A film about female circumcision, its practice and silence in the Caucasus

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

The documentary film "This is happening with us" about female genital mutilation in the North Caucasus has received the right to rent, the premiere of the film is scheduled in Moscow. It is not customary to discuss the practice of female circumcision in the Caucasus, but while working on the film, the Muftiate of Dagestan issued a fatwa about the inadmissibility of such operations, the co-authors of the film said.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote , the problem of female circumcision in the North Caucasus is most acute in Dagestan, where, according to the "Legal Initiative", at least 1,240 girls annually become victims of such operations. Criminal punishment will not eradicate the problem until a general legal background is formed that will allow women to feel safe, the authors of the FGM project for Afisha Daily said.

Female genital mutilation is a mutilating practice of damaging female genital organs that violates human rights to health, safety and bodily inviolability, the Caucasian Knot statement "Female circumcision in the Caucasus" says .

<strong>Theatrical premiere of the film is planned in Moscow</strong>

On December 13, the documentary film center in Moscow will show the film "This is happening with us" about female genital mutilation in the North Caucasus. The authors of the film are journalists Svetlana Anokhina and Vladimir Sevrinovsky. This will be the first screening of the film in the cinema, creative producer, scriptwriter and co-author of the film editing Oksana Serbinova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent .

"I can't say that we initially aimed at this. We decided to declare several films produced on the [Russian video project] ROMB for festivals. We were taken to Stalker, which does not take films to the festival without a distribution certificate. Now we have the opportunity to show films on the big screen," said Serbinova.

The film made it to several festivals, she said. "In addition to Stalker, Artdokfest took us in the Artdoxet section. In December, due to the pandemic, they will not be held, but postponed to April," Serbinova said.

The film was published on YouTube at the end of September 2020, said Oksana Serbinova. "And they still watch it. Our SMM manager records constant activity on the views of this film. On YouTube, the film immediately gained a tangible number of views - 100 thousand during the first weeks. the content is hard. And that leaves only "organic" views. That is, views without the help of advertising, purely like a movie "seeded" on YouTube," she said.

As of 1015 hrs Moscow time on December 11, the video "This is happening here, Female circumcision in the Caucasus," posted on the YouTube channel ROMB, with 33,000 subscribers, gained 167,425 views. The publication has collected 3,500 likes.

According to the producer, viewers reacted differently because the film "hits the heart." 

"The films contain living testimonies, cases of women who suffered from this procedure. It is quite difficult to deny something when a specific person talks about it. This was my producer position. Cases were needed, not just expert assessments, the history of the issue. We found women, were able to establish proper communication with the heroines to carry out. This is a great merit of the authors of the film, Sevrinovsky and Anokhina," said Serbinova.

Among YouTube viewers, there were also those who denied this problem.

"There were those who wrote: we don’t have this. Controversy ensued. There was also an aggressive, boorish reaction. Some part of the audience wondered why talk in detail with physiological details (which part of the organ was cut off, etc.). My producer position is everything. Because the phrase 'crippling operation' is not clear until they explain what was cut off and how. These are not intimate details, but a description of the crime," Serbinova said.

There were also viewers from the Caucasus who thanked for the film, she stressed. "They condemned this practice and sympathized, empathized with the heroines caught in these stories," said the producer.

In her opinion, Sevrinovsky and Anokhina did an important job. 

"Because the topic of female circumcision was closed and stigmatized in the Caucasus, we were faced with the fact that many were not aware precisely because it was not customary to talk about it.  And this is at the end of this film, "Serbinova said.

<strong>The co-authors of the film addressed it to viewers from the Caucasus</strong>

According to the co-author of the film, Vladimir Sevrinovsky, while working on the film, he was most impressed by the openness with which the victims of female circumcision were ready to talk about their misfortune. 

"A good friend of mine underwent a mutilation operation, and I was amazed how she returned to this topic over and over again in ordinary conversations. I understood: if another director removes it, it will be just another horror story about the Caucasus. But I wanted more," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

It is impossible to obtain accurate statistics on the number of female circumcisions, Sevrinovsky said. 

"But I got the impression that the number of surgeries is decreasing, and the most crippling forms are giving way to less destructive to health. I hope that I was not mistaken in this,” he said.

Vladimir Sevrinovsky is a journalist, photographer and traveler. In September 2021, the publishing house "Boslen" published his book "Living Dagestan" about the history and culture of the republic and about its inhabitants. The publishers recommended using Living Dagestan as a guide. The book does not include all the collected material, therefore, its revised reprint is possible, Vladimir Sevrinovsky told the "Caucasian Knot" earlier.

Sevrinovsky does not view this film as an export product. "He was filming with Caucasians and for Caucasians in order to contribute to solving this problem. At that time I did not even think about success at festivals," he stressed.

The co-author of the film admitted that he does not like most of the "problem" films about the Caucasus precisely because of their "export, flat colonial outlook." 

"I hope Sveta [Anokhina] and I managed to avoid this trap. As for changing the position of women, it is impossible to answer this question in detail without a spoiler, so I will refrain. Look, and you will see for yourself. I will not delude ourselves that our contribution is great. But even a small step in the right direction is also important," Sevrinovsky said.

Another co-author of the film, Dagestani journalist Svetlana Anokhina, said that, according to the estimates of the "Legal Initiative,"  1,200 girls aged 5 to 12 years old are maimed in the North Caucasus.

"These data are all over the North Caucasus, which are given in the report of 2016. Along with the regions of Dagestan, this practice is observed among the Batalkhadzhins," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Members of the Batal-hajji brotherhood, which has great influence in modern Ingushetia, are called Batalkhadzhins. Batal-khadzhi Belkhoroev is an Ingush sheikh, the founder of one of the Qadiri branches (virds), a follower of sheikh Kunta-khadzhi, according to the "Caucasian Knot" statement.

At the state level, there is no desire to solve the problem of female genital mutilation, Anokhina believes. 

