Foreign NGOs: “Philanthropists” with Hidden Agendas

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The recent disputes over NGOs operating in Russia financed from abroad rage on as the parties concerned doggedly repeat their own arguments without listening to what the other side has to say. Members of the Human Rights Centre “Memorial”, founded by the late academician Andrei Sakharov, and liberal {that is, “conservative” in Anglosphere terms: editor} Western media outlets keep pointing up the sinister meaning the expression “foreign agent” had under Stalin. In turn, critics of anti-Putin NGOs say that Russian law only imitates the US Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, which is still in force and in operation. For the younger generation, all this could seem somewhat dated… Stalin died 60 years ago, in 1953, whilst the Foreign Agents Registration Act became law shortly before World War II. Even the oldest of those taking part in the current NGO-related disputes were little kids back then.

More recently, ex-Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze… a respected political figure in the West… accused the Open Society Foundation (OSF) (an NGO funded by George Soros) and Georgian NGOs affiliated to it of orchestrating the 2003 coup that brought Mikhail Saakashvili to power. Curiously, US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who’s keen on seeing Russia repent for Stalinism, doesn’t intend to admit America‘s wrongdoings himself. Maksim Grigoriev, a member of the RF Public Chamber, said that McFaul, in a speech to the Public Chamber, said that he felt no need to be sorry for the USA having a hand in the Georgian coup, or, in hiring intelligence experts to work for American NGOs based in post-Soviet republics, including Russia.

The post-Soviet space offers a wide range of opportunities for American-funded NGOs, which arrived only in the 1990s. In the 1970s and 1980s, the same American groups operated in Latin America, and before that, in the Middle East. In what is seen as a “quiet revolution in American official history”, former US President Bill Clinton acknowledged the role of the CIA in orchestrating the 1973 coup in Chile, whilst Barack Obama spilled the beans on the American part in staging the Iranian coup of 1953 that toppled the progressive government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Coincidentally or not, at the time of the coups, American “charitable” bodies operated in both countries.

Grigoriev, who also runs the Democracy Research Foundation, said, “Assurances from pro-western NGOs that their activities have nothing to do with politics are all lies. They pursue political goals and coordinate their operations with foreign governments. However, this doesn’t mean that we should label them as ‘foreign spies’. Even though these organisations receive funds from abroad, they pose no danger if their operations are transparent and clear”.

Grigoriev is certainly right. The world that we live in is an open space where public likes and dislikes travel freely across borders. The negative attitudes in the EU and the USA to some highly-placed Russian politicians are well-known, and one could feel them during President Putin’s recent visit to Germany and the Netherlands. These attitudes are bound to have minority support in Russia… at least, amidst the liberal-minded intelligentsia {that is, amongst “libertarians” in American terms: editor}. Nevertheless, whatever happens, Russia can’t afford any more revolutions… its first, and foremost, priority is to avoid upheavals. Therefore, “philanthropists” with hidden agendas will have to come clean on the real aims of their activities.

11 April 2013

Dmitri Babich

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_04_11/NGOs-suitcases-with-false-bottoms/

Editor’s Note:

Do note that the author points up that US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul is “keen on seeing Russia repent for Stalinism”. Hmm… that puts the anti-Stalin screed on the ROCOR official website in a new light, doesn’t it? Does this mean that certain parties in the ROCOR are back on Langley‘s payroll (after all, Alexander Lebedeff said, “We were grateful for the money”)? Does this mean that certain parties lied about their purported change of heart? You pays your money and you takes your choice… but I’d say that the trail’s rather clear. Sad, ain’t it? Don’t forget Potapov’s mean-spirited and objectively-false comments about Patriarch Aleksei Ridiger in the Nasty ’90s (at the Georgetown shindig… remember that?)… did he had a real change of heart or was it a case of “Paris is well worth a mass?” Interesting question…

BMD

American Ambassador McFaul Explained Why He won’t Attend RF Gosduma Hearings on Adoptions

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American Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said that he’s open to discussing adoption matters, including with RF Gosduma International Affairs committee head Aleksei Pushkov, but he won’t attend hearings on this issue at the RF Gosduma. On Thursday, McFaul said on Twitter in reply to Pushkov’s Twit criticising his decision not to go to the Duma, “Always happy to meet you and your colleagues to discuss all issues in American-Russian relations, including adoptions. As a norm, American ambassadors don’t participate in hearings of foreign parliaments. Do Russian ambassadors?”

