Sunday 26 January 2014
Russia to start fingerprinting foreign visitors in July
Russia is planning to introduce mandatory fingerprinting for all foreigners applying for visas to the country.
Under the terms of a draft presidential decree posted online Thursday, the Foreign Ministry will launch a pilot project in July to test the necessary equipment and procedures.
The project envisions fingerprinting of foreigners at Russian embassies and consulates in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia, as well as at Vnukovo international airport in Moscow.
An explanatory note on the draft decree says the measure will facilitate efforts to curb illegal migration and prevent suspected terrorists from entering the country.
The decree is designed to allow Russian authorities to respond promptly to the introduction of mandatory fingerprinting of Russian visitors by the European Union in 2015.
Russia to start fingerprinting foreign visitors in July
Russia is planning to introduce mandatory fingerprinting for all foreigners applying for visas to the country.
Under the terms of a draft presidential decree posted online Thursday, the Foreign Ministry will launch a pilot project in July to test the necessary equipment and procedures.
The project envisions fingerprinting of foreigners at Russian embassies and consulates in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia, as well as at Vnukovo international airport in Moscow.
An explanatory note on the draft decree says the measure will facilitate efforts to curb illegal migration and prevent suspected terrorists from entering the country.
The decree is designed to allow Russian authorities to respond promptly to the introduction of mandatory fingerprinting of Russian visitors by the European Union in 2015.
Russian classic ‘Moscow and Muscovites’ gets its first English translation
"Moskva i Moskvichi" ("Moscow and Muscovites") is perhaps the most iconic book ever written about the city - and over three quarters of a century after its debut, it's been translated into English for the first time. First published in 1926, the book is a rollicking trip through Moscow in the last decades of tsarist rule. Author Vladimir Gilyarovsky chronicles elite restaurants and raunchy taverns, earnest students and hardened criminals, with the lively aplomb that earned him the nickname "Uncle Gilya."
Gilyarovsky was born in 1855 outside Vologda. He worked as a Volga boatman, firefighter, circus performer, and actor before settling in Moscow in the 1880s, when he turned to journalism. In 1887, his book "Slum People" was banned for its honest depiction of urban poverty.
Uncle Gilya was a colorful figure, a raconteur fond of playing up his Cossack heritage. "This is an unaffected man with a pure heart, completely lacking in the sort of deceit so common in members of the press," wrote Anton Chekhov of Gilyarovsky, in an observation quoted on the new edition's cover. "He is constantly telling funny stories, carries a watch with an indecent picture on the face and, when he is at his best, does card tricks."
After 1917, Gilyarovsky wrote mostly about the past, framing his recollections of pre-revolutionary Moscow as a way to highlight the new achievements of Soviet power. "If the inhabitants of a new capital are to understand the labor it cost their forefathers to build a new life in place of the old, they need to understand what old Moscow was like, and the kind of people who lived there," he wrote in the book's foreword.
Despite its token praise for Soviet Moscow's new automobiles and housing projects, "Moscow and Muscovites" brims with a sloppy, infectious love for the city as it was in the late 19th century, with its teeming markets and dubious odors (Lubyanskaya Ploshchad, then a transportation hub for horse-drawn carriages, is described as both Moscow's "busiest" square and its "worst smelling"). "I am a Muscovite!" Gilyarovsky famously proclaims. "Happy is one who can say that word
Delivery companies drop service to Russia over new customs laws
International shipping companies are canceling consumer package services in Russia, as a new range of customs requirements are likely to raise fees and extend processing times for goods ordered from online stores based abroad.
The changes, ostensibly intended to simplify assessment of customs fees for consumer goods shipped from other countries, require that each shipment be assessed individually rather than in bulk, a statement on UPS’s Russian website said.
“This change has led to a dramatic increase in formal customs entries, resulting in significant delays in delivery of packages to private individuals in Russia,” the statement said. “As such, UPS is currently unable to meet its published time commitments for any dutiable shipments going to Russia intended for private use.”
The new requirements, which Kommersant reported went into effect on January 4, include delivery to the customer’s registration address, a copy of the customer’s passport with registration, a record of the order from the online store, a photograph of the goods ordered, an original record from the bank and a copy of the bank card used to place the order. Use of a different bank card or a delivery address that differs from the customer’s registration address require written explanations to the customs service.
In terms of fees, customers may currently receive packages from abroad duty-free monthly if the packages are worth up to 1,000 euros, or weigh up to 31 kilograms. Under the new rules, if a fee increase is adopted, Kommersant reported, the charges could amount to 30 percent of the value, but no less than 4 euros per kilogram.
Yury Shevchenko, DHL’s vice president for operations in Russia, concurred, telling The Moscow News that if it becomes impossible to provide customers with rapid delivery, the company will not be able to fulfill one of its fundamental goals.
“If we can’t provide express service, it’s better to provide no service than a corrupted service,” Shevchenko said.
He added, however, that DHL will continue to operate its business service, which the new customs requirements do not apply to.
Hoax bomb callers in Russia may face 5 years in jail
Making hoax bomb threats by telephone could become punishable by prison sentences of up to five years in Russia under proposed legislation presented to parliament Friday.
A bill filed with the State Duma envisions imprisonment or fines of up to 500,000 rubles ($14,500) for what Russian media has dubbed “telephone terrorism.”
Schools and train stations are frequently targeted by the hoaxes, causing major disturbances and creating substantial financial damages.
Misinforming authorities about forthcoming terror attacks is currently punishable by a maximum prison sentence of three years or a fine of 200,000 rubles.
Authorities say they are concerned that existing penalties are insufficient to deter pranksters, however.
The cost of a single bomb check can reach 5 million rubles ($145,000), according to a note accompanying the bill, which has been made available on the Duma’s website.
There were 2,245 telephone calls warning of forthcoming terror attacks in Russia in 2013, up from some 1,300 in 2009, the note said.
Backers of the legislation say 90 percent of such calls were pranks.
Less than one quarter of “telephone terrorists” are convicted, because most uses fake SIM cards and encrypted calls of Internet-based anonymizing tools to hide their identity.
No timeframe is yet available for consideration of the draft legislation.
Russian Olympic hockey team problems mount with 2nd injury
Russian forward Denis Kokarev is to miss next month’s Olympic hockey tournament with a leg injury, the Russian Hockey Federation’s executive director Valery Fesyuk told R-Sport on Friday.
The 28-year-old two-way forward was injured during his KHL team Dynamo Moscow’s 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, becoming the second member of the 25-man team to be ruled out of the Games. No replacement has yet been named.
Kokarev’s injury left him “95 percent” unable to compete in Sochi next month, Fesyuk said. “We got the results of an extra medical exam today and took this decision. There will be a replacement for Kokarev on the Olympic roster.”
Kokarev’s absence deepens problems for Russia following an injury last week to Sergei Soin, another two-way forward from Dynamo who, like Kokarev, would have been expected to put in penalty-killing shifts at the Olympics.
Soin was replaced by forward Alexander Semin of the Carolina Hurricanes, a more offensive player.
Earlier, Fesyuk named eight alternates for the Olympic roster, including four KHL forwards: Sergei Plotnikov, Yegor Averin (both Lokomotiv Yaroslavl), Vadim Shipachev (SKA St. Petersburg) and Alexander Burmistrov (Ak Bars Kazan).
Kokarev has scored four goals and made 13 assists in 39 KHL games this season and made six appearances for the Russian national team in Euro Hockey Tour games. He won the KHL's Gagarin Cup with Dynamo in the last two seasons.
The Olympic hockey tournament will be held in the 12,000-seat Bolshoy Ice Dome from February 12 to 23, with Russia playing its first game against Slovenia on February 13. Also in Russia's pool are the United States and Slovakia.
Russian Olympic hockey team problems mount with 2nd injury
Russian forward Denis Kokarev is to miss next month’s Olympic hockey tournament with a leg injury, the Russian Hockey Federation’s executive director Valery Fesyuk told R-Sport on Friday.
The 28-year-old two-way forward was injured during his KHL team Dynamo Moscow’s 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, becoming the second member of the 25-man team to be ruled out of the Games. No replacement has yet been named.
Kokarev’s injury left him “95 percent” unable to compete in Sochi next month, Fesyuk said. “We got the results of an extra medical exam today and took this decision. There will be a replacement for Kokarev on the Olympic roster.”
Kokarev’s absence deepens problems for Russia following an injury last week to Sergei Soin, another two-way forward from Dynamo who, like Kokarev, would have been expected to put in penalty-killing shifts at the Olympics.
Soin was replaced by forward Alexander Semin of the Carolina Hurricanes, a more offensive player.
Earlier, Fesyuk named eight alternates for the Olympic roster, including four KHL forwards: Sergei Plotnikov, Yegor Averin (both Lokomotiv Yaroslavl), Vadim Shipachev (SKA St. Petersburg) and Alexander Burmistrov (Ak Bars Kazan).
