Обновления проекта: поездка в Россию и Чечню, документальные фильмы

Real Scott Ritter Project Updates

Источник: https://scottritter.substack.com/p/real-scott-ritter-project-updates

The Author (right) with Magomed Daudov (left), the Prime Minister of Chechnya I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Russia, where I split my time evenly between Moscow and Chechnya. The Moscow portion of the trip was focused on ascertaining the current state of play, from a Russian perspective, of US-Russian relations in the aftermath of the Alaska Summit which took place in August of last year. Originally I intended to focus on the collapse of arms control and the emerging nuclear anarchy that has transpired as a result, colored as it is by the ongoing tensions created by the unresolved conflict in Ukraine between Russia and the collective West. But the US-Israeli attack on Iran, and Iran’s narrative-changing resilience in the face of perfidy and aggression, has fundamentally altered the geopolitical landscape, especially when it comes to US-Russian relations (the de facto lifting of sanctions on the sale of Russian oil stands out as one example, as does the virtual abandonment of Ukraine by the US) meant that any discussion on the state of affairs between the US and Russia would be for more nuanced and complex than originally thought.

In this, the Moscow leg of my trip did not disappoint. I was joined on this visit by my friend and colleague, Garland Nixon. We kicked off our visit to Russia by taking to the stage on the day of our arrival, with a moderated panel discussion hosted by the publisher of the Russian-language edition of my book, Highway to Hell. While the dangers of a renewed US-Russian arms race following the failure of the US and Russia to renew the last remaining strategic arms control agreement, New START, in February of this year, led off the discussion, the conversation quickly turned to the conflict in the Middle East and the possible role Russia could play in helping bring the fighting to an end.

Garland Nixon and I joined noted Russian historian Andrey Fursov and MGIMO Professor of International Relations Elena Ponomareva for a spirited night of “Cigar Diplomacy” at the 19/72 Cigar Club in Moscow The next day Garland and I continued our unique blend of activist journalism when we were invited to the posh Moscow Cigar Club 19/72 for an evening of “Cigar Diplomacy”. Garland and I were joined on stage by the noted Russian/Soviet historian, Andrey Fursov, and Elena Ponomareva, a professor of international relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), the elite school for aspiring Russian diplomats run by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for an enlightened discussion moderated by Alexander Stepanov, a noted Russian political-military analyst and professor at the Presidential Academy in Moscow.

Garland and I interview Andrei Ilnitsky for The Russia House The next day Garland and I had the pleasure of interviewing the former senior advisor to the Russian Minister of Defense, Andrei Ilnitsky, for The Russia House with Scott Ritter podcast. Garland and I had previously interviewed the retired Russian Lieutenant General last November, and we picked up where we left off with a critical analysis of US-Russian relations and whether or not it was possible to revive the so-called “Spirit of Alaska” given all that has transpired since the Putin-Trump Summit last August.

Garland and I did some appearances with Russian media, appearing on an episode of The Sanchez Effect, a flagship program for RT hosted by Rick Sanchez, and doing interviews with TASS at their headquarters in downtown Moscow. We rounded out our stay in Moscow with a visit to the Presidential Academy, where I delivered a lecture on US-Russian relations with a room full of senior Russian civil servants and government administrators. This lecture was facilitated by Alexander Stepanov following the “Cigar Diplomacy” event, which had caught the attention of some in the Russian government.

The Author addresses an audience of Russian civil servants during a lecture given at the Presidential Academy in Moscow While most of our work in Moscow was focused on issues pertaining to US-Russian relations, Garland and I were able to spend an afternoon getting a special tour of the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy, or VDNKh, located in the located in the Ostankinsky District of Moscow. Established in 1935, and opened to the public in 1939, the VDNKh provides a unique and expansive forum for the accomplishments of Russia to be put on public display. Facilitated by Mamuka Pipia, a close friend of mine who serves as the International Secretary of the Solidarity for Peace Party and the proprietor of the popular Georgian restaurant Genatsvali, located on Arbat Street in downtown Moscow, the VDNKh tour served to remind Garland and I of the great economic and social accomplishments of Russia, both today and in the past. This kind of touchstone connectivity with Russian reality is much needed in a world where Russian narratives are more often than not laced with Russophobic tropes.

The Author in front of the haut-relief sculpture, “Long Live the Standard Bearer of Peace, the Soviet People!” The unique blend of culture, history, and entertainment that the VDNKh provides is well known to the citizens of Moscow and Russia who flock to its expansive parks and exhibition halls (the park itself comprises some 2,375,000 square meters, of which 266,000 square meters are used for indoor exhibits), but is a road less travelled for foreigners, all of whom would benefit greatly from the knowledge and insights garnered by spending a single afternoon wandering its buildings and parks. In a day full of magical discoveries, one of the most enjoyable was being introduced to the haut-relief sculpture, “Long Live the Standard Bearer of Peace, the Soviet People!” that had been believed to have been lost for 40 years was discovered hidden behind a wall of plywood and eventually restored for display in the Victory Hall.

