Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the World Hockey Junior Championship in Sochi, which started with a match between Russia and America, said:
“In the country, from which the team of our current rivals came, two terrible tragedies that claimed human victims happened recently: an act of terrorism in Boston and an explosion at a factory in Texas. In both cases there are victims. Terrorist attack in Boston occurred during international sporting event, which makes this crime especially heinous. On behalf of the Russian people I bring words of condolence and sympathy to the people of the United States, to all the victims and families of the victims “
Putin asked to pay tribute to victims by a minute of silence.
Most of the Russian officials, commenting on the Boston terrorist attack, have made efforts to distant the attack from Russian connections. The statement made by the President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov is most typical:
“We do not know the Tsarnaevs. They did not live in Chechnya. They lived and studied in America. American intelligence is responsible for what happened in Boston, U.S. … In recent years it has become customary to associate everything bad that happens in the world with the Chechens, even the tsunami. … In any case the Tsarnaevs were brought up in America, and their actions should be blamed on their education”.
Russian liberal Internet, busy with numerous recent internal problems of Russia, practically didn’t comment on the Boston attack. Only a few comments were made by professional political analysts.
Here are excerpts from the very indicative article of Vladimir Titov in the web site “Osobaia Bukva” (“Special Letter”):
“Obviously, Moscow will make every effort to distance itself from the brothers-bombers. But all this will not help the cause. Johar Tsarnaev, as seen on his page in the social network VKontakte, went to school in the Russian city of Makhachkala …
“But this problem has a flip side. Since the mid 90’s Western elites and the ‘independent’ public figures have been very worried about the ‘Caucasian dissidents’ who have been defending their freedom with arms against Russian KGB and Russian political revenge-seekers. Western leaders, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the world’s leading media all urged Moscow to ‘respect human rights’ and to negotiate with the ‘rebels” ’…
“Of course they condemned seizure of hospitals, bombings of subways and rock concerts by those ‘rebels’, but in general the attitude of Western politicians to Caucasian militants has not been changing significantly. Thus, ‘General’ Salman Raduev had been treated in Germany, where he underwent a complicated operation for prosthetic eye and replacement of some bones of the skull. Less well-known militant leaders also were improving their health in the countries of European Union.
“Lord Frank Judd, who repeatedly inspected the Chechnya on behalf of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, during his visit to Moscow in July 2002, called the operations of the Russian army ‘the colonial war.’ (At the same time the NATO operation in Afghanistan was in full swing, which for some reason did not cause his complaints.)
“But now that the Islamists from the Caucasus have shown themselves in all their glory in the United States, Western policymakers have something to think about.”
Vladimir Titov is echoed by one of the most famous political Analysts of Russia Sergey Markov:
“The Russiaphobic European politicians who have spent a huge amount of taxpayers’ money on idiotic programs of assistance to Chechen refugees should make up their minds…. They should remember very correct saying: ‘Do not dig a grave for another, you’ll fall into it yourself. ‘ ”
It seems a lot of politically conscious Russians more or less share Titov’s and Markov’s feelings.
