DOCSLIB.ORG

Fusiongps???] Are Worse Than Prostitutes

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fusiongps???] Are Worse Than Prostitutes From: Nellie Ohr (b)(6) Sent: Monday, December 4, 2017 9:06 PM To: Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) Subject: Re: Invitation: The Oligarchs Strike Back? The Challenge of Anti-Corruption Reform in Ukraine – Thursday, December 7, 4:00 pm-5:30 pm Thanks for the heads-up! It's pretty depressing to attend these things :-) I hope you are well -----Original Message----- From: Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) (OCDETF) To: Nellie Ohr ; Ohr, Bruce (ODAG) (ODAG) Sent: Mon, Dec 4, 2017 4:47 pm Subject: FW: Invitation: The Oligarchs Strike Back? The Challenge of Anti-Corruption Reform in Ukraine – Thursday, December 7, 4:00 pm-5:30 pm Thought this might interest you both, time-permitting. From: Hudson Institute [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 04, 2017 4:45 PM To: Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) (b)(6) Subject: Invitation: The Oligarchs Strike Back? The Challenge of Anti-Corruption Reform in Ukraine – Thursday, December 7, 4:00 pm-5:30 pm □□□ The Oligarchs Strike Back? The Challenge of Anti- Corruption Reform in Ukraine 106 Thursday, December 7th 4:00 to 5:30 pm Register Hudson Institute Stern Policy Center Add to Calendar 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004 Four years after Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity began, Ukraine continues to work on an ambitious refmm agenda tackling conuption and stimulating the economy. Thanks to public pressure, civic engagement, and encomagement from international financial organizations, the government has introduced an open procurement process, created oversight and enforcement bodies throughout government, and required public officials to declare their wealth and assets. However, progress has slowed as anti-conuption agencies including the National Anti-Conuption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Conuption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have come under attack from pariies within the government as well as the oligarchic interests that remain entrenched in the countly. Ukraine's independent journalists have been at the frontline of the fight, exposing conuption among the Ukrainian security se1vices, government, and oligarchs. But they too have been subjected to increasing attacks from hired thugs and even the secU1ity services themselves. On Thmsday, December 7 at 4:00 pm, Hudson Institute will host a panel discussion with Natalie Sedletska to discuss the ongoing challenges of anti-conuption reform in Ukraine. Ms. Sedletska is an investigative journalist and fmmer Vaclav Havel JoU1nalism Fellow 107 with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, and the host of the Service’s award-winning weekly television program “Schemes: Corruption in Details” – a joint production with Ukraine's First National TV channel in the Ukrainian language. Hudson Research Fellow Hannah Thoburn will moderate the discussion. Speakers Natalie Sedletska Natalie Sedletska is an investigative journalist with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, and the host of “Schemes: Corruption in Details” – a joint production with Ukraine's First National TV channel in the Ukrainian language. Prior to joining RFE/RL in 2014, Sedletska was a Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow and worked for Kyiv’s TVi television channel from 2009 to 2013. Sedletska is a member of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and the “Stop Censorship” journalism movement in Ukraine. Hannah Thoburn Hannah Thoburn is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, where she focuses on Russia, Ukraine, Eastern European politics, and the transatlantic relationship. She currently writes the “Eurasia Uncovered” blog at World Affairs Journal and is a member of the Advisory Council at the Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative. Program Introduction 4:00 — 4:10 pm Panel Discussion 4:10 — 5:00 pm Audience Q & A 108 5:00- 5:30 pm View more upcoming events Hudson Institute Unsubscribe 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 400 View this email in a browser □ Washington, DC 20004 Fo1ward to a friend This email was sent to (b )( 6) - Lisa Holtyn from Hudson Institute. To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add info @hudson.org to your address book or safe list. © Hudson Institute Inc. ■ 109 From: Nellie Ohr (b) (6) Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 8:54 PM To: Ohr, Bruce (ODAG);Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) Subject: crime news crimerussia @engcrimerussia 2d Monaco ousts billionaire Rybolovlev