06-21-2008, 06:32 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
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Posts: 832
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When I Think of Russia...
There is a poster on this site that loves to laud the accomplishments of Russia and exposes some of the most vile ideas as positive political progress. When I think of Russia I think of something quite different than this posters blind patriotism.
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The Russian authorities were increasingly intolerant of dissent or criticism, branding it ‘unpatriotic’. A crackdown on civil and political rights was evident throughout the year and in particular during the run-up to the State Duma (parliament) elections in December. Given the strict state control of TV and other media, demonstrations were the flashpoint during the year for political protests, with police detaining demonstrators, journalists, and human rights activists, some of whom were beaten. Activists and political opponents of the government were also subjected to administrative detention.
The number of racist attacks that came to the attention of the media rose; at least 61 people were killed across the country. Although authorities recognized the problem and there was an increase in the number of prosecutions for racially motivated crimes, these measures failed to stem the tide of violence.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions in 15 judgments relating to the second Chechen conflict which began in 1999. There were fewer reported cases of disappearances in the Chechen Republic than in previous years; however, serious human rights violations were frequent and individuals were reluctant to report abuses, fearing reprisals. Ingushetia saw an increase in serious violations, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.
NGOs were weighed down by burdensome reporting requirements imposed by changes to legislation. Torture was used by police against detainees, including to extract “confessions”; violence against inmates in prisons was also reported.
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Amnesty International Report 2008 •
And of course, if you ever are bored and want some good reading on Russia, the US State Department has tons of information cited and sourced...
Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Russia
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"The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you're not. And the other thing that the public really does like is the self-examination to say, you know, I'm not perfect. I'm just like you. They don't ask their public officials to be perfect. They just ask them to be smart, truthful, honest, and show a modicum of good sense." Ann Richards, Former Texas Governor
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