consideration.
There is one thing I now absolutely believe - even though those in power might not have directly ordered the assassinations, they side with the killer and not their victims.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Assassinations becoming a norm
Another person assassinated in Moscow, an attorney, Stanislav Markelov. He worked on a number of controversial cases and represented the family of a Chechen girl, raped and killed by a Russian officer. With Markelov was shot yet another Novaya Gazeta journalist, 25 year-old Anastasia Babyrova. She later died in hospital.
Same blunt way-middle of the day, 3pm, in the very heart of the city.
It feels like there is handful of decent, honest, courageous people left in Russia and I think each and one of them now feels threatened. The rest-are either dancing in 'Stars on Ice' or watching it.
Same blunt way-middle of the day, 3pm, in the very heart of the city.
It feels like there is handful of decent, honest, courageous people left in Russia and I think each and one of them now feels threatened. The rest-are either dancing in 'Stars on Ice' or watching it.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
My Interview with the Chairman of Islamic Committee of Russia Geidar Jemal on the topic of illegal immigrant workforce.
Natalia Geidar, how are you involved in the topic of illegal immigration in Russia?
Geidar I’ve been interested in the topic of displaced persons as a broad topic for a long time. Those who end up in other countries and sometimes form Diaspora and sometimes don’t. People, who are forced to function in a different cultural or ethnic environment. There are many stages. First, these people have to focus on their ethnic origins the so home they came from. This can create ghetto or Diaspora.
Natalia Those who come here to make money do they form Diaspora?
Geidar Not yet, but they are in a process. Right now where they are, where they live is bedevil, the worst form of ghetto. In terms of people, there are different cases. Some came here in early 90s, who fled for political reasons. In recent years illegal immigrants have been coming here to just make some money. They are mainly Muslim. Political element is what turns ghetto into Diaspora.
Natalia How does the government treat them?
Geidar Well, on the one hand they need this cheap work force. They also have to stay within some form of political correctness. But they create negative reaction from the rest of the society and say, well, this is how people feel. Those who express their dislike with the presence of the immigrant workforce here also differ. There are skinheads who cut off Tajik workers and students heads off; as we know, there have been many cases. This part is done for media. There are also former militia whose function is to put pressure on immigrants and use them. They are very severe in their methods to put it mildly. Their practice is to come to those ghettos and take people away as slaves. Actual slaves. Young men are taken away by force to unload carriages, lay bricks etc for no money. These poor people work for 15 hours or more and are given a loaf of bread for 10 people. Then they’re taken back to the ghetto.
Natalia This militia don’t do it for themselves, right? So where does the order come from?
Geidar It’s business for them. They get an order from someone to bring such and such amount of slaves and they do what they do, since it goes completely unpunished.
Natalia Immigrants have no one to complain to?
Geidar They can’t do anything, since even the official work papers they were given get destroy.
Natalia So they have no rights at all…
Geidar They have no rights. The facts I’m giving you are a result of a journalistic investigation that I initiated. We went to these ghettos and talked to people. Most of it was cut out and they aired only some of the material we shot. Propaganda tells you that those workers are non-people. Even journalists like the ones I was doing the investigation with felt the same. But what they saw when we went to those ghettos shocked them. They saw educated people, teachers, nurses, middle class really. Living in those appalling conditions they manage to preserve dignity and a moral values; they even feed some Russian homeless sometimes. Within the ghetto there is no crime. When they saw it they weren’t sure what to do with it.
Natalia What are the living conditions like there?
Geidar Awful. Imagine a doghouse enlarged to the size of a room. No electricity, no heating, no windows and around 8 people live in it.
Natalia Where are these ghettos located?
Geidar They are all over, just outside Moscow. They are very much out of the sight.
Natalia Can the immigrants go home?
Geidar Many can’t. They often don’t have any valid papers for their own country anymore. They speak many languages but legally they don’t exist. People, who don’t exist. There are officially 12 million people like that in Russia. I can’t say how many of them are Ukrainians or Belarus. But in terms of Muslims I know that there are around a million immigrants from Tajikistan, more than a million of those from Kyrgyztan and around 2 million Uzbeks.
