Moscow contract kills

padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
polystyle desu said:
Beyond Georgia , Ukraine - Euro gas cutoff , Chechnya aftermaths.
Lovely ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/world/europe/20chechnya.html
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Anna Politnovskaya all over again. Or any of the long list of Russian journalists who've been assassinated during the Putin years. Supposedly it's been the 3rd-most deadly country for journalists in the entire world during the last 15 years (behind only Algeria & Iraq):
http://www.canada.ifex.org/fr/content/view/full/84529/

which is actually kind of amazing, if you think about it. I mean, that's ahead of Sudan, Zaire/The Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Afghanistan, all the dictatorships in Central Asia, etc. I don't mean to downplay the tragedy of these latest murders either, just to say that it's not a new problem.
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
crackerjack said:
More journalists to aim at in Russia?
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yeah, there is that. but still. that 15 yr timespan includes the post-apartheid civil war in S. Africa between the ANC & the Zulus, the Rwandan genocide, the Balkan Wars, Israel into Lebanon more than once, 2nd Intifada, and on and on. and Russia had freedom of the press for most of the 90s, even it was somewhat nominal (I mean, I guess they still do today, at least technically). the vast majority of the assassinations were, unsurprisingly, during the Putin years.

I don't mean this in a "oh look Russia is so messed up" way either, more like just WTF? it's kind of mind-boggling how many journalists have been killed there in the last 8 years, in the same that it's mind-boggling that the U.S. has, by far, the largest imprisoned population per capita in the world (Russia being #2, you Brits are #5).
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
Mr Putin gets what he wants, and i mean that above and beyond of the way genuinely democratic leaders operate.

Vanity Fair had a good piece on him from Masha Gessen which they printed in their issue last October. for some reason it's not available at their website, but the following kindly person has provided a .pdf link

Dead Soul
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
crackerjack said:
Interesting use of past tense there Padraig. I think the Putin years are very much ongoing;)
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grammatical slipup. the Putin years are indeed very much still ongoing. I just wanted to be clear that post-Soviet Russia wasn't always a wildly dangerous place for journos but that the rise in killings is directly tied to Putin's reign. Not that there weren't a lot of problems under Yeltsin, but journos and human rights lawyers weren't just getting offed at steady clip, at least not in broad daylight in downtown Moscow.
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
scottdisco said:
Mr Putin gets what he wants, and i mean that above and beyond of the way genuinely democratic leaders operate.

Vanity Fair had a good piece on him from Masha Gessen which they printed in their issue last October. for some reason it's not available at their website, but the following kindly person has provided a .pdf link

Dead Soul
Click to expand...

That's an excellent and scary piece. I had this idea that he was some sort of criminal mastermind rather than a very average bureaucrat who lucked his w ay to the top and is now feathering his nest. For some reason, the second is the scarier than the first :confused:

Anyone read this?

Started yesterday. Obviously knows his stuff and makes no pretence at neutrality, but I'm surprised at just how partisan some of the rhethoric is (eg USSR as "evil empire"). Not that I disagree, just expected the tone to be more measured and scholarly, I guess.
 
swears

swears

preppy-kei
Haha... a big red button is not really the best symbol to represent the relationship between the US and Russia.
 
e/y

e/y

Well-known member
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/23/russia-targeting-western-diplomats

Russia's spy agency is waging a massive undercover campaign of harassment against British and American diplomats, as well as other targets, using deniable "psychological" techniques developed by the KGB, a new book reveals.

The federal security service (FSB) operation involves breaking into the private homes of western diplomats – a method the US state department describes as "home intrusions". Typically the agents move around personal items, open windows and set alarms in an attempt to demoralise and intimidate their targets.
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personal note: I used to do something very similar to an ex-housemate of mine (bigot, sexist, all around cunt) who, for several months, refused to pay me back the money I let him borrow. it did freak him out. maybe they subconsciously taught us this in elementary school in Russia...
 
slowtrain

slowtrain

Well-known member
e/y said:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/23/russia-targeting-western-diplomats




personal note: I used to do something very similar to an ex-housemate of mine (bigot, sexist, all around cunt) who, for several months, refused to pay me back the money I let him borrow. it did freak him out. maybe they subconsciously taught us this in elementary school in Russia...
Click to expand...

I've always wanted to create a computer virus that functions on that same principle.

Subtly adjusting various setting, turning up the sound, changing the resolution, setting alarms for odd times, disconnecting your internet...

Maybe I have some russian blood.
 
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