Document:Putin the Good Goy

Information and informed speculation about Vladimir Putin and his Jewish supporters during his rise to the Russian Presidency

 book extract  by Eduard Hodos dated 2002

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Subjects: Vladimir Putin, Chabad Lubavitch, Berl Lazar
Source: The Internet Archive

Extracted from a chapter of Eduard Hodos' Book "The Jewish Syndrome-3", with editorial comments signified by [-Ed] supplied by the original internet publisher The Orthodox Anti-Globalist Resource Centre

Image right: Eduard Hodos pictured in 2002

Wikispooks Comment

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Public knowledge of the early life of Vladimir Putin is sparse and controversial. These extracts from Eduard Hodos' book deal with information - suppressed in both Russia and the West - about Putin's rise to the Russian presidency in 2000, together with his deep, and problematical relationships with Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Judaism, its Russian Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar and its Yeltsin-era oligarchs. Some of it is speculative but there is enough solid factual content to demonstrate that these relationships have been a major factor - possibly even the defining one - in Putin's decision-making. It is a complex and tangled story told with wit and sarcasm a-plenty and the picture painted is very different from those of both the western and Russian official narrative's of the Russian presidents career to date.

It is understood that Hodos (himself a Jew) is still resident in Kharkov, Ukraine (as at June 2014) but it is now difficult to find any of his work on the internet.

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The Institution of the Presidency

Today [in 2002 - ed] it has become obvious that the fates of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples have wound up in the hands of "faceless creatures", obedient "slaves" of their Khazar masters, who can be brought to power and dismissed at their whim. In this regard only Belarus has been spared, though it seemed until recently that Russia, might end up in the ranks of the lucky ones. By now, however, it's absolutely clear that she, too, has shared in the Ukraine's "presidential" fate.

Inasmuch as I've dedicated many pages in my books to describing the personal contribution of the Ukrainian President [Leonid Kuchma - Ed] to the business of construction of the Third Khazaria, I'll limit myself this time to discussing the activities of another "good goy", Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin with outgoing president Boris Yeltsin during the 2000 Russian Presidential election campaign

I first heard about Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Israel in 1997. By invitation of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, I, along with then Vice-Governor of Kharkov Oblast Leonid Stasevsky, visited Israel as part of the “Program for Economic Cooperation” between our countries. A busy programme of events awaited us, most of which was dedicated to numerous meetings with representatives of Israel’s political and economic elite. Among them was a planned meeting with the President of the New Entrepreneurs’ Association of Israel, Radoshkovich. At that time former Leningrad emigrant Yitzak Radoshkovich had already become a heavyweight figure not only in his own country, but, according to rumors, in the corridors of the World Bank as well. Our meeting, during the course of which the matter of various investment projects in the Kharkov region were discussed, was extremely official in nature. The same can’t be said about a second meeting with Radoshkovich, with whom we, upon returning to the Ukraine, found ourselves in the same airplane. For the entire length of the flight from Tel-Aviv to Kiev we chatted on various topics. And in the course of our chat he mentioned in passing that his second cousin Vladimir Putin had great prospects for advancement in the Russian political elite. By August of 1999 I saw with my own eyes the result of the dizzying career of the theretofore unknown Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Let’s refresh our memories on the chronology:

• Aug 1999: Appointed Prime Minister of the Russian Federation;
• Jan 2000: Appointed Acting President of the Russian Federation;
• Mar 2000: Elected President of the Russian Federation.

Boris Berezovsky

To what, or rather to whom, was Russia indebted for her “successor to the throne” in the form of Vladimir Putin? We all know to whom: to Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, who built up this new pretender to Russia’s “presidential throne” in record time. The indomitable Boris Abramovich searched long and hard for a potential “successor.” He took his time … You see, the “successor” would be obligated to preserve Family traditions and guarantee “Tsar Boris” complete immunity after his “abdication.” ["The Family" refers not just to Yeltsin and his extended family, but the network of criminal-oligarchic clans tied to "Russia's First President". - Ed] What’s more, Yeltsin’s “successor” would have to be a paragon of health and youth, in order to differ advantageously from his aged but very popular rival, Yevgeny Primakov, and also possess the required ethnic characteristics for the Russian “throne,” while at the same time being “one of his own” for Berezovsky [In other words, of mixed Russian-Jewish parentage. - Ed]. However, much to BAB’s [BAB - Boris Abramovich Berezovsky. - Editor] annoyance, presidential “elections” also presuppose the participation of the the people. Therefore, it was necessary to popularize the new pretender to the throne in the shortest possible time, and force the people to believe in its love for Berezovsky’s “chosen one.” The inventive Boris Abramovich solved this problem, too. With the Second Chechen War. By September 1999, when the second “Chechen campaign” was just picking up momentum, Aslan Maskhadov [the then leader of "independent Chechnya" - Editor] announced in an interview in the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets:

