Albert

A date with history

ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA WAS A fierce and courageous critic of the
repackaged Soviet-style dictatorship which President Vladimir Putin
has established in Russia, a consistent opponent of his war in
Chechnya and the atrocities that have resulted from it, and a
journalist who exposed the lawless brutality of the organs of the
Russian state. She was murdered last October in the stairwell of the
Moscow apartment block where she lived.

No suspect has been arrested, and it is unlikely any will be. Whether
the murder was the work of the so-called security services, or a
contract killing commissioned by some other group whose illegalities
she had exposed remains a mystery.

This book is a harrowing exposé of the horrors of Russia today - a
state where the infant democracy of the post-Communist years is being
smothered, where there is no independent judiciary, where the Army and
the security services are laws unto themselves.

The diary begins in December 2003, during the run-up to the last
parliamentary elections. The Duma that emerged was, in Politkovskaya's
opinion, "purely decorative, a forum for rubber-stamping Putin's
decisions. The Soviet system was being reborn." And "homo sovieticus"
was reborn with it: "The Russian people gave its consent. Nobody stood
up. There were no demonstrations ... The electorate agreed to be
treated like an idiot."

For Politkovskaya, Putin has presented to the Russian people and the
world a picture of "virtual reality". He goes on television and, in
pre-managed interviews, agrees with criticisms of the way things are,
promises to put them right, and makes it appear that he is on the side
of the people. But although policy is announced, it is not enacted.
Russia is an extreme example of modern image politics, where spin is
king and the announcement of a solution is itself the solution.

Because Putin presents himself in this way, it's probable that many
miserable Russians acquit him of all responsibility. "If only Stalin
knew," they used to say. Putin is not a Stalin; but he is a Mussolini,
and Politkovskaya's detailed account of the way the Russian government
operates, and the corruption of officials interested only in wealth,
power and securing their position, is reminiscent of fascist Italy.

Yet things are far worse in Russia: violence is endemic, with murders
and disappearances being everyday events, and are committed either by
organs of the state or tacitly approved by them. The morally
corrupting influence of the ghastly wars in Chechnya pervades the
whole country and every level of society. The chronicle of atrocities
presented here is appalling: young conscripts in the Army are bullied,
tortured, driven to suicide or often simply murdered; and no-one is
ever held accountable.

Democratic opponents of the regime are silenced, either by violence or
threats or, more subtly, by being co-opted into the governing
structure. In the streets, neo-fascist gangs of youths beat up, and
sometimes kill, dissidents, all in the name of a perverted patriotism.
It is a strange state of affairs that the closest thing to democratic
opposition is to be found in the remnants of the old Communist party
and the new National Bolsheviks.

Politkovskaya's industry and courage are alike remarkable. She travels
widely, meeting psychopathic warlords and victims of the regime alike.
Somehow or other she keeps going, certain, with a burning optimism
despite her contempt for the weakness of the democrats, that Putin's
Russia can't last. Perhaps, she thinks, this "neo-Soviet system may
collapse, as before, through economic inefficiency". But it may be a
long wait, and meanwhile atrocities will continue. After all, even in
Chechnya, Putin has the approval of the West, for he is engaged - is
he not? - in the global struggle against Islamic terrorism.

This is an astonishing book. It is not, however, a satisfactory
production. The notes and glossary are inadequate; it cries out for
footnotes, and editorial guidance is absent, thus making it difficult
to distinguish between fact and rumour.

It is impossible to escape the impression that the book has been
rushed out while the memory of its author's murder is still fresh in
the mind. It remains fascinating, but it would have been a far more
useful and authoritative publication if it had been subjected to
rigorous editorial scrutiny.

The Scotsman, Apr.14, 2006. Author: ALLAN MASSIE
A Russian Diary by Anna Politkovskaya

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Голосуем!

sarah

i've heard that 13 other journalists were killed the same way she was killed since that putin thing was elected as a president. obviously for the same reason..but NOoo..that's not TeRRoRiSm is it?!

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{SubhanAllah*_*AlhamduliAllah*_*La'ilaha'ilaAllah*_*Allahu Akbar}