Wed 22 Apr 2020, 12:46 PM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbott Labour Party member.
A three part documentary televised by Channel 4, entitled Putin: The Spy Story charted the rise of Vladimir Putin. Historian, Lev Lurie, described the conditions that Putin was brought up in. Born in 1952, his childhood was described as a ‘street kid’ and although short in stature he earned a reputation for fighting. He lived in a small flat with a leaking roof and no sanitary facilities. His lot would have been gangs and criminal activity. However, school channelled his energy into sporting activity such as judo. The KGB were always on the look-out for young men with his kind of attributes. The appeal was the money and the aura of working in the secret services. Popular TV programmes that were similar to the British Bond films and stirring WW2 movies influenced the young Putin.
After enlisting, the KGB posted him to Eastern Germany in the mid-80s. He remained there until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. He returned to Leningrad, now renamed St Petersburg, and became assistant/guard for the newly elected mayor, Sobchek. Sobchek was regarded as corrupt and Putin acted as a go-between for businessmen and gangsters for contracts. St Petersburg in the 90s was described as ‘similar to Chicago in the 30s’.Sobchek lost the election in 1996 and Putin was out of a job. He moved to Moscow and quickly rose to being an adviser to Yetsin, the President of the newly formed Russian Federation. The KGB, whose reputation for repression was renamed the FSB.
You do the business, I’ll do the politics
Yeltsin, thought that Putin was the man to continue his legacy. There was film footage where Yeltsin rang Putin to congratulate him on his election as President 2000.He never got a reply. Putin gathered all the oligarchs at a meeting and told them that they could continue business on proviso that they kept clear of politics. Some obliged, some went into exile, mainly the UK. The richest oligarch, Khordorokorsky, an oil tycoon, refused to play ball and was sentenced for nine years for tax evasion. Beresosky, the owner of the main TV channel and supporter of Putin in 2000, started criticising Putin over the Kirsk submarine accident and he had to flee to the UK. Bill Browder, the largest hedge fund manager, fled and was sentenced, despite being in exile.
Putin’s fortunes changed after two major bomb blasts in Moscow which killed and injured hundreds. The government blamed Chechen separatists. This became a pretext for an all-out military onslaught on Chechnya. The brutality of the Russian forces was described by one journalist as ‘zero respect’ for human life.
Putin posed as the saviour of Russia and the economic situation improved after the collapse of the 90s. His nationalist rhetoric and widespread ballot rigging ensured a second term in office. Ballot irregularities are a feature of Russian political life. There were large political protests after the 2011 parliamentary elections. These demonstrations began demanding the removal of Putin. Repression and state murder are the hallmarks of Putin’s regime. The list of those who have criticized Putin and ended up either being gunned down or poisoned by agents of the FSB is too long for one article. However, one case has a dark humour about it. Mininisky, a lawyer for Browdor, was convicted for corruption, despite being dead/ killed while in custody.
Putin – a gangster with cunning
It’s clear that Putin is a gangster with a degree of cunning. A man who is vengeful towards those that are regarded as traitors. In some cases, there is even a degree of public support. He has no scruples. The recent state-sponsored attacks on the LGBT community is an example of his attempt to divide working people. ‘Making Russia great again’ is the same kind of mantra that has been followed by the likes of Trump and Johnson. These ideas will prove hollow in the coming years.
It’s the working people of Russia that will call Putin and his regime to account. The ideas of socialism will again receive a wider audience. The rise of Stalinism dirtied the name of Communism within Russia and for that matter, internationally. However, the return of capitalism will not solve the problems faced by the great majority. A case of jumping out of the frying pan,into the fire. Only a socialist Russia can end poverty and secure lasting peace for its people.