…This war was provoked by Berezovsky … The war was planned long ago … One needs to search for its causes above all in Moscow. That’s where the dirty political games are taking place around the question of who will become Yeltsin’s successor…

After the successful completion of the presidential campaign according to Berezovsky’s scenario, BAB’s “sponsorship” turned out to be too compromising for the new Russian President, behind whose back more and more dissatisfied murmurs on this score could be heard. When “pragmatic politician” Vladimir Putin declared war on Jewish oligarchs Berezovsky and Gusinsky, loud and prolonged applause erupted from the increasingly joyful called “healthy pragmatism.” The real reason for the President’s “raid” on the best representatives of Russia’s Jewish oligarchical circles was the “strong-willed” decision of Chabad, which was able in this way to get rid of the “overly-active” Gusinsky and Berezovsky. Loud and prolonged applause erupted from the increasingly joyful public. The Russian President acquired the reputation of an "uncompromising but fair" strongman.

Russian-Israeli TV magnate Vladimir Gusinsky with commentator Yevgeny Kiselyev in 1999

No one guessed that behind Putin's "strong-willed" decision stood someone else's invisible will, subjugating yet another "faceless creature", whose only (and very dubious) virtue was his so-called "healthy pragmatism" What had these two done to anger Chabad? In Berezovsky’s case we can find the answer in the Jewish Observer. I’ll cite the answer of Bishop Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, to the question he was asked concerning the “hero” now under discussion:

Regarding Boris Abramovich I must say the following. When I was visiting with the representative of Israeli President Netanyahu, who was in Moscow at the time, I asked him about the conflict between Gusinsky and Berezovsky, which was shaking the foundations of public life: “Couldn’t Israel somehow get involved? After all, they’re your people.” To this Netanyahu’s aide answered: “Excuse me. Gusinsky is ours, but Berezovsky’s yours.” Apparently he was referring to Berezovsky’s baptism in the Orthodox Church. (Jewish Observer, 6/25, March 2002)

So by becoming a “Christian,” Boris Abramovich Berezovsky ceased being “one of his own” and acquired the official status of vykrest (convert from Judaism) as such “refuseniks” are called in Jewish circles. And this was the main mistake of the “unsinkable” BAB, who this time had outfoxed himself. Having placed his bets on Orthodoxy, as the dominant religion in Russia, where he counted, not without foundation, on receiving full “moral and material” satisfaction, Boris Abramovich was at the same time unwilling to part with the Jewish “course of development” where his own all-Russian business was concerned. Therefore the newly-baked Christian Berezovsky, relying on his “chosen” ethnicity, decided to simultaneously “make a splash” in Jewish religious circles.

But he forgot to take one thing into account: the uncompromising Chabad, which had created the religious Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR), whose establishment BAB had actively helped enable by donating imposing sums for its development, doesn’t forgive “heretics,” mercilessly ridding itself of them, and filling the resulting vacancies with new figures from among its own “proper” Jews. Here it would be appropriate to mention the advice received by the hero of an old Odessa anecdote in the banya: “Ivan Abramich, either take that cross off your neck or put your shorts back on.” So Boris Abramovich, when he put on his cross, should have just kept his shorts on …

The second Jewish oligarch who suffered, as all then thought, from the “uncompromising but fair” President Putin was Berezovsky’s main rival in “unsinkability,” Vladimir Alexandrovich Gusinsky. What was Gusinsky guilty of in the eyes of Chabad? You see, he, unlike “Bereza,” had remained “one of his own.” Well, one of his own, it’s true, but an “incorrect” Jew nonetheless. In 1996, on the initiative of the former head rabbi of the USSR, Adolf Shayevich, Vladimir Gusinsky founded the Russian Jewish Congress (REK), a “secular” organization representing the interests of “assimilated” Jewry and oriented, if one can express oneself thusly, toward the idea of “Western Zionism.” That powerful structure, with its broad ties to the West, was the main competitor of Chabad and its brainchild, FEOR, in the battle for influence on Russian Jewry, and most importantly, in its battle for the Kremlin. So both sides undertook decisive “military action.” Still fresh in our memories are the “head-on” TV attacks, where “Gus” (Gusinsky), the official head of REK, and “Bereza” (Berezovsky), the underground “sponsor” of FEOR (Chabad), locked horns. By placing at its disposal “heavy artillery” in the form of BAB, a “Family” member, Chabad in effect secured the support of the “Family” in deciding the “Jewish question” in its favor. The following fact is extremely telling in this regard: In November 2000 the founding convention of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR) took place in Moscow. At this event, the Chabad rabbi Berl Lazar, who is now Head Rabbi of Russia and the CIS, was elected to lead the organization. Five hours after Lazar’s election, the chairman of REK, Vladimir Gusinsky, was arrested and taken to Butyrskaya Prison …

