NOVANEWS
Editor’s note :
Few people are aware of the tremendous presence, power and influence of the Jewish/Zionist cells in Russia. Fewer still are aware that practically all financial fraud and embezzlement in Russia are committed by the Jewish entrepreneurs. While the Russian populations (White Russians), including the leadership, especially Putin, are suspicious of the Jews in general, both have a disdain for the rising, increasingly vocal, Islamic presence.
I found the name, Satanovskiy, rather ironically funny! Does it mean what it sounds like?
Russians are not about to bend to the Saudis or any of the GCC states over any amount of money for their arms industry. They know full well where those weapons will be used — against mother Russia, for one, just as they were used against Soviet troops in Afghanistan.Read below one of the most explosive interviews on militant Islam. Who knew it was so bad in Russia? And can you imagine them doing anything more than stringing the Saudis along?
Interview with Yevgeniy Satanovskiy, by Chief Editor Andrey Uglanov, of Argumenty Nedeli
Yevgeny Satanovski
President of Ariel Group. President of Moscow Institute for the Study of Israel & the Middle East.1980 Moscow Steel & Alloys Institute; Jewish University in Moscow (Chairman of the Board of Trustees); Moscow Center of Jewish Studies & Jewish Civilization (Chairperson of the Department of Society, Politics & Economics of Israel); RJC Committee for Higher Education & Research (Chairman); Independent Academic Journal “Diasporas” (Member of the Editorial Board); Academic Journal “Oriental Collection” (Member of the Editorial Board); Academic Journal “Vestnik Yevreyskogo Universiteta” (Member of the Editorial Board); Biblioteca Judaica (Member of the Academic Council); Russian Society for Friendship with the Arab Countries (Member of the President Board); International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Vice-President of the International Board of Regents). Yevgeny Satanovski holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. He have taught courses in the Moscow Center of Jewish Studies & Jewish Civilization (joint project of Moscow State University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Jewish University in Moscow)
Andrey Uglanov, Chief Editor — Argumenty Nedeli
(Uglanov) Yevgeniy Yanovich, is it possible to predict now how events will pan out in Egypt?
(Satanovskiy) Any prognosis would amount to sharp practice. Egypt is sliding downhill, rapidly degrading. At the same time all spheres of activity — the economy, demography, ecology — are in decline. In addition, in five years’ time, when Ethiopia completes its great “Renaissance” dam project, the Egyptians will lose almost 20% of their water flow. What will they drink? Camel urine? No president who is elected now, whether Mother Teresa, the Pope, or even the resurrected Prophet Muhammad, will cope with these problems. This is impossible.
One option is that Egypt will disintegrate, and a civil war will commence, with colossal casualties. The army is trying to slow down this process based on perfectly pragmatic considerations. If it does not do so, then property belonging to the top officials — according to rough estimates, this amounts to 20-30% of GDP — will turn to nothing. If there is no country, this means that all plants, factories, and corporations are worth nothing. It is not at all clear for now whether the army will succeed in preserving integrity. It is possible to exist under a military junta badly, but for a long time. It is possible to exist with a brilliant democratic president, but with a bloody finale. We do not know how it will be in Egypt.
(Uglanov) For now the army is taking power into its own hands.
(Satanovskiy) The army has done a very smart thing: It has not taken power into its hands directly. On the contrary, it has handed it to some consultative committee involving religious authorities and different political forces, excluding Islamists. At the same time the chief person in the country is formally not a general but Adli Mansur, chairman of the Higher Constitutional Court. The West has nothing to find fault with, but everyone understands that the defense minister still has the decisive say.
(Uglanov) Will the Muslim Brotherhood exact revenge for their overthrown President Muhammad Mursi?
(Satanovskiy) The leaders of the major radical cells have been arrested, including spiritual leaders and the leaders of the radical Islamist Justice and Development party. If grass-roots cells now raise their members up for a civil war, there will be great bloodshed. If they are helped by Salafis, Jabhat al-Nusra — that is, Al-Qaidda — and various groups like Jamaat-e-Islami, there will be large-scale war with unpredictable consequences for the country.
(Uglanov) What about external influence over the situation?