over corruption scandal goo.gl/G9nnB2 crimerussia @engcrimerussia 2d How Mikhas' case burst wide open in Switzerland. Threats to witnesses, investigators and judges goo.gl/PSQqPa NEW: A Ukrainian born billionaire who does biz w/ Russian oligarchs is funding Trump's legal representation via RNC on.wsj.com/2xuneXc [blavatnik] crimerussia @engcrimerussia 16h Marbella football club owner detained in Spain in case of Russian mafia goo.gl/Cfk4Dr #RussianMafia crimerussia @engcrimerussia 1d Italy and Germany arrest Georgian gang goo.gl/xGH5ws crimerussia @engcrimerussia 1d Police find ten influential Georgian thieves in law in Kiev goo.gl/DaGZqB crimerussia @engcrimerussia 2d Monaco ousts billionaire Rybolovlev over corruption scandal goo.gl/G9nnB2 Jack Stubbs @jc stubbs 6d This is the actual Who's Who of Russian politics and business. Prime the rumour mill! Jack Stubbs @jc stubbs 117 Putin having a little get-together in the Kremlin this afternoon https://twitter.com/jc stubbs/status/910838552078028800/photo/1 [the names on there are all the usual ministers and businessmen--interestingly, Prokhorov and Yevtushenkov are both there, even if they've been the targets of police pressure in the recent past] crimerussia @engcrimerussia 5d Transparency asks to check racehorse presented to Kadyrov by prince of Dubai goo.gl/wR1k29 #RamzanKadyrov [looks like a beautiful Arabian] 118 From: Nellie Ohr (b)(6) Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 9:46 PM To: Ohr, Bruce (ODAG);Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) Subject: Brothers' Circle crimerussia @engcrimerussia 1d Kyrgyzstan prosecutor at wedding of Brothers’ Circle member and int drug dealer’s daughter goo.gl/dK45Wv [The link is to crimerussia[.]ru. I might look at it when I'm on a virtual machine] 119 From: Nellie Ohr (b)(6) Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 9:47 AM To: Ohr, Bruce (ODAG);Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF) Subject: Crime and corruption items 3 items from the last few days of my Tweetdeck feeds: 40% Kickbacks: "The maximum kickback I've encountered is 40%"--businessman talks about kickback system in Russia [from CurrentTimeTV, a US-sponsored Russian-language news source based in Prague) Настоящее Время @CurrentTimeTv 1d "Максимальный откат, с которым я сталкивался – 40%" – бизнесмен рассказал нам, как работает система откатов в России currenttime.tv/a/28724627.html Rybolovlev: Russian billionaire Rybolovlev 'dismissed' Minister of Justice of Monaco goo.gl/zehafu [This link is to CrimeRussia dot ru. Use caution in visiting that site) Mavrodi/Bitcoin: Notorious Russian fraudster and founder of the world-famous MMM financial pyramid Mavrodi goes into Bitcoin en.crimerussia.com/gromkie-dela/m… [also crimerussia dot ru] 120 From: Nellie Ohr (b)(6) Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 8:45 AM To: Ohr, Bruce (ODAG);Holtyn, Lisa (OCDETF);(b)(6) - Nellie Ohr Subject: These Cigarette Smugglers Are On The Frontlines Of Russia’s Spy Wars (Estonia-- includes news on kidnapping of Kohver) https://www.buzzfeed.com/holgerroonemaa/these-cigarette-smugglers-are-on-the-frontlines-of-russias Five arrests. Two years. The ultimate crime: spying for Russia. An exclusive investigation by BuzzFeed News and Re:Baltica reveals a new tactic in Russia’s spy wars. Posted on September 13, 2017, 09:57 GMT m V Holger Roonemaa BuzzFeed Contributor Reporting From Tallinn, Estonia TALLINN, Estonia — Russia is recruiting smugglers on its western frontier to work as spies and informants in an attempt to destabilize its neighbor Estonia, a gateway to the European Union and NATO, a BuzzFeed News investigation can reveal. At least five men have been arrested in the last two years and convicted of spying on behalf of Russia. Their cases reveal how the Russian secret service, the FSB, operates across the border into a country that has a long and complicated history with its eastern neighbor. Each of the five men was a known smuggler, of anything from people to cigarettes, and the FSB was able to force them to work undercover in exchange for avoiding lengthy sentences in Russian prisons. Once they had been recruited, they were tasked with passing on information about everything from Estonian military bases to details about patrols run by guards manning the border. “They are an easy target for FSB recruiters,” Aleksander Toots, the deputy head of the Estonian Internal Security Service, known by its acronym, KAPO, told BuzzFeed News. Toots, who oversees KAPO’s counterintelligence arm and who has been personally involved in the investigation of all five men, said that it was virtually impossible to say no to the recruiters. “If you choose to decline, you might get into trouble because the FSB knows that you