Online video by Russian nationalists shows apparent execution of 2 nonwhite men

[Ricardo Reis]

The Associated Press
Published: August 13, 2007

MOSCOW: Russian prosecutors said Monday they were investigating a video posted on several ultranationalist Web sites that appears to show the brutal execution of two men from Central Asia and the Caucasus — and the beheading of one of them.

The video, which was posted on the Web site of a Russian organization calling itself National Socialism/White Power along with other more common Web sites, shows two men kneeling on the ground with their arms and legs tied up.

"We were arrested by Russian national socialists," they say in barely audible voices.

A subtitle on the video identifies the two as "colonists from Tajikistan and Dagestan." A Nazi flag stands in the background while two men in masks and camouflaged clothing give Nazi salutes.

Then, a man with a knife or saw beheads one of the abducted men as heavy metal music plays in the background.


The video then cuts to the other man on his knees with his hands taped behind his back and his mouth taped shut. A hand can be seen firing a gun into the man's head and the body falls forward into what appears to be a freshly dug grave. Heavy metal music continues to play.

There was no way to independently confirm the content of the video, but Russian prosecutors told news agencies that they had opened a criminal investigation into its content.

Later Monday, the video appeared to have been taken down from several of the sites, including the popular blogging Web site LiveJournal and a message on the National Socialism/White Power Web site indicated the site had been overwhelmed with views.

Alexander Verkhovsky, an activist with the SOVA center, which monitors hate crimes in Russia, said after watching the video that he had never heard of the organization.

He also said he had seen many hate-crime videos in his work, but most of those that purported to depict murders appeared to have been staged or fake. This one, he said, appeared very genuine.

"I've never seen anything that blatant," he told The Associated Press.

Russia has seen a marked rise in xenophobia and racism in recent years, with numerous attacks on foreigners — many of them from the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus — as well as members of ethnic minorities within Russia and Jews.



Online video by Russian nationalists shows apparent execution of 2 nonwhite men

[svin]

This is very strange video. And beheading people is not in the tradition of Russian people. Also note the fact that one of the first who informed about this video were Kavkaz center site. All this looks like a provocation.

[Arthur Gordon Pym]

Anything coming from "White powder" sources is very likely to be a provocation. It is questionable whether the video is true, nowadays it is possible to simulate anything, with the help of pixels...

[Menydh]

I wonder if this has to do with the fact that Putin is realizing that Nationalism in Russia is a contester to deal with.

[Sergius]

Originally Posted by svin

Kavkaz center site

They're more prone to beheadings, no?

[Gottslav]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

I wonder if this has to do with the fact that Putin is realizing that Nationalism in Russia is a contester to deal with.

I'm sure, it has. The media campaign of discrediting Nationalism has never been stronger. They obviously tried to win sympathies of 'mild' nationalist crowd by incorporating some nationalist ideas of strong state, etc., but there's an emerging radical nationalist sector, which they have no chance of fooling around.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Gottslav

I'm sure, it has. The media campaign of discrediting Nationalism has never been stronger. They obviously tried to win sympathies of 'mild' nationalist crowd by incorporating some nationalist ideas of strong state, etc., but there's an emerging radical nationalist sector, which they have no chance of fooling around.

What are the main differences between Putin's policies and the Russian Nationalists you favour?

[Gottslav]

Originally Posted by Errigal

What are the main differences between Putin's policies and the Russian Nationalists you favour?

There's a world of differences. Frankly, I don't give a damn about strong state, so called 'sovereign democracy' and territorial integrity of Russian Federation, which he secures as a head of state. All I care is the survival of Russian people and Russian culture, which both are in jeopardy of disappearing off the face of the earth. The current regime doesn't recognize the historical importance of Russian people in laying foundations of this state. They're gladly importing people from Central Asia and China to serve as replacement population. Quite simply, Russians are non-important for the current regime.

[Menydh]

Well said, Gottslav.

Errigal, you are probably unaware of some moves of Putin, which are not clear at a first sight. Or even immediately beyond the first sight.

For one thing, he has been using Nationalist parties to support his coalition in the Duma, but for no other purpose than to attain total power. It is, in fact, very difficult in Russia to know if a new group or leader is what they claim to be, or if they are yet another KGB/FSB stage design. Worse, the truth can be half way between one end and the other.

That's for politics. As far as policies go, what Puting is doing is to use the nation to serve the state. He is not, as far as I know, concerned about such things as the perservation and the well-being of the nation, of the people, but he is just concerned about the strength of the state.

There are times when the circumstances allow to demand the nation to make a sacrifice in favour of a stronger state. Which ultimately goes to serve the nation in the longer term. However, the raison d'être of the state is the nation. A president and his government, a prince and his ministers, the king and the nobles, they are there to serve the people. Not the people to serve them. Or that is how it should be in the theory.