"We see how the state reacts about the trial of the doctor at the Aibolit clinic in Ingushetia. The doctor has not been removed from medical practice. Doctors deliberately performed these ritual wild actions," said Anokhina.

A resident of Chechnya has achieved the initiation of a criminal case in Ingushetia on the deliberate infliction of minor harm to the health of her nine-year-old daughter. The woman claims that her ex-husband, without her knowledge, took the girl to the Magas clinic, where she was circumcised. 

The Aibolit clinic, whose doctor was accused of performing a mutilation operation on a nine-year-old girl, denies having performed female circumcision. At the same time, experts recognized the ritual nature of the surgical intervention.

According to Anokhina, this was the first and so far the only statement from her mother, who said that the operation was performed forcibly. 

"I talked with my mother and daughter. My daughter fought, resisted, but despite this, the doctors performed an operation," she explained.

Certain communities of Ingushetia widely practice the prohibited practice of female circumcision, and the authorities do not take this problem seriously enough, the co-authors of the report "Practices of mutilation in the republics of the North Caucasus: coping strategies," the president of the Caucasus Center for Research on Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems said in 2018 -- Yulia Antonova, "Saida Sirazhudinova and senior lawyer of the" Legal Initiative "project.

<strong>FGM is practiced in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya</strong>

Saida Sirazhudinova, President of the Center for Research on Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems "Caucasus. Peace. Development,"  said that she first heard about female circumcision in childhood.

But it didn't work. Then I turned to journalists and human rights activists for support. It was over 10 years ago. But no one reacted to the problem at that time," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Sirazhudinova, many in Dagestan have heard of such procedures, but most are "indifferent to this, unless they are personally affected. After this incident, I conducted quantitative research in several republics and realized that there were rumors about these operations in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. 

But in other republics, such as Kabardino-Balkaria, people do not have information about this. In a quantitative study, people named the districts and villages where such operations were carried out, there were already trips to try to find out the geography of the spread of the practice of such operations. As a result, our report came out," she said.

In general, in her opinion, the geography of the spread of this practice is "difficult to understand." Saida Sirazhudinova found it difficult to name an exact list of areas where this is practiced.

"There were also non-practicing areas in our minds. However, later traces of this practice were found in certain villages and these non-practicing areas. But there are those who practiced before and abandoned it completely. And there are those who practice partially now. We have encountered this phenomenon in some villages of the Tsuntinsky, Tlyaratinsky, Shamilsky districts [Dagestan]. Moreover, the latter region was considered non-practicing, but, as it turned out, this phenomenon still remains there. In Untsukulsky district, in principle, this practice was abandoned. districts, in particular, in Tabasaran," said Sirazhudinova.

There are no statistics as such on female circumcision, empirically identified cases are known, she emphasized. 

"No one keeps statistics. Neither doctors, nor any authorities officially record the cases. Estimates are displayed based on how the population in a particular area treats this phenomenon," Sirazhudinova explained.

She believes that the problem is not only in the clinics that provide such services. 

"In Dagestan, clinics are not particularly needed, they don’t go there. They turn to individual 'specialists' who, as a rule, take [patients] at home and perform operations. For example, the doctor who circumcised a girl in Ingushetia is connected with this community, and the story began with the fact that the girl's mother, who did not belong to this community and was already divorced from the girl's father, spoke out against circumcision daughters. People who live in this community are unlikely to go against their society and family," said Saida Sirazhudinova.

There is no direct indication of the inadmissibility of this operation in the Criminal Code of Russia, she added. 

"And those who were involved in the commission of a mutilating operation were involved in“ causing slight harm to health." In Ingushetia, just under this article, a case was instituted, Sirazhudinova believes.

One of the achievements, in her opinion, can be considered the adoption of a fatwa by the DUM of Dagestan on the inadmissibility of mutilation. 

"The fatwa is perceived as a rejection of this practice. And from this point of view, it is useful. But, on the other hand, the fatwa provides certain loopholes for the practice of this practice. This is largely his merit," she said.

In general, changes in attitudes towards this practice cannot be noticed because of a single film or report, says Saida Sirazhudinova. 

"Probably, there was some change in the consciousness of people. But this still needs to be investigated. But, judging by the observations, there is a response. People began to discuss the problem on social networks. In fact, they began to talk about the dangers of this phenomenon. This is evident from the fact that, for example, a woman who experienced such an operation in childhood declares that she was harmed. Speaking about only one film or one report, it is impossible to say that this is a solution to the problem. This is one of the actions, one of the small steps in the chain, which, perhaps, will lead to a solution to the problem," she said.

In her opinion, public opinion can become a mechanism of protection against unacceptable practices. 

"Public opinion can be both a mechanism for encouraging the commission of some actions, and a mechanism of protection. All harmful practices that exist in our region existed in spite of even the policy that interfered with family life, only because they were oriented on public opinion. This also applies to "honor killings", and these operations are often carried out by people who are dependent on local public opinion. They reason like this: if I do not do this, what will others say? There is pressure from public opinion, but it can and contribute to the abandonment of vicious practices," summed up Sirazhudinova.

<strong>The historian refused to call female circumcision a widespread practice in Ingushetia</strong>

"Unleashing" the topic of female circumcision does not present the Caucasus in the best light, says Makka Albogachieva, candidate of historical sciences and senior researcher at the Kunstkamera.

"This is not a mass phenomenon to highlight it so much. This phenomenon took place earlier in some local communities of Dagestan. Now it is not widespread in the Caucasus. At least my colleagues who study Dagestan have not observed it. Yes, they said, in the past But at the present stage, this custom is not valid, and, perhaps, there are only isolated cases. The residents of these areas themselves do not confirm the information about the prevalence of the phenomenon. There are no statistics, and even if it were a mass phenomenon, it would never have been possible to hide and not get real responses," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Albogachieva, the attribution of this practice to the Batalhadzhins is groundless. 

"There was talk that this operation was practiced among the Batalhadzhins. But I have been in close contact with them for many years, there have been several studies about this brotherhood of Batal-Khadzhi Belkhoroev, and now they do not practice anything like this," she said.

