Russia Watch Thread

[caltrek]

Russia’s Yevgeny Prigozhin Admits Owning Wagner Mercenary Force
September 26, 2022

Introduction:

(Al Jazeera) Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has acknowledged he founded the Wagner Group, a private military company in 2014, the first public confirmation after he previously denied ownership and sued journalists for reporting it.

The Wagner Group, staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries.

The press service of Prigozhin’s Concord catering firm posted his admission on the social network VKontakte in response to a request for comment from a Russian news site on why he stopped denying his links to Wagner.

“I cleaned the old weapons myself, sorted out the bulletproof vests myself and found specialists who could help me with this. From that moment, on May 1, 2014, a group of patriots was born, which later came to be called the Wagner Battalion,” Prigozhin said, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I am proud that I was able to defend their right to protect the interests of their country.”

Read more here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/ ... prigozhin

[wjfox]

[raklian]

All that methane, which is 25 times more potent than CO2 in trapping heat, being released into the atmosphere.

[caltrek]

The Draft
by Robert Reich
September 28, 2022

Introduction:

(Eurasia Review) Last Wednesday, Vladimir Putin announced that Russian civilians would be drafted to bolster forces in his unpopular war in Ukraine. Almost immediately, the Kremlin faced widespread opposition, including demonstrations. On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that “citizens with higher education” would be exempt from the draft, especially those in telecommunications, information technology, banking and “systematically important” media companies.

When I heard this news I flashed back to 1968. Tens of thousands of us then graduating from college were subject to being drafted and very possibly going to Vietnam.

College students were deferred but local draft boards decided whether to continue deferments for graduate school. Many of us were not only afraid of being killed, but also thought the war insane and unjust. We demonstrated against it. Some burnt our draft cards. We did not want to be complicit in the immoral war. But what to do? Draft resistance meant going to prison or to Canada.

The handful of us who had been awarded Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford negotiated with our draft boards.

Bill Clinton got his extended deferment by signing a letter of intent to join the Reserve Officers Training Corps after Oxford.

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/28092022 ... aft-oped/

caltrek’s comment: By the time I would have been eligible for the draft, it had ended. They were still assigning priority numbers in case they decided to re-institute the draft. They did this bingo style. Each birthday was in this way arbitrarily assigned a number, the lower the number the quicker you would be called up. I remember a discussion in school with a friend. He announced that his number was so low that my number could not be lower. I asked him what his number was, and he replied something like “7.” I then explained to him that the number matched to my birthday was “1”.

I do think there are a lot of such parallel experiences between Russia of today, and the United States in the Vietnam War era. So, I can also relate to what many Russian men are now going through. To be placed in a position of being (potentially) drafted to fight in an unjust war.

[caltrek]

The Russian Are Coming
October 6, 2022

Introduction:

(CBS) Two Russians who said they fled the country to avoid compulsory military service have requested asylum in the U.S. after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office said Thursday.

Karina Borger, a spokesperson for Murkowski, said by email that the office has been in communication with the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection and that "the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service."

ICE officials are currently holding the two Russian nationals who arrived in Alaska in a small boat on Tuesday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to CBS News' Camilo Montoya-Galvez. The individuals were transported to Anchorage for vetting and screening after DHS was alerted of their arrival by local officials.

Alaska's senators, Republicans Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, said Thursday the individuals landed at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island. The statement doesn't specify when the incident occurred, though Sullivan said he was alerted to the matter by a "senior community leader from the Bering Strait region" on Tuesday morning.

"This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people don't want to fight Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine," Sullivan said in a statement. "Second, given Alaska's proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in securing America's national security.

Read more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2-russian ... murkowski/

caltrek’s comment: “The Russians are Coming” is a title chosen by me, not CBS. It is because it reminds me of a cold war era comedy that portrayed a fictional landing of some harmless Russians into a small community somewhere on the coast of the United States.

Two Russian individuals hardly proves that none of the Russian people “want to fight Putin’s war.” The tens of thousands fleeing to neighboring countries in eastern Europe and Central Asia are another matter. Especially if their numbers keep growing.

[raklian]

Take this with a grain of salt as it is still far from confirmed, but Twitter is alight with this today. Whether or not there is authenticity to this, it shows there's a growing rift within echelons of power within the Kremlin.