(Satanovskiy) The position of Qatar is very important. The Muslim Brotherhood’s defeat in Egypt is a colossal failure for Doha. Saudi Arabia caustically congratulated Egypt’s new leadership. An undeclared war is being waged between the Saudis and the Qataris — Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood — to divide up spheres of influence in the Persian Gulf countries. The Saudis kept aloof from the events in Egypt, as earlier Qatar had reduced assistance to the Salafis in Syria. Al-Asad started really pressuring the armed opposition, and the Qataris gave the Saudis the possibility of failing. But Doha had money and political resources freed up on the Egyptian salient. What will Tamim, Qatar’s new emir, do? It is not yet clear. But Egypt is hundreds of times more important to him than other territories, including Syria.
(Uglanov) Qatar ought to sit in silence…
(Satanovskiy) When you have a population and a territory like a single residential district in Moscow and $100 billion a year of free money, you can go as far over the top as you like. Plus crazy ambitions.
(Uglanov) Some 10 years ago nobody even looked for Qatar on the map!
(Satanovskiy) Yes, roughly through 1995 few people gave it a thought. Gradually the world saw with amazement the Qatari miracle that grew rapidly beneath the wing of the American military base. When the “Arab spring” started, it was no longer in the mood for oriental niceties and diplomacy, and Qatar showed itself to everyone, wielding the cudgel of war. Now the people who were holding this cudgel will accede to power under Emir Tamim: This is his team. Very interesting and unpredictable events connected with Qatar still await us. Including in Egypt.
(Uglanov) Footage from Syria emerged recently. Several bandits were beheading a Catholic priest. Russian speech was clearly audible….
(Satanovskiy) All the rabble throng to such places. Then, unfortunately, they come back stuffed with ideas, combat experience, and professionalism in waging partisan war. It is laughable and terrible to hear that some Russian figures are calling for the Muslim Brotherhood to be excluded from the list of terrorist organizations in Russia. The events in Egypt have shown their whole essence.
The problem is that globalization of the jihad is taking place. Militants fight in Afghanistan today, in Mali tomorrow, in Syria the day after tomorrow. Then they will come to Sochi or Moscow. Although they have come already. Recently militants were detained in Orekhovo-Zuyevo who were preparing terrorist acts in Russia with Saudi money in Pakistan. But militants are being trained not only in Pakistan. There is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan is jam-packed with Islamists, and there is a monstrous crime scene in Kyrgyzstan. A huge number of Salafis have settled in Turkmenistan.
Everywhere in Central Asia power structures and Salafi cells are growing close together. The borders between these semi-states and Russia are to all intents and purposes open.
(Uglanov) This is one more argument in favor of introducing a visa setup with the former fraternal Soviet republics.
(Satanovskiy) Depending on how this process is introduced, controlled, and implemented. My opinion is that the most idiotic means of realizing this idea will be chosen and will lead to the most negative results.
(Uglanov) You said that radical groupings and the official authorities are growing together in Central Asia. Are there regions in Russia in a similar situation?
(Satanovskiy) Such a problem exists in practically every region where the Salafis’ positions are strong. If you are a local administrator, you have to have connections “in the forest.” Dagestan is a graphic example. Mayor Amirov had direct contacts with “forest” people. In Kabardino-Balkaria the “forest” wilted badly after the attack on Nalchik and the arrests in the upper echelons of local power.
The situation is similar everywhere — in the Volga region, Tatarstan, the North Caucasus. I wish to remark that all significant special sweep operations are conducted by the central apparatuses of the security departments. The local siloviki are either connected with the “forest” people or fear their vengeance.
But what will happen now? Lots of young people from among the gilded youth, children of local siloviki, children of prosecutors, oil magnates, or administration staffers study abroad. They come back as fully trained radicals and adherents of the radical Hizb al-Tahrir, Jamaat-e-Islami, or the Muslim Brotherhood, or even quite overt Salafis. Because they are relatives of local “bigwigs,” how can they be arrested?!