are a smuggler and are crossing the border illegally. The threat of ending up in a prison in Russia isn’t appealing. On the other hand, if you accept, you could hope for protection from the FSB in your criminal activity.” The Russian tactic of turning petty criminals into spies on the ground mirrors a key feature of Russia’s cyber tactics: blackmailing criminal hackers into doing the government’s bidding. It is the latest illustration of a style of Russian intelligence operations that has caught the United States and its allies flat-footed, one that draws no clear line between traditional espionage, open criminality, and ambiguous business transactions. Estonia, a small country of just 1.3 million people, has been grappling with its neighbor for decades. In 2007, it suffered a wave of debilitating cyberattacks suspected of having been carried out by Russia to protest Estonian plans to move a Soviet-era monument. Starting the following year, through 2013, Estonia arrested a host of high-level officials who had been spying for Russia, including two KAPO officers and the head of the country’s National Security Authority, Herman Simm.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Organized Crime 1.1 Gaizer’S Criminal Group
    INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER I. ORGANIZED CRIME 1.1 Gaizer’s Criminal Group ..................................................................................6 1.2 Bandits in St. Petersburg ............................................................................ 10 1.3 The Tsapok Gang .......................................................................................... 14 Chapter II.CThe Corrupt Officials 2.1 «I Fell in Love with a Criminal» ................................................................20 2.2 Female Thief with a Birkin Bag ...............................................................24 2.3 «Moscow Crime Boss».................................................................................29 CONTENTS CHAPTER III. THE BRibE-TAKERS 3.1 Governor Khoroshavin’s medal «THE CRIMINAL RUSSIA PARTY», AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT REPORT «For Merit to the Fatherland» ..................................................................32 PUBLISHED IN MOSCOW, AUGUST 2016 3.2 The Astrakhan Brigade ...............................................................................36 AUTHOR: ILYA YASHIN 3.3 A Character from the 1990s ......................................................................39 MATERiaL COMPILING: VERONIKA SHULGINA HAPTER HE ROOKS TRANSLATION: C 4. T C EVGENia KARA-MURZA 4.1 Governor Nicknamed Hans .......................................................................42 GRAPHICS: PavEL YELIZAROV 4.2 The Party
    [Show full text]
  • Chechnya's Status Within the Russian
    SWP Research Paper Uwe Halbach Chechnya’s Status within the Russian Federation Ramzan Kadyrov’s Private State and Vladimir Putin’s Federal “Power Vertical” Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP Research Paper 2 May 2018 In the run-up to the Russian presidential elections on 18 March 2018, the Kremlin further tightened the federal “vertical of power” that Vladimir Putin has developed since 2000. In the North Caucasus, this above all concerns the republic of Dagestan. Moscow intervened with a powerful purge, replacing the entire political leadership. The situation in Chechnya, which has been ruled by Ramzan Kadyrov since 2007, is conspicuously different. From the early 2000s onwards, President Putin conducted a policy of “Chechenisation” there, delegating the fight against the armed revolt to local security forces. Under Putin’s protection, the republic gained a leadership which is now publicly referred to by Russians as the “Chechen Khanate”, among other similar expressions. Kadyrov’s breadth of power encompasses an independ- ent foreign policy, which is primarily orientated towards the Middle East. Kadyrov emphatically professes that his republic is part of Russia and presents himself as “Putin’s foot soldier”. Yet he has also transformed the federal subject of Chechnya into a private state. The ambiguous relationship between this republic and the central power fundamentally rests on the loyalty pact between Putin and Kadyrov. However, criticism of this arrange- ment can now occasionally be heard even in the Russian president’s inner circles. With regard to Putin’s fourth term, the question arises just how long the pact will last.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Years After the Murder of Natalia Estemirova: the Investigation Continues Along a False Path
