http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24950

Russia's Dying Democracy
By Stephen Brown
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 18, 2006


"She kept on asking for it, and she fell."

That is how the editor of one Moscow newspaper correctly summed up the
recent contract-style murder of top Russian investigative journalist, Anna
Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment
building. The savage slaying of the internationally renowned Politkovskaya,
who threw fear into Russia's and Chechnya's ruling elites with her
relentless, uncompromising investigations into their corruption and human
rights abuses, shocked not only her countrymen but the world.

The Russian journalist's brutal death is symptomatic of present-day
"democracy" in Russia. This Eastern European land has degenerated into such
a lawless state the last ten years that whoever "asks for it", like
Politkovskaya, is definitely "going to get it." Regarding journalists, in
the last fifteen years Russia has become the third-deadliest country in the
world for the members of this important profession behind only Algeria and
Iraq. Forty-two Russian journalists "got it", like Politkovskaya, during
that time with few of their murders ever being solved. The Russian
government appears unable, or perhaps even unwilling, to protect its
newspaper writers, although a free, vibrant journalism is one of the pillars
of a healthy civil society.



But perhaps even more disturbingly, the world has seen the Kremlin export
its lawless ways outside its borders to those countries who are "asking for
it." This criminal manner of conducting international diplomacy is now a
part of Russian government foreign policy. One saw this not too long ago
when the Kremlin tried to influence the outcome of the Ukrainian election.
And the latest country to "get it" from Russia is the small state of
Georgia, located in the Caucasus Mountains on the Black Sea. The plucky
Georgians, who want to join NATO, recently seized - and released - four
Russian officers, whom they accused of spying. In response, the Kremlin has
imposed a transportation blockade of the Caucasian nation and stopped
issuing visas to Georgians.



Inside of Russia itself, the persecution of Georgian nationals proceeds
apace. Many Georgians are living in Russia illegally, but authorities have
turned a blind eye to their presence - until now. Hundreds of Georgians have
now been deported from Russian territory. Police have even had schools
provide them with lists of students with Georgian names, so that they can
check on the residence status of the parents. Even the Georgian Orthodox
Church in Moscow was not spared this disgraceful policy when holding a
funeral, as attendees were subjected to identity checks. Postal services to
Georgia and work contracts have also been cancelled, while Russian tax
officials are harassing Georgian-owned businesses.



As for the destructive long term effects of the 'non-war" against Georgia,
journalist Simon Shuster says the Kremlin is not only discrediting ".the
essence and content of contractual rights and the market economy as a
whole." in the eyes of the people, but the people also see in cynical
fashion that ".the law means nothing and can be used arbitrarily."