The following article is part 4 in a six-part series on Russia's transition from communism to capitalism during the 1990s. Links to previous posts:
introduction,
part 1,
part 2,
part 3. It is an excerpt from Chapter 3 of my book,
Grand Deception: the Truth About Bill Browder, the Magnitsky Act, and Anti-Russia Sanctions. The book's previous incarnation was
banned last summer by some of the same actors we'll be discussing today. This post should prove relevant today, in light of hysterical rebukes of President Trump's recent summit with his Russian counter part in Finland, particularly regarding the role and trustworthiness of the so-called "intelligence community."
Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev
Now, why does the west applaud Gorbachev and Yeltsin? Do you think that the West wants Soviet people to live in luxury, be well fed? Not remotely! The West wants the Soviet Union to break up. Gorbachev and Yeltsin get a pat on the back because the West thinks they are destroying the country. - Alexander Zinoviev, March 1990 on French TV channel Antenne 2 during a debate with Boris Yeltsin
Western commentators usually focus on the period from 1991 to 2000 and blame the administration of Bill Clinton for mismanaging their aid to Russia. However, blaming the Clinton administration is a bit like reading a book from the middle rather than from the beginning. To understand the U.S. government's role in the Russian tragedy, we have to go at least ten years back, to the beginnings of the administration of President Ronald Reagan. We must also distinguish between the legitimate U.S. government, and an illegal, parallel structure of power operating within it. For a long time, this "secret government" could not be discussed in polite society because its existence was deemed a wild conspiracy theory.
But that all changed in the fall of 1986 when an American supply plane got shot down over Nicaragua and Reagan's illegal arm sales to Iran became exposed. These events brought to light the "Iran-Contra" affair. A full congressional investigation was launched and
its proceedings revealed the existence of a parallel power structure operating unlawfully within legitimate government structure. For the first time, the actions of this network, also referred to as
shadow government, deep state or
the Enterprise, came out on record and could no longer be dismissed as mere conspiracy theory.
Comment: Alex Krainer has also investigated Bill Browder and felt the weight of his legal wrath.