Kokarev has scored four goals and made 13 assists in 39 KHL games this season and made six appearances for the Russian national team in Euro Hockey Tour games. He won the KHL's Gagarin Cup with Dynamo in the last two seasons.
The Olympic hockey tournament will be held in the 12,000-seat Bolshoy Ice Dome from February 12 to 23, with Russia playing its first game against Slovenia on February 13. Also in Russia's pool are the United States and Slovakia.
Ruble hits historical low against euro
The Russia ruble hit a historical record low Friday, dropping to 47.32 rubles per euro at tomorrow settlement date on the Moscow stock exchange.
The previous all-time low dates back to February 3, 2009, when the ruble stood at 47.25 rubles per euro.
The dollar traded at 34.52 rubles on Friday, a drop of 41 kopeks from Thursday. The all-time record, also from 2009, is 36.73 rubles per dollar.
The ruble has weakened by around 3.6 percent since the start of the year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.
He cited capital outflow from developing economies due to US monetary policy as one of the reasons.
Recent Central Bank policy has also contributed to the ruble’s weakening, Siluanov said on Ekho Moskvy radio.
The Central Bank is working to make the ruble a free-floating currency, expanding the exchange rate corridor for the dollar-euro basket.
Ruble hits historical low against euro
The Russia ruble hit a historical record low Friday, dropping to 47.32 rubles per euro at tomorrow settlement date on the Moscow stock exchange.
The previous all-time low dates back to February 3, 2009, when the ruble stood at 47.25 rubles per euro.
The dollar traded at 34.52 rubles on Friday, a drop of 41 kopeks from Thursday. The all-time record, also from 2009, is 36.73 rubles per dollar.
The ruble has weakened by around 3.6 percent since the start of the year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.
He cited capital outflow from developing economies due to US monetary policy as one of the reasons.
Recent Central Bank policy has also contributed to the ruble’s weakening, Siluanov said on Ekho Moskvy radio.
The Central Bank is working to make the ruble a free-floating currency, expanding the exchange rate corridor for the dollar-euro basket.
Moscow to complete 50 kilometers of subway lines in 2016
Moscow plans to build nearly 50 kilometers of subway lines by the end of 2016, the capital's vice mayor, Marat Khusnullin, said on Thursday.
The city plans on constructing 22 kilometers in 2015 and another 26 kilometers in 2016, according to Khusnullin.
"We have considerably increased the temp of metro construction," Khusnullin said.
Earlier it was reported that the 8-year program of Moscow's subway construction would require 800 billion rubles (over $30 billion) in investment. One kilometer of deep underground tunnels costs around 7 billion rubles, and one kilometer of shallow tunneling runs at around 4.5 billion rubles. Some 40,000 people are employed at 150 construction sites throughout the city.
Moscow to complete 50 kilometers of subway lines in 2016
Moscow plans to build nearly 50 kilometers of subway lines by the end of 2016, the capital's vice mayor, Marat Khusnullin, said on Thursday.
The city plans on constructing 22 kilometers in 2015 and another 26 kilometers in 2016, according to Khusnullin.
"We have considerably increased the temp of metro construction," Khusnullin said.
Earlier it was reported that the 8-year program of Moscow's subway construction would require 800 billion rubles (over $30 billion) in investment. One kilometer of deep underground tunnels costs around 7 billion rubles, and one kilometer of shallow tunneling runs at around 4.5 billion rubles. Some 40,000 people are employed at 150 construction sites throughout the city.
Saturday 25 January 2014
EU Official Meets Ukraine's Yanukovych Amid Protest Stalemate
KIEV, Ukraine -- A senior European Union official met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday, amid an uneasy political stalemate after days of clashes between police and protesters.
Opposition leaders have demanded the resignation of the government and early elections.
Yanukovych's presidential website reported his meeting with Commissioner for EU Enlargement Stefan Fule but gave no detail of what was discussed.
Boxer-turned-opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said outside mediation was needed if any progress is to be made in talks between the opposition and government.
"International mediators must be involved in any discussion of the crisis in Ukraine," he said.
"Yanukovych decided to declare war on his own people rather than stop the confrontation and approach resolving the situation with common sense. He tries to keep power at a price of blood and destabilize the country. He must be stopped."
Yanukovych and opposition leaders held a second round of talks Thursday, but they broke up without a resolution.
Both parties decided to keep talking, however.
Resolving the crisis, insists Klitschko, hinges on talks with the EU, especially with Fule.
Yesterday minimal steps were proposed. They cannot solve the crisis. That is why such proposals outraged people. At first, they demanded Interior Minister Zaharchenko and (Prime Minister Mykola) Azarov's government to resign, but now the core demand is resignation of the President. But he pretends as if nothing is happening," Klitschko said.
In a Twitter post, the EU said foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and a European Parliament delegation are also planning to travel to Ukraine next week.
Meanwhile, anti-government protesters worked Friday morning to strengthen barricades set up in central Kiev streets and seized a ministry building, Ukraine's official Ukrinform news agency reported.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said early Friday that if protesters left the street where the violence has been focused, police would not seek to prosecute them.
He also promised police would not use force against those rallying in Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan.
Police torture claims
Claims of abuses by security forces have emerged.
A video posted to YouTube, showing a protester made to strip naked apart from his shoes and kicked by police as he enters a van, has been widely circulated on Ukrainian media.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry has apologized for the behavior of those shown in the footage and says it is investigating the incident.
A 17-year-old who says he was taking pictures of the protests, Myhaylo Nyskohuz, told CNN he was tortured after he was seized by Ukraine's riot police, or Berkut.
"They beat me on my legs and ankles, they sprayed my whole body with pepper spray and made me lie naked and sing the national anthem," he said, looking battered and bruised.
"They stripped me and took me through a live corridor of around 40 or 50 riot police, and each one of them beat me."
Nyskohuz's arm was broken, and he was stabbed in the thigh.
Meanwhile, Yanukovych told a gathering of religious leaders that police were acting lawfully.
"Today, the law enforcement bodies are working within their power, within the laws that oblige them to keep order," he said.
He continued to call for the opposition to "sit down at the negotiating table."
He further said that anyone who had participated in rallies, but not committed a crime, would get amnesty.
"We agreed yesterday that after the parliament adopts the law on amnesty, all the people detained in the course of these actions, including the radical ones, but who haven't committed serious crimes, will be amnestied," the President said.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov declined Thursday to apologize for the violence unfolding during the Kiev protests and told CNN's Richard Quest that law enforcement officers acted within the law.
Asked about Nyskohuz's case, Azarov replied:
"Well, first of all, the law enforcement officers were given instructions and orders to act within the legislation and not to use any kind of weapon.
"They do not have firearms with them, and those preliminary actions which they have to take -- when someone is trying, for example, to capture government buildings and institutions -- all those measures are not just analogical to those used in all the European states."
Police were merely responding to an effort to overthrow the government, Azarov said, adding that Ukraine was not in Russia's pocket.
Nyskohuz now faces a series of detention hearings to determine whether he will be jailed for taking part in the protests.
The Interior Ministry said Friday that 281 policemen have been injured since the violence erupted Sunday.
And as the protest movement spreads beyond the capital, 58 protesters were detained in Cherkasy, a city in central Ukraine, during an attempt to take over the regional state administration office, the ministry said.
The protests flared into violence Sunday as protesters braved the freezing cold to voice their anger about sweeping new anti-protest laws approved by parliament last week.
Hundreds of protesters heard directly from Klitschko after the opposition talks with the President, which lasted more than four hours Thursday.
"He said no to his resignation and Cabinet resignation," Klitschko told opposition supporters.
"It does not make sense to negotiate with someone who intends to cheat."
The sharp rhetoric was echoed by the President's press office, which issued a statement after the talks.
"Unfortunately, for the second time, leaders of the opposition refused to declare the statement condemning extremist actions," it said.
The President's statement went on to say that "negotiations will be continued."
The clashes are an escalation of weeks of largely peaceful public protests prompted by Yanukovych's decision in November to spurn a planned trade deal with the European Union and turn toward Russia instead.
The controversial protest laws have sparked concerns they could be used to put down demonstrations and deny people the right to free speech.
They include provisions barring people from wearing helmets and masks to rallies, from setting up tents or sound equipment without prior police permission, and from traveling in convoys of more than five vehicles without authorization.
The protests have unfolded since November 21, when Yanukovych changed his stance on the EU trade pact, which had been years in the making.
The demonstrators say an EU agreement would open borders to trade and set the stage for modernization and inclusion.
Ukraine's government says the terms needed to be renegotiated to protect Ukrainians better.
