Russia and Immigrants From the USSR (Attempts to Control Russian Immigrants, especially Jews)

Does anybody know how many people of Jewish origin from the USSR now live in the U.S. and Canada? Hundreds and hundreds of thousands.

Thousands of them became prosperous businessmen, many tens of thousands are highly qualified professionals in programming, other high-tech areas, and universities and colleges. Remarkably, almost all these people are using Russian as a second language; they read Russian books and locally published Russian newspapers and magazines, and watch Russian-language TV channels. And they are still interested in what is happening in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

By the mid-1990s, smart Moscow politicians decided to use this situation to get all the possible benefits – financial and otherwise. In 1996-97, the New York-based paper "Novoye Russkoye Slovo" (New Russian Word) – at that time, the most popular Russian-language periodical in North America – proposed and actively promoted the idea of establishing a "U.S. Russian-language community." Novoye Russkoye Slovo used to claim that a well-organized community of this kind would enrich the cultural life of the people from the USSR in America; their legal and material gains would also be substantial. The paper appealed to all Russian immigrants in the U.S., but people of Jewish origin have been the major target of this campaign.

In reality, the Kremlin was behind the campaign. It was supposed that Moscow would establish informal though effective control over the newly emerged – and vertically organized – Russian-language community and, as a result,

transform the Russian-language community into an obedient tool of Moscow in America. The idea generally failed because of lack of popular support. And in 1998, because of the default and its consequences, Moscow discontinued this tack. New Attack

After the Putin regime came to power in 1999, however, the Kremlin resumed its attempts to establish control over Russian immigrants in the West, primarily those of Jewish origin in the U.S. and Canada. Now the Kremlin acted much more intelligently, utilizing KGB/FSB facilities and technologies. In 2000-2001, the Kremlin, the FSB and their "intellectual agents" organized several so-called "world congresses of Russian-language media" and "world congresses of Russian-language people abroad" in Kiev, New York, etc. In particular, efforts are concentrated on transforming the leading Russian-language publications abroad into pro-Moscow ones.

In the beginning of July 2002, the World Congress of Russian-language Jews took place in Moscow. A detailed, critical description of this congress was given in the article by Vladimir Yedidovich (founder and Editor Emeritus of the Russian-language New York-based Forwerts paper), "Two Congresses – Two Parties." (Forwerts, August 2002, p. 7)

This congress doesn't defend the economic, political and cultural interests of Jews from the USSR. The real goal of this congress was to establish the World Union of Russian-Language Jews under the leadership and control of Russian special services (FSB/KGB).

creating financial, economic and political "strongholds" among "Russian Jews" all over the world;

convincing some of these Jews – the most "valuable" ones – to return to Russia. Some "stars" of Moscow's political Olympics, including the notorious Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Chairman of the State Duma "Commission for the Work with Compatriots Abroad" Dmitry Rogozin, are actively engaged in this new campaign. Putin himself supports it and provides it with handsome financing. In particular, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs finances the establishment of numerous "Russian-language clubs" abroad. (end of "Forwerts" article quotation)

In mid-October 2002, the well-informed Moscow-based Versiya weekly published the article "Moscow Invests Millions [of dollars] into Assistance to Russian Compatriots Abroad." It appears that the government of Moscow (ruled by Mayor Yury Luzhkov) assigned about $4 million in 2001 and will assign about $15 million in 2002 for all kinds of assistance to ethnic Russians and "Russian-language ones" in the former Soviet republics and abroad.

A significant part of this money is being used to establish a "united information [media] system supporting interaction of Moscow with all the strata of the Russian Diaspora." Mayor Luzhkov himself claims that Moscow's investment would bring huge dividends in the form of money flowing from Russians (and "Russian Jews") abroad back to Moscow – just as "huaqiao" all over the world invest in China, thus accelerating its development.

It is understandable that the Kremlin and KGB use this channel and many similar channels to put an "iron grip" on ethnic Russians and "Russian-language Jews" all over the world, including these in America.

(This item is based mostly on an article by Vladimir Yedidovich, "Red-brown Swamp," in Forwerts, Oct. 11-17, 2002, p. 7.)

The propaganda machine of the Putin regime claims that "there is no anti-Semitism – neither private nor state-sponsored – in Russia." Such claims should be considered with genuine impunity; however, this is normal New Russian style.

Interestingly, Moscow managed to mobilize some local Jewish leaders, including the Kremlin-approved Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar, for these propaganda purposes. This event is a dramatic reminder of some of the Jewish-oriented campaigns of the Stalin epoch of 1949.

At the beginning of October 2002, the Russian Ministry of Justice officially registered the "National-State Party of Russia." Its leaders – some of them until recently occupying high-ranking official positions – openly stated:

"Our goal is power. We don't hide the fact that a party of nationalists will come to power. … We should throw both democracy and Jews out of Russia."

It is a party of the Nazi kind, which united already existing Russian Nazis. Russia is sinking into a Nazi swamp. And authorities are taking no measures to stop them. On March 3, 2000, Forwerts magazine commented on the rapid rise of Putin as "we observe a bloodless state coup: KGB returned to power." From this moment, Russia has moved step-by-step toward Nazi dictatorship. Specifically:

Many high-ranking KGB functionaries have been appointed to top-ranking administrative posts.

The more or less independent media – papers, TV channels, radio stations – have been oppressed.

Various fascist organizations are flourishing under the "patronage" of the Kremlin and State Duma; their members are marching over Russian cities, in uniforms decorated with neo-Nazi symbols.