The “Sun of Moscow” panoramic wheel at the VDNKh park, Moscow No tour of the VDNKh park would be complete without a ride on the “Sun of Moscow” (Solntse Moskvy), a panoramic wheel which, at 140 meters height, makes it the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, surpassing even the world-famous London Eye. One revolution of the wheel takes precisely 18 minutes, 40 seconds. On a good day, the visibility from the wheel is about 31 miles. I rode on it as the sun set on Moscow. The experience was spectacular.

A view of the VDNKh grounds at night, from the “Sun of Moscow” Ferris wheel The Chechnya portion of my trip to Russia was singularly dedicated to the making of a documentary film with the working title, Inside Chechnya. One of the first tasks I had was deciding who best to interview when it came to such an expansive project. I submitted a list of proposed names, and in the end it was agreed that I would be able to interview the following individuals:

Magomed Daudov, the Prime Minister of Chechnya

Akhmed Dudayev, the Minister of Information

Dzhambulat Umarov, the president of the Chechen Academy of Sciences

Salakh-Khadzhi Mezhiyev, the Grand Mufti of Chechnya

Colonel Ruslan Numukhazhiyev, commanding officer of the Chechen battalion deployed to Syria in 2017

Colonel Zamid Chalaev, commander of the special police regiment named after the Hero of the Russian Federation A.A. Kadyrov

Garland and I with Dzhambulat Umarov, the president of the Chechen Academy of Sciences To facilitate this effort, I had prepared a list of questions I planned on asking to each of the persons interviewed, with the goal being to capture a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues contained in each question.

One of the challenges that exists when seeking to describe Chechnya to an American/western audience is how little is known about Chechnya. As such, I asked questions intended to allow the person being interviewed to define in their own words the people of Chechnya, their culture and history, and Chechnya’s status as a Republic within the structure of the Russian Federation.

These questions included the following:

How would you describe Chechnya to someone who has never been there?

What is the essence of what it means to be a Chechen?

What is the difference between being a Chechen, and being a Russian?

What are the top three defining moments in Chechen history?

Garland and I with Akhmed Dudayev, the Minister of Information The Russians and Chechens fought two major conflicts against each other in the past 30 years. And yet today Russia and Chechnya exist as brothers in arms, peacefully coexisting in an environment of mutual respect. Through the interviews conducted I sought to capture just how this transformation came about, both in terms of how Akhmat Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic, and Vladimir Putin negotiated an end to the fighting, and how Ramzan Kadyrov (Akhmat Kadyrov’s son) and Vladimir Putin advanced relations to where they are today.

These questions were asked in this regard:

The history of Russia and Chechnya would suggest two peoples permanently at conflict. And yet when one looks at Chechnya today, as part of the Russian Federation, one sees just the opposite. To what do you attribute this reality?

Who is Akhmat Kadyrov? Would it be accurate to describe him as the George Washington of the modern Chechen Republic?

Why is Vladimir Putin held in such high regard by the Chechen people?

Garland Nixon and I with Salakh-Khadzhi Mezhiyev, the Grand Mufti of Chechnya In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the West tried to use radical Islam as a means of breaking Chechnya away from Russia. Today the Muslim people of Chechnya peacefully coexist with Orthodox Christian Russians. Through my interviews I sought to explore the specific Islamic character of Chechnya, and how this contributes to the peaceful relationship with Orthodox Russia. I also like to explored the question of how Chechnya’s status as an Islamic Republic helps facilitate Russian relations with other Muslim peoples.

The questions I asked included:

What is the role of Islam in Chechnya today?

The West has spent considerable effort trying to create and exploit divisions inside Islam to discredit and destroy Islam. How has Chechnya dealt with these threats?

Chechens were targeted by the West for radicalization. Some Chechens succumbed to these efforts. Most did not. What is it about the Chechen people and their faith that makes them resistant to the kinds of radicalization that has taken hold in other parts of the Islamic world?

Chechnya sits at the crossroads of the Islamic world, a literal Landbridge between the Muslim populations of Eurasia and the Middle East. How can Chechnya use this geopolitical reality to heal the rifts in Islam, and to repair relations between the Islamic world and the Judeo-Christian world?

The Author with Colonel Zamid Chalaev, commander of the special police regiment named after the Hero of the Russian Federation A.A. Kadyrov The Special Military Operation (SMO) that is being conducted against Ukraine has, from its very beginning, had a strong Chechen component. In my interviews, I explored the role played by Chechnya in the SMO.

My questions about the SMO were as such:

Chechnya committed to the goals and objectives of the SMO from the very beginning, even as many in Russia struggled. Why?

Chechen soldiers have been at the center of some of the most important battles of the SMO: Mariupol, the liberation of Lugansk, Kursk and others. To what do you attribute the success of the Chechen forces on the battlefield?

