Western intervention in Russia and its neighbours
By Gregor Tassie
When Margaret Thatcher met a leading secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) at Chequers in October 1984, she said this is ‘a man that we can do business with.’ Just six months later that man, the late Mikhail Gorbachev, became the General Secretary of the CPSU. Unknowingly the Iron Lady had almost blown his cover for he masterminded the break-up of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s policy of ‘New Thinking’ in 1985 led to the appointment of party leaders who were aligned to his policies. He selected republican leaders as ‘fifth columnists’ who had grievances against Soviet power, having had family who suffered during the 1930 purges.
CENTRAL ASIA
Nowhere was the transfer to private enterprise more evident than in the Central Asian Republics where huge untapped natural resources attracted foreign capital - effectively colonising the former Soviet peoples. Corruption and abuse of power were common phenomena as the concepts of a socialist state disappeared while finance capital stole the country’s wealth assisted by a state-backed oligarchy. A typical example is the former Kazakh President Nazarbayev, who signed the treaty dissolving the USSR, and who went on to prosper. His family are worth $8 billion. While this monstrous theft from the peoples of Central Asia has happened, millions have emigrated to seek work and those left behind live in poverty.
The transfer from socialism to despotic capitalism has been masterminded by the National Endowment for Democracy, initiated by the Reagan Administration in 1983. As one of its directors Allen Weinstein stated, ‘A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.’ (1) Currently, the organisation is most actively engaged in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The UK government supported Westminster Foundation for Democracy is presently active in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The Soros Foundation has been prominent in Georgia backing the Rose revolution, to the tune of $2.5 million.
The Uzbek President Karimov, who was another fifth columnist appointed by Gorbachev in 1989, moved towards independence which was followed by assassinations, repression of opponents, and atrocities such as the 400 striking miners who were killed in Andijan in 2005. The World Bank came in with loans and foreign companies exploited the country’s wealth. Uzbekistan has the second highest rate of modern slavery in the world - currently 1.2 million Uzbeks are slaves. (2) In 2001 a US base was established where rendition to Guantanamo was carried out. Uzbekistan is bountiful in minerals, gas, coal, oil, copper, silver, uranium, and gold and is among the world’s main exporters of cotton. Karimov died in 2016 leaving $1 billion in personal wealth.
Mirziyoyev’s presidency has permitted Western-backed NGOs and US radio and media, while the Soros Foundation funds universities fostering ‘western values and freedoms.’ Uzbekistan is one of the countries targeted by the US Endowment for Democracy for ‘new awakenings’, and ‘sustained organized movements’. The UK has not been absent either. Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace recently visited Tashkent agreeing on military cooperation, and Charles Michel of the EU has offered collaboration. In June 2022, a US delegation met with Mirzhoyev and agreed on joint military exercises and cooperation with the US.
The state of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan has an economy based on agriculture and fishing. However, the discovery of oil and gas deposits has led it to become the focus of international capital. Growing protests emerged in the capital Nukus and other cities against increasing costs of living in April 2022 which was used by pro-western journalists Kallikhanova and Turdanov to put a lawyer/journalist Tazhimuratov into power. Over several days - between 26 June and 2 July -protesters called for ‘an end to totalitarian powers against freedom loving people’ in line with the narrative of western-backed NGOs. Thousands marched on the city council in Nukus, police officers were shot - some in the back - leaving 20 people dead including 4 policemen, and 300 were hospitalised. Martial law was introduced and among those arrested were three western citizens. The Uzbek president Mirzhoyev - who has a personal wealth of $300 million - visited the city, sacked his head of administration and imposed a curfew.
