by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright September 19, 2000
All Rights Reserved.

inking rapidly with the nuclear submarine Kursk is Russia’s tarnished superpower status and credibility, already dismantled with the fall of the Berlin Wall and Russian economy. When Vladimir V. Putin succeeded Boris I. Yeltsin, hope sprang eternal that the baton had been passed to a new generation of leadership finally abandoning its totalitarian past. While Yeltsin presided over the inevitable—the eventual collapse of the world’s grandest stack of cards—his ties to widespread Mafia-like corruption called the 'oligarchs' was known to almost everyone, especially the State Department. Practicing an old habit of supporting regimes—no matter how corrupt, ruthless or brutal—opposed to Communism, the State Department missed the boat. When the ailing Yeltsin picked Putin, the U.S. again supported anyone other than the Communists. While it appeared that Russia had finally turned the corner, Putin’s KGB past should have alerted Kremlin-watchers that it was going to be business as usual.

       Just ask Communist candidate Gennady A. Zyuganov and 9 others whose access to Russia’s state-controlled airwaves was flatly denied. Thanks to corrupt oligarch and Yeltsin crony Borris Berezovsky, all candidates—other than Putin—were virtually hog-tied by the Russian media. Turning 'democracy' on its head, Putin’s 'election' was another Soviet-style power grab. "For the first time in the history or our state—in the whole of Russian history—the supreme authority is transferred in the most democratic way, in the most simple way, according to the will of the people, lawfully and peacefully," declared Putin, speaking largely to Western journalists. Caught up in the hoopla and gilded walls of the Kremlin, the media bought Russia’s new media darling lock, stock and barrel. Few Iron Curtain countries trusted that Russia had finally turned over a new leaf. Faced with interminable shortages and mired in poverty, keeping the war in Chechnya gives the government a convenient smokescreen.

       Extending Putin’s iron grasp are new reports about the Kremlin’s takeover of Media-Most, an independently owned company broadcasting alternative viewpoints—including government criticism—over NTV [national TV]. Incarcerated for fraud, Validmir A. Guzinsky reluctantly signed over his ownership of Media-Most to Mikhail Lesin, Russia’s minister of press, television and mass communications. Breaking Guzinky’s arm, he was released from jail and given a visa to leave the country. Disturbed by the development, former President Mikhail S. Gorbachov—now living in the U.S. with diplomatic immunity—warned that freedom of the press was now jeopardized in Russia. Alarming as that sounds, few journalists or agencies survive without adhering strictly to the party line. Referring to the orderly transition of power, recall Putin’s immortal words at his own inauguration on May 7, 2000, "This is possible only in a free country, which has stopped fearing not only others but itself too, having freed its own citizens and given them more liberty," crowed Putin, proving, if nothing else, that he takes his smoke-blowing very seriously.

       Commenting about Putin’s rise to power and the war in Chechnya, "Yetsin’s presidential staff had to begin this war, which became a powerful instrument of the campaign which helped brainwash the public," said Andrei A. Piontkovsky, director of the Moscow-based Independent Institute for Strategic Studies. Justifying widespread shortages and the snail's pace with which 'reforms' take place, Putin’s endless war in Chechnya guarantees that the Russian people are forever kept hostages. Newspapers and the nightly news are replete with ongoing victories and setbacks, raising expectations, promoting fear, and breeding ethnic hatred. 'Wagging the dog' is a way of life, where smoke and mirrors keep the populace whipped into a frenzy, justifying the government’s high prices and rationing of vital services and commodities. Breeding paranoia and xenophobia helps keep the populace numbed by twisting perceptions of reality which lead to widespread discontent. Filling state television with gruesome images and carnage reminds viewers that both the government and the enemy commit unimaginable atrocities to advance their cause.

       Marketing concepts like bespredel, or the idea that no limits exist when it comes to violence and bloodshed, has the dual effect of stamping-in that the Russian government and the 'enemy' can commit any atrocity while executing their mission. Beyond that, it sends a camouflaged signal that dissidents, insurgents or traitors will meet with the same fate as the enemy. "I remember a Chechyn female sniper. We just tore her apart with two armored personnel carriers, having tied her ankles with steel cables. There was a lot of blood, but the boys needed it," said a 21 year old conscript recounting that behind enemy lines, Russian troops commit any atrocity that satisfies their need for revenge or just unadulterated carnage. Whether the story’s exaggerated is anyone’s guess. But the government’s message is unmistakable: Don’t mess with us. Reports of the most grizzly bloodshed suggest that it’s part of the Russian war culture to which officials turn a blind eye. 'Take no prisoners' takes on new meaning when torture and mutilation are performed with impunity by Russian soldiers.

       Cataloging all the violence obscures the real purposes behind Russia’s unending Chechen war. While it appears as a territorial mission, the ongoing campaign provides the government’s best excuse for widespread scarcity and economic failure. Preserving the atrophied appendages of a free press only reminds the Russian people that the glory days of the Soviet Empire were always an illusion used to intimidate the West into making concessions in the court of world opinion. Whether blowing smoke about arms control or trying to hang on to what’s left of their disintegrated empire, Russia continues to perpetuate grandiose images of its culture and power. Watching the Kursk plummet helplessly to the bottom of the Barents Sea reminded a watching world that Russia’s military—and indeed their society—is in shambles. Putin’s proclamations and May Day parades can’t hide the reality that the Chechen War serves the purpose of perpetuating the Kremlin’s big lie. With the world getting up to speed, Russia needs to stop playing bully, quit blowing smoke and finally admit they need some help.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for The Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in human behavior, health care, political research and media consultation. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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