Russia's Vladimir Putin used organized crime groups to help him take control in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, says this report in the Daily Beast.
And he's been doing the same thing in Ukraine's eastern regions.
The story is reminiscent of reports about the thousands of government-backed thugs called titushki who helped Ukraine's deposed pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych keep his grip on power by attacking demonstrators and journalists.
Earlier reports have detailed the alleged organized crime links of Sergei Aksyonov, Crimea's Russian-backed prime minister, and the astonishing corruption that prevailed under Yanukovych.
Yanukovych's ousting by mass protests in February prompted Russia to send thousands of soldiers without insignia into Crimea, where they oversaw Aksyonov's instalment as prime minister and the holding of a fraud-riddled referendum in March on the region's accession to Russia.
Showing posts with label Aksyonov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aksyonov. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Ukraine Crisis: Human Rights Abuses Escalate in "Lawless" Crimea
Numerous reports of rights abuses have emerged in Crimea since thousands of Russian soldiers invaded the Ukrainian autonomous region.
- Many journalists in Crimea have been detained, threatened and had equipment seized, said the group Reporters Without Borders in a March 7 statement titled "Freedom of Information in Dire State in Crimea."
"We are alarmed by the steady escalation in violations of journalists' rights in Crimea, which is turning into a lawless region controlled by armed bands whose anonymity reinforces their impunity," the group noted in a follow-up statement March 10.
"The frequency of deliberate attacks on journalists and the scale of the censorship suggest a desire to turn the region into a black hole for news and information."
Since those statements, French TV documentary maker David Geoffrion, working for France's Canal+ network, was arrested by pro-Russian gunmen on March 13, Reuters reported.
Activists Detained, Missing
- Andriy Shekun, leader of the EuroMaidan-Crimea pro-democracy group, was detained on March 9 by a pro-Russia defense militia in Simferopol, Crimea, along with a fellow activist, Anatoli Kowalski (see this and this news item). The militia seizing the men was linked with Russian Unity, the party of Crimea's self-proclaimed prime minister Sergei Aksyonov.
Both men are still missing. The police in Simferopol say they are not in their custody, reports Espreso.tv in this March 9 Ukrainian-language item.
- Also on March 9, pro-Russia militia detained two groups of Ukrainian journalists and activists while trying to enter Crimea, this item reports. They were held two nights, beaten and robbed, this Ukrainska Pravda account says.
Marchers Beaten
- Pro-Russia activists attacked and beat people attending a Ukrainian rally to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, the BBC reported March 10. Some of the Russian-speaking attackers wielded whips and threatened BBC journalists at the scene.
- Crimea's new pro-Russia government (read more about how it came to power here) has ordered nearly all Ukrainian TV channels off the air in the territory, replacing some with Russian ones, Ukrainian-language Espreso.tv reported March 9.
Tatar Minority Afraid, Many Flee
- Crimea's Tatar minority, which is strongly opposed to the takeover of the region by Russian troops, say they fear being out at night or walking in city centres, which are patrolled by armed pro-Russia gangs.
"I don't even go to Simferopol any more," said one Tatar man in this Kyiv Post story.
"If they see me, as a Crimean Tatar man, they will attack me."
Tatar leaders have called for a boycott of Sunday's referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia, which Ukraine and the G-7 countries say they won't recognize and call illegal.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin deported the Tatar people from Crimea to the Far East and Siberia after World War II on the pretext that some Tatars collaborated with Nazi Germany. Half of the Tatar population died in the forced deportations.
Many Tatars have since trickled back to their homeland. But now, many fear they could be deported again, this Kyiv Post story says.
The story says 150 to 200 Tatar families have left Crimea to seek refuge in western Ukraine since Russian troops invaded at the end of February.
International Observers Kept Out
- Pro-Russia gunmen have prevented international observers from entering Crimea to investigate the rights situation.
UN envoy Robert Serry was confronted by armed gunmen, threatened and forced to leave Crimea while on a fact-finding mission.
