Friday, October 18, 2013

Mike Nova comments: Czar Peter, sir, and what would you think and say about all this, Ah?!: The intruders had drawn a heart and the letters LGBT... on the wall of the man's house - WSJ and other news stories


    By 
  • LUKAS I. ALPERT
MOSCOW—A high-ranking Dutch diplomat was assaulted in his home in the Russian capital by two men who had forced their way inside, officials said Wednesday. The incident came a week after the Netherlands apologized for the alleged beating of a Russian diplomat by Dutch police in The Hague.
The confrontations come amid increased diplomatic tension between the two countries following Russia's arrest of environmental activists from a Greenpeace ship sailing under a Dutch flag who were protesting last month against offshore drilling in Russia's Arctic. 

Russian police said in a statement that the unknown assailants had forced their way into the home of a Dutch man on a street in central Moscow that is home to several embassies and the Russian Supreme Court, knocked him to the floor, bound him with duct tape and "used violence against him." They then trashed the apartment and fled, police said.
The state news agency RIA-Novosti, citing police sources, said the intruders had drawn a heart and the letters LGBT—an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender—on the wall of the man's house. Russia has drawn heavy criticism abroad for the recent passage of a law banning gay "propaganda."
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans confirmed that the victim was a Dutch diplomat in a message posted on his Facebook page. "He was slightly injured. I have spoken with him and he is doing OK now," Mr. Timmermans wrote.
Russia's Foreign Ministry later identified the official as 60-year-old Onno Elderenbosch, the deputy head of the Dutch mission who had until earlier this year served as acting ambassador.
Mr. Timmermans said he has summoned the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands to the foreign ministry.
"The Netherlands is asking for an explanation from the Russian authorities about this incident. Our people must be able to work safely over there and I want to be assured that the Russian authorities are taking their responsibility on that point," he wrote.
In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it regretted "the unfortunate incident," and that "all necessary measures" were being taken "to find and arrest the persons involved in this crime."
The episode follows the brief arrest on Oct. 5 of the No. 2 diplomat at the Russian embassy in The Hague, after neighbors worried about the two children in his apartment had called police. The man said police had handcuffed him and hit him on the head with a baton even though he had identified himself as a diplomat.
President Vladimir Putin called the incident a "rude violation" of diplomatic treaties and demanded an apology. Russian officials also floated the prospect of a ban on Dutch tulips and dairy products. The Dutch Foreign Ministry on Oct. 9 said it was sorry for violating the Vienna Convention on diplomatic immunity.
Relations between the countries have grown increasingly tense since a Russian court jailed 30 people who were aboard the Greenpeace ship during the Sept. 18 protest, in which activists attempted to scale an offshore platform in the Arctic to protest oil exploration. They were ordered to be held in pretrial detention on piracy charges earlier this month. The charges carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The arrests of the 28 activists, plus a photographer and videographer—dubbed the "Arctic 30"—has sparked demonstrations at Russian embassies and consulates around the world calling for their release. Earlier this month, the Dutch government said it would file a case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Germany to recover the ship.
Ironically, the tension comes as the two countries celebrate "Netherlands-Russia Year," a continuing program of economic and cultural activities designed to emphasize bilateral relations.
Dutch parliamentarian Michiel Servaes argued Wednesday that the yearlong event should be "put on hold" until guarantees about the safety of Dutch diplomats are made.
The king of the Netherlands, Willem Alexander, is scheduled to visit Russia and meet with Mr. Putin in November. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he would not speculate on whether the incident would affect the king's trip.
"It is very serious what has happened, but we need to get the facts first," he said.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared October 17, 2013, on page A9 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Dutch Diplomat Assaulted in Moscow as Tension Rises.


  1. NetherlandsRussia relations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetherlandsRussia_relations

    NetherlandsRussia relations is the relationships between the two countries, the Netherlands and Russia. Russia has an embassy in The Hague, and the ...



    Mike Nova comments: 

    Czar Peter, sir, and what would you think and say about all this, Ah?! Say it to Mr. Putin, por favor; I think he needs to hear it. You are his "role model", anyway. Maybe he will listen to you and will learn something from you about the conduct of international relations. Even your guys appear to had been less barbaric than his are, in a historical retrospect. And have a nice talk with him when two of you meet upstairs, and, please do not forget to take your big cane with you. 



    Where is the Politburo, where are their plumbers and electricians; can't you fix this, already, before he tries to bash the whole diplomatic corps' brains in? Can't you write LGBT in big red letters on his mirror and on the walls of his house, so he could at least learn what it is before sending his thugs in? 

    Mr. Regent, Sergey Ivanov, sir: do you see not that your charge is getting completely out of bounds? If something else happens, he, God forbids, might open his little nuclear suitcase and will start pushing all the buttons indiscriminately in a fit of rage. He does not seem to know the difference between the "tit for tat" and the "quid pro quo". Does he know the difference between good and bad, between proper and wise diplomatic response (when people on the Dutch side have already apologized and the case should have been closed and forgotten) and the senseless and confrontational revenge and retaliation, stemming from his own personal inferiority complex, uncontrollable impulse to hurt back and chronic, mad, immature, childish anger? Does he know what "measured response", moderation and political prudence are? He used to know them, I think. So, what happened now: has he simply nothing to lose and does he not care? And, please, do not try to say that it was not him: nothing happens there without his command and approval (very unfortunately), a la Ivan Grozny in his later years. And this is not just a single episode, absolutely the same thing happened earlier with Polish diplomat several years ago. This is the pattern of gross political misbehavior, and very alarming and dangerous one. Maybe he got so enraged because he did not get his Noble Prize? Who knows? And I will not mention some other occurrences at this point, out of simple and diplomatic politeness; although, I am sure that you are very well aware of them. 

    Is this not the right time and a good idea to arrange some good professional forensic psychiatric evaluation for this little boy, before he gets completely nuts and brings poor Mother Russia to its ruin and to its grave with him? As you did some time ago with Yeltsin? And as it had to be done with most of his predecessors? Serbsky Institute is apparently back in "bidniz" and maybe you can find some, not completely corrupted yet guys there? Your late Tamara Dmitrieva, Serbsky director, promoted, appointed and generously awarded for her special KGB services by your dear little old boy Putin, who conducted Yeltsin's psychiatric examination, displayed such nice extra-shiny extra-sized gems on her very caring hands and upper torso, (apparently, gifts and payments, not to say bribes, from her very grateful mafia and other VIP patients) that one almost had to use heavily tinted sun shades to watch her "duma testimony". She looked more like a pretty doll in the window of the most exclusive jewelry store on Tverskaya street than a physician. She refused to disclose Yeltsin's psychiatric diagnosis on the phony, false and absolutely irrelevant pretext of "vrachebnaya taina": patient's right to privacy and confidentiality. No such thing, when it concerns the very powerful ruling politician, in my very humble opinion; because his state of health, carefully and artfully hidden from others, might affect very directly and very tragically the fate of his country and the fate of the world. 