Earlier on Thursday, Pushkov wrote on Twitter, “By refusing to come to the RF Gosduma to discuss the deaths of our children, the US ambassador showed that they’re not prepared for a serious dialogue on this problem”. He described McFaul’s refusal as a lame excuse. Pushkov insisted that Russian ambassadors have taken part in such discussions in foreign parliaments. He also pointed up that previous American ambassadors, particularly Alexander Vershbow, used to take part in official Duma events, saying, “There have been such precedents, and I think this is an ill attempt to refuse to be present at the committee’s session”.

21 February 2013

Russia Beyond the Headlines

http://rbth.ru/news/2013/02/21/us_ambassador_mcfaul_explains_why_he_will_not_attend_duma_hearings_on_ad_23131.html

Editor’s Note:

McFaul doesn’t have enough brains to come in out of the rain. He’s snubbed not only the Duma, but VVP as well. Furthermore, he hasn’t stopped supporting Russian oppositionists (including “Orthodox” schismatics and Uniates). In short, the USA is looking for trouble; it’d make good-sense to, at least, keep Russia quiescent. Instead, it’ll further cement the gelling Russian-Chinese alliance… the USA can deal with either Russia or the PRC, both not both at the same time (something that Richard Nixon understood the best of all American presidents). It was much like Hitler could defeat either the Western powers or the USSR, but not both at the same time. Hitler forced the West and the USSR into a “marriage of convenience” that lasted long enough to defeat him. It looks like history is going to repeat itself… Russia and China have many differences, but they face a common foe who threatens both of them. The USA doesn’t have the strength to fight a major land war on the Eurasian “World Island”. Yet, that’s what its insane drive for global hegemony will lead to. It’s not “set in stone”… but will the USA turn aside in time? It WILL have to defeat its own oligarchs and put aside its overweening greed… but shall it? Time will tell us…

Orthodox people should take note that Potapov and Paffhausen (and the entire scurvy claque around them) support the American snub of the Duma, NOT the reasonable request of Deputy Pushkov. Don’t forget… they’re Hard Right fanatics, who support the enemies of the Rodina and the Orthosphere. Do act accordingly.

BMD

 

McFaul at the Centre of Scandal

Russian caricature of Michael McFaul (1963- ), US Ambassador to Russia, drawn after McFaul colluded with opposition elements, and after he made inappropriate remarks in a public speech. The USA has NO right to lecture anyone else… not after the Easter bombing of Belgrade…

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Remarks made by US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on 25 May to the students of the Higher School of Economics, during which he made several controversial statements about the Kremlin‘s position on several sensitive international issues, became a subject of discussion not only in Russia, but also in the foreign media. In particular, both Russian authorities and media outlets strongly reacted to his statement that Russia tried to bribe Kyrgyzstan to close the US Manas Air Base in that country, a site supporting NATO operations in Afghanistan.

As one might expect, there were divided opinions. While some Western media outlets tried to justify McFaul’s harsh tone, as well as pointing to the prejudiced attitude of the Russian government to the new ambassador, other sources agreed with the submission that McFaul should learn diplomacy. At the same time, they both agree on one point… the current situation poses a serious threat to the so-called “reset” in relations between Washington and Moscow.

According to The Guardian, Moscow initially gave McFaul the cold shoulder, so its reaction to his statements is unlikely to surprise anyone. British journalists emphasised that, from his arrival in Russia, pro-Kremlin youth organisations subjected McFaul to harassment McFaul, and state media repeatedly said that he was directly influencing the opposition. In this case, The Guardian compared the wave of criticism of McFaul’s posts on Twitter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) to the campaigns of the Soviet press during the Cold War. The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) shared a similar view… this publication has won a reputation in the journalistic world of the media eschewing the sensational in order to accentuate objectivity and informational value. The CSM believes that McFaul came to Moscow with the intention of “not paying court” to the Kremlin from the first days of his appointment. In their view, you can discern this from the fact that McFaul arrived in Russia at a time of a sharp aggravation of the conflict between the government and the opposition. In this situation, his desire to establish a dialogue with opposition leaders… quite natural, in the CSM’s opinion, for a diplomatic representative… was regarded by the Russian government as the open support of the protest movement. Under these circumstances, sharp remarks from the ambassador couldn’t help but cause a negative reaction from the Kremlin.