The Akhmat Special Forces have become a symbol of the bond between Chechnya and Russia. Is this bond unique to the battlefield, or does it reflect something deeper?

We are entering the fifth year of the SMO. How is the burden of conflict impacting Chechen society?

I also had a series of questions individually tailored for each person interviewed. The goal is to release each interview as a standalone episode of The Russia House with Scott Ritter once the material is deconflicted with the Inside Chechnya documentary project.

The trip to Chechnya was a complicated undertaking which would not have been possible without the full support of the Minister of Information, Akhmed Dudayev, his deputy, Lambert, and a whole host of other individuals who went out of their way to make my team and I feel at home in their homeland. A special mention goes out to Ilyas Ebiev, a man once described to me as “the Elvis Pressley of Chechnya”, given his popularity in both Russia and Chechnya. Ilyas was kind enough to take time from a busy performing schedule to meet with me and discuss my project, after which he kindly provided an assortment of original Chechen music which he gave me permission to use as the soundtrack to the documentary film.

The Author with Ilyas Ebiev, the famous Chechen musician, who provided the original music that will be used as the soundtrack to the documentary film, Inside Chechnya We didn’t simply conduct interviews during the visit to Chechnya, but also embarked on several tours designed to educate and inform us about the Chechen reality. Thse tours included an afternoon spent at the Russian Spetznaz University located in Gudermes, some 22 miles east of Grozny, where volunteers are trained to fight under conditions replicating battlefield reality in the Special Military Operation, as well as a tour of the Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov Memorial Estate of Glory Museum, in downtown Grozny, which pays tribute to the founding father of the modern Chechen Republic, Akhmat Kadyrov. We also visited the Pride of Muslims Mosque, in Shali, and the Heart of Chechnya Mosque, in Grozny, in order to better understand the role played by Islam in Chechnya today.

The Heart of Chechnya Mosque, Grozny Both the Moscow and Chechen components of this trip would not have been possible without the hard work of Alexandra Madornaya, who was responsible for making all of the arrangements necessary for Garland Nixon and I to function in Russia for ten days. Alexandra also serves as the producer and editor for The Russia House with Scott Ritter, and is doing the same for the Inside Chechnya documentary film.

Alexandra and I are now diligently working to compile and organize the hours of film and audio we collected on this trip so that we can produce the Inside Chechnya documentary. Our goal is to have a final product ready by August of this year, in time to submit the film for consideration in the Moscow Festival of Films, scheduled for September 22 – 27, 2026.

I am also working diligently on finishing the Project 38 film. Originally conceived as a project designed to help pressure the US government into extending the New START treaty, Project 38 has been languishing as I try to find a way to make use of the material that has already been captured, including in depth interviews with Dennis Kucinich, Ray McGovern, and Theodore Postol. My last visit to Russia allowed for some additional clarity on the issue of nuclear anarchy in a world without arms control, and I am finalizing a concept that would allow me to use the existing material (which includes the right to incorporate Roger Water’s haunting “Two Suns in the Sunset”) to produce a compelling short film. My goal is to have something ready for airing in time for the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), scheduled for 3-6 June.

I am planning to attend SPIEF this year as a panelist (finishing the mission I had started in June 2024, when the State Department seized my passport in order to prevent me from attending that year’s forum.) During this time I will also undertake to interview persons of interest as part of The Russia House with Scott Ritter podcast, as well as a special project undertaken with the noted Russian political-military analyst, Andrei Vajra.

I will also undertake a very special project related to the Special Military Operation. For security reasons, the details of this project cannot be made public, but rest be assured it involves reporting on topics that are of significant importance and relevance to the issues of the day.

None of the work I did during my March visit, and none of the work I am planning to do in June, could have been accomplished without the donations provided by the supporters of my work. I am committed to independent journalism, which means that I not only decide what projects I will become involved in, but that I also pay for all expenses associated with these projects so as to not be accused of operating under the influence of any outside parties. This means that I pay for all travel expenses, all hotel expenses, all meals, as well as the costs associated with studio rental, videography and sound recording, translation services, and production and editing expenses. Needless to say, a short visit to Russia like the one I did in March (where I also paid the expenses of Garland Nixon and Alexandra Madornaya) cost more than $25,000.

The Author with Garland Nixon and Alexandra Madornaya at dinner in Grozny A lengthier visit, such as the one planned for June, can cost upwards of $35,000.

These expenses are justified in order to be able to retain the title “Independent Journalist”.

The work I am doing in Russia is unique and not available elsewhere.

It also contributes to the betterment of relations between the United States and Russia by helping capture the reality of Russia, and bring it to an American/non-Russian audience. The empowerment that occurs when one is able to gain access to fact-based knowledge and information is transformative, and plays an invaluable role in helping overcome the disease of Russophobia that has infected so many in the West today.

This is my mission.

This is our mission.

Together, we can make a difference in the world.

I thank you all for the support you have provided in the past, and I look forward for your continued support so we can help make a world where peace, not war, is the answer.

Donate