By provoking Gusinsky and Berezovsky into mutual conflict, but remaining all the while in the shadows, Chabad “killed two birds with one stone,” discrediting Russia’s main “incorrect” Jews, whose protracted feud was beginning to seriously destabilize the whole country. The events of that time were very neatly summed up by Viktor Chernomyrdin, who with his usual bluntness announced: “Two Jews fight, and all of Russia trembles.” True, this commentary relates only to the visible side of the conflict. A more accurate characteristic of what happened can be given by rephrasing the well-known “anti-semitic” saying: “When two Jews fight, a third one sits there quietly.” Having “sat there quietly” for the required length of time, Chabad began to call on Russia’s head “pragmatist” to deliver long-suffering Russia from the Jewish troublemakers, from whom allegedly issued the “main threat” not only to Russian Jewry, but to the peace and quiet of the country as a whole. Lending his ear to Chabad’s wisdom, Vladimir Putin began the process of “deliverance of long-suffering Russia” from the annoying duo, and thankfully plenty of pretexts for this were at hand: accusations of corruption, tax evasion, unlawful business practices, and so on and so forth. Only the method used to punish the subjects found guilty of the above crimes was completely non-standard: instead of the obvious solution of arrest and imprisonment, both “Gus” and “Bereza” were magnanimously allowed to leave Russia, along with their stolen wealth! Such “super-healthy pragmatism” on the part of the Russian President speaks volumes … This isn’t Stalin for you, who reaped only dividends from the expulsion of Trotsky and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the ridding of Russia from its two “main” Jews and the solid boost to the national treasury resulting from their ransom.

Vladimir Putin “did his best” for Russia even more: he not only rid her, long-suffering Rus, of the Jewish “plague,” but also (a) effectively put an end to the schism within Russian Jewry, by placing the latter in Chabad’s reliable hands; (b) expelled two Jewish “troublemakers” from the Kremlin “Politburo,” replacing them with the super-quiet Chabad; and (c) contributed humanitarian aid to the West in the form of the Bereza-Gus billions, thus boosting Russia’s image as a rich and generous country … And the main thing: by releasing two of the Jews who have bled Russia dry in the past decade, Putin cleared the Russian people of any accusations of anti-semitism and raised its prestige in the eyes of the whole “civilized” world! Take that, Joseph Vissarionovich!

From that time on, Putin has been the loyal friend of Chabad, and always follows its quiet, wise advice. As the Jewish press glowingly reports, Putin invites the Chabad rabbis to the Kremlin a minimum of once a month, and queries them in detail about the mood of the Jewish community in Russia:

On the 7th of February Russian President Vladimir Putin received the Head Rabbi of Russia (FEOR) Berl Lazar in the Kremlin … As Berl Lazar reported, the Russian President was extremely interested in questions concerning the life of Russia’s Jewish community … In Berl Lazar’s opinion, the president was interested to find out that at present Jews feel much freer in Russia, that they can make the decision of whether to stay or whether to leave freely, inasmuch as they feel support from the government … But the main thing, in Rabbi Lazar’s opinion, is that “the President has a healthy understanding of Russia’s future and the role of religion in society.” (International Jewish News, No. 10, February 2002)

and

On the 19th of March the President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia in the Kremlin … Putin spoke of how important it is to set up a “insurmountable barrier” to xenophobia and religious extremism, and noted the Jewish people’s contribution to Russian affairs. The President spoke about the address of the Jewish community of Russia to the USA on the matter of repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, since which the “process is developing positively” … President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and Chairman of the FEOR oversight committee Lev Leviev was also present at the Kremlin meeting, along with rabbis from a number of Russian cities. (International Jewish News, No. 11, March 2002)