    TWO YEARS AFTER THE MURDER OF NATALIA ESTEMIROVA: THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES ALONG A FALSE PATH Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servi- Article 1: All human beings are born free and tude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition every- another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this where as a person before the law. Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimina- Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other tion to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective rem- on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person edy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. by law. Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liber ty and security of person.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf | 129.39 Kb
    Memorial Human Rights Center 127051 Russia, Moscow, Malyj Karetnyj per. 12 tel. (495) 225-31-18 Web-site: http://www.memo.ru/ Report for the next round of consultations on Human Rights European Union – Russia The situation in the conflict zone of the North Caucasus June 2009 – October 2009 Moscow 2009 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..…..1 Activization of armed underground………………………………………………….……2 The reaction of the governmental authorities………………………………….…………3 Human Rights activists under attack…………………………………………….………..3 Ingushetia………………………………………………………………………….…….…..5 Dagestan…………………………………………………………………………….……….7 Chechnya……………………………………………………………………….……………8 Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights……………………………………..10 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………11 Introduction The North Caucasus remains one of Russia's least prosperous regions in the field of human rights. Although the situation in various republics and regions of the North Caucasus differs remarkably, some general factors, spread over a large territory of the North Caucasus adversely influence the development of the situation. These are: − the ongoing fighting. Right now armed underground forces, using terroristic methods, oppose the Russian state on the North Caucasus. The power structures, in turn, implement a politics of state terror; − the impunity for mass crimes, committed by state representatives during a "counterterrorist operation". This way, the fate of the absolute majority of thousands of people, that have forcibly "vanished" on the territory of Chechnya since 2000, has not been established. The database of the HRC "Memorial" contains more than three thousand cases on those kind of forced "disappearances", and no one has so far been punished for these crimes; − the corruption, whose level is high even against the background of the rest of Russia; − the arbitrariness of the officials; − a high unemployment rate; – the conflict between the supporters of the "traditional" Islam for the North Caucasus and the relatively new, fundamental Salafism movement of Islam.
    [Show full text]
  • A Threat to National Security
    ILYA YASHIN A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT REPORT 1 Ilya Yashin, the author of “Threat to National Security,” says the goal of his report about the Chechen Introduction.......................................................................................................................................2 President is “to open Russian society’s eyes to the fact that Ramzan Kadyrov, with the connivance of the country’s authorities and secret services, has become a figure that CHAPTER 1. RAGS TO RICHES.........................................................................................4 poses a threat to Russia’s national security.” His report 1.2 THE FIRST CHECHEN WAR tells about the regime established by Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya, reveals his crimes and corrupt schemes and 1.3 SWItcHING SIDES TO JOIN THE FEDERAL FORCES shows how he impacts the current Russian political system. 1.4 THE ASSASSINATION OF AKHMAD KADYROV We believe that Ramzan Kadyrov is not only Russia’s 1.5 THE POWER STRUGGLE IN CHECHNYA internal threat – he has definitely become a global danger. Kadyrov is known not only by his public intimidation of Russian pro-democracy opposition leaders, human rights CHAPTER 2. THE CHECHEN KHANATE...............................................................12 activists and journalists, he’s also known for his countless HE EGIME OF ERSONAL OWER CONTENTS 2.1 T R P P violations of freedoms and human rights in his republic. There are not only suspicions, but also clear traces, of his 2.2 ARMING THE UNDERGROUND involvement in the assassinations of Anna Politkovskaya, 2.4 RAMZAN’S CULT OF PERSONALITY Natalia Estemirova and Boris Nemtsov. There are also 2.5 THE HERO AND THE ACADEMIC known cases when Kadyrov’s opponents were murdered not only outside Chechnya, but also outside of Russia.
