Is their an honest general left in the house!?
"We showed that no one and nothing can tell us what to do. We were able to save ourselves from political provocations that have just one aim: to overturn the Russian state and usurp power. Such attempts will not succeed on our land. They won't succeed!" [1]
Perhaps in the Russia according to Moscow-based journalist Masha Gessen and not a few of the sources and subjects of her journalism, the Russian state has been already overtuned and power usurped by the very man who on his recent "election" (critics have placed the number of associated voting irregularities above 4,000) spoke the above words, turning outward to unnamed others, a common ploy in propaganda, his own most deeply seated motivations and world view.
Gessen, in her book The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin [2] (published March 1, 2012), makes cases for the survival of the Soviet-era KGB through its acolyte Vladimir Putin and for several related terrorist incidents as KGB-managed false-flag operations designed to cement Putin's reputation as heroic in the minds of Russians.
Well, perhaps Putin had us fooled, but unlike the panicked denial of reality thrown around by the 911 Truthers (the hijackers weren't real; the Twin Towers had been set with explosive charges; advanced and invisible weapons technology had been used to bring down the buildings; etc.), Gessen sets out her cases calmly and factually.
They are convincing.
For Gessen, nothing need be invented but only accurately, clearly, and completely compiled and sharply analyzed.
Gessen also handily covers what I'll call the "mobocratic" detentions, exiles, and rub-outs so familiar to watchers of dictatorships and press freedom and security issue.
Gessen's book has come out -- no doubt planned -- shortly before Russia's elections (March 1, 2012) and its uptake may turn out critical to the popular challenge now unfolding in Moscow. However, given the sense of the man (far, far better than Bush Jr.'s look 'em in the eye) through Gessen's meticulous journalism, Putin as Supreme Kleptocrat (my term -- I have a lot of fun with "kleptocats" as well as "kleptocrats", "thugocracies", "mobocracies", "theothugocracies" and all the colorful cousins of the same) seems to have a blazing temper matched to a most methodical bent for theivery, my impression, again, garnered from Masha Gessen but easily reinforced with a glance at what's online in The New York Times and elsewhere about Putin.
This is just in (20 minutes ago as I type):
Organizers said about 20,000 people showed up, far short of the crowds of 100,000 that turned out for previous rallies — but protesters were squeezed into a far smaller space on the iconic Pushkin Square and it was too early to gauge how intense the outrage would be. [2]
No doubt in deed and doublespeak, Putin will first attempt to paper over all charges layed against him by his critics and then choke off action on the street, as seems to be happening. My bet: we will soon see tanks and gunfire, perhaps a suppression not to rival Stalin but rather excede him in the full flowering of familiar narcissistic sociopathathic monomania.
Given the breadth of Gessen's coverage plus the depth of the crimes should any sort of independent counsel and court find them true (journalists are at their best honest reporters, not prosecutors, and all prosecutors, any state, need to know that they are backed by at least one honest general, for generals, loyal or turned, determine the fate of all revolutions), Putin has left himself no position or place to which to retreat.
In a fair court finding -- call the so-far imaginary thing the "Special Tribunal for Russia" and like the other host it at the Hague -- the People of Russia would likely receive the Prince of Russia's palace.
At the moment, I'm finding my Yahoo link imports on Facebook unreliable -- somebody's scrambling something within Facebook or on the web, but in reference, I've copied titles and links faithfully.
For the reference, hit the YouTube page directly. Kensington25's caption: "Some footage I filmed this evening in St Isaac's Square in St Petersburg in Russia of protestors being arrested by riot police. Filmed on 5/3/12."
Reference
I've bolded the Kramer and Herszenhorn piece for its perfect fit with Gessen's assertions. Also of special interest may be "Putin's Palace" -- leaked photos of unknown veracity (they also appear here: http://acidcow.com/pics/16596-httpruleaksnet1901.html) but oh my the scheme is to rival Versailles, if not to otherwise completely neutralize Napolean's message and those of subsequent revolutions. Similar photographs appear of "Project South" under a Wikipedia entry, "Putin's Palace" -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putin's_Palace. Well, perhaps Russia misses the old feudal lords, the grand aristocracy, the nobility, the age of kings. The Huffington Post, among others, last year carried a piece on the sale of the property -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/04/putins-palace-350-million_n_831480.html -- but if you look, the story gets murky as to, really, (really), who and how much and when are they moving in?
Emind at MilitaryPhotos.Net. "Putin's new private residence on Black Sea shore. Note: I usually look for more than one appearance of the artifact but will chance it here with caution about making assumptions. Gessen refers in her book to a plust-billion-dollar Black Sea complex owned by Putin, and this reference certainly fits the description provided.
Walker, Amanda. "Arrests At Protests After Putin Election Win." Sky News via Yahoo, March 5, 2012.
Additions to Reference
The Economist. "The beginning of the end of Putin." March 3, 2012.
For Russia’s rulers, corruption is not a happy side-effect of power, but the core of the system. A small group of people wholly above the law has, in the past decade, become rich beyond the wildest dreams of the tsars. Mr Putin’s return to power would protect these ill-gotten gains. Reform would put them at risk.
(Reuters) - Russian riot police detained more than 500 protesters including opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday at rallies challenging the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin's victory in the presidential election.
Note: YouTube videos-- catch-as-catch-can, not corroborated, not vetted, but IF the story takes hold, that is if demonstrations grow and suppression-related violance ramps up, one may expect to see more of such footage emerging from both big or capable media sources as well as amateur "I was there" recordings.
YouTube. "Riot Police Clear Anti-Putin Protesters." By "Digispyeu".
YouTube. "Moscow, arrests, anti-Putin protest, breakingnews, news cyberfyi feed." By "DARLENEHUGHES123". March 5, 2012.
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Rianovosti. "Thousands Protest Results of Presidential Elections in Central Moscow." YouTube video -- http://youtu.be/aBJbLM5KL-E -- March 5, 2012.
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Russia Today. "Mass arrests as anti-govt protesters stage Moscow sit-in." Russia Today, March 5, 2012: http://youtu.be/rtNAQPfH_oA
As it is morning in Moscow, about 6 a.m., March 6, these last may be yesterday's news. --jso # # #
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