William Browder of Hermitage Capital Management, the victim of a considerable state theft by the Russian government, is upping the ante in his fight to bring attention to the flagrant corruption and abuses of office currently taking place in the Kremlin. He and his team have released a devastating 10-minute documentary film on YouTube (below) which outlines the risks of investing in Russia, and from what we're hearing, they have been pretty successful in ruffling the feathers all the way up to the top of the government (Putin used to pretend that he had never heard of Browder ... that no longer seems plausible). Hopefully Browder can find that elusive tipping point for the siloviki and elites which makes injustice more politically onerous than justice.
From the Telegraph's write-up of the YouTube campaign:
From the Telegraph's write-up of the YouTube campaign:
"The Russian media is afraid to say anything too explicit about police corruption as they fear they will be arrested by the people they write about," he said. "The beautiful thing about the internet is that you can break through that logjam of fear and, at the same time, explain a complex story."Let's forward this one around, tweet it, put it up on Facebook, and see how many views we can get generated. Right now it has been seen 517 times ... I wonder if it will hit 5,000 over the weekend.
I doubt it will get to 5k that soon, since the view count only goes up for every complete view. A lot of people will probably watch most of it, and get the message, but won't show up as views.
Yes, I guess that is right. Besides, it is of course a propaganda item, but nevertheless a very interesting and well made one. It's already up to a respectable 867, so we'll see what happens.
Steve LeVine is also on the story, and seems like the arrest warrant for Browder is now the real deal.
http://oilandglory.com/2009/10/russia-nobel-browder-and-annals-of-pull.html
We have almost 11,000 hits already and it's only day 2! This includes the Russian langusge video on YouTube and the English language video on YouTube.
Katie Fisher
Hermitage Capital Management
http://lawandorderinrussia.org/
I lived in Russia in the 90es and I learned that in Russia no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. Mr. Browder is lucky considering that he's alive and safe. The fact that he's been refused a visa to get into Russia (instead of been refused authorization to left the country) is a uncommon "happy end" to such Russian affairs. But, Browder shoud be cautious, as in Russia things can always get worse. It's like gravity law - never fail!
JESSE:
Good news, you were wrong! It's over 6,000 by Sunday morning.
I think it would be nice if Mr. Browder would make a public statement admitting his own blame in misleading many on Russia when he began investing. Let's not forget he was a big fan of Putin before he suddenly found himself targeted for arrest. I think it would do a lot for the world's understanding of the malignancy of the Putin regime, as well as Browder's own credibility, if Browder would do so.
And let's not forget that he HAS been targeted for arrest, just like Mr. Khodorkovsky:
http://blogs.reuters.com/commentaries/2009/10/08/a-new-twist-in-a-russian-scandal/
Were it not for the fact that Browder is no longer in country, he might be sharing a cell with Mr. K as we speak.
Wow, I stand corrected. Truly surprised that YouTube viewers have attention spans over 2mins. Congrats to Hermitage - it's a credit to the film's production value.
"Congrats to Hermitage - it's a credit to the film's production value."
Well yes, that and the tens of thousands of dollars which have been pumped into the PR behind the video (I know I got emailed twice). Still important, still criminals in the govt., but just saying...
It's day 5 and I just counted 10,982 hits on the English Language version of the video and 16,048 hits on the Russian Language video.
We've also just been voted the number 1 most viewed YouTube video for news and politics in Russia. Good news for freedom of speech!
Katie Fisher
http://lawandorderinrussia.org/
There is something hugely funny about seeing Mr. Amsterdam now going to bat for someone who strongly supported Vladimir Putin in crushing Amsterdam's client, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a vital step in the destruction of the first phase of oligarchic bandit capitalism in Russia. Anyone wishing to read Browder's views on the Oligarch should do a search on the BBC site. I happily fought alongside Browder in this battle, but I am deeply sceptical that Bill, who has never been seen to do anything at all except as it advances his own interests, has been carrying out a multi-year, multi-million dolar battle solely to recover stolen tax money for the Russian state! What else does he have to hide?
Oh my god, the return of Eric Kraus! It's been such a long time since we've seen this one crawl out of his hovel...
Where have you been? Browder defected to the side of reason and called for Khodorkovsky's release a long time ago:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/07/russia
Total capitulation. Eric Kraus has to say these kinds of things in order to keep the investments he's involved in safe in Russia.
But you know what, Eric? I hear you are next.
of course, you silly bugger, when Browder's visa got lifted he defected to the other side. He was, is and shall remain fundamentally self-serving. He got into trouble when he tried to screw his backers out of the agreed refund, forgetting the first rule for foreigners in the Russian Federation - just because the locals can get away with it, that doesn't mean that you can too!