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2 BaronIveagh: I hope you are right.

Recently in russian social network VKontakte video appeared in which people with hidden faces and with altered voices take responsibility for the murder of Nemtsov. It is not surprising that they represent themselves as fighters from Novorosia, squad "Rusich". Sadly, I haven't found yet this video in english. Also this is just repost, because original video was posted via VK video service, not youtube.

Such fun-loving guys...


Doesn't surprise me with how things are going in Russia now. It is almost impossible to listen to Russian tv without hearing things about 'traitors', 'fashists', 'foreign agents', '5th column' and 'enemies of the people'.

Also, I think your translation was great. Altough I would have probably translated karatel here as something like 'death squads' and prodazhnost as corruption, because I have no idea what chasteners or venality means. You are probably better at it than me.


A really strange thing: No one in the Western media seems to have noticed this video. Probably too busy blaming 'the KGB'. Isn't it funny that almost every assasination in the West is done by someone operating alone or with a small group while assasinations in Russia are always done by 'the KGB'?
Even if the video can't be confirmed you would think they at least pick up on it.

The squad Rusich themselves deny it was them and say the video was a provocation by Azov batallion. Their commander seems to be a horrible psycopath though
http://lifenews.ru/news/150712

Who are these Rusich, Azov, etc.?

 KiloFiX wrote:
Who are these Rusich, Azov, etc.?

Rusich is a group of Russian volunteers fighting for the seperatists, Azov is a a volunteer batallion of the Ukrainian government. Both are neonazi groups.
Rusich seems to be a pretty small group, I had not heard much of them before this.
Batallion Azov is very well known and pretty controversial. You can find plenty of information in English about them

Sorry, I'm confused. If Rusich is separatist, why would they kill Nemtsov? Aren't they technically on the same side?

Or do I have it backwards?

 KiloFiX wrote:
Sorry, I'm confused. If Rusich is separatist, why would they kill Nemtsov? Aren't they technically on the same side?

Or do I have it backwards?

You have it backwards.

Putin supports the Separatists.

Nemtsov is an anti - Putin figure who opposes Russia's involvement in Ukraine and support of the Separatists.

Ergo hes an enemy to the Separatists.

Oh ok. I thought separatists had meant "wanting to separate from Russia", when it should have meant "wanting to separate from Ukraine".

 KiloFiX wrote:
Oh ok. I thought separatists had meant "wanting to separate from Russia", when it should have meant "wanting to separate from Ukraine".

Don't worry. It's like an episode of soap "confused? you will be, watch the next episode".

Expect a counter coup, within a couple of years.

I'm starting to see in the press, both in Russia and outside, make some comparisons to the murder of Sergei Kirov.

That's.... disturbing.

http://www.interfax.ru/russia/428026

Russian border guards have recorded mining of two road bridges across Chongarsky strait that separates the Crimean peninsula and the peninsula Chongar in Ukraine, said Wednesday the spokesman of the Russian FSB border management in the Republic of Crimea -INTERFAX

I want to add that in Mariupol all bridges are also mined. Today I passed 3 mined bridges, including the main bridge near the metallurgical plant Azovstal. There is no point to mine bridges in the city center, but it's a good occasion for provocation.

I recall tragedy in Volnovakha, when 12 people died. Officials almost immediately declared that the tragedy occurred due to bombardment of separatist's Grad, but most likely there antipersonnel mine exploded.

Asadjud wrote:
There is no point to mine bridges in the city center

Other than, you know, being able to blow up the bridge in case one's enemy appears.

The explosion of these objects will not help defend the city. Finally destroy the economy of the city of half a million people? To finish one of the last industrial centers of the country?

Asadjud wrote:
The explosion of these objects will not help defend the city. Finally destroy the economy of the city of half a million people? To finish one of the last industrial centers of the country?

In a pure military sense, the economy is pretty low on the list of priorities. And blowing up bridges DOES have strategic and defensive value, against certain forms of military action. AKA, infantry and armor.

Pretty sure blowing up a bridge will impede heavy armor and supply line transports.

