Putin may be worse than we think [Free Republic]

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Putin may be worse than we think: Foreign Affairs Editorial Opinion (Published) Keywords: PUTIN
Source: Daily Telegraph
Published: 11/05/00 Author: Oleg Gordievsky
Posted on 11/04/2000 18:12:01 PST by Webmaster@LWN

Putin may be worse than we think

By Oleg Gordievsky

Another KGB defection casts the President in a new light, writes Oleg Gordievsky THOSE - such as Robin Cook and Tony Blair - who seem to think that Vladimir Putin is a new kind of Russian politician, with Western attitudes and moral scruples, may be forced to change their attitude in the coming weeks. According to Alexander Litvinenko, the latest defector from the KGB who arrived in London last Thursday, the President of Russia is quite prepared to order the assassination of political opponents, and the murder of hundreds of ordinary Russians when he thinks it will gain him political advantage.

Litvinenko used to be a lieutenant colonel in the KGB (the organisation's acronym has officially been changed to FSB, but it's still the old KGB). A couple of years ago, he held a sensational press conference in which he and four other masked men claimed that they had been part of a special KGB assassination unit. The group, he alleged, had been set up by Nikolai Kovalyov, Putin's predecessor as head of the KGB. Number one on the target list was Boris Berezovsky, the billionaire who owns some of Russia's most popular television stations and newspapers.

Putin took over as head of the KGB four weeks after that press conference. He never repudiated Kovalyov. And he instigated what turned out to be a prolonged campaign of harassment of Litvinenko, who was arrested, thrown in prison, released and imprisoned again. It is a sign of the extent that today's Russia has improved from its Soviet progenitor that Litvinenko is still alive. In the old days, when the KGB placed you under arrest, you stayed there until they shot you or you managed to escape - as I knew only too well when they arrested me.

The new Russia has the beginnings of a legal system, and the KGB's power to detain people without any recourse to law has diminished significantly. Litvinenko was even allowed to travel to Britain with his wife and family, something that would have been inconceivable in Communist Russia. But if Litvinenko is right, the new Russia is, in some ways, even more morally corrupt that the old one.

Litvinenko has hinted that he has "information" which shows that Vladimir Putin was behind the bombs which killed 300 people in Moscow more than a year ago. Those bombs, blamed on Chechen terrorists, gave Putin the excuse he needed for a new offensive in Chechnya. That propelled him to victory in the presidential election. If you ask the question, who benefited, the answer is simple: Putin did.

Planting a bomb which kills 300 civilians merely to increase your popularity would set a new record for cold-blooded callousness, even by the standards set by Russia's past leaders. It would mean Putin is capable of the kind of Caligulan cruelty which would raise serious questions about his sanity. Not even Stalin deliberately blew up blocks of flats containing his own citizens. Could Putin have done it? My own belief is that it is very unlikely. Even supposing Russia's President to be without any moral scruples whatever - and his handling of the Kursk submarine incident shows he is not overburdened by them - he has a certain intelligence. In today's Russia, it would be impossible to keep such an operation secret, and Putin would know it. He's well able to calculate that the risks of exposure would guarantee the operation was not worth its possible benefits.

It is more difficult to dismiss Litvinenko's allegation that the KGB has been assassinating political enemies, especially as he says he was part of the hit-squad. Nevertheless, there are some strange elements in the story. Boris Berezovsky is a very odd target. Yes, he's rich and had made most of his billions by acquiring, legitimately or illegitimately, state assets - then exploiting them or selling them on at a huge profit. Yes, his ownership of media means he has, to his enemies, a disturbing power.

He was a supporter of Boris Yeltsin, and he likes to interfere in politics. It was, apparently, he who released two British hostages taken by the Chechens by paying a huge ransom. Berezovsky might have succeeded in buying out a second group of three British engineers, had not a Moscow-inspired rescue attempt panicked the Chechens into cutting their heads off. Even in Russia, however, it is difficult to see how any of that constitutes a reason for having Berezovsky killed.

