Putin's Thin Skin: Is He Silencing Critics That Pose No Threat to Him?

According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), another Russian journalist died mysteriously in Moscow Friday, bringing to a chilling 14 the number of journalists who have died under suspicious circumstances since Vladimir Putin became President of Russia 5 years ago. Russia consistently makes the CPJ list of the top 5 most dangerous countries in which to be a journalist. The presence of some nations on the list, such as Iraq and Columbia, are understandable, since one has been a war zone for 4 years and the other has been a drug war zone for nearly 30 years. Russia’s membership on this notorious list deserves scrutiny.

Russia’s annual inclusion in this list should be of grave concern to the world for multiple reasons, but for one reason in particular: the number of dead Russian journalists (and former KGB operatives) clearly demonstrates that Putin is lethally sensitive to criticism and remarkably thin-skinned. Consider that there is little reason to conclude that any of the 14 journalists or the former KBG operatives posed any legitimate threat to Putin’s increasingly authoritarian grip on Russia’s government, military, and oil and gas companies. The now defunct journalists were all reporting on corruption within Russian organized crime and among government leaders, usually associating the two in shady dealings that, like drug activities in Columbia, surprise no one. That Russia is rife with corruption is so universally understood within and outside of Russia that it seems implausible that Putin would feel any actual concern that news reports linking government and organized crime could cost him even one approval poll percentage point.

Putin’s popularity in Russia, like its economy, is on the rise. While President Bush’s job approval rating hovers in the 30-35% range, Putin’s is reportedly around 75%. Of course, such polls conducted in Russia are suspect and likely exaggerated to a degree, but Putin appears to be tapping into deeply-held Russian pride through massive military spending and technological upgrades. As in most nations, when military spending rises, more jobs are created and pride in the nation’s accomplishments swells. Spy the News! previously warned of the dangerous combination of nationalism, military might, and desire for economic expansion that Russia is experiencing. The parallels to pre-World War II Germany are indeed ominous. This is not to suggest that Russia is on the verge of a genocidal holocaust, but many of the societal conditions that allowed Germany to embrace an authoritarian leader who ruthlessly eliminated his political enemies are currently fermenting in Russia.

It does not appear, however, that Putin is silencing his media critics because they pose a threat to him. Last November, Front Page Magazine published a very detailed and informative symposium transcript from a discussion of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s murder. Politkovskaya was, of course, a fierce critic of Putin. A panel member, Yuri Yarim-Agaev, made the following observation that supports the idea that Putin’s popularity is in no jeopardy, even from his loudest critics:

The current KGB, though, feels too weak even to put its opponents through mock political trials. So they kill them in a cowardly way or cover up for their murderers. Anna was shot in her elevator by professional killers who escaped.

As tragic as that murder was, no less disturbing is the absence of any significant reaction to it. The Russian Duma and the political opposition do not call for Putin’s resignation. His approval rating among the Russian people has not dropped. Many Russian journalists suggest insane conspiracy theories that only exonerate the authorities, and they continue to speculate whether Putin will stay for a third term or nominate his successor. Western political leaders do not question their alliance with Russia in any important political or economic areas. There are some expressions of concern, but too timid to challenge Putin’s authority.

Anna Politkovskay’s name is the last in a long list of independent journalists murdered for their criticism of official policy. These killings have become a trademark of the post-Soviet era and they seem to have become accepted as the norm inside Russia and in the outside world. It looks as if by world consensus Putin has been given a license to kill his critics, which he will continue to use until he silences all of them.

If Dick Morris wrote a book explaining Putin’s motive, he could use the same title he chose for his book about Bill Clinton’s motive for the Monica Lewinsky disgrace: “Because He Could.”

In the past six months alone, the following deaths have been reported:

Ivan Safronov – Military correspondent for Kommersant, a business daily. Safronov recently wrote about failed military weapons testing and technology, including a third failed test of an important new intercontinental ballistic missile, changes in military leadership, and training incidents that resulted in the deaths of several young soldiers. Safronov, according to CPJ reporting, had been interrogated by the Federal Security Services (FSB, heir to the KGB) regarding publishing “state secrets” but was never charged. Safronov allegedly committed “suicide” by jumping from the 5th floor of his apartment building in Moscow.

He actually lived on the 3rd floor and no one who knew him believes the “suicide” whitewash. Kommersant reported that “Safronov’s relatives believe his death may have been a murder. . . . The journalist had no domestic troubles, was expecting a grandchild, and did not leave a note to explain a suicide.” Another Russian newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets , expressed the editor’s opinion of what actually happened in these words: “For some reason it is those journalists who are disliked by authorities that die in our country”

Anna Politkovskaya – as described above. Despite Putin’s public vow to track down her killers, no suspects have been identified.