Court arrests 14 Avtomaidan activists, 72-year old man for two months for attacking Berkut police
Obolonsky district court in Kyiv on the Saturday night arrested 14 participants of the Avtomaidan anti-government car drivers' organization for two months, the press service of the UDAR party reported on Saturday.
Lethal ‘car stopper’ bullets used against protesters during Hrushevskoho Street clashes
The bullets have stopped flying, for now. But investigations into what exactly is being fired at protesters have just begun.
A report published on Jan. 25 by Armament Research Services, a specialty arms and munitions consultancy in Perth, Australia, says the mysterious cufflink-shaped projectiles presumably fired by riot police on Hrushevskoho Street at protesters during clashes this week are not meant for riot control, but for stopping vehicles, busting through doors and piercing armor
The bullets, writes ARES director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, who specializes in Eastern bloc weapons and provided the Kyiv Post with the report, says the bullets are specialist armor-piercing 12-gauge shotgun projectiles, likely developed and produced by the Spetstekhnika (Specialized Equipment) design bureau, a facility located in Kyiv and associated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Interior Ministry press service could not immediately be reached for comment or confirmation.
'"The projectiles are comprised of either a brass or aluminium slug and a core of (likely hardened) steel, designed to act as a penetrator,” Jenzen-Jones writes. “The design of the projectile has been optimised for stopping vehicles, and the cartridge is referred to as a ‘car stopper.'"
To that extent, “these cartridges are not intended for riot control. If they were deliberately fired at a protestor then they were likely intended to be lethal,” he told the Kyiv Post.
An ammunition specialist in Ukraine familiar with government service ammunition and weaponry who asked to remain anonymous recognized the bullets as those seen at the 2013 Weapons and Security expo in Kyiv.
According to the display description of the brass and aluminum versions of the slugs at the expo (see image below), they are “designed for the forcible stop of a vehicle by damaging parts and mechanisms while shooting a 12 gauge weapon.”
When images of the rare bullets first circulated on social media on Jan. 22, they were thought to be Blondeau bullets, French designed projectiles first developed during World War II to disable military vehicles. Smaller versions of them are popular with hunters, who used them on large game. A quick internet search shows that those Blondeaus start at a few dollars a piece and go up, depending on the size and function.
But the ones gathered by activists and journalists in Kyiv and believed to be those produced by Spetstekhnika differ in form.
“Contrary to some information circulating online, these slugs are not Blondeau type projectiles. Additionally, the larger ‘end’ of the projectile is the forward portion,” the ARES report reads. “There also appears to be some confusion as to the purpose of these cartridges, with the some sources claiming they are primarily used as breaching rounds. Unlike dedicated breaching cartridges, which make use of frangible projectiles of sintered metal powder, these slugs are not intended to disintegrate upon impact.”
The report continues: “Suffice to say, these projectiles are lethal, and would not generally be fired in the course of a crowd-control action. Firing such cartridges against human targets certainly constitutes lethal force and, whilst effective within range constraints, would be an unusual choice. Other cartridge types would be more readily available, cheaper, and more effective if lethal force was required.”
At least two anti-government protesters were shot and killed there this week and dozens more were injured during explosive clashes with riot police.
The two men died after being shot with live ammunition, according to Maidan Medical Service Coordinator Oleh Musiy and prosecutors, who for their part said they had opened an investigation into the deaths.
Serhiy Nihoyan, a 20-year-old from the small town of Bereznovativka near the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, died after taking hits in the head and neck.
Mikhail Zhyzneuski, a native of Belarus who reportedly immigrated to Ukraine in 2005 due to political persecution in his home country, was shot in the heart.
Three days after their deaths it remains unclear exactly who shot the two men and which type of gun and what size caliber of bullets killed them. Some reports have said that lead buckshot is what killed Nihoyan.
There have been no reports of deaths of protesters at Hrushevskoho Street caused by the large shotgun projectile described in the ARES report, though numerous injuries caused by the bullet have been reported by media and medical personnel at the scene.
The Kyiv Post witnessed a man being shot with one on Hrushevskoho Street. Writhing in pain after falling to the ground, he was taken away by medical personnel. He condition remains unclear.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has repeatedly said that police forces on Hrushevskoho Street are not in possession of firearms, though hundreds of images strewn across internet and print media show interior troops firing at anti-government protesters.
Ukraine Clashes Resume, Fires Light Up Night Sky
KIEV, Ukraine -- As riots spread from Ukraine's embattled capital to nearly half of the country, President Viktor Yanukovych promised Friday to reshuffle his government and make other concessions — but a top opposition leader said nothing short of his resignation would do.
Hours after the president's comments, huge fireballs lit up the night sky in central Kiev and plumes of thick black smoke rose from burning tires at giant barricades erected by protesters.
Clashes resumed at the barricades, which are just yards from lines of riot police and also made up of bags of ice and scraps of furniture.
Angry demonstrators hurled firebombs, rocks and fireworks at officers.
Riot police responded with tear gas and several dozen protesters were rushed to a makeshift medical triage area to be treated.
"We will force the authorities to respect us," 27-year-old protester Artur Kapelan said.
"Not they, but we will dictate the conditions of a truce."
The fighting had stopped earlier this week as opposition leaders entered into face-to-face talks with Yanukovych.
But hundreds of demonstrators in ski masks and helmets were still armed with sticks, stones and firebombs at the Kiev barricades.
After nearly two months of ignoring mass demonstrations calling for his ouster, Yanukovych offered to meet some of their demands, after crowds angered by the deaths of at least two protesters and allegations of abuse by authorities besieged government buildings in scores of cities in western Ukraine.
At a meeting with religious leaders, Yanukovych vowed that, at a special parliament meeting on Tuesday, he would push through changes to his Cabinet, grant amnesty to dozens of jailed activists and amend harsh anti-protest legislation.
But Vitali Klitschko, an opposition leader who is a former world heavyweight boxing champion, declared the only way to end the street protests — known as the Maidan after the central Kiev square occupied by demonstrators — is for Yanukovych to resign.
"Just a month ago, the Maidan would have gone home," Klitschko told reporters Friday night, according to the Interfax news agency.
"Today, people are demanding the president's resignation."
The protest law enacted last week appeared to have backfired on Yanukovych, sparking confrontations in which demonstrators threw stones and firebombs at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The violence since Sunday was a harsh contrast to the determined peacefulness of the anti-government protests that have gripped the country for the last two months.
The rallies broke out after Yanukovych scrapped a key treaty with the European Union in order to secure a bailout loan from Russia.
President Vladimir Putin had pressed hard to keep Ukraine in his nation's political and economic orbit, but more Ukrainians favor closer ties with the 28-nation EU than an new alliance with Russia.
At least two demonstrators were killed this week in clashes with police and protesters have seized government offices in cities in western Ukraine, where support for Yanukovych is thin.
In a separate incident, a protester was found dead outside Kiev this week after going missing from a hospital together with a prominent activist who was beaten but survived.
Meanwhile, protester anger boiled over as one activist recounted Friday how he was stripped naked, beaten and humiliated by police after being detained this week at a barricade in Kiev.
"They wanted to break my spirit and dignity but I stood firm," said Mykhailo Havrilyuk.
His plight shocked the country when a video of the abuse was posted online, showing him standing naked in the snow, covered in bruises and taunted by policemen.
Protesters were further angered after Kiev courts on Friday placed about a dozen activists, detained in clashes earlier this week, under arrest.
On Friday, protesters continued occupying government buildings in a number of cities in western Ukraine, having forced two governors to resign and chasing another out of his office.
Government buildings in many other cities were besieged by angry crowds.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who spent several years backing the scrapped EU agreement with Ukraine, suggested that Yanukovych was losing control over the country.
He posted a map of Ukraine on his Twitter account, where many regions were shown engulfed by protests.
"If Kiev regime tries a military solution to this situation, it will be very bloody and it will fail," Bildt tweeted.
EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele flew to Kiev on Friday to meet with Yanukovych and the opposition and try to broker a solution.
The West has been urging Yanukovych to compromise with the protesters as well as threatening sanctions against his government.
"The country is sliding towards dictatorship and we must stop that," said Denis Nakhmanovich, a 33-year-old protester.
"Molotov cocktails are louder than any empty words from politicians."
Ukraine crisis: Peaceful negotiations 'futile'
Efforts to resolve Ukraine's unrest in the capital Kiev by peaceful means are "futile", the interior ministry says.
Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said negotiations with the protesters had failed. He blamed "radical groups" for the unrest, adding protesters had arms.
The comments came as activists tried to seize the energy ministry.
Four protesters and a policeman are reported to have died in protests that began last year after the government's rejection of a treaty with the EU.
A 45-year-old protester is said to have died in a Kiev hospital on Saturday, after sustaining injuries in earlier violence.
The crisis escalated this week when two activists were killed during clashes with police, and another was found dead with torture marks in a forest near the capital.
