Russia

[p0rtia]

Russia's primary objective in a war with NATO is to effectively manage escalation and bring the war to an early end on terms that are favorable to Russia.

Remind me how long Ukraine was gong to last.

[Slim Cognito]

Yeah but, that article still scared the crap out of me. Putin, just like his puppet, is certifiable.

[Suranis]

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/sta ... 7286336517

Anton Gerashchenko
@Gerashchenko_en
In recent months in Russia, there have been incidents of Internet shutdowns and blocking of messengers such as WhatsApp and Telegram in regions where even minimal protest activity is detected.

On the one hand, this indicates that Russian regional authorities consider the possibility of mass protests to be quite real. On the other hand, this is "insurance" against accusations of inaction on the part of Moscow authorities. At the same time, an important point is overlooked: restricting access to the Internet does not narrow, but on the contrary, expands the pool of those dissatisfied.

On January 24, messengers stopped working in two regions of the Far Eastern District of Russia (Khabarovsk region and Yakutia). A week earlier, similar shutdowns occurred in Bashkiria. In the case of Bashkiria (where there were protests related to the trial of Fayil Alsynov) and Yakutia (where there was a conflict on interethnic grounds), the reason for the shutdowns can be explained by current events and attempts to "extinguish" possible coordination of protesters. Whereas in Khabarovsk region, there was no obvious reason and the shutdowns were of a "preventive and prophylactic" nature.

This practice is becoming a system: now the authorities will probably disable messengers in any unclear situation - for example, dispersal of peaceful demonstrations.

Such actions can indeed hinder mass gatherings. However, it is evident that they will worry not just activists but also the apolitical general public, aggravating them and effectively pushing them towards protests.

This is especially noticeable by the reaction of the population of Yakutia - they complain en masse on social networks about the problems (with studying, work, business) that have arisen after the blocking. One of the few "platforms" on which they try to "reach out" to the local authorities is the page of the Head of the Republic Aysen Nikolaev on the Vkontakte Russian social network.

Since Nikolaev writes nothing at all about either protests or blockades, the disgruntled leave their comments under all posts available for comment (for example, the one on the Forum and Exhibition "Russia"). "Turn on WhatsApp back! All of our life goes through the Internet, work, study, shopping, etc. etc. What kind of discrimination is this? Or turn on wi-fi for everyone," indignant residents of Yakutian cities wrote.
The attempt of pro-government trolls to blame "the West" for disconnections ("They say it's the Americans who have permanently turned off the Internet") does not inspire confidence and does not receive support.

Yakutian authorities themselves are trying to explain what is happening by some kind of "preventive maintenance" of a technical nature, which almost no one believes in either. At the same time, official media emphasize that WhatsApp belongs to Meta company, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia; its activities are banned. The reasons for blocking Telegram owned by Russian Durov are not specified.

It seems that the Russian authorities are actively preparing for mass protests and have already technically tested ways to make coordination between protesters through messengers more difficult.

The initiators of the blockings are acting within the framework of the perception that mass protests are always "political technology" and that by removing the possibility of rapid distribution of certain information they can be suppressed.

"Side" effects of blocking (people's dependence on stable work of the Internet) are not taken into account or are considered admissible, and expressed mass discontent is ignored. It is believed that the claims will be limited to virtual outrages.

The negative impact of the shutdowns will be directed at local authorities, who are unable to explain to the apolitical common man why they should suffer inconvenience and losses from such actions, nor to give guarantees that the shutdowns will not become permanent.

For several years now there has been talk in Russia of developing national social networks following the example of China and blocking Western ones. A huge number of Russians are already using VPN services.

The creation of a "sovereign Internet" (with a ban on all uncontrolled services - from WhatsApp to YouTube) is, to a certain extent, utopian. At least, it will not directly affect possible protest activity, because the reasons for it lie in the unresolved problems of Russians, not in the availability of access to the Internet.

