Mohammed Zahir Shah Exile
What does the article say about the Exile?
What does the article say about the Exile?
In 1973, while Zahir Shah was in Italy, undergoing eye surgery and therapy for lumbago, his cousin and former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan staged a coup d'etat and established a republican government. As a former prime minister, Daoud Khan had been forced to resign by Zahir Shah a decade earlier. During August 1974, Zahir Shah abdicated rather than risk a civil war, ending over 200 years of royal rule in Afghanistan. Zahir Shah lived in exile in Italy for twenty-nine years in a villa in the affluent community of Olgiata on Via Cassia, north of Rome where he spent his time playing golf and chess, as well as tending to his garden. He was prohibited from returning to Afghanistan during the late 1970s by the Soviet-assisted Communist government. In 1983 during the Soviet-Afghan War, Zahir Shah was cautiously involved with plans to develop a government in exile. Ultimately these plans failed because he could not reach a consensus with the powerful Islamist factions. It has also been reported that Afghanistan, the Soviet Union and India had all tried to persuade Zahir Shah to return as chief of a neutral, possibly interim, administration in Kabul. In 1991, Zahir Shah survived an attempt on his life by a knife-wielding assassin masquerading as a Portuguese journalist. After the fall of the pro-Soviet government, Zahir Shah was favored by many to return and restore the monarchy to unify the country and as he was acceptable to most factions. However these efforts were blocked mostly by Pakistan's ISI, who feared his stance on the Durand Line issue. In June 1995, Zahir Shah's former envoy Sardar Wali announced at talks in Islamabad, Pakistan that Zahir Shah was willing to participate in peace talks to end the Afghan Civil War, but no consensus was ever reached. CANNOTANSWER
Zahir Shah lived in exile in Italy for twenty-nine years
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since the foundation of the Durrani Empire in the 18th century. He expanded Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with many countries, including with both sides of the Cold War. In the 1950s, Zahir Shah began modernizing the country, culminating in the creation of a new constitution and a constitutional monarchy system. Demonstrating nonpartisanship, his long reign was marked by peace in the country that was lost afterwards.

In 1973, while Zahir Shah was undergoing medical treatment in Italy, his regime was overthrown in a coup d'etat by his cousin and former prime minister, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who established a single-party republic, ending more than 225 years of continuous monarchical government. He remained in exile near Rome until 2002, returning to Afghanistan after the end of the Taliban government. He was given the title Father of the Nation, which he held until his death in 2007.

Family background and early life

Zahir Shah was born on 15 October 1914, in a city quarter called Deh Afghanan in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was the son of Mohammad Nadir Shah (1883–1933) a senior member of the Mohammadzai Royal family and commander in chief of the Afghan Army for former king Amanullah Khan, and of Begum Mah Parwar Begum (d. 1941), a Pashtun tribe woman. Nadir Shah assumed the throne after the execution of the self-proclaimed ruler of Afghanistan Habibullah Kalakani on 1 November 1929. Mohammad Zahir's father, son of Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan, was born in Dehradun, British India, his family having been exiled after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Nadir Shah was a descendant of Sardar Sultan Mohammad Khan Telai, half-brother of Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. His grandfather Mohammad Yahya Khan (father in law of Emir Yaqub Khan) was in charge of the negotiations with the British resulting in the Treaty of Gandamak. After the British invasion after the killing of Sir Louis Cavagnari during 1879, Yaqub Khan, Yahya Khan and his sons, Princes Mohammad Yusuf Khan and Mohammad Asef Khan, were seized by the British and transferred to the British Raj, where they remained forcibly until the two princes were invited back to Afghanistan by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan during the last year of his reign (1901). During the reign of Amir Habibullah they received the title of Companions of the King (Musahiban).

Zahir Shah was educated in a special class for princes at Elementary Primary built in 1904 by United Kingdom Habibia High School, many subjects were taught in English, and for Secondary education he went to the Amaniya High School (built during the reign of King Amanullah by France, in which many subjects were taught in French. This school was renamed by Nadir Shah as Esteqlal High School after the fall of King Amanullah. For example, Prince Zahir Shah had to study in Infanterie Military School in winter (school year in Kabul, 21 March to November). Then he was sent to France for further training. He continued his education in France where his father had served as a diplomatic envoy, studying at the Pasteur Institute and the University of Montpellier. When he returned to Afghanistan he helped his father and uncles restore order and reassert government control during a period of lawlessness in the country. He was later enrolled at an Infantry School and appointed a privy counsellor. Zahir Shah served in the government positions of deputy war minister and minister of education.