The story with the girl, according to the scientist, has a different basis and is not related to circumcision. 

"Then, when they began to understand, a completely different side of this case became clear, which is not related to circumcision. But the relatives themselves would not want to talk about it," Albogachieva said.

In the Caucasus department of the Kunstkamera, they raised this topic and came to the conclusion that in some circles it was inflated for profit and did not represent the Caucasus in the best light, she added.

"Those who purportedly research this topic receive grants for this, and it's all basically the same people. All this is done for the sake of dividends. Such researchers are invited to Europe. They speak, talk about such passions. For some reason it is not considered a problem in our country that in large numbers somewhere in the Russian provinces people are drunk and beat their wives to death. knows the Caucasian society, which is being labeled and at the same time keeping silent about the much worse that is happening in the so-called civilized societies. This is not a phenomenon that should cause a resonance," summed up Albogachieva.

Video is translatable

Negotiations between Putin and Biden: what did the leaders of the superpowers agree on?

 

by Oleg Tsarev

10.12.2021 - 2:00

So, perhaps, the most anticipated meeting of the leaders of the two modern superpowers has come to an end  . And although the bulk of the communication between Putin and Biden remained outside the scope of the general public's attention, I think that even from the little that we know, certain conclusions can be drawn.

Immediately: both supporters of "peace right in the morning" and supporters of an immediate war were hardly satisfied with the results of the talks between the presidents. It is not difficult to understand them: the situation of "neither peace, nor war", in which Ukraine and Donbass will be for a long time, is not very comfortable for anyone.

What is important for me personally: the suspension of the situation does not suit many Russian and Russian-speaking people, who now in Ukraine feel like second-class people. Now let's take a closer look at the situation. I'll make a reservation: not as easy as it might seem at first. 

It is not for nothing that Vladimir Putin called the meeting with Joseph Biden "protocol". Many were even surprised by this formulation. Well, let's see what issues were raised and how the parties approached their solution.

The United States, a good two weeks before the presented meeting at every conceivable site, accused Russia of "preparing an invasion of Ukraine . " To "stop the invasion", the United States prepared a package of sanctions ahead of time .

I will not discuss personal sanctions. Himself under sanctions. I can only note the extreme ineffectiveness of personal sanctions, because this is clearly not a reason for the whole state to change its position.

The United States has pledged "to close the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine."

These sanctions will work by definition: if we hypothetically imagine that Russia will actually take control of Ukraine, then the Nord Stream, as well as the South Stream, will be useless for Russia.

The Ukrainian gas transportation system is enough. Moreover, I am sure that the Nord Stream issue has already been resolved in advance. And it was resolved without the participation of Russia. This decision lies in the area of ​​relations between Germany and the United States.

Russia was threatened with disconnection from the SWIFT interbank transfer system . For the seventh year, Russia is threatened with disconnection from SWIFT. How long to? I want to say that SWIFT is just a program. Moreover, a fairly simple program that makes sure that when transferring money, the amount of money that was debited from one bank is equal to the amount that came to the account of another bank.

China, by the way, has its own SWIFT system. Russia also has such a system. Recently, all banks of Belarus switched to it. Difficulties in the transition to it for all Russian banks are also unlikely to arise. Disconnecting Russia from SWIFT does not threaten Russia with ANYTHING, while such a step by the "Western partners" will launch the process of abandoning the dollar and may accelerate the crisis in the United States. Such a dubious sanction.

Also, as sanctions, the United States announced restrictions on the purchase of Russian debt obligations in the secondary securities market. But that would be really good to do. Today, the Russian Central Bank is placing its funds in the United States at ridiculous interest rates.

At the same time, the Central Bank itself issues its own debt obligations, on which it pays interest to international speculators many times higher than it receives for placing funds in all sorts of "traders". The meaning of this operation, from the point of view of logic, cannot be explained. The current situation has long been outraged by Russian academic economists and politicians. The central bank is proudly silent in response. I cannot consider this threat a sanction.

What do we get in the bottom line? The United States is threatening Russia with openly virtual sanctions and asking not to attack Ukraine, although Russia did not intend to do so. There can be only one "profit" - in the US, negotiations may be designed to stop the fall in Biden's rating. In America, it is presented like this: the formidable Biden, threatening Putin with monstrous sanctions, stops the "Russian armada" and saves a small democratic Ukraine. Biden is the winner.

Thank God that this time it worked out like that. A virtual victory. Agree, it's good when you can exchange something frankly virtual for something we really need.

This time, in my opinion, the States, at least so far, have not succeeded. Although, perhaps, a virtual victory is not the worst option yet. Usually, when the rating of the next president in the United States falls, he starts a war: guns shoot, bombs fall, blood is shed. The rating is growing ...

What could Russia have demanded for participating in this performance? Do not know. Ukraine's implementation of the Minsk Agreements? According to information from the United States, such an assumption most likely has a right to exist. Although, most likely, an agreement on this was reached during the previous face-to-face meeting of Putin and Biden.

This assumption is indirectly confirmed by statements made by Kozak and a number of US officials after that meeting. So, apparently, the process of "forcing Ukraine to peace" will now be taken over by the officials of the US Embassy in Ukraine and, quite possibly, it will significantly accelerate.

It must be said here that the formal implementation of the Minsk Agreements by Ukraine will not insure the residents of Donbass (or rather the opposite) from reprisals after the border with Russia falls under the control of Ukraine.

Moreover, no agreements will prevent Ukraine from subsequently canceling the "special status" of Donbass and restricting the rights (in particular, the right to participate in elections) of Donbass residents, to send troops to Donbass and arrest leaders.

If anyone doubts this prospect, they can ask for the opinion of Viktor Medvedchuk. Residents of Donbass who have passports of the Russian Federation may have their Ukrainian passports taken away and deprived of their Ukrainian citizenship. Make them second-class people, as they did with the Russians in the Baltics.

