← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · robinder
Thread ID: 19489 | Posts: 8 | Started: 2005-08-08
2005-08-08 00:41 | User Profile
Ivan Bezugly hoisted an oversize bottle of 160-proof Kazachya vodka across his desk. "Have a drink!" Behind him a hodgepodge of Cossack kitsch suggested a room that was more shrine than office.
"If the country finds itself in a critical situation, the Cossacks will always be here to defend their Motherland," boomed Bezugly, a Cossack chieftain who speaks in a baritone that could fill Carnegie Hall. "But the most important thing is that we revive Cossack traditions, because we deeply respect these traditions."
For years, Bezugly and thousands of other Cossacks here in the steppes of southern Russia have clung tightly to their warrior past, hoping for a day when authorities restore their status as revered guardians of Russian society. In their heyday they were the czar's Secret Service; today Cossacks exist as half-legal vigilantes, something between everyday citizen and beat cop.
Soon, Cossacks may get their wish for resurrection. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked parliament to enact a law legitimizing the role of Cossacks in law enforcement, paving the way for the use of Cossacks in everything from border patrol to fighting terrorism.
"There is a long-felt need to confer legal status onto the activity of Cossack units," Putin said during a spring visit with Cossack chieftains in southern Russia's Rostov region. "Today, the Cossack movement is reviving."
Volatile mix in region
In southern Russia, enthusiasm for a Cossack revival is far from unanimous. The region is a volatile, Muslim-Christian soup of ethnic groups: Ossetians, Adygeans, Chechens, Ingush, Dagestanis, Kabardinians, Cherkessk, Meskhetian Turks, Armenian Kurds, as well as ethnic Russians. Cossacks are devout Russian Orthodox and rarely disguise their disdain for Muslims in southern Russia.
No group knows this better than Meskhetian Turks, a Muslim enclave in the Krasnodar region that Cossacks and local authorities have been systematically forcing out of jobs, farm fields and homes for a decade. In 2000, nearly 13,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in the Krasnodar region. Today, 6,000 remain.
Those who left were granted refugee status by the U.S. The rest tough it out in Krasnodar villages, waiting for U.S. officials to approve their immigration requests.
They rarely find work, because Krasnodar authorities will not grant them residency status despite a 1991 decree that gave them citizenship. Local authorities also assign Cossacks to conduct document checks on Meskhetian Turks and other Caucasian minorities, essentially giving Cossacks license to raid villages and harass Meskhetian Turks under the guise of checking their papers.
Bezugly describes how he feels about Meskhetian Turks in crude, blunt terms.
"We consider it our mission and our duty to coerce Meskhetian Turks to leave the Krasnodar region," he said. "Their birthrate is very high. They have 10 or 11 kids in their families. If this prevails, they could soon outnumber Russians."
That kind of mentality has convinced Marina Dubrovina, a human-rights lawyer who routinely represents Meskhetian Turks and other Caucasian minorities, that Putin's push to legitimize the Cossack role in law enforcement looms as a dangerous gaffe.
"He's merely legitimizing Cossacks' unlawful behavior," Dubrovina said. "Many of them live on the money they extort from people, and this decision just gives them more opportunity to do that."
For Putin, a Cossack revival marks another in a series of attempts at revving up patriotism in Russia, where cynicism and mistrust of government run deep. The group called Nashi--the Russian word for "ours"--a Kremlin-backed movement aimed at stoking patriotic sentiment among Russian youths, is picking up steam.
The Russian government also recently set aside $17 million to infuse Russian television with patriotic themes and establish a network of offices to oversee the spread of "patriotic education" in the provinces.
An inspiring history
In Russia, Cossack history inspires and emboldens. Dating to their settlement of the steppes of southern Russia and Ukraine in the 15th Century, Cossacks were famed for their horsemanship, valor and ferocity. During the Middle Ages, Polish and Russian rulers enlisted Cossacks to defend their kingdoms against marauding Tatars. A vanguard of Cossacks conquered Siberia for Ivan the Terrible in the 16th Century. Czar Alexander I relied on Cossacks to help vanquish Napoleon in 1812.
Cossacks fought alongside the White Army during the Russian civil war of 1918-20. After their defeat at the hands of the Bolsheviks, the Cossacks were declared "enemies of the state." Thousands fled the country. The government disbanded Cossack regiments and seized their farms.
After the Soviet collapse in 1991, Cossack society resurfaced. Under then-President Boris Yeltsin, they began taking on de facto law-enforcement responsibilities. In St. Petersburg, authorities assigned Cossacks to patrol city streets on horseback to snatch up pickpockets and thugs. In the Krasnodar region, officials rely on Cossacks to conduct passport and document checks.
In all, 25 Cossack groups with 660,000 members operate across the country, from the southern provinces near the Black Sea to the Siberian city of Irkutsk to the Amur region of Russia's Far East.
