Trump’s Bro Putin, Fading from the Headlines

To put it mildly, the United States is uniquely focused and profoundly distracted. The violent political reality that has redefined American “democracy,” an accelerating mortality and infection rate from COVID-19 which is still treated as a political vs medical issue, a difficult transition in the executive branch and a collapsed economy. China’s hostile actions, internally with (Uighurs and Hong Kong protesters) and externally (the militarization of their manmade island in the Spratly chain), has left the headlines, particularly as Donald Trump China-tweet-blame proclivity has been silenced. Brexit, profoundly impactful, doesn’t appear anywhere near “page one” reportage. And Russia’s roiling and expanded interference in our elections, their supporting our enemies in the Middle East, their open and continuing opposition to all US global policies and Putin’s disgusting murderous repression of any dissent… have been relegated to the “back pages” if reported at all.

But as our focus might be elsewhere, we do need to be very much aware that Donald Trump’s buddy, Vladimir Putin, is one of the most dangerous international leaders anywhere, when it comes to American interests and goals. Putin is a brilliant tactician, exceptionally well-trained during his sojourn with the Soviet KGB (their CIA/FBI) where he focused on international issues, and completely in control of every aspect of Russian political and economic power. To put it mildly, Donald Trump has never been remotely in the same league as this Russian autocrat, who has played Trump like a puppet on a string. Joe Biden is more aware of the reality of Russian policies and perspectives, which will be a refreshing change.

While we can look at Russian macro-policy issues on a less emotional plane, nothing gets the flavor of Putin’s willingness to silence his critics than effort to kill, frequently by chemical or radiation poisoning, political opponents or defectors to the West. “In 2010, Russian President Vladimir Putin chillingly warned that ‘traitors will kick the bucket, believe me. Those other folks betrayed their friends, their brother in arms.’ ‘Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them.’” The Conversation.com, 3/12/18. Be aware that anyone opposing Putin is viewed as a traitor.

In 2018, “Sergei Skripa [along with his daughter Yulia and an investigating police officer were] being treated as a state-sponsored Russian assassination attempt. Now British prime minister, Theresa May, has said officially that it is ‘highly likely’ to have been ordered by Moscow after the nerve agent used was found to have been of a military grade developed by Russia…

“Russia’s spies have long been active in targeting former intelligence officers, prominent defectors and political opponents. In November 2006, former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in central London using highly radioactive polonium-210. A public inquiry into the killing concluded it was ‘probably’ ordered by the head of the FSB and Putin himself.” TheConversation.com. Russian governmental extraterritorial assassinations (attempted and successful) have been consistently denied by Putin. These illicit efforts, along with demonstrable evidence (supported by DOJ indictments of relevant Russian officials) of election interference, are well acknowledged by leaders the world over including our own intelligence agencies and relevant congressional committees… even as Donald Trump accepted Putin’s denials at face value.

Putin’s standard operating procedure is to arrest, often including torture, those who oppose him within Russia, including some very powerful and mega-rich oligarchs who have generated his displeasure. These once-powerful power brokers also face Russian governmental agencies finding “legitimate” means of confiscating their wealth. But nothing brings home Putin’s brutal repression of dissident Russian voices than major Putin critic, Alexei Navalny (pictured above), who has been arrested on several occasions, tortured and banned from running for political office accordingly.

“Navalny fell into a coma while aboard a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. [Based on massive international pressure to move Navalny out of Russia for neutral treatment, he] was transferred from a hospital in Siberia to a Berlin hospital two days later… Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to a highly toxic Soviet-era nerve agent… Russian authorities insisted that the doctors who treated Navalny in Siberia found no traces of poison, and they have challenged German officials to provide proof of poisoning.” Associated Press, January 14th. You’d think that Navalny would take the hint and remain in Germany… or anywhere but Russia. But no. He is returning to Russia to make a point, to make it clear that he will not stop opposing Putin.

“At the end of December, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service warned Navalny that he faced a prison term if he failed to report immediately to its office in line with the terms of a suspended sentence he received for a 2014 conviction on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. He has denounced the conviction as politically motivated, and the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that it was unlawful.

“In a parallel move just before the new year, Russia’s main investigative agency opened a new criminal case against Navalny related to his alleged mishandling of $5 million in private donations to his Anti-Corruption Foundation and other organizations. Navalny has also dismissed those fraud accusations as crudely fabricated.

“‘They are doing everything to scare me,’ Navalny said in his Instagram video. ‘The only thing left for Putin to do is to put up a giant billboard on top of the Kremlin saying, ‘Alexei, please don’t return home under any circumstances!’ ’ ” Associated Press. When Navalny arrived back in Moscow on January 17th, he was promptly arrested… along with several of his associates. “Russia’s federal prison service released a lengthy statement on Thursday [1/14] accusing Mr. Navalny of ‘malicious violations’ of a suspended prison sentence he initially received in 2014. While recuperating in Germany last year, the service said, Mr. Navalny failed to report to it twice a month as required by his sentence.

“‘The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Moscow is obliged to take all actions to detain the violator A.A. Navalny pending a court decision to replace the suspended sentence with a real one,’ the statement said.” New York Times, January 17th. That Navalny was barely clinging to life during his recuperation from the poisoning was obviously irrelevant to Russian officials. Clearly, Donald Trump admired the cold efficiency, no questions asked, that Putin could deploy to control and silence his critics. But there is a change in the White House.

I’m Peter Dekom, and if the United States is ever to re-achieve the moral high ground we once enjoyed, we are going to have change our bullying and mendacious ways, internally and to the rest of the world.