McFaul’s “Twitter War”, along with his spats with the MID, has caught the interest of one the most influential American newspapers, The New York Times. Michael Schwirtz of the Times expressed surprise at the fact that the MID decided to respond to the US Ambassador’s statements in such an unexpected way. The Times agreed that McFaul, who’s hardly a career diplomat, has to learn the subtleties of the diplomatic trade if he doesn’t want to fail in the important mission entrusted to him by the US government. Forbes magazine took a very sceptical view of McFaul’s tactics and behaviour. According to an article by Mark Adomanis, McFaul has proved to be a good scholar, but a poor diplomat. In Adomanis’ view, McFaul’s lack of diplomatic skills could easily abort the “reset” of Russian-American relations. One should also note that Forbes criticised the Russian authorities, citing repeated attempts to provoke the US ambassador.

A majority of Western media outlets remain sceptical of the Russian government, and, in general, don’t approve of its reaction to the American ambassador’s statements. At the same time, one must note that a significant number of outlets acknowledge McFaul’s lack of necessary skills and condemns the harsh and uncompromising tone of his remarks. Indeed, this fact is yet another confirmation that Michael McFaul mightn’t be the best candidate for such a responsible post.

1 June 2012

Vladimir Gladkov

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_06_01/76715353/

Editor’s Note:

Orthodox people, take note… Victor Potapov of the ROCOR, and Lyonyo Kishkovsky, Anya Schmemann, and John Jillions of the OCA play a VERY equivocal role in this drama. Potapov’s a long-time BBG operative (thusly, a Langley man)… Lyonyo and Anya are part of the CFR (more hangers-on than movers-and-shakers)… John Jillions was a paid dogsbody for the Uniates (ergo, he plunged a knife into the back of our co-religionists in Galicia). That means that they support the Western assault on the Rodina and the canonical Church. Paffhausen supports the attack on the Rodina through his drooling support for every Far Right organisation and cause out there (certainly, the Centre must know this)… interesting, no? What exists on the ground and what’s reported to the Centre are two RATHER different things.

I’d pay good bucks to know where Vlad Berzansky Jr fits into all of this… he’s an “interesting” and “complex” character; no doubt, worthy of a good John le Carré novel (he’s the only person of real ability mentioned in this note… all the rest are dribblin’ dweebs).

BMD

Moscow Refuses to “Get Used” to US Envoy’s “Gaffes”

Stop! Children! Our Kids Will NOT be the Last Generation on Earth

Unknown Artist

1970s

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McFaul isn’t alone… America‘s a rogue nation. If it’s not stopped, God alone knows where it’ll end. America is the leading exponent of violence, bloodshed, and destruction… all in the name of “humanitarian intervention” and “giving your heart to Jayzuss”. Can no one say, “hypocrisy?”