Last king of Afghanistan

Zahir Khan was proclaimed king (shah) on 8 November 1933 at the age of 19, after the assassination of his father Mohammad Nadir Shah. After his ascension to the throne he was given the regnal title "He who puts his trust in God, follower of the firm religion of Islam". For the first almost thirty years he did not effectively rule, ceding power to his paternal uncles, Mohammad Hashim Khan and Shah Mahmoud Khan, both serving as prime ministers. This period fostered a growth in Afghanistan's relations with the international community as during 1934, Afghanistan joined the League of Nations while also receiving formal recognition from the United States. By the end of the 1930s, agreements on foreign assistance and trade had been reached with many countries, most notably with the 'Axis powers': Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Zahir Shah provided aid, weapons and Afghan fighters to the Uighur and Kirghiz Muslim rebels who had established the First East Turkestan Republic. The aid was not capable of saving the First East Turkestan Republic, as the Afghan, Uighur and Kirghiz forces were defeated during 1934 by the Chinese Muslim 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) commanded by General Ma Zhancang at the Battle of Kashgar and Battle of Yarkand. All the Afghan volunteers were killed by the Chinese Muslim troops, who then abolished the First East Turkestan Republic, and reestablished Chinese government control over the area.

Despite close relations to the Axis powers, Zahir Shah and his governments refused to take sides during World War II and Afghanistan remained one of the few countries in the world to remain neutral. From 1944 to 1947, Afghanistan experienced a series of revolts by various tribes. After the end of the Second World War, Zahir Shah recognised the need for the modernisation of Afghanistan and recruited a number of foreign advisers to assist with the process. During this period Afghanistan's first modern university was founded. During his reign a number of potential advances and reforms were derailed as a result of factionalism and political infighting. He also requested financial aid from both the United States and the Soviet Union, and Afghanistan was one of few countries in the world to receive aid from both the Cold War enemies. In a 1969 interview, Zahir Shah said that he is "not a capitalist. But I also don’t want socialism. I don’t want socialism that would bring about the kind of situation [that exists] in Czechoslovakia. I don’t want us to become the servants of Russia or China or the servant of any other place."

He was considered a relatively "mild" leader compared to previous Kings; Zahir Shah had never signed a warrant for execution of anyone for political reasons during his reign. He also used his power several times to reduce capital punishment given to some criminals convicted in court cases.  At Zahir Shah's behest a new constitution was introduced in 1964 which made Afghanistan a modern democratic state by introducing free elections, a parliament, civil rights, women's rights and universal suffrage.

At least five Afghani little Pul coins during his reign bore the Arabic title:
المتوكل على الله محمد ظاهر شاه, "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah Muhammad Zhahir Shah" which means "The leaner on God, Muhammad Zhahir Shah". The title "AlMutawakkil 'ala Allah", "The leaner on God" is taken from Quran 8:61.

By the time he returned to Afghanistan in 2002, his rule was characterized by a lengthy span of peace.

Exile

In 1973, while Zahir Shah was abroad in Italy, his cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan staged a coup d'état and established an autocratic republican government. As a former Prime Minister, Daoud Khan had been forced to resign by Zahir Shah a decade earlier and felt that Zahir Shah lacked leadership and that the parliamentary system prevented real progressivism. In August 1973, Zahir Shah sent a letter from Rome to Khan in Kabul declaring his abdication, saying he respected "the will of my compatriots" after realizing the people of Afghanistan "with absolute majority welcomed a Republican regime".

Zahir Shah lived in exile in Italy for twenty-nine years alongside his wife Queen Humaira Begum and some other royal family members. Initially they lived in a three‐room apartment on Rome's Via Cassia. In the same city, relatives of the 1920s King Amanullah Khan, of the same house of Barakzai, still lived. President Daoud Khan continued to send money to them in Italy which were incomes from property and estates of the former royal family. After the Saur Revolution, the leftist Khalq government cut all incoming money to Italy.