    [Show full text]
  • “Disappearances” in the Chechen Republic
    Public November 2005-11-08 “Disappearances” and abductions in the Chechen Republic: Thousands of Chechens are believed to have been "disappeared" or abducted since the outbreak of the second conflict in the autumn of 1999. The Russian non-governmental organization (NGO) Memorial has estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 people have gone missing in the Chechen Republic following what they term as abductions, arbitrary arrests and detentions since 1999 when the second Chechen conflict began. Memorial emphasizes that their statistics are based on research conducted in about one-third of the territory of the Chechen Republic, and therefore may not represent the full extent of the violations. Moreover the pervading atmosphere of fear in the region, leading to many people being reluctant to come forward, the preference in many cases of relatives to attempt to secure the safe return of their relatives through unofficial channels and the extremely dangerous conditions for independent monitors such as journalists and human rights defenders attempting to research the situation, means that there is an underreporting of cases of “disappearance” and abductions. Many men and women were taken away from their homes during so-called "zachistki" (military raids), allegedly conducted to check the identity documents of people in a village or district, during which whole villages were surrounded for days at a time and Russian troops, sometimes accompanied by Chechen security forces, went from house to house, conducting searches, checking identity documents and detaining people. Large scale raids on villages and towns by Russian and Chechen security forces, which were common during the first two years of the armed conflict have ceased but there continue to be regular reports about targeted operations in Chechnya, which mostly take place at night, usually by armed men, in camouflage and often masked, who often arrive in a large number of military vehicles of which the identification plates are covered, and in which one or more people are taken away in an unknown direction.
    [Show full text]
  • A Threat to National Security
    ILYA YASHIN A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT REPORT 1 Ilya Yashin, the author of “Threat to National Security,” says the goal of his report about the Chechen IN troduction..................................................................................................................................2 President is “to open Russian society’s eyes to the fact that Ramzan Kadyrov, with the connivance of the country’s authorities and secret services, has become a figure that CHAPTER 1. RAGS TO RICHES.........................................................................................4 poses a threat to Russia’s national security.” His report 1.1 ETHNIC CLEANSING tells about the regime established by Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya, reveals his crimes and corrupt schemes and 1.2 THE FIRST CHECHEN WAR shows how he impacts the current Russian political system. 1.3 SWITCHING SIDES TO JOIN THE FEDERAL FORCES We believe that Ramzan Kadyrov is not only Russia’s 1.4 THE ASSASSINATION OF AKHMAD KADYROV internal threat – he has definitely become a global danger. 1.5 THE POweR STRUGGLE IN CHECHNYA Kadyrov is known not only by his public intimidation of Russian pro-democracy opposition leaders, human rights CHAPTER 2. THE CHECHEN KHANATE...............................................................12 activists and journalists, he’s also known for his countless violations of freedoms and human rights in his republic. CONTENTS 2.1 THE REGIME OF PERSONAL POweR There are not only suspicions, but also clear traces, of his 2.2 ARMING THE UNDERGROUND involvement in the assassinations of Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova and Boris Nemtsov. There are also 2.3 KADYROV AND ISLAM known cases when Kadyrov’s opponents were murdered 2.4 RAMZAN’S CULT OF PERSONALITY not only outside Chechnya, but also outside of Russia.
