After reading this morning about the horrible, horrible murder of Justice Aza Gazgireeva in Nazran, North Caucasus (a merciless shooting in front of her childrens’ kingergarten, with even a 1-year-old receiving a bullet wound), I knew that it wouldn’t be long before Moscow made some grand gestures toward the troubled region. Then I saw in the Associated Press that President Dmitry Medvedev was actually just there yesterday:
That killing prompted Mr. Medvedev to make an unannounced visit to Dagestan Tuesday, visiting police bases and reviewing troops — a visit that was covered lavishly by state-controlled TV. Mr. Medvedev blamed foreign “freaks” for inciting the violence, “extremism supplied to us from abroad.”
Hours after the president left Dagestan, a riot police officer wasshot and killed as he headed home after work — an attack that occurrednear a base where Mr. Medvedev had observed counterterrorism exercises.In another part of the Dagestan capital, a road police officer waskilled after trying to stop a car to check documents.
In the face of this kind of terrible violence, one desperately hopesthat the state’s policy will eventually produce peace – but these kindsof statements encouraging xenophobia and nationalism do not strike meas the most constructive approach. What is happening in Dagestan ismost definitely a Russian problem for the Russian people to have anopen discussion about. This kind of brutality needs to be fought withthe strongest weapons – honesty and transparency, not misleadingrhetoric.
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In as many weeks, Dagestan has lost its leading Supreme Court judge and its Interior Minister.If the Kremlin can’t keep these leading dignitaries safe, what makes anyone think it can protect thousands of Olympic athletes at the 2014 games in Sochi (that’s assuming the faclities actually get built, which seems increasingly unlikely)?Nobody in his right mind can imagine it is possible. The world is proposing to send its athletes and fans into a meat grinder. It should immediately reconsider and divest Russia of the 2014 games before it has blood on its hands. Russia should have been divested just on the basis of its invasion of Georgia; now, no thinking person can support holding the games in Russia, where every Olympic value is trodden on daily.
@LesRussophobes1- facilities actually get built,which seems increasingly unlikely?You can have a look and follow the progress:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=37369152#post373691522- On the russian section of this worldwide forum you can see any city in Russia:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=345For exemple Vladivostok bridge:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=708284Shure it’s far away from the pictures you like to show about Russia…