In January 2022, Kazakhstan President Tokayev requested military help from the regional Organisation of Collective Security when riots erupted throughout the country. Later a visit to the Kazakh capital in June by the Head of the US Central and Middle East Command led to military cooperation, and joint military exercises in August 2022. This coincided with the sale of energy resources to the EU by Tokayev, in place of Russia’s sanctioned gas and oil contracts. Kazakhstan has also positioned itself with China in regards to military cooperation. As of September, Russian will no longer be taught in schools, and there has been violence against Russians some 4 million of whom live and work in Kazakhstan. In a recent meeting with Tokayev, Russian President, Vladimir Putin reminded his Kazakh counterpart that Russia is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner and that their ties should be strengthened. There are planned military exercises between Russia and Kazakhstan to enhance their mutual bond. Tokayev has been playing a game of three sides and it will be some time before we can see exactly what is going to happen. However, he has announced a presidential election for the autumn along with a major switch in policy by going to a free-market economy and selling off state owned assets in the country. These are wholesale concessions to the pro-western opposition who organised the riots in January this year. Tokayev’s personal wealth is $14 million.
Kyrgyzstan is a member of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organisation of Collective Security. The country’s greatest assets are gold, coal and uranium. In 1990 clashes emerged over selling off collective farms for private housing and there was an attempted coup in 2005 during the ‘Tulip’ revolution in which 80 demonstrators were killed including 3 parliamentarians. America was invited to use the Manas Air Base. Further riots in 2010 led to Russian troops being invited as peacekeepers. The Westminster Foundation for Democracy has focused on bringing the country towards ‘international standards. Concentrating on young people, the media and democratic controls.’ (3)
After 1991, Turkestan’s President Niyazov imposed a repressive regime closing hospitals, schools and libraries and loss-making areas of the economy. At his death his wealth was $3 billion. His successor, President Berdimuhamedov developed relations with the US, including a meeting with State Department officials in March. The US funds an International School in the capital Ashgabat
Tajikistan has a history of strikes and massive demonstrations - the population voted 97% to keep the USSR in 1991. As the economy declined many left to work in Russia and China. The US Head of Central Asia Military visited recently to discuss military cooperation in June and military exercises will be held in the autumn.
Turkey’s President, Recep Erdogan’s policy of Pan-Turkic empire-building embraces Cyprus, Libya, Syria and Iraq, and more recently has leaned towards Central Asian states. Turkey and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement on military cooperation including sharing intelligence and the manufacture of military drones. Erdogan’s son-in-law owns the Bayraktor drone company.
THE CAUCASES
The Azeris have a strong alliance with Turkey which assisted their military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan is the most pro-western state in the region. Following pogroms in 1990 and a coup attempt in 1993, Gaydar Aliyev (sacked by Gorbachev in 1987) took over and leading Azerbaijan to become an associate member of NATO and with strong links to the EU. Ilham Aliyev took over after his father’s death. With the country accruing huge wealth through the oil industry, corruption has risen to an unheard of degree with $900 million owned by the Aliyevs.
Armenia has been the focus for huge demonstrations in recent years. It was Soviet power which gave the Armenians sovereignty after the Turkish genocide and there have always been friendly relations with Russia. There is a Russian army base as part of a peace-keeping operation. (4) In July, President Pashinian had discussions with William Burns Head of the CIA followed by meetings with senior State Department officials. (5) The US embassy in Yerevan has the biggest US embassy in the region with at least half of the staff working for the CIA. (6) Yerevan is the centre for US infiltration into Iran, however Armenia has been cautious in maintaining relations with Russia and the CIS while coveting relations with NATO and the US. (7) The UK, through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, provides support both to the media and NGO groups to ‘build relationships between democratic actors and institutions across the political spectrum.’ (8)
BREAK UP OF RUSSIA
In 1991 the US was already pursuing suppression of Russia’s sovereignty with the aim of making Russia a vassal state. Former US Vice-President, Dick Cheney said he ‘wanted to see the dismantlement not only of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire but of Russia itself, so it could never be a threat to the rest of the world.’ (9) This concept was raised in an authoritative article in The Atlantic, ‘The West must complete the project that begun in 1991. It must seek to fully decolonise Russia. ‘ (10) In 1993, the leader of the Monarchist Party, Anton Bakov proposed forming the Greater Urals Republic which got support from Yeltsin which was however dropped. (11) Today the Yeltsin Centre in Yekaterinburg has become increasingly active in proselytising western values of ‘freedom and democracy.’ (12)
The US Congress Helsinki Forum acts with the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and with the EU to arrange conferences in which the break-up of the Russian Federation is planned. Among these plans are: Germany to have Belarus, Turkey to have a mandate over Crimea and the Caucasus, while Japan will have the Russian Far East. (13) In May and July 2022 the Forum of the Free Peoples of Russia met in Warsaw and in Prague, calling for the restructuring of Russia and for it to be, ‘decolonized, de-imperialized and deputized’. The aim is to break up the Russian Federation through sabotage and demonstrations. (14) Those taking part included oligarchs such as Khodorkovsky, politicians from Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states, journalists from both the west - including Luke Harding of the Guardian - and individuals from Russia such as the chess champion Gary Kasparov, Alekhina - a member of Pussy Riot, and the Belarus ‘leader’ in exile Tikhanovskaya. (15) The group is funded by the US Endowment for Democracy, the British Embassy in Kiev, and a host of neo-liberal groups. (16)
Interestingly, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy - despite promising to defeat corruption - was named in the Pandora Papers and it is thought he may be worth $850 million. (17) His properties include several flats in London, and yachts and properties around the world.