Berl Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia and a Chabad-Lubavitcher

With regard to the last quote, I must add that all of those “rabbis from a number of Russian cities,” to the very last one, are Chabad’s people, and the group of respected guests of the Kremlin was headed by the “wise mentor” with whom we’re already acquainted, the “super-quiet” Berl Lazar. Since I know personally the “Head Rabbi of Russia and CIS Countries,” one of the most highly-active carriers of “Zionist wisdom” and “head foremen” in the construction of the Third Khazaria, I can’t fail to give Berl Lazar his due for his diplomatic and sleight-of-hand abilities and for going practically unnoticed as he jerks the strings of the “goy marionettes,” setting them into their “unnatural motion.” What’s more, this Lubavitcher werewolf is a master of the art of “official language” and “nimbly-constructed phraseology.” So that you too can fully appreciate the supreme mastery of the “head” Chabad polyglot, I’ll relate to you what Rabbi Lazar said in a televised chat on Gusinsky’s former channel, NTV, with Savik Schuster, host of the program “Hero of the Day.” Berl Lazar began his monologue with his traditional reverence in the direction of President Putin, who, in his words, possesses such remarkable qualities as “confident pragmatism” and “a healthy understanding of the question of Russia’s future,” which, in turn, is the guarantee of the well-being and prosperity of the country’s Jewish community. Then the discussion turned to matters of trade, business, petitioning the American administration for the repeal of the “Jackson-Vanik amendment,” and even to the rabbi’s intention of influencing the US oil lobby with the intention of re-orienting it towards Russia … Listening patiently to these business projects which, as it turns out, are all part of the Jewish community’s sphere of “vital interests,” I waited and waited for the religious leader of Russian Jewry, the Head Rabbi of Russia and the CIS, to say at least one word about God or the soul. As it turned out I waited in vain … Can you imagine a representative of the Orthodox Christian clergy sitting in front of the TV camera, giving a “sermon” about business strategy and the advantages resulting from one or another deal?… So we have a strange situation: While the Orthodox Church calls its flock to humility, kindness, cleansing of the soul and the service of God, Chabad “chosen people” in black hats boast pragmatically of their business deals concluded on the bones of humble Orthodox Christians. How right Emmanuel Kant was, when he said: “In the absence of morals God is a monster” …

A word or two about the aforementioned “business projects”: I hope you remember what happened to the rabbi’s promises to help repeal the “Jackson-Vanik amendment” introduced in 1973 to “punish” the Soviet Union for limiting Jewish emigration, in accordance with which the USA set up a range of trade barriers against the USSR? That’s right, nothing happened. And Bush’s “long-awaited” visit, to which the amendment’s repeal was supposed to be timed, ended with the introduction of yet another “amendment” which created additional limitations, this time on “strategic offensive arms.” Without doubt, one has to possess especially “pragmatic” views to see any advantage for Russia in all of this … Having paid an incommensurately high price of a new “amendment” for the repeal of the old one, President Putin was allowed the “honor” of calling himself Bush’s “friend,” and even received from his new “comrade-in-farewell-to-arms” the playful sobriquet “Pootie-Poot” as a token of special consideration. Before this moment only Gorbachev had succeeded in rising so high in the eyes of the “world community” by being worthy of the chummy nickname “Gorby.” Apparently it was no tragedy that the problem of the “emigration” of American chicken legs had replaced that of the emigration of Russian Jews. The main thing is that friendship triumphed! And while Pootie-Poot, with his characteristic pragmatism, is thinking up new ways to sell off Russia’s “best interests,” the Jacksons and Vaniks of the world will be busy thinking up new reasons to keep Russia “on the hook” with more and more of their “amendments.” There can be no doubt the the latest of Chabad’s “initiatives,” including the current “oil initiative,” will end no less “advantageously” … And one more detail, with which that very same NTV acquainted its viewers. In a March [2002 - Ed] meeting in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin congratulated those present on a significant date: the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, King-Messiah for the ages! I think no comment is necessary here.