You are discussing an abstract bridge in an abstract place. Look at the map. Destroying bridges in Mariupol will not impede any military or supply movement for separatist, will not help defend city from attack (I doubt that a direct attack will generally be), but for city it will be just like a terrorist attack.

I'd hate to see the anti personnel mine that's going to seriously damage a bridge that big.

It's strictly to make people into mincemeat if they try and cross.

 BaronIveagh wrote:
I'd hate to see the anti personnel mine that's going to seriously damage a bridge that big.

It's strictly to make people into mincemeat if they try and cross.

I think you're missing the point

Asadjud is saying they're mining everything, without reason. And when innocent people get blown up, they blame the separatists.

And as an explosive foot note
Car blast in Kharkov weeks after fatal rally bombing

Two people have been injured by a blast that destroyed a car in Kharkov, a government-controlled city in eastern Ukraine. The incident happened just weeks after the authorities announced heightened security in response to a fatal bombing at a rally.

The car, a white Volkswagen mini-van, was heavily damaged, pictures from the scene indicated.

The local emergencies services said the two injured in the incident have been taken to hospital.

The car belongs to Andrey Yangolenko, a commander of a local pro-government volunteer battalion, his brother Segey, who commands another battalion in Kharkov, told Interfax Ukraine. Andrey and his wife were injured in the blast, he said.

Sergey Yangolenko added that the assailants used magnetic mines in the car bombing. One of the explosives didn’t detonate and was later found by Kharkov police.
The blast comes weeks after a bombing attack on a pro-government march in Kharkov, which killed three people, including a police officer.

Less than an hour after the bombing Kiev blamed the attack on “Russia-trained terrorists.” An aide to Interior Minister Arseny Avakov, Anton Gerashchenko accused the group called ‘Kharkov partisans’ of the deed. The group denied having a hand in it and accused the authorities of staging a provocation.

Another version voiced by radical Ukrainian politician Oleg Lyashko pointed to the city’s Mayor Gennady Kernes, who is reportedly engaged in fierce confrontation with Avakov.

Kernes denied the accusation.

The mayor himself is being prosecuted on allegations of unlawful detention and intimidation, charges unrelated to the blast. Kernes said he didn’t believe he would be tried fairly and accused his political enemies of persecution.

Kharkov has witnessed a number of explosions over the past few months, although the February 22 bombing of the rally was the first that resulted in fatalities. Previously offices and vehicles were targeted in a series of nighttime attacks, which caused some property damage.

Regarding the Nemtsov murder, two suspects are now officially charged:

Two people have been officially charged at Moscow's Basmanny district court in connection with the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure, who was gunned down last week. Three others are suspected of having a hand in the crime.

The charged are Zaur Dadaev and Anzor Gubashev, who were identified as suspects in the killing of Nemtsov after their detention on Saturday.

The prosecutors asked the court to arrest the duo by April 28, the current deadline for the investigation, saying that otherwise they may flee or interfere with the investigation.

It wasn’t immediately clear what exactly Dadaev and Gubashev were charged with, although earlier media reports indicated the duo are suspected of carrying out the hit.

“The suspects denied their ties to the crime, but we have evidence of their guilt. It includes forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts,” an investigator told the court.

The other individuals, who may have had a hand in the crime, are Gubashev’s brother Shagit and two identified as Ramzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov. The request for their arrest is being reviewed separately by another judge.

Nemtsov was killed by a gunman a few meters from the Moscow Kremlin, triggering a flurry of condemnations and calls for a swift investigation. The assassination happened two days ahead of an opposition rally, which Nemtsov helped to organize.

While political motive is considered the most likely in the killing, the investigators said they were considering other scenarios, including a business or personal conflict. Likely political motives behind the killing according to the investigators include a provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation in Russia, possibly by Ukrainian radicals, and revenge by Islamists for Nemtsov’s support of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo following an extremist attack.

Source: http://rt.com/news/238813-nemtsov-murder-charged-court/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31788073

Also, the West keeps mentioning that Nemtsov somehow had evidence of Russian involvement in Ukraine, even though the only sources for that information are the Ukrainian president and a opposition party member?

