Medvedev honors victims of Stalin purges

MAGADAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev laid flowers at a memorial to victims of the Soviet prison camps on Wednesday, a gesture campaigners said may mark a new readiness to confront Russia 's past.

Millions of people died in the Gulag prison camp system set up by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin but the episode receives little attention today and opinion polls show many Russians believe Stalin made their country strong.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 05:28 / #
I was quite suprized and pleased to read of President Medvedev's gestures. It's a shame Putim did not go with him but one step at a time. MAGADAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev laid flowers at a memorial to victims of the Soviet prison camps on Wednesday, a gesture campaigners said may mark a new readiness to confront Russia 's past. Millions of people died in the Gulag prison camp system set up by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin but the episode receives little attention today and opinion polls show many Russians believe Stalin made their country strong. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5038415/medvedev-honors-victims-of- stalin-purges/

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07	Sep 30, 08, 06:30 / #
celinski: I was quite suprized and pleased to read of President Medvedev's gestures. Oookaaaaay....who are you and what have you done with our Cel???

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 09:50 / #
Bratwurst Boy: who are you and what have you done with our Cel??? lol :) it's me, really. All I want and many like me is the truth and sympathy. This is what makes us human. I watched a special on Pres. Regan last night and it was when Regan sat down with Mikhail Gorbachyov and talked and had a personal relationship that they heard each other. Truth, respect and sympathy go a long way.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 09:58 / #
Celinski, u missed a chance to honour Alexander Solzenitzhyn, he died not so long ago. He wrote a book, 'The Gulag Archipelago' I think, about the treacherous conditions that people like him were forced to endure. Medvedev looks like a more palatable option, he has a conscience.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:03 / #
celinski: Regan last night and it was when Regan sat down with Mikhail Gorbachyov and talked and had a personal relationship that they heard each other. Truth, respect and sympathy go a long way. Absolutely! Good chemistry between politicians can shape the world. It happens alot before and will do so again...

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,900 Joined: May 17, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:04 / #
celinski: Medvedev's visit is significant because his predecessor Vladimir Putin , a former KGB spy You mean his advisor.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:08 / #
Bush managed to strike up a decent friendship with Putin. It's mere conjecture at this stage how Obama or McCain will fare, but I fear that McCain and Putin, were McCain to be elected, will dish up some disharmony.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11 Posts: 14,563 Joined: Apr 2, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:13 / #
"Bush a friend of Putin???" Can't believe it...

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:15 / #
I said decent, not strong. There is a difference between a 'friend' and a true friend. U know what I meant, ostensibly being buddies but having hidden agendas. Invitation to his ranch but posion in the food, that kinda thing.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:17 / #
Seanus: but I fear that McCain and Putin, were McCain to be elected, will dish up some disharmony. IMHO Putin is dragging Russian's down and it wouldn't matter who had to deal with his crap. It's about time President Medvedev cleaned house and brought some respect for the Russian's.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:26 / #
Fine idea but it ain't gonna happen. Have u watched any Russian debates Celinski? Medvedev looks afraid of Putin when there is some disagreement. His KGB background and training in martial arts make him a feared man, not to mention the vast power he yields.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:32 / #
Seanus: Medvedev looks afraid of Putin when there is some disagreement. His KGB background and training in martial arts make him a feared man, not to mention the vast power he yields. Ya and he knows he could vanish just like all the rest. Seems Putin keeps the blood off his hands and has one of his self made KGB staff do his dirty work. I must admit Putin set himself up just as Stalin did. He had the ability to do positive for Russia, why he went down the path he did shows a clever yet screwed up person. Who knows maybe the nice fairy will drop some magic dust on him.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:42 / #
Yeah, sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, and he showed that. He knows how to enforce the rules, sth which is needed to bring people under toe and heel. It'd be an interesting dissertation/thesis for sb to look at the separation of powers between Putin and Medvedev and what actually happens. There'd be much more substantive overlap than people think. I wonder if any powers of Medveded have been diluted somewhat

CrowThreads: 365 Posts: 7,192 Joined: Feb 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:45 / #
i told you Poles and Russians could do bussines. It becoming possible