    And is this not the right and proper time and the course of actions: to take the steering wheel of the state into your own hands or to give it to some good and responsible person, who will be able to handle it, rather than to leave it in the hands of your half-crazed, irresponsible and immature, but in the most troubling way, obviously criminally slanted in many respects, poor little old boy? 


    Mr. Putin, you are a sick (in many various aspects) and a very troubled man. Your mask of superficial psychopathic charm and demonstratively "benign nature" is worn off completely, and there is nothing there beyond and behind it, just enraged wolf's grin. You affect very negatively, adversely, unpredictably and dangerously the climate and the situations within your own country and internationally. I do not think that it is possible, feasible or potentially productive to do any business with you. I think that you should resign or to be removed. I also think that you should be the subject to prosecution, domestic, international or both for the abuse of political power and corruption, for acts that we do know and that we do not know yet but will investigate and will try to discover. And this is my very humble and strictly personal opinion. 

    Disrespectfully, Michael Novakhov. 

    -


      Last Update: 

      2:57 PM 10/18/2013:

    P.S. My humble advice, my dear sirs, for whatever it stands: Turn everything upside down, if the need be; but do find those thugs (if they are not found already), and as soon as possible, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. But most importantly, find out who is behind them, which "electrical company" or "chief electrician" and deal with them appropriately also. 
    M.N.
    -

    Some other news stories from: 





    » Assault of Dutch Diplomat in Moscow Frays Ties Between Russia and the ... - New York Times
    17/10/13 00:40 from Russia - Google News
    New York TimesAssault of Dutch Diplomat in Moscow Frays Ties Between Russia and the ...New York TimesMOSCOW — The year 2013 was officially supposed to be one of cultural exchange to highlight the friendship between Russia and the Netherl...



    Assault of Dutch Diplomat in Moscow Frays Ties Between Russia and the Netherlands


    Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

    A computer screen showing a photo of Onno Elderenbosch, the Netherlands’ deputy ambassador to Russia, who was beaten up in his apartment in Moscow.


    » Attack on diplomat in Moscow deepens Dutch-Russian rift
    16/10/13 17:59 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
    Dutch deputy head of mission in Russia assaulted at his flat 10 days after opposite number was arrested in The HagueA senior Dutch diplomat has been assaulted by unidentified assailants at his home in Moscow days after Dutch police arres...


    Attack on diplomat in Moscow deepens Dutch-Russian rift
    Dutch deputy head of mission in Russia assaulted at his flat 10 days after opposite number was arrested in The Hague
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    Tom Balmforth in Moscow
    theguardian.com, Wednesday 16 October 2013 13.59 EDT
    Onno Elderenbosch building
    Passersby outside the apartment building in Moscow where Onno Elderenbosch was attacked. Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
    A senior Dutch diplomat has been assaulted by unidentified assailants at his home in Moscow days after police in the Netherlands arrested his Russian counterpart.

    Two men barged into the home of Onno Elderenbosch, the Dutch deputy head of mission in Russia, and beat him, tied him up with tape and drew a heart pierced with an arrow on his mirror in pink lipstick and beneath it the letters LGBT, the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.


    The Russian foreign ministry said authorities would "take all measures" to find those responsible, working in close partnership with the Dutch, but the incident looks certain to worsen fraying ties between the countries, with the king and queen of the Netherlands due to visit Russia next month.


    Upon returning home on Tuesday night Elderenbosch found that the lift in his apartment building was not working and encountered two men posing as electricians, according to Russian media reports.


    They reportedly asked to check his fourth-floor apartment for electricity, and when he opened the door they overpowered him and forced their way inside. Elderenbosch, 60, sustained minor injuries in the incident. The intruders stole nothing.


    Ten days earlier Dutch police arrested Elderenbosch's opposite number, Dmitry Borodin, the number two in the Russian embassy in the Hague, despite him having diplomatic immunity.


    Borodin, who says he was beaten with a police baton, was detained for three hours on 5 October in an incident that Vladimir Putin said violated the Vienna convention. The Russian president demanded a public apology, subsequently issued by the Dutch foreign minister, Frans Timmermans. But the Netherlands declined to bring any police officers to account.


    According to Dutch media reports cited by the AFP news agency, Borodin was found drunk and barely able to stand when police arrived at his home after neighbours complained he was mistreating his children. Russia has rubbished these reports.


    In the wake of the incident an aide to Gennady Onishchenko, the chief health inspector known for banning produce from countries at odds with the Kremlin, threatened to impose an import ban on Dutch tulips and dairy products.


    Ties between the Netherlands and Russia began to fray conspicuously in September when border guards seized a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship that activists used for an environmental protest on an oil rig operated by the Russian state gas giant Gazprom in the Arctic Pechora Sea.


    On 4 October the Dutch launched legal proceedings against Russia, hoping to go to the international tribunal for the law of the sea, based in Hamburg, to contest the manner by which Russian border guards seized the Arctic Sunrise in international waters.


    The Greenpeace activists, among them two Dutch nationals, have been charged with piracy, which carries 10 to 15 years in jail in Russia. They could face further charges after investigators claimed they found illegal substances on board the boat. A court in Murmansk, northern Russia, has so far rejected all appeals for bail.


    Dutch politicians have said they hope legal proceedings will draw further attention to the charges, which have been criticised as baseless.


    It is not the first time diplomats have encountered problems in Russia. Britain's former ambassador Anthony Brenton was hounded for months in 2006 by members of a pro-Kremlin youth group after the murder of Alexander Litvinenko led to a spate of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between the UK and Russia.


    The current US ambassador, Michael McFaul, has complained that pro-government television crews have displayed an uncanny knowledge of his movements, suggesting they are able to monitor his phone calls and email correspondence. On Wednesday McFaul condemned the attack of Elderenbosch, writing on Twitter that "such actions are unacceptable".


    Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was reported to have spoken to his Dutch counterpart by telephone on Wednesday evening to inform him of progress in the investigation, although no details were forthcoming.


    As well as the Greenpeace incident, Russia and the Netherlands have been at odds over LGBT issues this year. When Putin flew to Amsterdam in April, thousands waved rainbow flags in Amsterdam to protest against Russian legislation prohibiting the distribution of "gay propaganda" among minors.


    In July four Dutch nationals who were producing a film about LGBT rights were detained by police in the Russian north and questioned for several hours before being released. They were subsequently banned from returning to Russia for three years, purportedly because they had violated their visa regulations. They are believed to be the first foreigners to have crossed paths with the legislation.



    Dutch politicians have urged King Willem-Alexander to cancel his planned visit next month. The king is due in Russia to mark the end of a bilateral project called "Netherlands-Russia year", designed to mark 400 years of relations between the two countries. On Wednesday Dutch politicians called for the project to be abandoned entirely.

    » Dutch Express Outrage Over Attack on Diplomat in Moscow
    16/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    Investigators opened a criminal case Wednesday in connection with an attack on a Dutch diplomat in his Moscow apartment, amid growing tensions between Russia and the Netherlands during a year meant to celebrate relations between the two ...


    » U.S. 'Disturbed' by Attack on Dutch Diplomat
    17/10/13 04:53 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    The U.S. has strongly condemned the attack on a senior Dutch diplomat in his Moscow apartment on Tuesday evening, and expressed concern about reports that the assault may have been directed against homosexuals. 