On Friday, anti-government demonstrations spread beyond the capital, with protesters now occupying several regional government buildings.
President Viktor Yanukovych earlier promised to make concessions to try to end the country's crisis.
He pledged to amend anti-protest laws and reshuffle the cabinet.
But opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko said the protesters now wanted the president to resign.
The interior minister said the opposition was no longer able to control "radical forces" and was putting civilians in danger.
"The events of the last days in the Ukrainian capital have shown that our attempts to solve the conflict peacefully, without recourse to a confrontation of force, remain futile," Mr Zakharchenko said in a statement on Saturday.
"Our calls have not been heeded and a truce is being violated."
He also accused activists of shooting a police officer and kidnapping three others - allegations denied as "false and dangerous" by protest leaders.
The statement came after fresh violence erupted overnight between protesters and riot police in Kiev.
Meanwhile, activists briefly occupied the first floor of the energy ministry's main building in central Kiev.
Describing the takeover as "an act of terrorism", Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said the protesters left after he spoke to them, but were still blocking the building's entrance.
"What is taking place is a direct threat to the whole Ukrainian energy system," he told journalists.
The activists said it had been a temporary takeover to prove that no government building was completely secure
Protesters have also seized a number of government buildings in other Ukrainian cities, particularly in the west, which has traditionally favoured closer ties with Europe.
In the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, some 1,500 protesters occupied the regional administration and barricaded themselves in the building. They are now demanding that the local governor should resign immediately.
In Chernivsti, also in the west, crowds stormed the governor's office as police tried to protect the building. People shouted "Shame on you!" and "Resign!"
In Lutsk, in the north-west, a big demonstration was being held outside the local administration.
Regional offices were being blockaded in the western city of Uzhgorod and unrest was reported in the eastern city of Sumy.
In Lviv, protesters have built barricades around the governor's office that they seized on Thursday. There were also reports that some members of the special police, Berkut, were resigning.
The EU's Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, held separate talks in Kiev with the president and opposition leaders on Friday.
Mr Fuele said the EU would assist both sides in "de-escalating the situation and finding a way out of the crisis".
The demonstrations were initially triggered by the last-minute decision of Mr Yanukovych's government to ditch a proposed association and free trade deal with the EU in November - under heavy pressure from neighbouring Russia.
But the protests later widened their demand to include the fight against what activists say are widespread government corruption and abuse of power.
The authorities deny the allegations.
Mr Yanukovych has vowed to use "all legal means" if a solution to the crisis were not found.
Ukraine's Berkut police: What makes them special?
The name "Berkut", or "Golden Eagle" in Ukrainian, is synonymous with police brutality for many protesters in the capital, Kiev. Berkut is an elite riot police force that has been at the forefront of recent deadly clashes there.
Its members have now been accused of beating, torturing and even shooting demonstrators. Unprovoked attacks on journalists and medical workers have also been alleged. Most recently, a video clip emerged, showing a naked protester apparently being abused and beaten by riot policemen who had stripped him in below-freezing temperatures.
While food and hot drinks were offered by sympathetic demonstrators to police officers and army servicemen amid the stand-off in late 2013, Berkut members have borne the brunt of anti-government ire after tensions flared up in January.
What is Berkut?
Berkut members are reported to be more carefully selected, better trained, paid and equipped than ordinary police units. They are also said to have more senior officials as commanders.
The force was set up in 1992 and has its roots in Omon, the notoriously ruthless Soviet "special-purpose police". Initially, Berkut's primary goal was to fight organised crime, but it has now changed to ensuring law and order during "mass events".
The Interior Ministry itself is headed by Vitaliy Zakharchenko, a steadfast supporter of President Viktor Yanukovych. Mr Zakharchenko hails from the president's home region of Donetsk and is also reported to be close to his son, Oleksandr.
The media in Ukraine describe Berkut as an elite riot police force, whose members are carefully selected and rigorously trained. To be accepted into Berkut, army service and at least two to three years of law-enforcement experience are said to be compulsory.
Chances of employment with Berkut increase if the applicant is an athlete with a proven track record, the media report.
Berkut has about 4,000 to 5,000 members stationed across Ukraine. Local units are directly subordinated to the heads of regional Interior Ministry departments, instead of lower-ranking police officials such as district police chiefs.
It is not unusual for Berkut units to be dispatched from their bases to other regions. Report say that many of them have been brought to Kiev from eastern Ukraine, which is more supportive of President Yanukovych.
Berkut members from more opposition-minded western Ukraine, meanwhile, have complained to the media that they were "mistrusted" by top commanders.
Berkut has some serious hardware at its disposal, including machine guns and armed personnel carriers. Its members are also reportedly paid 1.5-2 times more than an average police officer.
Sunday 19 January 2014
Ukraine's President Signs Anti-Protest Bill Into Law
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed into law a bill aimed at curbing anti-government protests.
The bill was passed in parliament on Thursday with a quick show of hands by MPs loyal to the president, rather than the usual system of electronic voting.
The changes include a ban on unauthorised tents in public areas and criminal responsibility for slandering government officials.
The move has sparked uproar among the opposition, who say it is illegal.
They have accused the ruling party of a coup.
The US and several EU countries expressed deep concern over the new bills.
Further protests
As well as signing into law a series of bills, President Yanukovych also fired his long-time chief of staff, Sergiy Lyovochkin, on Friday.
Mr Lyovochkin was rumoured to have wanted to step down after riot police broke up a rally at the end of November - a move that brought tens of thousands of protesters on to the streets the following day.
In a tweet on Thursday following the events in parliament, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said he was "profoundly concerned by new legislation limiting freedoms".
He said the move contradicted Ukraine's "European aspirations" and its commitments in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which President Yanukovych abruptly refused to sign in November, amid Russian economic pressure.
The Ukrainian opposition warned the new measures would further inflame the protest movement, and called for a big gathering in the capital Kiev on Sunday.
Anti-government protesters have been camping out behind extensive barricades in Kiev's Independence Square - known as the Euromaidan - for nearly two months in the freezing cold.
The mass demonstrations were initially triggered by President Yanukovych's last-minute rejection of the EU partnership deal.
But the protesters' demands later widened to include the fight against what they said was widespread government corruption and abuse of power.
'Coup d'état'
On Thursday, MPs from Mr Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, together with the Communists and a number of independents, passed the laws amid scenes of chaos in parliament.
The measures were pushed through in a matter of minutes when lawmakers simply raised their hands, despite the protests of opposition deputies who had earlier blocked the speaker's platform to try to disrupt the voting.
One of the laws bans any unauthorised installation of tents, stages or amplifiers in public places.
Those who violate the law now face a hefty fine or detention.
Another bill provides a punishment of one year of corrective labour for slandering government officials.
Protests involving more than five vehicles in "Automaidan" motorcades were also banned.
This followed such demonstrations outside government offices - including Mr Yanukovych's countryside residence - in recent days.
Party of the Regions MP Oleh Tsariov said the laws aimed to prevent further escalation of the ongoing political crisis.
But the three main opposition leaders described the move as "illegitimate", saying the pro-presidential MPs had decided to use voting by a show of hands after realising they did not have enough support.
Udar party leader Vitali Klitschko condemned it as a "coup d'etat", while Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the leaders of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, warned that Ukraine was now bracing for another "wave of protests".
In Washington, the US state department voiced its "deep concern" that the controversial measures had been passed.
"We believe deeply that the people of Ukraine want to affiliate and want to be associated with Europe and they want to turn in that direction," Secretary of State John Kerry said.
"And the steps that were taken yesterday are anti-democratic. They're wrong. They are taking from the people of Ukraine their choice and their opportunity for the future."
The new laws were also criticised by foreign ministers from Sweden and Poland.
The EU's ambassador to Ukraine, Jan Tombinsky, said "norms should be adopted through proper procedures, otherwise the credibility of democratic institutions and of the legal system is at stake".
Ukraine: Repeal Repressive New Legislation
KIEV, Ukraine -- The Ukrainian parliament should immediately repeal new legislation that requires some independent groups to register as “foreign agents” and introduces numerous restrictions on public demonstrations, media, and the Internet.
The legislation, which consists of dozens of amendments to numerous laws, was rammed through parliament in two days.
The amendments require Ukrainian groups that receive funding from foreign sources and participate in “political activities” to register as “foreign agents.”
They also criminalize libel, impose additional restriction on mass media and the Internet, and introduce administrative and criminal penalties for a wide range of violations related to protest activities.
“These amendments are a serious blow to basic freedoms, association, and expression,” said Yulia Gorbunova, Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“They are obviously a response to the recent protests and are the biggest setback to rights in Ukraine in years.”
The draft law was introduced on January 14, 2014, the first day parliament was in session after the holiday recess, by two members of the ruling Party of Regions.
Parliament voted on January 16 without review by parliamentary committees or any discussion.