Oppositionist Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead near the Kremlin a week ago, was finalizing a report on the role of Russian troops in the Ukrainian war, but kept most of the work in his head and avoided discussion, fearing wiretapping, said assistant to Nemtsov, who worked with him on the report.
...
We were ready to write. We could write it in a day, because it was all in his head - said Olga Shorina, assistant of Nemtsov.

-MOSCOW Reuters http://ru.reuters.com/article/topNews/idRUKBN0M120L20150305

Very convenient...

And stupid.

It's not uncommon. It's harder to search your brain than your house, car, or pockets.

It also makes it easier to silence you...

Yeah, ultimately its not a good idea. Sure, carry it in your head in case all the physical copies are destroyed, but also ensure some written copies exist.

I mean, the internet exists. Once its out, its out.

If the guy knew he was at risk of assassination, why the hell didn't he take steps to ensure the information's release in the event of his untimely demise?

Or you can just say that you have it in your head and make a good international noise. Who knows now, lied he or not?

we'll never know, although its unlikely he didn't have something. Otherwise its just making yourself a target for no reason other than to be edgy.

Do we think they arrested the right guys for the Nemetsov murder?

Or just scapegoats?

http://rt.com/news/238813-nemtsov-murder-charged-court/

5 suspects arrested over Nemtsov murder, 1 'confessed' - court

Moscow's Basmanny district court has arrested five people in connection with the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition figure, who was gunned down last week.

Two judges are reviewing the charges against the five people brought before the court by the prosecutors on Sunday.

Two of them are Zaur Dadaev and Anzor Gubashev, who were identified as key suspects in the killing of Nemtsov after their detention on Saturday.

The prosecutors asked the court to arrest the duo by April 28, the current deadline for the investigation, saying that otherwise they may flee or interfere with the investigation.


According to the judge, who ordered Dadaev’s arrest as requested by the prosecution, he confessed his involvement to the police. The accused didn’t comment on this during the court session.

Gubashev pleaded not guilty to the crimes he is charged with.

The other individuals, who may have had a hand in the crime, are Gubashev’s brother Shagit and two identified as Ramzat Bakhaev and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov. The request for their arrest has been reviewed separately by another judge.

“The suspects denied their ties to the crime, but we have evidence of their guilt. It includes forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts,”an investigator told the court.


The trio denied their involvement, with Eskerkhanov claiming to have an alibi. But the judge ordered their arrests as well.

Eskerkhanov and Bakhaev have been remanded until May 8 and Shagit Gubashev - until May 7.

The sixth suspect, Beslan Shavanov, 30, reportedly committed suicide on March 7, when police came to his apartment in Chechnya’s capital Grozny. The man, according to LifeNews channel, had barricaded himself in the apartment.

“In response to the police’s demand he surrender, he [the suspect] threw a hand grenade [at police forces],” a law enforcement source told the news channel. Shavanov then detonated another grenade, killing himself.

The President of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, commented on the arrest of the five suspects on his Instagram account on May 8. He specifically spoke about Dadaev, saying he knew him “as a patriot of Russia” who used to serve as deputy regiment commander in one of the Chechen Republic’s interior ministry units.

Kadyrov has ordered a “thorough investigation” of Dadaev’s retirement from the unit, saying that he “does not understand true reasons and motives” behind his decision.

However, the Chechen leader noted that the suspect, as a deep believer, had been “shocked” by the Charlie Hebdo scandal and all the “comments in support of printing the cartoons.”

Kadyrov has also confirmed Shavanov “died during attempts to detain him”.

Nemtsov was killed by a gunman a few meters from the Moscow Kremlin, triggering a flurry of condemnations and calls for a swift investigation. The assassination happened two days ahead of an opposition rally, which Nemtsov helped to organize.

To be fair, who held the gun is rather less important than who told him to, and I doubt we'll ever find who ordered the deal.

What'cha think the chance of them committing suicide before the trial are?