In the region surrounding Krymsk, a city of 60,000, Cossacks are led by Bezugly, a wiry, handlebar-mustached man with boundless energy that belies his 56 years. He eagerly volunteers that he keeps in shape by running 12 miles every other day and lifting weights. To hammer the point home, he shows a snapshot of himself shirtless, lifting two cannonball-shaped weights.
"It's easy for Cossacks to establish order in our villages, since we know everyone there," Bezugly said. "We appear on the scene quicker than the police do, so it makes sense for us to establish order. And we do it for free. We consider it to be our moral responsibility."
Driving out group
Their other moral responsibility, Bezugly freely admits, is to run Meskhetian Turks out of the region. The campaign involves everything from intimidation to beatings and raids on Turk villages. In 2002, 77 Cossacks in two buses pulled up to a party at a Meskhetian Turk house in the village of Khutor Shkolny, said village elder Israpil Litfiyev. The Cossacks locked up women inside the house, ordered the men into the courtyard and clubbed them with truncheons, Litfiyev said.
"They said, `You've got no registration, and we think you're all bandits,'" Litfiyev recalled. The Cossacks took two of the injured men and threatened to bury them alive, "but we chased after them and prevented that from happening."
In January, Alexander Tedorov, a 45-year-old Meskhetian Turk father of two, was beaten to death outside his parents' house in Varenikovskaya. A youth from a Cossack family was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Before the trial, local Cossacks tried to persuade Tedorov's family to drop the case.
"They said the boy was a good guy, with old parents that he needed to support," said Tedorov's uncle, Sarvar Tedorov. "They said they don't want him to go to jail and asked me to sign papers saying we refute the evidence. I refused to do this."
"Of course, the Cossacks are defending their boy," said Tedorov's mother, Valentina Tedorova, thumbing tears from her cheek. "But nobody defends us, because we are Turks."
Troubling encounters
Another Caucasian minority, Armenian Kurds known as Yezids, also has had troubling encounters with Krasnodar region Cossacks. In 2003, Ishnan Khudoyan, 39, was taking a shower at his home in Neberdzhayevskaya when five Cossacks conducting document checks appeared in his courtyard. When he confronted them, one of the Cossacks took his towel and used it to choke him.
"Then a Cossack pulled a gun on me," Khudoyan said. "The neighbors came out, and the Cossacks began to leave. But one of them said, `If you complain about this, we know where you live.'" The next day a local police officer visited Khudoyan and suggested that the unemployed Armenian drop the affair. "So I kept silent."
Cossacks say their stern treatment of Caucasian minorities is justified because those groups are responsible for much of the crime in the region, though Dubrovina, the lawyer, and human-rights groups say such claims are baseless.
The way Bezugly sees it, the best solution to the conflict between Cossacks and Meskhetian Turks is a simple one: They should leave.
"Many times we have told them, `When in Rome, do as Romans do,'" Bezugly said. "But they ignore that."
[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/chitribts/20050807/ts_chicagotrib/cossacksguardiansoroppressors[/url]
2005-08-08 05:07 | User Profile
Wern't Mesketian Turms kicked out (cleansed) from Uzbekistan by their fellow muslims in the 90s? I just googled and my memory hadn't failed me:
[url]http://www.travel-images.com/az-meskhetian.html[/url]
Of course, when their fellow musliims pogrom them and they run away fearing for their life (quite justifiably so judging by what happened there), it's just business as usual. But when they get dumped in the Cossack land and the locals don't like it, it's the-sky-is-falling time.
Also, comparison to the Secret Service is pretty stupid. Looks like to cover Russian affairs one doesn't need to know or understand anything.
2005-08-08 10:25 | User Profile
why am i not suprised at this part ? just great the Cossaks push out the muslim ethnic groups and they end up coming here ?
Those who left were granted refugee status by the U.S. The rest tough it out in Krasnodar villages, waiting for U.S. officials to approve their immigration requests.
2005-08-08 10:35 | User Profile
I find this article in general, to be basically painting a picture of Russia trying to rid itself of non-Russians. Am i correct ? This would be like Someone in the US gvt starting to show preference toward keeping the government and demographics in general in the hands of whites. Oh the horror. We must bomb Russia now to coerce them into having more social justice...send jesse jackson over there now !
2005-08-08 17:15 | User Profile
No group knows this better than Meskhetian Turks, a Muslim enclave in the Krasnodar region that Cossacks and local authorities have been systematically forcing out of jobs, farm fields and homes for a decade. In 2000, nearly 13,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in the Krasnodar region. Today, 6,000 remain.
Those who left were granted refugee status by the U.S. The rest tough it out in Krasnodar villages, waiting for U.S. officials to approve their immigration requests. Super. I can't wait...
2005-08-08 19:21 | User Profile
Cossacks Good; Khazars Bad.
2005-08-09 03:38 | User Profile
These Meskhetian Turks are a drop in the bucket. There are tons of Turks from Turkey, Iranian from Iran etc. etc.
