The Huffington Post reports on another killing of a critic of the Russian Regime
Award-winning Russian rights activist Natalya Estemirova has been found dead hours after being kidnapped in Chechnya, reports Human Rights Watch.
Estemirova’s body was found on a roadside near the Chechan border with two bullet wounds to her head, according to the local Interior Ministry spokeswoman.
I do not believe that the Russian Government authourised this, any more than they ordered the deaths of numerous others journalists and human rights activists that have been murdered over the years. (Please see list below from the Huffington Post Article). Nor do I believe that some leader mutters some comment like Henry II referring to the Thomas a Beckett in 1170 saying “What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.” (Although there is nothing like the penitence of that monarch expressed after the deed was carried out after the event either)
Rather, it is a more lowly scale. An assertive government, who believes that they are acting for the good of the nation, and confident that they are right, will pass on that belief to their supporters. Some of these supporters, acting anonymously, will have a slightly less scruples & no political acumen.
In the UK, there is a slightly more moderate party that craves for power. The leadership will never call for violence against those who thay oppose, but may inspire others of a more extremist vain to support violent acts. In the UK (the home of Liberal Democracy), they will remain a minority so long as people remember their heritage and believe in it. The problem with Russia is their history. The current leadership are the children of the survivors. Those who survived by keeping their heads down and agreeing. The children of those who accepted that the state was all-powerful and the individual was a cog in that machine.
Russia will continue to be a miserable place until the leadership can learn from Henry II. They need to learn pennance and the need for openess and for dissent. It will take more courage than unarmed combat with a tigers, but not more than the courage of true men who believe in making their country great.
Alternative details on the BBC.
ManicBeancounter 