People who experience everyday inconveniences due to non-working messengers, now spend time and energy on this problem and therefore do not pay attention to the general situation in Russia and the current major problems in their regions.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/sta ... 2778455142

Anton Gerashchenko
@Gerashchenko_en
Russia's Leningrad region announced nighttime mobile Internet shutdowns until January 31st.

Following Pskov and Novgorod regions, 4G mobile Internet will be unavailable at night in Leningrad region. The authorities promise to limit the night Internet in these regions from January 25 to January 30. Operators explain the temporary lack of communication by reconfiguration of broadcasting frequencies, but their representatives refuse from detailed comments to journalists.

Most likely, the Internet blackouts are connected with the first attack of Ukrainian drones on Leningrad region since the beginning of the full-scale war. On January 18, 2024, UAVs attacked the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, and on January 21 they successfully hit Novatek's terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. At the moment, St. Petersburg is the farthest point reached by the AFU drones. Earlier, ASTRA reported that residents of Leningrad region noticed the deployment of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in the region.

Translation of the SMS message:
"Please note: for reasons beyond Tele2's control, until 31.01.24, mobile Internet may not be available at night. Note also that the restrictions may negatively affect the operation of usual online services, ATMs and payment terminals."

[poplove]

Igor Sushko
@igorsushko
The CIA's new recruitment video targeting Russian intelligence officers offers stunningly good messaging that resonates with the intended audience by piercing to the very core of their psyche.
The masterfully poetic script must have been written by a person born in the USSR.

[Volkonski]

Russia casts its eye on … Alaska?

https://thehill.com/opinion/internation ... press.coop

It just gets crazier and crazier. Now Dmitry Medvedev, the unhinged factotum of Vladimir Putin, says Alaska belongs to Russia — or else.

Or else what? Or else war. Not with Ukraine. Not with Estonia. But with the United States.

Here’s Medvedev’s lunatic statement in its entirety: “According to a State Department representative, Russia is not getting back Alaska, which was sold to the United States in the 19th century. This is it, then. And we’ve been waiting for it to be returned any day. Now war is unavoidable.”

Medvedev is a former Russian president and prime minister; he was also known as a reformer back in the day. At present, he’s deputy head of the Security Council led by the former director of the Federal Security Service, Nikolai Patrushev. Although most liberal Russian analysts dismiss Medvedev as a drunk, he does belong in the Kremlin’s inner circle, and one has to assume that his views are not incompatible with those of Putin.

This isn’t the first time Medvedev has gone off the deep end in his Telegram posts. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Medvedev has been threatening the West with nuclear weapons. On Jan. 26 of this year, the deluded Dmitry wrote that the “establishment of the Texas People’s Republic is becoming increasingly realistic.” On Jan. 24, he compared Ukraine’s “neo-Nazi elites” to pigs. On Jan. 22, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “the senior Ukrainian drug addict.” On Jan. 17, he told Ukrainians that Russia would wage war against them “forever.” On Jan. 12 it was the turn of the “impudent British,” “our enemies from time immemorial.” And on Jan. 3, he denounced the French as frog-eating “pederasts,” “Scum, bastards, degenerates.”

And amidst these loony outbursts, Medvedev didn’t forget to wish his readers a Merry Christmas on Jan. 6 (the equivalent of Dec. 24 in the Julian calendar) and include a photograph of the infant Jesus in a creche.

[Slim Cognito]

I wonder if he truly believes that or is Putin holding his family hostage, somewhere high with windows.

[Maybenaut]

That rant sounds familiar

[much ado]

Russia casts its eye on … Alaska?

Now they are talking about California...

Newsweek: Russian TV Eyes California After Alaska Claim

According to a translation by Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian internal affairs minister, in a television program on Monday evening, Tigran Keosayan—who is married to state broadcaster Russia Today's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan—said during a discussion of the issue: "By the way, part of the California coastline was once Russian too. Yes. Are we going to get it?"