Zahir eventually lived in a villa in the affluent community of Olgiata on Via Cassia, north of Rome, where he spent his time playing golf and chess, as well as tending to his garden. He was financially supported by the Shah of Iran since the new Afghan government failed to provide him a monthly salary. The Shah also supported his two sons who were studying in the United States and Canada. He was prohibited from returning to Afghanistan during the late 1970s by the Soviet-assisted Communist government. In 1983 during the Soviet–Afghan War, Zahir Shah was cautiously involved with plans to develop a government in exile. Ultimately these plans failed because he could not reach a consensus with powerful Islamist factions. It has also been reported that Afghanistan, the Soviet Union and India had all tried to persuade Zahir Shah to return as chief of a neutral, possibly interim, administration in Kabul. Both the Soviet Union and the United States sent representatives to meet him, and President Mohammad Najibullah supported Zahir Shah to play a role in a possible interim government in the quest for peace. In May 1990, Zahir Shah issued a long statement through Voice of America and the BBC calling for unity and peace among Afghans, and offering his services. This reportedly led to a spark of interest and approval among the Kabul populace. However, the idea of a revived political role for Zahir Shah was met with hostility by some, notably radical Islamist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

In 1991, Zahir Shah survived an attempt on his life by a knife-wielding assassin masquerading as a Portuguese journalist. After the fall of the pro-Soviet government, Zahir Shah was favored by many to return and restore the monarchy to unify the country and as he was acceptable to most factions. However these efforts were blocked mostly by Pakistan's ISI, who feared his stance on the Durand Line issue. In June 1995, Zahir Shah's former envoy Sardar Wali announced at talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, that Zahir Shah was willing to participate in peace talks to end the Afghan Civil War, but no consensus was ever reached.

Return to Afghanistan

On 18 April 2002, at the age of 87 and four months after the end of Taliban rule, Zahir Shah returned to Afghanistan, flown in an Italian military plane, and welcomed at Kabul's airport by Hamid Karzai and other officials. His return was widely welcomed by Afghans, and he was liked by all ethnic groups. There were proposals for a return to the monarchy – Zahir Shah himself let it be known that he would accept whatever responsibility was given him by the Loya Jirga, which he initiated in June 2002. However he was obliged to publicly renounce monarchical leadership at the behest of the United States as most of the delegates to the Loya Jirga were prepared to vote for Zahir Shah and block the U.S.-backed Hamid Karzai. While he was prepared to become chief of state he made it known that it would not necessarily be as monarch: "I will accept the responsibility of head of state if that is what the Loya Jirga demands of me, but I have no intention to restore the monarchy. I do not care about the title of king. The people call me Baba and I prefer this title." Karzai called Zahir Shah a "symbol of unity, a very kind man" and a "fatherly figure."

He visited his father's tomb soon after arriving in Kabul and reportedly gasped after witnessing rocket holes and gunfire damage on the tomb caused by the civil war.

Hamid Karzai, who was favored by Zahir Shah, became president of Afghanistan after the Loya Jirga. Karzai, from the Pashtun Popalzai clan, provided Zahir Shah's relatives with major jobs in the transitional government. Following the Loya Jirga he was given the title "Father of the Nation" by Karzai, symbolizing his role in Afghanistan's history as a symbol of national unity. This title ended with his death. In August 2002 he relocated back to the Arg, his old palace, after 29 years.

In an October 2002 visit to France, he slipped in a bathroom, bruising his ribs, and on 21 June 2003, while in France for a medical check-up, he broke his femur.

On 3 February 2004, Zahir was flown from Kabul to New Delhi, India, for medical treatment after complaining of an intestinal problem. He was hospitalized for two weeks and remained in New Delhi under observation. On 18 May 2004, he was brought to a hospital in the United Arab Emirates because of nose bleeding caused by heat.

Zahir Shah attended the 7 December 2004 swearing-in of Hamid Karzai as President of Afghanistan.  During his final years, he was frail and required a microphone pinned to his collar so that his faint voice could be heard. During January 2007, Zahir was reported to be seriously ill and bedridden.