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

^^^Her is an article on that:

Nord Stream 1: First Underwater Images Reveal Devastating Damage
October 18, 2022

Introduction:

(The Guardian)The first underwater images taken of the ruptured Nord Stream 1 pipeline reveal the devastating damage caused by what Danish police have described as “powerful explosions” under the Baltic Sea.

Swedish newspaper Expressen on Tuesday published photographs and film footage taken by an underwater drone at the site near the island of Bornholm where the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany ruptured on 26 September.

They appear to show long tears in the seabed near the concrete-reinforced steel pipe that was not merely cracked but torn apart in an act of suspected sabotage. At least 50 metres of the gas pipeline appeared to be missing, Expressen said.

Three separate investigations are currently trying to assess the full extent of the damage to the two twin pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, and collect evidence as to who was behind the sabotage.

A German government official on Monday confirmed there would be no joint investigations team working on clearing up the pipeline blast as initially envisioned, but three separate investigations carried out by Danish, Swedish and German authorities would coordinate closely.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2 ... ng-damage

[caltrek]

Possibility Of A Forcible Change Of Power Can No Longer Be Dismissed
by Paul Goble
October 23, 2022

Introduction:

(Eurasia Review) “For the first time in a quarter of a century,” Vladimir Pastukhov says, “the question of the possible transfer of power by force in Russia has become not a purely theoretical but a practical one. This doesn’t mean that the probability is high … but now such a probability is not equal to zero as was the case even a year ago.”

The fact that this possibility has increased, the London-based Russian analyst says, means that “the borders of the comfort zone for elites have changed,” with a clear trend toward a situation in which “the risks of not taking part in such an action will begin to exceed the risks of doing so” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=634E9C023E1 ... 6C962A3D7C).

This is only about shifts within the elite, Pastukhov continues. “Under conditions of war, any movement from below is extremely improbable.” The Kremlin has the requisite tools to control the population “with the help of propaganda and repression up to the very last moment.” But popular attitudes may affect elite calculations.

Putin and his entourage are “well aware of where everything is heading” and are doing whatever they can in order to keep the situation from tilting against them. But the problem is this, Pastukhov argues. “They have lost control of the situation.”

As a result, “all their actions have the paradoxical consequence of aggravating the situation because the logic of a political space closed off by war is at work. Since defeat is impossible and victory still unattainable, the leadership must constantly raise the stakes.”

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/23102022 ... sed-oped/

[Xyls]

The Rise Of Prigozhin: 'Putin's Chef' Steps Further Into The Limelight

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-prigozhi ... 12554.html

The press statement, put out by a St. Petersburg company called Concord Catering and Management, pulled no punches: The elected head of Russia’s second-largest city is a crook, it suggested.

Prosecutors should investigate the “possible fact of the creation by Governor [Aleksandr] Beglov of an organized criminal community on the territory of St. Petersburg in order to plunder the state budget and enrich corrupt officials in his entourage,” the company said in its October 31 statement, addressed to the national Prosecutor-General’s Office.

In the often cutthroat arena where Russian politics and business meet, this sort of allegation might normally pass as business as usual.

[caltrek]

Edit: Earlier, I had placed an accidental double post in this slot. So now, I am placing this article here instead. I hope this doesn't cause too much confusion.

Finland Moves to Wall off Its Combative Neighbor
by Mie Olsen
November , 2022

Introduction:

(Courthouse News) LAPPEENRANTA, Finland (Courthouse News) — Since the moment Russia invaded Ukraine in February, its Nordic neighbor Finland began the process of political, cultural and financial detachment from Moscow.

That process culminated a few weeks ago when the Finnish government agreed to put 6 million euros ($5.95 million) aside for a pilot project to construct a small fence at the Russian border. If the project succeeds, the plan is to build several extensive walls along the 832-mile eastern border over the next four years.

In September, Finland followed other countries like Latvia and Estonia and banned all regular tourist visas for Russian applicants. The decision has put a stop not only to Russian travelers entering the European Union, but also to a long tradition of free movement between the two countries.
Juhana Aunesluoma, professor of political history at Helsinki University, said the planned fence is an expected development given the current circumstances but is also a significant break from the tradition of an open border.

“Although Russia and Finland are quite different in economy, political structure, and social conditions, they have historically been very close," he said in an interview. "There has been frequent exchange of people, goods, and money over the border. It used to connect rather than divide. But that has changed now."

