This is the second editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

There is uproar in South Korea over what is being described as the “oil-gate” scandal. Judging by reports in the Korean media, there is much more than meets the eye with oil-gate and this has the potential to turn into a diplomatic crisis between Russia and South Korea. This scandal involves several high-profile Korean politicians and even those close to the South Korean President.

Following a request by the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, prosecutors have lunched a high profile investigation. The prosecutors have hinted that employees of Alfa-Eco and Korail “planned” the failure of the project and have shared the three and a half million dollars in proceeds. Another angle being investigated is the involvement of the South Korean Ambassador in the scandal. It’s no secret that high profile diplomats are involved in activities “incompatible with their responsibilities” especially when they are pushing forward the economic interests of their country. Investigators allege that the ambassador lent unofficial support for the project and probably used assistance from Russian politicians for the project even after Alfa-Eco failed to get Russian Government approval. The former ambassador vehemently denied knowing anything about the project.

The railroad agency was already under fire for incurring financial losses by jumping into the project without conducting a proper study. It’s a mystery why Korail was persistent on pursuing the project especially after losing three and a half million dollars. This is where the role of the former ambassador and an important Korean politician come in. Prosecutors allege that this was part of a much larger conspiracy to embezzle an even larger amount of funds.

The role of Russian businessmen and politicians remains a mystery but the Russian Embassy in Seoul called on the media to “not hurl wild allegations” towards Russia. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this scandal and investigators will hopefully get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

There is a lesson to be learned for Russia from the way, investigations are being handled in South Korea. An independent judiciary and legal system can do wonders in bringing about justice. Justice is served regardless of whether those involved in corrupt deals are close to the president or not. Russia still has a long way to go in establishing accountability for public money.

This is the first editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Sakhalin is divided on President Vladimir Putin’s performance after his re-election. On one side is the disgruntled lot of pensioners and others who were dependant on state benefits and on the other, the “patriots” who believe that the president is only working for the best interests of the people. As part of its nationwide (and international if you include the Baltics) strategy, the Kremlin wants to extend the Nashi movement to Sakhalin.

Sakhalin’s isolation from the rest of the country has always meant that ideologies and trends don’t catch on as quickly as they do on the mainland. The presence of Koreans and indigenous people on the island has ensured a “colourful” and multi-racial society. The traditional tolerance between these communities has ensured that the island hasn’t witnessed the ugly episodes of xenophobia that have struck some parts of the mainland. The absence of mosques and synagogues on the island has further ensured that there isn’t much trouble on the island. So the very need of a “patriotic,” anti-fascist movement in Sakhalin is suspect.

The brochure that was distributed near Lenin Square contained attacks on the NazBols or the NBP and the RNU parties, both of which aren’t popular here. In fact, the only “nationalist” party that did well in the last Duma elections in Sakhalin was Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s LPDR, which is at present pro-Kremlin. The Sakhalin branch of the party has been promoting good ties with China, Japan and Korea and hasn’t echoed the sentiments of their outspoken leader. It is all the more unlikely that the RNU or NBP will gain mass acceptance in Sakhalin. There might be some resentment against foreign participation in Sakhalin’s energy projects, but that is hardly likely to give way to racist violence.

Keeping these facts in mind makes one wonder why the Nashi movement is required in Sakhalin. Many of the statements in the brochure contained derogatory remarks against America. The brochure says, “the evil Russian Ultranationalists from the Russian National Unity party (RNU), National Bolshevik Party (NBP) and skinhead groups, funded by exiled Oligarchs and the CIA, have teamed up with Latvians and Chechens and are plotting to overthrow our beloved President in order to destroy Russia and sell it to Americans and Latvians and trying to betray the results of victory of Soviet Union over the Third Reich.” Just one week ago, the American President was the honoured guest at the Victory Day Celebrations in Russia. Now supporters of the President are accusing the extremists in Russia of being American agents. It’s scary that such a ridiculous assertion is coming from a pro-Kremlin organisation.

The Kremlin needs to learn from its mistakes of 1999-2000, when it overtly encouraged dangerous elements in a bid to win public support for the second Chechen war. Soon after unleashing these elements, the government realised that there was no way to control them and many of these elements merged with the fascist movements in Russia. Sakhalin doesn’t need such kind of “patriotic” elements if they end up doing more harm than good.

This is the second editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Josef Stalin is probably the most debated figure in Sakhalin. Long term residents of Sakhalin will remember that Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Kholmsk, Korsakov and Okha had a Stalin Street until 1992. Few of these places also had Stalin memorials which weren’t quietly torn down in the Khrushchev era. A survey taken last November showed that 60% of Sakhaliners viewed Stalin in a positive light. This was much higher than the then-national figure of 25%.