    [Show full text]
  • What Putin's Exit Could Mean for Chechnya
    What Putin’s Exit Could Mean for Chechnya THE PITFALLS OF KADYROV’S STATE-WITHIN-A-STATE PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 556 December 2018 Mark Kramer1 Harvard University After the Soviet Union broke apart, the Russian government fought two highly destructive wars against insurgents in Chechnya—in 1994-1996 and in 1999-2009. Both wars caused immense bloodshed, dislocation, and property damage. The first war ended in a humiliating setback for the Russian authorities, but the second war resulted in a forceful reassertion of Moscow’s control over the rebellious province and the establishment of a pro-Moscow government in Grozny that rules to this day. The peculiarities of the Chechen Republic, where Russia’s laws and constitutional order are of almost no relevance, has far-reaching implications both for the Russian Federation and for the West. Ramzan Kadyrov has been head of the republic for more than a decade and has created, with Moscow’s approbation, a local governance system that entrenches his absolute control. Chechnya has been relatively stable and peaceful over the past several years, but this calm is deceptive. Seven scenarios are outlined here that could affect the future stability of the North Caucasus. Destabilization of the region could occur via several possible routes, including the recrudescence of an Islamist insurgency in Chechnya, the outbreak of warfare between Chechnya and neighboring areas of the North Caucasus, and the abrupt removal of Kadyrov against his will. The Chechen leader has legions of enemies in Moscow as well as Chechnya, and he remains head of the republic only because he continues to enjoy Vladimir Putin’s support.
    [Show full text]
  • License to Kill? the Risk to Chechens Inside Russia © Mark Galeotti, 2019
    LICENSE TO KILL? THE RISK TO CHECHENS INSIDE RUSSIA © MARK GALEOTTI, 2019 LICENSE TO KILL? THE RISK TO CHECHENS INSIDE RUSSIA DR MARK GALEOTTI Director, Mayak Intelligence London, June 2019 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 A Note on Sources 2 EXTRALEGAL PERSECUTION AND THE CHECHEN GOVERNMENT 2 Assumptions about ‘Wahhabism’ 2 Various Motivations 3 Collective Coercion 3 Authoritarian Adhocracy 4 A Lack of Constraints 4 No Statute of Limitations 5 No Way Back 5 No Boundaries 6 PERSECUTION THROUGH THE RUSSIAN JUDICIAL AND SECURITY STRUCTURES 6 Location 7 Entering the Russian Federation 8 Interpol 9 Extradition and Rendition 10 DIRECT VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION 12 Assassination 12 Intimidation and Threats 13 Threat by Proxy 14 THE CHECHEN DIASPORA 15 Chechen Representative Offices 15 Chechen Communities 15 Chechen Criminals 15 THE GEOGRAPHY OF THREAT 16 More Dangerous 16 Safer 17 CONCLUSIONS 17 1 LICENSE TO KILL? THE RISK TO CHECHENS INSIDE RUSSIA © MARK GALEOTTI, 2019 Executive Summary Ramzan Kadyrov’s regime in Chechnya is intolerant, violent, authoritarian and largely uncontrolled by national-level laws and structures. His personal enemies face violence or intimidation both within and without the country, and likewise his security apparatus and elite have considerable, if lesser, means and latitude to persecute anyone they choose. This extends to a degree in the rest of the Russian Federation, beyond Chechnya’s borders, but widespread assumptions about the impunity with which they operate and their capacity to find and target whomever they choose are, on examination, over-simplifications. In practice, there are clear distinctions between the threats to those formally convicted of offences, under investigation, and targeted for informal persecution.