Stalin's KGB was famous for assassinating opponents, with or without the slightest pretext. But by the time I joined the KGB, such "wet jobs" were very rare. Indeed, in the last 40 years, the KGB has assassinated only President Hafizullah Amin of Afghanistan, who was killed in the prelude to the Russian invasion. The KGB provided the Bulgarian secret service with the poisoned umbrella its officers used to murder Georgi Markov, the dissident who lived in London. But the KGB dispensed the technology only with the greatest reluctance. I know that Yuri Andropov, then head of the KGB, did not want the KGB to get involved. He was only persuaded to help after prolonged pleas by Bulgaria's president.

It would be a major policy reversal for the KGB to go back to murdering people in the way it did in the Stalinist era. On the other hand, if Litvinenko's allegations are not true, it is mysterious why he should have made them. Gossip in Moscow says he was given a huge bribe by Berezovsky, who simply wanted a way to discredit the KGB. I have no idea whether the gossip is true. But if MI5 establishes that Vladimir Putin or his close associates have been ordering assassinations, then even Tony Blair will be able to see that he will have to reconsider his "special relationship" with the President. It would not be before time.

Oleg Gordievsky was the highest ranking KGB officer ever to work for MI6

LatestWorldNews.net

1 Posted on 11/04/2000 18:12:01 PST by Webmaster@LWN (info@latestworldnews.net)
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To: Webmaster@LWN

Putin definitely bears watching, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

2 Posted on 11/04/2000 18:17:19 PST by seeker41 (dontquitnow)
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To: seeker41

Yes, thank God we live in a safe country like Vince Foster and the Waco bunch. They call our FSB the Justice Dept.

3 Posted on 11/04/2000 18:29:48 PST by Sender
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To: Webmaster@LWN

4 Posted on 11/04/2000 18:34:00 PST by Solomon Kane
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To: Sender

Clinton and Putin were probably in the same class at Pinko U. Apparently between checking out Olga and Svetlana in the front row, some Soviet style tactics sunk in for Klinton.

5 Posted on 11/04/2000 18:38:10 PST by 2right
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To: 2right

"Putin on the wrist"

6 Posted on 11/04/2000 22:56:17 PST by battlegearboat
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To: Webmaster@LWN

IMO this story is bogus. Putin, by all his actions since become President of Russia, is a straight shooter. Putin is a Russian nationalist who is driven to rebuilt Russia in a businesslike manner.

The main problem is that Klinton, through his criminal actions, has played the "Great Game" badly and thus the West is stuck in the Kosovo quagmire. Putin has no choice but to properly defend Russia against a sociopath in the White House. I only hope that when Bush becomes President, his advisors won't be complete idiots. If Bush can start dealing with Russia upfront on a peer-to-peer basis the world will be a more safe and sane.

7 Posted on 11/04/2000 23:18:50 PST by robbinsj
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To: Webmaster@LWN

Oleg Gordievsky was the highest ranking KGB officer ever to work for MI6

That's a reputation! There was a highest ranking CIA officer working for KGB - Rick Ames was his name. I close my eyes and see him writting in Russia about links of Bush family to CIA.

Both Oleg and Rick are on same 'honor roll'. Both deserve same degree of respect.

8 Posted on 11/05/2000 17:35:29 PST by Alexandre
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To: GeronL sawdring MadIvan MadRussian Ticonderoga Babylonian

Kerblunk! FYI

9 Posted on 11/05/2000 17:41:29 PST by Carry_Okie
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To: SevenDaysInMay,Matthew James

"Mokrie Deloe" bump.

10 Posted on 11/05/2000 17:46:47 PST by Travis McGee
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To: Carry_Okie

Thanks for the heads up. A lot of people have been saying this.

11 Posted on 11/05/2000 17:58:53 PST by Sawdring
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To: Alexandre

Wasn't his name Alderich Ames?

