Glad I'm not russian

[General Apathy]

MOSCOW — The upper house of Russia's parliament on Monday passed a bill granting expanded powers to the country's main security agency, a move that critics say echoes the era of the Soviet KGB.

The bill, which now goes to President Dmitry Medvedev to be signed into law, would allow the Federal Security Service (FSB) to issue warnings to people suspected of preparing to commit crimes against Russia's security.

Human rights and democracy activists say this power could be used to intimidate government opponents and stifle protests.

"This law is targeted against the opposition ... It's a draconian law which is unprecedented in the world and is reminiscent of our repressive past," Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister who is now leader of the opposition Solidarity movement, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Former KGB agent Gennady Gudkov told NPR that the the law is written so vaguely that the government could use it "as an instrument to pressure the opposition."

The FSB is the main successor agency to the KGB.

The bill was approved by the upper house by a vote of 121-1. The sole vote against was cast by the house's speaker, Sergei Mironov, who said he had was apprehensive about the measure.

That is scary stuff

It isn't so scary if you are a Russian living in the US.

[the BS method]

121-1

Wow.

I think this just brings to light what has already been going on over there.

I remember reading about Garry Kasparov running for president. He was arrested numerous times for absolutely nothing.

[Standtall]

The bill was approved by the upper house by a vote of 121-1. The sole vote against was cast by the house's speaker, Sergei Mironov, who said he had was apprehensive about the measure.

If this guy gets arrested under this new law, that would be pretty funny.

[Rickson]

Yeah, we have the same legislation here it is called The Patriot Act...

[FormLetter]

See, the Russians need to give it a good names like the Happy Komrades Act.

[Hugh Jass]

Venezuela is like that too


why do all the crappy countries have stuff we need?

Originally Posted by Rickson

Yeah, we have the same legislation here it is called The Patriot Act...

Well in Russia a broken arm counts as your warning, at least that is what the guy said on NPR.

[Ron Weasley]

This isn't a move that I expect to play out as a benefit to the U.S., but it's really not surprising from the long term view for anyone who has ever seriously read Russian (not Soviet) history.

Where the U.S. was formed by malcontents insisting on ruling themselves, Russia was first conquered and organized by vikings, then ruled by the mongols as a group of vassel kingdoms, and then by a series of tsars (czars) who were loosely modeled after the Roman Ceasars (tsar is the anglican transliteration of the Russian word for ceaser). In other words, Russia has a long history of being ruled by a strong central figure, and Russians have a long history of ignoring that rule to the degree possible and going about their lives.

This is simply a regression back to the political mean for Russia. Again, that's not to say it's good, just saying that it's typical and the last 20 years have been the exception.

[Car'a'carn]

Originally Posted by Ron Weasley

In other words, Russia has a long history of being ruled by a strong central figure, and Russians have a long history of ignoring that rule to the degree possible and going about their lives.

Same can be said for the western european countries before they changed their ways.