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CDI Library > Johnson's Russia List

Johnson's Russia List
 

 

March 12, 2000    
This Date's Issues: 4162 4163

 

Johnson's Russia List
#4162
12 March 2000
davidjohnson@erols.com

[Note from David Johnson:
1. AFP: New Kremlin tenant must tackle endemic Russian corruption.
2. Itar-Tass: Lord Judd Shocked by Scale of Destruction in Grozny.
3. Business Week: Sabrina Tavernise, Russia's Banks Are--Gasp!--Lending Money. Smaller companies are getting capital and spurring growth.
4. Itar-Tass: Economics Ministry Makes Socio-Economic Forecast for Russia. 
5. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Paruer DAVTYAN, PRE-ELECTION MYSTERIES OF RUSSIAN SOUL.
6. New York Times: Serge Schmemann, CZAR PETER, MEET PUTIN. Eastern or Western? Both. And Neither.
7. Moscow Times: Children on Chechnya: Hope Without the Glory.
8. Andrei Liakhov: the death of Bazhev and Borovik.] 

********

#1
New Kremlin tenant must tackle endemic Russian corruption

MOSCOW, March 12 (AFP) - 
Whoever wins the race to succeed Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin will inherit a 
nuclear power brought to its knees by endemic corruption and ruthless mafia 
bosses running a vast black economy.

The country's interim leader Vladimir Putin, hot favourite in the March 26 
presidential poll thanks to his crackdown against "Chechen terrorists," has 
also promised to usher in a "dictatorship of the law."

The fight against crime and corruption counts as the third most important 
concern for Russian voters, after their wish for improved living standards 
and more jobs, polls show.

But crime experts say Putin is unlikely to make much of an impact, given the 
behind-the-scenes role in the presidential administration played by shadowy 
tycoons like Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich.

The influence of the powerful business moguls extends well beyond the swathes 
of the Russian economy they control.

"An honest president would have to clean up the system from top to bottom," 
commented Vladimir Ivanidze, a leading expert on corruption.

"But it is more likely that the authorities will tackle the problem at the 
lowest possible scale, by beefing up police activity and eroding fundamental 
liberties," he said.

"The trial of Pavel Borodin (a top aide of former president Boris Yeltsin who 
is subject to an international arrest warrant over money-laundering 
allegations), for example, would have a huge impact, and would give many a 
pause for thought," he added.

Borodin formerly administered a giant property portfolio which he said was 
worth some 600 billion dollars. The real estate includes assets in Russia and 
overseas, notably all Russian embassies, state parks and government dachas.

The official, who has since been named secretary of the Belarus-Russia 
council, is suspected of accepting kickbacks from Swiss construction firm 
Mabetex and helping open overseas credit card accounts for Yeltsin and his 
daughters in breach of Central Bank rules.

Whoever becomes the new master in the Kremlin, many believe sleaze will 
remain entrenched thanks to a system of mutual protection by those in power, 
which has generated an untouchable elite and their cohorts.

Hundreds of contract killings are carried out each year -- scores sometimes 
settled by rocket-launchers -- while the crime gangs haul in hundreds of 
millions of dollars each year.

According to Interpol, some 8,000 to 10,000 criminal groups which employ up 
to 100,000 people are active in Russia, extending their control over some 
40,000 firms and 550 banks.

An admiral from the Russian Pacific fleet was arrested in November for 
illegally pawning off abroad a warship for an estimated 107 million dollars.

Most contract killings remain unsolved. Even high-profile assassinations like 
that of liberal deputy Galina Starovoitova, slain in November 1998, remain 
unresolved despite the wave of revulsion the killing caused.

Targets gunned down last year include the sales manager for leading warplane 
manufacturer Sukhoi, the head of a nuclear power equipment producer, the 
deputy director of Russia's leading brewer, and the head of Russia's main 
software maker.

Just over a year ago, the union boss at Vnukovo Airlines, Russia's third 
largest carrier, was murdered at the height of a strike which had brought the 
firm to a halt.

The police and judiciary are not immune themselves: the chief of an 
anti-mafia unit in Novossibirsk and the assistant prosecutor in Yessentuki in 
southern Russia were shot dead last autumn.

But corruption also permeates the ranks of the country's law enforcement 
bodies and the judiciary, a well-known Russian lawyer told AFP on condition 
of anonymity. "Corruption among judges is, unfortunately, widespread."

In fact the cancer of graft has eaten into all spheres of public life in 
Russia, from the policeman on the street up to the Kremlin entourage.

"Corruption can hardly get worse: it is already omnipresent," Ivanidze 
commented resignedly.

*******

#2
Lord Judd Shocked by Scale of Destruction in Grozny. .

GROZNY, March 11 (Itar-Tass) - Lord Judd of Britain who is leading a 
delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the 
North Caucasus said he was shocked by the scale of destruction in Grozny. 

Lord Judd told journalists on Saturday that PACE members had wanted to visit 
this place and were glad that they had come at last and saw everything with 
their own eyes. 

It is terrible that in the beginning of the 21st century in Europe one can 
see such devastation and suffering it causes, he said. 

Lord Judd said he admired the courage of people who are continuing to live in 
Grozny, but thought they had paid too high a price. It is much easier to 
destroy than to build, and the international community should remember what 
these people have gone through, he said. 

Lord Judd said the purpose of his trip to the North Caucasus is to oversee 
the implementation of the Council of Europe's January resolution on Chechnya. 