The implementation, especially temporary, of the Minsk agreements will not solve the problem of Ukraine as a state hostile to Russia. On the contrary, it will aggravate the situation, since about a million hostages - new citizens of the Russian Federation living in Donbass - will fall into the hands of Ukrainian nationalists.

The only thing that pleases is that in the process of forcing Ukraine to peace, the level of shelling should sharply decrease.

Vladimir Putin demanded that Biden give guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO. But the United States can refer to the fact that America is not all NATO. For example, Poland will be against it and no decision will be made. It is clear that the United States (by informal methods) can push through any decision, but they can very much even refer to the fact that it depends not only on the United States.

In addition, even if such a decision on guarantees of Ukraine's non-membership in NATO is adopted, nothing can prevent this decision from being canceled in the future if necessary. Thus, the USA cannot give Russia the required guarantees in principle.

I must also add that even without joining NATO, Ukraine can be no less dangerous for Russia than being a member of the alliance. At least, Ukraine will definitely be more cocky in the absence of status. Now Ukraine is de jure not a member of NATO, but NATO fighters, under the guise of permanent exercises, are on the territory of Ukraine almost on a permanent basis. Military bases are being built. Scouts are working. Provocations are carried out from the territory of Ukraine - terrorist groups are launched.

I am sure that the Ukrainian government will be able to bypass the constitutional ban on the opening of foreign military bases on its territory. By not granting Ukraine membership, NATO received all the benefits of using Ukraine and at the same time does not bear any responsibility for Ukraine.

As they say, to promise does not mean to marry. And they don't marry prostitutes at all. They are taken for free. Therefore, NATO can sacrifice Ukraine whenever it wants. I have no doubt that if a command arrives, the Ukrainian authorities will unleash a suicidal war no longer with Donbass, but with Russia.

Thus, I believe that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin did not call these negotiations a "protocol event" for nothing. A protocol event is when no real decisions or breakthroughs are expected from the event. A protocol event is when all participants act according to a pre-written protocol. This is an event that should be held because it is supposed to be. Because it is planned and written into the protocol.

Unfortunately, from my point of view, there are no breakthrough results from these negotiations.

I want to note that at this event, Vladimir Putin looked much better than his opponents. Forced to reckon with the opinion of Russia and did not allow to talk to himself from a position of strength.

I would also like to add that, apparently, the problem of Ukraine for Russia is far from being solved. And the situation will permanently deteriorate. But sooner or later it will have to be solved. Moreover, I believe that it was not in vain that the President of Russia set deliberately impracticable conditions to the President of the United States: since Russia's demands will not be met, at any time when Russia deems it necessary, it will be able to make any decisions it deems necessary. Russia has a free hand.

How Turkey was punished for the downed Su-24 in 2015

https://cont.ws/@gavrilenko90/1512008

On November 24, 2015 over Syrian territory, near the Syrian-Turkish border, a Turkish F-16 fighter shot down a Russian front-line bomber Su-24, which bombed the positions of terrorist groups in the province Latakia. As a result, pilot Oleg Peshkov and serviceman Alexander Pozynich from the search and rescue service were killed, and an Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed. Navigator Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued and delivered to the Khmeimim airbase. The Turkish authorities accused Russia of violating the border and said that in this way they were protecting the Turkomans, a nation that Turkey considers to be related. Russia, in turn, accused Turkey of violating Syrian airspace and aiding terrorists.

This is a brief plot of events that froze Russian-Turkish relations for almost nine months. However, what happened after deserves a more detailed analysis. In the Russian Internet space, the opinion has long been strengthened and is being cultivated that Russia did not answer in any way for the destroyed equipment and the dead servicemen, fearing a full-scale war with NATO. But let's not get emotional and try to take a sober look at the facts.

An important aspect that needs to be taken into account is that the shooting down of the Su-24 was an ordinary provocation and a pre-planned action. Moreover, the Turks contradict themselves, declaring a violation of the airspace for a few seconds and immediately providing allegedly records with the controllers' demands to change the course lasting more than five minutes. Be that as it may, it is impossible to shoot down a plane that has violated the border for a few seconds (according to the Turks themselves), unless you wait for it in advance. And you can't go anywhere with professional shooting of a fall. But this crime looks even more despicable and cynical against the background of statements in 2012 by then Turkish President Abdullah Gul after Syria shot down a Turkish F-4 fighter:

"It is a common practice for combat aircraft to sometimes cross and leave [state] borders, given their speed over the sea. These things are not bad intentions, they just happen due to the difficulty of controlling the speeds of jet aircraft."

But the stolen Syrian oil and the greed for profit turned the head of the Turkish leadership. So much so that it turned into real accomplices of terrorism. Other facts indicate that the destruction of the Su-24 was deliberate and planned. For example, on January 29, 2016, Turkey accused Russia of the Su-34 violating its airspace. But the accusations were all limited: it's not the Su-24 to shoot down from an ambush, and the 34 can snap back much more seriously. Moreover, in the same January 2016, Russian fighters somewhat defiantly violated the border over border crossings - there is at least one video on the network. Do you think anyone took off to intercept?

Another important aspect that many people overlook. Remember what Erdogan said about the incident? That in this way he defended the Turkomans. So, he did not protect anyone. The Turkomans continued to bomb on the same day, even with even greater intensity. Actually, this is all you need to know about making rash decisions in geopolitics and the impossibility of their implementation.

This is all well and good, the reader will say. But where is the bombed out Istanbul, the defeated Turkish army?

The main thing that should be understood and understood is that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia almost never answered OPEN and DIRECTLY. The Americans shot down our planes many times, including two Tu-95s at different times near the AUG, and this always ended in nothing except the battle over Sakhalin in 1983. The same when the peaceful South Korean Boeing-747 was allegedly shot down. It's not in our tradition to cut from the shoulder. But this does not mean that there was absolutely no answer. As you know, revenge is a dish that is served cold.