More than 150 neo-Nazi papers are published all over Russia; fascist and anti-Semitic books are published and spread without restraint.

The State Duma itself demonstratively refused to honor the memory of Holocaust victims. And all this time, Kremlin-approved secular and religious leaders of the Russian-Jewish community continued to assure the public – in Russia and abroad – that "anti-Semitism is exterminated in the New Russia." The spread of the neo-Nazi movement combined with "No anti-Semitism!" assurances formed the perfect environment for real anti-Semitism to flourish in Russia. And the newly registered National-State Party of Russia became a "pinnacle" of Russia's deeply rooted and broadly spread neo-Nazi system.

Remarkably, anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi sentiments are predominantly among the officers of the Russian army, Interior Ministry (police) and FSB. Among the 11,000 National-State Party members, 7,000 are acting or former officers. This makes the new party and the entire Nazi movement in Russia very dangerous.

Top executives of FSB who secretly blessed National-State Party registration. Putin himself definitely shares their approach.

New Russian top businessmen, who tolerate no controls or limitations of their incomes and fortunes, mostly of the criminal kind.

Broad layers of marginal elements who emerged after the destruction of the USSR. These forces brought Putin to power. They are similar to the forces that established the Third Reich in Germany.

Dr. Alexandr V. Nemets is co-author of "Chinese-Russian Military Relations, Fate of Taiwan and New Geopolitics."

Interesting chart. It shows zero for central, South America, Mexico.

Here's a bit of what I found:
Muslims/Mexico
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Park/6443/LatinAmerica/hispanic_growing.html
Number of Hispanic Muslim converts growing - Houston Chrinicle

As the new generations of Muslim immigrants grow in Latin America, their affiliation with their countries' needs is never compensated while establishing their Muslim identity. In Peru, Muslims have become aware of their country's orphan problem. With this in mind, Latin American Muslim Unity (LAMU), based in Fresno, California, has drawn up a proposal for the first Islamic orphanage in Peru, in order to deal with the current crises of a multitude of homeless children, who are victims of kidnapping for organ harvesting and purchasing, and mass assassinations by police squads. LAMU also channels extensive funds to Muslim da'wah programs in Mexico and Peru.

In Mexico, the Centro Cultural Islamico de Mexico (CCIM), is both a mosque and centre for da'wa. Da'wa being its main objective next to being a religious centre, CCIM is active in obtaining and translating books and Islamic texts into Spanish, have produced 13 publications, as well as run a radio program on Islam. Their small mosque pushes forth great efforts and is home to 150 new shahadas in the Mexican community since its inception in 1994.

Although a great Muslim history is becoming more prevalent in Latin America, a surge of Latino reversion and Islamic activism in the United States has been astonishing, a phenomenon covered in American media in recent years. Due to the United States' reigning minority of Latinos, the constituents' activities' in general are monitored closely. News stories of Latino reversions to Islam have been covered in major publications such as the Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor, as well as in public television news programming. In 1997, the estimated number of Latino Muslims in the United States was approximately 15,000 according to the American Muslim Council in Washington DC. As the wave of Latino reversions has increased intensely, a new poll is being taken this year, which will exceed this number by far. One of the largest Latino Muslim communities, Los Angeles is home to the ILM Foundation, which runs a series of Islamic classes in the Spanish language. These classes were started by a group called the Latino-Muslim Movement. Some of the highest concentrations of Latino reversions have been in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Miami. In New York, a group of Puerto Rican Muslims opened an Islamic centre in the heart of East Harlem called Alianza Islamica, where hundreds of Latinos have reverted since 1992. The centre, the first of its kind, includes a small mosque where the Friday khutba is heard in Arabic, English and Spanish. PIEDAD (Propagacion Islamica para la Educacion e la Devocion a Ala' el Divino), based in Washington DC, is a Latin Muslim Women's Association, which deals with the counselling of Muslim women as well as da'wa geared toward non-Muslim Spanish-speaking women. PIEDAD also has worked in collaborative da'wa efforts with NIPA (National Islamic Prison Association).

All Latino Muslim entities across the United States are affiliated with the endeavours toward da'wa material in the Spanish language, which includes both translation and dispersal. Some others include Asociacion Latina de Musulmanes en las Americas (Latin Association of Muslims in America) of California, The Latino American Dawa Organization of New York, Sociedad de Musulmanes Latinoamericanos (Latin American Muslims Society) of Washington DC, Bism Rabbik Foundation of Florida, and Centro Islámico de Traducción e Información (Islamic Centre of Translation and Information) of New Jersey. There are currently two different published translations of the Quran in the Spanish language. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), holding some of the largest annual conferences in the United States is the first to present a "Conference on Islam among the Latino Americans", which will be held on June 30 to July 2, 2000.

As the wave of reversions to Islam by the Latino-community continues, the process of transformation holds a different significance to each individual shahada. Some Latin Muslims find it is a return to the ancestry of their Moorish blood. Others find the concept of freedom from race identification to be one of Islam's assets. Still others find solace in the religion from the confines and inauthenticity of their culture's tradition of Catholicism. The Los Angeles Times interviewed Reymundo Nur and Saadiq Saafir, leaders of the Latin Muslim community, at the ILM Foundation. " 'We all realise that we're Muslim first,' Saafir said. 'This religion is going to bring us together.' Nur nodded. 'Inshallah,' he whispered. 'God willing.'"
http://www2.islamicity.com/LatinoMuslims/articles/spanishummah.html
******

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.