Lord Judd told journalists upon arrival in Makhachkala, Dagestan, on Saturday 
that the delegation will try to see as much as possible in Chechnya in order 
to prepare a proper decision for the next session of the Council of Europe. 

*******

#3
Business Week
March 20, 2000
[for personal use only]
Russia's Banks Are--Gasp!--Lending Money (int'l edition)
Smaller companies are getting capital and spurring growth
By Sabrina Tavernise in Moscow 

Two years ago, Russian entrepreneur Andrei Sakharov, 35, couldn't get a bank 
loan for more than a six-month term. In January, his 200-employee bakery and 
cafe outside Moscow landed a $128,000, two-year loan from nearby 
Probusinessbank. Now, Sakharov is well on the way to opening two new 
production lines for his 65 varieties of cakes, pastries, and buns. ``We 
never got long money like this before,'' he declares.
Russia's battered banking system is showing the first signs of a recovery. 
A year and a half after the country's financial crisis, banks have begun to 
do something most never did before--give longer-term loans to small and 
midsize businesses. Borrowers in industries from food production and dishware 
to autos and ski resorts are finding capital available from a growing number 
of lenders. Such loans are helping to revive Russia's economy. After plunging 
more than 4% in 1998--part of a 37% drop in gross domestic product since the 
fall of the Soviet Union in December, 1991--Russia's GDP grew 3.2% in 1999. 
This year it's expected to rise 1.5%.
LOWER INFLATION. For most of the 1990s, Russian businesses were starved for 
cash. Banks had little incentive to make risky business loans when they could 
earn easy profits from currency trading and high-yielding Treasury bills. 
Triple-digit inflation also discouraged banks from lending long. But now 
annual inflation is down to 25%, and the government expects to end the year 
with an average of 18%. Loans to borrowers are generating higher returns than 
investments in government bonds. A three-month Treasury bill, sold in 
February for the first time since Russia defaulted in August, 1998, yielded 
an annualized 20%. Most banks say they are lending for three months in rubles 
at an annualized rate of between 30% and 40%.
Lured by such returns, many Russian banks are stepping up lending. 
Sberbank, the state-controlled savings bank, says its loan portfolio more 
than doubled in value last year, topping $5.8 billion on Jan. 1. The bank, 
Russia's biggest lender, used to target government agencies and big commodity 
companies. Now its priority is to lend to midsize businesses. Alfa Bank, 
which has emerged from the crisis as one of the largest private banks in the 
country, has expanded its loan portfolio from $250 million in early 1999 to 
about $400 million this year. ``In terms of commercial banking, [corporate 
lending] is one of the most dynamic ways to earn money,'' says Alexander 
Silvestrov, head of the loan department at Alfa.
It's not just domestic banks that sense big opportunities in Russia. Some 
foreign banks have begun to test the waters, tantalized by Russia's 
population of 147 million. Russian subsidiaries of two Austrian banks, Bank 
Austria and Raiffeisenbank, have opened retail branches in Moscow. ING 
Barings and South Africa's Standard Bank London Ltd. arranged syndicated 
loans for Siberian metal company Norilsk Nickel and steel producer Severstal.
MATTRESS STASH. Despite signs of health, Russia's banking system is still in 
fragile condition. Total assets have doubled to $50 billion since the August, 
1998, crisis, but the amount is tiny compared with the U.S. Few Russian 
citizens trust banks enough to deposit savings on a large scale, afraid of 
bank and currency collapses. Analysts estimate Russians keep between $30 
billion and $40 billion in savings under mattresses and out of banks. Central 
bank regulation of the industry is poor, and banks have little experience in 
credit analysis.
Nevertheless, Russia is slowly making its way back to international 
markets. Alfa Bank plans to seek money abroad late this year or early next 
year--the first Russian bank since the crisis to try to tap foreign capital 
markets. And the government plans to issue a Eurobond next year for the first 
time since 1998. With the government's massive domestic debt burden 
restructured and production on the rise, Russian banks and businesses may be 
on the road to recovery. As he expands his Moscow bakery, Andrei Sakharov 
certainly thinks so.

*******

#4
Economics Ministry Makes Socio-Economic Forecast for Russia. 

MOSCOW, March 10 (Itar-Tass) - The growth of Russia's gross domestic product 
(GDP) may reach 1.5-3 percent in 2000, while the agricultural output is 
expected to rise by 3 percent, investments by 2-5 percent and the industrial 
produce by 4-5 percent, says a socio-economic forecast of Russian development 
for this year, sources at the Ministry of Economics told Prime Tass on 
Friday. 

The forecast takes into account the 2000 budget parameters, the structural 
adjustment of economics and materials submitted by federal and regional 
executive institutions. 

According to the forecast, the output of chemical, petrochemical, light, 
machine-building and metal-working industries will go up most. The inflation 
may drop to 18-22 percent as compared to 1999. 

The document proceeds from the complete fulfillment of agreements between 
Russia and its creditors to prevent a rise of the state debt as against the 
GDP in the next few years. It also proceeds from favorable conditions for 
structural adjustment programs and the maximum use of economic growth 
factors. 

In case of unfavorable factors, the inflation can be higher and the GDP 
growth can have smaller rates. A lower economic dynamics will slow down the 
formation of a base for stable development in future and will fail to 
eliminate the production disproportions. 