He added: "We'll take care of our Alaska. It's not up to the U.S. Department of State to decide whether Russia gets the state or not; it's up to a Russian referendum."

Any Russian claim over California is perhaps more tenuous than a claim over Alaska. Russians were known to have established an outpost called Fortress Ross, near San Francisco, in 1812, but left it in 1841. According to historical records, there were at most a hundred Russians living there.

I posted about Fort Ross in another thread:

viewtopic.php?p=241171#p241171

[Volkonski]

Putin's Bananas Ban Backfires as Russians Told to Grow Their Own Fruit

https://www.newsweek.com/putin-banana-b ... ne-1869848

Oleg Knyazkov, the head of the industry expertise center at Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian consumer watchdog, told local news outlet Gazeta that he predicts there will be a nationwide shortage of bananas in a month. He advised Russians to start growing them domestically.

His comments come after Putin suspended banana imports from five Ecuadorian companies on February 2, saying the decision was made due to the detection of pests in shipments of the fruit. Weeks earlier, Quito accepted a U.S. offer to exchange Soviet-era military equipment for modern U.S. weapons in a deal worth $200 million.

The United States said that Ecuador's Soviet-era equipment would be sent to Ukraine amid the ongoing war started by Russia in February 2022.

The move was blasted by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said Ecuador had made a "reckless decision under serious pressure from external interested parties."

"If we were talking about 'scrap metal,' as it is called in Ecuador, it is unlikely that Washington would offer modern equipment in exchange, and for a rather impressive amount," she said.

Russia imports 90 percent of its bananas from Ecuador, local media reported. State-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that the ban could cause Ecuador to lose up to $754 million in a year.

Newsweek has contacted the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Ecuador for comment via email.

Knyazkov said the 1-month shortage timeline was due to the fact that some shipments from Ecuador sent prior to the ban still haven't reached Russian stores.

He said, however, that this will be a temporary shortage, as partial imports of bananas from India have already been established, but noted that there are still logistical difficulties.

Knyazkov said this temporary shortage could be compensated by growing bananas in Russia. He pointed to successful experiments on the acclimatization of tropical plants in the Krasnodar territory.

Newsweek previously found that shortages of items in Russia were causing price hikes nationwide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasnodar

Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Krasnodar has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), bordering closely on a hot-summer humid continental climate, very similar to that of New York City.

New York City is not famous for banana growing.

[RTH10260]

White House confirms monitoring of ‘troubling’ Russian anti-satellite weapon
Officials say ‘space-based’ weapon under development but not yet deployed is not immediate threat to anyone’s safety

Julian Borger in Washington
Thu 15 Feb 2024 20.57 CET

The White House has confirmed that it is monitoring a new Russian anti-satellite weapon which it said is being developed but not yet deployed, calling it “troubling” but not an immediate threat to anyone’s safety.

The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, would not directly confirm or deny reports that the new Russian weapon was nuclear, but he did say it was “space-based” and that it violated the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the deployment in space of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.

Kirby was briefing reporters at the White House amid a wave of speculation following cryptic comments about the new threat by the Republican chair of the House intelligence committee, Mike Turner.

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, was due to meet the “gang of eight” security-cleared congressional leaders from both parties on Thursday afternoon to discuss the threat, after Sullivan and other US officials expressed surprise at Turner’s decision to publicise a classified briefing.

“While I’m limited by how much I can share about the specific nature of the threat. I can confirm that is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing,” Kirby said. “This is not an active capability that’s been deployed, and though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety. We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth. That said, we’ve been closely monitoring this Russian activity and we will continue to take it very seriously.”

He added that the weapon believed to be in development “would be space-based and it would be a violation of the Outer Space Treaty to which more than 130 countries have signed up to”.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... hite-house?

[John Thomas8]

[Volkonski]

Moscow plans its own mini-Olympics. Will Russians be satisfied?

