There have been numerous developments lately in regard to
the Russian Federation ,
such as rigged presidential elections, an anti-Putin international conference
and more announcements by the United States of Russian attacks on Americans.
The Russian Federation conducted a
presidential election yesterday that was not free and fair. Freedom of expression is limited in Russia and
opposition candidates, except for token ones or ones that make the regime candidates
seem moderate are not permitted to stand for election. The democratic opposition boycotted the
rigged elections, through which Russia’s authoritarian leader, Vladimir Putin,
arranged for himself another six-year term. International election -monitoring
organizations, like human rights organizations, observed the lack of free and
fair elections. The former Soviet
intelligence officer has ruled Russia
as president or prime minister since 2000.
At last
week’s Putin Conference in New York City, numerous Russian dissidents, human
rights organization leaders, academic experts, investigators and journalists
discussed the origin and nature of the Russian Federation’s authoritarian
regime and oligarchy and its malign influence in the world, as well as methods
of defending liberty around the world against Russia and to encourage freedom
for the Russian people. One relevant
piece of advice as not to refer to Putin as “president,” something I have long
been avoiding, or what took place yesterday as an “election.” One of the participants in the conference, Russian
dissident Garry Kasparov, the great chess Grand Master, penned a follow-up
piece on this subject, for the Weekly
Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-truth-about-putin/article/2011882.
Last week,
the U.S. imposed economic
sanctions on Russians for interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and for
a cyberattack on American infrastructure.
The Republican-majority Congress had overwhelmingly approved sanctions
on Russia
last year for human rights violations.
Donald Trump, who was elected President with Russian assistance, had
opposed the measure, which caused a delay in its passage, but signed it into
law because of a veto-proof majority had voted in favor of it. He then delayed implementing the sanctions
until after the legal deadline and then only minimally, although the imposition
of sanctions had symbolic significance.
The Russian entities and individuals sanctioned either were already on
sanctions lists or have little, if any, assets in the U.S. to
freeze. However, the sanctions were an acknowledgement
by the Trump Administration of Russian interference in the presidential
election. They also validate the
investigation into Russian interference by Special Counsel Robert Mueller
because the sanctions were imposed on the Russian entities and individuals whom
Mueller’s grand jury had indicted for their propaganda and disinformation
campaign. There were also sanctions
imposed on Russians for hacking into American energy, water and aviation
control systems. Such sophisticated
attacks can only be carried out in an authoritarian state by the regime’s
orders.
The Russian
cyberattack on American infrastructure, like the Russian interference in the
election, was the latest of several attacks by the Russian
Federation on Americans announced in recent weeks by the U.S.
government, as I have been posting. The
others were the economically-damaging Russian cyberattack on Ukraine last year that hit 70 countries,
including American companies, and the attack by Russian mercenaries on U.S. forces in Syria on behalf of the
Iranian-backed terrorist-sponsoring tyrant Bashar Assad. In addition, as I noted in my last post, Russia attacked the United
Kingdom , a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member and
the closest ally of the U.S. ,
with a chemical weapons attack.
Among other machinations, the Russian Federation , which had invaded Georgia in 2008, where it established
puppet-states in breakaway provinces there, invaded Ukraine in 2014 and continues to
back a rebellion by ethnic Russian separatists.
It also provides fuel for Communist North Korea, the repressive regime
developing a nuclear weapons and missile program that proliferates such weapons
to other rogue regimes, like Iran
and Syria .
Over the years, I have been warning
on this blog about the threat posed by the Russian authoritarian regime. The degree of the threat is becoming
increasingly clear to more and more Americans and others, although many, even
in the West, continue to be unsure, indifferent or even openly supportive of
Putin because they are influenced by Russian propaganda, disinformation and
conspiracy theories that deny or excuse Russian misbehavior or because they place
economic concerns above security or have personal financial motivations. Americans and other freedom-lovers around the
world must continue to learn about Russian motivations, goals and methods and
be more wary, principled and courageous.
They must support measures, such as those discussed at the Putin
Conference, that defend liberty around the world and encourage freedom in Russia . A free Russia would be the greatest
benefit to liberty everywhere.
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