*******

#5
Komsomolskaya Pravda
March 7, 2000
[translation from RIA Novosti for personal use only]
PRE-ELECTION MYSTERIES OF RUSSIAN SOUL
By Paruer DAVTYAN

Less than a month to go before the election of the Russian 
president, the provinces give preference to Putin, Zyuganov, 
Tuleyev and Yavlinsky finding the remaining seven candidates 
much less attractive.
These are the results of the poll conducted in the last 
week of February by the strategic analysis and forecast center 
among five thousand voters in the five superregions of Russia - 
the Non-Black Soil Zone, the south and north of European 
Russia, the Urals and South Siberia. These zones comprise over 
20 Federation members, where almost a half of the 107 million 
Russians who have the right to vote live. This is why, thinks 
the center head, Professor Dmitry Olshansky, the results 
obtained are indicative enough to establish the level of 
political trust and election sympathies to the candidates.
So, in the ratings of sympathies and trust Putin leads in 
all the five zones - from 42% to 49%. The residents of the 
south like the acting president more than others. This is due 
to the actions of the authorities in neighbouring Chechnya. The 
situation in this republic has a direct effect on the life of 
the residents of the Stavropol Territory, Rostov and Krasnodar.
Zyuganov comes second, with from 21% to 27% of the polled 
sympathising with him. Compared to the previous elections, 
Zyuganov's positions in the provinces, even in the "Red Belt," 
have markedly weakened. The communist party chairman gains the 
maximum of sympathies in the Russian north, where not more than 
two million voters live.
Tuleyev's third place in four of the five superregions 
with the level of sympathies from 9% to 21% came as the main 
surprise of the poll. It is not ruled out that in some regions 
he may even come second. 
And yet another surprise is Yavlinsky's fourth place in 
four of the five superregions (5-6%), which can be explained by 
far from the strongest positions of the Yabloko leader in the 
provinces. 
Along with the poll, the center experts conducted 
psychological research in so-called "focus-groups," which 
reflect the opinion of various social groups. In particular, 
they asked the following question: how would you describe a 
candidate if he were one of your family? Below is the combined 
"family" portrait of the four favourites, drawn by the voters: 
Putin is the elder brother, he is a pedant and a very exact 
person, but solicitous and just; Zyuganov is not a member, but 
rather an uncle or a neighbour close to the family: he often 
drops by to have a chat and sometimes brawl; Yavlinsky is not a 
family member either - he is rather a clever and good teacher 
at school, where our children go; Tuleyev resembles a relative 
who would hear everyone's opinion and offer his solution.
In this way a part of the Russians living in the provinces 
think and express their sympathies. An important point to note 
is that this part may make up almost a half of those who will 
come to the polling stations on March 26. The Russian soul is 
an enigma, though, and much may change in it as the voting 

day draws nearer. For among those polled by the center experts 
there are still people who sympathise with Primakov and Lebed, 
who do not stand for election, just as quite a few of those who 
sympathise with none of the registered candidates. 

*******

#6
New York Times
March 12, 2000
[for personal use only]
CZAR PETER, MEET PUTIN
Eastern or Western? Both. And Neither.
By SERGE SCHMEMANN

It is said that a portrait of Peter the Great hangs in the office of Vladimir 
Putin, the acting president of Russia, who seems likely to win the 
presidential election March 26. 

Those in the West who perceive Peter as the Westernizing reformer and scourge 
of xenophobes, and who have heard Putin's paeans to free enterprise and 
democracy, are likely to find this heartening. 

Others, who know Peter primarily for his unrelenting pursuit of power and 
empire, and who have nervously watched the Kremlin's new master, a former KGB 
agent, presiding over the destruction of Grozny and expounding the glories of 
a strong Russian state, might find the identification alarming. 

Indeed, the presumed dichotomy between the "good" westernizing reformer and 
the "reactionary" Russian nationalist has shaped -- and sometimes distorted 
-- much of the discussion about Putin, as it has about other Soviet and 
Russian leaders. In the end, they have all defied these imposed categories, 
from the "whiskey sipping" Yuri Andropov to the democratic champion Boris 
Yeltsin, forever leaving a disappointed West wondering, "Who lost Russia?" 

So it might be useful at this juncture in Russian history to look back at the 
ruler who first turned Russia westward, and at why the Russians anointed him 
as "the Great." 

Russians' historical image of Czar Peter I, who ruled from 1682 to 1725, was 
shaped by their greatest poet. Ask a provincial pupil or a vodka-addled bum 
how St. Petersburg was founded, and they will instinctively launch into the 
opening lines of Pushkin's "Bronze Horseman": "On the shore of desolate seas/ 
stood he, full of great thoughts . . ." 

"He" is a mighty giant -- Peter stood 6 foot 7 and could rip leather soles 
with his bare hands -- who imposes greatness on a backward-looking, indolent 
nation through sheer force of will. Pushkin's Peter is an almost mystical 
czar/creator, a "powerful master of fate," a "miracle-working builder." 
Ordaining that his brilliant new capital be raised in the swampy delta of the 
Neva River, he proclaims: "By nature we are fated here/ To hew a window into 
Europe." 

That this epic feat opened Russia to the West and established it as a major 
power certainly qualifies Peter to be remembered as "the Great." But it is 
another question whether that ranks him as a westernizer or a Russian 
nationalist -- or whether these have ever been the relevant categories for 
judging any Russian leader, Putin included. 

That the superhuman image of Peter was sculpted for the Russians by a poet 
who otherwise bridled at any authority is curious, but not surprising. The 
window Peter opened into Europe created the dynamic clash of East and West in 
which a brilliant culture was forged, and in which Pushkin himself was reared 
a century later. 

