Shades of '91

Pavel Felgenhauer has reported on a Russian Army incursion into Moscow earlier this week. What is most disturbing about this incident is that is was a senior military officer who had chosen to use his own power to subvert what appeared to be a legal investigation into the mis-doings of his son-inlaw.

The sending of armed troops, unasked for by the Russian government, into Moscow does bring to light some serious command and control issues for both Medvedev and Putin. Felgenhauer rightly points out the implications for the Kremlin. This may result in Medvedev and Putin becoming prisoners in their own city unless Shamonov is crushed and made an example of.

Shumanov has also been a very vocal supporter of COL Budanov, a Russian Tank Regiment who was charged with and found guilty of the murder of a teenage Chechen girl during Russia's campaign there. The Budanov case has been an irritant for Moscow due to the constant attention brought to it by Anna Politkovskaya in her articles and books. While Putin has poo-poo'd her death, the reason she was killed can probably be tied back to her work on Chechnya, amongst other things. Shumanov unearthing Budanov in his defense probably does little to help him. Shumanov did serve in Chechnya.

While this does provide Moscow with an embarrasing and very thought provoking incident, their is a silver lining in all of this. Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov has been leading the charge for Medvedyev's military reforms and professionalization of the military. His biggest obstacle so far has been the general officer corps, who see the changes as a threat to them and the Russian military officer corps as a whole. What better hammer to have to beat them into submission than that of a russian general officer using elite special troops to barge into Moscow for his own personal interests.

Use it wisely, well and often is the only advice I could give. Sphere: Related Content

Medvedev wants Chechen murders solved

The murders of human rights activists in Chechnya continues with latest two deaths, those of Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov earlier this week. Like the earlier deaths of Estimorova and Politkovskaya, they were people who were trying to show the rest of the world about the goings on in Russia and Chechnya.

Yesterday, President Medvedev announced that he wants Ramzan Kadyrov to work harder to solve these murders. While this may sound good and play well in the press, what power or force will Medvedev wield over Kadyrov to truly make this happen? Ramzan's ascent to power and his support from Putin (awarded the Hero of Russia and controller of reconstruction funds in Chechnya) makes it clear that Kadyrov understands he has carte blanche to control Chechnya as he sees fit to keep it from flaring up again. Kadyrov's statements on the murder of Estimorova only help to reinforce this view of him as Moscow's tough guy in the region.

Sarah Mendelson over at Foreign Policy has a great analysis on the situation in Chechnya these days, well worth the read. Sphere: Related Content

Was Ramzan Kadyrov complicit in the murder of Estemirova?

I was doing some reading this weekend and JRL had a good article on the murder of Estemirova last week. I have since learned that Estemirova was Chechen and had been critical of Kadyrov in her writings and publications, much like Anna Politkovskaya had been in Russia of Putin. In fact, they were friends with each other.

Here is the article by Roland Oliphant in the JRL. Oliphant poses a good question in this paragraph...

"Filling in the intervening hours will be the job of the investigators Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promptly ordered to the region. On Medvedev’s instruction Alexander Bastrykinu, the chief of the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office, arrived in the region on Thursday, will face some tough questions, and they are likely to lead to uncomfortable territory. How, for example, did the killers cross the border into Ingushetia, through a region where a massive “joint security operation” is meant to be going on to catch the insurgents who attacked Ingush President Yunnus Bek Yevkurov last month? Why were they not caught by President Ramzan Kadyrov’s supposedly all-powerful security forces? What was their motive, and whose orders were they acting on?"

The questions that Oliphant poses really lead the reader to one of two conclusions. The first is that the Border Guards are running a less than competent security program in Ingushetia if something like this occurred. The second conclusion would be that the there was some complicity on the behalf of Moscow in the murder of Estemirova. The Border Guards are a subordinate agency of the FSB, Putin's old agency. One wonders if Kadyrov maybe didn't ask for some help from Moscow in disposing of Estemirova? A somewhat tenious thread, I know, but not too unbelievable given what happens in Russia lately.

Sphere: Related Content

Human Rights Activist Kidnapped and Murdered in Chechnya

This just came across the news on BBC. According to the article Natalia Estemirova, a Russian Human Rights activist was kidnapped and murdered. Estimirova had worked with Anna Politkovskaya in the past on documenting abuses in the Soviet Union, especially in Chechnya. While this could have just been another criminal act by Chechyan thugs, the parralels between Estimirova and Politkovskya are simply to strong to ignore.


If you haven't had the opportunity to read Politkovskaya's book "Putin's Russia", please do take the time to pick it up and read it. Politkovskaya literally paid with her life for her work to expose what was happening in Russia under Putin and how Chechnya was being used as a ruse to distract the Russian public from the stripping away of their rights. Politkovskaya was murdered October 6, 2006 in her apartment complex in Moscow. Ironically, October 6th is also the birthday of Vladimir Putin, target of many of her investigative reports. Her case still remains unresolved.

The murder of Estimirova will be a test case for Medvedev. As a, lawyer he has committed to a Russian government that is transparent and dedicated to the rule of law. If it appears that Russia's security services are indeeed involved with the kidnapping and murder of Estemirova, Medvedev will have to show that his true independence as a president and seek to have these offenders prosecuted, and not be just another Putin crony. Sphere: Related Content