And the military-political leadership of Russia prepared it perfectly. Now we are not talking about the notorious tomatoes, which in individuals who are not endowed with intelligence cause characteristic short sounds caused by intermittent rhythmic respiratory movements. More precisely, not only about them. In fact, the Turks got their revenge that very evening. Few paid attention to the words of Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev at a briefing on November 27, 2015 (and it should be):

“As soon as Captain Murakhtin was safe, in the area where militants and several other well-equipped and equipped groups were strenuously looking for him, more than massive, crushing blows were delivered by our bombers. "

The division into "militants" and "other well-equipped groups" is clearly visible. Obviously, militants mean representatives of irregular illegal formations, and well-equipped groups mean someone who does not belong either to terrorists or to the pro-government forces and the RF Armed Forces. Who could it be? Most likely, the units of the Turkish special forces. Perhaps, together with the special forces of other members of the "international coalition."

And the Turks, it seems, immediately understood everything. Note, despite the bellicose statements of Erdogan and Cavusoglu, the body of Oleg Peshkov was handed over with all military honors. But for the Turks, everything was just beginning. It was decided to force them to peace in several directions. This is a temporary cancellation of the visa-free regime, a temporary suspension of the sale of tourist vouchers to Turkey, a ban on the import of certain Turkish goods, changes in customs duties, financial transactions, foreign trade transactions, etc. As a result, the total economic damage to Turkey amounted to about $ 12 billion.

Here, by the way, one interesting moment should be noted. In the view of Russian neoliberals, if the West imposes economic sanctions against Russia, it is because the West is strong, wise and can defeat Russia without a war. But Russia has imposed economic sanctions against Turkey because it has "drifted" to fight and cannot do anything else. Such a dualism of opinions on the same issue is characteristic of Russian neoliberals and serves as yet another indication that what they say should be ignored.

Of course, there was also a military response. The missile cruiser Moskva occupied the area off the coast of Latakia, the S-400 complexes were delivered to the Khmeimim airbase, ready, if necessary, to shoot down potentially dangerous targets. Bombers began to fly out on missions under the cover of fighters. At the same time, there were also implicit military measures of influence.

In the spring of 2016, the Kurdistan Workers' Party began tweeting about the completion of the training of the young recruits in the mountain camps and their descent into the plains. The Turks regularly "vomited" from such news, but this time the Kurds promised even more fighters, more new weapons, new teaching methods. And the result was not long in coming.

Only from 22 to 24 March 2016, according to official Turkish data - and they, according to many, need to be multiplied by 3-5 - the Turkish army lost 16 people killed, over 30 people were wounded and 2 armored vehicles. And such rates of losses persisted for a long time. The fighting qualities of the most experienced Turkish 4th Army Corps were clearly visible in Kurdish cities, for example, in Cizr, where a 10,000-strong group, without much results, suffered only officially losses from 1 to 5 killed and 10-15 wounded per day.

In the Turkish media, half-panic materials appeared about "Serbian snipers", "Chechen special forces" and "GRU instructors", an abundance of ATGM systems, trained small groups with large-caliber sniper rifles and automatic weapons, the Kurds themselves boasted of their novelties. "The cherry on the cake" can be called the destruction of an AH-1W Cobra combat helicopter from Igla MANPADS on May 13, 2016 in the Turkish province of Hakkari. In an official communique, the loss was confirmed, but due to an alleged "technical malfunction". He flew to the aid of his brothers, who officially lost 6 killed and 8 wounded.

You can also remember how the Turks in February-March 2020 lost 200 people in Idlib only officially (that is, you need to multiply by at least two or three), plus the destroyed armored vehicles. Moreover, 33 people - with one blow. Officially, of course, Russia has nothing to do with this, the Syrians did everything. But ...

You can, of course, ask, what does Russia have to do with all this? Is this Turkey's revenge? Yes, this is Turkey's revenge. Graceful, sophisticated, almost unprovable. When the Turks in the 90s trained and supplied the "fighters for independence" in the Caucasus, did they not think that they would ever be measured with the same measure? Receive, sign. And there is no need to hoot "Ah, they were scared to fight openly !!"

The East is a delicate matter, and they value not only brute strength, but also the ability to achieve their own by implicit methods. Those who need it have seen and understood everything perfectly. They didn't shoot down a Turkish plane - well, that's because no one flew to the border for over a year. It is important to bear in mind that the possible purpose of the provocation was to divert Russian forces from the fight against terrorist groups and to draw them into a conflict with Turkey.

It would not have lasted long, but this could threaten Russia with reputational losses, new sanctions, the stigma of the aggressor (although for the first time, perhaps), expulsion from some international organizations, etc. In any case, the harm from the war would be more than good. Instead, Russia showed restraint and acted in a balanced, reasonable and effective manner. And the relatively modest efforts made were enough to ensure that not Vladimir Putin flew to Istanbul, but Recep Erdogan flew to St. Petersburg and made an official apology.

The fact that he was received not in Moscow, but in the hometown of the President, is also, by the way, significant. Instead of an enemy, Russia has received, albeit a temporary one, an ally who acts as we need. By the way, by Eastern standards, Erdogan very, very "caved in", and it was clear from his face in St. Petersburg that he was so powerfully set up. However, pride did not allow me to admit it. But we are not working with Erdogan, but with Turkey. Erdogans come and go, but Turkey remains.

Turkish society is also very grateful that the Russians did not "break" in full, helped with the coup attempt, and the militants from the "Gray Wolves" group who shot Peshkov, according to some information, turned on the "captured Ukrainian regime" and began to swear that it was not they, all sorts of crooks act on their behalf, the USA are goats, but they are all for Russia with all their hearts. In general, the classic "changing shoes in the air."

