Yesterday, for the first time in the «reset» of relations with Russia, the United States subjected Moscow to harsh criticism for persecuting dissidents. The US National Security Council has made a statement on the inadmissibility of the arrests of opposition members who participated in the July 31 rallies to protect Article 31 of the Russian Constitution. According to Kommersant’s sources, the Russian leadership decided not to respond to this attack. Analysts say that in doing so, the Kremlin has decided to support the friendly US President Barack Obama in the fight against Republicans, which he will have to face in the upcoming congressional elections in November.
The US National Security Council (NSC) statement, which was published yesterday on the official White House website, harshly criticized the actions of the Russian police during the July 31 protests. «The United States is concerned by the detention on July 31 of Russian citizens who were participating in rallies throughout Russia...The United States reiterates the importance of embracing and protecting universal values, including freedoms of expression and assembly, enshrined in the Russian Constitution as well as in international agreements which Russia has signed,» reads the document, signed by NSC Spokesman Mike Hammer. He recalled that the harsh actions of Russia’s law enforcers contradict the calls for modernization declared by Dmitry Medvedev: «Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are also characteristics of a modern political system that supports economic modernization.»
«The United States remains committed to supporting those in Russia and around the world who are working to protect and advance the human rights and democratic values of their fellow citizens,» promised the NSC.
The statement in support of the protests, held on July 31, was Washington’s harshest criticism in Russia’s address since the time when, during Barack Obama’s last year’s visit to Moscow, a «reset» of relations was declared. In October of last year, Special Assistant to the US President for Russia Michael McFaul, who became one of the co-chairs of the US-Russia sub-commission on the development of civil society institutes (his counterpart in the Kremlin is First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Vladislav Surkov), told Kommersant that the reset will apply to the problems concerning the Russian opposition and observance of human rights in Russia. According to him, in the «reset» mode, Washington without refusing to support Russian human rights activists and NGOs stops publicly criticizing Moscow for deviation from democratic norms, which was done under George Bush. Since then, US authorities have honored this agreement. In February of this year, the US State Department had simply expressed «concern» in connection with the arrest of the 82-year-old head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseeva, which took place on January 31. American diplomats had a similar reaction to the attack on Ms. Alekseeva, which took place on March 31 in the Park Kultury Metro station. At that time, however, Washington refused to openly criticize the Russian authorities.
In previous years, Moscow’s response to the US criticism was always consistent and harsh. Yesterday, however, Russian authorities chose not to comment on the NSC statement. Moreover, according to a high-ranking official in the Dmitry Medvedev administration, a response from the Kremlin should not to be expected. Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry decided to do the same. Kommersant’s source from Smolenskaya Square (where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located RT) noted that «the NSC’s statement is an intrusion into Russia’s internal affairs, however there has not been an official response to this commentary, and most likely there will not be one.»
Analysts argue that Moscow will not pay attention to America’s criticism. «In this case, the status of the American official, who expressed these grievances, is fairly low under Bush, such statements were made by the press secretaries of the State Department or the White House, and in some cases, even politicians,» Fedor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Politics magazine, told Kommersant. «The status of the person voicing this opinion lets the Kremlin know that this statement should not be regarded as serious condemnation.»
According to Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, Mike Hammer’s statement was intended for the national public and is linked to the upcoming congressional elections in November, in which the Democrats will face some tough competition from the Republican Party. «Many criticize Obama for being excessively lenient when it comes to Russia, and it is difficult for him to defend his positions in almost one single sphere, in which there have been some clear accomplishments in the last six months,» he told Kommersant. «Now, the White House is making it clear that it is not afraid to express unpleasant remarks toward Russia, if American interests so require.» Incidentally, a day before the NSC’s statement was issued, Barack Obama’s former rival in the presidential election Senator John McCain had made a statement on the inadmissibility of the arrests of Russia’s opposition members and urged the administration to defend Russia’s democracy.
Dmitry Trenin believes that Moscow and Washington have a secret agreement not to react to statements, made for the national consumption. «For example, the United States did not react to Vladimir Putin’s prevocational meeting with the Russian spies, which was also clearly a national gesture,» he recalls. «In the Kremlin, officials very well understand that things are very tough for Obama today, and they should not quarrel with him,» says Fedor Lukyanov.
The oppositionists, to whose defense came the United States, received Washington’s statement with skepticism. «I don’t think we need the US or other Western states to intervene. We, of course, did not ask the Americans to make such statement,» Sergey Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front, who was detained on July 31 on Triumfalnaya Square, told Kommersant. «But, because the authorities’ actions are in fact illegal, it is hard to disagree with people who condemn these actions.» The reaction of the leader of the unregistered Other Russia Party, Eduard Limonov, who was present at one of the July 31 protests, was even harsher: «I firmly object to representatives of the US administration, or any other foreign politicians, making statements in regard to our problems,» he told Kommersant. «Things are not easy for us, we are living in a police state, but the Russian people don’t like others to meddle in their affairs. We will conquer our villains on our own.»