It was a culture in which poets like Pushkin or Brodsky were forever 
worshiped as bearers of a higher truth and forever hounded as threats to the 
omnipotence of the state. This gave their art a power that neither East nor 
West alone could have sustained. 

Also curious, and unsurprising, is that the greatest antipathy for Peter 
persists among Russian xenophobes of the sort who believe in a mythical and 
unique "Holy Russia." That he expanded Russia's borders far beyond Muscovy's 
swampy forests and assumed the grandiose title of Emperor of All the Russias 
has always been of little consolation to hard-core Russophiles; to this day 
they cannot forgive Peter for his hostility to Holy Russia -- for rudely 
hacking off the great beards of the boyars, subjugating the Orthodox Church 
to the state and abandoning ancient Moscow for a Rococo new capital designed 
by Europeans. Indeed, he gave this new capital a consummately foreign name, 
the Dutch "Sankt-Piterburkh" (it was Russified as Petrograd in World War I, 
and known as Leningrad during the Soviet era). 

That identification of reform with Western models, and of resistance to it 
with the symbols of Holy Russia, set the model for all subsequent reformers 
-- Alexander II imposing Western-style uniforms and sidewhiskers on his 
officers, Lenin in a three-piece suit forcing peasants into collectives, 
Mikhail Gorbachev launching his perestroika with an assault on vodka. 

So it should not have come as the surprise it did to the Kremlin's servile 
ideologues that Stalin chose not to purge Peter along with the rest of 
Russia's "feudal" past; instead, he kept Peter -- or at least a politically 
correct version of him -- in the Bolshevik version of Russian history. 
Perhaps the notion of a predecessor who thought nothing of sacrificing tens 
of thousands of his subjects for the greater good of the state found a 
certain resonance in the master of the gulag. 

In the West, meanwhile, Peter evolved into something of a great individualist 
driven by the longing to reform his backward society, to make it Western. He 
became the template for the sort of Russian the West believes it likes to do 
business with -- Catherine the Great, Andropov, Gorbachev, the "liberal 
reformers" of Yeltsin's administrations. 

No matter that Peter's real intention for his perestroika, much like 
Gorbachev's for his, was not to emulate or join the West, but to use it -- in 
the czar's own elegant (and possibly apocryphal) phrase, "We need Europe for 
a few decades, then we must show it our rear end." 

No matter that the pursuit of happiness by his people was never even remotely 
a factor in Peter's reforming zeal, and that he never entertained the notion 
that his subjects had rights. Once it identifies a reformer, it takes a lot 
for the West to lose faith -- or, in the presumptuous parlance of Washington, 
to lose Russia. 

Perhaps that is Peter's true greatness, that in his enormous contradictions 
-- his voracious appetites and his extraordinary curiosity, his frightening 
cruelty and his grand visions, his physical prowess and his bouts of madness, 
his hatred of Russian slovenliness and his profound Russianness -- he both 
fostered and reflected the ambivalent greatness of his nation. 

In Pushkin's masterpiece, Peter is the "powerful master of fate," but he is 
also a terrible apparition of a relentless and oppressive bronze horseman 
that drives a poor clerk to madness and death in the flood-soaked alleys of 
St. Petersburg. Peter's pursuit of greatness and power, and the misery and 
sacrifice they created, have defined all subsequent cycles of Russian and 
Soviet history. 

Putin, of course, is no Peter. The KGB lieutenant colonel who was abruptly 
bumped into the presidential throne of a nation in total disarray comes 
nowhere near "the Great" in ambition, potential, drive or physical height. 
And too little is known at this stage to predict his behavior once he is 
elected. 

But in any speculation about whether he is reformer or nationalist, autocrat 
or democrat, Western or Eastern, it must be kept in mind that in Russia these 
have never been mutually exclusive; that the most potent driving force in 
Russian history has been neither the sentimental xenophobia of bearded 
Slavophiles nor the pursuit of American-style happiness, but a deep-seated 
conviction that the Russian state is destined for greatness, power and 
respect. That has been true whether Russia aspired to being an empire, a 
utopia or a presidential republic. 

The cyclical bouts of westernizing and reforming have always more to do with 
power than with democracy, more with matching the West than with joining it, 
more with discipline than with rule of law. 

In the West, meanwhile, Peter evolved into something of a great individualist 
driven by the longing to reform his backward society, to make it Western. He 
became the template for the sort of Russian the West believes it likes to do 
business with -- Catherine the Great, Andropov, Gorbachev, the "liberal 
reformers" of Yeltsin's administrations. 

No matter that Peter's real intention for his perestroika, much like 
Gorbachev's for his, was not to emulate or join the West, but to use it -- in 
the czar's own elegant (and possibly apocryphal) phrase, "We need Europe for 
a few decades, then we must show it our rear end." 

No matter that the pursuit of happiness by his people was never even remotely 
a factor in Peter's reforming zeal, and that he never entertained the notion 
that his subjects had rights. Once it identifies a reformer, it takes a lot 
for the West to lose faith -- or, in the presumptuous parlance of Washington, 
to lose Russia. 

Perhaps that is Peter's true greatness, that in his enormous contradictions 
-- his voracious appetites and his extraordinary curiosity, his frightening 
cruelty and his grand visions, his physical prowess and his bouts of madness, 
his hatred of Russian slovenliness and his profound Russianness -- he both 
fostered and reflected the ambivalent greatness of his nation. 

In Pushkin's masterpiece, Peter is the "powerful master of fate," but he is 
also a terrible apparition of a relentless and oppressive bronze horseman 
that drives a poor clerk to madness and death in the flood-soaked alleys of 
St. Petersburg. Peter's pursuit of greatness and power, and the misery and 
sacrifice they created, have defined all subsequent cycles of Russian and 
Soviet history. 