Death 

On 23 July 2007, Zahir Shah died in the compound of the presidential palace in Kabul after a prolonged illness. His death was announced on national television by President Karzai, who said "He was the servant of his people, the friend of his people, he was a very kind person, kind hearted. He believed in the rule of the people and in human rights." His funeral was held on 24 July. It began on the premises of the presidential palace, where politicians and dignitaries paid their respects; his coffin was then taken to a mosque before being moved to the royal mausoleum on Maranjan Hill in eastern Kabul.

Personal life
Zahir Shah was reportedly shy, modest and "soft-spoken". He liked photography, chess, and smoking cigars.

Zahir Shah was fluent in Pashto, Dari (his mother tongue), and could speak English and perfect French.

To his family he was known as Baba.

Family

He married his first cousin Humaira Begum (1918–2002) on 7 November 1931 in Kabul. They had six sons and two daughters:

In January 2009 an article by Ahmad Majidyar of the American Enterprise Institute included one of his grandsons, Mustafa Zahir, on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the 2009 Afghan presidential election. However, Mostafa Zaher did not become a candidate.

Titles and styles

During his reign, His Majesty Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan.

References

External links

C-SPAN: Afghan King & Queen 1963 Visit to U.S. Reel America Preview (video)
Mohammad Zahir Shah at the Encyclopædia Britannica
Zahir Shah: The last king of Afghanistan, Robert Fisk, The Independent
 Profile, The Observer

 interviews Zahir Shah videos
 interwies Zahir Shah in written

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1914 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Afghan monarchs
Kings of Afghanistan
Barakzai dynasty
Leaders ousted by a coup
World War II political leaders
Afghan Sunni Muslims
Afghan exiles
Afghan expatriates in Italy
Pashtun people
People from Kabul
Habibia High School alumni
Collars of the Order of the White Lion
Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
1930s in Afghanistan
1940s in Afghanistan
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20th-century Afghan politicians
This article does not refer to The Constitution in Exile, a book by Judge Andrew Napolitano.

Constitution in Exile is a controversial term that refers to the situation resulting from provisions of the United States Constitution allegedly not having been enforced according to their "original intent" or "original meaning". Some originalists might argue, for example, that the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause do not authorize economic legislation dating all the way back to the New Deal.

Origins and meaning
According to an article by Legal Affairs Editor Jeffrey Rosen in The New Republic, "The phrase comes from a 1995 article by Douglas Ginsburg, a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., whom Ronald Reagan unsuccessfully nominated to the Supreme Court after the Senate rejected Bork."

According to the same article, reinstating provisions "exiled" from the Constitution would mean "reimposing meaningful limits on federal power that could strike at the core of the regulatory state for the first time since the New Deal. These justices could change the shape of laws governing the environment, workplace health and safety, anti-discrimination, and civil rights, making it difficult for the federal government" to act on these issues. Rosen considers this to be a form of judicial activism, though its proponents would argue that it was merely reversing decades of accumulated activism.

Rosen's argument
Rosen argues that one of the most important provisions of the Constitution in Exile is limitations on the interstate commerce clause, which were undermined by the Supreme Court's "expansive interpretation of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce... extended to include any activities that might affect commerce indirectly" during the New Deal. "In 1995, however, the Supreme Court began taking tentative steps toward resurrecting some of the constitutional limitations on the regulatory state that had been dormant since the 1930s. In controversial 5–4 rulings (primarily, United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison), the Court limited Congress's power to ban guns in the area surrounding schools, for example, and to punish violence against women, holding that the laws did not involve commercial activities and therefore couldn't be justified by Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce." (A later decision in Gonzales v. Raich, in which Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy – integral parts of the Lopez and Morrison majorities – joined, seemed to show the limits of the court's willingness to curtail commerce clause power.)

Most judges who are identified with the Constitution in Exile call themselves strict constructionists or originalists.

Controversy surrounding the term
Law professors David Bernstein and Orin Kerr, among others, have criticized Rosen and Cass Sunstein, another opponent of the "Constitution in Exile," for using the term, which is now used almost exclusively as a pejorative. Kerr writes: "there is no evidence that a conservative has used the phrase 'Constitution in Exile' outside of a single reference in a 1995 book review." Bernstein writes that Sunstein and Rosen have invented a nonexistent cabal as a straw man:

I, as someone who knows probably just about every libertarian and most Federalist Society law professors in the United States (there aren't that many of us), and who teaches on the most libertarian law faculty in the nation, never heard the phrase [...] [T]he phrase "Constitution in Exile movement" implies that there is some organized group that has a specific platform. In fact, what you really have is a very loose-knit group of libertarian-oriented intellectuals with many disagreements among themselves.

