Unholy Alliance: Russia's Pro-Western Opposition Openly Joins Forces With The Far-Right
FOREWORD by Tatzhit
“Exposed: Who Wants To Dismantle Russia?” is a REN TV documentary that uses factual evidence (publicly available video, interviews, or in some cases paparazzi tactics) to expose the recent merger between Russia’s pro-Western neoliberals (Mikhail KASIANOV, his “PARNAS” political party, and their backers like KHODORKOVSKY) and the far-right nationalists/Neo-Nazis.
Of course, this movie is intended to influence the Russian Duma elections, on September 18th, hence its publication on the 9th.
And of course, some of the connections it makes are tenuous. For example, the connection it shows between “PARNAS” and “Firstline” skinheads is that a well-known skinhead was present at their “democratic coalition” meeting, hardly a big deal (although the movie later shows that these skinheads are directly connected to the Russian and Ukrainian hardline nationalists, which are in turn directly connected to PARNAS).
That said, just because the authors want Kasianov to lose the election, doesn’t mean their claims are untrue (heck, after watching this movie, any normal person would want to do everything in their power to keep Kasianov out of Duma).
In fact, I find that the vast majority of the claims in this movie are better researched and presented than e.g. the recent BBC documentary about “Putin’s riches”, which I made fun of in one of my articles (although this speaks more so about the utter degradation of BBC journalism, to the level below much younger and smaller foreign companies).
I wholeheartedly suggest you watch this documentary in Russian, if you speak the language; doubly so if you or anyone you know wants to take part in Russian Duma elections.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-LBzQfuQ5o
If you don’t, I can offer you a synopsis and an English voiceover by yours truly (unfortunately, subtitles for such a large, speech-heavy movie are behind my personal capability at the moment).
SYNOPSIS/TIMELINE:
0:00 Intro - Neo-Nazis unite with Neo-Liberals:
Talking to a Cossack organization that glorifies Nazi collaborators and uses Hitler salutes during Orthodox Christian processions, showing a promotional video of another organization - “Russian National Socialists”, showing footage of young men from Moscow training and fighting in the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi battalion. These men are now united by one more thing - alliance with Mikhail Kasianov and his “PARNAS” political party.
2:12 This Alliance is Nothing Unusual:
Explains how an alliance between hardline nationalists/neo-nazis, and neoliberals, is nothing new during the so-called “color revolutions. Common desire to overthrow the government and seize power always unites radicals - especially since they always have the same masters (neoliberals also marched hand in hand with jihadists during the start of insurrections in Tajikistan, Chechnya, Bosnia, Libya, Syria - for all the same reasons - ed.).
Most recent example is Ukraine, where “democratic opposition” worked hand in hand with the far-right, and even some Tatar and Chechen islamic extremists
https://theintercept.com/2015/02/26/midst-war-ukraine-becomes-gateway-europe-jihad/
4:10 Vyacheslav Malt’sev and “Revolution November 5th”:
Discusses the biography of this nationalist leader, how he rose to power, his connections to the “Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists” (who are e.g. famous for murdering Russian soldiers and civilians during the war in Chechnya), and his calls (which he pretends are merely “predictions”) for a violent overthrow of Russian government.
11:40 Investigation into connections between “PARNAS” and Malt’sev:
Footage and transcript of one of first Kasyanov/Maltsev secret meetings. Mal’tsev insists on a revolution, Kasyanov suggests first getting into Duma and using that position as leverage. Mal’tsev then suggests trying to impeach the president as soon as possible.
That was one of their first meetings. By now, Maltsev is openly a part of PARNAS - one of the top names in its list of candidates (i.e. people who would become MPs if the party gets into Duma - ed.)
13:25 Discussing election fraud in Crimea using Ukrainian nationalist connections
At a secret meeting, Mal’tsev is filmed informing Kasyanov that his Ukrainian nationalist friends can pressure up to 200,000 Crimean Tatars into voting for PARNAS - though the fugitive strongman Dzhemilev (and his radical islamist organization “Hizb Ut Tahrir” -ed.).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizb_ut-Tahrir
Mal’tsev also says that there is potential for taking over entire electoral commissions, by using organized groups of nationalists and islamists, and “doing anything they want” in those districts during elections.
