Posted on 12/13/2006 3:07:26 PM PST by lizol
Walesa Calls for Common Approach to Russia
Reuters
WARSAW -- Nobel laureate and former Polish President Lech Walesa called on Tuesday for a common European approach to Russia, saying Moscow was using "old methods" to divide its rivals and competitors in Europe.
Walesa said Russia had exploited the lack of unity in Europe to do what it liked in its trade with other nations and to impose policies such as its ban on imports of meat products from Poland.
Russia placed an embargo on Polish meat in November 2005, saying it had discovered forged Polish inspection certificates.
Warsaw, which has had prickly relations with Moscow since the collapse of the eastern bloc in 1989, says the ban is politically motivated and last month blocked talks on a new EU-Russian partnership as a result of the dispute.
Walesa, 63, who led the first free trade union in the Soviet bloc, Solidarity, in the 1980s, said Russia had a long history of trying to divide other European nations and had seen its chance to try to split Poland off from other European Union members.
"Russia is taking advantage of it," he said. "Russia used to be an empire and it has always worked on the basis of having an enemy.
"What Russia is doing now is not smart. This behavior is in the old style. Now they have lots of problems and they are trying to solve them by using their old methods," he added.
"But the response should be solidarity in Europe, not confrontation. We should not confront Russia. We should explain our position and work together as Europeans."
Here is why:
KGB influence 'soars under Putin'
By Steven Eke
BBC Russian affairs analyst
Four out of five political leaders and state administrators in Russia either have been or still are members of the security services, a study suggests.
The unprecedented research implies a huge expansion of KGB-FSB influence in politics and business in recent years.
Many of the officials concerned have been appointed under President Vladimir Putin - himself a former spy chief.
This has led many liberal commentators to claim their influence is growing unchecked, and threatening democracy.
Politics and business
This new research was conducted by Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a respected academic, for the Centre for the Study of the Elite, part of the prestigious Academy of Sciences.
It confirms that the siloviki - ex-KGB operatives or those working for its successor organisation, the FSB - have done well in President Putin's Russia.
It has long been thought that their influence was growing. But this first, concerted attempt to provide empirical evidence of its scale, has produced some surprising results.
Among the presidential administration, members of the government, deputies of both chambers of parliament, regional heads, as well as the boards of Russia's top state corporations, four in five officials worked for the KGB, or continue to work for one or more of its successor organisations.
The research also suggests the political and business elites are rapidly coalescing, with some key industrial figures, such as the head of the state weapons export agency, also from the same security service heritage.
Contrast
How different Russia looks from other formerly communist countries in eastern Europe, where there have been attempts to identify individuals who worked for Soviet-era security services, many of which were highly repressive.
Some of these individuals have been put on trial for their alleged crimes.
But perhaps more significantly, there has been a real effort to keep them out of politics and big business.
But whatever it means for Russia's future as a democracy - or not - so far, unhappiness about Russia's new ruling class has been expressed only by the country's beleaguered liberal minority.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6177531.stm
The problem of the East Europe - Russia have ceased to pay attention to them.
They have firmly decided to become enemies of Russia.
Russia all over again thought that the states of the East Europe will be in a neutral position.
When russofobs have become to authority there, Russia has tried to draw them on her side, using Russian diaspora.
Later these countries were included into NATO and have placed in their territory of a rocket.
After that Russia has lost interest to them.
Energy blackmail (the states of the East Europe not only to take money for transport of energy resources on their territory but also have started to steal a part from them. (" tehnicheskiy otbor "-rus)) and constant hysterics of their political elite have forced Russia to start to ignore and search for trading ways around of these countries.
I understand a position of Russia at present so:
East Europe are not our allies now and accordingly not our problem.
Will West Europe help Poland and buy the meat ?
Contraband that goes through Poland have very poor quality!
I think that this is proper phrase to describe quality of your propaganda.
Can you tell me why Europe doesn't want to buy it ?
8D
Kremlins propaganda (KGB, Putin, deth of democracy on the East, f.....g Russians) forbid Europe to buy it?
It is sincerely a pity to me if I have disappointed you, but:
" We in the answer for those whom have tamed. "
If you have taken the protectorate the East Europe they should send claims concerning economy in the White house instead of the Kremlin.
IMHO
has the same attitude in Russia as democRATS, Hitlery, and liberals themselves on this message board. And that's right.
Putin, as any leader, needs a team. He's from the KGB, that's why he has many ex-KGB people in his administration. That's simple. And very few Russians think that a KGB career is a curse.
Probably. I'm not very familiar with the UK's cultural space. But a broader meaning of the word (not purely economic)is widespread: link.
Yes, of course. First of all Europe is buying Polish food as much as we can export. Unfortunately EU is an communist organization where export limits are obligatory to all members including Poland.
and this say a lot about Russians :)
Yes, such we're: tyranny lovin' barbarians. ]:->
I see Poland can't shake off Communism: once it was a Communist country enslaved by evil Communist Russians, and now it has joined a Communist European Union...
Surely, that's KGB's tricks. The only good thing, those Communists aren't Russian.
For an outsider - yes. One should know the life inside to understand this.
I cannot argue with native Russian… :)
The only good thing, those Communists aren't Russian.
The only good communists are dead communists :)
Not exactly. Moscow's officials have lost long ago. They aren't "silovik"s (law-enforcing agents) but usual bureacrats. Unfortunately, they do not understand economics, so they are destroying the country once again like their predecessors the communists.
Well, I won't say that they're great in economics while those from the Yeltsyn's team are no better (and probably worse).
The beginning of the 1990x was a true economic collapse. You probably can't get how complicated the task is.
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