At the same time the leadership of certain national republics following the breakup of the Union frequently saw and still sees Islamists as a certain power reserve in case of the breakup of Russia. For now Putin has put the brakes on the breakup, but people in the republics openly say that it is inevitable. They openly say that Russia will exist in its present form for another 15-20 years. Since this is so, why jail such a golden Islamist cadre reserve? This, you understand, is the nation’s gene stock. It is necessary to bring them back from the forest and give them a little money, power, and property, and everything will be fine.
There are rare instances of exceptions to this rule. For example, the phenomenon of Kadyrov, for whom the Salafis are devils because of his father’s assassination. This is where the situation in Chechnya differs from the situation in Dagestan or Tatarstan. I am not sure that the situation in the Volga region is much better than the situation in the North Caucasus. It has not yet blown up. But it is inflating more and more.
(Uglanov) Where is the Salafis’ influence most active?
(Satanovskiy) At present we can see one region of Russia where there are definitely no Salafi cells. This is Chukotka. It is just remote and cold, and there is no need. But, to be serious, of the 55 Federation components where terrorist Salafi cells are most active, it is possible to single out 38 most active ones. The situation with regard to radicals’ “lairs” is grave in the North — in St Petersburg and Karelia. In the Central Region Moscow and Moscow Oblast stand out sharply.
Cells arise wherever Turkish projects operate, or NUR itself, Nurcular, with an American-Turkish educational system. Wherever Pakistani or any Arab projects operate, including Egypt’s Al-Askhar. The situation is very grave in Bashkortostan, the Volga region, the South Urals, Altay. In the Far East. This is what has been brought to light. How much lies in the shadows?
(Uglanov) Is it possible to cut off the financial flows from abroad that feed terrorists? Which countries mainly engage in this business that is”pleasing to God”?
(Satanovskiy) The Persian Gulf monarchies, the so-called Gulf states, allocate relatively small sums of money. Then Pakistan, where money for jihad is collected from the broad masses of “working people.” The chief special service — Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence — has been fighting us ever since the war in Afghanistan. We are its customary old enemy.
The sponsors of terrorism left Russia alone for a while. This, incidentally, was really apparent from the dying down of the second Chechen war. Iraq flared up, and then the “Arab spring,” Libya, and Syria, and there was somewhere to invest money. Russia’s chief prize in connection with the “Arab spring” was that funding switched to there. The monarchies got the opportunity to build their own caliphate. To trample upon all neighbors by smothering secular dictators whom the Gulf states had fiercely despised for dozens of years, but they had been unable to do anything to them. Who would reject this?! This was more important than distant Russia.
Today the revival of jihad funding in Russia is taking place through Saudi Arabia. But the problem is that there is also Qatar — our “sworn friend.” All the fatwas relating to us have been issued, all the benedictions of the jihad have been received, and all the curses have been addressed both to Putin personally and to our country. Our real front now is the Arab world and Central Asia.
(Uglanov) If Qatar also switches from funding revolts in Egypt to us, we might not know what has hit us, might we?
(Satanovskiy) Yes. Doha has direct, robust reasons for confrontation with Russia. There is mighty gas competition, including on the European market. Saudi Arabia has a reason to disagree with Russia — oil. The Saudi pipe that has been laid to Europe across Turkey is a golden source of revenue. For this it must pass through Jordan and Syria, which by then will be the former Syria. This project is torpedoing the Iranian pipe through Syria and helping Turkey to rid itself of hydrocarbon dependence on Russia.
This situation suits Turkish Premier Erdogan. If Turkey is able at some point to remember its northern territories, right through to Sochi and Gelendzhik, it will do so. But for this it needs independence from Russia in terms of energy sources. For now Turkey has been excluded from the serious anti-Russian game.
(Uglanov) But funding from abroad is still not large…
(Satanovskiy) Correct. The main financial flows for the jihad are internal Russian ones. The first source is a close union between Islamists and the criminal world. This is no primitive bandit-like racket among market traders. Collecting zakat (quitrent) for the jihad is another matter. You are already a decent person who can be invited into society. Bandits react very well to such things and go into religious banditry. This is strongly developed in Tatarstan, Dagestan, and Moscow. The second source is a union with local organs of power. The third source is the formation of their own parallel economy inside Russia. There are lots of population centers where Salafis control everything. I fear that this is already inside. Like a tumor.