Putin, of course, is no Peter. The KGB lieutenant colonel who was abruptly 
bumped into the presidential throne of a nation in total disarray comes 
nowhere near "the Great" in ambition, potential, drive or physical height. 
And too little is known at this stage to predict his behavior once he is 
elected. 

But in any speculation about whether he is reformer or nationalist, autocrat 
or democrat, Western or Eastern, it must be kept in mind that in Russia these 
have never been mutually exclusive; that the most potent driving force in 
Russian history has been neither the sentimental xenophobia of bearded 
Slavophiles nor the pursuit of American-style happiness, but a deep-seated 
conviction that the Russian state is destined for greatness, power and 
respect. That has been true whether Russia aspired to being an empire, a 
utopia or a presidential republic. 

The cyclical bouts of westernizing and reforming have always more to do with 
power than with democracy, more with matching the West than with joining it, 
more with discipline than with rule of law. 

*******

#7
Moscow Times
March 11, 2000 
Children on Chechnya: Hope Without the Glory 

In mid-November, when the war in Chechnya was only a few months old, renowned 
NTV reporter Vladimir Luskanov visited the northern city of Kirov. There, he 
asked 10th- and 11th-graders to share their thoughts on Chechnya. Below are 
excerpts from some of their essays. 



I'd go [to Chechnya] without the slightest fear of what might happen later. 
I'll go serve no matter what happens or wherever the politicians and military 
leaders send the Army. Just for the sake of my motherland, for the sake of 
people and close friends, because I love Russia; so that it would always be 
great, upright, honest and capable of promoting its own interests. I'm not 
blaming anyone in this conflict except those who are fighting against us, 
those who don't care about general human laws, those who can't be called 
humans. I'm not afraid to die for an indivisible Russia that I love 
passionately, for my motherland. 

Mikhail Druzhkov, 11B 

Honestly, I'd like to just blow up the entire Chechen Republic. The Chechens 
have been fighting a dirty battle from the very start. From what I've been 
told by a very close friend who went through the [first] war in Chechnya, I 
know the Chechens are very cruel. ... The Chechens would carry machine guns 
under civilian clothes and kill our soldiers in disguise. Little 8-year-old 
boys were shooting our guys with automatic rifles. And Russians are the kind 
of people who can't kill a child. Sometimes these little kids would pretend 
to be hungry in order to get closer, and then toss a grenade into our 
soldiers' cover. ... I completely agree with what our federal forces are 
doing in Chechnya. 

Alexei Krayev, 11B 

I am against any war, and I think all problems should be resolved peacefully. 
But Russia has already tried this, and received a decisive refusal to submit 
from the rebels. I think the Russian government's actions are justified, 
because it's the only way to eradicate the evil and terror! 

Olga Lebedeva, 11B 

Under [Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin, the Russian government has taken 
decisive measures, and our forces have already liberated a portion of Chechen 
territory from the bandits. ... I think it's extremely essential to free 
Chechnya as quickly as possible from criminal organizations in order to end 
the horribly cruel deaths of our soldiers and of the peace-loving and 
completely innocent people of Chechnya, so that the enormous numbers of 
refugees can return to their motherland. I think many of the terrorists are 
fanatics. They don't understand the danger of what they are doing. They have 
lost all their humanity, living in the criminal world where everything is 
ruled by soulless, immoral power and money for the sake of which people are 
willing to do anything. 

Alla Smirnova, 11B 

Our government can't do anything right. It's incapable of ending the 
conflict. President [Yeltsin] is good for nothing, and it's time for him to 
step down. If they called me up to fight, I'd go. Because I have a sense of 
patriotism for my motherland, and I love it. I would fight until the war 
ended or I was killed. 

Stanislav Ryabov, 11B 

Talking with the rebels is pointless, they don't understand [talk]. Force 
will compel the rebels to give up. 

Alexander Agalakhov, 11B 

You can divide the Chechen people into two groups: civilians and terrorists. 
I think the bandits have to be completely destroyed. I approve of what is 
going on right now in Chechnya. All of the rebels have to be killed, 
destroyed. But not like what was done in the first war in Chechnya, when our 
boys were sent off to certain death, when our boys were cannon fodder, when 
their very first shots were fired in actual combat. It has to be finished 
completely so that we don't have to fight anymore, so that it can't start up 
again, so that we're freed of problems like Chechnya once and for all. 

Larisa Isupova, 11B 

Soon, my male classmates will go into the military and I don't want them to 
die in Chechnya. Of course there is the possible danger that Chechnya's youth 
will take up arms in a few years because their families were killed when they 
were 10 years old. Right now at 15 years old they've watched with their very 
own eyes as their homes have been robbed. In five years when they're 20, 
they'll take up arms. But I don't want an angry, pious, armed Chechen to come 
into my home in a few years, so I approve of our government's actions! 

Oksana Nulygina, 10A 

If we don't resist, we'll fall [victim] to the Chechen cabala. But Russia 
can't resist alone, so an alliance needs to be formed, something like the 
Entente during the war with Germany. They announced Dudayev's death, but few 
believe it. Of course, many facts suggest that Chechen terrorists were behind 
the [apartment] bombings and murders, and that serves the interests of some. 
It's possible the Chechens were not involved in these crimes, so now, while 
everyone suspects them, the real criminals are roaming around scott free and 
planning other illegal and violent acts. 

