When Bush first moved into the White House, NYC had the most billionaires in the world. Eight years later, Moscow now has the most billionaires.
Thanks Mr. Bush!
Russia flexes military muscle at festivities
By Peter Finn
The Washington Post
Wearing World War II-era uniforms, Russian troops march in the annual Victory Day parade at Moscow's Red Square on Friday. Heavy weaponry, including tanks and missiles, was on display during the event for the first time since the Soviet Union's collapse.
Moscow hadn't seen a show like this since 1990 when the Soviets last commemorated the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Within a year, the Soviet Union was no more.
In the mid-1990s, Russians began to celebrate victory in World War II with a parade on May 9. But the festivities were stripped of displays of weaponry until this year, the 63rd anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Eight thousand goose-stepping troops, glamorous in their newly designed uniforms, as well as tanks, armored vehicles and missiles crossed the square Friday. Overhead, strategic bombers and fighter planes roared across the sky.
President Dmitry Medvedev, presiding over his first public ceremony since taking office Wednesday, said Russia's military is "gaining in strength and power like all of Russia."
And drawing a ploy from the playbook of his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who stood beside him, Medvedev appeared to criticize the United States without actually naming the country.
"We must not allow contempt for the norms of international law," he said, warning against "intentions to intrude in the affairs of other states and especially redraw borders."
Russia most recently has criticized Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, which the United States supported.
"The history of world wars warns us that armed conflicts do not erupt on their own," Medvedev said. "They are fueled by those whose irresponsible ambitions overpower the interests of countries and whole continents, the interests of millions of people."
At last year's parade, Putin appeared to compare the United States with Nazi Germany. The Kremlin later denied that was his intention.
Putin and Medvedev watched the parade from a reviewing stand — unlike Soviet leaders who used to stand on top of the mausoleum containing the mummified body of Vladimir Lenin, the first Soviet leader.
"This isn't saber-rattling," said Putin, speaking earlier this week about the parade. "We're not threatening anyone, and we don't plan to do so. We're not imposing anything on anyone. We have enough of everything. This is a demonstration of our growing potential in the area of defense."
Around 70 percent of Russians support the return of military hardware to Red Square, according to opinion polls here.
"The parade demonstrates that should anything happen, we will be able to beat any enemy," said Elena Volkova, an 86-year-old retired teacher who celebrated Victory Day in a Moscow park. "Our military is respected again. And the West envies Russia and the Russian people because Putin was able to restore the country after such a deep collapse in the 1990s."
Under Putin, military spending has increased eightfold to $40 billion annually. Russia has resumed long-range bomber patrols, which have buzzed U.S. ships in the Pacific and forced NATO jets to scramble around Western Europe. And it has threatened to target missiles at Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic in response to the expansion of NATO and U.S. plans to station a missile-defense system in Central Europe.
"Russia wants to create an impression of might, the revival of might, and the return of the Soviet-style parade is part of that," said Alexander Khramchihin, of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow.
Putin also restored the music from the Soviet anthem.
But for all the martial tub-thumping, the Russian military cannot be compared to its Soviet predecessor.
The current-day military is accused of huge waste and corruption that has prevented it from a large-scale modernization. And the army is regarded as such a bastion of brutality and hazing that most young Russian men try to avoid conscription.
A Pentagon spokesman earlier this week derisively dismissed the display of military power.
"If they wish to take out their old equipment and take it for a spin and check it out, they're more than welcome to do so," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.
But many Russians, nostalgic for lost greatness and proud of Putin's efforts to restore it, dismiss such remarks as nothing more than foreign resentment. A major energy exporter, Russia is flush with revenues from oil and gas sales, and the government has pledged to continue increasing spending on defense.
seattletimes.nwsource.com |
