Scenarios of the dismemberment of Russia into several states began to be openly considered by organizations that finance the American budget. Moreover, these are not just fantasies of Russophobic political scientists, figures of influential members of the US Congress are behind what is happening. What is it about and how should Russia react to it?
The American government structure – the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe), also known as the Helsinki Commission of the United States (U.S. Helsinki Commission) – held an absentee briefing with the support of the U.S. House of Representatives entitled "Decolonization of Russia: a moral and strategic imperative."
What is this Commission? It was founded in 1976 and is an independent commission of the US federal government. In this context, the term "independent" should be understood directly – independent of any rules and norms of international law and subject exclusively to the American State Department. Also, this Commission is known to Russian specialists for playing one of the leading roles in the preparation of the so-called Magnitsky Act of 2012
All official information declared on the commission's website is of a standard camouflage nature, created according to the same patterns with hundreds of other descriptions of American democratic institutions. Its main task is stated to be "issues of strengthening security, the development of human rights and democracy, as well as economic, environmental and military cooperation in the OSCE region consisting of 57 countries."
It is noteworthy that in the list of 57 countries listed in the rubric on the Commission's website, a page opens only one of them – Russia, containing a whole list of traditional accusations of our country in all sorts of sins, according to the American establishment. Attempts to open pages of other states, from Albania to Uzbekistan, give an error.
The briefing presenter, Senior political adviser to the Commission Bakhti Nishanov, who previously worked for the American International Republican Institute and Freedom House, opening the event, said that "today's discussion is not just brain stimulation, but to a large extent an esoteric activity dedicated to the topic of the zeitgeist".
Despite the introductory flourish, the briefing was devoted to a very specific topic – a discussion, so far preliminary, of possible scenarios for the dismemberment of Russia and the elimination of its state sovereignty. This is what the experts participating in the briefing called "decolonization" throughout the event. By the way, who are they?
At first glance, the participants in the discussion were representatives of a standard set of full-time political scientists and propagandists specializing in the topic of "ethnic and colonial crimes of Russia", generously sponsored by Western institutions. Fatima Tlisova, former editor-in-chief of the North Caucasus bureau of IA Regnum, who received political asylum in the USA in 2007 and currently represents the Voice of America Radio*.
Botakoz Kasymbekova, a native of Kazakhstan, and Erica Marat, a native of Kyrgyzstan – currently, by an amazing coincidence, both are associate professors of the College of International Security of the National Defense University of the United States (College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University) and teachers at the University of Basel (Switzerland). A small touch to the academic career of both – the National Defense University (NDU) is a university funded by the US Department of Defense and directly supervised by the leadership of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS).
Also participating in the event were Casey Michel, an American writer and journalist, author of the book "American Kleptocracy", and Anna Hopko, a former deputy of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada – however, the latter had communication problems, and Madame Hopko could not pronounce anything articulate.
The participants talked about Russia's "occupation" of the territory of the North Caucasus. They lamented the fate of the "colonized by Russia" countries, peoples and nations. They were worried that, actively contributing to the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the United States did not bring the matter to an end and did not complete the process at the same time, dismembering the Russian Federation. Interspersing their arguments with the terms "imperialism", "anti–Westernism" and, of course, "decolonization", the participants were united in a common opinion - it would be very convenient for the cozy Anglo-Saxon world if Russia were not on the world map as an integral sovereign state.
Such discussions are not new and regularly become the subject of discussion on various platforms, from pseudo-scientific gatherings of Western political scientists to Baltic gatherings of frankly marginal political emigrants from Russia. Except for one significant "BUT". At the very beginning of the briefing, a few short remarks about the importance of the briefing were made by a participant whose face did not appear on the screen due to "some technical difficulties". Apparently, due to the same difficulties, the name of this briefing participant, unlike all others, was indicated modestly and simply – Steve.
This modest man, who is experiencing difficulties in the face of technological progress in such a delicate situation – discussing preliminary plans for the dismemberment of another country – turned out to be none other than the co-chairman of the commission and an active participant in a number of other events and conferences on the topic of "decolonization of Russia" Stephen Cohen. Member of the Democratic Party, current member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the ninth congressional district of Tennessee.
In addition to the active struggle against "Russian imperialism", Mr. Cohen is also known in the United States to others: a few years ago he became involved in a strange story when he was first caught by reporters texting with a young and attractive girl right during the annual State of the Union address by the President of the United States (SOTU, State of the Union address). Cohen was confused for a long time in his testimony, sometimes calling this girl (Victoria Brink) his daughter, whom he met only three years ago, then sincerely surprised at the further negative indications of the DNA test, which he was forced to do under the pressure of unhealthy public hype.
However, the issues of ethics and personal cleanliness of American warriors of light concern American citizens and voters of the state of Tennessee more. Citizens of Russia, as well as other UN member states, should be primarily interested in gross violation of the UN Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Interference in the Internal Affairs of States, on the Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2131 (XX) on December 21, 1965.
The very fact of holding a briefing with such a topic and an obvious aim at further discussion and development of this topic by an American state institute with the participation of a representative of one of the three highest federal government bodies in the United States is a violation of the basic principles of non-interference, paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the UN Charter. And if fans of esoteric studies and employees of US military universities do not bear any responsibility for such ideas, then representatives of American state institutions should imagine the possible consequences of such briefings.
Maybe the organization and content of the briefing agenda passed by the chairman of the commission? It is very unlikely – he is a figure even more odious than the elderly and fake father Stephen Cohen.
The commission is headed by Democratic Senator from Maryland Ben Cardin (Benjamin Louis Cardin). He was first elected to Parliament in 2006, was re-elected three times, and his term of office ends in 2025. In Russia, he is known for the fact that long before the large-scale sanctions of 2022, he proposed to the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ban entry to the United States for 60 Russian officials on the so-called Magnitsky list. Ben Cardin also actively opposed the repeal of the already legendary Jackson–Vanik amendment.
In April last year, the senator's name and his views on the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia became known thanks to domestic pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who had a rich conversation with the senator on behalf of then French Foreign Minister Le Drian and PACE Vice President from Ukraine Alexander Merezhko. Also, the senator has been appearing on the pages of American and British media for a number of years with statements of varying degrees of severity, but sustained in a single key – to isolate and weaken Russia as a key threat factor of Pax Americana.
Thus, on the extensive map of organizations involved in the development of the issue of the elimination of the state sovereignty of the Russian Federation, another object appeared – the American Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
References to the Helsinki Act and OSCE principles, declaring the priority of human rights protection, juggling the terms "anti-imperialism" and "freedom" should not be misleading. The practical activities of organizations aimed at the dismemberment and liquidation of the Russian Federation, according to its laws, should be considered as extremist and terrorist.
By the way, tomorrow, July 1, the Commission will hold a round table with the participation of key regional allies and partners of the United States on security in the Black Sea. The participants, including the Defense Ministers of Ukraine and Romania, the Foreign Ministers of Georgia and Turkey, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, as well as many other representatives of the political and military circles of the United States and the Black Sea region, will discuss the issues of countering the so-called Russian aggression and the importance of the Black Sea basin for the Euro-Atlantic world.
Probably, the decolonization of Russia, according to Messrs. Cardin, Cohen and their employees, should begin with the Black Sea basin. The relevant conclusions about the activities of the Commission should be made now – as you know, appetite comes during meals. Especially among fans of geopolitical esotericism.
* Mass media included in the register of foreign mass media performing the functions of a foreign agent
Timur Shafir