Yekaterina Podlevskikh, 10A 

Every Chechen is now considered a "non-human." But are the average 
inhabitants [of Chechnya] to blame? ... That's how this cruel, unending war 
began. Unending because everyone knows how recalcitrant the Caucasus has been 
even since tsarist times. We - you might say the people from the provinces - 
cannot comprehend how Muscovites can go to bed with the thought that they 
might not wake up tomorrow. This has to be completely finished or there will 
be more mothers' tears, soldiers' deaths and new acts of terror and crime. 

Ildar Bashirov, 10A 

A new generation of Chechens will grow up, and it won't be to our benefit. 
This conflict could turn into a civil war. 

Maria, 10A 

Mothers are afraid to send their sons into military service because they're 
sent to Chechnya with no notice to parents. For them, Chechnya is the worst 
thing that could happen to their children. 

Irina Glumkova, 10A 

Chechnya is the worst thing that has happened in the past eight years. 

Sergei Surovtsev, 10A 

Everyone should unite, the Chechen people should be given arms and try to 
withstand these "fascists." 

Sergei Zalkin, 10A 

Once again, there are casualties among soldiers for nothing. I simply do not 
understand: The conflict has already lasted for nearly 10 years and the 
Russian government hasn't been able to come up with a solution to the 
problem. And all the while, innocent people have been dying. When will it 
end? 

Vitaly Kolyvanov, 10A 

I think peace needs to be brought to the republic, but how? If there hadn't 
been a war in Chechnya, NATO would not have attacked Yugoslavia, and there 
wouldn't be any war. 

Nadezhda Tsepeleva, 10A 

Young men have left their girlfriends, families and friends telling them to 
hope for the best, but not believing it themselves. Draftees are sent 
immediately to hot spots, but they don't even know how to carry their 
weapons. It's obvious right away that they're going to die. I feel sorry for 
the Russian guys who are doomed to die in this war. They want to live, but 
... they won't be around anymore, all because of the whims of the rich. They 
won't be able to see their families like they wanted to. They'll never 
experience happiness or freedom. 

Olga Pechyonkina, 10A 

I'm going into military service in 2000, and I don't want to end up in 
Chechnya only to die for a dollar that the Chechen dogs will split among 
themselves. 

Stanislav Krylotov, 11B 

Chechnya is the homeland of terrorism, cruelty and war. The Chechen people 
have a distinctly cruel nature. A Chechen can cut off a hostage's ear, nose, 
leg or just shoot him in complete indifference and cold blood. For Chechens, 
people are nothing, just a means for achieving their goals. I think the 
Chechens are a people of war. They can't comprehend life without war. ... 
Their motto seems to be: "Violence, violence and more violence." Soon, I 
might have to serve Russia. But I don't want to join the Army until the war 
with Chechnya is over. I think this war is pointless, which means dying in 
this war is pointless. 

Artyom Simonov, 11B 

I don't hold the people of Chechnya responsible for this war. They are 
hostages just like us. Those who don't know what it is like to lose a close 
one, they are the ones I hold responsible. For the rebels, Allah comes first, 
and then family and close ones. Every commander should be made to fight in 
the war with the rebels. Then they'll understand just what Chechnya is. 
Chechnya is the center of the Muslim revolution. I never want to end up 
there, because I don't want to come back with a warped mind. Everyone returns 
from there crazy. 

Denis Khramtsev, 11B 

I'm 15 years old right now, almost 16. I'll have to serve in two or three 
years, and this war has me worried. I don't want to go into a military that 
doesn't care about its soldiers. This war is not against Chechens, it's 
against rebels and terrorists - but that's just what they say in the press. I 
really don't know what's going on there. Maybe it is like that. Maybe not. 

Dmitry Kovyazin, 10A 

How long can this go on? I'm asking you, Boris Nikolayevich [Yeltsin]! Have 
you put yourself in the place of the mothers having to send sons who only 
recently finished school to that bloody mess? Have you asked yourself what 
will happen to them when they come home, or if they'll come home at all? Why 
send them to Chechnya? Why not send convicted criminals who are already 
accustomed to killing, to the smell and sight of blood? It's horrible to 
imagine what kind of country Russia will be when the young generation dies 
off like flies, and all that remains are alcoholics and ex-convicts; when you 
no longer see a friendly face on the streets, only drunkards and faces 
covered with scars and bruises. 

Anna Smetanina, 11A 

The Northern Caucusus has become synonymous with death. It's come to 
represent a death sentence for mothers. Why have we allowed this? Why have we 
built a gallows in our own country? Why should we kill our own future when 
there are only 145 million of us left? 

There are no "ours" and "theirs" in Chechnya. The prime minister's little, 
winnable war is already in its third month. Hitler also talked about a little 
war. As popular as it is, carpet bombing doesn't accomplish anything. ... If 
you start building a thick border "wall" between [Russia and] Chechnya, 
there'll always be someone willing to build a kilometer-high wall out of 
marble with barbed wire out of platinum. 

Dmitry Dudarev, 11B 

The war is unnecessary. Many innocent people are dying because of it. Cities 
are being destroyed. It only brings a lot of suffering, horror and fear. War 
makes some rich while others die for their homeland. War brings only tears, 
grief and death. We can't prevent the war because we ourselves are powerless. 
They don't worry about people's opinions. They just do what they want to do. 

I am against [the war in] Chechnya. I pity the guys who have to go to 
Chechnya. Death is waiting for them there. The people in Chechnya are 
starving. They are forced to take refuge and to leave. The whole country is 
being destroyed, bombs are destroying homes with living people in them. 