The next publication I wish to cite, however, will require some commentary to help you to fully comprehend just what sort of guests the Russian Head of State with his strenuously-cultivated “in-control” image is welcoming to the Kremlin. I’m referring to an article published in the Odessa magazine Passazh, and dedicated to the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS States and chairman of the FEOR oversight committee, Lev Leviev. This true “hatchling” from the Chabad nest, who openly demonstrates his ultra-Orthodox fanaticism, is one of the new “heroes of the day” who’ve arrived to replace yesterday’s “incorrect” oligarchs, and obligatorily figures in all of Chabad’s “get-togethers” with the presidents of Russia and the Ukraine. By the way, you’ve already seen him in the photographs with the captions “good goys,” where he’s standing on the right hand of both “correct” presidents, apparently to signify the “special services” rendered by this Chabad oligarch to the Orthodox Christian states …

One of Lev Leviev’s “special services” consists of his “super-quiet” entry into Russia’s diamond mining industry, where Chabad is now pumping out diamonds from the “rich and generous” land. In light of this fact, the title of a Passazh article entitled “Secrets of Diamond Lev” looks especially symbolic. I’ll cite a few of its high points:

We met when Leviev flew to Odessa from Kiev. In the Ukrainian capital the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS States and a group of Ukrainian rabbis were received by President Kuchma … Leviev said much of interest and edification on this celebratory evening to those gathered in the synagogue on Ulitsa Osipova. He spoke of the respect with which he was received by the Ukrainian government, which expressed serious interest in Jews taking an ever more active role in the public and economic life of the country. We should note that this exhortation was addressed specifically to one person: the head of GKL (the “Leviev Company Group”), president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Israel, Russia, and the CIS Countries. A man who enjoys great trust and authority not only in business circles, but among the leaders of world powers, including Russian President Vladimir Putin … (Passazh, February 2002)

Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabi Menachem Mendel Schneerson

As you can see, Lev Leviev’s regular visits to Kiev and Moscow have borne fruit, guaranteeing “serious interest” of both the Ukrainian and Russian leadership in Jews’ “active role in the public and economic life” of these countries. What’s more, the supra-national “presidential” status of Leviev, who heads the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS States, allows him not only to speak with the presidents of giant Slavic states as equals, but guarantees that “Diamond Lev” enjoys their “great trust and authority.” And not only he, but the group of Chabad rabbis protecting the interests of their own “correct” oligarchs. The article continues:

Here’s the main thing: Lev is convinced that his life was enlightened by communion with his Teacher – the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem-Mendel Schneerson. And here’s an example:

“In 1989″, (recalls Leviev), “my business wasn’t going as well as I could have hoped for … I must say that at that time was considering starting up business in the USSR, though I understood just how risky that could be. As I always did in such situations, I went to the Rebbe to ask his advice … From him I heard the following: ‘Don’t forget your family traditions; don’t forget who your grandfather was; remember the Torah, which teaches us to concern ourselves with others. You must help other Jews living in the Soviet Union.’ And he named all 15 republics, adding: ‘God willing, you’ll have a business, too.’ Armed with this advice from the Teacher, I arrived in Moscow 11 years ago and opened up two programs, one related to business and the other to helping the community. Today there are already 345 such organizations in the CIS, with synagogues, institutes of learning, cafeterias, libraries, and large centers … One of the most active is Chabad Shomrei Shabos, which is run by my friend, the Head Rabbi of Odessa and the Southern Ukraine, Avroom Wolf. I consider him the most successful and reliable businessman …” (Ibid.)

Here we need to pay attention to two things. Firstly, who in the conditions of the still-communist USSR would think of opening up a private diamond business? And it’s just this sort of “business-related program” which we’re talking about here, because by that time Lev Leviev had already established himself in diamonds in South Africa, Angola and India … Though after reading the above article one might get the impression that “Diamond Lev,” in seeking the Rebbe’s advice before expanding into “Soviet” territory, was thinking about opening an atelier for the sewing of women’s blouses or a small factory for the production of jar lids.

We can only draw one conclusion from the fact that Leviev received his Teacher’s blessing and decided to “take the risk” after all: that by 1989 no risk existed for Chabad “businessmen” in the Soviet Union. Though within the USSR itself there were probably very few who could have guessed that … And the second point. We’ve seen once again from this article that Chabad rabbis are able to combine, “with no qualms,” active religious activity with the conduct of “successful and reliable business projects.” I wonder how relations have developed between these rabbi-businessmen and local fiscal organs? Maybe a special paragraph has been introduced into the Tax Code, entitled “Rabbinical business”? Or maybe the business deals of the Chabad rabbinate are handled by the Committee for Religious Matters?

And once again an involuntary comparison with the "goy priesthood", comes to mind: an Orthodox Christian priest who's simultaneously a "successful businessman" is about as easy to find as a "big-hearted" Jew...