    U.S. 'Disturbed' by Attack on Dutch Diplomat

    RIA Novosti
    The U.S. has strongly condemned the attack on a senior Dutch diplomat in his Moscow apartment on Tuesday evening, and expressed concern about reports that the assault may have been directed against homosexuals.
    "We call on the Russian authorities to thoroughly investigate this unacceptable attack and bring to justice those responsible," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing Wednesday.
    "We are also disturbed by a reported anti-LGBT element" to the assault, Psaki said, adding that it was "crucial for the Russian government to ensure a climate of tolerance and reassure their own people and foreign visitors that Russia is a safe place for all."
    Unknown assailants on Tuesday evening forced their way into the central Moscow home of a diplomat identified as Onno Elderenbosch, an aide to the Dutch ambassador to Russia, pushed him to the floor and tied him up before ransacking the apartment, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.
    The attackers did not steal anything, but drew a large pink heart on a mirror and scrawled "LGBT" beneath it, LifeNews reported.
    The Foreign Ministry has expressed regret for the "deplorable incident," which took place days after a Russian diplomat in the Netherlands was arrested by Dutch police on suspicions of child abuse, sparking outrage among Russian politicians.
    Related articles:
    Dutch Express Outrage Over an Attack on Diplomat in Moscow


    Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/us-disturbed-by-attack-on-dutch-diplomat/488020.html#ixzz2i1ShAqXf
    The Moscow Times 


    » Russia 'regret' over attack on Dutch diplomat - BBC News
    16/10/13 16:05 from Russia - Google News
    BBC NewsRussia 'regret' over attack on Dutch diplomatBBC NewsRussia's foreign ministry has expressed regret after a Dutch diplomat was beaten up in Moscow. The Dutch foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador to explai...



    Mr Timmermans told the Dutch parliament that he had spoken to Mr Lavrov by telephone.

    A man looks at a computer screen in Moscow, 16 OctoberImages of the graffiti on the mirror were shown by Russian media

    » Beating strains Amsterdam-Moscow ties
    16/10/13 16:03 from FT.com - World, Europe
    The Netherlands was seeking answers after a Dutch diplomat was beaten in Moscow, the latest in a series of incidents testing relations


    » Beaten diplomats and 'bad' tulips: Russian-Dutch ties get worse. - Christian Science Monitor
    16/10/13 15:48 from Russia - Google News
    Christian Science MonitorBeaten diplomats and 'bad' tulips: Russian-Dutch ties get worse.Christian Science MonitorAn assault on a top Dutch diplomat in his Moscow apartment could be just a random big-city crime, if possibly homop...


    » Dutch diplomat attacked in Moscow
    16/10/13 14:17 from Europe News: News and Headlines from Europe - The Washington Post
    MOSCOW — Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have taken an odd turn recently. Last month, Russia seized a Greenpeace ship sailing under the Dutch flag. Just over a week ago, a high-level Russian diplomat in the Hague complained ...


    Foreign diplomats here are closely watched by government agents, and over the years some have been subjected to protracted harassment — including the U.S. ambassador, Michael McFaul, when he first arrived in early 2012. A physical assault is considerably more serious.


    » Dutch diplomat beaten in Moscow flat in tit-for-tat attack - with 'LGBT' written on mirror
    16/10/13 09:59 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    A Dutch diplomat has been beaten by two men in his Moscow flat, further straining relations after police in the Netherlands detained and allegedly beat a Russian diplomat this month.
    » Dutch diplomat found beaten and with 'LGBT' scrawled on mirror in his Russian apartment 
    16/10/13 09:59 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    Russia has said it will investigate the beating of Dutch diplomat in his Moscow flat by unknown intruders posing as electricians. 
    » Dutch diplomat beaten by two unidentified men who barged into his apartment in Russia
    16/10/13 09:59 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    Russia expressed regret today over the beating of Dutch diplomat in his Moscow flat by unknown intruders and said it would seek out the culprits.
    » Dutch diplomat found beaten in Moscow flat in apparent tit-for-tat attack
    16/10/13 09:59 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    A Dutch diplomat has been beaten by two men in his Moscow flat, further straining relations after police in the Netherlands detained and allegedly beat a Russian diplomat this month.

    » The bear and the land of tulips
    16/10/13 09:48 from EU-RussiaCentre
    An article writes about the current tense relationship between the Netherlands and Russia, citing the notable Dutch involvement in the recent dispute over Greenpeace activists. The article concludes that both countries have very differen...

    » Down a Road Less Traveled, Looking for the Still Heart of Russia - New York Times (blog)
    16/10/13 21:12 from Russia - Google News
    Down a Road Less Traveled, Looking for the Still Heart of RussiaNew York Times (blog)The Boston Marathon bombers turned out to be Islamists from Russia's North Caucasus. Infighting at the Bolshoi Ballet erupted into tabloid violence....



    » How do you solve a problem like Russia? - The Guardian
    17/10/13 12:04 from Russia - Google News
    The GuardianHow do you solve a problem like Russia?The Guardian"


    Russia systematically forces a showdown on all subjects," said a French foreign ministry official – an approach illustrated by the Syrian crisis. 

    For months, Russi...

    Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise after being seized by Russian authorities Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise after being seized by Russian authorities during a protest against drilling in the Arctic. Photograph: Igor Podgorny/AFP/Getty Images


    Clark said Putin continued to be motivated by fear of encirclement and the imposition on Russia of western political and civil rights agendas. His diplomatic success over Syria notwithstanding, his posture was essentially defensive.
    "Russia's economic position is very fragile due its dependency on global oil prices; it is very exposed, very vulnerable. There has been no progress in modernising and diversifying, despite what Putin says," Clark said.

    Despite a contracting economy and falling popularity ratings, Putin remained a formidable opponent, Brenton said. "Putin is very professional. He is very well briefed. He tends to go for the jugular if he sees an opportunity. He is not a diplomat. He's not the sort of guy you would invite to a tea party. But we have to do business with him."

    » How do you solve a problem like Russia?
    17/10/13 10:03 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
    From its diplomatic triumph on Syria to the jailing of Greenpeace activists, the Kremlin's newfound confidence is both confusing and concerning Europe. Should the EU be worried? We ask foreign policy expertsA resurgent Kremlin is setting...


    » The Dangers of Growing Russian Parochialism
    16/10/13 09:43 from EU-RussiaCentre
    Here is published an opinion editorial by Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, warning of the dangers of growing Russian parochialism. The article argues that Russia’s trade ...



    The Dangers of Growing Russian Parochialism

    16 Oct 2013 — 
    Here is published an opinion editorial by Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, warning of the dangers of growing Russian parochialism. The article argues that Russia’s trade policy, particularly in regards to the Russian-backed Customs Union, makes no sense and harms Russia’s national interests. Politically, President Vladimir Putin is turning most post-Soviet states against his country, compelling them to seek security elsewhere. Economically, Russia is paying large subsidies while impeding the modernisation of its economy. Legally, it is provoking World Trade Organisation (WTO) sanctions. Instead, Russia should open up its economy and render it more competitive by trying to conclude free trade agreements with the EU as everybody else is doing.
    Source: The Moscow Times


    » Russia ‘regret’ over attack on Dutch diplomat
    17/10/13 10:20 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
    Russia’s foreign ministry has expressed regret after a Dutch diplomat was beaten up in his Moscow apartment.


