Originally posted by northwolf
Maloy, correct me i'm wrong but isn't a lot of the smuggling going on in western Russia organised by Georgian "gangs"? (This is what i heard few years ago)
There have allso been cases of Georgians trafficin illegal immigrants into EU.
[edit on 7-10-2006 by northwolf]
I have not heard much about illegal trafficing of people, but I am more than certain that it takes place. Georgians might be involved, but so are many other ethnic groups. Smuggling might take place indeed in the form of illegal contraband or products restricted from import (such as Georgian wine and other produce now that this conflict has grown).
What Georgians are more known for, is selling and reselling produce from Georgia and Southern Russia in the markets of large cities. There are literaly tens of thousands of them running their trucks back and forth with produce from the fertile regions in South Russia- and this produce and products are cheaper than in any store- they sell them at outdoor markets right off the truck. The problem is- this line of business required one to have "roof" over their business, or protection from gangs and mafia. Well there are so many Georgians, that they decided it would be more profitable to form their own mafia. And now they have their own "zones" in the markets where either only they trade, or make others pay them. And just like Chechens and Amrmenians, Georgians are very business oriented. There are a lot of restaurants and clubs owned them- which also tend to get involved with mafia or illegal activities.
Now everyone knows, that there are plenty of gangs in Russia, and Georgians are by far not the only ones. The only reason they are being targeted, is the recent conflict. Also, because they sell what is considered contraband (Georgian products). Is this the right thing to do? I personally don't much agree with this selective detainment. Hell there is plenty in Russian mob that deserves to be put away, and the same goes for the politicians and corrupted police that turn a blind eye on them. At least Putin began dealing with the corrupted police personel (referred to as oborotni in Russia), in city-wide busts involving hundreds of people sometimes. But these problems aren't solved in a day.
Getting back to the point- nearly every event in Russia after the WTO began (and the pro-American coups all around Russia), has been very biased protrayed in the US, and Russian opponent states such as Poland. UK's BBC seems much more neutral, usually presenting one point, and in the next story a counter-point. But of course when it comes to Russia-Britain affairs it is also fairly biased. I am guessing that states closer to Russia (Scandinavia, Baltics, Eastern Europe) are even more neutral, because the people there are better aware of whats going on even without the news. Russian sources (Itar-Tass) are also one-sided, but Russians have plenty of access to Ukrainian and Georgian (to a lesser extent) media to know both sides of the story. Furthermore, ever since USSR era and Chehcnya, Russians are used to taking all news with a grain of salt. They are not as quickly to believe something they hear on the news.
I have regular TV access to Russian media, as well as CNN, BBC, and a few other international ones, so it is rather entertaining to hear different sides talking in completely different ways about the story. The truth is almost always somewhere in between. And non-American news at least provide a comprehensive background of the story so you can have some basis for your own opinion. Now the way CNN presented the War in Yugoslavia, the Orange Revolution, and the gas affair between Russia and Ukraine, was absolutely hilarious. On no other network have I seen that much bias. You's think Ukraine was the 51st state. I can only imaging what FOX news is like.
Now these funded websites (like Mosnews) are even worse. Most of the time you can guess who funds them after reading for a minute. It is either some political faction, or some other interest group. They present all of their news in one light, leaving everything and everyone else in the shadow of ignorance. It is pure propaganda, and the only way their news should be received is by viewing an equally biased opposing side's news.
I don't know much about the Guardian, but at least it has this little bit of truth:
The west's new Russophobia is hypocritical - and wrong
Even this article though takes every chance to ascertain that Russia is still BAD, even though they are throwing it a bone. I wonder how many people read that, after they read about how the evil Russia is starving the poor Ukrainians of gas. But even this article talks about Russia-US relations, and not Russia-Britain relations. Although all the other articles there about Russia take on an obvious pro-British poin of view. Take this title for example:
Kremlin attack dog vows to take on Shell
[edit on 7-10-2006 by maloy]