Meanwhile, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were turned back on three consecutive days from entering Crimea.
- Many journalists in Crimea have been detained, threatened and had equipment seized, said the group Reporters Without Borders in a March 7 statement titled "Freedom of Information in Dire State in Crimea."
"We are alarmed by the steady escalation in violations of journalists' rights in Crimea, which is turning into a lawless region controlled by armed bands whose anonymity reinforces their impunity," the group noted in a follow-up statement March 10.
"The frequency of deliberate attacks on journalists and the scale of the censorship suggest a desire to turn the region into a black hole for news and information."
Since those statements, French TV documentary maker David Geoffrion, working for France's Canal+ network, was arrested by pro-Russian gunmen on March 13, Reuters reported.
Activists Detained, Missing
- Andriy Shekun, leader of the EuroMaidan-Crimea pro-democracy group, was detained on March 9 by a pro-Russia defense militia in Simferopol, Crimea, along with a fellow activist, Anatoli Kowalski (see this and this news item). The militia seizing the men was linked with Russian Unity, the party of Crimea's self-proclaimed prime minister Sergei Aksyonov.
Both men are still missing. The police in Simferopol say they are not in their custody, reports Espreso.tv in this March 9 Ukrainian-language item.
- Also on March 9, pro-Russia militia detained two groups of Ukrainian journalists and activists while trying to enter Crimea, this item reports. They were held two nights, beaten and robbed, this Ukrainska Pravda account says.
Marchers Beaten
- Pro-Russia activists attacked and beat people attending a Ukrainian rally to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, the BBC reported March 10. Some of the Russian-speaking attackers wielded whips and threatened BBC journalists at the scene.
- Crimea's new pro-Russia government (read more about how it came to power here) has ordered nearly all Ukrainian TV channels off the air in the territory, replacing some with Russian ones, Ukrainian-language Espreso.tv reported March 9.
Tatar Minority Afraid, Many Flee
- Crimea's Tatar minority, which is strongly opposed to the takeover of the region by Russian troops, say they fear being out at night or walking in city centres, which are patrolled by armed pro-Russia gangs.
"I don't even go to Simferopol any more," said one Tatar man in this Kyiv Post story.
"If they see me, as a Crimean Tatar man, they will attack me."
Tatar leaders have called for a boycott of Sunday's referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia, which Ukraine and the G-7 countries say they won't recognize and call illegal.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin deported the Tatar people from Crimea to the Far East and Siberia after World War II on the pretext that some Tatars collaborated with Nazi Germany. Half of the Tatar population died in the forced deportations.
Many Tatars have since trickled back to their homeland. But now, many fear they could be deported again, this Kyiv Post story says.
The story says 150 to 200 Tatar families have left Crimea to seek refuge in western Ukraine since Russian troops invaded at the end of February.
International Observers Kept Out
- Pro-Russia gunmen have prevented international observers from entering Crimea to investigate the rights situation.
UN envoy Robert Serry was confronted by armed gunmen, threatened and forced to leave Crimea while on a fact-finding mission.
Meanwhile, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were turned back on three consecutive days from entering Crimea.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Ukraine Crisis: "Goblin," Moscow's Man in Crimea, Won Just 4% of Vote in 2010
Moscow's man in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, has long been alleged to have been an organized crime figure with the nickname "Goblin," according to this Toronto Star story.
Aksyonov was installed as Crimea's leader after heavily armed, Russian-speaking soldiers took over the region's parliament building last week.
His Russian Unity party won just 4 percent of the vote in the last regional election in 2010.
Aksyonov suddenly emerged as Crimea's Moscow-backed prime minister after mass protests swept Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych out of office.
After Yanukovych fled to Russia, Crimea's political leaders explicitly refused to call for independence for their region, which has autonomous status within Ukraine.
That changed, however, after gunmen took over the region's parliament.
Aksyonov Installed Behind Closed Doors
Legislators were summoned, and their cellphones were taken as they entered the building, the Star reports. Media was banished.