    » Russia Condemns Polish Artist Over Statue of Soviet Soldier Raping a Woman
    16/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    The Russian ambassador to Poland has denounced as blasphemous "pseudo-art" a statue depicting a Soviet soldier raping a pregnant woman, which briefly appeared in Gdansk over the weekend.



    » Report: 30 Million Slaves Worldwide

    17/10/13 01:29 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty


    The report says China is home to 2.9 million slaves, Pakistan has 2.1 million, and there are 516,000 in Russia.



    "If you have a situation in which the national government is requiring people to work and there is a penalty if they do not go to work and if they are enforcing those penalties with force and threats, then you are approaching a situation that could be called state slavery," a report author says.
    "If you have a situation in which the national government is requiring people to work and there is a penalty if they do not go to work and if they are enforcing those penalties with force and threats, then you are approaching a situation that could be called state slavery," a report author says.

    » Coming Out Day Ends in Fights, Arrests
    16/10/13 20:00 from The St. Petersburg Times
    LGBT rights activists were prevented from holding an authorized Coming Out Day event on Saturday and were harassed and beaten by anti-gay protesters and arrested by the police.


    » Baryshnikov Latest Celebrity to Condemn Russian 'Gay Propaganda' Law
    16/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    Legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov has spoken out against Russia's "gay propaganda" law, joining a score of other celebrities to have denounced the legislation, including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Elton John.


    » Russia Wants Visa-Free Travel With EU From 2014
    17/10/13 09:59 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    Russia wants to begin drafting a deal on visa-free travel with the EU early next year, a senior Russian diplomat said.


    » ‘Drop piracy charges against Greenpeace activists’ Nobel laureates implore Russia’s President Putin
    17/10/13 18:58 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
    Eleven Nobel Peace Prize laureates have written a letter to President Vladimir Putin calling for piracy charges against environmental activists to be dropped.


    » Greenpeace 'Arctic 30' families appeal to Russia to expedite their release
    16/10/13 18:22 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
    British protesters' families meet Foreign Office officials and say they hope for solution before protesters reach Russian courtsRelatives of some of the six Britons held in Russia on piracy charges following a Greenpeace demonstration in...


    » Angela Merkel pressures Putin over Arctic 30 arrests
    17/10/13 10:08 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
    The detention of Greenpeace activists needs a swift resolution, the German chancellor told the Russian president in a phone callGerman chancellor Angela Merkel told Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of her concerns over the ...


    » Angela Merkel increases the pressure on Russia by demanding release of Greenpeace activists
    16/10/13 19:46 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    The pressure is mounting on the Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the Arctic 30 after the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, personally telephoned him to demand he set free the 28 Greenpeace campaigners and two journalists bei...


    » Moscow politician pushed off stage in row over building in historic area
    17/10/13 17:35 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    A Moscow politician known for her campaigns against illegal construction was knocked unconscious when a fight broke out at a public hearing over the demolition of two historic buildings in the city centre.


    » How Wealthy Russians Buy a 2nd Passport
    17/10/13 17:26 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    When Nuri Katz, founder of investment firm Apex Capital, heads for the customs gate, he gets to decide which of his three passports to use - a privilege that his Russian clients would pay up to 5 million euros to enjoy.


    » Russia to Spend $370M on Limousines for Officials
    17/10/13 11:30 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    The government will spend 12 billion rubles ($372 million), on the development of limousines for high-ranking government officials, a news report said Thursday.


    » Sergei Sobyanin
    16/10/13 16:17 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
    “Moscow is a Russian city and it should remain that way. It is not Chinese, Tajik or Uzbek… People who speak Russian badly and who have a different culture are better off living in their own country.”


    Mike Nova comments: Amazingly xenophobic remarks from a mayor of one of the largest "European" cities! Mr. Sobyanin, if I may ask you, and who are you, sir? And where are you from yourself? Your nationality is designated as "Russian" only nominally (and what is "Russian nationality" anyway: it does not exist and is very, very mixed), and your habitus and appearance show clearly Siberian-Asiatic ethnic origins. And who are you then to tell "Chinese, Tajik or Uzbek…" not to live in Moscow? If they do not practice Russian, they will never learn it; if they do not experience Russian culture, they will never know what it is. This is a very wrong, narrow-minded approach to this issue and may make it even more of a problem, because people from all the different places will keep coming and you will not be able to stop them anyway. Equality and universal observance of Law - this seems to me to be more practical and probably much more efficient approach. 

    » Uzbek Man Stabbed to Death in Biryulyovo
    16/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    The body of an Uzbek man with multiple stab wounds was found Tuesday in Moscow's Biryulyovo district, near the scene of recent riots by Russian nationalists against the increasing presence of migrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia.


    » Azerbaijani, Uzbek Citizens Found Murdered In Moscow
    16/10/13 11:17 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
    An Azerbaijani citizen has been found dead from an apparent stabbing in Moscow's eastern Izmailovo district, the second murder of a non-Russian in as many days.


    » Small Retailers Squeezed Out Of Moscow in Migrant Crackdown
    16/10/13 20:00 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    Following a recent eruption of ethnically motivated street violence, Moscow's migrant-populated food markets and warehouses continue to serve as the front line in an ongoing fight against illegal immigrants declared by mayor Sergei Sobya...


    » Russia Cracks Down On Immigrant Home Buyers - Forbes
    16/10/13 19:48 from Russia - Google News
    Tne Moscow NewsRussia Cracks Down On Immigrant Home BuyersForbesRussia's Mercury Tower in Moscow's financial district. The mixed-used property is the tallest building in Europe. Russia's crackdown on foreign ownership of real...


    » How Biryulyovo Succeeded Where Bolotnaya Failed
    17/10/13 17:18 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
    We’ve been writing about not only the events concerning the race riots in Moscow, but also the reaction of the government and the various politicians and media outlets. One concern cited by several voices is that the Russian govern...


    » Biryulyovo Vs. Bolotnaya: A Tale Of Two Riots
    17/10/13 10:28 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
    Moscow this weekend was rocked by its worst nationalist violence in years. But the authorities appear to be treating the rioters with kid gloves. Law enforcement's handling of the riots in Moscow's Biryulyovo district contrasts sharply w...


    » Azerbaijan protests over Russia's handling of murder suspect - Reuters
    17/10/13 16:56 from Russia - Google News
    Trend.azAzerbaijan protests over Russia's handling of murder suspectReutersBAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan said on Thursday it has protested to Russia about police treatment of an Azeri migrant suspected of killing an ethnic Russian man 


    » Russia Sends Azerbaijani Murder Suspect To Pretrial Detention
    17/10/13 11:03 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
    A court in Moscow has sent the Azerbaijani citizen suspected in the high-profile killing of a Russian man into pretrial detention until December 10.


