Ukrainian born
Vladimir Shlapentokh,
university professor and advisor to the Pentagon,
briefed the ELF gathering on the present day situation
in Russia. Dr. Shlapentokh firmly believes that many
events in Russia, beginning with the banking scandal
and the renewed war in Chechnya in August, 1999 and
leading up to President Yeltsin's surprise retirement
on December 31, 1999 have all been "scripted" by
Kremlin insiders, quite possibly by Boris Berezovsky.
Political intrigue, the "family" of
Russian mafia, Vladimir Putin's sudden rise to power
and the war in Chechnya were all topics of Professor
Shlapentokh's timely address. Never in Russia's
history has such an obscure personage as Putin been
thrust into apparent power in such a short period of
time. Yeltsin's sudden departure moved up the
presidential election to March 26, which gives Putin's
rivals little or no time to mount a campaign.
Professor Shlapentokh is firmly convinced that acting
President Putin will be elected as President of the
Russian Federation.
Dr. Shlapentokh stated that Russia's
major obstacle on the path to economic development is
corruption, and that Putin, a former KGB agent, will
not destroy relations with the West and might fight
against corruption. The Russian people themselves are
tired of anarchy, chaos, poverty and national
humiliation and surveys show that they support their
new President.
Dr. Shlapentokh answered a variety of
questions regarding the bombings in Russian cities,
the role of the mafia, Primakov's future and the wars
in Chechnya and Dagestan. As to the initial question
as to whether America and the West should provide
Russia with further funding, Dr. Shlapentokh's final
remarks were "probably not."