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:47 / #
Of course they can do business. At the intergovernmental level tho, I can't see Mr Lech Kaczyński and Mr Vladimir Putin seeing eye-to-eye on many issues.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:48 / #
Seanus: which is needed to bring people under toe and heel. Seems to me it's not the people that need to be brought under toe and heal, but the powers that use them. Seanus: I wonder if any powers of Medveded have been diluted somewhat Up until this lastest artical I never hear from him. I feel he's just a person that Putin could use to stay in control.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 10:53 / #
I mean in a country like Russia, sometimes u need a heavy hand to maintain discipline and order. Some parts of Russia are analogous to a police state. Ask most Russians, they will likely agree with me. Yeah, checks and balances on power are classic constitutional law and theory but reality tells us otherwise. Not many people can bring Putin under toe and heel.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 12:22 / #
Seanus: Some parts of Russia are analogous to a police state Because they know of no other way. My Russian friends in the USA say they could never live that way again.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 30, 08, 12:26 / #
youtube.com/watch?v=xVZaEUK7Jys, a song to capture that sentiment. One of my faves!!

CrowThreads: 365 Posts: 7,192 Joined: Feb 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 14:39 / #
celinski: My Russian friends in the USA say they could never live that way again. ok, Russia is Russia, we know Russia but, what`s the USA way... muahah muahah u ahahah ahaha hah mauhah ahah hah haha hahah

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Sep 30, 08, 15:12 / #
Crow: muahah muahah u ahahah ahaha hah mauhah ahah hah haha hahah say what? I just can't get used to seeing you yelling all the time.

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,900 Joined: May 17, 07	Sep 30, 08, 15:22 / #
Crow: but, what`s the USA USA has also Slavs.Don't forget it.10 million Poles.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Oct 1, 08, 07:33 / #
Seanus: checks and balances on power A Ridiculous Case of Mismanagement Comment by Georgy Bovt Special to Russia Profile Print this An "Accidental" Murder of a Key Opposition Figure Only Highlights Governing Incompetence At the end of August, Magomed Yevloyev, the most vocal oppositionist of the government in the volatile Russian region of Ingushetia, was shot dead whilst in police custody – inside a police car. This act, a severe yet botched-up case of political coercion, only serves to highlight the inadequate and undisciplined methods taken in administrating this troubled part of the country. As soon as Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, some political analysts were immediately reminded of the case of Ingushetia. Perhaps the main reason for this is that Ingushetia still has an unsolved territorial conflict with North Ossetia over the Prigorodny District. This aroused misgivings that the “strengthening” of Ossetia might provoke the oppositional forces in Ingushetia to become more active. This is true, considering the recent, disturbing news coming from Ingushetia: people being kidnapped, human rights widely, even “massively” violated by law-enforcement authorities, the militant Wahhabite underground becoming more and more active. http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a12210 54323

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Oct 1, 08, 08:11 / #
at the same time they: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7645776.stm

SashaThreads: 2 Posts: 1,558 Joined: Apr 19, 08	Oct 1, 08, 12:19 / #
loco polaco: at the same time they: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7645776.stm I guess this should additionally surprise Carol. Carol I wonder how long time ago did you start to read Russian news? I thought they had laid flowers at such memorials for many times.

celinskiThreads: 83 Posts: 2,800 Joined: Nov 14, 07	Oct 1, 08, 15:40 / #
Sasha: I thought they had laid flowers at such memorials for many times. Has Putin been there with flowers as he brags about the power of Stalin?

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,900 Joined: May 17, 07	Oct 1, 08, 17:21 / #
celinski: Has Putin been there with flowers Can you imagine a martial arts fighter with flowers?

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Oct 1, 08, 22:32 / #
celinski: Medvedev honors victims of Stalin purges I heard a Russian joke recently: Putin and Medvedev at a table in a restaurant. Putin: I'll have a well done stake. Waiter: What about vegetable? Putin: The vegetable will have steak too.

SashaThreads: 2 Posts: 1,558 Joined: Apr 19, 08	Oct 1, 08, 23:53 / #
z_darius: Putin and Medvedev at a table in a restaurant. Putin: I'll have a well done stake. Waiter: What about vegetable? Putin: The vegetable will have steak too. Darius, that's a literal translation from Russian. I'm not sure if this sounds funny in English, does it? In Russian slang we call the one who doesn't have his own opinion "ovosch" (vegetable).

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Oct 2, 08, 00:14 / #
Sasha: In Russian slang we call the one who doesn't have his own opinion "ovosch" (vegetable). In English a vegetable would translate into "brain dead" (among others)