Sveta Fokina, 11B 

War is always bad. It takes away so many lives. All the weapons costs the 
budget lots of money, and people in the country are left idle. I really don't 
want my relatives and close ones to be sent to Chechnya. Many don't return 
from there. We have an acquaintance who has already been in Chechnya twice, 
and they've sent him there again. I see his family's tears and feel all of 
this myself. 

The Chechens are having to abandon their homes and part with family members 
and close ones. 

If this is a civil war, then I think the Chechens should be left to fight it 
out among themselves, and not draw our people into it. Because of them, our 
young soldiers are dying without having had the chance to live life. I am 
against this war. I think it would be much better to resolve everything 
peacefully and avoid hostile actions that could result in the deaths of 
thousands of people and lead the country into a disastrous situation. 

Nadya Shashkova, 11B 

I don't fight in the federal forces. I don't participate in the planning and 
development of the various operations for destroying the rebels. I'm not in 
the highest echelons of power. So I don't have a thorough knowledge of all 
that is happening in Chechnya. But I hear in the news every evening that 
people are dying. 

How many young men are dying in this worthless war! Probably each has a wife 
and children and a mother waiting for him. A mother, the woman who gave birth 
to him and raised him. Then her son turns 18, the age when everything just 
begins. And yet everything is ending: life, joy, love and happiness. 

The soldiers in World War II died for their motherland, for their country. 
But what are they dying for now? I have the impression that the Chechen War 
is a chess game. Someone very powerful is moving people, thousands of people, 
like pawns in a [chess] game. 

I am surprised that the military, always the pride of Russia, can't handle a 
few rebels. 

I don't want my own son to die at the hands of terrorists. ... I don't want 
my son to serve in this penniless, robbed army that has been sold out. 

Maria Khodykina, 11B 

I know for certain that one government, together with Bill Clinton, is hiding 
its desire to destroy us as a people and a single state behind a pretty 
smile. The rebels will always have money. 

Katya Kosurova, 11A 

Now, even Stalin couldn't put Russia back on its feet. Russia needs Ivan the 
Terrible for a few years at least. This has to stop. You're journalists. Do 
something to open the eyes of the Russian people. Everyone's sold out. Maybe 
even the Russian government has sold out. 

Natalya Shuleva, 11A 

I think it would be worthwhile to use aviation there, weapons of mass 
destruction. They need to destroy all of the rebels along with the civilians. 

Pavel Pasyanin, 11A 

We need to use every possible means to create a much larger volunteer 
military. 

Olga Bamdina, 11A 

We're not fighting Chechnya now, but the West, which wants to wipe us from 
the face of the earth. 

Natalya Mochanova, 11A 

Chechnya is cruelty, blood and tears. ... Our government is partly to blame. 
It wasn't able to stop it in time. But the Chechen government is also to 
blame, because it could have gotten by without threats and terror. There's no 
holding back the tears when you see a dead child, when people are left alone 
and only one question is fixed in their eyes: "Why?" 

I think that even if we sign a treaty with Chechnya, the terror will 
continue, because the resources for helping Chechnya go to Chechnya from us. 

Natalya Cherezova, 11B 

Only weak people resolve problems by military means. For everyone, Chechnya 
is associated with horror, no rights, like a river of blood, with violence 
all around and everywhere. And the fear and horror of a real war is building 
up in the Duma. 

Irina Naumova, 11B 

The war in Chechnya is destroying the lives of many people. And not just of 
those who have fought in Chechnya, but many others who have been touched by 
the war. Some people are losing their blood, others are losing their sons, 
fathers and husbands. I think this war will bring even more grief to both the 
Chechen and Russian people. 

Nadezhda Kryasheva, 11B 

Much more important is the fact that they are sending such young, 
inexperienced soldiers to the war in Chechnya, soldiers who are only just 
beginning to understand what life is. And who knows what his fate will be 
there? Whether he will come home whole and unharmed. His mother, girlfriend 
and all of his relatives and friends are left only to cry and pray while he 
fights in Chechnya. This is all a national catastrophe for us. 

Masha Sokolova, 11B 

I'm against all manner of war. 

Lyolya Dolikina, 11B 

Those soldiers who have been in the war and survived, have returned with 
psychological problems. They saw more cruelty and murder there than they've 
probably seen anywhere else. They've seen a lot in the war, and so every 
soldier should be thanked. 

Tatyana Goryayeva, 11B 

Chechnya declared a war on Russia that has lasted for eight years already. 
The Chechens have regarded this war with great earnest, while Russia thought 
it could handle Chechnya without much difficulty, but it didn't think things 
through. I am very much against this war. I don't think the Russian generals 
should send inexperienced soldiers. Instead, they should put together an 
experienced army of seasoned guys who've been in more than one firefight, and 
develop a plan down to the finest details for taking Chechnya, or they should 
come to some kind of compromise with Chechnya. I wouldn't want to end up 
there under any kind of circumstances. 

Alexander, 11B 

We are the future generation. If this problem isn't solved now, we'll also be 
sending our children off to this war. 

Yulia Bezgoleva, 10A 

The generation now growing up in Chechnya, if it survives, will be 
hard-hearted and psychologically shot. 

Masha Yelizarova, 10A 

Maybe I'm a true nationalist, but I hate Dudayev's politics and him 
personally, and Chechnya. I pity the Chechen people somewhat, because they're 
also suffering. But I can't harbor good will toward them. 