12 Posted on 11/05/2000 17:59:39 PST by Sawdring
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To: Webmaster@LWN, Carrie_Okie

Robin Cook and Tony Blair - who seem to think that Vladimir Putin is a new kind of Russian politician, with Western attitudes and moral scruples, may be forced to change their attitude in the coming weeks.

The list of Western politicians with Western attitudes and moral scruples is missing Clinton, Shea, Clark etc.

13 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:29:50 PST by madrussian
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To: Sawdring

May be. Alderich or Algorich.... not sure. 'Rick' was easier for me to remember. As I recall, he sold Oleg Gordievsky's double-hired colleagues to Russians and was stupid enough to buy large house and expensive car... before running for hide.

Mr. Gordievsky looks more professional - but it looks like he has to work hard to have his 'back' covered.

What also is funny: American media has memory problems. One news piece claims that Russia is not to be trusted because it is corrupt and ruled by shameless oligarchs. But once most fuzzy of those oligarchs are cornered - same media runs for their defence. Is not this silly enough?

14 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:31:01 PST by Alexandre
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To: Alexandre

Gordievsky with the rest of the KGB "dissidents" and "defectors" are trying to make a living and and attain some fame (or notoriety) by using their credentials of having served in the KGB. The people who hold them in high regard because of their defection or dissenting forget the fact that they have made A CAREER IN THE KGB!

15 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:37:58 PST by madrussian
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To: madrussian

Putin also made his CAREER IN THE KGB!

16 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:39:39 PST by Sawdring
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To: Webmaster@LWN

Something smells funny, that's for sure! ;-)

17 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:42:53 PST by HetLoo
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To: Sawdring

Yes he did. And he never tried to cover well-known fact. But KGB had a wide range of duties, not only handling of dissidents and spying on Soviet citisens.

What do you prefer: career KGB/FSB professional officer or a 'pinecone' from Communist Party supervising regional KGB and defining its political orientation? Until now, two of such policymakers of Brezhnev era are still in power ane lead two ex-Soviet republics. Surprise, but BOTH are considered a West-oriented Friends of USA/NATO. No one in mass media of Free World brings up their career and KGB record! Why? Because they are fiends? But they were responsible for guiding the KGB activity for years!

Their names - Alief of Azerbajdzhan and Shevardnadze of Georgia. Shevardnadze even started his career of party apparatchik under Stalin...

18 Posted on 11/05/2000 18:58:34 PST by Alexandre
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To: Alexandre

Ex-KGB members are in control of all of the break-away Soviet Republics.

19 Posted on 11/05/2000 19:05:30 PST by Sawdring
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To: Alexandre, madrussian

Gordievsky became obsolete in 1991. Any new intrigues related to the FSB could resurrect his career. This article seems to miss an important point, considering the "facts" it presents. That the FSB could intrigue against Berezovsky is not surprising. For whatever reason, the fact that the FSB would have intrigued against a big backer of Yeltsin is only subtly presented- this is the real story.

Primakov was fired in March 1999. Noone knew who was in charge in Moscow in June 1999. Putin quietly invited Primakov back into the government about six months ago. The intrigues continue. New and interesting facts continue to be dug up by the cooperation between the FSB and others, for example the Swiss. These new facts cover money laundering from Moscow to Alma Ata to New York and the Caribbean. The oligarchs and the klintoon administration don't like these facts, but they have no influence to prevent the investigations.

As for Western attitudes and moral scruples, they are exactly the same as they were in the 19th Century British Empire- i.e. they aren't any better than anyone elses. The fact that Gordievsky even brings them up suggests that his years as a guest of the West have created the plastic Gordievsky.

There is one disappointing thing in this article. Gordievsky knows about Berezovsky's connections to Chechnya and Cherkassia (the "bombers"). He doesn't say anything about these things.