It is hardly surprising that a group of army veterans are demanding a memorial to Stalin be reinstalled in Sakhalin. Privately, officials from the Sakhalin Governor’s office have scoffed at the idea but are unwilling to make a public criticism in order to avoid a possible uproar. Photographs of Stalin are available more freely than they ever were since post-communist times. A great section of people associate Stalin with the “glorious” days and see him as a symbol of strength.

In a move aimed at pleasing western audiences, President Putin called Stalin a “tyrant” on German television but insisted that he wasn’t as bad as Hitler. A large number of Ukrainians would disagree with that statement. History books everywhere are so full of propaganda that nobody really knows the truth about Stalin. Russian books either unduly praise Stalin or follow the post-Khrushchev era trend of ignoring a great deal of his alleged atrocities. Western books are hardly a neutral adjudicator of Stalin’s policies. These after all are the same books that barely mention a few paragraphs on the USSR’s role in World War 2.

It is widely believed in Russia that a great deal of misinformation about Stalin was spread after 1945. Some eminent historians in Sakhalin have even stated that the west, in an attempt to defame Stalin, just translated and reprinted Nazi propaganda on the leader. Such was the unity in defaming Stalin, a leading Sakhalin historian told this publication, that Nazi lies on Stalin were widely spread published and believed in all countries which were on the other side of the Iron Curtain. This is not to say that the Soviets weren’t guilty of spreading propaganda themselves.

Looking at it from a Sakhaliner’s point of view, Stalin was the hero who liberated the island and the Kurils from Japanese occupation, permanently erasing the humiliating defeat of 1904-5. There were no recorded cases of Sakhaliners being sent to the gulags. The debate on Stalin could go on forever and we would still not be any closer to the truth. It is merely a question of symbolism. President Putin passed several decrees reinstating many Soviet-era symbols and the USSR’s national anthem as they helped restore pride among the Russian people. Unlike the Poles and Baltics and Hungarians, Russians don’t believe the USSR was evil. A Stalin memorial or statue or street could just as well be a symbol, a symbol for Sakhalin pride and this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

The late Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Britain's greatest general of the 20th century was asked to compile a list of military blunders and elementary disasters to avoid, he put at the very top of the list, "Germany’s Invasion of Russia." On June 22, 1941, Nazi Fuhrer Adolf Hitler carried out the invasion of the USSR. He launched Operation Barbarossa and in doing so unleashed the greatest, most epic and easily the bloodiest war in the history of the world. Attacking the USSR was Hitler’s undoing but not before it led to the worst human suffering in history.

In the years following the German attack on Russia, more than 27 million Russians had died at the hands of the Nazi invaders. Not since the Mongol heirs of Genghis Khan conquered China in the 13th century had so much loss of life been visited upon a single nation. Even a limited nuclear strike upon Russia today would not produce such comparable casualties and human suffering.

In its often tumultuous and troubled history, few days compare to May 9, 1945 when Russia (at that time the USSR), defeated Nazi Germany. The great victory was a culmination of 4 years of struggles, hardships and sacrifices. Sacrifices that included this very loss of twenty seven million people who gave their lives to protect their country from the greatest evil the world has ever known.

It took so many precious lives for the Russian concepts of pride, honour and equality to prevail over the Nazi ideology of superiority and hatred. The countless and unsung millions who fought to save Russia from the Nazis have a lot to be proud of. Their victory established Russia as a superpower, a title that has never been relinquished despite the fall of the Soviet Union. A nation emerged after the war that was both economically and militarily powerful. A country that was based on equality of its various nationalities and ethnicities! A proud nation that completely rebuild itself from the ravages of war and became one of the world’s industrialised, powerful and developed nations.

It is tragic that Hitler and his ideology are becoming popular among a small section of Russian people. While there might not be more than 30,000 believers of this hate-ideology in a country of a 140 million, the people of Russia, who lost the most because of this ideology need to crush it before it spreads among a generation that can never really understand what went on in the very same cities they live in, just six decades ago. Like Israel, Russia needs to educate the younger generation of the exact damage that Fascism and Nazism caused the country and that it was the greatest evil of all time.

While the post-Soviet years have provided many a hardship to people in Russia, the spirit of the great victory in 1945 and what was achieved after that victory needs to help Russians get back that lost pride. We all need to remember that no matter how glum things look at the moment, life was far worse during those days after the war ended as almost everyone in the country had to start from scratch. It’s up to the generations that witnessed the war and even those that just witnessed the rebuilding to increase awareness among the youth about all the great sacrifices made by those that gave all they could.

Russia is now on the verge of recapturing greatness, a greatness that has eluded the country, since the disaster known as Mikhail Gorbachev. While the world may underestimate Russia, the Russian people need to be as confident in themselves as they were in the 1940s. Germany learned a lesson 60 years ago when the Nazi Wehrmacht was brought down. It is never wise to count Russia out: Its people have a habit of coming back to win the day when everyone least expects it.