Kasianov expresses surprise and pleasure, saying that he assumed [radical] Tatars refused to obtain Russian passports, but if they have them and their votes can be used, that’s very good. Despite the fact that Kasianov is sharply against Crimean reunification, he apparently has no problem using it for the benefit of PARNAS.
14:55 Another PARNAS leader, Zubov, claims in a speech and in an interview that Crimea (as well as Abkhazia, Transnistria, Ossetia etc.) should be controlled by UN troops. In another interview, he says that it would’ve been better for Russia if Hitler beat Stalin (because Hitler would be beaten eventually, but the English would then make Russia democratic). He also states that Hitler was an “angel in Russian history”, compared to Stalin.
16:20 A politologist and journalist, Kirill Strel’nikov, opines that neoliberals are so fond of the idea of a “revolution” because they realize violence is the only remaining way for them to seize power (e.g. the primaries for the “united democratic opposition” saw about 60,000 voters - this is the neoliberal support base… out of a country of 143.000.000 people - ed.).
17:20 New PARNAS activists - muscular streetfighters promoting the alliance of far-right with pro-Western liberals. One of their leaders - Dmitry Demushkin, known for being part of skinhead gangs earlier and prosecuted for multiple felonies. Now he has quieted down a bit, but still teaches his young followers knife fighting. Kasyanov objected to him working with PARNAS during elections, but Mal’tsev insisted on having Demushkin as his right-hand man, and won.
18:55 Footage of Mal’tsev-Demushkin meeting. They are discussing the advantages that can come from an alliance with the liberals - money, support of Western and pro-Western mass media, etc. At the same time, they discuss how do they explain this sudden ideological about-face to their followers, because people like Kasyanov and Zubov aren’t exactly pictures of racial or ideological purity - and vice-versa, old-time PARNAS followers would be appalled at marching in lockstep with radical nationalists.
They agree that the alliance can be explained away as a situational thing, uniting all anti-Putin forces, etc.They also discuss plans to start riots on November 4th, 2017, and march on Kremlin the next day.
Next they discuss Khodorkovsky’s money. Apparently, Kasyanov told Mal’tsev that Khodorkovsky is delusional, and thinks that, simply because he has money, he can “buy the throne” and become the President.
23:45 (hidden voice recorder?) Discussion between Mal’tsev and the PARNAS unofficial “chief financial officer”, Merzlikin. Malt’sev says that he needs room&board&booze for a dozen or so of his “retainers” when he travels to rallies, but also for roughly 300 followers. Plus loudspeakers, etc.
Mal’tsev says those three hundred activists are the “assault group”, and they have to always be there, ready to act. Merzlikin says that he’ll write everything down for Mal’tsev, and Mal’tsev says that any written evidence could be problematic if they have a run-in with law enforcement, and he’ll just memorize.
They also discuss the need for somebody like Kasyanov or Zubov to publicly come out as one of the leaders of the “Russian March”, to show this neoliberal-nationalist alliance.
26:40 Ravings of Mal’tsev about making lists of the people to be dealt with after revolution, not being afraid of police, threatening a leader of a bike club who spoke against him, etc. Also discusses the fact that Mal’tsev was twice prosecuted for shooting people with firearms firing “traumatic ammo” (rubber bullets), but both cases fell apart.
Attempts to interview Mal’tsev, largely fruitless due to a large number of aggressive bodyguards.
29:25 A piece on modern “Cossack nationalists”, who admire those Tsarist officers who fled to Europe during the Bolshevik revolution, then joined Hitler during invasion of USSR (worth noting that they only managed to form one full Cossack SS division - even though by 1942 Hitler controlled most of historically Cossack lands, whereas enough Cossacks joined the Red Army to form five divisions). Footage from Stanitsa Yelanskaya, where a museum to dedicated to these men is located, and where “Cossack nationalists” assemble - bearing swastikas and Nazi eagles.
Discussion of how Nazi war criminals got their just desserts (throughout the war, Cossack-SS were mostly engaged in punitive operations against Resistance fighters in Yugoslavia, and therefore mostly “fought” civilians -ed.), when the British handed the surrendered SS-Cossacks to the Soviets in a town of Lienz.