    » Immigrant Held in Killing of Russian Claims Self-Defense, Officials Say
    17/10/13 10:29 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
    An Azerbaijani man arrested in the killing of a 25-year-old Russian man that set off an anti-immigrant rampage over the weekend in Moscow confessed to the crime, Russian officials said Wednesday, but he told investigators that he acted i...


    » Putin's Billionaire Ally Buys Half of Tele2 Russia Operator - Bloomberg
    17/10/13 15:51 from Russia - Google News
    Putin's Billionaire Ally Buys Half of Tele2 Russia OperatorBloombergPresident Vladimir Putin's billionaire ally Yury Kovalchuk is buying half of Tele2 Russia Holding AB with partners, seeking to make the wireless carrier a strong...


    » VTB Sells 50% Tele2 Stake to Billionaire Consortium
    17/10/13 12:33 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    State bank VTB has agreed to sell 50 percent of Tele2 Russia, turning a quick profit and gaining investors with the expertise that could help it to challenge the dominance of the country's big three mobile phone operators.


    » Suspected Biryulyovo Killer Rescinds Confession
    17/10/13 15:10 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    Azerbaijan wants to provide consular support to an Azeri accused of a killing that triggered ethnic riots in Moscow's Biryulyovo district, the country's ambassador said, as the suspect rescinded his confession in the case.


    » Ukraine's Yanukovych Ready To Release Tymoshenko For Treatment Abroad
    17/10/13 12:27 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
    The EU's enlargement commissioner and Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter both say they expect the jailed former Ukrainian prime minister to be released for medical treatment abroad before next month's European Union summit.


    » Russian scientists recover giant chunk of meteorite from bottom of lake
    17/10/13 11:37 from - Europe RSS Feed 
    Russian scientists have recovered a giant chunk of the Chelyabinsk meteorite from the bottom of the lake it crashed into.


    » Russian Scientists Report Virulent New HIV Strain
    17/10/13 08:36 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
    Novosibirsk's Koltsovo science city said in a statement on October 16 that the subtype of the HIV virus -- known as 02_AG/A -- was first detected in Novosibirsk in 2006 and now accounts for more than 50 percent of the registered cases in...


    » New HIV Strain in Russia Spreading Rapidly, Scientists Say
    16/10/13 15:49 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
    A scientific research center in Siberia said Wednesday that it has discovered a new strain of HIV in Russia and that the virus is spreading "at a rapid rate."


    » Former Hungarian Official Charged With War Crimes in 1956 Uprising
    16/10/13 14:39 from NYT > Europe
    Bela Biszku, a 92-year-old former interior minister, was on a committee of the Communist Party that ordered the shooting of Hungarians who rose up against Soviet rule more than half a century ago.    


    Mike Nova comments: Better late than never. 

Russia and China's largest energy companies announced a "breakthrough" deal - WSJ

  • Russia, China in Energy Deal

    Russia and China's largest energy companies announced a "breakthrough" deal paving the way for joint development of massive energy reserves in Siberia, in a sign that Moscow is overcoming its fear of Chinese encroachment on Russia's Far East. 6:14 AM

Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina has withdrawn a request for a more lenient sentence at a hearing in Nizhny Novgorod.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Russia

Jailed Pussy Riot Member Withdraws Leniency Request

WATCH: Pussy Riot Member Withdraws Leniency Plea
TEXT SIZE 
Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina has withdrawn a request for a more lenient sentence at a hearing in Nizhny Novgorod.

Alyokhina told the court on October 18 that she had "no moral right" to continue appealing her sentence while her fellow Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova could not appeal her jail term because she has been in a hospital following a hunger strike.

Alyokhina said if Russian authorities agree to free her early it should be part of a broad amnesty that frees other convicted women with young children.

Alyokhina's statement will be attached to the court materials.

Alyokhina's lawyer, Irina Khrunova, had earlier requested Alyokhina's sentence be changed to a fine or community service.

Three Pussy Riot members were sentenced to two years in jail in August 2012 for "hooliganism" and "inciting religious hatred."

Yekaterina Samutsevich was later released on probation.


Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and rapsinews.com

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Komm Frau | Russia 2013: KGB in Power. А также: Путин как "пожарник": поджигатель национальной розни и её "контроллёр и тушитель" (в целях поддержания собственной власти) - двойственность и лицемерие - его главные черты как человека и политика - Russia News Review - 10.16.13

Russia 2013: KGB in Power - Russia News Review - 10.16.13 

А также: Путин как "пожарник": поджигатель национальной 

розни и её "контроллёр и тушитель" (в целях поддержания 
собственной власти) - двойственность и лицемерие - его 
главные черты как человека и политика. 


» Russia 2013: KGB in Power
16/10/13 15:33 from The InterpreterThe Interpreter
September 30, 2013 will go down in history. On this day, President Putin signed decrees №№ 739-742, increasing by 2-2.5 times the monetary remuneration (salary plus bonuses) of security officials – from the Minister of Defence to the hea...

» Suspect in Murder Case Behind Biryulyovo Riots Confesses
16/10/13 14:34 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
The Azeri suspect in a deadly stabbing that triggered ethnic riots in Moscow's Western Biryulyuvo district over the weekend has confessed to the killing and requested an interpreter for his case, investigators said.



» Ethnic Tensions Still High In Moscow In Wake Of Suspected Killer's Arrest
16/10/13 14:17 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Videos showing the dramatic arrest of Orkhan Zeynalov, the Azerbaijani man suspected a killing an ethnic Russian in Moscow, are making the rounds on Russian television. The clips have fueled mounting tensions between ethnic Russians and ...


» Migrant worker killed after race riots in Moscow
16/10/13 14:15 from World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk
Uzbek citizen stabbed to death in possible revenge attack after killing of Russian in Biryulyovo district last weekA migrant worker was found stabbed to death on Wednesday in a Moscow neighbourhood rocked this week by race riots, in what...


» Baryshnikov Latest Celebrity to Condemn Russian 'Gay Propaganda' Law
16/10/13 13:37 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
Legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov has spoken out against Russia's "gay propaganda" law, joining a score of other celebrities to have denounced the legislation, including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Elton John.



» Big Chunk Of Chelyabinsk Meteorite Recovered
16/10/13 12:08 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Divers have recovered a large fragment of a meteorite that exploded over Russia's southern Chelyabinsk region in February.


» Dutch Diplomat Beaten in Moscow
16/10/13 16:19 from WSJ.com: World News
Two men forced their way inside the man's home, a week after the Netherlands demanded an apology for the alleged beating of a Russian diplomat by Dutch police.


» Migrant killed in Moscow district scarred by race riots
16/10/13 13:43 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A migrant worker was found stabbed to death on Wednesday in a Moscow neighborhood rocked this week by race riots, in what a community leader suggested was a revenge attack for the killing of an ethnic Russian. 


» Uzbek Man Stabbed to Death in Biryulyovo
16/10/13 11:58 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
The body of an Uzbek man with multiple stab wounds was found Tuesday in Moscow's Biryulyovo district, near the scene of recent riots by Russian nationalists against the increasing presence of migrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia.


