Lance Reidenbach
9.13.2016
ENGL 306
Beslan
On 1
September, 2004 in Beslan, North Ossetia,
Russia, a school was swarmed and attacked by men who eventually held them
hostage for three days. Twelve years later on 1 September, 2016 five women
stood up at a mourning site, removed their shirts to reveal another shirt, all
of them reading, “Putin is the executioner of Beslan”(Guardian). Protesting
respectfully at the memorial site the women were soon removed and arrested for
violating a law against unauthorized protesting (RadioFreeEurope). Many believe their
rights to free assembly were being violated. With these five women were two
camera men who were recording the whole incident.
First
some main points of the situation being protested about. On 1 September, 2004
roughly 1,200 people were taken hostage at a Beslan school by 32 heavily-armed
gunmen. The men were part of a
terrorist group, “they called themselves Magas, Fantomas and Abdullah, the
first two of whom were associates of the notorious Chechen warlord Shamil
Basayev,” (Beaumont).Their main goal was
to cause havoc with other atrocities as suicide bombings and blowing up
airplanes. The school was under siege for three days ending on 3 September,
2004. The school was rushed and bombarded by Russian forces with guns, rockets
and explosives. After a total body count it reached 334 dead and over 700
hundred wounded. Among the dead were the lives of 186
children, 118 relatives or school guests, 17 teachers, 10 Special Forces
officers, 2 Emergencies Ministry employees and one policeman (International). In the end the one who decided the final rush on 3
September, 2004 was the, at the time, current president of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
The names of the five women who
were protesting with their shirts showing their hate for Vladimir Putin have
now been named. The five names are: Emma Betrozova, Ella Kesayeva, Zhanna Tsirikhova, Svetlana Margiyeva, and
Emilia Bzarova (RadioFreeEurope). All of these women are part of the “Voice of
Beslan” movement that continues as an advocacy group for the victims of the
shooting. Emilia Bzarova, “…no longer believes that the Russian authorities are
possessed of even the slightest degree of integrity or conscientiousness,” (Orlov).
Svetlana Margieva suffered during her arrest,“I was hit on the head and began
to vomit”(Orlov). The location as to where the protest occurred is actually at
the school site itself. A large granite wall has been put up with the names of
the people lost engraved. Pictures are constantly being changed when the
previous ones fade away. Every year they release 334 white balloons, one for
every person who passed on and the school bell tolls.
This year is important because Vladimir
Putin is president and running for presidency again. First he was president in
2000, and then re-elected in 2004 and sworn in on March 15. He stepped down in
2008 being replaced by Dmitry Medvedev. On 4 March, 2012 Vladimir Putin is
president again by less than 65% (CNN). Many are still curious as
to how he won re-election in 2016. Vladimir Putin is in a lot of trouble right
now. This could add gas to the fire and be the way to bring Putin down from
president.
The ones speaking through this
protest may appear to be five crazy women as they are, in a sense, threatening
Putin in a Russia with strict laws, but really this is five women representing
the many other women who lost sons and daughters and husbands in the massacre.
They are speaking for the ones who cannot. These five ladies were brave knowing
what could happen to them. Luckily they only got a short prison stay and a fine
for each as well as community service. All of these ladies wanted an audience.
The audience was more than one. They wanted to reach out to the ones who lost
family and friends. To the ones who can help them. But most of all they wanted
to reach out to the Russian government, mainly Putin, as their shirts revealed.
Overall their message is to show how Vladimir Putin is a terrible president.
They want to reveal his fallacies, to bring him down, and bring forth a new
era. Putin has a huge crowd, who hold him responsible for that terrible day
back on 1 September, 2004.
“Ethos” has a place here. There
is no need for the stance in credibility. They, being the parents and wives of
the murdered members, are credible enough. Three of the women were actually
hostages. They saw as tanks blew holes in the school with people inside. In
their protest there was a strong tone of heart and seriousness and anger. As for
word choice, their shirts say “Putin” and not “Russia”. This is not an attack
on Russia. This is an attack on Putin, the one to blame for the body count. The
women reminded people of the horror with their shirts and why people should
care again. They are experts on the subject and use that to better their
argument.
When it comes to the protest by
the five women it pays to look at it from a “logos” point of view. There were
344 dead including 168 children. It is a fact and everyone knows it. Putin was
president and he made the decision thus the murders are on his hands. I believe
“ad hominem” fits here where since his first term as President of Russia his
popularity and following has plummeted. He is the killer. Killers are terrible
leaders. If Putin, mass murderer, went away, then Russia would be at peace. The
women used interviews from fellow hostage survivors to prove far more people
were affected. The ladies used a simple title for the shirts to get to the
point and bring interest.
Now, look at it from a “pathos” perspective.
Their personal stories were being broadcasted across the area. The women used
their emotions to connect with the hearts of the people at the protest. People
were able to feel them and connect them to Putin, the man they hated and why
they hated him. They were calling out for Putin, to take responsibility. They
wanted everyone in Russia to know and feel what they know and feel. They
succeeded at bringing up the issue another year. After the women were arrested
and finally released they used their story of being beaten in prison to
strengthen their connection of the heart.
The five women lost family members, Emma Betrozova lost husband Ruslan,
16 year old son Alan and 14 year old son Aslan. Ella Kesayeva lost two nephews.
Zhanna Tsirikhova was a hostage and lost
her eight year old daughter Elizabeth. Svetlana Margiyeva was a hostage with
one daughter, Zarina, who lived and another daughter who died. Emilia Bzarova was a hostage with two sons,
husband and mother-in-law and nine year old son Aslan who died, in September
2004 (Kostyuchenko). These women had the freedom to do what they were doing. There was no
necessity for just five little women to be taken away and beaten. These
protesters want Putin gone. Russia is trying to keep their mistakes quiet by
taking care of those who question their authority. The government even arrested
one camera woman because she was “in a group of women” and “made statements”
(Trump). These women will not stop until Putin is punished and Beslan is
recognized.
Citations
@RT_com. "3 Days in Hell:
Russia Mourns Beslan School Siege Victims 10 Years on." RT
International. Reuters, 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
Agents', By 'Russian. "Russian
Police Detain Beslan Mothers Who Blamed Putin For School Tragedy." RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
Novaya Gazeta, 1 Sept. 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
Beaumont, Peter, and Nick Paton
Walsh. "Focus: When Hell Came Calling at Beslan's School No 1." The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 04 Sept. 2004. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
"Beslan Mothers Detained over
Anti-Putin Protest at Ceremony." The Guardian. Ed. RFE/RL. Guardian
News and Media, 01 Sept. 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
"Beslan School Siege Fast
Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 15 Aug. 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
CNN Library. "Vladimir Putin
Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Sept.
2016.
Kostyuchenko, Elena. "Dreams of
Beslan." Hobar. N.p., 2 Sept. 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
Orlov, Serge. "The Executioner
of Beslan." Mikhail Khodorkovsky. N.p., 15 Sept. 2016. Web. 25
Sept. 2016.
Trump. "In Beslan, over the
Protests of the Women Sentenced to Community Service and Fines." News.
News Russia, 2 Sept. 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
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