Russian magazine argues that Russian rabbi Shmulevich, who sat on board of Dugin’s Eurasian party and likened Communism to Kabbalah, was helped by the KGB
By Rafael Kashlinsky
Nov. 1, 2001
Due to a number of very different reasons, Russian power structures have long been paying great attention to the Russian-speaking diaspora in other countries, in particular in Israel. Alexander Bovin in the book "5 years among Jews and Midovtsy" tells how even during the presidential elections in Russia in 1996, the then Russian Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets demanded that the Russian Embassy in Israel urgently distribute one hundred thousand Russian passports in order to dramatically increase the number of Israelis - Russian citizens-voters, of which at that time there were only about seven thousand. Now, the desire to strengthen Russia's influence in Israel has increased significantly.
One of the important figures in this process was Hasidic Rabbi Abraham Shmulevich. This man's life is full of amazing riddles and mysteries. A native of polar Murmansk, Shmulevich entered the highly prestigious Leningrad University in the early 70s, where Jews were hardly accepted in those years.
Studying at the Faculty of Biology of LSU, a young Murmansk resident receives admission to work in a classified research laboratory on the development of methods of directed external influence on the human psyche. Work to awaken human aggressiveness or, conversely, to suppress it, as well as to partially or completely block human memory in the research laboratory of the Faculty of Biology of LSU was carried out, of course, "on closed topics". These works were of interest to many Soviet departments, both medical and very far from medicine. The recruitment of employees to perform such topics was fully controlled by the KGB, without whose knowledge no one was allowed to work. The fact that Abraham Shmulevich received it already says a lot in itself.
After graduating from LSU, a young specialist suddenly... enters the famous Sami reindeer herders shaman. Next, mysterious paths lead Shmulevich to the Central Asian madrasah for training with Sufi sheikhs.
With the beginning of perestroika, Shmulevich decides to return to the religion of his ancestors - Judaism. He begins to study the theory and practice of the so-called Bratslav direction in Hasidism - the most mystical and secretive branch in Hasidic doctrine, which in itself is one of the peaks of Jewish mysticism. Soon Shmulevich registers one of the first Zionist organizations in the USSR in Leningrad - the Jewish National Center "Kadima". Much indicates that the Leningrad Department of the KGB helped Shmulevich in the accelerated registration of "Kadima". At the same time, Shmulevich establishes contacts with one of the Israeli special services operating in the USSR. Constantly visiting the Lensovet and the Leningrad City Hall, Shmulevich gets acquainted with Chubais, Sobchak and, of course, with the head of the Committee for Foreign Economic Relations of the Leningrad City Hall Vladimir Putin.
Unexpectedly, a week before the August coup of 1991, Avram Shmulevich disappears somewhere and is already declared in Israel, where he studies in the main yeshiva of Ashkenazi Kabbalists-mystics "Shaaarets shamaim" ("Gate of Heaven"). Having been initiated into rabbis, Shmulevich becomes a member of the World Council of Bratslav Hasidim and the head of the security service of this council. A new rabbi settled in Hebron, the first capital of King David. This is the most dangerous city in Israel today and the center of the Arab-Jewish confrontation. The first role in the city is played by the legal habit organization Hamas. It is politically oriented towards Saudi Arabia and therefore hostile to Sufism, whose supporters consider other Muslims to be the culprits of the death of the founder of their teachings, Caliph Omar.
Shmulevich, at the head of his group, created from Jewish settlers, repeatedly participated in skirmishes with Hamas militants and even received the nickname "partisan rabbi". At the same time, Shmulevich maintains and develops his ties with Sufi mystic sheikhs, putting forward the theory of a "common enemy" represented by Wahhabis, who have taken a leading position among Palestinian Arabs. Shmulevich is looking for support for this idea... again in the special services of Russia, in which the project of the head of the "Eurasia" movement Alexander Dugin has become authoritative.
