Biden must follow his ‘Killer’ instinct

Mr. Trump was widely condemned. But the willingness of US officials to ignore Russian crimes is twofold. When President Boris Yeltsin attacked parliament with tanks in October 1993, Secretary of State Warren Christopher congratulated him on his victory. Despite Putin’s alleged links to organized crime, President Bush said in 2001 that he had “looked the man in the eye” and was “able to understand his soul.” In July 2009, President Obama described Mr. Putin as “sincere, just and deeply interested in the interests of the Russian people” – despite former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko’s polonium poisoning in London in 2006. An official British investigation found that Mr. Putin was probably personally responsible for his poisoning.

When it comes to Russia, American leaders are to some extent superficial for fear of what a serious attempt to learn the truth might yield. But the US, which guarantees world stability, has a duty to be fully aware of the crimes committed by Russian leaders. Russia is run by a hundred individuals who own 35% of the country’s assets. With a free hand, there are few limits to the actions they can take against the outside world.

In three cases in particular, the US must make every effort to understand and expose Russian crimes.

First, we need the truth about the assassination of Boris Nemtsov on February 27, 2015, Russia’s foremost democratic leader, who was shot on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge next to the Kremlin. The official story was that Zaur Dadaev, a former officer of the Russian Armed Forces in Chechnya with no connection to Nemtsov, shot him six times. Four other defendants are said to have contributed to the crime. The regime diligently promoted this version, and the US tacitly accepted it.

However, the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe cited evidence that Nemtsov was the victim of an operation carried out by the regime – including the presence of suspects on the bridge who were never interviewed, the disappearance of film from all nearby surveillance cameras and the wiretapping of Nemtsov alone could have been carried out by an intelligence agency. Andrei Illarionov, a Russian economist, published evidence that Nemtsov was shot with two different weapons, not one as claimed in court, and videotape confirmed that Mr. Dadaev was not on the bridge when Nemtsov was murdered.

Nemstov is a hero to many Russians; the place where he was murdered has become a place of pilgrimage. But he was also important to the US. He was one of only two Putin opponents able to summon a crowd. The other is Alexei Navalny, who was recently imprisoned after being poisoned. However, unlike Mr Navalny, Nemtsov was an opponent of nationalism and Russian aggression against Ukraine. The US owes the Russian Democrats every effort to identify those responsible for his death.

We also need the truth about the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, which killed 298 passengers and crew. Putin’s regime attempted disinformation after the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine to give the impression that it had been accidentally destroyed by separatists. But there are indications for Russia.

A Dutch criminal judge found that the Buk-M1 missile that hit MH17 was brought into Ukraine by Russia’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. According to a report from Radio Liberty, the battery was accompanied by Russian intelligence officers. In a May 2020 interview with the Times of London, separatist leader Igor Girkin denied any involvement. When asked if he was blaming Russia, Mr. Girkin said, “People can interpret this however they want.”

What’s particularly chilling about the destruction of MH17 is that it appears to have been part of a political strategy. Mr. Putin called Mr. Obama immediately after the plane was shot down, citing the danger to civilian planes, called for an end to the Ukrainian offensive that was rapidly advancing into separatist-occupied territory. Over the next 10 days, he made 24 phone calls to Western leaders with the same goal.

Finally, we need the truth about the apartment bombings in September 1999, which led to another invasion of Chechnya and brought Mr Putin to power. More than 300 people died in the explosions in four buildings. Shortly afterwards, three Federal Security Service agents, or FSB, were caught placing a fifth bomb in the basement of a building in Ryazan. The bomb, disarmed before it could detonate, tested positive for hexogen, the explosive used in the four explosions. Other evidence built up over the years also points to the FSB.

The US has never questioned why FSB agents were caught throwing a bomb in the basement of an apartment building. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declined to answer questions about the bombings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying only that “acts of terror have no place in a democratic society.” Russia blamed Chechen rebels for the bombing. Unless the truth is established, terror could become the way power changes hands in Russia from now on.

Many Russian critics focus on corruption, which is easy to understand. But the greater danger that Putin’s regime poses to the world is a mindset that sees murder as a normal part of political life. The idea of ​​human beings as fully expendable originated in socialism, with the abolition of private property and the conversion of the individual into the property of the state. That idea is ingrained in the minds of Russian leaders.

Russia has responded to Mr Biden’s remark by threatening “an irreversible deterioration in relations”. But the road to better relationships is leading Russian leaders to realize that the rest of the world is determined to set limits to their crimes. The president must reverse the decades of US political practice and act upon his recognition of Mr. Putin’s role. If he doesn’t, the Russian ruler’s next crime is only a matter of time.

Mr. Satter is the most recent author of “Never Talk to Strangers and Other Writing from Russia and the Soviet Union” and advisor to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.