Biden must follow his ‘Killer’ instinct

Mr. Trump has been widely condemned. But the willingness of US officials to ignore Russian crimes was twofold. When President Boris Yeltsin attacked parliament with tanks in October 1993, Secretary of State Warren Christopher congratulated him on his victory. Despite Mr. Putin’s well-known links to organized crime, President Bush said in 2001 that he “looked the man in the eye” and that he could get a sense of his soul. “In July 2009, President Obama Putin described him as “sincere, just and deeply interested in the interests of the Russian people” – despite the polonium poisoning of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. Putin was probably personally responsible for his poisoning.

When it comes to Russia, American leaders are to some extent superficial for fear of what a serious attempt to find the truth may find. But the US, as a guarantor of world stability, has a duty to gain full knowledge of Russian leaders’ crimes. Russia is run by about 100 individuals who control 35% of the country’s assets. With free rein, there are few restrictions on the actions they can take against the outside world.

In three cases in particular, the US must do everything in its power to understand and expose Russian crimes.

First, we need the truth about the February 27, 2015, assassination of Boris Nemtsov, Russia’s most important democratic leader, who was shot on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge next to the Kremlin. The official story was that Zaur Dadaev, a former officer in the Russian military forces in Chechnya, without contact with Nemtsov, shot him six times. Four other accused allegedly helped with the crime. The regime constantly promoted this version, and the US tacitly accepted it.

However, the European Parliament convened evidence that Nemtsov was the victim of an operation carried out by the regime – including the presence of suspects on the bridge who were never questioned, the disappearance of film from all nearby surveillance cameras and wiretapping Nemtsov which could only be performed by an information service. Andrei Illarionov, a Russian economist, published evidence that Nemtsov was shot from two different rifles, not one as alleged in court, and a videotape confirmed that Dadaev was not on the bridge when Nemtsov was killed.

Nemstov is a hero to many Russians; the place where he was killed became a pilgrimage. But he was also important to the US. He was one of only two Putin opponents able to summon a crowd. The other is Alexei Navalny, who was recently jailed after being poisoned. Unlike mr. Navalny, however, Nemtsov was an opponent of nationalism and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The US blames Russian Democrats for all efforts to identify those responsible for his death.

We also need the truth about the destruction of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 on 17 July 2014, in which 298 passengers and crew were killed. The Putin regime began an attempt at disinformation after the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine to create the impression that it had been accidentally destroyed by separatists. But evidence points to Russia.

A Dutch criminal court has ruled that the Buk M1 missile that hit MH17 was brought into Ukraine by the Russian 53rd anti-aircraft missile. According to a report by Radio Liberty, the battery was accompanied by Russian intelligence officials. In a May 2020 interview with the Times of London, separatist leader Igor Girkin denies any involvement. Asked if he was accusing Russia, Mr. Girkin said, “People can interpret it as they please.”

What is particularly cool about the destruction of MH17 is that it was apparently part of a political strategy. Mr. Putin called Obama immediately after the plane was shot down, and citing the danger to civilian planes, put an end to the Ukrainian offensive that was rapidly advancing to the area held by separatists. In the next ten days, he made 24 calls with Western leaders with the same goal in mind.

Finally, we need the truth about the bombings in September 1999, which led to a new invasion of Chechnya and Mr. Putin brought to power. More than 300 people were killed in the blasts in four buildings. Shortly afterwards, three agents from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, were caught when they placed a fifth bomb in the basement of a building in Ryazan. The bomb, disarmed before it could explode, tested positive for hexogen, the explosive used in the four explosions. Other evidence that has built up over the years also points to the FSB.

The US has never raised the question of why FSB agents were caught placing a bomb in the basement of an apartment. Foreign Minister Madeleine Albright declined to answer questions about the bombings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying only that “acts of terror have no place in a democratic society.” Russia blames the bombing on Chechen rebels. Unless the truth is established, terrorism could become the way power changes in Russia from now on.

Many Russian critics focus on corruption, which is easy to understand. But the greater danger the Putin regime poses to the world is a mentality that views murder as a normal part of political life. The idea of ​​people as completely consumable has its origins in socialism, with the abolition of private property and the conversion of the individual to state property. The idea is ingrained in the minds of Russian leaders.

Russia responded to the remark of Mr. Pray by threatening an ‘irreversible deterioration of relations’. But the path to better relations leads through the realization by Russian leaders that the rest of the world is determined to curb their crimes. The president must reverse decades of American political practice and act according to his recognition of Mr. Putin’s role. If he does not do so, the next crime of the Russian ruler is only a matter of time.

Mr. Satter is the latest author of ‘Never Speak to Strangers and Other Writing From Russia and the Soviet Union’ and an adviser to the Memorial Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.