Similarly, The Weekly Standard has noted that:

For years, liberal legal commentators have been fond of accusing conservatives of pining for the restoration of the "Constitution in Exile" — a return to pre-FDR conservative constitutional jurisprudence that would (by their telling) roll back the New Deal, the Great Society, and more or less every other major liberal legislative triumph of the twentieth century. But while Jeffrey Rosen, Linda Greenhouse, Jeffrey Toobin, Cass Sunstein, and others often invoked phrase, few if any conservative legal thinkers have actually employed the phrase affirmatively, other than one federal judge in a magazine article fifteen years ago.

Sunstein's view
Sunstein has responded that Randy Barnett's book, Restoring the Lost Constitution, Richard Epstein's constitutional work, and opinions expressed by Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia all support "restoring the lost constitution, or what Judge Ginsburg calls the Constitution in Exile," so his use of the term is justified.

See also
Legal formalism
Living Constitution
Rule according to higher law
Lochner era

References

United States constitutional commentary The eXile was a Moscow-based  English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting. In October 2006, co-editor Jake Rudnitsky summarized The eXiles editorial policy to The Independent: "We shit on everybody equally."  The eXile is now published in an online-only format.

Rolling Stone magazine said in 1998 that then-coeditors "Mark Ames and Matt Taibbi take the raw material of this decadent new Moscow and convert it into 25,000 instantly snapped-up issues of The eXile, consisting of misogynist rants, dumb pranks, insulting club listings and photos of blood-soaked corpses, all redeemed by political reporting that's read seriously not only in Moscow but also in Washington."  A CNN documentary in 1999 focusing on The eXile agreed, saying, "Brazen, irreverent, immodest, and rude, the eXile struggles with the harsh truth of the new century in Russia...Since 1997, Ames and Taibbi have lampooned and investigated greed, corruption, cowardice and complacency." The Moscow Times writes that "The eXile, which publishes Gonzo-style journalism on topics such as drugs, prostitution and Moscow nightlife side-by-side with political analysis, has often pushed the limits of decency -- not to mention libel law." Newsweek correspondent Owen Matthews called The eXile "brilliant and outrageous."

The eXiles history saw several practical jokes, including reportedly getting Mikhail Gorbachev to enter negotiations to secure a position as "perestroika coordinator" for the New York Jets. Jonathan Shainin of Salon also wrote in 2005 that The eXile "ran serious press criticism salted with vicious personal attacks on reporters."

On June 10, 2008, columnist Gary Brecher ("The War Nerd") published a letter on the website asking for donations from readers, saying "it takes money and we have none, zero, aren't even getting paid any more". On June 19, 2008, the London Daily Telegraph reported that following a government audit, the paper would cease to be printed and would, from then on, appear only on the Internet. A month after shutting down, the newspaper launched a web site called eXiled Online. According to Mark Ames, the new site is to "focus more on the United States," though the Saint Petersburg Times reported that co-editor Yasha Levine will remain in Russia "as long as [he] can hold out."

Origins
In 1997, Ames was editor of the English-language Moscow newspaper Living Here.  The concept of Living Here was first proposed by Manfred Witteman, who convinced his partner Marina Pshevecherskaya to provide $10,000 of start-up capital. Citing Manfred and Marina's "incessant petty squabbles over money and title" Ames quit Living Here and began planning his own publication.  Ames convinced most of the intermittently paid staff of Living Here to defect to the newly conceived newspaper, the eXile, including sales manager Kara Deyerin, and his replacement editor Kevin McElwee.  Manfred and Marina hired Matt Taibbi to counter this rebellion, but he became disillusioned after producing one issue of Living Here.  Taibbi also defected and became co-editor of the eXile.

Some of the contributors, including Ames, Taibbi, Alexander Zaitchik, and John Dolan (using the pseudonym Gary Brecher), previously worked for the New York Press.

Content
Articles published in the eXile have focused both on Moscow- and Russia-related topics, as well as issues of more general interest. Investigative reporting, reviews of Moscow nightlife, concerts, and restaurants, commentary on politics and culture in Russia and America, film and book reviews, and mocking replies to its readers' letters appeared in most issues. The eXile was known for its descriptions of Moscow life. Andrew Meier, who served as Time magazine's Russia correspondent from 1996 until 2001, was quoted by Rolling Stone as saying: "No one describes expat life in Moscow better than the eXile. They hit it right on its ugly head."

"The '90s in Moscow were a great time," Ames told The New York Observer, "like what they say about the 20s in Paris or the early 30s in Berlin. It was completely hedonistic and nihilistic and full of crime... A lot of [Taibbi's] prose was written on smack and a lot of mine was written on speed... We wrote a whole bunch of editorials about the size of Putin's penis."

Features
"Whore-R Stories", in which Mark Ames describes an encounter with a prostitute, solicited specifically for the purpose of providing material for the column. Ames includes descriptions of her sexual performance, and body type (and sometimes includes a picture), and focuses on the background, opinions, and personality of the prostitute, as well as the economic and social aspects of prostitution in Moscow.
"Death Porn", which describes and categorizes gruesome and unusual violent crimes occurring in Russia.  This section adopts the graphic and cynical style of Moskovskij Komsomoletss "Срочно в Номер" section.
"Mandela Porn", in which Natasha Marchetti covers violent crime and law enforcement in South Africa, with an emphasis on particularly vicious and dim-witted criminals. In December 2006, nearly two years after her relocation to Sweden, she renamed the column "Viking Porn" and has since been writing about crime in Sweden.
"Gandhi Porn", in which Alexander Zaitchik covers and reflects on news from India.
"[SIC!]", contains letters to the editor and the eXile's response.
"The War Nerd", in which self-proclaimed war nerd Gary Brecher provides commentary and analysis of past and present military conflicts.
"The eXile's Field guide to Moscow", a description of the stereotypically colorful characters that can be encountered in Moscow, parodying the descriptive style of wildlife or bird-watching guides.
"Feis Kontrol", consisting of impromptu photographs of Moscow nightlife.
"In Brief", a collection of headlines and short news blurbs in the style of such satirical newspapers as The Onion, typically with the aim of lampooning other news sources.
The "Club Guide", a review of Moscow clubs, bars, strip clubs, and other night venues.  Each location is rated as a place to drink, as a place to find casual sex, and on its level of "face control".
"Press Review", consisting of criticism of the coverage of Russian affairs in Western media.
"Schopenhauer Awards", covering the most unpleasant creatures of the animal kingdom.
"Chess", wherein eXile writers and editors play and analyze chess games against Russian masters and Russian prostitutes.
"Dyev's Diary", in which Lyolya Androsova reflects on the experiences of her Moscow youth.
"Kino Korner / Kino Kwikeez", which is a review of films currently running in Russian and English language cinemas, as well as a rundown of popular pieces selling at pirate kiosks.
"Vlad's Daily Gloat", a blog-style column in which eXile columnist Vladimir Kalashnikov delivers sarcastic and mocking analysis of US news, including many unfavourable comparisons to Russia.

Ideology
According to John Dolan, the eXile publishes articles from perspectives not often heard or read elsewhere. He referred to eXile columnists as "subaltern," claiming they have been discounted  from mainstream discourses as "sinful," irrelevant, disgusting, misogynistic, or otherwise too objectionable to be heard. As an example, Dolan referenced Gary Brecher:

Dolan cited the eXiles audience as a reason for leaving academia and what he called its "starchy sensibility," and proclaimed a central role for his concept of sin in the eXiles ideology:

Additionally, the eXile aims to publish articles about Russia from outside the perspective of mainstream western journalism.  According to editor Jake Rudnitsky western reporting on Russia is often biased: "Western newspapers have an agenda, to show that everything in Russia is related to oil prices, and that Putin's this competent but quasi-fascist leader. They don't have the freedom to go out and actually find out what's going on." Rudnitsky has also stated that the eXile aims to give a more detailed view of Russia than is available in the western press: "We can write about things that Western journalists are too lazy or apathetic to write about...what makes this country fascinating is the details, and that's something we're allowed to focus on."