Margarita Levanova, 10A 

*******

#8
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000
From: "Andrei Liakhov" <liakhova@nortonrose.com> 
Subject: the death of Bazhev and Borovik 

David, the death of Bazhev and Borovik may be a telling sign of the times. I
knew, admired and respected Artiom personally and professionally and it
seems that there might be more to it than meets the eye. I have tried to
make a short summary of the components of the events, from which each reader
may draw his/her own conclusions. I hope to answer some of more emotional
comments made in various press releases in the immediate aftermarth of the
accident.

Yours, AL 

A few facts:

1. Aircraft

The first oddity about the catastrophe is the choice of the aircraft - YAK40
is not really suited for Moscow - Kiev route, however it is one of the most
"safe" aircraft ever built anywhere in the world. It is the only jet in the
world which has gliding capabilities at speeds as little as 180km/h. The
takeoff speed is around 200km/h and by the time the aircraft attains the
height of 150 feet in the normal flying conditions the airspeed should reach
c.220-240km/h - safely above the 175km/h stall speed. In 30 years of service
it had only a handful of fatal accidents and as a rule the majority of
passengers on board survived. Around 85% of the accidents happened (about 20
in the USSR and Russia on aggregate) due to miscalculation of meteo
conditions or pilot error. It is widely known in the industry that the
aircraft is very sensitive to inadequate pre-flight de-icing particularly to
uneven de-icing of the wings which may destabilise horizontal balance of the
aircraft at low speeds as it is relatively small. Early production aircraft
also have quite peculiar throttle levers, which go as follows:
idle-taxi-takeoff-cruise-shut. The levers are operated by flight engineer
who sits between the pilots. In an early accident (1973-ish in
Kiev/Borispol, no fatalities) the plane crashed on take off when at a
similar height on orders to reduce thrust to "cruise" the engineer pushed
them too enthusiastically forward and shut all three engines simultaneously.
After the accident the layout of the levers was redesigned with protective
sublevers (similar to reverse lever on Opel cars)installed on all old
aircraft to preclude accidental "overpush". All the press musings about it
being old and close to write off is just journalistic and very amaterish
rubbish - each aircraft undergoes very thorough technical and flight checks
throughout its lifetime and 25 years is a threshhold for a thorough
structural check of the airframe. If the inspection determines that airframe
is fit, its certificate of Airworthiness will be expended for usually
another 5 years. For comparison Concordes just started to go through similar
tests in Tolouse.

2. The Flight/Accident

Kiev is a complicated destination for YAK40 from Moscow as the length of the
route is close to the edge of its range and requires the aircraft to be
fuelled up to the utmost limits causing it to be very heavy on the take off.
Furthermore the pilot must try and save fuel in any way he can, one of the
usual ways to do it is to oder to reduce throttle to "cruise" at about
150-200 feet and switch to slow rate of climb making it more comfortable for
business passengers. 

The photos available on the Net show that the aircraft did not burn or
explode even though it was fully laden with fuel. The suggestion may be that
there was no source of spark or ignition at the time of impact, thus making
it possible that and ALL 3 engines were off and electricity was cut. From
the photos it may be guessed that the Pilot ordered "slow" take off which
envisages early switch to the cruise position and slower than usual rate of
climb. That could explain the fact why the aircraft crashed on a runway. 

When the engines are cut off the instinctive reaction of a trained pilot is
to keep the nose up and as at this stage (take off/ascend to cruising
altitude) the flying would still be done manually the logical outcome would
be a belly landing. The aircraft is designed to withstand up to 4.5G and it
could only break up (see photo in Gazeta.ru) falling from that minuscule
height if it hit the ground NOSE DOWN - which is not easily reconciliable
with every pilot's training and instincts. However that seems to be the case
even though the crew had very few little seconds to react to the events on
board. Pursuant to YAK flying manual the wing mechanisation (i.e. wing
extensions)is shut at about that height rediucing vertical lift and if e.g.
de-icing was not properly done a/c is known to become violently horizontally
unstable in the past at precisely that point of the flight. Past accidents
which happened in similar circumstances never (with 1 exception to my
knowledge) resulted in aircraft breaking up.

3. The passengers

A lot could be said about Mr.Bazhaev and Mr.Borovick Jr. which will be said
by all and every news outlet in Russia. However it must be noted for the
sake of DJRL readers that Mr.Bazhaev was probably the wealthiest man in
Russia with personal estate worth in the regioin of $15billion. He is widely
regarded as belonging to the Volsky-Razumovsky group of "old money" (despite
relatively young age) in his business interests (with his first money
originating from the metals trade in the late 80ies and early 90ies). He
became involved in oil business reportedly quite reluctantly at first and
always stayed away from politics or media. Contrary to the press reports he
was not known to support the Chechen rebels, despite being an ethnic Chechen
himself.

Mr.Borovick came from a very prominent family. His farther and he (by
extension) are closely connected to the top echelon of external intelligence
officers and top advisers to the Soviet/Russian leadership with the most
extensive range of contacts within the Russian elite and wide and often
detailed knowledge of its dirty linen. The Boroviks were part of the inner
circle of Brezhnev and Gorbachev administrations. Artiom had good relations
with the so-called Young Reformers and reportedly particularily close to
Gaidar.

Another strange fact is that the recent Bazhaev - Borovik buy-in deal was
kept completely confidential and very few people were aware of the new
shareholder of Top Secret Publishing House. Furthermore Top Secret has very
bright journalists on its staff which more than capable of doing all the
legwork. 

*******

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