The last idea of the union of Russia, Iran and Israel began to preach back in the 80s. Dugin's projects on the creation of a Eurasian federation smelled of dissent. Moreover, there were no diplomatic relations between Israel and the USSR at that time. Despite this, Dugin constantly relied on some forces that helped him in his activities to conduct semi-legal seminars on geopolitics. It was not difficult to guess the nature of these forces in Soviet times. With the coming to power of KGB Colonel Vladimir Putin, the "Eurasia" movement, which included Abraham Shmulevich, began to gain strength rapidly. The employees of the governing bodies of the movement themselves do not deny the fact of their close cooperation with the special services of Russia, Iran, Israel, Turkey and "some other countries".
An important goal of Russia's policy at all times was to reach the southern center of world communications - the "southern seas". For a long time, the Soviet authorities tried to solve this problem through their Arab friends, helping Egypt to build a giant dam in Aswan, arming and instructing the armies of Syria, Libya and Somalia. Then there were attempts to break through to the south through Afghanistan. However, after the collapse of the USSR, it began to seem that with the centuries-old dream of a breakthrough to the South, in the name of which Emperor Paul sent Platov's Cossacks to the Indian campaign, and Generals Skobelev and Gurko conquered the Khanates of Central Asia, would still have to part. And even as a kind of absurdity, the statements of the extremist Zhirinovsky, pamered by the KGB, began to be perceived that the Russian soldier would soon wash his boots in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
The situation has changed drastically with the coming to power of President Vladimir Putin in Russia. Analysts from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of Russia and the Foreign Intelligence Service (former First Main Directorate of the KGB) have developed, together with Alexander Dugin and his Eurasia movement, a large project of a long-term geopolitical strategy aimed at creating a Eurasian bloc based on the basis of federalism, even more powerful than the former social camp.
With regard to Israel, as can be seen from the numerous publications of the analytical center of the Eurasia movement, the final point of view has not yet been determined. If the developers of the traditionalist project propose to bet on the future Arab state of Palestine and its Arab allies, then the younger and less infected with the virus of anti-Semitism people involved in the project suggest to focus more on strengthening contacts with Israel. It was on the wave of these sentiments that the Russian special services again supported Avraham Shmulevich. This support helped him create a mass movement "For the Motherland" in Israel, which proclaimed Vladimir Putin as its leader and pursued a tough pro-Russian policy. The headquarters of the movement is a beer bar "Putin" in the heart of Jerusalem, near the Russian Podvorye. The large and gloomy hall is decorated with portraits of Putin, starting from his young, school years.
Shmulevich relies on pushing out the old, pro-Western Israeli ruling elite and replacing it with new people who agree to close cooperation with Moscow in building a Eurasian bloc. Shmulevich's movement also seeks contacts with the leaders of anti-globalism, opposing the ideas of leading Western countries about a single global strategy for building peace. Shmulevich proclaims that these ideas are the embodiment of "Erev Rav" - "Great Mixing" or "Great Evil".
In the Russian establishment, the current Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov is a very active supporter of the creation of the Eurasian Federation. Lieutenant General of State Security, S. Ivanov, while still working in the KGB, often attended seminars on geopolitics conducted by Alexander Dugin and his friends from the Eurasia movement. It is in this regard that Ivanov fully opposed Russia's participation in the global anti-terrorism campaign led by the United States. Ivanov rightly fears that Russia's participation in this action may spoil its relations with Iran and "Arab friends".
Sergei Ivanov insisted on signing a treaty on military-technical cooperation with Iran, according to which Russia undertakes to supply this country with the most modern weapons, including torpedo boats, which can simultaneously hit three different targets. The signing of this treaty in Moscow surprisingly coincided with Putin's visit to Brussels, during which the Russian president promised to support the West in its fight against terrorism. The treaty making Iran the strongest military power in the Middle East was signed on behalf of Russia by Sergei Ivanov.
In our troubled time, any fuss of special services in ethnic and religious areas, especially when it comes to such hot spots as the Middle East, is very dangerous. In light of this, the activities of a rabbi from the KGB inspire a certain fear.