Natalia You plan to keep working on this topic?
Geidar Yes. I think this should be a topic that’s important to president Medvedev as he officially announced war on corruption. This is where illegal cash rotates. Bribes and extortions alone come to 140 million and more annually. On top of president’s involvement we need the society to get involved, as well as form a professional union. It’s a triangular structure, even if only in theory for now. In March I hope to hold a conference. The main topic - formation of the professional union. Immigrant workers need to be structured. On a positive note I think government will realise it needs these people badly. When they will no longer be able to sell oil at such high prices and it drops to 30 dollars a barrel, they will have to sell metals and timber. There is a limit to how little Russian workers are prepared to get paid, so they will have to use immigrant workers to work on timber and metals, who will be paid 3 times less. Farming is another avenue they can be applied to and the results will be very good. The market of slaves is of course something that is unacceptable. We will keep working. I feel there are prospects.
Geidar I’ve been interested in the topic of displaced persons as a broad topic for a long time. Those who end up in other countries and sometimes form Diaspora and sometimes don’t. People, who are forced to function in a different cultural or ethnic environment. There are many stages. First, these people have to focus on their ethnic origins the so home they came from. This can create ghetto or Diaspora.
Natalia Those who come here to make money do they form Diaspora?
Geidar Not yet, but they are in a process. Right now where they are, where they live is bedevil, the worst form of ghetto. In terms of people, there are different cases. Some came here in early 90s, who fled for political reasons. In recent years illegal immigrants have been coming here to just make some money. They are mainly Muslim. Political element is what turns ghetto into Diaspora.
Natalia How does the government treat them?
Geidar Well, on the one hand they need this cheap work force. They also have to stay within some form of political correctness. But they create negative reaction from the rest of the society and say, well, this is how people feel. Those who express their dislike with the presence of the immigrant workforce here also differ. There are skinheads who cut off Tajik workers and students heads off; as we know, there have been many cases. This part is done for media. There are also former militia whose function is to put pressure on immigrants and use them. They are very severe in their methods to put it mildly. Their practice is to come to those ghettos and take people away as slaves. Actual slaves. Young men are taken away by force to unload carriages, lay bricks etc for no money. These poor people work for 15 hours or more and are given a loaf of bread for 10 people. Then they’re taken back to the ghetto.
Natalia This militia don’t do it for themselves, right? So where does the order come from?
Geidar It’s business for them. They get an order from someone to bring such and such amount of slaves and they do what they do, since it goes completely unpunished.
Natalia Immigrants have no one to complain to?
Geidar They can’t do anything, since even the official work papers they were given get destroy.
Natalia So they have no rights at all…
Geidar They have no rights. The facts I’m giving you are a result of a journalistic investigation that I initiated. We went to these ghettos and talked to people. Most of it was cut out and they aired only some of the material we shot. Propaganda tells you that those workers are non-people. Even journalists like the ones I was doing the investigation with felt the same. But what they saw when we went to those ghettos shocked them. They saw educated people, teachers, nurses, middle class really. Living in those appalling conditions they manage to preserve dignity and a moral values; they even feed some Russian homeless sometimes. Within the ghetto there is no crime. When they saw it they weren’t sure what to do with it.
Natalia What are the living conditions like there?
Geidar Awful. Imagine a doghouse enlarged to the size of a room. No electricity, no heating, no windows and around 8 people live in it.
Natalia Where are these ghettos located?
Geidar They are all over, just outside Moscow. They are very much out of the sight.
Natalia Can the immigrants go home?
Geidar Many can’t. They often don’t have any valid papers for their own country anymore. They speak many languages but legally they don’t exist. People, who don’t exist. There are officially 12 million people like that in Russia. I can’t say how many of them are Ukrainians or Belarus. But in terms of Muslims I know that there are around a million immigrants from Tajikistan, more than a million of those from Kyrgyztan and around 2 million Uzbeks.
Natalia You plan to keep working on this topic?
