« Turkey Haggles over Sophia | Main | Mens Rea? The Caper of the Clinton Cat »

September 24, 2006

The Life and Times of a Puny Putintate Putz

Stupid Move #619: Putintate's Policies in a Pickle

 

 

I said in the previous post I couldn't have made up the outrageous story surrounding the Turkish author Elif Shafak. Comedian Jay Leno couldn't have made this one up: A H/T to Debbie at Right Truth and La Russophobe for er, uncovering the latest human rights outrage coming out of what LR has pinned as Vladimir Putin’s Neo-Soviet State; a state in which anyone who criticizes the government is arrested or assassinated, Cheka-style.

 

For those of you wondering, I make it a rule never to do juvenile (and not so professional) photoshops like the one to the left, but since I guess we all now know that this sort of satire pushes Putin to cower in the fetal position in a dark corner somewhere, I'm rather obliged to play it to the hilt!*

 

Anyway, Last week Russian blogger Vladimir Rakhmankov was arrested in violation of Article 319 (not to be confused with Turkey’s Article 301 – apparently free speech suppression laws are similar everywhere) for his relatively tame political satire of Russian dictator-unofficiale, comparing Putin to a phallic symbol (and there are so many jokes with the Russian president's name alone that are unfortunately far beneath me). Rakhmankov made the comparison during the government’s recent public campaign to increase the Russian birth rate. Vladimir Putzin, (well, except for that one) still suffering from his Khodorkovsky complex was not amused, though so far Rakhmankov isn’t dead unlike twelve other journalists who are.

 

Ironically, before Rakhmankov was arrested, hardly anyone took ponderous note (especially outside of Russia) of his Putzin post, but now thanks to the magic of technocratic color, the whole world knows... and laughs, which is another example of why repression  backfires.

 

The Velvet (Underwear) Terror continues... but now with a strange and somewhat amusing twist (though there is nothing amusing about the repression and murder of dissidents). While Article 301 in Turkey was certainly in bad taste for freedom-lovers everywhere, Russia's Article 319 proves a bitter dill. But don't get mad, get Vlad!

 

 

 

 

 

EARLIER: Blogbat on the Russian Intelligence State with the Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR) as resurgent KGB surpassing its predecessor.

 

 

CULTURAL NOTE: ”Putin padovis!” (pah-doe-VEES) has been a popular slogan in Russia for protestors and dissidents alike since Putin's first days re-Stalinizing the country. Made famous by pensioners in 2002 angry over severe cuts in winter staples, protestors demonstrated across Russia before Putin began terrorizing the populous into dhimmitude...or commietude... The expression literally means, “choke and die”. Say it however you mean it.

 

*p.s. Let's see the coward Putin try to put this pony back in the barn...  

Posted by Martin at September 24, 2006 10:55 AM

Comments

That's great. I tried sending you a trackback on the other article, but I'm not sure it went through.

You are right about this backfiring on Putin.

Posted by: Debbie at September 24, 2006 11:21 AM

Your TB made it okay, but typepad appears to be having trouble today - I noticed it errored-out when I tried to comment last night and I think it may have black-holed the TB I sent with this post. Not sure if it's more DoS stuff or a hiccup with their servers, but I'm sure it'll work itself out. :)

Posted by: Martin at September 24, 2006 11:38 AM