Kremlin commands Russia's Neo-Nazis?
The Russian news agency, News Facts Analysis, has published an article by the anti-fascist January 19 Committee, which alleges that Vladislav Surkov, deputy head of Russia's presidential administration and the so-called chief ideologue of Putin's regime, coordinates the actions of Russia's ultra-right extremists. In an effort to create a Russian version of "managed nationalism," the January 19 Committee claims, Surkov has established close ties between Putin's power clique within the Kremlin and underground Neo-Nazi organisations. Two extreme right activists were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of the human rights lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, and the anti-fascist journalist, Anastasia Baburova. It turned out that the two arrested, Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, were close to the far-right nationalist organisations, Russky Verdikt ("Russian Verdict") and Russky Obraz ("Russian Character"), which were encouraged and directed from the Kremlin. Both far-right activists and anti-fascists regard Russky Obraz clearly as a Kremlin-led project. Galina Kozhevnikova, deputy director of the SOVA Center, predicted a sharp reaction to the arrests of Tikhonov and Khasis. Indeed, soon after the arrests, Neo-Nazis murdered the anti-fascist activist, Ivan Khutorskoy. Following the murder, the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article tarnishing Khutorskoy's image. The daily's political editor, Dmitry Steshin, was personally acquainted with Khutorskoy's suspected killers. The Kremlin is said to use Komsomolskaya Pravda to spin its talking points and to "dumb down" the masses. Read the original article (in Russian) on News Facts Analysis: http://bit.ly/7wXURH