Arrogance does not benefit interstate relations and geopolitical interests. Russia has clearly shown that the desired result can be achieved with much less effort. Turkey has paid a hundredfold for its rash act with killed people, destroyed equipment and billions of dollars in economic losses. And rightly so.


https://cont.ws/@gavrilenko90/1512008

Japan kept Soviet forces pinned down in the east during WWII

 

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Text is from a speech by Anatoly Koshkin delivered September 30th at a conference on Russian military history in Moskva

 October 1, 2021 , 18:10 - REGNUM 

In Western historiography, and often in the writings of Russian "overthrowers of the historical concepts of the totalitarian period," it is common to say that the success of the counteroffensive near Moscow "the Stalinist regime owes Japan." Which, allegedly, honestly fulfilling the obligations under the Soviet-Japanese pact of neutrality, made it possible at a critical moment to transfer the Siberian and Far Eastern divisions to the Soviet-German front, which ensured the victory. 

This version is widespread in Japan itself. The Japanese authors of the book Milestones on the Way to the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Japan and Russia, published in Russian, write: "... Having transferred his troops from the Far East and from Siberia to the west, I. Stalin was able to fight the German army with full dedication, and Japan, for its part, was able to send the elite troops of the Kwantung Army to the south." 

And the chairman of the pro-government Council on National Security (Ampoken), which published this propaganda book, professor of Russian studies Shigeki Khakamada agreed that the Russians should thank Japan for not entering the war. 

However, the facts indicate the opposite - until the middle of 1943, overhanging its million-strong Kwantung Army (army group) over the Soviet Far East and Eastern Siberia, Japan fettered the Red Army troops stationed here, not allowing them to be used in the fight against the German fascist invaders. 

As a result, up to a third of the Armed Forces of the USSR were unable to take part in the fight against the Nazi hordes. 

This is confirmed by the following data: "As of December 1, 1941, out of 5,495 thousand people of the total composition of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in the Far East and at the southern borders, there were 1568 thousand, or more than 28 percent. Of the 4495 tanks in service with the Red Army at that time, there were 2,541 tanks in the Far East and at the southern borders of the USSR, and 2,951 aircraft out of 5,274 aircraft remained there. By this policy of shackling with the threat of an attack of Soviet troops, coordinated with Berlin, Tokyo prolonged the Great Patriotic War, increasing the losses of the Soviet people. 

Japan's planned attack on the USSR on August 29, 1941 did not take place not as a result of the alleged observance of the Soviet-Japanese pact of neutrality, as Japanese propaganda claims, but as a consequence of the failure of the German plan for a blitzkrieg and preservation even at the most critical moments on the Soviet-German front a large grouping of Soviet troops in the Far East and Siberia. 

At the same time, preparations for the attack continued until 1943. By the document "Program for the implementation of the state policy of the empire," adopted on September 6, 1941 at a meeting of the top leadership of Japan in the presence of the emperor and the Supreme Commander of the Army and Navy Hirohito, it was decided to continue the seizure of the colonial possessions of the Western powers in the south, without stopping before the war. 

A few days later it became known in the Kremlin. 

"According to a source of Invest (Hotsumi Ozaki - A.K.), the Japanese government decided not to oppose the USSR this year, but the armed forces will be left in the MCG (Manchukuo - A.K.) the case of the defeat of the USSR by that time." 

Note that in Russian sources, especially in the articles of publicists who, apparently, are not familiar with the full text of the message to Soviet spy Richard Sorge, the second part of the encryption is often omitted. But she mattered no less than the first. In fact, the Soviet intelligence officer warned that it was only about postponing the attack on the USSR, which, of course, was taken into account when determining the scale of the transfer of troops from the eastern regions of the country to Moscow. 

Although Sorge reported the likelihood of an attack in the spring of next year, according to Japanese plans, the war in the south did not rule out an attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. The General Staff of the Japanese ground forces developed a version of the plan for the war against the USSR "Kantokuen" ("Special maneuvers of the Kwantung Army"), which was to be carried out immediately after the expected fall of Moscow and a sharp change in favor of Japan in the balance of forces in the Far East. 

Given the complexity of offensive operations on all fronts in the autumn-winter period, the General Staff envisaged an initial strike in the eastern (coastal) direction. After the invasion of Primorye, the troops of the Eastern Front were to advance on Khabarovsk, capturing it before the onset of severe cold weather. At this time, the troops of the Northern and Western Fronts were to gain a foothold in the areas of the Small and Big Khingan, respectively, and await the onset of spring. With the beginning of ice melting, it was planned to force the Amur and develop an offensive to the west from the Rukhlovo - Bolshoi Khingan region in the direction of Lake Baikal. 

In development of this plan, the command of the Kwantung Army proposed, with the start of an offensive on the eastern front, by forces of two or three divisions in the fall to force the Amur in the Khabarovsk region in order to facilitate the capture of the city. 

Operations to seize Northern Sakhalin, Kamchatka and other regions, as well as the occupation of the Mongolian People's Republic, were to be carried out in accordance with the previous concept of the Cantokuen plan. Despite the preparations for the conduct of hostilities in the south, the Japanese Navy also retained a grouping of forces created specifically for the war against the USSR. They were consolidated into the 5th Fleet, which was based in the area of ​​the northern port of Ominato. 

The Japanese troops allocated for the war against the USSR were not included in the battle plans in the south and were preparing for action in the north. Official Japanese sources indicate that both in the context of the outbreak of war against the United States and Great Britain, and in order to continue military operations in China, Japan retained up to 40 percent of divisions in Manchuria, Korea and the mother country for the war against the USSR. 

There are other numbers as well. So, according to the information at the disposal of the Tokyo Tribunal, by December 5, 1941, about 50 percent of the infantry divisions, 75-80 percent of the cavalry units, about 65 percent of the tank regiments, half of the artillery and aviation of the ground forces were prepared for the attack on the Soviet Union. 

The most anti-Soviet politicians and military officials openly declared that "the Japanese Empire must play its role in ending the German-Soviet war ." The influential Japanese magazine Kaizo published in the November 1941 issue of the article "A New Stage of the Soviet-German War and Japan," which said: "Japan rejoices in the victories of its ally, Germany, and wishes her further success. Japan must undoubtedly use the international situation created by Germany's victories to accomplish its own great cause." 