» Uzbek National Found Dead In Moscow's Biryulyovo District
16/10/13 11:17 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
An Uzbek national has been found dead in Moscow's troubled Biryulyovo district.


» Azerbaijani, Uzbek Citizens Found Murdered In Moscow
16/10/13 11:17 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
An Azerbaijani citizen has been found dead from an apparent stabbing in Moscow's eastern Izmailovo district, the second murder of a non-Russian in as many days.


» Russia Condemns Polish Artist Over Statue of Soviet Soldier Raping a Woman
16/10/13 11:44 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
The Russian ambassador to Poland has denounced as blasphemous "pseudo-art" a statue depicting a Soviet soldier raping a pregnant woman, which briefly appeared in Gdansk over the weekend. 






Russia Condemns Polish Artist Over Statue of Soviet Soldier Raping a Woman

The Moscow Times
The Russian ambassador to Poland has denounced as blasphemous "pseudo-art" a statue depicting a Soviet soldier raping a pregnant woman, which briefly appeared in Gdansk over the weekend.
The offending work of art, entitled "Komm Frau," German for "Come Here Woman," had been installed on Gdansk's Avenue of Victory on Saturday. Polish authorities removed the statue on Sunday, saying that it had been put there illegally, while Szumczyk was brought in for questioning by the police before being released, Polish Radio reported.
The sculptor, fifth-year art student Jerzy Szumczyk, said he "was unable to cope" with the accounts he read about rape by Soviet servicemen as they advanced toward Berlin in 1944 and 1945, and felt compelled to express his feelings.
"I am deeply outraged by the stunt by a Gdansk Fine Arts Academy student, who has defiled by his pseudo-art the memory of 600,000 Soviet servicemen who gave their lives in the fight for the freedom and the independence of Poland," Russian ambassador Alexander Alexeyev said in a statement Tuesday.
"We consider the installation of the statue as an expression of hooliganism, marked by an explicitly blasphemous nature," Alexeyev said. "The vulgar statue on the city's main street insults not only the feelings of Russians, but of all clear-headed people who remember to whom they owe their liberation from the Nazis."
Some historians estimate that up to 2 million German women, and large numbers of Polish women, were raped in the final months of World War II by soldiers of the advancing Red Army. However, Russian authorities maintain that the figures are flagrantly exaggerated.


Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-condemns-polish-artist-over-statue-of-soviet-soldier-raping-a-woman/487979.html#ixzz2huB5jNw1
The Moscow Times 


See also: 

"Никто не забыт и ничто не забыто - No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten" | The Rape of Germany - Изнасилование Германии: 1945 - 1948