Libel
Former editor Matt Taibbi has said that operating a periodical in Russia was much easier without the burden of American libel laws.  Similarly, Ames asserted in his article “Democracy Sucks” that “we'd be sued out of existence within a few weeks of appearing in any Western democracy, but here in Russia, in the so-called kleptocracy, the power elite has been too busy stealing and killing to give a fuck about us, allowing us to fly around the capital beneath their radar, like a cruise missile. A real democracy would never let us get off the ground.”

Pavel Bure libel lawsuit
In 2001, the eXile published an article falsely claiming hockey star Pavel Bure broke up with a well-known celebrity after discovering she had two vaginas. Bure successfully sued the eXile for 500,000 rubles (about $16,000 U.S.).

Eduard Limonov
The eXile regularly published columns by the political activist and avant garde writer Eduard Limonov. Limonov is the founder and leader of Russia's banned National Bolshevik Party. In 2002, Limonov was imprisoned on felony charges of purchasing automatic weapons and explosives, but was released halfway through his four-year sentence at the request of several members of the Russian Duma who protested that the case was politically motivated. In his eXile column, Limonov described several violent episodes from his personal history.

YSR Assassination Conspiracy
The eXiles website apparently published an article claiming that Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is behind the death of former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
An Indian television channel aired a news story based on eXile's conspiracy theory which resulted in violent protests across the state.
The Reliance Industries plans to file a legal complaint against these media sources for instigating violence.

Kiriyenko letter
In a July 2004, an eXile article entitled "We Dunnit! the eXile Prank Hits Halls Of Domer" claimed authorship of the "Kiriyenko letter", a forged document purportedly from five U.S. Republican Congressmen which expressed concern over Russia's "democratic transition," and accused former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko of stealing IMF funds.  After claiming to have forged the letter, Ames was condemned by U.S. Representative Henry Bonilla (R-TX), who demanded that Ames be "prosecuted" and "punished" for forgery. Some US media outlets also believed that the eXile had sent the letter. After the letter was printed verbatim by Novaya Gazeta, both it and the eXile'''s claim of responsibility were covered by Russian news media.
 Kiriyenko won a libel suit against Novaya Gazeta on the grounds that the paper had not fact-checked properly. The episode also earned the eXile a "website of the week award," from the Philadelphia weekly City Paper, while the Moscow newspaper Kommersant Vlasti, which believed Ames' claim of responsibility, called him a "hero of Russia."

In the next issue, Ames claimed that the contentious article was a joke, saying it had been inserted as filler on production day. In columns for the eXile and Metroactive, he wrote that he had been followed and harassed as a result of the claim, and that he feared arrest or violent reprisal.

Investigation and relocation
On June 5, 2008, the Moscow Times reported that the eXile claimed it was under investigation by the Russian Federal Service for Mass Media, Telecommunications and the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Ames said: "I get the general sense that they have decided it's time to shut us down, that they're not going to tolerate us anymore." Ames claimed that The eXiles investors were scared off, leaving the paper with no funding. The initial visit by the auditors took place without incident, but shortly thereafter the staff made the decision to leave Russia for the United States.

People close to the eXile, including some investors, claim Ames was using government pressure as a scapegoat because he was tired of publishing. The eXiles lead investor, Alex Shifrin, whom Ames accused of abandoning him, was quoted as saying, "There are a lot of half-truths as to what happened." Another investor claimed that the officials were simply looking for a bribe. However Ames denies this.

Derivative works
Content was republished as The Exile: Sex, Drugs, and Libel in the New Russia.

Contributors
Mark Ames
John Dolan
Edward Limonov
Matt Taibbi
Thierry Marignac
Yasha Levine
Alexander Zaitchik

See also

The Hungry Duck
Gonzo journalism
The Beast (newspaper)
Moskovskaya Komsomolka

References

External links
"Lost Exile: The unlikely life and sudden death of The Exile, Russia’s angriest newspaper", by James Verini, Vanity Fair'' "Web Exclusive", February 23, 2010.

Biweekly newspapers
English-language newspapers published in Europe
Alternative weekly newspapers
Newspapers established in 1997
Defunct newspapers published in Russia
Publications disestablished in 2008
European news websites
Mass media in Moscow