Our friend Kerkko Paananen at the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum posts a translation of an article by Igor Averkiev which argues that Russia would be stronger, more secure, and better off if it pulled out of the Caucasus.  Averkiev wrote the article in January 2009, and by April, the local prosecutors in Perm opened a Piontkovsky-like case against him for inciting extremism from the article.  Given all the senseless violence ranging across Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia, capped off by the murder of Natalia Estemirova, Averkiev’s argument, though harsh, doesn’t seem all that extreme to me.

It is quite stupid to play the role of a “Big Brother” if there are no brotherly feelings on either side. It is even more stupid to support a whole nation in exchange for sham loyalty. It is utterly unbearable to burden oneself with responsibility for an alien way of life, for something that is unjust and horrifying to us, but quite normal to others.