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On Wednesday, a senior Russian diplomatic source said that Moscow considers the “blunt” statements by US Ambassador Michael McFaul to be totally unacceptable, whilst his lack of professionalism could be detrimental to the reset of Russian-US relations. On Tuesday, The US State Department said that Russia would have to “get used” to McFaul’s outspoken statements as he isn’t a professional diplomat and often speaks plainly on sensitive matters. Our source, who spoke on condition of anonymity {how much you want to bet that it was the Old Master himself, Sergei Lavrov?: editor}, told our RIA-Novosti correspondent, “The Americans shouldn’t expect the government of a sovereign state to get used to impertinent remarks from the head of a diplomatic mission, who admits openly that he’s just started to learn his craft. It’s understandable that the State Department immediately offered excuses for his gaffes, but it’d be more appropriate to advise Mr McFaul to get used to the fact that the lack of professionalism in diplomacy is a dangerous and unacceptable thing”.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) blasted McFaul’s speech delivered to students at the National Research University-Higher School of Economics in Moscow saying that his assessment of Russian-US cooperation “goes far beyond the bounds of diplomatic etiquette”. McFaul’s statement about the Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan particularly dismayed Russian diplomats, when the American diplomat told students that Russia had bribed the Central Asian state in 2009 to prompt the country to shut down the US military airbase there. He added that his country had also offered a bribe to Kyrgyzstan, but ten times smaller. McFaul responded to the MID’s criticism by writing in his Twitter blog that he’s “still learning the craft of speaking more diplomatically”. Both Russian officials and private individuals criticised the US ambassador since his arrival in January. Critics accused him of supporting Russian opposition groups, or even plotting a revolution in Russia, which McFaul fiercely denied.

30 May 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120530/173760194.html

Editor’s Note:

McFaul’s lying… full stop. Like most Anglo-Saxon Americans, he believes in American Exceptionalism (America has a right to judge the world, yadda, yadda, yadda). His bio at Stanford includes the line, “McFaul’s current research interests include democracy promotion, comparative democratisation, and the relationship between political and economic reform in the post-communist world”. “Democracy Promotion” is Newspeak for “attacking states that we don’t like in order to install puppet juntas of our liking”. Despite being a Democrat, he’s got friendly ties with warmonger neocons. He’s on the board of Freedom House, one of the most egregious enemies of the Rodina and the Orthosphere, and a major source of disinformation and outright lies concerning our motherland and Church. The Neoliberal Carnegie Endowment noted, “McFaul’s current research interests include régime change in non-democratic states, US foreign policy, and US-Russian relations in the 1990s”. In an online interview, McFaul described himself as a “specialist on democracy, anti-dictator movements, and revolutions”.

There’s not much to choose between this guy and Condi Rice! Hell, could we showcase ‘em as “Mickey and Condi”… or, is it, “Condi and Mickey?” He openly meets with unpatriotic elements… the good word has it that he passes money to them… truly, this self-righteous smarmy SOB should get le sabot, but Russia doesn’t want to hurt President Obama’s re-election chances (he’s preferable to the Born Again Birther Fanaticism of Wafflin’ Willy’s crew). To be frank, the US State Department’s been playing footsie with questionable CIS elements such as Kasparov, the Banderist Ukrainians, Rusantsov and other rebellious schismatic religious figures, Baltic Neo-Nazis in Latvia and Estonia, Nemtsov, and the Uniates for years.

If the Russian Ambassador were to do only 10 percent of what the US does on the territory of the former USSR, why, there’d be a hue and cry… and rightly so. Anglo-Saxon Americans are juvenile babyish bullies. As Simon Schama put it:

By the end of the nineteenth century, the stereotype of the ugly American… voracious, preachy, mercenary, and bombastically chauvinist… was firmly in place in Europe.

That’s no stereotype… its reality. Look at Wafflin’ Willy, King Rush, and Queen Ann… they’re all too typical, sadly. McFaul has a responsibility to make a complete and public apology to President Putin for his egregious and aggressive actions. No country should put up with such interference from a supposedly friendly state. America has NOTHING to teach Russia… indeed, it has NOTHING to teach the world. After all, who gave the world the heartbreak of Southern Slavery, the Trail of Tears, the joys of Mormon Polygamy, and the A-Bombing of Hiroshima? I don’t think that I need go on…

A Note to Orthodox readers:

Jonas Paffhausen voluntarily spoke at the American Enterprise Institute, one of the leading Far Right opponents of the Rodina and Orthosphere. I fear that he’s a McFaul supporter in pectore (as are most konvertsy, frankly put). It’s bad enough when the Church and the Russian state have to contend with schmutz from stuck-up self-worshipping Americans. It doesn’t need American “Orthodox” sucking up to and supporting such anti-Christian elements. I only report what I see (and I REFUSE to be silent “for the good of the Church”… much evil’s been done under that rubric, kids).

BMD