« Home | Made slight template change » | Police now investigating Olmert for his pen-bribe ... » | Nazareth hit by Hezbollah katyushas, two children ... » | Senate gives moral support for Israel » | Sean Hannity interviews Benjamin Netanyahu » | Pro-Israel rally in New York » | Whose side is the NY Times taking anyway? » | Hezbollah rocket strikes Haifa apartment building » | And that's why he's NOT suited to deal with the si... » | Eight deaths as katyusha rockets hit Haifa » 

Thursday, July 20, 2006 

Russia moving towards...Putinism?

First, there was Leninism. Then, there was Stalinism. And, during both dictatorial regimes, Communism was the main ideology being indoctrinated in the Russian vicinity.

Now, it looks like Russia may be on its way back to Communism, and, at the same time, we may be facing a new menace presented by the current dictator who could soon be taking over, that being - Putinism. From the Washington Post (via Guns and Butter Blog):
MOSCOW, July 6 -- Russian regulators have forced more than 60 radio stations to stop broadcasting news reports produced by Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to radio managers and Russian officials.

The regulators cited license violations and unauthorized changes in programming format. But senior executives at the U.S.-government-funded broadcast services and at the stations blame the Kremlin for the crackdown, which has knocked the reports off stations from St. Petersburg in western Russia to Vladivostok in the Far East.

"We focus primarily on domestic developments, and those are exactly the things the Kremlin has problems with," said Jeffrey N. Trimble, acting president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty -- commonly known as Radio Liberty. "This really hurts our ability to reach today's decision-makers."

The two services' straight-up reporting, often by journalists on the ground in Russian communities, has at times challenged the political establishment here. In a country where the news media increasingly avoid controversial subjects, millions of Russians had made the broadcasts a listening staple.

U.S. diplomats, managers at the two news services and their board of governors have held repeated discussions with Russian officials in recent months seeking a compromise, to no avail. "We've tried to be collegial, tried to work within the system, but this is a most unfortunate development," said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees both services.

Later this month, the leaders of the Group of Eight leading industrialized countries will gather for a summit hosted by Russia in St. Petersburg. The meeting has prompted increased scrutiny here and abroad of the Kremlin's steps to consolidate power since the late 1990s.

Control of the mass media, particularly news and debate on national television channels, is a critical part of the Kremlin's management of political discourse in advance of parliamentary elections in 2007 and presidential elections in 2008.

After Vladimir Putin became president in 2000, the country's major TV channels, the most important media because of their reach, were quickly brought under state control or shut down. State-controlled or state-friendly businesses have been buying up newspapers and radio stations. Outside Moscow and St. Petersburg, media outlets routinely come under the sway of local governors, most of whom are loyal to the Kremlin.
Yep, the Cold War is upon us once again. That's the sad reality, that, while some ideologies can be deposed of, they can also make a most unwelcome comeback. And this time, it's in the form of Vladimir Putin. Alas, it appears that he is indeed a neo-Commie, which explains also his support for the Hamas.

Also available at Basil's Blog, Bloggin' Out Loud, Blue Star Chronicles, bRight & Early, Diane's Stuff, Dumb Ox News, Freedom Watch, HistoryMike, Is it Just Me, Jo's Cafe, Mark My Words, The Mudville Gazette, Outside the Beltway, Planck's Constant, TMH's Bacon Bits, Tor's Rants.

Labels: , , ,

Alas, it appears that he is indeed a neo-Commie, which explains also his support for the H-amas....good point!!!

I am afraid reading about Russia in English like reading about Israel in Russian or even worse. Putin is not neo-Commie, is is a young and fit guy who is not that keen on becoming a harmless drunk like Yeltsin, or being killed or imprisoned for not being harmless. He will do anything - and I do mean _anything_ - that can keep him occupied and in some form of power and control. Make your wildest pick - converting to Islam, standing for the UN top job, breaking Russia in two parts and staying as a dictator in one, provoking a coup then coming in as a savior, selling everything in Russia to buy some property in some (which?) country. Nobody knows an answer yet, however WashPost failed even to ask the right question.

Post a Comment

About me

  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
My profile

Archives

Links

    avigreen2002@yahoo.com See also my collection of Link in Bio pages: Realtime Website Traffic
      telchaidrawing

      I also contribute to

    • The Astute Bloggers
    • Infidel Bloggers Alliance
    • Which also includes (open menu)

      My other sites

    • The Four Color Media Monitor
    • The Comic Book Discrimination Dossiers
    • Hawkfan
    • The Greatest Thing on Earth!
    • The Outer Observatory
    • Earth's Mightiest Heroines
    • Puzzle Paradise
    • The Co-Stars Primer
    • Cinema Capsule Cavalcade
    • Food Diner
    • News/Opinion sites (open menu)

      Writers and special activity groups (open menu)

      Media Watchdogs (open menu)

      Columnist bloggers (open menu)

      Research on terrorism (open menu)

      Other bloggers: Israel and Asia (open menu)

      Other bloggers: Europe (open menu)

      Other bloggers: American continent (open menu)

      Museum sites (open menu)

      Bloggeries Blog Directory blog directory Blog Directory & Search engine View My Stats
    • W3 Counter stats
    • eXTReMe Tracker
      Locations of visitors to this page  
      Flag Counter

    This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

    make money online blogger templates

Older Posts Newer Posts

Tel-Chai Nation is powered by Blogspot and Gecko & Fly.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.
Join the Google Adsense program and learn how to make money online.