Certainly, Putin's policies are not as devastating for the Russians as the polices of the E.U. members' governments are being for their respective nations. However, this is still a lesser evil and we are yet to see the long term consequences of his policies with regards to the preservation of ethnic Russians.

I am an enthusiast of some of Russia's foreign policies, namely those geared towards a resistance to US/NATO empowerment and Globalisation. However, Russia too is following her own path towards a self-styled globalisation of which the ultimate victims will the Russian people.

In short, I do support any policy geared towards a Russia (or any other European country) free of US influence, but not at the cost of endangering the survival of ethnic Russians. Or, for that matter, at the cost of any of the nations which were any of the former Soviet Republics, be it Belarusia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, or other.

I understand your enthusiasm and I share it to a large extent. But we must keep our minds cold and to be able to produce more in-depth analysis that allow us to see beyond the external layers of the façade.

[Ricardo Reis]

Originally Posted by Ljubomir

They're more prone to beheadings, no?

Fanatic Islamist are, yes.


Injternational amnesty for Russian Federation:
Russian Federation: Violent racism out of control - Amnesty International


I wonder how true all these are.

[Gladstone]

Originally Posted by svin

All this looks like a provocation.

I would certainly lean to it being a provacation as well. It might (or might not) surprise some, but both the old Soviet Union and the United States, in addition to France, were and are ultimately sister 'democratic republics' in their origin, some tending towards an individualistic (Capitalist) slant, others toward a collectivist (Socialist/Marxist) one, places in which the realpolitik of the situation is that the catastrophe known as WWII is (and was) seen as something of a 'holy war'. That's a reality that needs to be taken into account. The last thing anyone seriously wanting to bring about a healthy change in any of those countries, and amongst any of those peoples, would do is to be seen anywhere near swastikas or giving 'nazi salutes', and yet that is what the persons in this video are doing.

If there weren't already persons doing such things, there's little doubt that those we deal with would be paying people to do them, as at least some certainly are being paid for that purpose, a provacation perhaps more likely to take place in Russia than the other places mentioned due to the terrible losses experienced there.

[Gladstone]

Originally Posted by Gottslav

...The current regime doesn't recognize the historical importance of Russian people in laying foundations of this state. They're gladly importing people from Central Asia and China to serve as replacement population. Quite simply, Russians are non-important for the current regime.

Am sorry to hear that is the case in Russia Gottslav. Putin from your description sounds to be fully 'on board' as regarding the ideology of cheap labor/institutionalised division known as Multi-culturalism. Multi-culturalism is of course the official ideology of the British Establishment, which indeed brought that concept into being, so one would think in that regard Putin would be on good terms with the US/UK. He's not though of course, apparently his wresting of Russian economic resources from the 'oligarchs' being seen as as 'not proper' by the US and Britain, and hence their drumbeating against Putin and Russia...

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Gottslav

There's a world of differences. Frankly, I don't give a damn about strong state, so called 'sovereign democracy' and territorial integrity of Russian Federation, which he secures as a head of state. All I care is the survival of Russian people and Russian culture, which both are in jeopardy of disappearing off the face of the earth. The current regime doesn't recognize the historical importance of Russian people in laying foundations of this state. They're gladly importing people from Central Asia and China to serve as replacement population. Quite simply, Russians are non-important for the current regime.

What concerns me most are the very powerful enemies of the Putin government outside Russia. Without overstating my case I would say there are some who would be happy with a Russia as weak and vulnerable to exploitation as modern Africa. With or without Putin in power these outsiders would still be active.

[Cristoforo]

I follow what happens in Russia, my impression is that Putin is quite nationalist-orientated and is building quite a powerful state.

[Gottslav]

Originally Posted by Gladstone

Am sorry to hear that is the case in Russia Gottslav. Putin from your description sounds to be fully 'on board' as regarding the ideology of cheap labor/institutionalised division known as Multi-culturalism. Multi-culturalism is of course the official ideology of the British Establishment, which indeed brought that concept into being, so one would think in that regard Putin would be on good terms with the US/UK. He's not though of course, apparently his wresting of Russian economic resources from the 'oligarchs' being seen as as 'not proper' by the US and Britain, and hence their drumbeating against Putin and Russia...

Putin is on a par with his Western counterparts in a sense that he's totally abandoned idea of ethnic state as a thing of the past. What he's aiming for is creation of a new mixed multi-ethnic nation ala Brazilians and suchlike. It so happened that he's pain in the ass of US/UK imperialist clique, but it doesn't make him any lesser imperialist and pro-multiculti.

[Gottslav]

Originally Posted by Cristoforo

I follow what happens in Russia, my impression is that Putin is quite nationalist-orientated and is building quite a powerful state.

Unfortunately, you couldn't be more wrong in that he's 'natonalist-orientated'. There's not much to it than cheap state patriotism. He might as well be building that powerful state just for the sake of it.