20 Posted on 11/05/2000 19:28:18 PST by Hamiltonian
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To: Webmaster@LWN

Didn't another famous KGB former col. and US defector: Stanislov Lunov publish several books last year detailing the planned surprise Russian invasion or nuking (depending on the book) of the US for Y2K. And how many people bought into that scam. Boy are Americans and Westerners gullible. Every former KGB who wants instant money just needs a plane ticket to the West and a good tin-foil hat story and he's set for life.

21 Posted on 11/05/2000 21:17:11 PST by Ivan Veliki
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To: Ivan Veliki

Haven't seen you in a while :)

22 Posted on 11/05/2000 22:07:53 PST by madrussian
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To: Hamiltonian

Who would be this powerful group backing Putin and fighting corruption and oligarchs? What kept them happy before? There were several serious attempts at weakening Yeltsin, why didn't they push the balance before 1999? What powerful arguments did they have that made Yeltsin resign? Was it that they finally agreed on a set of conditions or that Yeltsin had had enough?

23 Posted on 11/05/2000 22:19:27 PST by madrussian
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To: seeker41

Putin is all this? Good for the Russians.

24 Posted on 11/05/2000 22:38:56 PST by Pericles
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To: madrussian

There is no powerful group. If there was, we would have already seen the oligarch sunset.

25 Posted on 11/06/2000 17:47:07 PST by Hamiltonian
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To: madrussian

Here's something interesting:

".....The fortunes of both tycoons have changed dramatically since Putin�s ascension to power. It is widely rumoured that Boris Berezovsky fell from favour when Putin allegedly heard about him saying that if given enough money he could make any monkey president of Russia. In any case it was essential for Putin to distance Berezovsky from the Kremlin in order to impose his own authority and win more popularity, for Berezovsky�s name had become synonymous with massive corruption on the top echelons of power in Russia....."

26 Posted on 11/06/2000 17:53:58 PST by Hamiltonian
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To: Sawdring

Putin also made his CAREER IN THE KGB!

Lol ...

27 Posted on 11/11/2001 15:51:10 PST by Askel5
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To: Alexandre

So an official in a repressive regime who helped the free world is on the same level as Rick Ames, who sent over 20 Russian spies, who spied for freedom at the risk of their own lives, to the KGB furnaces? Check you logic friend.

28 Posted on 11/11/2001 15:56:24 PST by Mr.Clark
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To: Mr.Clark

My logic is fine. Yours one is much weaker. The guy defected to the West at the time when the regime was already NOT oppresive [was there, saw it], and the many oppressors were out of job. What they do? Go to racket, crime groops. Some found more safe and stable profit. Like yours "freedom fighter". They failed in 1991 - and will do everything to sell their tales and keep relations between Russia and Weat as bad as possible. This confrontation was their bread - and they want to keep it this way.

Rick Ames sold 20 to the KGB - ex-KGB "writer" will gladly send millions to war inferno. This will help him to regain influence, money, power - ether in USA or Russia.

He is worser than Ames - Ames was after money alone. Your hero is after his old office.

29 Posted on 11/15/2001 15:40:58 PST by Alexandre
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To: robbinsj

The destruction of the values of truth and justice in one society mark inexorably its fall. October 1998 was an historical moment. The times preceeding the two world wars (1914, 1933-1939) were different : people were going to be used as cannon fodder but, because they were mislead into believing in some values, so many were parading, full of energy, singing and ready to die for a cause.
As NATO issued the first ultimatum to Yugolavia we have a new unprecedented situation - there aren't any soldiers ready to die for the UCK. October 1998 is a historical moment for two main reasons :
- the antichrist (forces of evil) unveiled completely the mask
- the non-reaction of (almost) everyone in the "rich countries" unveiled completely the fall of western society.
No wonder that when the bombs finally started destroying Yugoslavia, March 24 1999, there was again hardly any reaction.
Under Putin Russia found again justice and truth.

30 Posted on 11/15/2001 15:55:25 PST by Milosevic2
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