(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin told Russia’spolice to guard against extremist threats to the state aimed atprovoking civil conflict similar to the revolt in neighboringUkraine.
“Extremists poison society with the venom of theirbelligerent nationalism, intolerance and aggression,” Putinsaid at a meeting with Interior Ministry officials in Moscow onWednesday. “We are well aware what this can lead to, given theexample of our neighbor Ukraine.”
Putin told police to give “the most serious attention” tohigh-profile crimes with a political context. Russia needed torid itself of the “shame and tragedy” of killings such asFriday’s assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov“right in the center of the capital,” he said.
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country inFebruary last year after violence erupted between police andprotesters opposed to his decision to seek closer ties with aRussian-led trade bloc rather than with the European Union.Russia has accused the U.S. of fomenting a coup in Ukraine,while Putin has repeatedly decried so-called “colorrevolutions” that swept out allies in former Soviet republicsin favor of ones seeking closer ties with Europe and the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization.
Russia is facing “attempts to use so-called colortechnology, from organizing illegal street protests to openpropaganda of hostility and hatred,” Putin said.
‘Civil Conflicts’
Extremists are becoming more sophisticated and “the goalis obvious,” he said. “To provoke civil conflicts, strike atthe constitutional foundations of our state and, in the end, ourcountry’s sovereignty.”
More then 50,000 people turned out in Moscow on Sunday fora rally of mourning after the assassination of Nemtsov, 55, aformer deputy prime minister who was working on a report aboutRussian military involvement in Ukraine. It was the biggestdemonstration since the 2011-2012 protests against perceivedcorruption in parliamentary elections and Putin’s return for athird term as president.
The liberal opposition has accused the Kremlin ofcomplicity in Nemtsov’s death and blamed the authorities forstirring up an atmosphere of hatred against activists, who havebeen labeled traitorous “fifth columnists” on state televisionand at pro-government marches.
Russian investigators have failed to make any arrests orname any suspects in the murder inquiry, which Putin has takenunder his direct supervision, according to Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov.
Murder Motives
The Investigative Committee, the Kremlin’s agency forcriminal probes, is examining several theories, includingwhether Nemtsov was a “sacrificial lamb” to destabilize Russiaor if Islamist extremists angry over his support for Frenchmagazine Charlie Hebdo killed him.
Russia has cracked down on the media and enacted lawsagainst extremist language that are open to wide interpretation.Following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January, thecommunications regulator warned media outlets against publishingcartoons that may provoke religious discord as potentiallybreaching local extremist laws.
In Ukraine, intermittent fighting has tested a cease-fireannounced Feb. 15 between government troops and pro-Russianseparatists in the almost yearlong conflict that has killed morethan 6,000 people, according to the United Nations. The EU andthe U.S. are threatening to intensify sanctions against Russia,where the economy is sliding into recession, if Putin doesn’tuse his sway to help stop the bloodshed.
To contact the reporter on this story:Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.netTony Halpin, Paul Abelsky
“Extremists poison society with the venom of theirbelligerent nationalism, intolerance and aggression,” Putinsaid at a meeting with Interior Ministry officials in Moscow onWednesday. “We are well aware what this can lead to, given theexample of our neighbor Ukraine.”
Putin told police to give “the most serious attention” tohigh-profile crimes with a political context. Russia needed torid itself of the “shame and tragedy” of killings such asFriday’s assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov“right in the center of the capital,” he said.
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country inFebruary last year after violence erupted between police andprotesters opposed to his decision to seek closer ties with aRussian-led trade bloc rather than with the European Union.Russia has accused the U.S. of fomenting a coup in Ukraine,while Putin has repeatedly decried so-called “colorrevolutions” that swept out allies in former Soviet republicsin favor of ones seeking closer ties with Europe and the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization.
Russia is facing “attempts to use so-called colortechnology, from organizing illegal street protests to openpropaganda of hostility and hatred,” Putin said.
‘Civil Conflicts’
Extremists are becoming more sophisticated and “the goalis obvious,” he said. “To provoke civil conflicts, strike atthe constitutional foundations of our state and, in the end, ourcountry’s sovereignty.”
More then 50,000 people turned out in Moscow on Sunday fora rally of mourning after the assassination of Nemtsov, 55, aformer deputy prime minister who was working on a report aboutRussian military involvement in Ukraine. It was the biggestdemonstration since the 2011-2012 protests against perceivedcorruption in parliamentary elections and Putin’s return for athird term as president.
The liberal opposition has accused the Kremlin ofcomplicity in Nemtsov’s death and blamed the authorities forstirring up an atmosphere of hatred against activists, who havebeen labeled traitorous “fifth columnists” on state televisionand at pro-government marches.
Russian investigators have failed to make any arrests orname any suspects in the murder inquiry, which Putin has takenunder his direct supervision, according to Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov.
Murder Motives
The Investigative Committee, the Kremlin’s agency forcriminal probes, is examining several theories, includingwhether Nemtsov was a “sacrificial lamb” to destabilize Russiaor if Islamist extremists angry over his support for Frenchmagazine Charlie Hebdo killed him.
Russia has cracked down on the media and enacted lawsagainst extremist language that are open to wide interpretation.Following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January, thecommunications regulator warned media outlets against publishingcartoons that may provoke religious discord as potentiallybreaching local extremist laws.
In Ukraine, intermittent fighting has tested a cease-fireannounced Feb. 15 between government troops and pro-Russianseparatists in the almost yearlong conflict that has killed morethan 6,000 people, according to the United Nations. The EU andthe U.S. are threatening to intensify sanctions against Russia,where the economy is sliding into recession, if Putin doesn’tuse his sway to help stop the bloodshed.
To contact the reporter on this story:Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.netTony Halpin, Paul Abelsky
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