Unwrapping The Russia Enigma

But it does much more. The showcase RT panel show, "Crosstalk," invites scholars and journalists from around the world, many of them critical of the Putin regime. A recent "Crosstalk" was comprised of three American conservatives. We are told that RT promoted the candidacy of Donald Trump. How then explain the presence on RT of vehemently anti-Trump commentators such as Thom Hartmann, Ed Shultz, Chris Hedges, Mike Papantonio and Noam Chomsky. It is doubtful that any of these progressive voices could find a place in our "free" mainstream media.

Suppose the US government succeeds in shutting down RT -- "The Voice of Russia." What follows? Will Putin then order the shutdown ofThe Voice of America? Or might Putin then close the Russian internet, which is now totally free and unrestricted. (Yes, it's true, although the MSM will not tell you this). Will the end of unrestricted email and Skype follow, ending my conversations with several friends in Russia? Where does it all end?

For more about the DNI report see my "In the Throes of a National Hissy Fit."


Issue Three; Is Russia a dictatorship, oppressing its people, suppressing free expression, enriching its rulers, etc.?

The MSM would have us believe that today Russia is an economic and political disaster zone. Consider:

• Income inequality: the top 1% of the country's population owns 40% of it wealth.
  
• The media is almost entirely managed by interests that support the federal government. Dissent is suppressed.
  
• The national elections are rigged to support the ruling party.
  
• The legislature is responsive to the wealthy and powerful, not ordinary citizens, who "appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

Horrible situation, isn't it. Alas, those poor Russians!

Except that I am describing here conditions in the United States of America, not in Russia. Here are the references: income inequality, media centralization.

Election rigging? There is abundant evidence from exit polls, steadfastly ignored by the MSM, that paperless voting machines are been rigged. But let's set all those controversial issues aside. Other modes of rigging are undisputed, in particular, "cross checking," voter suppression laws and gerrymandering.

As for legislative control, the quotation above is from Gilens and Page's landmark study of political influence in the United States. The full quotation: "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

Perhaps we Americans should clean up the civic garbage in our own back yard, rather than complain about the mess in our neighbor's yard.

Political and economic reform in the United States is our responsibility. Reform in Russia is the responsibility of the Russians. Rather than welcome our uninvited "assistance," the Russian will more likely tell us to bug-off and mind our own business, just as we would if the situation were reversed.

Furthermore, our attempts to interfere with the Russians' domestic affairs is complicated by the fact that Vladimir Putin enjoys the overwhelming support of the Russian people. To be sure, the Russian people have much to complain about in Putin's Russia, and complain they do -- openly and without fear of repression.

My Russian friends, all of whom are openly critical of Putin, appear to be content with their living conditions. Despite the sanctions, their standard of living is much improved from the Yeltsin days.

But what about those billionaire-oligarchs? Some historical perspective is in order. In the Soviet Union, there were no billionaires. They appeared during the Yeltsin decade when a few former Communist aparatchiki and industry managers became instant capitalists and seized state capital resources for themselves. When Putin assumed power in January 2000, he made a deal with the oligarchs: you may keep your wealth provided you stay out of politics. Those who refused, such as Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khordokovsky, had their assets seized and were either sent to prison or exiled.

Our mainstream Ministry of Truth to the contrary notwithstanding, Vladimir Putin is not an absolute dictator. The revolutions of 1917 and 1991 constantly remind him that the patience of the Russian people has its limits. Moreover, the Russian military demands that Putin defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. The oligarchs demand that Putin secure their wealth and investments. If Putin fails, he will likely be replaced, and by a new leader even more hostile to the United States.


Issue Four: Is Russia our "enemy"? Are Russian strategic objectives a threat to American interests and to world peace?

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