Alexander Litvinenko – former KGB agent who worked under Putin was poisoned last November in London. As if to claim credit for the murder, the killer poisoned Litvinenko with polonium, a radioactive substance possessed by a mere handful of world governments, including Russia. The polonium was added to Litvinenko’s tea, believed to have been consumed during a meet with another former KGB agent. Litvinenko died of painful radiation poisoning within days of ingesting polonium. The dosage appeared to have been measured specifically not to kill him too quickly, lest he not suffer sufficiently.

Paul Joyal – Maryland resident and Russian intelligence expert was shot in his driveway four days after an appearance on NBC’s "Dateline." In the "Dateline" interview, Joyal accused Putin and the Russian government of murdering Litvinenko because Litvinenko was publicly tying Putin to Politkovskaya’s assassination. Joyal prophetically stated, ”A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: 'If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you, and we will silence you -- in the most horrible way possible.” Joyal, Vice President of National Strategies, a D.C. area government consulting firm, survived the attack but suffered serious injury from the gunshot wound in the groin area. His wife, a nurse, reportedly controlled the bleeding until the ambulance arrived.

Local law enforcement officials stated the attempted murder of Joyal may have been random street crime. Those same officials initially reported that Joyal’s wallet had been taken, though the Washington Post later reported that was not true, as a family member showed the wallet to the Post reporter and declared it was never missing. According to law enforcement, it seems the only indication this incident was street crime was that the two suspects were described as black males. Aside from the obvious racial profiling that conclusion suggests, that if a street crime occurred two black males were surely responsible, it is far more likely that the FSB utilized a tactic it has long employed, working through local criminal groups to locate willing shooters. Doing so gives the FSB and the Russian government plausible deniability. The fact that the assassination was botched may indicate that Joyal was merely receiving a warning, as keenly observed by Frank Gaffney, and it certainly does not preclude the possibility that another attempt will be made.

The fact that Putin feels so emboldened as to orchestrate assassinations of his critics in London and Washington is further evidence of the degree to which Putin’s thin skin dictates that he take political criticism personally and react to it. He would not survive one day as an elected official in America. His desire to eliminate his critics would result in utter confusion. Whom would he target first? If, with a 75% approval rating, he cannot stand criticism of his policies, how would he survive one face to face debate with Ann Coulter?

President Bush has been called stupid, murderer, incompetent, mentally deficient, and corrupt, and those last three came from the current Speaker of the House! Imagine Putin giving a State of the Union while looming behind him is a smirking third in the line of succession political opponent frowning and refusing to clap for his remarks. Our president, while burdened by a low approval rating, does not order the FBI or the CIA to permanently silence his media critics, and he decidedly displays a very thick skin. Compared with Putin’s overreactions to mostly insignificant critics, perhaps Bush’s pleasant patience with Helen Thomas and the hyenas in the White House Press Corps should be more widely appreciated.

Not everyone, though, is convinced that Putin and the Russian government are responsible for the murders and “suicides” of Putin critics. To some liberals, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the CIA are more likely suspects than Putin. From the posted comments at today’s ABC News Blotter following the Safronov “suicide” story I present liberal investigative reasoning at its finest:

Putin is a monster on par with George Bush and DICK Cheney. Posted by: Putin is a savage Mar 5, 2007 9:03:27 AM

Do you really think Putin's government is behind this, or is it some other force at play to discredit Russia vis a vis their position NOT to bomb Iran?? Posted by: Tom Mar 5, 2007 9:57:43 AM

Yes, it is hard to believe that anyone would commit cold blooded murder. But Putin...everyone forgets he was head of the KGB and we all know how "innocent" they are. Of course, our CIA is just as "innocent" as the KGB. Posted by: Ryan Mar 5, 2007 10:33:17 AM

How many U.S. reporters would be dead now if they were as aggressive as their Russian counterparts? You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it. Posted by: Dennis Mar 5, 2007 11:14:04 AM

Apparently ABC’s Blotter readers believe that the U.S. government is framing Putin by killing off his critics because Putin refuses to help prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. They also seem miffed that the American media has been too soft on President Bush for the past 6 years, and the purported reason for that is they fear he might “Putinize” them. In Russia, Putin’s few critics are the lone voices of reason amid the cacophony of Putin adulation. In America, we are still hoping to find a lone voice of reason among the president’s critics. The First Amendment is alive and well in America, but in Russia criticism of government, even when it poses no threat to the current “elected dictator”, has apparently become a capital offense.