Putin's New Russia

PUTIN’S NEW RUSSIA Edited by Jon Hellevig and Alexandre Latsa With an Introduction by Peter Lavelle Contributors: Patrick Armstrong, Mark Chapman, Aleksandr Grishin, Jon Hellevig, Anatoly Karlin, Eric Kraus, Alexandre Latsa, Nils van der Vegte, Craig James Willy Publisher: Kontinent USA September, 2012 First edition published 2012 First edition published 2012 Copyright to Jon Hellevig and Alexander Latsa Publisher: Kontinent USA 1800 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 [email protected] www.us-russia.org/kontinent Cover by Alexandra Mozilova on motive of painting by Ilya Komov Printed at Printing house "Citius" ISBN 978-0-9883137-0-5 This is a book authored by independent minded Western observers who have real experience of how Russia has developed after the failed perestroika since Putin first became president in 2000. Common sense warning: The book you are about to read is dangerous. If you are from the English language media sphere, virtually everything you may think you know about contemporary Rus- sia; its political system, leaders, economy, population, so-called opposition, foreign policy and much more is either seriously flawed or just plain wrong. This has not happened by accident. This book explains why. This book is also about gross double standards, hypocrisy, and venal stupidity with western media playing the role of willing accomplice. After reading this interesting tome, you might reconsider everything you “learn” from mainstream media about Russia and the world. Contents PETER LAVELLE ............................................................................................1 Introduction: Deconstructing the Russian Instagram ...................................1 ERIC KRAUS....................................................................................................5 Through Western Eyes – Russia Misconstrued ..............................................6 PATRICK ARMSTRONG .............................................................................33 The Third Turn ...............................................................................................34 JON HELLEVIG ............................................................................................45 Anna Politkovskaya – Twilight of an Idol .....................................................46 Putin – Democracy in the Making .................................................................54 Putin’s transition is over. Modern Russia starts today ................................60 The Disparate Russian Opposition ................................................................65 Putin’s Social Liberal Patriotic Party ...........................................................69 The Intelligentsia, the new iClass and the Psychology of Russian Protests ..........................................................................................75 Russian Press Freedom and the Western Media Hoax ................................82 ALEXANDRE LATSA ...................................................................................93 Critics despite bombs ......................................................................................94 Towards a greater Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok ..............................97 About the «Snow Revolution» in Russia ....................................................100 About the demonstrations in Russia ...........................................................104 A new opposition «Made in Russia» ...........................................................107 The Russian demography from 1991 to 2012 ............................................. 110 Putin until 2018 ............................................................................................. 113 About a disunited opposition ....................................................................... 117 MARK CHAPMAN ......................................................................................121 Welcome to Another Episode of «Who Believes That??» Starring Boris Nemtsov ................................................................................122 Yawn. Duma Elections and the Predictability of Western Outrage .......................................................................................129 Waking Up on the Wrong Side of the Corruption Index ..........................135 Après moi, la Désintégration: Alexander Motyl Does Putin’s New Russia ................................................140 Send In The Clowns ......................................................................................147 ANATOLY KARLIN ....................................................................................153 Why Russians like Putin’s Russia ................................................................154 Whom to Trust: Western «Your Lying Eyes»? ...........................................157 Reports of Russia’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated .................................164 Truth and falsifications in Russia ................................................................171 NILS VAN DER VEGTE ..............................................................................179 A Short Guide To Lazy Russia Journalism.................................................180 ALEKSANDR GRISHIN .............................................................................187 The Russian Opposition Will Enjoy a New Shower of Gold from Abroad .....................................................................................188 CRAIG JAMES WILLY ..............................................................................197 Russia’s inevitable European integration ...................................................198 REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 211 Introduction: Deconstructing the Russian Instagram By Peter Lavelle * Common sense warning: The book you are about to read is dangerous. If you are from the English language media sphere, virtually everything you may think you know about contemporary Russia; its political system, leaders, economy, population, so-called opposition, foreign policy and much more is either seriously flawed or just plain wrong. This has not happened by accident. This book explains why. This book is also about gross double standards, hypocrisy, and venal stupidity with western media playing the role of willing accomplice. After reading this interesting tome, you might reconsider everything you «learn» from mainstream media about Russia and the world. Putin’s New Russia not only provides a more balanced view of Russia’s post- Soviet history, but it also shames the vast majority of western journalists (though not all by a long shot) who have covered Russia over the past two decades, and the so-called «expert Russia watchers.» These are two circles of people who reinforce the same tired and fundamentally flawed interpretation of just about everything related to Russia. Both claim to inform, but what they really do is advocate for a kind of Russia that represents their own values (sic!) and inter- ests, which they claim should be universal. Russia and Russians are rendered irrelevant in this endeavor – deemed as a zombie-state and victims respectively, denied any form of historical agency. The contributors to this book contest this and do not treat Russians as trivialized collateral damage in the service of some- one else’s mission. In my opinion this is the over-riding reason to read this book. Most «expert Russia watchers» are ideological hacks and opportunists with an institutional incentive to make Russia, particularly the person of Vladimir Putin, into one of the world’s bogeymen. They also come from the American and allied intelligence communities. Their worldview holds that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War and must kneel to American global hegemony. The worldview employs lofty rhetoric such as «democracy», «human rights» and «civil society» as a front in the service geopolitical advantage. (How many Russia watchers and journalists ever raise these same issues with Washington and its NATO allies when it comes 1 to the Arab Middle East and the disgraceful illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, not to speak of western support of medieval regimes on the Arabian Peninsula)? Needless to say, Russians, including Putin, don’t see things this way and for many very good reasons. In the following pages the reader will learn what Rus- sians actually think of their country and the world. You will be surprised by the lack of professionalism of western journalists and the spectacular cynicism of western policy makers. While journalists come and go from Russia one thing appears constant – the pro- pensity to judge Russia and Russians instead of trying to understand both. The tone and tenor of most stories filed by the western commentariat on Russia is a pathetic mixture of condescending arrogance and lazy fact checking. From what I can tell, most of the western media circuit resident in Russia enjoys their posting – particularly Russian «re-pats.» Here they can practice what I call «feel good journalism.» Most come to Russia with a mission: to save Russia from «powers of evil» and to side with the «righteous.» It is not mentioned often – though it is in this volume – that a great deal of western journalists championing «down-trodden Russians» in the face of «Putin’s authoritarianism» are in fact translated into the Russian language for Russia’s vibrant online community to read and judge for itself. And the reaction?

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