(Uglanov) Can internal flows not be cut off?
(Satanovskiy) Probably not completely. But it is perfectly realistic to limit them cardinally. We have only to not be idle but to work inside the country. The people in the regions who are called upon to control the situation must be absolutely clean. So that there are no complaints against them from the political and economic viewpoints. After all, people from grass-roots Salafi communities live alongside. They are indignant about corruption, hypocrisy, string pulling, and connections between corrupt authorities and corrupt official leaders of local religious associations.
This is an “insoluble” problem like influenza or the down from poplars. Something we will have to live with for decades. It is possible and necessary to counter it, but we have to realize that it cannot be eradicated completely. But if we do not combat it, “poplar down” will soon cover the entire planet.
(Uglanov) Will we be allowed to hold the Olympics in Sochi calmly? Should they be held?
(Satanovskiy) We will have to hold them. But all who are able to will raise up the terrorist underground against Russia under this flag. The Cherkessian factor, for example, will be exploited mercilessly. An information war is already being waged over the immediate resettlement of tens of thousands of Cherkessians from Syria and other countries in the guise of saving them. But where to? For the Cherkessians regard precisely Sochi as the land of their fathers. How many terrorists will be among them? So this idea is total madness from the security viewpoint.
In this situation the choice of Sochi, a front-line city, to host the Olympic Games was a colossal mistake. If they were being held in Monchegorsk, Apatity, Chelyabinsk, or anywhere else, the threat would be exponentially smaller. But the decision was made, and investments were allocated on a monstrous scale and successfully assimilated.
There will definitely be problems. It is not yet clear whether the security forces will be able to contain all the threats that arise. At the same time all the country’s security structures will be concentrated in Sochi, to all intents and purposes exposing the other regions.
(Uglanov) Maybe official Islam will somehow restrain the terrorists?
(Satanovskiy) In a private meeting between a hungry rat and a rabbit the rat will always dine. Traditional Islam in Russia is corrupt and semiliterate and commands authority with neither young people nor intellectuals. It has no bright, educated leaders who can speak the modern language.
Who attended church, a mosque, or a synagogue in Soviet times? Failures. There were individual “die-hard” specimens. There was Aleksiy Ridiger, the recently departed patriarch. He was unique. But those who drive around in expensive jeeps, knocking down pedestrians, are different people. There are immeasurably more of them.
In Islam we see former criminals like Nafigulla Ashirov. Of course, he may be a mufti and the right hand of Gaynutdin, chairman of the Council of Muftis. Only both his hands bear tattoos.
(Uglanov) He repented…
(Satanovskiy) I do not believe in the repentance of bandits and criminals, swindlers and slyboots. Of people who are morally and materially unscrupulous. People who possess influence in traditional Islam (the late Said-efendi Chirkeyskiy, for example) are easily dislodged — by a couple of suicide bombers.
Bright, charismatic people who have education, the knowledge to read the Koran, and knowledge of traditions go into science, diplomacy, and business. But not into religion. If Russia’s muftiate were headed, for example, by Aydar Aganin, a splendid diplomat and oriental specialist, we would have no problems with radical preachers coming in. They would go back in tears.
The incredible upsurge in places of prayer demands modern preachers. But there are none. As soon as they start training imams abroad, you get from there new radicals, agents of influence. It does not matter whether they studied in Turkey, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia. They are enemies. Particularly as religious wars are now in full swing in Islam. Supporters of other trends are no longer killed in Christianity. In Islam they are. They kill the Giaour — the Orthodox. All the more so, they kill Muslims who believe or behave “incorrectly.” This is the great internal Muslim war that is coming to us today, coming to Europe.
(Uglanov) Can the snake be tamed?
(Satanovskiy) The snake of terror cannot be tamed. Who must you be to reckon that there will be some moderate Islamists? That they will live with us — in a peaceful, friendly, and tolerant manner. We must not be such idiots as the Americans or the Europeans, who can be taught nothing by anything. We must not let plague, cholera, and smallpox into our home, thinking that they will turn into a slight cold or herpes.