    [Show full text]
  • Russian Analytical Digest No 171: the Politics of the Putin Regime
    No. 171 14 July 2015 russian analytical digest www.css.ethz.ch/rad www.laender-analysen.de THE POLITICS OF THE PUTIN REGIME ■■ANALYSIS Potemkin Conservatism: an Ideological Tool of the Kremlin 2 By Witold Rodkiewicz & Jadwiga Rogoża, Warsaw ■■ANALYSIS A Devout Ally or an Enfant Terrible? Explaining the Sources and Forms of Ramzan Kadyrov’s Influence. 5 By Emil Souleimanov, Prague ■■OPINION POLL Russian Attitudes towards Patriotism 8 “Can Ramzan Kadyrov Be Trusted?” 9 Institute for European, Research Centre Center for German Association for Russian, and Eurasian Studies Institute of History for East European Studies Security Studies East European Studies The George Washington University of Zurich University University of Bremen ETH Zurich RUSSIAN ANALYTICAL DIGEST No. 171, 14 July 2015 2 ANALYSIS Potemkin Conservatism: an Ideological Tool of the Kremlin By Witold Rodkiewicz & Jadwiga Rogoża, Warsaw Abstract This article considers the Putin regime’s turn to a conservative ideology. It interprets this move as a politi- cal strategy to stabilise the regime and prevent any political mobilisation around a liberal agenda in Russia. It concludes, however, that the gap between these conservative slogans and the regime’s actual conduct will undermine its credibility in the eyes of Russian society in the long-term. Introduction a plethora of grassroots initiatives that aimed at creat- At the outset of his third presidential term, Vladimir ing mechanisms for holding the government account- Putin openly declared that henceforth he would be able to the public, with their discontent with Putin’s guided in his policies by ‘conservative values’. How- return to the Kremlin expressed in massive street pro- ever, in reality the Kremlin has been treating its own tests in 2011–2012.
    [Show full text]
  • Chechnya – Repression Without Borders
    Chechnya - Repression without borders54 Civil Rights Defenders You are the ones who are hurting yourselves. Someday, in five-ten years, you will have to return, or your parents will tell that it is time for you to come back home, or you will be kicked out of Europe. You will have nowhere to go then, and we will make you answer for every single word of yours and for your every action. I know all the webpages of all the young people who are residing in Europe, every Instagram and Facebook profile, every account of every social network, we are writing down your every word and putting them on record, we have all data on you, who you are, and what you are doing, we know everything. Nowadays, the modern age and technologies allow us all of that, we know everything and can find anyone, so do not make it worse for yourselves. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, in a video published to YouTube55 The Head of the Chechen Republic does not need to exaggerate. Ramzan Kadyrov has ruled the North Caucasian republic of 1.2 million people with an iron fist since 2007, when he was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. His legitimacy largely rests on his ability to keep Chechnya, which fought two bloody wars with Moscow in the 1990s, firmly a part of the Russian Federation. Kadyrov, who fought with his father against the Russian state until 1999, has also worked to ensure that his security apparatus is not limited by national borders.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Financial Flows of Putin's Russia
    FREE RUSSIA FOUNDATION based on exclusive field work materials Global Financial Flows of Putin’s Russia WASHINGTON, DC JULY 2020 FREE RUSSIA FOUNDATION based on exclusive field work materials GLOBAL FINANCIAL FLOWS OF PUTIN’S RUSSIA WASHINGTON, DC JULY 2020 Free Russia Foundation Washington, DC, 2020 Editors Peter Eltsov and Natalya Lunde Contents About this Project 3 Key Findings 4 Introduction: The Power and Weakness of Putin’s Illicit System 8 Chapter 1: The System 16 Chapter 2: Organizing and Financing Political and Military Projects 28 Chapter 3: The Key Players 40 Chapter 4: The Future of the System: Plausible Scenarios 50 Chapter 5: Risks and Threats to the US and International Security 63 Chapter 6: Recommendations 79 Table 1: The System’s Lines of Action 91 Table 2: The System’s Types of Financing 92 Table 3: Examples of Projects 93 Table 4: Scenarios 94 Table 5. Interviews Cited in this Report 96 About this Project In the past decade, Putin’s Russia has emerged as a rogue regime seeking to advance its interests domestically and globally by non-traditional means circumventing international norms, institutions and agreements. Events of the past few years, including Russia’s invasion of Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014), the downing of the MH17 (2014), assassination attempts in the U.K. (2006, 2012, 2013, 2018), coup plots in the Balkans (2016, 2018), and bounty offered to Afghan militants for killing US troops (2019-2020), to name just a few of the most outrageous and widely known cases, have demonstrated the destructive potential of an unrestrained Russia to the interests of the United States and its allies.
    [Show full text]