Although by the end of November, at the cost of enormous efforts, Hitler's troops approached Moscow, contrary to the expectations of the Japanese command, even during this critical period the forces of the Red Army in the Far East were not weakened. Instead of the divisions that were leaving for Moscow, new divisions were immediately formed at the expense of local conscription. After a thorough analysis of the situation, the Japanese command was forced to come to the conclusion that it was advisable to postpone the date of the armed uprising against the USSR until the spring of 1942. 

On December 3, the imperial headquarters sent order No. 578 to the Kwantung Army, which stated: "To provide the Empire with resources and create a new order in the Great East Asia, it was decided to start a war with the USA, Great Britain and Holland. It is envisaged to quickly conduct an offensive in important areas in the south and at the same time resolve the Chinese incident (this is how the bloody Sino-Japanese war unleashed in 1937 is called in Japan - A.K.); at this time, not to allow war with Russia." 

Together with the order, headquarters directive No. 1048 was issued, in which the task of the Kwantung Army was set: "In accordance with the evolving situation, intensify preparations for operations against Russia. Be ready to start hostilities in the spring of 1942." 

However, among the Japanese leadership, there was still hope that Hitler's troops would still be able to capture Moscow by the end of 1941. In this case, the Japanese offensive could begin in winter. 

Therefore, on December 3, the headquarters also issued order No. 575 to the commander of the expeditionary army in China on the possible partial transfer of troops subordinate to him to the north. The order prescribed, with the beginning of hostilities against the Soviet Union, first of all to capture the Ussuri region, and if successful, to start an offensive on the Northern Front. 

For this it was necessary to transfer six divisions from China to the Kwantung Army. To break through the Soviet defense line in the winter of 1941-1942. and crossing the Amur, Ussuri and other water barriers, additional artillery and engineering units were sent to the Kwantung Army. January 10, 1942. 

The Kwantung Army understood that the decision to postpone the attack to the spring of 1942 was of a general nature, and continued to actively prepare for the expected "turning point" on the Soviet-German front. 

After receiving the order of December 3, the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army at a meeting of formation commanders gave the following instructions: "To end the ongoing preparations for operations against the Soviet Union each army and joining the first line should make every effort to ensure that, watching the constantly occurring changes in state of war USSR and Mongolia, to be able to establish the true situation at any time. This is especially true in the present conditions, when more and more there is a need to establish the signs of a turning point in the situation." 

In other words, it was about being in a state of constant readiness to fulfill the order to enter the war after the fall of Moscow. The strategy chosen by the Japanese generals was called the "ripe persimmon theory". Its meaning was to attack the USSR from the east, when, like a ripe fruit, it would be ready to "fall by itself at the feet of Japan." 

However, the turning point that came in December 1941 was of a completely different content than the Japanese militarists had imagined. The unfolding counter-offensive of the Red Army ended with the defeat of the Nazi troops rushing to Moscow. This marked the beginning of a radical turn in the war. And this turn took place in favor of the USSR. The results of the Battle of Moscow demonstrated to the whole world that the German strategy of lightning war had failed. 

The defeat of Hitler's troops near Moscow was a serious blow to Japanese plans for a treacherous attack on the USSR. The failure of Plan Barbarossa was convincing evidence that the Soviet Union, despite initial military setbacks, retained considerable power to continue the war, and the Red Army was capable of delivering devastating blows to the enemy in both the west and east. 

This frightened the Japanese ruling circles, forcing them to assess with greater caution the prospects for the development of the world war, especially the situation on the Soviet-German front. 

Lies about Srebrenica genocide hide the truth about the massacre of Serbs in Sarajevo

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Welcome rantburg readers

E. Guskova's speech at the international conference “Results of the work of independent international commissions: Serbian victims in the civil war in Sarajevo 1991-1995. and the victims of all peoples in the region of Srebrenica 1992-1995 ”, which was held at the Foundation for the Support of Public Diplomacy. A. M. Gorchakova September 14.

By Elena Guskova

21 сентября 2021, 09:14 — REGNUM

The current crisis on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the collapse of the federation have become a tragedy not only for people of all nationalities of the former Yugoslavia, but also for the whole of Europe. Hundreds of thousands of dead, millions of refugees, mass crimes, hatred and cruelty, twisted destinies, destroyed churches and mosques, museums and libraries - these are the main milestones of this tragedy.

Events in BiH are complex and multifaceted, they include the problems of the peculiarities of the development of the three peoples, and the struggle for the creation of state formations, and the activities of the peacekeeping forces, and the most complex theater of military operations, when everyone was fighting against everyone.

Multinational Bosnia and Herzegovina was considered the most tolerant republic of Yugoslavia. Nobody believed in the possibility of interethnic clashes on its territory. And during the negotiations of the leaders of the republics of the SFRY about the fate of the federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina did not determine its position for a long time. Nevertheless, events in it developed in the most tragic way.

The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of the SFRY, declared its independence in March 1992. Almost immediately after this, the escalation of interethnic contradictions began, which grew into a full-scale war that lasted until the end of 1995.

There are still questions about the Bosnian war that some politicians are reluctant to answer. For example, could the disintegration of the SFRY be made peaceful, why was the entire policy of Europe and the United States anti-Serb, and why did not Russia act as a guarantor of the objectivity of international organizations when considering the Balkan events?

The Muslims began to arm themselves earlier than the Serbs. The National Defense Council was created back in June 1991. It directed the work of the Patriotic League and the Green Berets, preparing the people for defense, for war.

On May 12, 1992, the Army of the Republika Srpska was created.

The Serbs call April 4 the day of the Muslim putsch in Sarajevo, when, in parallel with the mobilization, hostilities began - the police buildings, post offices, and all the most important objects of the city were engaged. At the same time, the Serbs consider this day as the day of their uprising.

