Information Related to "Russia's Time of Trouble"
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Russia's Time of Troubles
Russia's troubles underscore long-standing weaknesses in how it
has governed itself. Will Russians demand stronger leadership?
by Melvin Rhodes
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Having taken over the Russian house in 1917 without the consent of the people, the Bolsheviks (communists) attempted to fill a vacuum left by the collapse of a dynasty that had ruled for more than three centuries. The communists, wedded as they were to a system that couldn't work, consequently made a big mess of everything.
It appears little has changed. The new democratic Russia is led by a former KGB official who seemed bewildered during the country's latest crisis, the sinking of the nuclear submarine Kursk.
Officially, it didn't sink; it simply "descended to the bottom of the sea." Officially, no lives were lost, and contact with the sub was maintained at all times.
This was the official stance until the lies were no longer credible and the extent of the disaster was revealed. By then it was too late for foreign technology, sent on request by Britain and Norway, to attempt a rescue.
Officially, foreigners are still to blame for the incident, the Kursk supposedly having been in a collision with an American or British submarine during naval exercises. Most outsiders, however, acknowledge that torpedoes in the submarine exploded, killing most of the men immediately, with others dying in the days that followed.
Newspapers reported that President Vladimir Putin's first concern when hearing of the loss was of the financial consequences; his second worry was the impact on the navy. Only then was any thought expressed for the men.
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