2005-08-09 12:12 | User Profile
Across Russia, People Are Whispering about a Possible Jewish Ritual Murder Children Found Crucified but Believed to Have Been the Result of a Satanic Cult
By Mark Farrell [url="http://www.HonestMediaToday.com"]www.HonestMediaToday.com[/url]
Across the Russian land, people are quietly talking with one another about what many believe to be cases of Jewish ritual murders: Three young children were found to have been crucified, with unusual wounds to their heads, with their deaths having occurred over several days--the result of a "bloody ritual." The children were all younger than 13, which is believed by some people who are knowledgeable of such beliefs to be a prerequisite for these sacrifices. [url="http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/383/15903_boy.html"]http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/383/15903_boy.html[/url][url="http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/383/15903_boy.html"][color=#000020][/color][/url]
Jews in Russia are not new to such allegations.
Recently, a statement signed by 15,000 prominent Russians--from Duma members to professors, editors, journalists, and even former world chess champ Boris Spassky, stated that there was proof that the Jewish Chabad movement had murdered Father Alexander Men. The article went on to say that the "the Jewish religion is anti-Christian and misanthropic to the point of ritual murder. Many examples of this ritual extremism were documented in courts. (For example, see the study of the well-known scholar [Dr.] V. I. Dal, 'Rozyskanie o ubinenii yevreyami khristianskikh mladentsev i upotreblenii krovi ikh' ['Criminal investigation into the murder by Jews of Christian infants and the use of their blood.'] St. Petersburg, 1884)." [url="http://www.honestmediatoday.com/jewish_good_fortune.htm"][color=#000020]http://www.honestmediatoday.com/jewish_good_fortune.htm[/color][/url]
Russia seems to have a history of such reports. In fact, one case--that of Andrei Youshchinsky--made worldwide headlines when Jews went to trial for it in the early part of the 20th century. After all was said and done, the jury concluded that it was indeed a case of Jewish ritual murder.
A book was published by the prosecuting attorney, Duma member G.G. Zamyslovsky, detailing Youshchinsky's murder. Zamyslovsky was subsequently murdered when the Bolsheviks took power. All copies of his book--but one--were destroyed, which was then classified until 1997. That one book is now held in the St. Petersburg library, and only scholars are allowed to view it.
Since then, however, some individuals have obtained this massive 500-page book, for which Zamyslovsky was paid the equivalent of $5,000,000 U.S. in today's money, and put the entire book online for free. Many people say that the proof within it is incontrovertible, and this is why the book was suppressed for so many years. [url="http://www.honestmediatoday.com/murder_of_andrei_youshchinsk.htm"]http://www.honestmediatoday.com/murder_of_andrei_youshchinsk.htm[/url][url="http://www.honestmediatoday.com/murder_of_andrei_youshchinsk.htm"][color=#000020][/color][/url]
More recently, movies have been made about such crimes. In Belarus, not too many years ago, a documentary was made about St. Gavril, who was reportedly murdered by Jews.
In Italy, a Jewish group has made an Interactive CD that proposed St. Simon of Trent, a child-saint who was said to have been ritually murdered and was canonized by a Pope, was not the victim of Jews at all. In consequence, an Interactive CD had been produced that countered it.
In Arabia, a recent video suggested that ritual murders have occurred. More recently, in the U.S., a DVD documentary was made that suggested that such acts may be occurring even today. This video has been put online for free viewing too. [url="http://www.honestmediatoday.com/JewishRitualMurder.htm"][color=#000020]http://www.honestmediatoday.com/JewishRitualMurder.htm[/color][/url]
There are also many books about these topics that appear in America. For instance, Dr. Arnold Leese's book, "Jewish Ritual Murder," is said to be easily available. Dr. Philip DeVier has recently published a book, "Blood Ritual," which also deals with many of these allegations. This book is sold by Dr. Harrell Rhome, who also publishes a smaller book dealing with the reported Jewish ritual murder case of Father Thomas.
Today, as in the past, people are starting to look at what has been occurring behind closed doors. Many allegations have been made about Jewish religious customs.
However, as in this particular case dealing with the Russian children who were murdered, it is important that people stay objective, and not simply jump to conclusions. Let the laws and the courts take their course. Even if there is some historical base in these crimes against humanity, it does not mean that the current case is one; it could have been caused by a Satanic cult, as the article contends, and not simply a Jewish one. Jewish ritual murder is simply one possibility of many.
Yet, of course, it does remain a possibility.
Image of St. Simon of Trent - [url="http://www.stsimonoftrent.com/st-simon-of-trent-jewish-ritual-murder-catholic.jpg"][color=#000020]http://www.stsimonoftrent.com/st-simon-of-trent-jewish-ritual-murder-catholic.jpg[/color][/url]
See poll at Pravda - [url="http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php3?postid=1519707#post1519707"]http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php3?postid=1519707#post1519707[/url]
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