Russian city shuts paper over cartoon

Appeasement from Russia.

In a controversy with echoes of the Islamic anger over Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, the authorities in a central Russian city on Friday ordered the closure of a newspaper that published a cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad, along with Jesus Christ, Moses and Buddha.

The cartoon, published Feb. 9 in the official city newspaper in Volgograd, prompted some criticism and a federal criminal investigation but no public outrage. That may be, in large part, because it depicted the figures respectfully, renouncing violence, though Islamic teachings forbid any depiction of the prophet.

"Well, we did not teach them that," Moses says in a caption as the four watch a television set showing two groups confronting each other with banners and clubs and hurling stones. The cartoon appeared on Page 5 with an article on an agreement signed by regional political parties and organizations to combat nationalism, xenophobia and religious conflicts.

Volgograd's first deputy mayor, Andrei Doronin, announced the closure of the newspaper, Gorodskiye Vesti, or City News, "in order not to inflame ethnic hostilities," according to the official Russian Information Agency. He gave the newspaper a month to liquidate its assets, leaving the future of its staff unclear.

The closure came after the international protests over the Danish cartoons, which reverberated in Russia, a country with an estimated 20 million Muslims. Political and religious leaders here joined in denouncing the cartoons, although there have not been violent protests like those elsewhere.

Chechnya's deputy prime minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, suspended the work of the Danish Refugee Council in the battered republic, while President Vladimir Putin said, "One has to think a hundred times before publishing something, doing something or drawing something."

Putin must have thought a hundred times before saying this too, I guess:

"Russia has always been the most faithful, reliable and consistent defender of the interests of the Islamic world," he told Chechen lawmakers, to applause. "Russia has always been the best and most reliable partner and ally."

"By destroying Russia, these people [terrorists] destroy one of the main pillars of the Islamic world in the struggle for rights in the international arena, the struggle for their legitimate rights," Putin added.