Events of the past month have unambiguously demonstrated that there is a deepening fault line growing in Europe, and it begins on the Baltic states' eastern border. If at any time there had been hopes, or a dream, that Russia may gradually integrate into the European family of nations, we have been provided irrefutable evidence that not only is this not taking place, but an ever widening gap in perception of the world order has lodged itself between Europe and its enormous neighbor to the east.
Perhaps more frightening than the death of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, which left no one unmoved, was the delayed, even disingenuous, reaction on the part of the Kremlin. It took President Vladimir Putin two days to react, and his first words were posted on the Kremlin's Web site. Here was a woman whose professional career was based on castigating many of Putin's policies, and one can't help but wonder if Russia's political elite weren't popping champagne bottles once news of the tragedy broke. Long ago, before he become president, Putin stated in no uncertain terms that he considers critics of Russia enemies of the state, and his policies over the past six years have shown beyond a shadow of doubt that this remains a fixed mindset. His rabid, maniacal response to the arrest of four Russian intelligence officers in Georgia points to the same trend.
Politkovskaya's death occurred one month after Andrei Kozlov, a top Russia central banker, was gunned down in Moscow. Though apparently the two victims had nothing in common, there is a shared thread in their deaths: they both fought for transparency, for a semblance of a rule of law that Russia so desperately lacks. Kozlov crusaded against shady banks, and Politkovskaya against human rights abuses in Chechnya. They battled fervently, and paid the ultimate price.
Contrast this environment to the Baltic states, where stability has become the norm. Last weekend, Latvians voted for the ruling center-right coalition, the first time in the country's post-Soviet history that a sitting government will return to power. It is a shame, of course, that so many Latvians gave their votes to the Greens and Farmers Union 's an alliance that epitomizes non-transparency and most recently, paranoia, largely thanks to Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs 's but the silver lining is stability, and let us hope that it is here to stay. (In the meantime, the ground beneath Lembergs will continue to shake, and with prosecutors digging around all sides, it may just swallow him up.)
Likewise, there was reason for celebration in Estonia, where Toomas Hendrik Ilves assumed the presidency. Finally the Baltics' most prosperous state will have a dynamic, intellectual president who will vastly boost the nation's profile in Europe and elsewhere. His ascent to power was a blow to the odious, populist forces such as Edgar Savisaar who had no qualms with signing a cooperation deal with a Russian political party that fronts a group of pro-Kremlin lackeys.
Indeed, along with Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Valdas Adamkus, the Baltic states can now boast one of the finest presidential line-ups in the world. With such leadership, we can be assured of respect of the rule of law.
Regretfully, with Russia's leadership and its inane theories of democracy, where governors are Moscow-appointed, foreign investors are shut out on a whim, and critics of the state are marginalized, if not killed, we are going to be cursed with an unstable neighbor for the foreseeable future.