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/ ... -satisfied

Russian athletes may still be banned from competing with their national flag or anthem in this year’s Olympics. But Moscow has a plan to keep its sports institutions intact, its athletes busy and well paid, and, it hopes, Russian fans satisfied.

In September, just a month after the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia will launch the World Friendship Games, a Soviet-inspired extravaganza that looks like a full-scale substitute games meant to defy the International Olympic Committee’s ban. Russian officials insist that it isn’t intended to replace the Olympics, but rather that Russian, Belarusian, and other voluntary international participants will compete in many Olympic categories for large cash prizes and other honors.

Nonetheless, Moscow’s decision to launch these games and several other brand-new international sporting events has generated controversy in Russia, drawn condemnation from the IOC, and offered a select number of Russian athletes a dubious choice between taking part in these patriotic events or trying to compete in Paris as “neutral” or independent contestants.

“Only a very limited number of [Russian] athletes will qualify” to compete in Paris, the IOC said in a statement in mid-December. “Among the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for Paris 2024 so far, there are only 11 Individual Neutral Athletes,” six with a Russian passport, plus five with a Belarusian passport.

And while few Russians are happy about the Olympic ban their athletes face, it is unclear whether they will find these new competitions a satisfactory replacement.

[Volkonski]

Germany tells Rosneft 'find buyer or lose refinery'

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tells-ros ... l-1573-rdf

Germany's Economy Ministry on Friday said it had renewed its trusteeship of Russian oil company Rosneft's PCK refinery in the eastern German city of Schwedt but noted that it told the company it needs to present a buyer within the next six months or risk losing the facility altogether.

Berlin has acted as a trustee for Rosneft's German assets since September 2022, but refrained from nationalizing them as the Russian company had signaled a willingness to sell.

Germany says Rosneft will not be allowed to seek temporary owners that would allow the company to buy back its 54.17% stake in the Schwedt refinery, saying it wanted the company gone for good.

"It's now up to the Russian side to present possible buyers," said Michael Kellner a state secretary at the Economy Ministry.

"The question of expropriation remains on the table. It is clear that we need a permanent solution for the three refinery sites," Kellner said, referring to additional Rosneft holdings at Germany's MiRO and Bayernoil refineries.

Germany has already nationalized SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe), a former Gazprom subsidiary, and Russia has taken control of German assets, including Uniper and Wintershall Dea, in response.

Kellner said trusteeship over the Schwedt refinery was an important tool to ensure that both jobs and supplies remained secure until a new owner could be found, adding, "By renewing our trusteeship we have won time to allow Rosneft assets to be sold."

The Schwedt refinery has been supplied with oil from various non-Russian sources since early 2023 after Germany reassessed its dependence on Russian gas and oil in the wake of Moscow's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Most of the EU has stopped directly importing Russian oil as a result of the bloc's sanctions.

[Volkonski]

In Mixed Message On International Women's Day, Putin Says Motherhood Is Women's 'Preordination'

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-putin-wo ... 53835.html

President Vladimir Putin sent a mixed message to Russia's women to mark International Women's Day, lauding their contribution in the war against Ukraine while emphasizing that the most important duty for women is the "relentless care of children."

In a message to mark the holiday on March 8, Putin said he signed a decree on granting clemency to 52 women imprisoned for various crimes, most of whom had underage children, were pregnant, or whose relatives are taking part in the war in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry estimates some 30,000 women are involved in the armed forces.

While he paid special tribute to the women who are "performing combat tasks" in Ukraine, Putin, who has made family values a major element of his campaign for reelection in a March 15-17 vote, said in a video statement that having children is women's "preordination."

"You, dear women, are capable of changing the world with your beauty, wisdom, and generosity of spirit, but mostly thanks to your greatest gift the nature gave you -- giving birth to children. Motherhood is an amazing preordination of women," Putin said in the video statement.