During the morning of the session on January 16, several opposition deputies blocked the podium and prevented the parliament’s chairman from leaving his office.
Once the session started, and several minutes after the vote on the 2014 budget, the vice speaker proposed adding to the agenda other draft laws in the remaining time.
The vice speaker also announced that since the opposition was trying to block the parliament’s work, the voting on remaining laws would continue without debate and with a show of hands instead of using the electronic voting system.
Within 20 minutes, parliament had approved all the amendments and seven additional laws.
The amendments affect a series of Ukrainian laws, including the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code, the Law on Civic Associations, the Law on Security Services, the Tax Code, the Law on the Status of Judges, and the Law on Telecommunications.
The amendments borrow heavily from similar legislation adopted in 2012 in Russia and used for cracking down on independent groups there.
They require nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive foreign funding and participate in “political activity” to register as “foreign agents” and include the words “foreign agent” in their names and all their materials.
Political activities are broadly defined as involvement in “decision-making by state bodies, changing their defined public policy, and for forming public opinion for the above purposes.”
Groups will have three months to register, and failure to comply may lead to the organization being disbanded by a court.
“Foreign agent” groups will have additional tax burdens and extensive additional reporting requirements.
“Foreign agent” groups will have additional tax burdens and extensive additional reporting requirements.
“The ‘foreign agents’ law is, and is intended to be, very damaging for independent advocacy in Ukraine,” Gorbunova said.
“By trying to equate foreign funding with being an agent of foreign interests, it aims to tarnish independent groups as “hidden enemies.”
The law’s ambiguity and broad scope of interpretation also opens it to abusive and arbitrary enforcement, Human Rights Watch said.
The amendments also introduce criminal responsibility for libel, decriminalized in Ukraine in 2001.
They further criminalize “extremist activity,” broadly defined as production, possession, and dissemination of “extremist” materials that may contain calls to capture state power by force or “interfere with activities of state authorities,” including through media and the Internet as well as at public gatherings and rallies.
Penalties range from a fine to up to three years in prison.
The amendments impose several new restrictions clearly aimed at suppressing protests that have been ongoing in Kiev and other cities since November 2013.
They introduce new types of administrative offenses – including wearing masks and helmets during public rallies, forming convoys of five cars or more, and installing tents, stages, and other constructions for holding a rally – and increase sanctions for such existing offenses as violating the procedures for organizing or participating in public protests.
The law also introduces harsh criminal sanctions for certain violations – for example, up to five years in prison for blocking administrative buildings and premises.
The new legislative amendments introduce mandatory licensing of Internet providers and require all mass media that provides information services to the public to obtain state registration as an “information agency.”
They further allow the state to limit access to an information agency or an Internet resource that disseminates information that is “against the law” or operates without a license, including by blocking access to Internet sites without a court decision.
“The law effectively is an effort to halt politically unwelcome public rallies,” Gorbunova said.
“Between the overly broad definitions and disproportionate punishments, its primary goal is to have a chilling effect on the protest movement in Ukraine.”
Opinion: Ukraine Declares Europe Its Enemy
BERLIN, Germany -- As Ukraine's parliament tightens laws to prevent protests, the target is not just opposition activists, journalists and European-minded organizations. DW's Bernd Johann thinks the laws level a shot directly at the EU.
There are still committed and brave people in Ukraine who are striving toward democracy, the rule of law and a European perspective for their country.
But that could change soon.
In nothing short of a hold-up that ignored all the country's current democratic standards, the government majority has rushed an extensive legislative package through parliament.
It will transform Ukraine into an authoritarian nation in the image of its Russian or Belarusian counterpart, and will rob people of their hope for political change.
An attack on civil liberties
The Ukrainian parliament wants to significantly curtail the rights of the people, of social organizations and of the media.
Drastic punishments await those who go against the bans on demonstrating.
It's clear who those new laws are targeting the people who have been protesting for two months on Kiev's central square, the Maidan, for democratic change and better living conditions in their country.
They have continued despite court bans and police brutality.
Alleged defamation in the media, online and in social networks will also be punishable under the new laws.
Here, too, it's clear who the target is: journalists and online activists who are critical of the government.
The political leadership wants them to know that they can expect prosecution if they criticize politicians or state officials in the future.
But it's not only opposition activists and journalists who are threatened by the laws.
The laws are directed at the whole of Ukrainian civil society.
And they are also directed at the European Union.
They concern anyone who is committed to Europe and to the EU.
Just as the equivalent laws dictated in Russia, Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) could also soon be labeled "foreign agents," if they receive any funding for social projects from abroad.
Such legislation would particularly harm organizations which are cooperating with the EU and its member states - including Germany - within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership.
Ukraine being "Putinized"
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is now openly claiming that the international community has been fanning the flames of rebellion in Ukraine.
His statements have declared the EU Ukraine's enemy.
That's because Europe supports a lot of important social projects in Ukraine within the Eastern Partnership it formed with Kiev.
Only last year, the Ukrainian government still wanted to strengthen cooperation with the EU.
Clearly under pressure from Moscow, it then halted this rapprochement and put all engines in reverse gear, moving away from Europe at full speed.
And now any social organization which maintains links to Europe or other Western countries has become a problem for the country's leadership.
The Ukrainian government is subordinating itself unconditionally to the Russian government.
With a further EU-rapprochement now on ice, since Russia increased its influence, Ukraine has also given up its independence on foreign affairs issues.
Putin's extensive financial support has brought the country under Moscow's thumb.
Now it is also following Russian guidelines on domestic policy.
Ukraine is allowing itself to be "Putinized."
Kiev clearly didn't just get money from Putin, it was also given the task of undermining any form of opposition and any activity for the good of civil society that is connected to Europe.
Door facing West locked
Fittingly, the Ukrainian secret service has also been compiling lists of foreigners who can apparently be considered a national threat.
When asked by Deutsche Welle, the agency openly confirmed such activity.
The list apparently also contains several Germans.
The agency didn't reveal any names.
Even representatives of the European Parliament, who have been in touch with the Ukrainian pro-European movement over the past few weeks, now suspect that the secret service compiled files on them.
The European Union is still only warning the Ukraine, and emphasizing that the door to Europe needs to remain open.
The EU is not wrong there - after all, the people of Ukraine are what is important here.
And according to surveys, the majority of the Ukrainian population longs for democracy, for a government that adheres to the rule of law and for European standards of living.
But the Ukrainian government is in the process of closing the door to Europe.
And they're nailing that door shut.
Ukraine Enacts Harsh Laws Against Protests
KIEV, Ukraine -- Russians love to think of their neighbors the Ukrainians as their “little brothers,” and not a few Ukrainians feel the same way.
That gives Russia considerable sway in Ukraine.
Its gravitational pull succeeded in keeping the smaller country from falling into a European orbit in November, when Kiev, under pressure from Moscow, suddenly backed off a deal with the European Union.
In December, the Ukrainian government started working out a new financial relationship with its big neighbor.
Now Kiev is trying to be more like Moscow in legal ways, as well — enacting Friday a set of draconian laws that would prohibit almost any protest, curtail freedom of speech, hobble the press, enable the government to ban citizens from using the Internet and classify advocacy groups as “foreign agents” if they receive money from abroad.
But the outrage that immediately swept through the Ukrainian opposition, as well as the vows to stand firm against what was variously called a coup or a putsch, demonstrated one key difference between the two countries:
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych may wish he had the firm grip of Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, but he doesn’t.
The opposition in Ukraine consists of people who don’t have much fraternal affection for Russia.
“Everything that Yanukovych does to usurp power — that’s their method, the method of their regime,” Oleg Tyagnibok, leader of the nationalist Svoboda party, said at a Friday news conference.
“Their goal is to copy the Russian and North Korean methods. Yanukovych has started learning, little by little, to be a dictator.”
The legislation — rushed through a tumultuous parliament Thursday and signed into law by Yanukovych late Friday — gives the authorities far-reaching power to outlaw most forms of protest.
But no one is sure whether Yanukovych will have the nerve to use that power against the continuing protest at an encampment in Kiev’s Maidan, or Independence Square.
Twice before he has sent police to clear the Maidan, and twice he has revived what had been a flagging opposition.
His imprisoned nemesis, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, issued a scathing statement Friday.
“This isn’t just a blatant crime, for which those guilty, when the time comes, will face criminal liability,” she said.
“It’s also the final step in the elimination of Ukrainian parliamentarism as the main branch of government in Ukraine.
“Today, by deliberately killing parliamentarism, [Yanukovych] took another major step toward establishing dictatorship in Ukraine.”
The opposition launched the protests when Ukraine turned its back on the European trade deal in November, and they later widened into demands for Yanukovych to resign and corruption to be stamped out.
Yanukovych has said he still hopes to pursue ties with the European Union, but the new legislation does little to support that assertion.
