MOSCOW WOULD SILENCE
U.S. CRITICS
JUNE 6, 2005
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2005 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
Moscow is charging that U.S. critics of growing Russian authoritarianism and media oppression "are recalling the Cold War" and stand in the way of a close "strategic partnership" between Russia and the United States, according to a recent broadcast by the Voice of Russia World Service.
Critics in the West "are accusing Russia of all possible sins…human rights violations, unnecessary use of force in Chechnya…the clamping down on the mass media…allegedly excessive concentration of state power, doctored elections…the Kremlin's imperial ambitions," VOR complained.
In response to demands from the Bush administration and others that Moscow acknowledge Soviet Cold War oppression in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) and Eastern Europe, VOR added that critics want Russia to "apologize to almost the whole world for certain Soviet-time transgressions."
All who cite Moscow's current or past oppression are adhering to the "Cold War idea," and "the longer they [Moscow's critics] exert influence in real term politics, the more difficult it will prove to be to build the strategic partnership of Russia and the West," asserted VOR.
Moscow treats all charges of election fraud, media manipulation, government authoritarianism, or human rights violations as completely unworthy of direct response, but the Moscow elite only issue ominous warnings of Cold War sentiments. Condemnations from human rights or free press groups leave Moscow unfazed.
Moscow appears to be demanding that criticism of its policies cease and a virtual "Party line" be accepted without question, or another Cold War may result.
Despite Moscow's lamentable record on personal freedom and its continuing support of anti-American regimes -- including nuclear-tipped North Korea -- the Bush administration views Russia as a vital ally in the war on terror and a strategic partner.
A special set of military exercises, designated "Torgau 2005" ( Torgau is the German town where U.S. and Soviet troops first met during WWII ), reflects this growing closeness between Washington and Moscow. Outside Moscow, American and Russian soldiers recently simulated a united resistance to an attack from an unspecified enemy. The military exercises are aimed at increasing cooperation and familiarity between the two armed forces.
As cooperation between Washington and Moscow grows, the question arises: will those who are critical of the Moscow elite become the enemy of both U.S. policy makers and the "new" Russia?
Copyright
2005
International News Analysis Today
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