Russian officials have focused on the demographic situation for years, with the birthrate falling since 2014 -- it currently sits at its lowest level since 1999 -- often raising the decrease at government sessions and during parliamentary debate. Many lawmakers have tried to initiate laws restricting abortions and access to contraceptives to spur population growth.

Meanwhile, groups of wives of mobilized soldiers have staged protests outside the Kremlin in recent weeks to call for the return of their husbands from the front lines.

[RTH10260]

Hmmm - - didn't Hitler mention similar to provide soldiers for his armies, though the Thousand Years didn't last long enough to get the babies to the battle fields

[Volkonski]

Hmmm - - didn't Hitler mention similar to provide soldiers for his armies, though the Thousand Years didn't last long enough to get the babies to the battle fields

Oh yes. Hitler awarded women who had many babies the Mother's Cross.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/ ... rn-program

The Lebensborn program was created by the SS in late 1935 in order to promote the growth of Germany’s healthy “Aryan” population. The term Lebensborn itself means “Fount of Life.” The program was designed to be the wellspring of future generations descended from those whom Nazi authorities deemed “racially valuable.” It originally focused on encouraging SS men to have large families and discouraging unmarried, pregnant “Aryan” women from seeking illegal abortions.

[AndyinPA]

Sort of like the republicans today.

[Volkonski]

US embassy warns of imminent attack in Moscow by 'extremists'

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-embass ... 024-03-08/

The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State.

The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.

"The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours," the embassy said on its website.

It issued its warning several hours after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.

It was unclear if the two statements were linked.

U.S. allies including Britain, Canada, South Korea and Latvia repeated the U.S. warning and told their citizens not to travel to Russia.

Most Western countries advise against all travel to Russia and say their citizens should leave. The U.S. has the highest level of warning for Russia - red "4 - Do not travel" - the same level as Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and South Sudan and Iran.

[RTH10260]

Afghan extremists? Putin needs urgently to invade Afghanistan again and set the Taliban straight

[Flatpoint High]

there is a civil war a-coming, and it won't be here in the USA:
https://news.sky.com/story/russia-ukrai ... t-12541713

20240312101751.png (453.24 KiB) Viewed 281 times

[Dave from down under]

Wagner tried - and failed

These three groups just don’t have enough support

[Suranis]

They failed as they were bought off. Otherwise it is likely they could have kept driving to Moscow with no resistance. Laying Siege to Moscow would be another thing but they had been driving along with no resistance whatsoever them till they quit.

And they don't have any support because the ordinary Russian does not care who runs they show. They will have just as much nothing as they have now as the other guy will just be another robber baron.

What might happen if there is no army to stop them, and it is shown that Russian has no Army to stop them, is that someone else might invade. Like Poland. Or China.

[Volkonski]

Putin again threatens to use nuclear weapons, claims Russia's arsenal "much more" advanced than America's

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/putin-nucl ... better-us/

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia's nuclear triad — its three-pronged arsenal of weapons launched from land, sea and air — was "much more" advanced than that of the United States.

"Our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad. Only we and the Americans actually have such triads. And we have advanced much more here," Putin said in an interview on state TV.

Putin said Moscow's nuclear weapons are fully ready and "from the military-technical viewpoint, we're prepared" to use them in case there's a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence," according to The Associated Press.

The tough talk comes before a presidential election this week that Putin is almost assured of winning to give him another six-year term.

[Dave from down under]

Translation

The valuable bits have been stolen and what is left is unlikely to work..

But the threat to try to use them is real..

[RTH10260]

From 50m ago
20.20 CET

40 dead, more than 100 wounded, says FSB

Forty people are dead and more than 100 others are wounded following shooting attacks at Crocus City Hall outside Moscow on Friday night, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service.

According to IFX, up to five gunmen were involved in the attacks.

Russia’s top investigative agency, the Investigative Committee, said that it is investigating the events as a terrorist attack, the Associated Press reports.

The agency did not say who may be responsible for the attacks.

The Guardian Live page

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... ve-updates