More Kremlin skullduggery

By Aussiegirl

This is an article not to be missed if you have been following the Russian situation. I have written before on the distinct possibility that many, if not most, of the terrorist bombings of apartment houses in Russia which were blamed on Chechen terrorists were actually the work of the Russian FSB. By blaming Chechens, Putin was then able to launch the second Chechen war and impress the voters who resoundingly re-elected him to the presidency. Since then he has used each terrorist incident to further consolidate his control over all levers of power in Russia, quashing his rivals and critics and stifling dissent and media, while doing little to actually protect against further such attacks. Such actions, along with his recent meddling in the Ukrainian elections, has led the United States to call for a complete review of bilateral relations prior to the upcoming Bush-Putin summit in Slovakia this month.


The Guardian has the following chilling report which suggests that U.S. patience with Putin is beginning to wear thin. Last month the U.S. granted a request for political asylum to Alyona Morozov, who has accused Russia's secret services of involvement in a series of apartment block bombings in Moscow and elsewhere in September 1999 which killed 246 people. Ms Morozov, aged 28, whose mother was killed in their Moscow apartment, demanded an international investigation.

By granting her asylum, the United States obviously believes that she has reason to be concerned about her safety.

More from the article:

She suspects that the FSB, successor to the KGB, masterminded the bombings to boost support for Mr Putin, himself a former KGB agent. Mr Putin has denied any official involvement. "It is immoral even to consider such a possibility," he said. But Ms Morozov is not alone in her suspicions.

The independent television station NTV reported on the eve of the March 2000 election that police had detected FSB agents allegedly planting another bomb in apartments in Ryazan two weeks after the attacks. The FSB claimed its agents were conducting a security exercise. In June 2000, NTV's owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, was arrested. The state took control of NTV in 2001 and he was forced into exile. In 2002, a parliamentary commission was created to investigate the bombings.

A year later, two of its four members were dead. Yuri Shchekochikhin, an MP and deputy editor of the investigative journal Novaya Gazeta died of a mysterious allergy. His symptoms were similar to those of the Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yushchenko, who was poisoned last year.

Another commission member, Sergei Yushenkov, was shot down outside his home. His murder has never been solved.
Mikhail Trepashkin, a retired FSB agent turned private investigator who worked for the commission and was also Ms Morozov's attorney, ran into trouble in October 2003.
A week before he was to publish his findings, Mr Trepashkin was accused of espionage.

He was arrested, allegedly tortured, jailed for four years last May, and faced further charges in December.

Mr Trepashkin had reportedly identified a photo-fit picture of a bombing suspect as that of a former FSB agent, Vladimir Romanovich. But Romanovich, it transpired, was also dead, killed in a car crash a few months after the 1999 attacks.

Two Chechens received life sentences last year in connection with the bombings. But despite the scale of the outrages, no one else has been charged. And western governments have not challenged the official account for fear of upsetting Mr Putin.
Russians are also having their doubts. A recent poll found that only one in four trusted the president. A Russian civil liberties group has condemned Mr Trepashkin's treatment.