Geidar Yes. I think this should be a topic that’s important to president Medvedev as he officially announced war on corruption. This is where illegal cash rotates. Bribes and extortions alone come to 140 million and more annually. On top of president’s involvement we need the society to get involved, as well as form a professional union. It’s a triangular structure, even if only in theory for now. In March I hope to hold a conference. The main topic - formation of the professional union. Immigrant workers need to be structured. On a positive note I think government will realise it needs these people badly. When they will no longer be able to sell oil at such high prices and it drops to 30 dollars a barrel, they will have to sell metals and timber. There is a limit to how little Russian workers are prepared to get paid, so they will have to use immigrant workers to work on timber and metals, who will be paid 3 times less. Farming is another avenue they can be applied to and the results will be very good. The market of slaves is of course something that is unacceptable. We will keep working. I feel there are prospects.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
OBAMA, BOOK
Obama's 'Dreams from my Father' is a beautifully written book, heartfelt and informative at once. On a more personal level, it is also extraordinary how his descriptions of his visit to Africa, Nairobi, remind me of Russia. From government officials taking bribe as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to people not paying taxes and not trusting their government. With some natural beauty at the core and a wealth of history, both are flawed at every level. The lack of functional structure, and human rights institutions. And the worst of it - the extremely low value of human life. I guess it should not have been such a surprise, but it still was.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
RUSSIA.RU
Russia.ru is one of the major propaganda sites in Russia. Putin speeches, interviews with pro-Kremlin stars and films like War 08.08.08. They interviewed me too, strangely enough after what i said at the press conference after the War 08.08.08 film, but later cut all the important bits out (of course) The beauty of editing!
Crisis hitting Russia
These are some of my personal observations of the economic crisis hitting Russia. Prices are going up. As you shop for groceries you can see staff replacing price tags. Salaries are being cut. Even among my friends, some were laid off and others had their salaries go down by 50 %. There are a lot of beggars around and people selling various things on the streets, from dry mushrooms to fluffy sleepers, in freezing cold temperatures.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
I wish there was a way to spread the heavy load of tough questions to the government about events of N.O and others from 1,2,3 people, who are dealing with it right now, to millions of citizens, all potentially affected by this issue. The level of danger for the lives of those people will go from very high for those 3, to zero for the millions.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
MIND THE GAP AND...LIVE RIGHT. (WTF?!)
In Moscow metro as you slowly drift up or down a long escalator along with a recorded announcement that tells you to report all the drunks and beggars, you hear messages of moral contents. A deep male voice tells you to be kind and tolerant to people, respectful to elders and the environment. He even tells you that love for your country begins with love for your family.
Just as the ‘Metro God’ tells me how to live my life as not to be ashamed of myself, what is happening around is the very opposite of it, rudeness, nationalistic swearing, disregard for those around you and spit on the floor, making it all look like a joke. And perhaps in this theatre of absurd we are someone’s merry entertainment.
Just as the ‘Metro God’ tells me how to live my life as not to be ashamed of myself, what is happening around is the very opposite of it, rudeness, nationalistic swearing, disregard for those around you and spit on the floor, making it all look like a joke. And perhaps in this theatre of absurd we are someone’s merry entertainment.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Take a polite little bow
Just came back from Tchaikovsky concert hall, (tickets were $100 a piece, a friend paid), where a tastefully dressed, well-spoken and well-mannered intelligentzia crowd expressed their loyalty to Gergiev, the famous conductor. I have no doubt he is a great musician, it is his political ethics that I find inappropriate. 'Crowd of intelligenzia'-how bad is that? I am not suggesting he must be Rostropovich, but to be a loyalist to those in power, because...well, just because, I can't respect that. He and his audience had much mutual respect to be shared, however, and behind this politeness perhaps the passiveness of intelligent elite will not be so obvious.
On the other hand, it is possible that many of those in the theatre are genuine Gergiev fans. But there was also a lot of yawning.
On the other hand, it is possible that many of those in the theatre are genuine Gergiev fans. But there was also a lot of yawning.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Those who are...
...free in spirit with values and who truly care, are usually the best people. Not understood by most. They fight and they fall. They are the reason humanity has a chance and the right to exist.
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