Russia Watch Thread

User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2023
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by Time_Traveller »

This isn't an article but has to be said, this is from Anton Gerashchenko, the Ukrainian Minister for Internal Affairs. (Feel free to move to relevant section)
“The opponents of the letter Z must understand that they will not be spared. Everything is serious here: concentration camps, re-education, sterilization!” - this was declared by Shakhnazarov on the state TV #RussiaWarCrimes
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

Is Russia Better Off Without Putin? The Answer is Changing.
by Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Erica Frantz
May 5, 2022

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/ ... n-00029966

Introduction:
(Politico) As the U.S. and its allies increase their commitment to arming Ukraine, there’s growing speculation over President Joe Biden’s endgame. Although the White House has gone to great lengths to say the United States does not have a policy of promoting regime change in Russia, there’s no question that there has been much discussion in private conference rooms and over kitchen tables about whether the United States should, in fact, be rooting for Vladimir Putin to be removed as Russia’s president.

To figure out whether we would be better off without Putin, though, we first need to weigh something else: How would Putin’s departure from power affect Russia? Would a leader or system that came after him be better or worse?

For years, many within the Russia-watching community have argued that Putin’s departure would likely unleash instability inside Russia and exacerbate its foreign aggression. For instance, a new leader who needed to consolidate power could stoke nationalist or anti-Western undercurrents already present in Russia to boost public support. Or, lacking Putin’s ability to balance Russia’s competing factions, elite infighting could spark political upheaval and violence that could destabilize the country, which after all is a nuclear power. According to this line of reasoning, Putin’s critics should be careful what they wish for: a Russia without Putin could be even worse for the West.

This view held some intellectual merit prior to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but now that argument is growing weaker by the day. To justify the war, Putin has stoked a dark and ugly nationalism inside Russia. His propaganda has convinced many Russians of the legitimacy of his senseless “de-nazification” campaign in Ukraine, so much so that some Russians have come to view the killing of Ukrainian civilians as acceptable. Putin openly speaks of “national traitors” and the need to “cleanse” them from society. Repression has soared and Russians have taken to reporting on “anti-patriotic” activities of their fellow citizens. And it is possible that even darker days lie ahead; the worse Russia fares in Ukraine, the greater the prospect that Putin will turn to cyberattacks or chemical or nuclear weapons to avoid the perception of defeat.
caltrek: I am still skeptical that Putin's departure would automatically mean replacement by a more desirable leader. It seems to me that any such leader is going to need the support of Kremlin hard-liners. Therefore, such a leader would be highly motivated to continue to pursue the same set of hyper-aggressive policies and indulge in the same hyperbolic rhetoric and propaganda efforts. Of course, that is just my opinion and I do not pretend to personally have any inside information to the workings of the Russian government, or of Kremlin insider attitudes toward the war, etc.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Putin speaks at Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square
Source: Reuters

May 9 (Reuters) - Following are quotes from a televised speech on Monday by President Vladimir Putin at Moscow's annual Victory Day parade on Red Square, translated from Russian to English by Reuters:

ON SECURITY GUARANTEES DEMANDED BY PUTIN

"Despite disagreements in international relations, Russia has always advocated the creation of a system of equal and indivisible security, a system that is vital for the entire international community.

"In December last year, we proposed the conclusion of an agreement on security guarantees. Russia called on the West to enter an honest dialogue, in search of reasonable compromise solutions, to take each other’s interests into account. It was all in vain."

"NATO countries did not want to listen to us, meaning that they in fact had entirely different plans, and we saw this. Openly, preparations were under way for another punitive operation in Donbas, the invasion of our historical lands, including Crimea.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pu ... 022-05-09/
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

weatheriscool wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 12:47 pm Putin speaks at Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square
Source: Reuters

...

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pu ... 022-05-09/
More on that:

The Only Right Thing We Could Do: A Sliver of Good On Victory Day
by Amy Zimet
May 9, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/further/20 ... ictory-day

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) As "pitiful, paranoid dictator" Vladimir Putin tried to appropriate Victory Day by likening his atrocities in Ukraine to the Soviet defeat of Nazis in World War ll, he got hit by "an avalanche" of righteous hackers, journalists and protesters saying, as loud as they can through Russia's lies, "No to war." Amidst thousands of troops dutifully assembled in Moscow's Red Square, Putin gave a defiant, delusional speech with "a slight shine of desperation, "blasting "the deathly threat of Nazi ideology" and charging a nefarious NATO - which makes up 6% of Russia's border - is "surrounding" the "motherland." A muted parade went forward, but a planned fighter jet flyover was cancelled for "bad weather"; given it was clear and sunny, some speculated officials canned when they found out it would have been Ukrainian tractors flying over.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
Xyls
Posts: 689
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 9:20 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by Xyls »

Prepare for the disappearance of Russia

https://thehill.com/opinion/internation ... of-russia/
It’s 1991 again and, now as then, Western policymakers and analysts are terrified of confronting the two big “what if” questions raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calamitous war with Ukraine: What if the Russian Federation is following in the Soviet Union’s footsteps and is on the verge of collapse? What if, once again, the process is driven by internal factors and there’s nothing we can do about it?

