A New Beginning - Our 1992 Russian Federation
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Don't get me wrong, I do think it is possible for Ukraine to join the Union State. Through use of propagandist history, like tying ourselves to Kievan Rus by claiming to be the inheritors of their Slavic legacy (that is even mostly true!), or more recent examples of fighting side by side in the Great Patriotic War. However, I do also think that Ukraine willingly joining the Union is such a long shot, that it might as well be impossible. But the chance is always there.
Chapter Fifteen: NATO's bombardment of Serbia and the Nord Stream (January 1998 - March 1999)
(Rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow)
The Russian government, just like 83 countries around the world, signed the Kyoto Protocols, which committed all signatory states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Russia, as a developing country, used its status to invest in overhauling its power-producing infrastructure by upgrading old and building more efficient power plants, including coal-fired plants. The government used the Kyoto Protocols to attract foreign investments into the Russian energy sector and the development of Siberia. American, Japanese and European companies would invest in the modernization and building of gas pipes from Siberia to Europe and Asia, which would help in the energy transition in Europe from coal to eco-friendly gas, bringing multi-billion dollar profits to Russia. In the meantime, the new government, under Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, began to fulfill its many election promises. Starting with the compensation to the Russian Orthodox Church in the amount of 4 billion U.S. Dollars for all the Soviet crimes done between 1917 and 1991. The compensation represented a new beginning in the relationship between the church and the government. Metropolitan Alexy (Ridiger) of Leningrad, ascended the patriarchal throne in 1990 and presided over the partial return of Orthodox Christianity to Russian society after 70 years of repression, transforming the ROC to something resembling its pre-communist appearance; some 15,000 churches had been re-opened or built by the end of his tenure, and the process of recovery and rebuilding has continued under his successor Patriarch Kirill. According to official figures, in 2016 the Church had 174 dioceses, 361 bishops, and 34,764 parishes served by 39,800 clergy. There were 926 monasteries and 30 theological schools. The Russian Church also sought to fill the ideological vacuum left by the collapse of Communism and even, in the opinion of some analysts, became "a separate branch of power". Following the compensation, the Orthodox Church would have an increased role in political life in Russia in the coming decades.
(First American troops arrived in Poland immidately after Warsaw's entry into NATO)
NATO's expansion to the east resulted in diplomatic protests from President Fyodorov, who accused the West of breaking their promise made in 1990 following the unification of Germany. Furthermore, Russia tried to negotiate with NATO about the number of troops and types of weapons stationed in Poland and Romania, nevertheless, President Clinton tried to reassure Russia that the Western military presence in Poland and Romania would not be aimed at Russia. Behind the scenes, Russian diplomats opened talks with France and Germany, as both those states were against any expansion of NATO to the East, in order to avoid any tensions with Russia. Unfortunately for them, their stance was completely ignored by Washington, clearly indicating a difference in perception of which direction NATO should go. Meanwhile, applications to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus from Transnistria and Gagauzia were rejected by Moscow, citing that admission of both states would create unnecessary tensions with Ukraine and Romania. Another important promise made by Prime Minister Nemtsov was the decommunization of Russia, although it was only partially enacted by the new government. Actions taken by the government included: a public acknowledgment of crimes and errors committed by the Soviet state; revision of all Stalinist crimes; rehabilitation of victims; an apology for the Soviet crimes to victims in Russia and abroad; open access to Soviet archives; and a revision of the school curriculum to reflect new policy towards the Bolshevik rule between 1917 and 1991. To develop the vital Russian region of Siberia, the government took a number of the following initiatives:
- tax breaks for Russian and foreign investors;
- establishment of a federal agency for Siberia;
- establishment of economic cooperation with China, Japan, USA, European Union, South Korea to attract investors in Siberia;
- search and development of natural resources in Siberia like rare minerals, gas fields;
- encouragement of tourism in Siberia;
- investment in necessary infrastructure like railways, airports, roads, oil and gas pipelines etc.;
- extensive study and search for more mineral excavation opportunities.
(Chinese immigrants arriving in Russia)
Following the influx of hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants to the Russian Far East and Siberia, ethnic tensions between the local Russian population and Chinese immigrants were quickly raised, which forced the government to react before things got out of control. To ease the tensions, the government introduced immigration quotas to control the number of immigrants; additionally, a focus was put on the assimilation of Chinese immigrants into Russian society to avoid the formation of a closed immigrant community in Russia. In the meantime, Boris Nemtsov's government supported a number of policies and initiatives aimed at the establishment and support of democratic and civil society in Russia, including a reform of the judiciary system, ensuring that all Russian citizens had access to free and independent courts.
The 1998 kidnapping of Mormon missionaries in Saratov involved the abduction of two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Andrew Lee Propst and Travis Robert Tuttle, on March 18, 1998. One of the kidnappers had a friend invite the missionaries to his apartment in Saratov, Russia. Upon entry, they were hit in the head, driven to a separate location, and photographed as part of the kidnappers' demand for $300,000. A ransom note was left at the house of a local member of the LDS Church. The missionaries were released on March 22 after four days in captivity, without the ransom being paid. It was the first major incident involving foreign missionaries to occur in the "Russian heartland. Propst and Tuttle were abducted on Wednesday, March 18, 1998. They went to the apartment of a 20-year-old man – whom they had previously met at a church meeting – for an appointment to teach him more about their faith. When they arrived, they were "hit in the head with a metal baton multiple times, handcuffed, and tied up." Their eyes and mouths were taped shut. The kidnappers demanded $300,000 and photocopies of the missionaries' passports in return for the safe release of Propst and Tuttle, and threatened to kill them if police were notified. When the captors did not call to arrange a meeting as promised in the ransom note, church officials thought that the media coverage had prompted them to kill the missionaries.
Propst and Tuttle were taken to a shed 45 minutes outside of Saratov, Russia, and handcuffed to a coal-fueled radiator so tightly that both suffered nerve damage. While in captivity, the two "played word games, practiced Russian grammar and devised a dream team of professional baseball players." They conversed frequently with the younger man who had kidnapped them, with topics ranging from sports to politics to religion; Propst hoped that forging a friendship might later prevent their captor from being able to kill them. Both Propst and Tuttle had read Dale Carnegie's book How to Win Friends and Influence People and tried using techniques from the book. One of the kidnappers shared his "life story" with the missionaries. Propst later told Idaho Business Review that his captors had been struggling financially, and that that was one of their motivations for kidnapping them. They were fed small portions of food once or twice per day and were given dirty water to drink. Their eyes remained taped the entire time. Both missionaries escaped with only minor injuries, including soreness from the handcuffs and bumps from being hit in the head. After being released by their kidnappers outside of the city of Saratov, they found a ride back and called police and church officials. They were then brought to the police station and, under the protection of church officials and two American Embassy Consul officers, stayed in Saratov to help police find their kidnappers. The Mission president at the time, Donald Jarvis, stated that no ransom was paid. Both Propst and Tuttle finished their missionary service in England.
Multiple U.S. politicians became involved in the case. Representative Merrill Cook of Utah told the Provo Daily Herald that he encouraged "aggressive American involvement in getting these boys back safely." The U.S. Department of State called the situation "a grave matter" and did not release details of the kidnapping at the time in order to protect the missionaries. Senator Bob Bennett commented that the captors were after money and not the LDS church specifically, and that he was coordinating efforts between church and government officials on the matter. He also used the opportunity to condemn a recent Russian law restricting minority religions. Senator Gordon H. Smith of Oregon, himself a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke with President Bill Clinton on the matter; President Clinton responded that he would help however he could. Four FBI agents were dispatched to Russia, one of which spoke Russian and was experienced in hostage situations. At a briefing, State Department spokesman James B. Foley said that the kidnapping was an "isolated incident," and that U.S. foreign policy with Russia in no way provoked the kidnappers. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Senator Gordon Smith after the release of the missionaries that the culprits set them free because "the noose was tightening." The First Presidency of the LDS church thanked American and Russian officials for their work. The Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) also became involved during the abduction and after, particularly in arresting suspects. Worldwide Television News reported that Governor Dmitri Akyatskov of Saratov threatened to extract the remaining LDS missionaries from the region if the $300,000 ransom was paid. Akyatskov continued to say that "in the near future all missionaries, including Mormons, will be asked to find another place for their activities.
(Pakistani underground nuclear test)
Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998.The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province. Chagai-I was Pakistan's first public test of nuclear weapons. China's supply of nuclear reactor in 1993 and nuclear technology prior to that for the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant helped to achieve it. Its timing was a direct response to India's second nuclear test Pokhran-II, on 11 and 13 May 1998. These tests by Pakistan and India resulted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 and economic sanctions on both states by a number of major powers, particularly the United States and Japan. By testing nuclear devices, Pakistan became the seventh country to publicly test nuclear weapons. Pakistan's second nuclear test, Chagai-II, followed on 30 May 1998. Several historical and political events and personalities in the 1960s and early 1970s led Pakistan to gradually transition to a program of nuclear weapons development, that began in 1972. Plans for nuclear weapons testing started in 1974. Chagai-I was the result of over two decades of planning and preparation, Pakistan becoming the seventh of eight states that have publicly admitted to testing nuclear weapons. The timing of Chagai-I was a direct response to India's second nuclear tests, Pokhran-II, also called Operation Shakti, on 11 and 13 May 1998. Chagai-I was Pakistan's first of two public tests of nuclear weapons. Pakistan's second nuclear test, Chagai-II, followed on 30 May 1998.
In 2005, Benazir Bhutto testified that "Pakistan may have had an atomic device long before, and her father had told her from his prison cell that preparations for a nuclear test had been made in 1977, and he expected to have an atomic test of a nuclear device in August 1977." However, the plan was moved on to December 1977 and later it was delayed indefinitely to avoid international reaction; thus obtaining deliberate ambiguity. In an interview with Hamid Mir in Capital Talk which aired on Geo News in 2005, Dr. Samar Mubarakmand confirmed Bhutto's testimony and maintained that PAEC developed the design of an atomic bomb in 1978 and had successfully conducted a cold test after building the first atomic bomb in 1983. After India's Pokhran-II tests on 11–13 May 1998, statements by Indian politicians further escalated the situation. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif curtailed his state visit to Kazakhstan to meet with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and returned to Pakistan.
The decision to conduct tests took place at a meeting that Sharif convened with the Chairman joint chiefs, General Jehangir Karamat, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad, and Munir Ahmad Khan and members of the Cabinet of Pakistan. In talks with Sharif, the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, offered a lucrative aid package in an attempt to get Pakistan to refrain from nuclear testing, and sent high level civic-military delegations led by Strobe Talbott and General Anthony Zinni to Pakistan to lobby against the tests. Popular public opinion in Pakistan was in favor of nuclear blasts. Information minister Mushahid Hussain was the first who argued for the tests in reply to the Indian nuclear tests. The Opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, spoke emphatically in favour of Pakistani atomic tests At the NSC's cabinet meeting, the Pakistani government, military, scientific, and civilian officials were participating in a debate, broadening, and complicating the decision-making process. Chairman joint chiefs, General Karamat and Air chief ACM (General) Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi supported the matter and left the decision on the government. Naval chief Admiral Fasih Bokhari and Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz argued against the tests on financial grounds; though Aziz later staunchly backed the decision to test calling it as "right decision."Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan argued in favor of tests and was supported by Samar Mubarakmand and Munir Ahmad Khan while Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad argued that "the decision to test or not to test was that of the Government of Pakistan despite the say of the scientific community."Concluding the final arguments, Ishfaq Ahmad said: "Mr. Prime Minister, take a decision and, Insha'Allah, I give you the guarantee of success".
With the G8 group's sanctions having very little effect on India and skepticism towards United States commitment, the Pakistani government economists built up the final consensus hardening around the idea that "there is no economic price for security". Despite being under pressure by U.S. President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Sharif authorized the nuclear tests by ordering the PAEC in Urdu: "Dhamaka kar dein" (lit. "Conduct the explosion!") In May 1998, a C-130 aircraft with four escorting F-16 Falcon jets secretly flew the completely knocked down sub-assembly nuclear devices from Rawalpindi to Chagai. In 1999, in an interview given to Pakistani and Indian journalists in Islamabad, Sharif said: If India had not exploded the bomb, Pakistan would not have done so. Once New Delhi did so, We [Sharif Government] had no choice because of public pressure. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 1515 hours. (PKT) on the afternoon of 28 May 1998.
The observation post was established about 10 km (≈6.21 miles) from the test vicinity, with members of Mathematics Group and Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) led by Dr. Masud Ahmad and Asghar Qadir charged with calculating the nuclear weapon yield. Determination of accurate and precise blast yields and shock waves is challenging because there are different ways in which the yields can be determined. The TPG predicted the total maximum test yields with an energy equivalent to be ~40 kilotons of TNT equivalent, with the largest (boosted) device yielding 30–36 kilotons. Other scientists estimated a yield of 6–13 kilotons or, based on the seismic wave data, a yield of 12–20 kt. Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan held to their estimates. The PAEC's mathematics division placed the scientific data in the public domain and published seismic activities, mathematical graphs, and mathematical formulas used to calculate the yield; though certain scientific information remains classified. From scientific data received by PAEC, it appears that Pakistan did not test a thermonuclear device, as opposed to India. According to Ishfaq Ahmad, PAEC had no plans to develop a hydrogen device for economic reasons, even though back in 1974, Riazuddin proposed such a plan to Abdus Salam, Director of Theoretical Physics Group that time. From the outset, PAEC concentrated on developing smaller tactical nuclear weapons easily installed on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft, Pakistan Navy combatant vessels, and missiles.
Shortly after the tests, former chairman and technical director Munir Ahmad Khan famously quoted: "These boosted devices are like a half way stage towards a thermonuclear bomb. They use elements of the thermonuclear process, and are effectively stronger atom bombs..... Pakistan has had a nuclear capability since 1984 and all the Pakistani devices were made with enriched uranium." On the other hand, Abdul Qadeer Khan further provided technical details on fission devices while addressing the local media as he puts it: "All boosted fission devices using Uranium 235 on 28 May. None of these explosions were thermonuclear, we are doing research and can do a fusion test if asked. But it depends on the circumstances, political situation and the decision of the government. As opposed to India's thermonuclear approach, Dr. N. M. Butt, senior scientist, stated that "PAEC built a sufficient number of neutron bombs— a battlefield weapon that is essentially a low yield device". In Pakistan, the news of the nuclear detonations was met by street celebrations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation via the Pakistani government's state owned channel Pakistan Television (PTV), congratulated the public and days of celebration followed throughout Pakistan. The Directorate of Technical Development of PAEC which carried out the Chagai tests issued the following statement soon after the tests:
The mission has, on the one hand, boosted the morale of the Pakistani nation by giving it an honorable position in the nuclear world, while on the other hand it validated scientific theory, design and previous results from cold tests. This has more than justified the creation and establishment of DTD more than 20 years back.
Through these critical years of nuclear device development, the leadership contribution changed hands from Munir Ahmad Khan to Ishfaq Ahmad and finally to Samar Mubarakmand.
These gifted scientists and engineers along with a highly dedicated team worked logically and economically to design, produce and test an extremely rugged device for the nation which enable the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from strength to strength.
Pakistan's President Rafiq Tarar declared a state of emergency, which introduced measures to protect Pakistan's finances and currency. After the test, the national media in Pakistan posted biographies of the involved scientists. Senior scientists and engineers were invited by academic institutes and universities to deliver lectures on mathematical, theoretical, nuclear and particle physics. The institutes bestowed hundreds of silver medals, gold medallions and honorary doctorates to the scientists and engineers in 1998. The Chagai-I tests were condemned by the European Union, the United States, Japan, Iraq, and by many non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1172, condemning the tests by both India and Pakistan. From 1998 to 1999, the U.S. held a series of talks with Pakistan to persuade them to become party to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), with Pakistan refusing amid a fear of lack of security commitment by the U.S. and the growing ties between India and the United States. The U.S., Japan, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed economic sanctions on Pakistan. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran congratulated Pakistan where major celebrations took place. All new U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan was suspended in May 1998 though humanitarian aid continued. The composition of assistance to Pakistan shifted from monetary grants towards loans repayable in foreign exchange. In the long term, the sanctions were eventually permanently lifted by the U.S. after Pakistan became a front-line ally in the war against terror in 2001. Having improved its finances, the Pakistani government ended its IMF program in 2004.
(Burial of the Russian Imperial family)
On July 17, 1918, the reigning members of Russia's last ruling royal family, the Romanovs—Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei—were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in Ekaterinburg. News of the family's deaths would go on to shock the world, kicking off decades of political debate and spawning mystery, as legends that one of more of the Romanovs may have survived, spread across the globe. Following their deaths by firing squad and stabbing, the bodies of the Romanov family were disposed of initially down a mine shaft, but were later retrieved to be burned and buried at a secondary site. In 1979, Alexander Avdonin was able to locate and identify one of the Romanov burial sites, though the bodies there were not exhumed until 1991. In July 1991, the bodies of five family members (the Tsar, Tsarina, and three of their daughters) were exhumed. After forensic examination[ and DNA identification (partly aided by mitochondrial DNA samples from Prince Philip, a great-nephew of Alexandra), the bodies were laid to rest with state honors in the St. Catherine Chapel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, where most other Russian monarchs since Peter the Great lie. Svyatoslav Fyodorov and his wife attended the funeral along with Romanov relations, including Prince Michael of Kent. The Holy Synod opposed the government's decision in February 1998 to bury the remains in the Peter and Paul Fortress, preferring a "symbolic" grave until their authenticity had been resolved. As a result, when they were interred in July 1998, they were referred to by the priest conducting the service as "Christian victims of the Revolution" rather than the imperial family. Patriarch Alexy II, who felt that the Church was sidelined in the investigation, refused to officiate at the burial and banned bishops from taking part in the funeral ceremony. The Russian president Svyatoslav Fyodorov described the murder of the royal family as one of the most shameful chapters in Russian history.
(Aftermath of bombing of American embassy in Nairobi)
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 220 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two Capital East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the other at the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah were credited with being the masterminds behind the bombings. The bombings are widely believed to have been revenge for U.S. involvement in the extradition and alleged torture of four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) who had been arrested in Albania in the two months prior to the attacks for a series of murders in Egypt. Between June and July, Ahmad Isma'il 'Uthman Saleh, Ahmad Ibrahim al-Sayyid al-Naggar, Shawqi Salama Mustafa Atiya, and Mohamed Hassan Tita were all renditioned from Albania to Egypt with the co-operation of the United States; the four men were accused of participating in the assassination of Rifaat el-Mahgoub, as well as a later plot against the Khan el-Khalili market in Cairo. The following month, a communique was issued warning the United States that a "response" was being prepared to "repay" them for their interference. However, the 9/11 Commission Report claims that preparations began shortly after Osama bin Laden issued his February 1998 fatwa.
According to journalist Lawrence Wright, the Nairobi operation was named after the Kaaba in Mecca; the Dar es Salaam bombing was called Operation al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, but "neither had an obvious connection to the American embassies in Africa. Bin Laden initially said that the sites had been targeted because of the 'invasion' of Somalia; then he described an American plan to partition Sudan, which he said was hatched in the embassy in Nairobi. He also told his followers that the genocide in Rwanda had been planned inside the two American embassies." Wright concludes that bin Laden's actual goal was "to lure the United States into Afghanistan, which had long been called 'The Graveyard of Empires.'" In May 1998, a villa in Nairobi was purchased by one of the bombers to enable a bomb to be built in the garage. Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan purchased a beige Toyota Dyna truck in Nairobi and a 1987 Nissan Atlas refrigeration truck in Dar es Salaam. Six metal bars were used to form a "cage" on the back of the Atlas to accommodate the bomb. In June 1998, KK Mohamed rented House 213 in the Illala district of Dar es Salaam, about four miles (six kilometers) from the U.S. embassy. A white Suzuki Samurai was used to haul bomb components, hidden in rice sacks, to House 213.
In both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Mohammed Odeh supervised construction of two very large 2,000-pound (900 kg) destructive devices. The Nairobi bomb was made of 400 to 500 cylinders of TNT (about the size of drink cans), ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder (see ammonium nitrate/fuel oil), and detonating cord. The explosives were packed into twenty specially designed wooden crates that were sealed and then placed in the bed of the trucks. Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah ran a wire from the bomb to a set of batteries in the back of the truck cab and then to a detonator switch beneath the dashboard. The Dar es Salaam bomb was of slightly different construction: the TNT was attached to fifteen oxygen tanks and gas canisters and was surrounded with four bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and some sandbags to tamp and direct the blast. The bombings were scheduled for August 7, the eighth anniversary of the arrival of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the early stages of the Persian Gulf War, likely a choice by Osama bin Laden.
When bin Laden’s bodyguard asked him after the attacks whether so many victims were really necessary, he replied, referring to al-Qaeda’s 1996 and 1998 fatwas declaring war on America and Israel: “We warned the whole world what would happen to the friends of America. We weren’t responsible for any victims from the minute we warned those countries.” In the second half of 1999, Osama bin Laden spoke to a crowd of graduates from a training camp in Afghanistan about the attacks and explained the reasons for targeting the Nairobi embassy. Bin Laden said Operation Restore Hope in Somalia was directed from the Nairobi embassy and claimed the lives of 30,000 Muslims, the Southern Sudanese rebel leader John Garang was supported from there, and it was the largest American Intelligence center in East Africa. In response to the bombings, President Bill Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach, a series of cruise missile strikes on targets in Sudan and Afghanistan on August 20, 1998, announcing the planned strike in a prime-time address on U.S. television. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1189 condemning the attacks on the embassies. Both embassies were heavily damaged and the Nairobi embassy had to be rebuilt. It is now located across the road from the United Nations Office at Nairobi for security purposes. A memorial park was constructed on the former embassy site, dedicated on the third anniversary of the attack.Public protest marred the opening ceremony after it was announced that the park, including its wall inscribed with the names of the dead, would not be free to the public. Within months following the bombings, the United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security added Kenya to its Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA), which was originally created in 1983. While the addition was largely a formality to reaffirm U.S. commitment to fighting terrorism in Kenya, it nonetheless sparked the beginning of an active bilateral antiterrorism campaign between the United States and Kenya. The U.S. government also rapidly and permanently increased the monetary aid to Kenya. Immediate changes included a $42 million grant targeted specifically towards Kenyan victims.
The 1999 Vladikavkaz bombing took place in a crowded market in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia–Alania, on January 19, 1999, killing 52 and injuring 168. The bombers were tried and convicted on December 15, 2003. The court also convicted the men of the bombing of a military housing unit known as "Sputnik" on May 18, 1999 that left four dead and 17 injured and a Vladikavkaz train station on June 28, 1999, which injured 18 people. In addition, the court found the men guilty in the kidnapping of four Russian officers and taking them to Chechnya for ransom on July 30, 1999. The officers were later released. Adam Tsurov (b. 1980) was given a life sentence, Abdulrakhim Khutiyev and Makhmud Temirbiyev were sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment, and Umar Khaniyev (b. 1984) received a 10-year sentence.
(The Nord Stream would bring billions of dollars to Germany and Russia over the years)
On 2 February 1999, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder visited Russia to meet with President Svyatoslav Fyodorov, to discuss economic and political cooperation between Germany and the Union State. Schröder was born in Blomberg, Lippe, in Nazi Germany. His father, Fritz Schröder, a lance corporal in the Wehrmacht, was killed in action in World War II in Romania on 4 October 1944, almost six months after Gerhard's birth. His mother, Erika (née Vosseler), worked as an agricultural labourer to support herself and her two sons. After the war, the area where Schröder lived became part of West Germany. He completed an apprenticeship in retail sales in a Lemgo hardware shop from 1958 to 1961 and subsequently worked in a Lage retail shop and after that as an unskilled construction worker and a sales clerk in Göttingen while studying at night school for a general qualification for university entrance (Abitur). He did not have to do military service because his father had died in the war. In 1966, Schröder secured entrance to a university, passing the Abitur exam at Westfalen-Kolleg, Bielefeld. From 1966 to 1971 he studied law at the University of Göttingen. In 1976, he passed his second law examination, and he subsequently worked as a lawyer until 1990. Among his more controversial cases, Schröder helped Horst Mahler, a founding member of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, to secure both an early release from prison and permission to practice law again in Germany.
Schröder joined the Social Democratic Party in 1963. In 1978 he became the federal chairman of the Young Socialists, the youth organisation of the SPD. He spoke for the dissident Rudolf Bahro, as did President Jimmy Carter, Herbert Marcuse, and Wolf Biermann. In 1980, Schröder was elected to the German Bundestag (federal parliament), where he wore a sweater instead of the traditional suit. Under the leadership of successive chairmen Herbert Wehner (1980–83) and Hans-Jochen Vogel (1983–86), he served in the SPD parliamentary group. He also became chairman of the SPD Hanover district. Considered ambitious from early on in his political career, it was widely reported and never denied, that in 1982, a drunken Schröder stood outside the West German federal chancellery yelling: "I want to get in." That same year, he wrote an article on the idea of a red/green coalition for a book at Olle & Wolter, Berlin; this appeared later in Die Zeit. Chancellor Willy Brandt, the SPD and SI chairman, who reviewed Olle & Wolter at that time, had just asked for more books on the subject.
In 1985, Schröder met the GDR leader Erich Honecker during a visit to East Berlin. In 1986, Schröder was elected to the parliament of Lower Saxony and became leader of the SPD group. After the SPD won the state elections in June 1990, Schröder became Minister-President of Lower Saxony as head of an SPD-Greens coalition; in this position, he also won the 1994 and 1998 state elections. He was subsequently also appointed to the supervisory board of Volkswagen, the largest company in Lower Saxony and of which the state of Lower Saxony is a major stockholder. Following his election as Minister-President in 1990, Schröder also became a member of the board of the federal SPD. In 1997 and 1998, he served as President of the Bundesrat. Between 1994 and 1998, he was also chairman of Lower Saxonian SPD. During Schröder's time in office, first in coalition with the environmentalist Green Party, then with a clear majority, Lower Saxony became one of the most deficit-ridden of Germany's 16 federal states and unemployment rose higher than the national average of 12 percent. Ahead of the 1994 elections, SPD chairman Rudolf Scharping included Schröder in his shadow cabinet for the party's campaign to unseat incumbent Helmut Kohl as chancellor. During the campaign, Schröder served as shadow minister of economic affairs, energy and transport.
In 1996, Schröder caused controversy by taking a free ride on the Volkswagen corporate jet to attend the Vienna Opera Ball, along with Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch. The following year, he nationalized a big steel mill in Lower Saxony to preserve jobs. In the 1998 state elections, Schöder's Social Democrats increased their share of the vote by about four percentage points over the 44.3 percent they recorded in the previous elections in 1994 – a postwar record for the party in Lower Saxony that reversed a string of Social Democrat reversals in state elections elsewhere. Following the 1998 national elections, Schröder became chancellor as head of an SPD-Green coalition. Throughout his campaign for chancellor, he portrayed himself as a pragmatic new Social Democrat who would promote economic growth while strengthening Germany's generous social welfare system. Marking a clear break with the caution of German foreign policy since World War II, Schröder laid out in 1999 his vision of the country's international role, describing Germany as "a great power in Europe" that would not hesitate to pursue its national interests. Schröder also continued the established Social Democratic political tradition of Wandel durch Handel. Schröder also began seeking a resolution ways to compensate Nazi-era slave labourers almost as soon as he was elected chancellor. Reversing the hard-line stance of his predecessor, Helmut Kohl, he agreed to the government contributing alongside industry to a fund that would compensate people forced to work in German factories by the Nazi regime and appointed Otto Graf Lambsdorff to represent German industry in the negotiations with survivors' organisations, American lawyers and the US government.
During his negogiations with President Fyodorov, Schröder urged to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between Berlin and Moscow, which resulted in agreement to build the Nord Steam pipeline from Russia to Germany. In exchange, German construction companies were awarded by the Russian government with large infrastructural projects in Siberia and the Far East. Opponents have seen the pipeline as a move by Russia to bypass traditional transit countries (Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland). Some transit countries were concerned that a long-term plan of the Kremlin was to attempt to exert political influence on them by threatening their gas supply without affecting supplies to Western Europe. Critics of Nord Stream said that Europe had become dangerously dependent on Russian natural gas. Some argued that Nordstream was an effort "to build expensive export infrastructure where the costs are unlikely to be recoverable all in order to avoid running gas supplies through transit states." Others cautioned it was a form of Russian imperialism. Nevertheless, the Nord Stream proved to be a very profitable project to both Germany and Russian much to the dismay of countries from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the United States.
(Belgrade during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999. NATO's intervention was prompted by Yugoslavia's bloodshed and ethnic cleansing of Albanians, which drove the Albanians into neighbouring countries and had the potential to destabilize the region. Yugoslavia's actions had already provoked condemnation by international organisations and agencies such as the UN, NATO, and various INGOs. Yugoslavia's refusal to sign the Rambouillet Accords was initially offered as justification for NATO's use of force. NATO countries attempted to gain authorisation from the UN Security Council for military action, but were opposed by China and the Union State, who indicated that they would veto such a measure. As a result, NATO launched its campaign without the UN's approval, stating that it was a humanitarian intervention. The UN Charter prohibits the use of force except in the case of a decision by the Security Council under Chapter VII, or self-defence against an armed attack – neither of which were present in this case.
After September 1990 when the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution had been unilaterally repealed by the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Kosovo's autonomy suffered and so the region was faced with state-organized oppression: from the early 1990s, Albanian language radio and television were restricted and newspapers shut down. Kosovar Albanians were fired in large numbers from public enterprises and institutions, including banks, hospitals, the post office and schools. In June 1991, the University of Priština assembly and several faculty councils were dissolved and replaced by Serbs. Kosovar Albanian teachers were prevented from entering school premises for the new school year beginning in September 1991, forcing students to study at home. A NATO-facilitated ceasefire was signed on 15 October, but both sides broke it two months later and fighting resumed. When the killing of 45 Kosovar Albanians in the Račak massacre was reported in January 1999, NATO decided that the conflict could only be settled by introducing a military peacekeeping force to forcibly restrain the two sides. Yugoslavia refused to sign the Rambouillet Accords, which among other things called for 30,000 NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo; an unhindered right of passage for NATO troops on Yugoslav territory; immunity for NATO and its agents to Yugoslav law; and the right to use local roads, ports, railways, and airports without payment and requisition public facilities for its use free of cost. NATO then prepared to install the peacekeepers by force, using this refusal to justify the bombings.
On 20 March 1999, OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission monitors withdrew from Kosovo citing a "steady deterioration in the security situation", and on 23 March 1999 Richard Holbrooke returned to Brussels and announced that peace talks had failed. Hours before the announcement, Yugoslavia announced on national television it had declared a state of emergency citing an "imminent threat of war ... against Yugoslavia by Nato" and began a huge mobilisation of troops and resources. On 23 March 1999 at 22:17 UTC the Secretary General of NATO, Javier Solana, announced he had directed the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Wesley Clark, to "initiate air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." The campaign involved 1,000 aircraft operating from air bases in Italy and Germany, and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sailing in the Adriatic Sea. During the ten weeks of the conflict, NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 combat missions.
On 24 March at 19:00 UTC NATO started the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. F/A-18 Hornets of the Spanish Air Force were the first NATO planes to bomb Belgrade and perform SEAD operations. BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from ships and submarines in the Adriatic. In addition to fixed-wing air power, one battalion of Apache helicopters from the US Army's 11th Aviation Regiment was deployed to help combat missions. The regiment was augmented by pilots from Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Attack Helicopter Battalion. The battalion secured AH-64 Apache attack helicopter refueling sites, and a small team forward deployed to the Albania – Kosovo border to identify targets for NATO air strikes. The campaign was initially designed to destroy Yugoslav air defences and high-value military targets. NATO military operations increasingly attacked Yugoslav units on the ground, as well as continuing the strategic bombardment. Montenegro was bombed several times, and NATO refused to prop up the precarious position of its anti-Milošević leader, Milo Đukanović. "Dual-use" targets, used by civilians and military, were attacked, including bridges across the Danube, factories, power stations, telecommunications facilities, the headquarters of Yugoslav Leftists, a political party led by Milošević's wife, and the Avala TV Tower. Some protested that these actions were violations of international law and the Geneva Conventions. NATO argued these facilities were potentially useful to the Yugoslav military and thus their bombing was justified.
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1. Which candidate will win the upcoming presidential elections in the Union State:
A) Alexander Lukashenko (United Labor Party/Agrarian Party);
B) Boris Nemtsov (Union of Right Forces);
C) Garry Kasparov (Yabloko/Communist Party).
