Two names that keep popping up w/Russia thing (long)
Jul 9, 2017 20:18:03 GMT
Montannie, LavenderLayoutLady, and 6 more like this
Post by pyccku on Jul 9, 2017 20:18:03 GMT
Two names keep popping up in relation to Russia, Bill Browder and Sergei Magnitsky. Whether or not you believe that Trump colluded with Russia, these two names are still names you should know - because the story behind them tells us why dealing with Putin is a really, really bad idea.
First, let's get this out of the way - Putin is a bad guy. He's an authoritarian. He arranges for journalists to be murdered. He allows people to stay in power or keep their wealth so long as they go along with his wishes. He invaded Crimea and stole it from Ukraine. He sent troops to Ukraine and denies it, even though there is plenty of evidence that he's got his fingers in that pie. If that weren't enough to convince you, here's a little backstory. And if you want a lot of backstory, I really suggest reading the book Red Notice to get it in the entirety. The truth is way worse than anything I could convey in a post on a message board.
Bill Browder is an American businessman. He's been on TV quite a bit frequently because of his experiences in Russia. He made a TON of money with a hedge fund over there - and would have kept investing, until Putin turned his attention towards him. Browder - being an American - didn't quite understand the game as it is played in Russia. The court system isn't really legit. The media isn't really legit. There is no justice, no recourse - only Putin. Browder's assets in Russia were seized, and when he returned to Russia he was detained, then deported. He realized that it wasn't a safe place to return to, so he left permanently. But there was still one issue - his money and assets. He wanted them back.
He hired Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky was a lawyer, and he was going to look into the matter. That stepped on a lot of toes. He was arrested as a co-conspirator of Browder. His court case was fake. The evidence was fake. Again, there is no justice - only Putin. Magnitsky was sent to jail where he was beaten and mistreated. He ended up dying in jail, beaten to death.
After his death, Browder didn't want to let it go. He got the US Congress involved. Perhaps they couldn't get his money back, and certainly they couldn't bring Magnitsky back. But they could make it painful for Putin and the oligarchs, at least a little bit. The Magnitsky Act was devised as a way to do this - they disallowed the use of the American banking system to those involved in the case, as well as barring them from entering the US.
Putin was not happy. He barred some US citizens from entering Russia in retaliation. One of those is Preet Bharara (sound familiar?). He also put an end to the practice of allowing Americans to adopt Russian children from orphanages. This was a pretty big thing at the time, as Russian orphanages were filled with kids - especially special needs - and the Russians weren't really into adopting those kids - especially special needs kids. (Read here for more about that)
This is a guy who is a really bad guy - these children - children who were living in orphanages - were used as pawns in a political game. He had many options he could have used to show his displeasure at the Magnitsky Act - and he chose the one that involved hurting children.
So now it comes up that there was a meeting between Trump Jr., Manafort and Kushner with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. She's a lawyer who has worked for the Russian government specifically to fight the Magnitsky act. She produced a documentary that attempted to defame both Magnitsky and Browder. Browder was able to keep it from being released in Europe by threatening to sue for libel. And supposedly the reason for this meeting was to discuss adoption laws. Laws that were only changed in Russia as a reponse to the Magnitsky act.
So keep these names in mind - Browder and Magnitsky. Whenever you hear either name, remember why the act that bears Magnitsky's name exists. And when you hear from various people in power that "it's time to be friends with the Russians" and "we should work together with Putin, he's an ally" - remember that when Putin was finally held accountable - even in a small, indirect way - for the abuses taking place in Russia, his reaction was to punish Russian orphans. Not adults, not fellow businessmen - but children who had nobody to care about them.
The laws prohibiting Russian orphans from being adopted by Americans are still there. Some of the children who could have otherwise been adopted and raised by loving American families have instead spent the past 5 years in orphanages. The Russian side of the story is that it's necessary because "Russians provide better homes to orphans than Americans could" - but the law was passed very soon after the Magnitsky Act did, and is generally believed to be in retaliation.
First, let's get this out of the way - Putin is a bad guy. He's an authoritarian. He arranges for journalists to be murdered. He allows people to stay in power or keep their wealth so long as they go along with his wishes. He invaded Crimea and stole it from Ukraine. He sent troops to Ukraine and denies it, even though there is plenty of evidence that he's got his fingers in that pie. If that weren't enough to convince you, here's a little backstory. And if you want a lot of backstory, I really suggest reading the book Red Notice to get it in the entirety. The truth is way worse than anything I could convey in a post on a message board.
Bill Browder is an American businessman. He's been on TV quite a bit frequently because of his experiences in Russia. He made a TON of money with a hedge fund over there - and would have kept investing, until Putin turned his attention towards him. Browder - being an American - didn't quite understand the game as it is played in Russia. The court system isn't really legit. The media isn't really legit. There is no justice, no recourse - only Putin. Browder's assets in Russia were seized, and when he returned to Russia he was detained, then deported. He realized that it wasn't a safe place to return to, so he left permanently. But there was still one issue - his money and assets. He wanted them back.
He hired Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky was a lawyer, and he was going to look into the matter. That stepped on a lot of toes. He was arrested as a co-conspirator of Browder. His court case was fake. The evidence was fake. Again, there is no justice - only Putin. Magnitsky was sent to jail where he was beaten and mistreated. He ended up dying in jail, beaten to death.
After his death, Browder didn't want to let it go. He got the US Congress involved. Perhaps they couldn't get his money back, and certainly they couldn't bring Magnitsky back. But they could make it painful for Putin and the oligarchs, at least a little bit. The Magnitsky Act was devised as a way to do this - they disallowed the use of the American banking system to those involved in the case, as well as barring them from entering the US.
Putin was not happy. He barred some US citizens from entering Russia in retaliation. One of those is Preet Bharara (sound familiar?). He also put an end to the practice of allowing Americans to adopt Russian children from orphanages. This was a pretty big thing at the time, as Russian orphanages were filled with kids - especially special needs - and the Russians weren't really into adopting those kids - especially special needs kids. (Read here for more about that)
This is a guy who is a really bad guy - these children - children who were living in orphanages - were used as pawns in a political game. He had many options he could have used to show his displeasure at the Magnitsky Act - and he chose the one that involved hurting children.
So now it comes up that there was a meeting between Trump Jr., Manafort and Kushner with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. She's a lawyer who has worked for the Russian government specifically to fight the Magnitsky act. She produced a documentary that attempted to defame both Magnitsky and Browder. Browder was able to keep it from being released in Europe by threatening to sue for libel. And supposedly the reason for this meeting was to discuss adoption laws. Laws that were only changed in Russia as a reponse to the Magnitsky act.
So keep these names in mind - Browder and Magnitsky. Whenever you hear either name, remember why the act that bears Magnitsky's name exists. And when you hear from various people in power that "it's time to be friends with the Russians" and "we should work together with Putin, he's an ally" - remember that when Putin was finally held accountable - even in a small, indirect way - for the abuses taking place in Russia, his reaction was to punish Russian orphans. Not adults, not fellow businessmen - but children who had nobody to care about them.
The laws prohibiting Russian orphans from being adopted by Americans are still there. Some of the children who could have otherwise been adopted and raised by loving American families have instead spent the past 5 years in orphanages. The Russian side of the story is that it's necessary because "Russians provide better homes to orphans than Americans could" - but the law was passed very soon after the Magnitsky Act did, and is generally believed to be in retaliation.
