Filenews 24 May 2022
By Dawn Ennis
About 1,000 American citizens from across the spectrum of political and business life, journalism, entertainment, religion and national defence have been declared personae non grata in Russia, in a – for the most part – symbolic gesture that nevertheless caused a great deal of 'noise'.
Specifically, 963 citizens, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris – as well as her husband, Doug Emhoff – were blacklisted last Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, or on the Russian Foreign Ministry's "stop list".
The ban on entry into Russia for 963 Americans came in retaliation for U.S. sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, but to Washington's humanitarian and military assistance to Kiev.
The list includes former U.S. democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but, as the Washington Post reports, a top name is missing: former President Donald Trump. Of the key trump administration officials, only one was targeted by the Kremlin: former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Former President Barack Obama and his predecessors were also not included in the Kremlin's list. Unlike a number of Biden and Obama administration officials, hundreds of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, businessmen from the tech world and media people – not even one from the Fox News network - were not named. Among the others on the list is Rich Eychaner: businessman and LGBT activist.
According to the blog Lucas Countyan, Eychaner founded the Gay Coalition of Iowa and was the co-founder of the first Iowa Caucus Project, which promoted the rights of the LGBT community during the presidential election campaigns. He was also a member of the board of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, chairman of the Iowa Civil Rights Committee, a member of the board of the gay men's choir in De Moine and co-founder of the Pride Network in Iowa. In 2007, Eychaner participated in the LGBT+ citizens' initiative in Iowa, which lobbied then-governor Chet Culver to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the protected categories under the state civil rights act.
The real estate entrepreneur has also created the Eychaner Foundation, which supports the Matthew Shepard Scholarship scholarship program for LGBT+ senior high school students in Iowa as well as the Howard and Mildred Eychaner Minority Scholarship scholarship program for graduate students at DeKalb High School in the same state.
Unlike the "Red Horror" era in the 1950s, when dozens of Hollywood stars were blacklisted as "sympathizers" of communism, Putin's list includes just two names from the "cinematic" neighbourhood of Tinsel Town: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Morgan Freeman, the 84-year-old Oscar-winning actor who has played presidents, vice presidents, supreme court judge, members of congress, and even God.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement that in 2017 Freeman "videotaped a message in which he accuses Russia of conspiracy against the United States and calls for a fight against our country."
In the video of the Committee of Inquiry into Russia (Committee to Investigate Russia), which tried to sensitize American citizens about Russian meddling in the US presidential election, Freeman said, among other things: "They attacked us" and "We are at war."
Also on the list are politicians who have died: such as John McCain who died in 2018 at the age of 81, Harry M. Reid who passed away last December at the age of 82, and Orin J. Hutch, who passed away in April at the age of 88.
There are 86 people who are simply referred to as "American citizens"." In addition, rabbis, a judge in Iowa, executives of defence industry companies and a professor of history at Yale University have been included.
Among the "greats" of technology we find on the list Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft president Brad Smith. From the journalistic field, David Ignatius of The Post, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Susan Glasser of the New Yorker, Bret Stephens of the New York Times and Bianna Golodryga of CNN, who was born in the erstwhile Soviet Republic of Moldova, were declared undesirables on Russian soil. Golodryga immigrated to the U.S. while she was still a child.
Senator Richard Blumenthal tweeted that he considers the sanctions against him "a decoration of honour by a barbarian carnage."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi are also on Putin's "blacklist," but not Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell or Republican Senator Rand Paul. According to the Washington Post, Paul last week delayed the Senate vote on sending aid to Ukraine — and he was the only senator to disagree. The Senate finally approved the sending of aid to Kiev, and on Saturday Biden signed the decree on the new $40 billion package of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Dollars.
In February, former US President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin made a "genius" decision when he ordered Russian troops to cross the border for his so-called "peacekeeping mission".
A multi-faceted presence on the Russian "stop list" for the heads of the U.S. army and national defence: Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, head of the Army General Staff, certainly stand out.
The list also includes controversial figures such as Hunter Biden and billionaire George Soros. "Soros is something of a bogeyman for Russia and right-wing conspiracy theorists thanks to the philanthropic support it provides to liberal causes, as well as to groups in the former Soviet bloc," the Post commented in a report.
Former White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki ironically "tweeted" about her inclusion in the list: "I guess we should cancel our family trip in August to Moscow..."
Former Vice President Mike Pence is not on the list, but the same is not true of his brother, Congressman Greg Pence. A total of 212 Republicans from the House of Representatives and Senate are on the list, as well as 224 Democrats from both houses of parliament.
Three Republican trump supporters are considered personae non grata in Russia: Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gates and Paul Gozar. With them are the ultra-progressive Democratic congresswomen: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.
Congresswoman Lori Trahan made it clear in a tweet that her inclusion on the Russian list will not change her opinion of the invasion of Ukraine. "If Vladimir Putin believes that my permanent ban on entering Russia will bend my support for Ukraine, I have bad news for him. This is not going to happen," he commented. "The United States stands by Ukraine."
Finally, veteran Democratic politician Donna Braizil tweeted that she wonders why Putin included her among those who are denied entry to Russia. "Well, I support democratic governments against authoritarian dictatorships," she pointed out. "Goodbye, Putin!"
Source: Forbes