37:55 Introduction to Vladimir Melehov - the man behind the museum of SS-Cossacks, and a monument to their leader Krasnov, in Stanitsa Yelanskaya. Discusses his campaign to build a church in Lienz, commemorating the “tragedy” of SS-Cossacks being handed over to the Soviets (the church was built using his money and that of several European organizations). Ukrainian nationalists attend his conferences - including one of that was recently convicted of murdering Russian soldiers when fighting for islamists in Chechnya. One of Melehov’s close followers is shown fighting in the Maidan coup, filming an address to the leader of the “Right Sector” Dmitrii Yarosh.
40:35 Discussing connections between Vladimir Melehov and Kasyanov, Zubov, PARNAS. A recording of their conversation has Melehov promising to get together his followers for a rally, and Kasyanov and Zubov saying they will come directly to Yelanskaya.
REN-TV journalists interview Vladimir Melekhov, but he says that the monument he built is simply dedicated to “Cossack leadership in general” (now that a plaque commemorating Wehrmacht officer Krasnov has been taken down from it due to court order - ed.), and that he’s simply supporting PARNAS as a private citizen.
43:30 Discusses the involvement of Melehov in ecological protests against nickel mining near Hoper river, and how a protest that was initially peaceful and focused on safeguarding ecology from a private company was quickly radicalized and transformed into a political, anti-government protest by various “activists”, with Melehov as one of the leaders.
A different kind of Cossack, Evgenii Galustov - one of the Cossacks that worked with law enforcement against the riots - says that the technology used there was exactly the same as the recipe used during Maidan.
46:35 Another recorded Melehov-Kasyanov conversation. Melehov promised to form “groups” that could “monitor elections” and do “other things” in a number of major cities. Melehov asks if PARNAS (and their “friends” in pro-Western media) will support his activists if they get arrested during their election-day activities. Kasyanov says that he has to be sure that these are not random people, but people PARNAS trusts and agrees with. If so - then yes, they will be supported fully.
48:40 History piece - Melehov built a monument to the SS officer Krasnov on the site that used to be Soviet trenches in 1942, in the area where 40 thousand people fought and died to stop the Nazis.
49:50 Connection between neoliberals and skinheads, modern Neo-Nazis.
Connection is tenuous (see FOREWORD). However, they are closely connected to Mal’tsev and Demushkin, who are now part of PARNAS.
Also mentions a sex tape of Kasyanov and his aide Pelevina (Tape not presented in full, but was a big deal about half a year ago, due to the following: 1. Kasyanov is supposedly “happily married” 2. On tape, he promises to make his paramour an MP 3. They speak very unkindly of their closest political allies Navalny (“fucking Nazi”) and Yashin (“piece of crap”) - the latter is also blamed for not giving up his mandate for $30 thousand, like agreed 4. Discussed Kasyanov’s stealing in the 90s
http://perebezhchik.ru/slukhi/4161.html )
55:15 Oleg Matveichev, an economics professor, and a famous blogger, also discusses the current neo-liberal and neo-nazi alliance.
Discussing the history of Ukrainian “Maidan” revolution, how gullible people were duped into believing they can make the country better, how the protest gradually moved from a peaceful and optimistic event to nationalist fighters attacking police, to murders, to mass murders by unknown snipers.
Viktoriya Shilova, former top aide to key Ukrainian politician Oleg Lyashko, says that revolution was hijacked and they were used as a tool for a different gang of thieves to seize power
1:03:50 Alexander Rar, German journalist, says that it’s a very simple, very believable, and very wrong idea that you can simply overthrow the constitutional government and become prosperous
1:04:30 Ukrainian, “Maidan” scenario is the wet dream both of pro-Western neoliberals and the far-right in Russia. They are doing their best to prepare for it and make it happen.
Real liberals are afraid of this radicalization, and these unsavory bedfellows. One of the top PARNAS leaders, Ilya Yashin, is shown speaking publicly against Maltsev, the “crazy anti-Semite and conspiracy theorist”. Kasyanov cuts him off, but Yashin insists.
Another long-time PARNAS leader, Vladimir Molokin (head of PARNAS for Bashkortostan region), declares that he is leaving the party because of these developments.
1:07:40 Mal’tsev says, on national TV, that their alliance has one goal - impeach Putin. Mark Galperin, a long-time liberal political activist, and a classic member of “intelligentsia”, is now saying that they can only come to power through violence, and they need to start attacking law enforcement officers.
“None of these people are offering a real economic or political solution - the only thing they care about it seizing power by force.”
VIDEO WITH VOICEOVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnDxSyKjvIo