Russia: Old habits die hard
The Lizard Effect
Filmmaker Sergei Klado and tv journalist Irina Malikova have won Russia's first-ever human rights film award for "The Lizard Effect', which reveals the harassment of environmentalists in the country. The 52-minute movie states that there is a steady erosion of civil and environmental rights in today's Russia. It also avers that greens are even being viewed as threats to national security.
The film's title refers to a self-preservation trait in lizards: their ability to re-grow their tails after losing them to attacks. Klado hints that communism is displaying its "lizard effect' in Russia. The movie depicts the resurgence of strong-arm, Soviet-style methods under Vladimir Putin, including the emergence of a new kind of kgb. Unsavoury kgb tactics such as encouraging citizens to spy on each other