Russians Celebrate New National Holiday

AP via Yahoo! News ^ | 04.11.2005 | MIKE ECKEL

[Freelance Warrior]

A monument to Minin and Pozharskiy

A monument commemorating the 2 leaders of the uprising - city elder Koz'ma Minin and Prince Dmitriy Pozharsliy. It was installed on Red Square before Kremlin in 1818 and actually was the first monument in Moscow. So, commemorating of freeing of Moscow isn't a recent one.

[REactor]

Fot. SERGEY PONOMAREV AP

Fot. SERGEY PONOMAREV AP

Fot. SERGEY PONOMAREV AP

Fot. SERGEY PONOMAREV AP

Russia ueber alles!

[lizol]

I think - on the first picture - he's just trying to cover his eyes from the bright sun with the right palm :-)))

[REactor]

Establishment of a quasi-fascist regime in Russia is only a matter of time. Until the crude prices are high Putin may allow himself to pose as a "liberal" - Russia-style. When the prices on crude go down (and sooner or later it is inevitable) or crude will no longer be needed (which is less probable but still quite possible in 10 years time perspective) the whole regime will degenerate into some sort of Middle East "democracy", like Syria or Egipt. Given the Russian resentments after the collapse of USSR, their inferiority complex towards the West and hostility induced by it, it is inevitable that the authoritarian regime will be still strengthened by a xenophopic and nationalist attitude of the Russian people. The result will be a full-blown "russo-fascist" regime.

I think this regime won't be a real threat to the world due to its technological lag, but it will still be a deadly threat to Russian people. The sad thing is that most of the educated and more civilized Russians seem not to realize the danger.

[SaltyJoe]

"...most of the educated and more civilized Russians seem not to realize the danger."

I'm sure the Russians are quite aware of the situation, but it could be an endemic characteristic of the populace similar to how the French face their own internal problems (jihadists). Each nation lets such errors fester uncontrolled (like liberalism in America) until the citizens say, "Enough is enough!".

The best solution for nations outside Russia is to keep strict border controls, thus keeping the quasi-fascists within Russia only. When the infection pustulates, the Ruskies will do away with the criminally minded anti-citizens per their own blend of justice. Furthermore, this is a big opportunity for the Russian Orthodox Church to take charge of the Russian conscience. Family values are universal and intellectuals in that part of the world have been taking copious notes on how everyone else operates. Those loyal to Mother Church deserve our prayers and our best intentions for Peace. I wish them the best of luck for the inevitable ensuing struggle between a secular/nationalist and goddless identity and the Divine Salvation available through their Judeo/Apostolic Faith.

[Freelance Warrior]

. Until the crude prices are high Putin may allow himself to pose as a "liberal" - Russia-style. When the prices on crude go down (and sooner or later it is inevitable) or crude will no longer be needed (which is less probable but still quite possible in 10 years time perspective) the whole regime will degenerate into some sort of Middle East "democracy", like Syria or Egipt.

.... The result will be a full-blown "russo-fascist" regime.

Why didn't Russia become a "russo-fascist after the economic crisis in 1998?

[Freelance Warrior]

Is Russia the only state in which there are ultra-national organisations?

[Freelance Warrior]

The sad thing is that most of the educated and more civilized Russians seem not to realize the danger.

I don't trust a Polish patriot giving advices to Russians. Most people are patriots of their countries, and are subject to double standards in favor of their countries.

Some people can overcome double standards, but I've never seen this from you.

[A Russian]

Nothing personal, the Poles were just unlucky enough to get defeated close to the seventh of November, that's all...

[sergey1973]

Yeah--I heard about neo-Nazi march during this new official Russian holiday. It's a shame although as long as there were no riots, it was legal. Nevertheless, every society must watch extremist groups espousing violent ideologies. These groups easily can go from violent rhetoric to action.

[A Russian]

Remember, remember, the Fourth of November...

[A Russian]

Remember, remember, the fourth of November!

[lizol]

Oh, we do, next time we'll do it better :-)))

[SC DOC]

[Tailgunner Joe]

NEWLY RUSSIAN INVENTED HOLIDAY BECOMES A DAY OF NAZI UNITY - Official justification for celebrating this new holiday is at best unconvincing and for many sober-minded Russians plain ridiculous. The idea is to mark the "liberation" of Moscow from the besieged Polish garrison in 1612, an event that, in the opinion of most historians, was of little strategic significance and cannot be precisely dated (Grani.ru, November). The Orthodox Church celebrates November 4 as the Our Lady of Kazan icon day but that would hardly be a cause for joy for Russia's 20 million Muslims, so a "neutral" name – National Unity Day – was invented (Novaya gazeta, November 7, EDM, November 4). Russian President Vladimir Putin held a reception in the Kremlin for the carefully selected representatives of "civic society" and made a toast for the "victory of patriotic forces" and "the spiritual revival of the Fatherland" (Kommersant, November 7). The fierce speakers who addressed the well-organized Nazi columns in Moscow streets used about the same words..

[Fintan]

[macel]

THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Downsized Russian holiday

By CONSTANTINE PLESHAKOV

(...)

It is as difficult for a Russian to identify Poles as an invading force as it is for an American to see a colonial exploiter in a visiting British tourist. Furthermore, over the past 250 years Russia has invaded Poland several times and occupied it twice -- first in the days of the Romanovs and then during the reign of Stalin. Poland was able to liberate itself from Russia only 15 years ago, in 1989.

(...)

After all that you have done to us, the Poles are saying, you now call us invaders and celebrate victory over us as your national holiday? Hey, if you are looking to fill in a long weekend in the fall, how about a real invasion -- Napoleon's in 1812? By the way, the guy left the Kremlin in October -- so how about celebrating that?

Putin doesn't want to celebrate the victory over Napoleon because he covets French investments and political partnership with Paris. No matter how ridiculous the demonization of Poland is, it is easy.

It would have been nice to laugh Putin's nation-building scheme off by saying it belongs to the world of computer games, where you designate attributes to characters at random: First, I am the bad guy, then you are. But this year's celebration of the Day of People's Unity (that's the name Putin chose for his cyber holiday) has turned ugly. About a thousand young thugs went to the streets of Moscow chanting "Russians, rise up!" and "Moscow is not for foreigners!" They demanded expulsion of illegal immigrants from the city -- refugees from the impoverished Caucasus and Central Asia who had come to Moscow to sweep streets and build luxury condominiums.

The 85-year-long celebration of the 1917 revolution had failed to evoke the ghost of Stalin, but Putin's Day of People's Unity does resuscitate a mean wraith -- the one of nationalistic pogrom.

Full text - The Japan Times Online