Sunday, June 24, 2012

War with Iran: Russian and Chinese opposition

On July 6, 2012, Forbes reported that China and Russia had issued a joint statement against military action in Iran.

Here is the news report in part.  The whole report is after the jump.
Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday.  There, Putin, an entourage of foreign diplomats and their Chinese counterparts called for a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations. A joint statement coming out against military action was signed in Beijing by the leaders of both countries.
The two countries warned
that if a confrontation occurred the region and the whole international society would suffer since Afghanistan, West Asia and North Africa are all undergoing a turbulent period.
According to Forbes,
Given the outcomes in Iraq and Libya, Russia has learned that the fall of old allies inevitably leads to the loss of economic and political influence in those countries.  . . . .
Forbes, in its analysis, relies on work of Nikolay Kozhanov, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute, described after the jump.  Kozhanov's full report, as well as a brief biography of him, are also after the jump.

Kozhanov does not think Moscow's stance toward Syria or Iran will harden further, and  argues that Putin's stance agains military action in Iran is rational:

The reasons why Moscow does not want to fully support the Western coalition against Syria and Iran are also quite practical, and do not depend on the personal preferences of a president. Given the outcomes in Iraq and Libya, Russia has learned that the fall of longtime partners inevitably leads to the loss of economic and political influence in said countries. Whether Russia stays out of the conflict (as in Iraq) or unobtrusively helps to overthrow its old allies (as in Libya, where Moscow was the first government to stop exports of military equipment to Qadhafi), the result is the same: Russia has been compelled to leave countries liberated from dictators.
Therefore, without solid guarantees regarding the security of its interests, Russia has been fighting hard for Syria (one of its last stands in the Arab Middle East) while protecting Iran from the prospect of military strikes. Russia also values Tehran's help in promoting peace and stability throughout the Caspian littoral and Central Asia, in trying to limit the presence of third countries in regional affairs, in counteracting human and drug trafficking, and in deterring the spread of internal revolutions.

The implication is that it would be bad policy for all to War with Iran.

The Forbes does not mention China's interest in preventing War with Iran.  Uighurs live in China, next to Sunni Afghanistan,a and insist on continuing their Sunni and traditional ways, contrary to the Han Chinese wishes.  It may be that China is simply paranoid:  it does not want another Sunni country, which Syria would become without Iran's support.  Neither should we.

Forbes is not a commie pinko rag.  It describes itself this way:  "Forbes is a leading source for reliable business news and financial information."  The picture below is in he article.


U.S. missiles at a new NATO base in far eastern Europe. Designed to ward off an Iran attack

I recently completed a blog post at the request of a Russian corespondent.  Four of the five Russian freestyle wrestlers who will compete in the London Olympics come from the Caspian Littoral mentioned in the article and all train in the Autonomous Republic of Dagestan, Russia; armed Islamists are fomenting insurrection in that area; a number of the Autonomous Republics in Russia are Turkic speaking and are restlessly longing for independence; Afghanistan's Northern Alliance speaks a version of Persian that is comprehensible in Iran, and Herat -- Afghanistan's most secure province -- is allied with Iran; Syria is aligned with Iran,  a as are other counties and groups in West Asia. 

On of the things we fail to catch is that Russia is as much at war with Islamists as we are.

 It is, in my view, an understatement to say that "the region and the whole international society would suffer since Afghanistan, West Asia and North Africa are all undergoing a turbulent period", if War with Iran were to start.

Those who think in geopolitical terms such as the Forbes article make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the World we live in.  I read what they write and learn from them.  I value their contributions to our understanding.  They have a failing, which, to them, is not a failing at all but a toughness necessary to see the world clearly.  They do not describe the human cost of War.  I count that as a significant failing -- particularly as they, generally, do not pay that kind of price.  Something about that cost of a War with Iran is missing in the discussion.  Something of value is missing to the discussion.  Watch here.

Negotiate.  Give Russia the assurances it requires.




DON'T BOMB IRAN, please..


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Russia freestyle wrestlers for 2012 Summer Olympics


A resident of St. Petersburg [Санкт-Петербург] asked for images of Russian wrestlers, after viewing Kirkpinar -- Turkish Oil Wrestling and finding the men lacking, in comparison with Russian wrestlers.

In any event, I'm happy to oblige.


Djamal Otarsultanov  55 kg


There is scant personal information on Otarsultanov on google, except his facebook entries, which may ay that he hail from The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Population: 958,528.