It is important to remind that the United States and Europe recognized a united BiH on April 6, 1992. They supported the unity of BiH, and hence the Muslim government. It turned out that the Serbs were fighting against the recognized authorities. Muslims were helped by Iran, and not only. Everyone turned a blind eye to many of the Boshniks' crimes and blamed exclusively the Serbs for the escalation of the conflict. And the Republika Srpska fought to protect and protect the lands where the Serbian population lived.

Today the military events in BiH are largely described. But one pattern can be traced. Since there was no objective attitude of international organizations towards the parties to the conflict, some of the facts that were not in favor of the Bosnian Muslims were hushed up, distorted, or even attributed to the actions of the Serbs.

For example, in early May 1992, a special Muslim detachment, many of whose members were in Islamic terrorist organizations, began to commit a number of crimes, including massacres of Muslim citizens of Sarajevo. They attacked wearing Serbian uniforms. This was part of a conceived "propaganda plan to gain sympathy in the world and ensure military intervention."

Bosnian Muslims orchestrated many of the acts attributed to the Serbs - the bombing of the bread line on May 27, 1992, Douglas Hurd on July 17, an explosion in a cemetery on August 4, the murder of a representative of the ABC television company on August 13, etc. All this was accompanied by an information war directed against the Serbs. Many of these pages of the war in BiH have already been described, documented, albeit with a delay (Markale-1, Markale-2, explosion on Vasya Miskina street, etc.).

But there are events for the truth about which we had and still have to fight. Let's start with Sarajevo.

The inner life of the city during the war was always hidden from prying eyes. It was only known that the city was under constant artillery fire, that unbearable living conditions were created in it, that the people survived only due to humanitarian supplies from international organizations. Crime, disobedience to laws, cruelty, fundamentalism, religious intolerance broke into the city.

The authors of the memoirs describe the unbearable suffering of Serbs and Croats, when the atrocities of bandits were encouraged by the government, and humanitarian organizations could not change the picture of what was happening. Serbs were killed with impunity, tortured in the dungeons of private prisons, kept in tunnels, sent to the first front lines under bullets.

BiH Presidium member Biljana Plavsic wrote to UNPROFOR in July 1992 that 35-50 thousand Serbs in Sarajevo do not receive humanitarian aid, that a prison for Serbs has been set up in the Yugokomerts administrative building near the Veterinary Faculty in Sarajevo, where they are interrogated and tortured they kill and the bodies are thrown into the river.

Academician Milorad Ekmečić, who fled from Sarajevo, spoke about the cruel treatment of Serbs in the city in his memoirs.

Velko Kojovich wrote in his diary on May 17 that armed men came to Serb houses, searched them, looked for weapons, spies, the "fifth column" and "Serbotesters". In the basements of the once famous Sarajevo restaurant “RS” they created “one of the most terrible places of torture that a person can think of.” [1] three parts (Muslim, Croatian and Serbian) Ministry of the Interior.

In the city, after the start of the shelling, a terrible situation was created for the Serbs. Obviously, according to the directives from the mosques and the orders of the authorities, the cleaning of the city from the Serbian population began in any way. In the city, they frightened with Serbian snipers, spread rumors that the Serbs were sending light signals for shelling, that there were many Chetniks left in the city who had weapons.

Mass searches began. Formally, the Serbs were looking for weapons, ammunition, electronic devices. But during these searches, they took away all the money, jewelry, televisions, equipment, everything of value. And if someone just stuttered that they were being robbed, they would kill them on the spot. The Bosnian Muslims from the very beginning had lists of Serbs who needed to be liquidated or removed in any way.

For many years no one wrote about what happened to the Serbian population in Sarajevo. The material about the Serbs killed in Sarajevo was prepared by the director of the Institute for Research on Serbian Victims in the 20th century, Milivoye Ivanishevich.

At the same time, when it came to Srebrenica, the onslaught of the Western media on this issue was enormous - and not in the mid-nineties, but later. Srebrenica became synonymous with the genocide of the Muslim population, allegedly committed by the Serbian military in July 1995. Very quickly, the Serbs were accused of killing 8,000 Muslims, a memorial cemetery was built, and the UN Security Council raised the issue of banning the revision of the “genocide” issue.

On January 15, 2009, the European Parliament proclaimed July 11 "the day of commemoration of the genocide in Srebrenica, where 8,000 civilians were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995". The lie about Srebrenica was difficult to fight. At the same time, the Assembly of Serbia in March 2010 made an apology for the crimes committed. Republika Srpska also agreed with the conclusions of the ICTY, but then changed her mind.

However, over time, more and more facts appeared, indicating that Srebrenica was a planned and well-executed operation by Muslim and Western intelligence services.

In July 2012, Belarus granted political asylum to a major in French intelligence, who showed documents on the events of that time. According to those documents, the assassinations in Srebrenica were prepared by the intelligence services of the United States, Britain and France, using mercenaries.

American John Schindler has published a lot of new data showing that it was Sarajevo who "handed over" Srebrenica to present to the world a tragedy for which the Serbs are again to blame. Many researchers drew attention to an interesting episode from the book when Aliya Izetbegovic told the leadership of Srebrenica: “You know, Clinton suggested to me in April 1993 that the Chetnik forces should enter Srebrenica, massacre 5,000 Muslims, and then there will be a military intervention” [2] ...

For a long 25 years there was a struggle for the truth about those events. Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik called this an increase in the epidemic of lies about Srebrenica. In Banja Luka, the Republican Secretariat for Relations with the ICTY and the Study of War Crimes actively worked. They have a lot of documents and materials.

That is why the materials published by the Independent Commissions of Inquiry on the events in Sarajevo and Srebrenica during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina are so important today. They shed light on much of what happened in those years. Let's study them carefully, and introduce the published data into scientific circulation.

Notes:

[1] Kojoviћ V. Krvava koshuљa sarajevska. Beograd: Dobrotvor, 1995.S. 65.

[2] Schindler Џ. R. Nesveti terror. Bosna, Al Qaeda, and the Global Qihad. - Beograd: Service glasnik, 2009.S. 216.