German Woman Breaks Silence about Red Army Rapes
An 80-year-old German woman has broken an old taboo of silence over the rapes she endured at the hands of Soviet soldiers in the second world war with a searing book about the crimes of the Red Army as it marched towards Berlin.
By Allan Hall in Berlin
Published: 2:05PM GMT 28 Feb 2010
“Why Did I Have To Be A Girl” by Gabriele Koepp is the first book published about the rapes under a victim’s real name. Mrs Koepp was one of an estimatedtwo million German girls and women raped by Soviet soldiers, encouraged by their leader Josef Stalin to regard the crime as a spoil of war after Hitler’s invasion had left 26 million Russians dead.
“Frau. Komm,” was a phrase that women dreaded hearing from Red Army soldiers. In the weeks after the city fell the rape epidemic was so bad that even the Catholic church countenanced abortion for some victims.
Even today, Mrs Koepp has trouble sleeping. “I was hardly more than a child. Writing this has not been easy, but I had no choice: who else would do it?”
Mrs Koepp told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine at the weekend that it was on the evening of January 25 1945, when she was 15, that her mother told her to pack quickly as she had to flee.
They lived in Schneidemuehl, in the former German region of Pomerania which is now a Polish town called Pila. She and her sister left the next day aboard a cattle train that was supposed to head towards Berlin. But it went in a different direction and the engine was soon blown up by Russian artillery. “The freight car door was locked,” she said. “I managed to climb up and crawl out of a high window. My sister was left behind: I have never seen her again.”
Her ordeal of multiple rape in a nearby village went on for two weeks until she was taken in at a farm and hid from the Soviets.
She was reunited with her mother 15 months later in Hamburg but says her mother was cold to her when she tried to talk of her pain and shame. British historian Antony Beevor chronicled the mass rapes in his 2002 book about the Soviet onslaught on Germany. Mrs Koepp’s book will be translated into English at the end of the summer.
————————————————
AT THE MERCY OF MONSTERS
Tuesday March 2,2010
By Paul Callan
GABRIELE Koepp was just 15 with blue eyes and blonde hair woven into plaits – a pretty schoolgirl whose face shone with innocence. But on the morning of January 26, 1945, she crouched trembling with terror under a table in a farmhouse.
Outside she could hear the Russian soldiers, their voices slurred with drink, shouting for women. “Frau komm, frau komm,” (“come here woman, come here woman”) they bellowed in heavily Russian-accented German. It was a cry that thousands of women would learn to dread.
Suddenly some of the soldiers stumbled into the kitchen and a handful of old women refugees, fearful they would be attacked, dragged Gabriele out, thrusting her towards the Russians. She was immediately raped by every soldier. It was not the first time. The day before she had been caught by two Russians, hurled to the ground and violated.
So it went on for two weeks until she was taken to another farm and hidden from the sex-crazed soldiers. Now aged 80 Gabriele still remembers those terrible days and in particular how she was betrayed by the old women. “I despised those women, I still do,” she said. “I have no tears but I feel hatred rising up inside me.”
It is a boiling hatred that has lasted 65 years since the Allies, including fierce Soviet forces, smashed their way across Europe… But as they advanced the Russians unleashed an orgy of sickening self-gratification as soldiers of the Red Army embarked on a lengthy campaign of rape, looting, murder and depravity.
Now Gabriele Koepp has written a book of searing honesty called Why Did I Have To Be A Girl, about the rapes carried out by the Red Army as it advanced towards Berlin. The book is unprecedented, being the first time a German woman has broken the lengthy taboo by writing about being one of the estimated two million victims of rampaging Soviet soldiers.
What sickened many at the time was that the soldiers were actively encouraged to rape German women by Russian dictator Josef Stalin. When one of his commanders protested Stalin exploded: “Can’t you understand it if a soldier, who has crossed thousands of kilometres through blood and fire and death, has fun with some woman or takes a trifle?” To Stalin German women were merely the “spoils of war”.
Gabriele was such a “spoil” for those 14 days when she was relentlessly and repeatedly raped by Russian soldiers, so much so that she cannot even to this day, say the very word. “My life has been some 29,200 days,” she said. “But really it was destroyed in those 14 days of the … I cannot say the word. I was innocent when it happened.
“There is a debate going on in Germany at the moment about the so-called expellees from land that once belonged to Germany, the loss of the homeland, etc, but that is [comparatively] nothing to me. I live with what happened to me all the time. There are days I cannot eat because of it, even now all these years later.
“Writing of what happened hasn’t made anything easier for me but I had to do it. Who else would?” Gabriele studiously avoids detail and writes in the book of “the place of the terror”, the “gates of hell” and calls the rapists “brutes and scoundrels”. She avoids the word “rape” and adds with some fear in her eyes: “I cannot even say that word.”
The book is a searing scrutiny of the agony that to this very day the Russian establishment continues to deny. Gabriele was one of an estimated two million German girls and women, some as young as six and as old as 80, who were raped by Soviet soldiers… Their justification was that Hitler’s invasion of Russia had left 26 million dead and revenge would be sweet. Much of the rape and murder by the Russians took place as they approached Berlin.
Berliners had prayed that the Western Allies would reach their city before the Russians, but General Eisenhower, the overall commander- in-chief, had decided the Russians should reach Berlin first on account of their own huge losses.
But as early as 1944 terrible reports were seeping through to Berlin from the moment the thrusting Red Army entered East Prussia and Silesia.
By the time the Soviet troops entered Berlin there was terror on the streets. The rapes usually started in the evenings after the soldiers had drunk large amounts of vodka. That familiar cry of “frau komm” soon echoed around the rubble-strewn streets.
Any woman found, whatever her age, was savagely thrown to the ground and brutally attacked. Filthy drunken soldiers hunted in packs, some women were raped by as many as 20 men.
One of the worst mistakes of the defeated German authorities had been their failure to destroy Berlin’s considerable stocks of alcohol as the Red Army drew nearer. Erroneously, they thought a drunken enemy could not fight. But the Russians fought even harder, as well as having their desires inflamed.
Nor did the Soviet women soldiers do anything to stop their male comrades. One Berlin woman was being raped in succession by three men when three others arrived, one of them a woman. When the German woman appealed to her to intervene she merely laughed out loud. There were tragic attempts to resist the soldiers. A 13-year-old boy started flailing at a soldier who was raping his mother in front of him. When the Russian finished he turned to the boy and shot him…
AS night closed in the screams of women being attacked could be heard all over the city. It is estimated that up to 10,000 of the women who were raped died, mostly from suicide. Some could never talk about it and for the young such as Gabriele, it would prove a lifelong horror.
For many men returning home learning that their wives had been raped was traumatic… Many marriages broke up…
Eventually communist leaders became deeply embarrassed by the reports of Soviet behaviour and made complaints to the Kremlin which admitted nothing and even claimed it was all Western propaganda designed to “damage the high reputation of the Red Army”.
The Red Army war memorial in Berlin is dominated by a huge figure of a Russian soldier. There is an expression of heroic triumph on his sculptured face. In one hand he holds a child, while the other wields a sword that smashes a swastika.
But to German women of the wartime generation, including Gabriele Koepp, there is another name for that memorial: “The tomb of the unknown rapist.”
——————————————————
History Of “The Victors” Which You Will Never Hear
They raped every German female from eight to 80′
Antony Beevor, author of the acclaimed new book about the fall of Berlin, on a massive war crime committed by the victorious Red Army.
Wednesday May 1, 2002
The Guardian
“Red Army soldiers don’t believe in ‘individual liaisons’ with German women,” wrote the playwright Zakhar Agranenko in his diary when serving as an officer of marine infantry in East Prussia. “Nine, ten, twelve men at a time – they rape the women on a collective basis.”
The Soviet armies advancing into East Prussia in January 1945, in huge, long columns, were an extraordinary mixture of modern and medieval: tank troops in padded black helmets, Cossack cavalrymen on shaggy mounts with loot strapped to the saddle, lend-lease Studebakers and Dodges towing light field guns, and then a second echelon in horse-drawn carts. The variety of character among the soldiers was almost as great as that of their military equipment. There were freebooters who drank and raped quite shamelessly, and there were idealistic, austere communists and members of the intelligentsia appalled by such behaviour.
Beria and Stalin, back in Moscow, knew perfectly well what was going on from a number of detailed reports. One stated that “many Germans declare that all German women in East Prussia who stayed behind were raped by Red Army soldiers”. Numerous examples of gang rape were given – “girls under 18 and old women included”.
Marshal Rokossovsky issued order No 006 in an attempt to direct “the feelings of hatred at fighting the enemy on the battlefield.” It appears to have had little effect. There were also a few arbitrary attempts to exert authority. The commander of one rifle division is said to have “personally shot a lieutenant who was lining up a group of his men before a German woman spreadeagled on the ground”. But either officers were involved themselves, or the lack of discipline made it too dangerous to restore order over drunken soldiers armed with submachine guns.
Calls to avenge the Motherland, violated by the Wehrmacht’s invasion, had given the idea that any cruelty would be allowed. Even many young women soldiers and medical staff in the Red Army did not appear to disapprove. “Our soldiers’ behaviour towards Germans, particularly German women, is absolutely correct!” said a 21-year-old from Agranenko’s reconnaissance detachment. A number seemed to find it amusing. Several German women recorded how Soviet servicewomen watched and laughed when they were raped. But some women were deeply shaken by what they witnessed in Germany. Natalya Gesse, a close friend of the scientist Andrei Sakharov, had observed the Red Army in action in 1945 as a Soviet war correspondent. “The Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty,” she recounted later. “It was an army of rapists.”
