The Nashi Pick Up the Russia Narrative

The drumbeat continues in response to the State Dept. report on human rights in Russia – this time the Nashi are spreading the official party line. (see last night’s extensive analytical piece on Russian foreign policy).

Over 200 activists protested outside the US embassy in Moscow. “American mothers, stop the fanatics from the State Department,” one placard read. Nashi leader Vasily Yakemenko said the United States was causing bloodshed from Iraq to Afghanistan and warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice against stirring tensions in Russia. “If Condoleezza Rice escalates tension here, it’s possible there will be a situation where people here could die too,” he said, suggesting it could trigger public unrest and bloodshed. “The US needs to think less about what is happening here and more about what is going on in Iraq,” he said.

So let’s see here: Yakemenko is threatening that Washington’s critique of Russia’s lacking democracy could produce bloodshed, while a few days earlier the Kremlin threatens that missile defense in Europe is not needed but “could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Somewhat similar trains of thought.