U.S. and European leaders also offered strong criticism of the legislation.
“We believe deeply that the people of Ukraine want to affiliate, they want to be associated with Europe,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Friday, adding that the new laws “are anti-democratic, they’re wrong, they are taking from the people of Ukraine their choice and their opportunity for the future.”
“These laws amount to an anti-democratic putsch which scuppers all previous democratic progress Ukraine has made,” Rebecca Harms, a leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, said in a statement.
Warning of “catastrophic consequences for Ukrainian society,” she said:
“The EU cannot leave this draconian move, which undermines existing agreements, unanswered. If the legislation enters into force, the EU must respond with serious sanctions against all members of the government and their families, freezing European bank accounts and revoking EU entry visas.”
Catherine Ashton, the top diplomat for the E.U., said the legislation curtailing freedom of speech, of the press and of the right to assembly forces Ukraine to violate its international obligations.
“There can be no business as usual with Kiev,” tweeted Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara lashed back, accusing the Western officials of interfering in Ukraine’s domestic affairs — a criticism that Russia frequently levels against the West as well.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Ukraine planned to join neither the E.U. nor Putin’s new Eurasian Customs Union.
Yuri Lutsenko, an opposition leader who was released from the hospital Friday after suffering a concussion in a police beating this month, told the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper that he believes the security services have taken control of the government from Yanukovych and are receiving orders from another country.
He didn’t specify which one, but it is clear he meant Russia.
An editor at the English-language Kyiv Post, Katya Gorchinskaya, ended her column Friday this way:
“Welcome to the new police state. We call it Little Russia.”
Another opposition leader, the former boxer Vitali Klitschko, said the new legislation amounts to a coup d’etat and joined calls for a large turnout of protesters Sunday, new laws notwithstanding.
He also said he plans to travel throughout the Russian-speaking eastern part of Ukraine — Yanukovych’s heartland — to drum up support for the protest.
The new laws make it a crime to, among other things, wear a helmet at a demonstration.
On the Internet television channel Hromadske TV on Friday, a news announcer was wearing a construction helmet even though he was in the studio.
Some protesters in the Maidan tied kitchen colanders to their heads.
Another group of protesters marched up the steep hill that leads to the presidential administration building and laid wreaths there, holding a mock funeral for democracy.
The permanent protest camp has shrunk since the beginning of the year, although it has shown no sign of going away.
On Friday, Yanukovych’s Party of Regions issued a statement applauding the new legislation as “an effective means in fighting terrorist actions and political extremism.”
The statement continued:
“We will not allow opposition extremists to turn Ukraine into another hot spot on the global map.”
Yanukovych on Friday dismissed the chief of his administration and accepted the resignation of his press secretary.
Sweeping New Anti-Protest Laws Spark Fresh Outrage in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- Outrage swept over Ukrainian civil society on Friday after the country’s parliament pushed through a package of laws designed to curb dissent and crack down on mass demonstrations.
Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych announced that he had signed the new and controversial legislation into law in a statement posted to his official website on Friday.
The legislation passed on Thursday by pro-government lawmakers by a simple show of hands counted in a matter of seconds.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders called the move “a constitutional coup d’état.”
The passage of the far reaching anti-protest laws reportedly prompted the resignation of Serhiy Lyovochkin, President Yanukovych's chief of staff, along with resignations or dismissals of another half dozen members of the president's administration, including his head communications, Darka Chepak and head of Ukrainian ground forces Gennadiy Vorobyov.
Taking a Page From Russia's Playbook
The new laws force any organization receiving money from abroad to register as foreign agents.
Russia passed a similar law in 2012.
Under the new laws, protesters are also banned from wearing helmets, pitching tents and using bullhorns protesters are also banned from wearing helmets, pitching tents and using bullhorns and sound systems during mass protests.
Violators face steep fines and prison sentences of up to 15 years.
Motorcades of more than five cars are also banned, a tactic used by protesters in recent weeks to blockade the private homes of high-level government officials as well as government offices.
These blockades are banned under the new laws, with violations punishable by the suspension of a driving license or confiscation of a vehicle.
The laws gave fresh impetus to protesters whose numbers in recent weeks had dissipated because of the holidays and cold weather.
On Friday afternoon, a group of more than 1,000 marched from Kiev’s Independence Square to the Presidential Administration.
Some brandished photographs of the bloody faces of activists and journalists beaten by police, or thugs since the pro-democracy EuroMaidan protest movement began in November.
One of them, Tetyana Chornovil, was chased in her car and then attacked before being left in a ditch.
A dashcam helped authorities tracked down five men who remain in police custody.
Other protesters at the rally wore red paint on their faces in solidarity with the victims, while a few more donned cooking pots and colanders atop their heads, challenging the new law that criminalizes wearing a helmet during demonstrations.
Opposition leaders called for Ukrainians on Friday to turn out for another large-scale demonstration on Sunday at Independence Square.
Some Sunday protests in December saw hundreds of thousands of people on the square.
In addition to the stringent laws affecting the freedom of assembly, lawmakers voted for stricter laws on free speech, making slander an offense punishable by up to two years in prison.
In addition, the new laws make it a crime to investigate judges or police officers without the approval of an expert, with potential punishment of up to three years behind bars.
What’s more, online media are now required to register with authorities or else face being shut down.
Western diplomats derided both the manner in which the laws were passed and the substance of the legislation on Friday.
“Outrageous the way laws severely restricting freedoms were pushed through Ukraine parliament today.” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted.
European Parliament President Martin Schultz said he was “deeply worried” about the laws, which he said “would push Ukraine back toward its authoritarian, Soviet past.”
Ukraine's Strict Anti-Protest Laws
Motorcades of more than five cars without permission of the police may lead to a fine of up to $100 or confiscation of the car and loss of driving privileges for up to two years.
The use of masks or helmets during public demonstrations or participation in rallies in which other people wear them may lead to a fine of up to $520 or arrest up to 15 days.
The construction of stages or tents without police permission during public rallies may lead to a fine of up to $620 or arrest of up to 15 days.
The production or sharing, including through media, of “extremist papers” that might include calling for “mass riots” may lead to a fine of up to $415 or up to three years imprisonment.
Blocking access to government offices or private homes is an offense punishable by up to six years in jail.
The seizure of state or public buildings is punishable by up to six years behind bars.
Slanderous material published without permission from an expert may lead to one year of correctional labor or 200 hours of community service or a fine of up to $100.
Libelous material containing accusations of grave crimes may lead to imprisonment for up to two years.
Internet users of any sort but within the boundaries of Ukraine may be banned from the Internet based on an expert decision that this particular user disseminates criminal information.
All nongovernment organizations (NGOs) that receive financing from foreign states, people, nongovernmental organizations or international organizations must register as foreign agents themselves.
Foreign agents will be required to pay income tax, thus losing their non-profit status.
The activity of these nongovernmental organizations may be banned by a court decision if they violate interests of national security or public order.
The procedure to strip a lawmaker of his immunity has been simplified to one step.
A person can be sentenced in court without being present.
Tuesday 14 January 2014
What makes Russians join terrorist gangs?
During the investigation of the horrific attacks in Volgograd, suspects with Russian last names were named yet again. It seems that the trend of an inflow into the Russian Wahhabi bandit underground becomes consistent. What are the reasons behind this terrible phenomenon?
Russian names pop up in criminal reports from the North Caucasus and southern Russia increasingly more often. It seems insane, but this is the reality. One of the organizers of the October terrorist act in Volgograd when a passenger bus exploded was an ethnic Russian Dmitry Sokolov.
The investigation of the recent horrific terrorist attacks also mentioned a Russian name. While the involvement of Mr. Pavlov in the crime has not been proven yet, the very appearance of Russian names in the attacks is quite symptomatic.
This, unfortunately, is not the first case where perpetrators of terrorist acts were not ethnic Muslims, but neophytes from the Russian environment. The infamous gang leader Said Buryat, while not a Slav, was not born in a Muslim environment. Alla Saprykina (who later took the name Aminat Kurbanov) killed Shaykh Afandi using an improvised explosive device. Very few people are surprised with such a phenomenon as Russian Wahhabi terrorism.
While some clarity about the origin of the bandit underground in the Caucasus does exist, the appearance of Russians there (who travel to the Caucasus even from Moscow) remains a mystery.
Why there has been a clear trend for the influx of ethnic Russian to the Wahhabi underground in the North Caucasus in recent years?
"I believe that this issue is multi-layered and multi-faceted. The increasing number of Russian Muslims is obvious. The increasing number of Russian militants is also real. The management of interfaith relations is quite difficult and confusing in Russia. No social niches have been formed with the help of the state or without this help in the civil field for people who do not belong to the Muslim ethno-culture by birth but adopt this religion. There are no adaptive mechanisms for them, no niches where they could fulfill themselves.