Drink of every variety, including dangerous chemicals seized from laboratories and workshops, was a major factor in the violence. It seems as if Soviet soldiers needed alcoholic courage to attack a woman. But then, all too often, they drank too much and, unable to complete the act, used the bottle instead with appalling effect. A number of victims were mutilated obscenely.
The subject of the Red Army’s mass rapes in Germany has been so repressed in Russia that even today veterans refuse to acknowledge what really happened. The handful prepared to speak openly, however, are totally unrepentant. “They all lifted their skirts for us and lay on the bed,” said the leader of one tank company. He even went on to boast that “two million of our children were born” in Germany.
The capacity of Soviet officers to convince themselves that most of the victims were either happy with their fate, or at least accepted that it was their turn to suffer after the Wehrmacht had invaded Russia, is striking. “Our fellows were so sex-starved,” a Soviet major told a British journalist at the time, “that they often raped old women of sixty, seventy or even eighty – much to these grandmothers’ surprise, if not downright delight.”
One can only scratch at the surface of the psychological contradictions. When gang-raped women in Königsberg begged their attackers afterwards to put them out of their misery, the Red Army men appear to have felt insulted. “Russian soldiers do not shoot women,” they replied. “Only German soldiers do that.” The Red Army had managed to convince itself that because it had assumed the moral mission to liberate [what is your definition of liberation?!] Europe from fascism it could behave entirely as it liked, both personally and politically.
Domination and humiliation permeated most soldiers’ treatment of women in East Prussia. The victims not only bore the brunt of revenge for Wehrmacht crimes, they also represented an atavistic target as old as war itself. Rape is the act of a conqueror, the feminist historian Susan Brownmiller observed, aimed at the “bodies of the defeated enemy’s women” to emphasise his victory. Yet after the initial fury of January 1945 dissipated, the sadism became less marked. By the time the Red Army reached Berlin three months later, its soldiers tended to regard German women more as a casual right of conquest. The sense of domination certainly continued, but this was perhaps partly an indirect product of the humiliations which they themselves had suffered at the hands of their commanders and the Soviet authorities as a whole.
A number of other forces or influences were at work. Sexual freedom had been a subject for lively debate within Communist party circles during the 1920s, but during the following decade, Stalin ensured that Soviet society depicted itself as virtually asexual. This had nothing to do with genuine puritanism: it was because love and sex did not fit in with dogma designed to “deindividualise” the individual. Human urges and emotions had to be suppressed. Freud’s work was banned, divorce and adultery were matters for strong party disapproval. Criminal sanctions against homosexuality were reintroduced. The new doctrine extended even to the complete suppression of sex education. In graphic art, the clothed outline of a woman’s breasts was regarded as dangerously erotic. They had to be disguised under boiler suits. The regime clearly wanted any form of desire to be converted into love for the party and above all for Comrade Stalin.
Most ill-educated Red Army soldiers suffered from sexual ignorance and utterly unenlightened attitudes towards women. So the Soviet state’s attempts to suppress the libido of its people created what one Russian writer described as a sort of “barracks eroticism” which was far more primitive and violent than “the most sordid foreign pornography”. All this was combined with the dehumanising influence of modern propaganda and the atavistic, warring impulses of men marked by fear and suffering.
The novelist Vasily Grossman, a war correspondent attached to the invading Red Army, soon discovered that rape victims were not just Germans. Polish women also suffered. So did young Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian women who had been sent back to Germany by the Wehrmacht for labour. “Liberated Soviet girls quite often complain that our soldiers rape them,” he noted. “One girl said to me in tears: ‘He was an old man, older than my father’.”
The rape of Soviet women and girls seriously undermines Russian attempts to justify Red Army behaviour on the grounds of revenge for German brutality in the Soviet Union. On March 29, 1945 the central committee of the Komsomol (the youth organisation of the Soviet Union) informed Stalin’s associate Malenkov of a report from the 1st Ukrainian Front. “On the night of 24 February,” General Tsygankov recorded in the first of many examples, “a group of 35 provisional lieutenants on a course and their battalion commander entered the women’s dormitory in the village of Grutenberg and raped them.”
In Berlin, many women were simply not prepared for the shock of Russian revenge, despite the warnings they had heard from Goebbels. Many reassured themselves that, although the danger must be great out in the countryside, mass rapes could hardly take place in the city in front of everybody.
In Dahlem, Soviet officers visited Sister Kunigunde, the mother superior of Haus Dahlem, a maternity clinic and orphanage. The officers and their men behaved impeccably. In fact, the officers even warned Sister Kunigunde about the second-line troops following on behind. Their prediction proved entirely accurate. Nuns, young girls, old women, pregnant women and mothers who had just given birth were all raped without pity.
Yet within a couple of days, a pattern emerged of soldiers flashing torches in the faces of women huddled in the bunkers to choose their victims. This process of selection, as opposed to the indiscriminate violence shown earlier, indicates a definite change. By this stage Soviet soldiers started to treat German women more as sexual spoils of war than as substitutes for the Wehrmacht on which to vent their rage.
Rape has often been defined by writers on the subject as an act of violence which has little to do with sex. But that is a definition from the victim’s perspective. To understand the crime, one needs to see things from the perpetrator’s point of view, especially in the later stages when unaggravated rape had succeeded the extreme onslaught of January and February.
Many women found themselves forced to “concede” to one soldier in the hope that he would protect them from others. Magda Wieland, a 24-year-old actress, was dragged from a cupboard in her apartment just off the Kurfürstendamm. A very young soldier from central Asia hauled her out. He was so excited at the prospect of a beautiful young blonde that he ejaculated prematurely. By sign language, she offered herself to him as a girlfriend if he would protect her from other Russian soldiers, but he went off to boast to his comrades and another soldier raped her. Ellen Goetz, a Jewish friend of Magda’s, was also raped. When other Germans tried to explain to the Russians that she was Jewish and had been persecuted, they received the retort: “Frau ist Frau” (or, “a woman is a woman”).
Women soon learned to disappear during the “hunting hours” of the evening. Young daughters were hidden in storage lofts for days on end. Mothers emerged into the street to fetch water only in the early morning when Soviet soldiers were sleeping off the alcohol from the night before. Sometimes the greatest danger came from one mother giving away the hiding place of other girls in a desperate bid to save her own daughter. Older Berliners still remember the screams every night. It was impossible not to hear them because all the windows had been blown in.
Estimates of rape victims from the city’s two main hospitals ranged from 95,000 to 130,000. One doctor deduced that out of approximately 100,000 women raped in the city, some 10,000 died as a result, mostly from suicide. The death rate was thought to have been much higher among the 1.4 million estimated victims in East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia. Altogether at least two million German women are thought to have been raped, and a substantial minority, if not a majority, appear to have suffered multiple rape.
If anyone attempted to defend a woman against a Soviet attacker it was either a father trying to defend a daughter or a young son trying to protect his mother. “The 13-year old Dieter Sahl,” neighbours wrote in a letter shortly after the event, “threw himself with flailing fists at a Russian who was raping his mother in front of him. He did not succeed in anything except getting himself shot.”
After the second stage of women offering themselves to one soldier to save themselves from others, came the post-battle need to survive starvation. Susan Brownmiller noted “the murky line that divides wartime rape from wartime prostitution”. Soon after the surrender in Berlin, Ursula von Kardorff found all sorts of women prostituting themselves for food or the alternative currency of cigarettes. Helke Sander, a German film-maker who researched the subject in great detail, wrote of “the grey area of direct force, blackmail, calculation and real affection”.
The fourth stage was a strange form of cohabitation in which Red Army officers settled in with German “occupation wives”. The Soviet authorities were appalled and enraged when a number of Red Army officers, intent on staying with their German lovers, deserted when it was time to return to the Motherland.
Even if the feminist definition of rape purely as an act of violence proves to be simplistic, there is no justification for male complacency. If anything, the events of 1945 reveal how thin the veneer of civilisation can be when there is little fear of retribution. It also suggests a much darker side to male sexuality than we might care to admit.

» Dutch diplomat found beaten and with 'LGBT' scrawled on mirror in his Russian apartment 
16/10/13 09:59 from - Europe RSS Feed 
Russia has said it will investigate the beating of Dutch diplomat in his Moscow flat by unknown intruders posing as electricians. 



"Безусловно, нужно менять ситуацию, и она, слава Богу, меняется. В.ПУТИН: Хорошо."



Mike Nova: no comments ("A picture is worth a thousand words").
-
В.ПУТИН: Хорошо.
<…>

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Russian literature is a serious business. The books are heavy, the beards are long and the descriptions of women’s upper lip hair are detailed.

» Nobel Snubs Russian Literature Yet Again
15/10/13 20:00 from The St. Petersburg Times
Russian literature is a serious business. The books are heavy, the beards are long and the descriptions of women’s upper lip hair are detailed. Russian authors from the 18th century onwards are read in classrooms from Tokyo to Buenos Air...