2. Please write down, how should the Union government react to NATO bombing of Yugoslavia?
3. Union State flag vote - round 2:
A)
B)
C)
A) Alexander Lukashenko (United Labor Party/Agrarian Party);
B) Boris Nemtsov (Union of Right Forces);
C) Garry Kasparov (Yabloko/Communist Party).
2. Please write down, how should the Union government react to NATO bombing of Yugoslavia?
3. Union State flag vote - round 2:
A)
B)
C)
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B - Boris Nemtsov
Was this the thread that we already got the US to stop bombing Serbia? If so we should point to previous agreements and state that we will take action if the US does not “stop their unprovoked attacks on Yugoslavia.”
EDIT: After further posts, I have decided to vote for the @ruffino plan with the @Kriss amendments.
A or B
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There was an agreement ... and now the U.S. is bombing Serbia again...
Matador de Lagartos
Banned
I don't like Luka, but he is the best candidate on the ballot, so A. His party has the most ideological flexibility of the bunch and he is a non-russian slav.
Both Kasparov and Nemtsov are western puppets and don't have what it takes to keep the Union State whole, much less to expand its influence to Ukraine by all means necessary.
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GDP Ranking (1999)
1. United States - $9,881,200M
2. Japan - $4,775,982M
3. Germany - $2,337,125M
4. United Kingdom - $1,809,797M
5. France - $1,594,643M
6. Italy - $1,333,690M
7. China - $1,208,346M
8. Union State - $868,657M
9. Canada - $758,417M
10. Spain - $685,968M
11. Mexico - $650,225M
12. Brazil - $639,642M
13. India - $556,867M
14. South Korea - $547,240M
15. Netherlands - $507,493M
2. Japan - $4,775,982M
3. Germany - $2,337,125M
4. United Kingdom - $1,809,797M
5. France - $1,594,643M
6. Italy - $1,333,690M
7. China - $1,208,346M
8. Union State - $868,657M
9. Canada - $758,417M
10. Spain - $685,968M
11. Mexico - $650,225M
12. Brazil - $639,642M
13. India - $556,867M
14. South Korea - $547,240M
15. Netherlands - $507,493M
1 - A, it will be good if there is alternation between Russians and Belarusians in the government.
2 - It was already made clear to NATO that more violence against Yugoslavia would not be tolerated. In view of NATO's actions, it would be advisable to make a call at the UN, while certain agreements with the US and NATO will be postponed indefinitely while the conflict with Yugoslavia continues. Finally, offer some equipment and military intelligence to Yugoslavia, and guarantee those who want to volunteer that they will not have obstacles to their movement.
3 - B
2 - It was already made clear to NATO that more violence against Yugoslavia would not be tolerated. In view of NATO's actions, it would be advisable to make a call at the UN, while certain agreements with the US and NATO will be postponed indefinitely while the conflict with Yugoslavia continues. Finally, offer some equipment and military intelligence to Yugoslavia, and guarantee those who want to volunteer that they will not have obstacles to their movement.
3 - B
A) Alexander Lukashenko (United Labor Party/Agrarian Party);
Given that Right forces already hold cabinet of a Primeminister im not confrontable with giving them Presidential office and a blank check until next Parliamentary elections.
Also for all his flaws Luka is better alternative to other two when it comes to dealing with the West, not to mention it will be a good gest to have President from newly added Belarus win the elections.
This is obvious attempt to overthrow Serbian government and undermine Russian influence in the Balkans.
I'll go with what @ruffino proposed and suspend ceartin agreements with NATO, protest the bombing in UN security council and European institutions like Council of Europe.
I agree with offering of equipment to Yugoslavia , including anty air missle Systems, otherwise besides allowing volunteers in the country we should also send special forces and trained soldiers that can man our more advanced equipment.
At the same time we should open backdoors Chanel with the West and promise them that we will mediate conflict between Serbs and Albanians and secure some rights for Albanians on Kosovo, including some level of self- governance, but we shall not allow anything that endangers Yugoslav territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Regarding the flag?
I'll go with option B).
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Matador de Lagartos
Banned
Iugoslavia is Russia's beachead in the Balkans, it must not be allowed to collapse completely like OTL. Russia needs to go to great lengths to protect the Belgrade government.
Protest NATO involvement on the UN, veto any and every single SC vote against Iugoslavian interests. Negotiate equipment, volunters and special forces, basically the same deal that was offered to Assad and Maduro.
Iugoslavia will lose land, but if they can at least keep Srpska and Montenegro, Russian influence in the Med is going to be greatly increased and Russian connection with Iugoslavia is guaranteed.
This would boster future defiances coming from European governments towards Brussels and Washington, like Orban in Hungary OTL.
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A) We can't risk electing someone too friendly with the west.
I agree with the plan by @ruffino.
I'll go with C.