Then, behind closed doors, the Crimean government was dismissed in a move that Ukrainian authorities say was unconstitutional and Aksyonov was installed as the new Crimean prime minister.
This, despite years of allegations that he was active in a large and violent crime gang called Salem, according to the Star. Many Crimean gangsters went into politics in the 1990s in order to obtain legal immunity that came from being a legislator.
Most Crimeans Opposed Joining Russia: Survey
The new Aksyonov-led government initially announced a referendum in May seeking greater autonomy for Crimea.
On Monday, the referendum date was moved to March 30. But today, Crimean lawmakers announced they had voted to separate from Ukraine and join Russia.
A referendum is now planned March 16 to ratify the decision.
A survey in February found a majority of people in Crimea don't support joining Russia, with only 41 percent supporting the idea.
In Ukraine's 1991 referendum on independence from Russia, 54 percent of Crimeans voted in favour.
Monitoring of Vote Promises to Be Difficult
There was no mention of outside observers to ensure the vote is fair and not manipulated by the thousands of Russian troops who have invaded the region.
The difficulties for international monitors were highlighted yesterday when the United Nations' special envoy to Crimea, Robert Serry, was confronted by 10 to 15 armed gunmen in camouflage after he left Ukrainian naval headquarters in Simferopol, Crimea.
The gunmen insisted that he leave. When he refused, his car was surrounded, and the diplomat was threatened. He sought refuge in a cafe, while the gunmen blocked the door and refused to let anyone leave or enter.
A pro-Russian demonstration started outside, and Serry eventually agreed to quit Crimea.
Russia has coveted Crimea ever since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. The peninsula hosts Russia's Black Sea fleet.
Aksyonov was installed as Crimea's leader after heavily armed, Russian-speaking soldiers took over the region's parliament building last week.
His Russian Unity party won just 4 percent of the vote in the last regional election in 2010.
Aksyonov suddenly emerged as Crimea's Moscow-backed prime minister after mass protests swept Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych out of office.
After Yanukovych fled to Russia, Crimea's political leaders explicitly refused to call for independence for their region, which has autonomous status within Ukraine.
That changed, however, after gunmen took over the region's parliament.
Aksyonov Installed Behind Closed Doors
Legislators were summoned, and their cellphones were taken as they entered the building, the Star reports. Media was banished.
Then, behind closed doors, the Crimean government was dismissed in a move that Ukrainian authorities say was unconstitutional and Aksyonov was installed as the new Crimean prime minister.
This, despite years of allegations that he was active in a large and violent crime gang called Salem, according to the Star. Many Crimean gangsters went into politics in the 1990s in order to obtain legal immunity that came from being a legislator.
Most Crimeans Opposed Joining Russia: Survey
The new Aksyonov-led government initially announced a referendum in May seeking greater autonomy for Crimea.
On Monday, the referendum date was moved to March 30. But today, Crimean lawmakers announced they had voted to separate from Ukraine and join Russia.
A referendum is now planned March 16 to ratify the decision.
A survey in February found a majority of people in Crimea don't support joining Russia, with only 41 percent supporting the idea.
In Ukraine's 1991 referendum on independence from Russia, 54 percent of Crimeans voted in favour.
Monitoring of Vote Promises to Be Difficult
There was no mention of outside observers to ensure the vote is fair and not manipulated by the thousands of Russian troops who have invaded the region.
The difficulties for international monitors were highlighted yesterday when the United Nations' special envoy to Crimea, Robert Serry, was confronted by 10 to 15 armed gunmen in camouflage after he left Ukrainian naval headquarters in Simferopol, Crimea.
The gunmen insisted that he leave. When he refused, his car was surrounded, and the diplomat was threatened. He sought refuge in a cafe, while the gunmen blocked the door and refused to let anyone leave or enter.
A pro-Russian demonstration started outside, and Serry eventually agreed to quit Crimea.
Russia has coveted Crimea ever since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union. The peninsula hosts Russia's Black Sea fleet.
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