Yakuts make up about half the population of The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic and their numbers are growing.  Yakuts are aTurkic-speaking people (see Rebirth of the Turkic Dynasty: origins in this blog).



The Yakuts have a long and brutal history with Russians, and their numbers are now growing, along with a revival of their Turkic heritage.  Djamal Otarsultanov says, on his facebook page, that he believes that the Republic is a member of the Turkic Council; I think that is wishful thinking, and it may indicate the enthusiasm Turkic-speaking people have for the  creation of a new, improved Turkic Empire. 

Yakutsk, the capitol of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, is about 450 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, and  has a population of about  210,000 folks.






[A Voice of Russia radio post has Djamal coming from Chechnya, contradicting the facebook entry.  The lack of information on all champion Russian wrestlers is puzzling, for wrestlers are much honored in Russia and there is good reason to be proud of them.  I would like to understand the information gap.]

Some folks at least, from whatever part of Russia, are avid supporters of Otarsultanov and attend his matches to cheer him on, his facebook page indicates..

The next two images are taken from Djamal's facebook page:

Djamal Otarsultanov, as he sees himself



Facebook title image



This image is taken from ZONA DE LUCHA
which has good images and videos from the
 European Wrestling Championships.

















Besik Kudukhov 60 kg


 Wikipedia notes that Besik Kudukhov was born in Tskhilon, Georgia, but it may be Tskhilon, South Ossetia, which is more nearly Russian and probably would not result on qualification challenges. 

We know, from information provided to Beijing at the last Olympics, the following:


General Interests

Occupation: Athlete

Marital status: Single

Club name: SC Alany: Russia

Coach: Valentin Andreevich Gozoev, Aleksey Invanovich Safronov (iat.uni-leipzig.de 09/06/08)

Education: Human Movement Studies - North Ossetian State University: Russia

Language spoken: Russian


The North Ossetian State University, which Besik attended, is in Vladikavkaz, and is made up mostly of Ossetians, a Greek Orthodox people who speak a variation of Farsi -- the Persian spoken in Iran.  Kudukhov's school is not located in a peaceful part of the world. [I should note that the Voice of Russia radio post, above, has Besik coming from the Russian Republic of Kabardino-Balkar, which is at least in the same neighborhood].




Town

and Gown


And we know that, pound for pound, Besik Kudukhov is he greatest wrestler in the world.

Besik's Medal record is stunning:

Medal record
Men's Freestyle wrestling
Competitor for  Russia
Summer Olympics
Bronze2008 Beijing55 kg
World Championships
Silver2006 Guangzhou55 kg
Gold2007 Baku55 kg
Gold2009 Herning60 kg
Gold2010 Moscow60 kg
Gold2011 Istanbul60 kg
European Championships
Gold2007 Sofia55 kg


Images from the web for Besik include:


From the Beijing Olympics files


























Tomohiro Matsunaga (blue) shows Besik Kudukhov a good time




Besik Kudukhov and Vvasyl Fedoryshyn


 Alan Gogayev 66 kg

The Voice of Russia radio post, above, has Alan coming from Ossetia (bee above).  I can find no other personal information about Alan on the web.


There are images:





























Although there is not much information about Alan on the Web, there are lots of videos of the 2010 World Championship match in which the Indian, Sushil Kumar, defeated Alan, much to Indian delight, for it was the first World Championship ever won by an Indian.   

This screen clip below of a news broadcast published youtube shows Sushil Kumar practicing the Indian wrestling sport of pehlwani, also called kushti.  It will be the subject of a later blog post, but if you want a preview, see sample images after the jump.








 Sushil Kumar, the only Indian to win a gold medal in
 FIFA World Cup Freestyle Wrestling, practicing 
Kushti, a  wrestling form similar to pehlwani hat combines 
Iranian wrestling with yoga,
 and is much admired in India and Pakistan.
Kumar himself is much admired in India,
 just as all the Russian wrestlers are admired in Russia.



Denis Igorevich Tsargush  74 kg

Denis was born in Abkhazia and lives there now.

 Abkhazia was a paart of Georgia until 2008, when it becam an independent nation, or remained a part of Georgia, or became federated with Russia, dpending on whom you ask.


The international football ("soccer" for you North Americans) association, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, has ruled that Abkhazia cannot paarticipate in World Cup football games.  FIFA describes Abkhazia as "Occupied Abkhazia."  I cannot find a  ruling of any sort from the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées, the governing body for international wrestling.  If there has been a FIFA challenge it has obviously no been sustained.