On the contrary, they are marginalized, in some cases purposefully, in others - spontaneously. Their families turn away from them, they are not accepted by the media, the authorities do not want to do anything with them, they are like lepers. It is quite difficult to be a Russian Muslim in Russia, because public alienation and condemnation sometimes exceed all reasonable limits. I am not surprised that many people simply break down to radicalism. There is significant intolerance towards Muslims in Russia, and if a Russian person converts to Islam, they are perceived as traitors of their faith and culture, and for many it is difficult to stick to moderate positions."
The expert said that such denomination as Wahhabism does not exist. This term is used as a definition for extreme groups professing radical forms of Islam. This process is quite unnoticeable. "The radicalization of a person, whether religious or political, is similar to the process of people gradually slipping into social vices. They do it once, twice, no one pays attention, then they find themselves in a socially disadvantaged niche."
Talking about the main reason why Muslims get into the hands of radical preachers, Kurbanov spoke about lack of a coherent and correct public policy in the religious sphere. There is no one to seize the initiative from radical leaders who now work with young people not only in the Caucasus but also in Central Russia.
Harun Sidorov, the chairman of the National Organization of Russian Muslims, agrees with this position
"If we talk about the Russian Muslims, the state policy and partly the attitude of the society, this is what makes them subject to many risks. If an explosion was facilitated by a person from the Caucuses, no one will say that all people from the Caucuses are terrorists. If an explosion was facilitated by a Russian, the blame rests on all Russian Muslims. Therefore, the only way to minimize these processes is to provide some green corridor for Russian Muslims, as it is provided at least in theory for ethnic Muslims.
Russian Muslims in Russia exist and will continue to exist, whether you like it or not. There are some Russian Muslims whose parents are Russian Muslims. There is only one alternative to ensure that they do not become enemies of the society - to recognize them as part of this society, with their niche in it where they can positively fulfill themselves without renouncing their spiritual choice or even the choice of their parents. Another thing is that without a global normalization of the attitude of the government towards Islam, development and implementation of proven strategies for changing Russia's attitude towards Islam, there will be no way to completely eliminate such excesses."
Harun Sidorov explained why radical leaders try to recruit Russians into their structure. First, it is easier for Slavic people to blend in with the crowd than it is for those from the Caucasus. Second, organizers believe that this is a psychological blow to the enemy. Third, it reinforces the alienation among Russian Muslims, and makes their individual representatives more susceptible to such risks.
Unfortunately, in Russian society the attitude towards Russian Muslims is very tense. Ethnic Muslims don't have it easy either due to the growing nationalist sentiment. The paradox is in the fact that believers of any denomination (if we do not take into account insane cult followers) usually behave in a quite restrained manner. These people are truly interested in their own spiritual development; they read religious literature and follow religious rules.
However, such people are affected by their purely formal fellow believers. Orthodox priests are affected by some of their excessively wealthy colleagues, and Muslims are affected by terrorists and cultureless youth that not only do not follow the Islamic rules of conduct, but also basic social conduct rules.
The government often not only is not trying to improve the situation, but adds fuel to the fire.
There is no terrorism in Chechnya only because of a strong arm of Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov does not oppress Islam in its relatively healthy manifestations, but encourages it. Although it sometimes backfires as excessive archaism, terrorism in Chechnya is long gone. Traditional Islam simply displaces rotten seeds. But in other republics, for example Kabardino Balkaria, where local security officials are inclined to see Wahhabi in traditional Islam, terrorism is rampant. That means that people are gradually pushed towards radicalism.
If a gardener does not shape the branches of an apple tree, cutting off some of them, this tree starts bearing bitter fruit. The same situation is with Islam in Russia. The government ignores it as a phenomenon, allows it to run wild and degenerate under pressure of absurd social stereotypes.
There is another factor that lies directly in the underground. It is noticeable that terrorists have long stopped not only to have any political demands, but to even assume responsibility for these actions.
Before, terrorists had a clear goal - to achieve separation of Chechnya. But these plans have evidently failed, and most likely for a very long time. Serious attempts to destabilize the population of Dagestan would fail because this republic does not have separatist sentiments. By and large, the bandits have long lost political motivation, becoming a destructive sect that has no specific goal other than killing for the sake of killing.
This has made them not only less predictable, but also opened doors to all sorts of crazy gangs. If before those affiliated with these structures had to share at least the idea of separating Chechnya, now the only prerequisite is personal insanity. There are plenty of crazy people everywhere among all nationalities
Terrorists declare war on Russia. Will Russia respond?
Two terrorist attacks in Volgograd, at the railway station and in the trolleybus, have taken the lives of 32 people and wounded more than 70. Russian law enforcement authorities, and, in fact, the state, had to face a serious challenge. Who is standing behind the bombings and what goals they pursue - there are no doubts about that. But what is the reason of the frightening frequency and the constant character of such attacks? What measures should be taken to root out terrorism in Russia?
Suicide bombers do not explode themselves from excessive emotions or religious fanaticism. This is always a result of a well-planned operation. There are Western intelligence agencies and money from Saudi Arabia and Qatar that stand behind terrorist groups and gangs operating in Russia.
"This is definitely the beginning of a planned action," Yevgeny Lobachev, a retired Major General of the Russian Federal Security Bureau,
The expert sees two purposes. The bombings were conducted to destabilize the situation in the country before the New Year holidays and prior to the Olympic Games in Sochi.
"A number of public and state Western leaders are now calling to boycott the Russian games. Every now and then they keep on reporting that someone else is not coming for the Olympics. These attacks are financed from abroad, most likely from Saudi Arabia, as the two Chechen wars showed. This is foreign influence, foreign control, foreign maintenance," said Evgeny Lobachev.
"There is every reason to believe that this is the beginning of a large-scale operation to destabilize Russia. We have a lot of enemies who seek to undermine our credibility, especially in the run-up to the Olympics," Saeed Gafurov, the scientific director of the Institute of Oriental and African Studies said.
He believes that the bombings were an act of revenge to the Russian Federation for Syria and a result of the flabbiness of Russian diplomacy.
"Russia made several mistakes in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf, where it showed generosity and softness in response to barbaric actions. We shouldn't have, for example, turned a blind eye on the beating of Ambassador Titarenko in Qatar. Officers of Qatari security forces received no punishment. It was a reason for war, and we just swallowed it. Russia said nothing when Saudi Arabia invaded Bahrain either," said the expert. According to him, the Gulf monarchies "understand only fear and it is impossible to negotiate with them."
"They found this behavior as a sign of Russia's weakness and increased the funding for Wahhabi and other radical Islamist underground in Russia." Moreover, the expert said, the funding is conducted through public organizations that may not always be headquartered in Doha or Al Riyadh - some of them can be located in London, for instance." "Now, when it appears that government troops in Syria are winning the war, revenge to our country will only grow," says Gafurov.
These opinions can be supported with the data that transpired in August through Russia Today and several Western and Arab publications about the visit of the chief of military intelligence, Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, to Moscow. Bin Sultan said back then that he guaranteed safety at Winter Olympics in Sochi next year, if Russia made concessions in relation to its position on Syria. "Groups of Chechen fighters, who express different threats to the Olympic Games, are under our control," The Guardian quoted the prince.
Apart from financing and administration from outside, there are internal Russian factors that create fertile grounds for Islamic radicalism and terrorism.
"The problem is not only about foreign funding, but also about our internal reasons, Alexey Filatov, retired FSB colonel, veteran of anti-terrorist group Alpha,
It goes about high level of social stratification and corruption, the expert explained. For example, the financing of criminal groups is carried out through taxation of local officials, who obtain their money from the federal budget. In addition, our police are too busy with less important things, like, for example, migration issue," Filatov said.
These social causes, in his opinion, are the basis for steady influx of new candidates for suicide bombings, and it is highly difficult for security services to handle the problem.
"One should also understand that in the 1990s, Russian security forces lost many professionals. It now takes decades to bring that all back," says Evgeny Lobachev.
Political analyst Saeed Gafurov does not share such fatalism. "Terrorists' financial, organizational, human, logistical resources are not limitless. Fatalism, therefore, is inappropriate. We should improve vigilance. If we can not completely exclude terrorist attacks today, then we can make them very expensive. To do this, we must all raise vigilance," he said.
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, does not share a fatal point of view on the problem either. According to experts, he solved the issue of illegal criminal groups by calling to enact a law that "infinitely increased punishment" for terrorist activities and outlawed all radical movements, parties and groups."
Alexey Filatov believes that Russia should follow the example of the United States.
"We need to do what Americans do. We have to keep tabs on each and every person. This technology that Snowden exposed - prevention and control - has a real effect. Metal detectors are useless. One should be able to follow the enemy, rather than prohibit radical movements. Metal detectors on all exists and entrances do not help, this is a waste of money."
