Russian Acts of Kindness

[Rylkova,Galina S]

Dear Paul Gallagher,

Russian people (and intellectual in particular) have been traditionally 
infinitely more critical of any political regime than their American 
counterparts. In 2011-2012 Putin was accused of every possible failure 
and crimes. For the most extreme summary see Masha Gessen's "The Man 
Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin" (2012). This book 
was highly advertised through various blogs and was on sale in one 
Moscow bookstore. Do you think that Putin (who had a meeting with Masha 
Gessen after this book's publication) was unaware of its content?

Russian journalists have been working extremely hard to uncover the 
truth and  often show extreme/unprecedented courage. Yet they think that 
what they do is a mere fraction of what their American counterparts are 
supposedly doing here. This phenomenon of living up to some non-existing 
standards is explored (albeit very gently) in Todorovsky's film 
"Stiliagi" (The Totalitarian Rock).

Yes, it is possible to match your list with Rush Limbaugh and other 
critically-minded people.

You can meet such people at any Channel 1 (state, pro-Putin channel) 
debates that are hosted by Vladimir Solov'ev twice a week on Thursdays 
and Sundays: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Aleksandr Prokhanov, Mikhail Veller, 
Irina Khakamada, Leonid Gozman, Alexandr Pochinok, Dmitrii Gudkov, 
Dmitrii Bykov, Aleksandr Dugin, to name but a few.

Marianna Maksimovskaia ("Nedelia s Mariannoi Maksimovskoi") can be your 
match for Rachel Maddow.

Then there are Aleksei Venediktov ("Ekho Moskvy"), Yuliia Latynina 
("Ekho Moskvy"), Kseniia Sobchak, Valeria Novodvorskaia, Vladimir 
Pozner, Leonid Parfenov, and others who are not particularly kind to 
Putin in their shows, broadcasts, articles, and blogs.

Anatolii Vasserman and Yegor Kholmogorov (show "Reaktsia Vassermana") 
can likely serve as the Russian equivalent of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, 
and Michele Buchmann


On Sun, 5 May 2013 21:57:05 -0400, Paul B. Gallagher wrote:

> Freedom of speech is largely about the consequences (or lack thereof)
> of expressing nonstandard, unconventional, unapproved views. If you
> lose your job, are evicted from your apartment, are beaten by 
> nameless
> thugs, are jailed on trumped-up charges, etc., these consequences
> demonstrate a lack of freedom and have a chilling effect on public
> debate. Although our country is imperfect in this area, most people
> feel free to speak out without risking consequences like these. It
> hasn't always been so, and for one obvious example, servicemen in our
> armed forces only recently gained the right to admit they are gay or
> lesbian without risking a dishonorable discharge. But preposterous
> slanders such as the accusations that President Obama is a Muslim 
> born
> in Kenya are routinely publicized without fear. Can you imagine V.V.
> Putin putting up with that for more than a New York minute?
>
> I haven't been to Russia lately, so I can't speak authoritatively,
> but from the outside it appears that those who publicly espouse views
> contrary to those of the Putin cabal are taking very serious risks, 
> in
> some cases putting their lives in danger. We have seen too many
> blatant cases in the media to think otherwise.
>
> If you would make the case that Russian freedom of speech is equal to
> ours, you must also show that dissidents survive and can even 
> prosper,
> and that the government aggressively prosecutes cases of harassment
> and intimidation so as to ensure a wide range of fully voiced
> opinions. Where are your equivalents to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck,
> Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, and so forth? (or under Bush II: Paul
> Krugman, Rachel Maddow, Katrina van den Heuvel, etc.)
>
> To the contrary, media reports indicate that the Putin government is
> responsible for most cases of harassment and intimidation, and
> actively works to repress dissenting views. It may be true that the
> lawn has some weeds, but the mower comes through once a week and
> ensures that none can grow big and strong enough to compete with the
> party in power.

-- 
Galina S. Rylkova
Associate Professor of Russian
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
256 Dauer Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
USA
grylkova at ufl.edu
http://www.languages.ufl.edu/russian

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------