Suomi antoi etsintäkuulutetulle KGB-everstille viisumin
FINROSFORUM // The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.
Russia has a deep tradition of avant-garde art that has tested the boundaries of art and expression. The work of the art group, Voina ("War"), is part of this tradition. As Russia's political and economic system continues to centralize and grow more sclerotic, corrupt, and reliant on natural resources, this group is seeking to shake things up, juxtaposing humor and the absurd next to the grayness of Russian official life. The performance and public guerilla art of this collective is dedicated, in their words, to the "destruction of outdated repressive-patriarchal socio-political symbols and ideologies."
We, the undersigned, urge that Vladimir Putin, Russia's Prime Minister, be placed on a "No Entry List" in the European Union and the United States. Strong sanctions by the West are vital and urgently needed in order to stop the threat coming from Putin's KGB clique. Putin and his cronies are not above international law. His abuse of human rights in Russia is not just a Russian problem. Under Putin's rule, Russia has become a "sovereign democracy" and a "controlled democracy." Putin has turned Russia into a kleptocracy. Putin and his cronies are above the law. Is it purely coincidence that hundreds of the sharpest and well-informed critics of the regime (politicians, journalists, human rights activists) have been murdered over the ten years of Putin's autocracy?
Since Putin became Russia's undisputed leader, he has rapidly eliminated critique and dissent. The Kremlin has tens, or hundreds, of thousands of sheep capable of endlessly bleating "Putin and Medvedev are good, the opposition is bad." For hundreds of years Russia has known no other rules, making every resident mimic the pattern of elite behavior no matter how much money he had or didn't have. Together they stole, and stole big, throughout the history of the country.
