“Conversion of Russia”
Update

Putin Brings Russia Back to the Good Old Days

By Christopher A. Ferrara

Followers of this column will notice that presentation of the evidence of Russia’s non-conversion since the non-consecration of 1984 is the single most treated subject among the 567 “Fatima Perspectives” published here to date.

And with good reason: as Russia goes, so goes the world, if Our Lady of Fatima is to be believed — and, of course, we cannot fail to believe Her.  And so we must believe Her when She says, in the Message of Fatima, that failing Russia’s consecration to Her Immaculate Heart and its consequent conversion, innumerable souls will be lost and “various nations will be annihilated.”  Remember that Sister Lucia was warning of the prospect of the annihilation of nations long after the end of World War II and the rise of international communism.

So, this is not a subject I am prepared to drop — ever — until the Consecration of Russia is actually effected.  And the evidence that is has not been effected continues to mount with a rapidity that can only be humiliating to the Father Foxes of the Catholic world, who were once so confident, and so eager to declare publicly, that a “miraculous transformation” of Russia had taken place following a ceremony from which any mention of Russia was deliberately omitted.

In recent months the debacle has achieved almost comical proportions, except that the prognosis for our world is anything but funny.  In an editorial published on June 9, 2008, The New York Times decries the latest neo-Stalinist revival in Russia: “Years ago, Soviet news agencies grew to be experts in removing unwanted comrades from official photographs. People disappeared in the developing rooms just as they disappeared in real life, and early group photos with Stalin often contracted into a picture of the Soviet dictator standing alone. That grim history makes what's happening today on Russia's national television networks all the more chilling.”

Yes, Putin’s Russia is now witnessing the digital equivalent of Stalinist airbrushing: “Russia's national networks are routinely deleting news or opinions critical of the Kremlin. In one notable case, Mikhail Delyagin, a political analyst, criticized Vladimir Putin during the taping of a talk show. When the program aired, most of Delyagin was missing. Only his disembodied legs remained in the picture.”

Clumsy, laughable, and oh-so-Stalinesque.  But Putin has no shame, and no fear of world opinion. Nor does the “practicing Christian” — remember that laughable claim about Putin from the Fatima revisionists? — have any respect for human life.  The Times recalls the curious fact “Since 2000, when Putin was first elected president, about 14 independent journalists have been killed.”  This is not to mention the sudden deaths of Putin’s other political opponents at different times and places.

Meanwhile, Putin’s government — which he is allowing Medvedev to run like a father who allows his child to “drive” the family car — is finding imaginative new ways to shut down opposition newspapers. For example, “three independent newspapers… were shut down recently for allegedly using counterfeit software.”  Gee, that’s strict! At the same time, the Kremlin — meaning Putin — “announced recently that it will now monitor online content.”

The Times is rightly troubled about “this slide toward those dark old days” in a nation that, today, is armed to the teeth with nuclear missiles, is developing new ones that can evade any missile defense, and has forged a military alliance with Red China, which is building underground bases for submarines carrying ICBMs.