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/finland ... neighbor/


Finland

[Time_Traveller]

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rise in Russia undermines hope that Putin’s successor will be any better

November 7, 2022 7:30 am

Russia, like most modern countries, sees matters of defence, security and foreign policy as something that should be controlled by the state. So under the constitution it is prohibited for private companies to run military forces or for individuals to fight in armed conflicts abroad.

Yet last week, the world’s most infamous mercenary firm opened a showcase in the heart of St Petersburg’s business district, a military and technology hub in a glistening 24-storey glass building designed to resemble a ship. The firm’s name is emblazoned above the entrance. And there were declarations that this “patriotic” venture would make the nation stronger in front of an audience of military veterans in uniform and young professionals invited to celebrate the event.

There has always been a surreal edge to Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship where lies, truth and distorted reality collide in spectacular fashion, as the world has learned to its cost. Yet, this unusual corporate opening marked the latest step in a series of significant moves made by a sinister man who has caused untold misery around the world with secret armies of soldiers and trolls, which are involved in nefarious activities on at least three continents.

As Russia’s stupid war in Ukraine stumbles, humiliating the Kremlin and a vain leader who has never looked more out of touch during 22 years in power, there is growing suspicion that this character may even be making an unsubtle play to succeed the president.

His name is Yevgeny Prigozhin. He is the boss of Wagner Group, a mercenary firm co-founded by a former special forces officer with Nazi tattoos, and allegedly named after Adolf Hitler’s favourite composer. You may have seen the burly Prigozhin in videos inviting prisoners from penal colonies to join his forces on the Ukrainian front line, promising freedom if they survive six months of fighting.

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/yevgeny-pri ... =operanews

[wjfox]

[erowind]

.

[wjfox]

[raklian]

Wow. While watching this, you could sense a shift in the guests' attitude towards the war with Ukraine.

[caltrek]

After Putin – What?
by Vladislav Zubok
November 9, 2022

Introduction:

(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) Before February 24, 2022, many observers in Europe and North America considered Russian President Vladimir Putin a ruthless but pragmatic autocrat. But after the murderous invasion of Ukraine, Putin comes across as an aggressive gambler, a believer in historical myths (Zubok 2022a), and a Nietzschean power-grabber (Radchenko 2022).

For many, especially in Eastern Europe, Putin came to be an embodiment of “eternal Russia”: the country that has always been bent on conquest and therefor is dangerous. From Finland to the Baltic states, from Poland to Romania, many privately consider Putin’s Russia as a successor to the Soviet Union and the Russian empire. The tsars and communist rulers were all the same: imperialists bent on colonizing and expanding. And Russian people “always needed a strong leadership.”[1] This reductionist view, which equates Putin, Russia, and the Russian people, is in rapid ascendance inside Washington, D.C., too—from the so-called “national security state” to think tanks. As US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed it: “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine” (Rubin 2022).

This is Cold War language. In a secret doctrine—known as NSC 20/4—that the United States adopted in November 1948, the National Security Council stated that the American security aim was “to encourage and promote the gradual retraction of undue Russian power and influence from the present perimeter areas around traditional Russian boundaries and the emergence of the satellite countries as entities independent of the USSR” (Office of the Historian, Foreign Relations of the United States 1948).

But does Putin really embody what Russia is about? Does a more advanced and stronger Russia always need to be a more aggressive nation against its neighbors? And would Putin’s successor be pursuing the same goals as the current Kremlin ruler?

Not necessarily. Rather, when looking back three or even two decades ago, one finds out the opposite was true.

[1] … The phrase about the Russians always in need of the strong leader is from an interview of the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas available at: https://www.blick.ch/politik/estlands-p ... 9969.html.

Read more here: https://thebulletin.org/premium/2022-1 ... t-heading

[Time_Traveller]

Vladimir Putin to make Russia a 'digital concentration camp' with QR code 'handcuffs'

12:12, 1 Dec 2022

Vladimir Putin is planning to turn Russia into a “digital concentration camp” where people will be forced to wear "QR code handcuffs", it has been claimed.

The vast majority of people would be "forbidden from leaving their own locality" if the plans come to fruition.

This is intended to coincide with the imposition of martial law and a new round of mobilisation, alleged Telegram channel General SVR.

Most Russians would be barred from leaving the country, as they were in Soviet times when they needed hated “exit visas” to go abroad.

A digital QR colour-coded handcuffing system is under discussion by 70-year-old Putin’s inner circle, it claimed

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-new ... l-28627318

[wjfox]

[Vector]

Astrakhan today and in the past.