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Natan Sharanksy Speaks for the Opening of the New Russian Library in Jerusalem
On June 4th, 2009, Natan Sharansky spoke at the official opening of the new location of the Russian Library in Jerusalem, the largest of its kind in the Middle East, at 88 Agrippas street. The event was officiated by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and the Russian Federation’s Ambassador to Israel, the Honorable Peter Stegny. Mr. Sharansky reiterated that despite the library’s tumultuous history, and its 6th relocation, its existence and the cultural value it brings are firmly protected by the Russian community and the library’s friends in Israel’s institutions and government.
"Debate on Democracy: Theory and Practice in Russia", NatanSharansky.org
The other day I returned from a short but revealing trip to Russia. No matter how many times I come back, I find myself both reunited with the past and attempting to get to know present-day Russia.
"Whatever happened to glasnost?" BBC News
"The new Russian journalism first lost its modesty, then its innocence." The words of Alexei Simonov, a Russian media freedom campaigner, sound like an epitaph for "glasnost", the spirit of openness encouraged by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s, which accelerated the collapse of communism.
"Killing Russian Journalists" Washington Times
Whether one is a dissident, a human rights advocate, a journalist or a lawyer, it is no longer safe to do one's job if information uncovered criticizes leading authority figures. The high hopes after the fall of the Soviet Union that Russia could become a full-fledged democracy are fading. In December, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that Russian suppression of the media and of dissidents was part of "clearly authoritarian trends."
"A Threat to Putin’s Big Plans" NYTimes.com
Over the last eight years, as Vladimir V. Putin has amassed ever more power, Russians have often responded with a collective shrug, as if to say: Go ahead, control everything — as long as we can have our new cars and amply stocked supermarkets, our sturdy ruble and cheap vacations in the Turkish sun. “We talk about a lack of democracy in Russia, but I like my own formula for the country, which is authoritarianism with the consent of the governed,” said Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “And it can be taken away.”
"Priest uncovering beginnings of Final Solution" The Associated Press
The Holocaust has a landscape engraved in the mind's eye: barbed-wire fences, gas chambers, furnaces. Less known is the "Holocaust by Bullets," in which over 2 million Jews were gunned down in towns and villages across Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Their part in the Nazis' Final Solution has been under-researched, their bodies left unidentified in unmarked mass graves.
"Russia Will Be a Troublemaker in 2009" RealClearPolitics
The world enters 2009 with Russia in play in a way it hasn't seen in decades. The relevant comparison isn't 1998, when the Russians engaged in default and devaluation but remained within the bounds of their existing political and economic system (as Lenin said, two steps forward, one step back). The history to consider is 1989--as key aspects of the Russian system could change for the worse.
"In defence of democracy promotion" European Voice
Democracy promotion itself needs promoters - and, with judicious diplomacy, this year's presidents of the EU could do much to change mindsets and reduce Europe's ambivalence.
"Silencing the people" Washington Times
On New Year's Eve, when Russians were reveling in their biggest holiday of the year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law a bill that effectively ends any pretense that Russia is a democracy. The bill terminates jury trials for crimes such as treason, revolt, sabotage, espionage and terrorism - what Mr. Medvedev calls "crimes against the state."
"Putin Rewriting Stalin's Bloody History" Netwmd
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is busily rewriting the history of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's blood-thirsty dictatorship over the Soviet Union. So says the BBC in a story entitled, "Stalin could win Russian vote," published today. This is a frightening development given the well-documented terror under which the Soviet people lived during Stalin's reign.
The Associated Press: Kasparov starts new Russian anti-Kremlin movement
Former chess champion Garry Kasparov and other prominent liberals launched a new anti-Kremlin movement in Russia on Saturday.
Is Spreading Democracy in Middle East a Bad Idea? : NPR
"Take Russia. When Russia was part of the totalitarian Soviet system, it was your worst enemy. When Soviet Union fell apart and Russia went towards freedom, it almost became your ally. Today, when freedom is there in retreat, in a big retreat, it becomes again a threat to America. ... You take North Korea, you take Iran ... whenever there is a threat to America it means that democracy is there, in retreat."
Dealing with Russia: engagement, containment, or a third way? | Democracy Digest
“If the root of the problem is to be addressed strategically, the focus must return not to this or that specific foreign policy action by Russia but rather to the matter of democracy within Russia itself,” insists former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky. “This linkage must be broad and deep, and it must be reinforced by an international community willing to shine a light on Russia’s retreat from democracy.
Saakashvili warns West on Russia ties | U.S. | Reuters
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili urged the West Tuesday not to return to "business as usual" with Russia without holding it to account for its five-day war with his country in August.
Eesti Elu - eesti.ca
At a time when Moscow education officials in deference to the Kremlin are whitewashing the Soviet past, some Russian teachers are doing all they can to ensure that their students learn the student about the crimes committed by Stalin and other communist leaders against the population.
Natan Sharansky - The Real Russia Problem - washingtonpost.com
The threat to Georgia, Russia's other democratic neighbors and America ultimately arises from a lack of democracy within Russia. Changing that should be the focus of statecraft today -- if we want to ensure that the Kremlin poses no threat to peace tomorrow.
Documents and Disorder - WSJ.com
Tense negotiations over access and rights in a dodgy ethical atmosphere. There is a revival of support for Stalin and old totalitarian ways in modern day Russia.
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