What other measures should the state take? It appears that Russia should strengthen diplomatic activities on the international arena, find leverage over Saudi Arabia and Qatar. One should prove facts, put up the question to discussion at international forums and organize diplomatic scandals. To crown it all, as Lebanese newspaper As-Safir wrote, President Vladimir Putin promised Prince Bandar to strike a "massive military blow" on terrorist training camps. Western analysts concluded that Russia was threatening Saudi Arabia.
Who's scared of the return of the USSR?
On December 30, 1922 at the 1st Congress of Soviets the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was proclaimed. Last week, the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus approved the institutional part of the draft agreement on the Eurasian Union. The work of the EurAsEC is scheduled to commence on January 1, 2015. Is there something in common between the current integration processes of the post-Soviet Union and the USSR? Political analyst Sergei Mikheyev shared his thoughts. According to the Gallup poll, the majority of residents (over 50 percent) of post-Soviet countries believe the collapse of the USSR to be a negative event. Approximately 25 percent of those polled talk about "benefits" of this event. Could such sentiments serve as a basis for the integration processes on the post-Soviet territory? Or are these processes imposed artificially?
"These sentiments objectively exist. Another thing is that the ruling elites in many countries do not want to notice or consider them. On the contrary, they want to eradicate all these positive memories and sentiments by all means. These sentiments are associated with simple things. There are many advantages of living in a large country. Very few saw improvements in the long run compared with the past. Or, at least, the majority believes that these improvements are inadequate.
Could these sentiments be the basis for integration? Of course they could. They are one of the foundations for integration. If our population would not want anything like this and would not have any positive memories of the shared past, the elite would not have been able to do anything.
Roughly speaking, if Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the entire population were totally against this integration, then there would be no integration, it is obvious. Yes, such sentiments are the basis for the existence of such processes. We must also understand a simple thing - the collapse of the Soviet Union was a matter of an elite conspiracy. You can call it a "decision" instead of "conspiracy," it does not matter. People were not asked."
Is the integration process a reality or is it limited to declarations of intentions at this time?
"You know, the situation in the post-Soviet space is quite specific. The question is what we call integration. In fact, we have not yet managed to disintegrate completely, so the processes we call integration are the processes that slow down the disintegration in the first place.
And second, we are trying to go back to common sense. When the Soviet Union fell apart, many ties were broken not because they were not beneficial. This occurred for political reasons. And now we are simply returning to common sense. Therefore, some people think that there is no integration. I think the process may not be exactly the same as in the European Union. The basis for it was a completely different situation. The EU was based on the situation when sovereign states of Europe that independently existed for hundreds of years began talks of some cooperation.
I see people comparing our process with the European one. We have a different situation, entirely different starting conditions. Until recently we shared a deeply integrated space. It was destroyed, partly due to objective reasons, partly subjective ones. Now there is a process that some call integration, but it does not make sense to compare it with the European one because it is completely different." Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last December that the U.S. would strongly discourage any semblance of a revival of the USSR. In your opinion, do the U.S. and Europe see the attempts to integrate the former Soviet Union as a threat? And if so, what is it?
"The Americans perceive any enhancement of any country which refuses to be under total control of the United States as a threat, that's all. That is, any strengthening of any country, regardless of whether it is Russia, China, or some other country, if this is strengthening of a country claiming to be more or less independent in its foreign and domestic policy, the Americans perceive it as a potential threat.
Once strengthened, this country may begin to present certain claims to the existing world order where the Americans and the West in general are objectively the leader. They possibly perceive as a threat the integration processes in the post-Soviet space. This is not about ideology, but only about the struggle for leadership. The Americans see the basis of its leadership role in the fact that everyone around them is either weak or loyal. This is why they always talk about the Soviet Union.
Let's rephrase the question- are the Americans ready for the recreation of not the USSR but the Russian Empire? Or, for example, Russia as a bourgeois republic of the period of February Revolution? Are they ready for this? They do not talk about it for the simple reason that the ideological color means absolutely nothing. They blamed everything on the Soviet past, saying that there was a terrible totalitarian communism. In fact, it does not matter whether this was a "totalitarian communism," "tsarist regime," or " bourgeois republic." They don't care. The main thing is not to allow a strong competitor. That's it.
They are simply using the USSR for manipulative purposes, inventing threats of the return of the Soviet Union simply because this stage of history is more or less relevant. In America, in Europe there a lot of people who remember all these things.The real, pure essence of the process is simple - the Americans are struggling with any possible competition that could threaten their leadership. And they call it different names in different cases.
Russia is in dire need of military bases
The United States has 500 military bases around the world, while Russia only has four plus two logistics points, editor in chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland Victor Murakhovski said in a live broadcast of Pravda.Ru. Even in this situation the United States strongly impedes recreation of Russian military bases, especially in Central Asia and in the Pacific Rim.
"Currently Russia has military bases in Tajikistan, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Armenia. There are logistics points in the port of Tartus in Syria and in the port of Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Now a similar military facility in Belarus is being established. So far it is unclear what it will be called," said Viktor Murakhovski.
The expert said that in Soviet times the country had a military base in Cuba with deployed land, mechanized infantry and armored units, air defense, and electronic intelligence. There were bases in Somalia and Ethiopia, in the archipelago Dahlak, and in some other places." Victor Murakhovski believes that today's potential is about 50 percent of the potential of the USSR. According to him, today the Americans who have 500 military bases in different parts of the world are trying to prevent the restoration of Russian military influence and placement of Russian bases in Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region (APR). This is evidenced by the story of the Russian military base in Kant, Kyrgyzstan. "The Americans tend to control the main trade routes of the Pacific where their main trading partners and powerful military powers are China, Japan, and Korea. Russia did not have anything in this region. Only recently Kamran was recreated," Murakhovski said. He added that the Americans also decided to leave the nine bases in Afghanistan despite the impending withdrawal of ISAF coalition forces.
"30,000 ISAF troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan, but the bases will remain in the area under the pretext of creating training units for the new Afghan army. They will be fortresses that will control vast areas with fire," said Viktor Murakhovski.
The expert believes that widely criticized leadership of the former minister Anatoly Serdyukov did not affect the issue of creating new bases of the Russian Federation abroad. "I would not talk about Serdyukov so negatively. He acted in line with the course of the military reform developed by the Council of National Security and the Russian president before the 2008 events in the Caucasus. The events in South Ossetia forced a quick promotion of a military reform, a compact, professional army, always ready units, increased share of contractors, and humanization of military service. The Minister made certain mistakes in the field of military education, military healthcare, outsourcing (only in permanent locations), in the area of upgrading and establishing a normal dialogue with the industry, but these mistakes have been corrected," said the expert.
He believes that Anatoly Serdyukov has to be given credit for some things. "The military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia were deployed, and military base 201 was transferred entirely to the contract system. Anatoly Serdyukov has done some good things."
Victor Murakhovski explained that the cost of maintaining military bases is determined by bilateral agreements. "Russia bears most of the cost and undertakes the supply of arms and equipment, training of military personnel with respect to the host countries. As far as I know, we do not pay for maintenances of the bases like the Americans do, we barter."
The expert does not think that the military base in Armenia may be shut down. "There is a motorized infantry brigade there, battalion S-300, and air squadron. This base ensures the territorial integrity of Armenia."
The expert believes the position of the Russian base in Sevastopol to be unshakable and stipulated by an intergovernmental agreement. "Russia, in case of a conflict, will legitimately resist and will be supported by the population of the Crimea."
Victor Murakhovski noted that a high level of security in the country must be maintained, so the military budget should not be redistributed to social spending. Especially because for over 20 years sufficient funds were not allocated to the army, which has led to the fact that in the North Caucasus in the two Chechen campaigns instead of an army we had an unmanaged conglomerate of people in green uniforms.
As for the modern army, the tests conducted in the summer showed that it was in satisfactory condition, but it should be in a good or, even better, great condition. "The army has to be re-equipped, and an increase in spending on rearmament must be planned. One third of the funds will be spent before 2015 and two-thirds after 2015. The emphasis is on upgrading of reconnaissance and communications, aerospace defense, aviation, precision weapons, impact weapons and strategic nuclear forces, Russia's "sacred cow." In the next year over 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles will beThe use of unmanned aerial vehicles is becoming increasingly more important - no sanctions, no declaration of war. The Americans are flying over Iran to strike at Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and other countries. Russian Federation will also pay more attention to this area.
The expert said that presence of Russian peacekeepers in Syria after Geneva-2 Conference was unlikely. "There were cases of attacks on Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, and everyone knows what it resulted in. Those who want to use peacekeeping forces for their own purposes really do not want the Russians present in Syria. Negotiators, especially from the West, will try to ensure that peacekeeping forces of the third countries are present, including India, Pakistan, and Japan," editor in chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland Victor Murakhovski concluded. delivered to the troops," said Victor Murakhovski.
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