Denis  has an impressive medal record:


Medal record
Competitor for  Russia
Men's Freestyle Wrestling
World Championships
Gold2009 Herning74 kg
Gold2010 Moscow74 kg
European Championships
Gold2010 Baku74 kg
GoldDortmund 201174 kg



Abkhazia can be a place of great beauty.



Image from Denis' facebook.  A lovely land. 
 Not so lovely during the five-day war in 2008.





Wrestling images and images from Denis' facebook include:











































































Anzor Urishev  84 kg

A facebook page has Anzor coming from Nalchik,  the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar RepublicRussia.





A russian blogger suggests that the Kabardino-Balkar Republic may not be free of strife,

A blog called CHECHENCENTER, which may not he completely objective, reports that on June 20, 2011,


The Human Rights Center “Memorial” has learned that on June 12, 2011, mass arrests of youth took place in the town of Baksan in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic (KBR) during an operation to apprehend the boeviks responsible for the death of Col. Kh. Bagatyrev, Deputy Chief of the Center for Combating Extremism. . . .

 though fhe abardino-Balkar Republic is a beautiful part of the World:




Though there is not much informatin on the web aabout Anzor, there are some interestinimages of him:
















From Anzor's facebook page







The next eight images are from a match between Urishev and  Balawender by DortmundEuropeanFreestyleWrestlingChampionship


































FCF (Freestyle Cage Fighting) - MMA (Mixed Martial Aarts) is known in Kabardino-Balkar Republic and in Oklahoma:




The boys start young . . . .








I would like to know what this ceremony is about . . .

Very young by US standards . . .



. . . but football is the favored sport, as it is in all the world --- outside of North America:




PFC Spartak Nalchik at 
Lokomotiv Stadium on June 14, 2011 in Moscow

2010 Eussian squad
55 lebedev, 66 gogaev, 84 ktsoev, 120 makhov, 
head coach tedeev, 96 gatsalov, 74 tsargush, 60 kudukhov



2010 Iranian squad
120 masoumi, 96 amiri, 84 lashgari, 
74 goudarzi, 66 taghavi, 60 mohammadi, 55 rahimi





Abdusalam Gadisov  96 hg

Abdusalam is from the Russian  Republic of Dagestan.

From Zona de Lucha:

El campeón de Europa de 96kg, Abdusalam Gadisov, se proclamó campeón nacional de Rusia el pasado fin de semana en San Petersburgo tras derrotar en la final al campeón olímpico de 2004, Khadzhimurad Gatsalov, en un apretadísimo choque que garantizó al dagestaní, además, una plaza en el equipo olímpico ruso para los próximos Juegos de Londres.

Machine translation as:

The European Champion 96kg, Abdusalam Gadisov, proclaimed national champion Russia last weekend in St. Petersburg in the final after beating Olympic champion of 2004, Khadzhimurad Gatsalov, in a crushing shock assured the Dagestani also a place in the Russian Olympic team for the next Games in London. 

If you want to see the match, go to the link in the Spanish-language quotation. 



For a dispassionate overview of the interesting politics of the area see a Der Spiegel article.  For a blog about human beheadings in the area, named Human Beheadings, see here.
 Other than that he lives in Dagestan, there is no information on Russia's national champion that I can see on the Web and I can't understand the absence.

Dagestan is, perhaps, more focused on wrestling than any other in Russia.

Living is perhaps more intense, for good and ill, in Dagetan than in many other Republica in Russia.  The capital city, Makhachkala, is a study of contrasts:

I think the scenes of destruction are of 
government building or in the Shia section of the city.

Makhachkala is no stranger to massacres.  This one from 1542










 Football, as usual, is king.  Here the FC Anzhi Makhachkala


Mourning a massacre























A recently-signed Bulgarian to the local team



For a video of Abdusalam relaxed and sparing, to go a video site on Zona de Lucha.

Images of Russia's champion:













 The first of several self-portraits . . . .



























Zona de Luca image











These images are from Wrestling Arena





































































Bilyal Valerievich Makhov  120 kg

Bilyal is, like his team mate Anzor Urishev, also hails from Nalchick, The Kabardino-Balkar Republic, and like Anzor, there is no other significant information, aside from math descriptions and videos of matches.

Images include:

















Kushti and pehlwani are traditional sports of
 India and Pakistan.  
To see a "trailer" of forthcoming blog posts . .