Lev Leviev noted that although he spends large sums (even for him!) on charity, God not only returns the money, but multiplies it. The financial crisis of 1998 which shook Russia and other countries affected GKL too, of course, but his business soon recovered, receiving an income five times greater than what was lost … (Ibid.)

I’d like to remind you that the financial crisis of 1998 happened during the premiership of the the “young reformer” Sergei Kirienko, the consequences of whose “healthy pragmatism” are still being felt by “Russia and other countries” to this day. It seems that the only one who came out the winner after “Black Tuesday” was Lev Leviev. In any case, the other lucky ones have yet to come forward.

In surprising fashion, the main “guilty party” of Chabad oligarch Lev Leviev’s “triumph” [the ruble default of 1998 - Ed] avoided what by all accounts should have been the end of his political career, by receiving the post of presidential representative in one of Russia’s seven federal districts as a reward for his inglorious premiership. Maybe ex-premier Kirienko’s phenomenal “unsinkability” can be explained by his Jewish ancestry, officially recognized by Israel in the form of an offer of dual Russian-Israeli citizenship? True, Sergei Vladimirovich demonstratively refused it, but his gesture, as I will now convince you, was a pure formality. In part, the newspaper Pravda of Moscow (No. 98, 1998) sets forth materials published in the Israeli newspaper Vesti about how the branch of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in the city of Holon (a suburb of Tel Aviv) confirmed the fact of the issuance of such ID documents to Sergei Kirienko when he was still a banker. However, after Boris Berezovsky’s refusal of Israeli citizenship, Kirienko followed the oligarch’s example, as did many other leading Russian businessmen and highly-placed political figures. Among the more well-known “refuseniks,” the newspaper mentions Chubais, Nemtsov, Urinson, Yasin, and Livshits. By the way, Vesti stresses that the procedure for receiving Israeli citizenship, like the procedure for refusing it, is extremely simple. It’s enough to fill out a standardized form in any Israeli embassy or consulate indicating the reason for refusal. According to Israeli law, citizenship can be restored just as easily. At a board meeting of the Jewish Sokhnut agency, the possibility of the secondary issuance of Israel citizenship to former Russian politicians in cases of emergency was discussed …

It seems to me that Russia’s “young reformers,” who so actively support their pragmatic President, can sleep soundly, for their safety is guaranteed by the “Zionist elders” themselves. The only thing remaining to add is that Lev Leviev is only one member of the “diamond reserves” of Chabad, which has tightly encircled the Russian and Ukrainian “thrones” with its oligarchs. And today Mamut and Abramovich speak in the name of Russia’s “business community” and Feldman and Rabinovich in the name of the Ukraine’s, with the support of Chabad rabbi-businessmen and the post-mortem blessing of the practical Lubavitcher Moshiach: “God willing, you’ll have a business, too”… [Mamut is a Kremlin insider connected with Alexander Voloshin (also a Jew), head of Putin's administration. Voloshin held this post under Yelstin too, by the way. Abramovich is a Berezovsky protege, oil baron, Russia's second-richest billionaire (net worth $8 billion) and governor of the mineral-rich Chukotskaya Oblast. Rabinovich, the Ukraine's most powerful media-magnate, recently donated a massive solid-gold chandelier for the future Third Temple in Jerusalem. While we're on the subject of oligarchs: today, June 26, 2003, banking and oil magnate Mikhail Friedman signed a multi-billion dollar partnership deal with British Petroleum in London. Friedman and other members of the "business community" accompanied Putin on his visit to the British capital. - Ed]

But let's return to our "hobby horse", that is, to the research of the personalities of the "faceless creatures", into whose hands the fates of our two great nations have been delivered.

I have to say that the Ukrainian "creature" has already proven his "facelessness" to such a degree that no one now nurtures any illusions as to the course along which President Kuchma is leading our country into "civilized Europe". The people reacted to its own awakening with yet another masterpiece of oral folk art, in which it created a new image of the Ukrainian President:

Our president's a smooth talker,
Though he must be a tapeworm;
For he's leading us into Europe,
Through the back door.

As they say, you can't throw out the words from a song...

As far as Russia is concerned, the situation with her "awakening" is less optimistic. In contrast to his Ukrainian colleague, the Russian President knows how to "maintain his image", and as a professional intelligence officer he's hard to crack. However... Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has tripped over his own pragmatism.