The Soviet collapse was both a surprise and an annoyance for much of the West. Few government leaders expected a superpower to disappear overnight and even fewer greeted the prospect with enthusiasm. President George H. W. Bush’s infamous “Chicken Kiev” speech, in which he warned Ukrainians against pursuing “suicidal nationalism” and thereby risking undermining the Soviet state, became emblematic of Western fears of a Soviet collapse. The speech was also testimony to the belief that Western policy could prevent such an outcome.
User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2023
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by Time_Traveller »

McDonald’s to sell its business in Russia after 30 years
Mon 16 May 2022

McDonald’s has initiated a process to sell its business in Russia after 30 years of operating its restaurants in the country in the light of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The fast food operator said the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion and the unpredictable operating environment meant continuing operating in Russia was untenable as it was no longer “consistent with McDonald’s values”.

The company intends to “de-arch” the outlets, removing the McDonald’s name, logo, branding and menu, before they are sold. It will, however, retain its trademarks in Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... on-ukraine
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8663
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by wjfox »

Time_Traveller wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:18 pm McDonald’s to sell its business in Russia after 30 years
Mon 16 May 2022

McDonald’s has initiated a process to sell its business in Russia after 30 years of operating its restaurants in the country in the light of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The fast food operator said the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion and the unpredictable operating environment meant continuing operating in Russia was untenable as it was no longer “consistent with McDonald’s values”.

The company intends to “de-arch” the outlets, removing the McDonald’s name, logo, branding and menu, before they are sold. It will, however, retain its trademarks in Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... on-ukraine

This is actually quite important culturally, not just economically. It was a very symbolic moment when McDonald's first established itself in Russia back in January 1990. Huge crowds of people queued up in Moscow's Pushkin Square to experience part of Western cuisine. Even though I hate junk food and large corporations, it's sort of sad to see this reversal back to the Cold War era.

But if Russia wants to isolate itself, then fine... let them get on with it.


Image


Image


Image
User avatar
Time_Traveller
Posts: 2023
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:49 pm
Location: Clermont, Indiana, USA, October 7th 2019 B.C.E

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by Time_Traveller »

wjfox wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 1:54 pm
Time_Traveller wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 12:18 pm McDonald’s to sell its business in Russia after 30 years
Mon 16 May 2022

McDonald’s has initiated a process to sell its business in Russia after 30 years of operating its restaurants in the country in the light of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The fast food operator said the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion and the unpredictable operating environment meant continuing operating in Russia was untenable as it was no longer “consistent with McDonald’s values”.

The company intends to “de-arch” the outlets, removing the McDonald’s name, logo, branding and menu, before they are sold. It will, however, retain its trademarks in Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... on-ukraine

This is actually quite important culturally, not just economically. It was a very symbolic moment when McDonald's first established itself in Russia back in January 1990. Huge crowds of people queued up in Moscow's Pushkin Square to experience part of Western cuisine. Even though I hate junk food and large corporations, it's sort of sad to see this reversal back to the Cold War era.

But if Russia wants to isolate itself, then fine... let them get on with it.


Image


Image


Image
Agreed but it would be interesting on whom they are selling them to though.
"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams."

-H.G Wells.
weatheriscool
Posts: 12727
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by weatheriscool »

U.S. to end Russia's ability to pay off international debt
Source: pbs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will close the last avenue for Russia to pay its billions in debt back to international investors on Wednesday, making a Russian default on its debts for the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution all but inevitable.

The Treasury Department said in a notification that it does not plan to renew the license that allowed Russia to keep paying its debtholders through American banks.

Since the first rounds of sanctions, the Treasury Department has given banks a license to process any dollar-denominated bond payments from Russia. That window expires at midnight May 25.

There had already been signs that the Biden administration was unwilling to extend the deadline. At a press conference heading into the Group of Seven finance minister meetings in Koenigswinter, Germany, last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the window existed “to allow a period of time for an orderly transition to take place, and for investors to be able to sell securities.”.
Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s- ... ional-debt
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6474
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Russia Watch Thread

Post by caltrek »

Russian TV Host Says that Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Demonstrate 'Hallmarks of a Fascist State'
by Cheryl Teh
May 25, 2022

Introduction:
(Yahoo!) A host on Russian state TV has slammed former President Donald Trump, describing his behavior and the MAGA symbols used in his election campaigns as "hallmarks of a fascist state."

Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov was seen in a subtitled clip posted on Twitter railing against an opinion piece published by The New York Times. The piece, titled "We Should Say It. Russia is Fascist," was published on May 19 by Yale history professor Timothy Snyder, who specializes in fascism and totalitarianism.

In the piece, Snyder argued that "a time traveler from the 1930s would have no difficulty identifying the Putin regime as fascist," citing the controversial pro-war Z symbol and Russian leader Vladimir Putin's baseless claim that the invasion of Ukraine was aimed at the "de-Nazification" of the country.

In rebutting The Times' piece, Solovyov cited Trump and the MAGA movement, claiming that they were emblems of fascism. In particular, he pointed to Trump's campaign for president and his behavior and rhetoric during his race.

"They regularly claim that Russia is a fascist country. Listen, you bastards," Solovyov said.
Read more here:https://news.yahoo.com/russian-tv-host- ... 10698.html
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
Post Reply