NEW BALANCE OF POWER
The first attempt to colonise Russia followed the 1917 revolution when Britain, the US and France organised an intervention for, as Churchill proposed, the ‘strangling of Bolshevism at its birth.’ The Entente’s invasion was thwarted due to Soviet workers’ solidarity. The threat did not disappear though, only the great depression delayed invasion until 1941. When the Nazis were defeated both the US and the UK were working against the Soviet Union – the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were warnings of the overwhelming might of the US.
It is disingenuous to claim that the proxy war between NATO and Russia is a struggle between global empires. Russia is only the twelfth biggest economy in the world. Recent conflicts have been to protect Russia’s sovereignty. In Georgia, and Chechnya, Russia’s forces withdrew after securing a peace treaty. In the case of Crimea, 96% of the population voted to join Russia after the unlawful coup in Kiev. The granting of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 has been shown as unconstitutional. (18)
Unquestionably, the NATO-led provocation in the Ukraine will lead to a new balance of power. It may well be that the economic and political cost of waging a proxy war will lead to failure by NATO and the EU. Instead of a world dominated by one power – there will be a multi-polar political and economic structure unlike anything we have seen.
(1) Allen Weinstein, The Washington Post, 22/9/1991.
(2) Uzbekistan Has Second Highest Prevalence of Modern Slavery in the World – Report | Eurasianet
(3) Kyrgyzstan | Westminster Foundation for Democracy (wfd.org)
(4) Why did the CIA director fly to Yerevan | Vestnik Kavkaza (vestikavkaza.ru)
(5) CIA Director Visits Armenia (azatutyun.am)
(6) What does CIA chief’s arrival in Armenia mean? – Aze.Media
(7) CIA chief arrives in Armenia | Report.az
(8) www.wfd.org/what-we-do/our-programmes
(9) Casey Michel, Decolonising Russia’ The Atlantic 27/5/2022
(10) Casey Michel, Decolonising Russia’ The Atlantic 27/5/2022
(11) Anton Bakov, Uralskaya Respublika : Kak eto bylo
(12) Yeltsin Center May Have To Accommodate Russian Leadership | MEMRI
(13) Decolonizing Russia | CSCE
(14) Srbin.info. – 28/7/2022
(16) The Free Russia Forum - news, articles, broadcasts, videos (forumfreerussia.org)
(18) “CRIMEA ACTS” OF 1954: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES (cyberleninka.ru) also http://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2015/06/150627_russia_mironov_crimea
Leaders of the commonwealth of Independent States. Left to right Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Alexander Lukashenko, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Vladimir Putin, Sadyr Japarov, Emomali Rahmon, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Shavkat Mirziyoyev - Photo by Russian Presidential Office
Interestingly, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy - despite promising to defeat corruption - was named in the Pandora Papers and it is thought he may be worth $850 million. His properties include several flats in London, and yachts and properties around the world.
