KARL SANCHEZ
karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium

Putin making a point.

Today’s conference was held at the dacha in Novo-Ogaryovo and would probably be 100% classified if not for the 20-minute portion dealing with aid rendered to civilians and further measures for their protection and wellbeing. It must be noted that Russia is treating the Ukie assault of Kursk as a terrorist action since it’s absolutely clear the main targets are the civilian population and its supporting infrastructure. The attack has flushed out one of the longstanding fifth columnist figures that was notorious during the Yeltsin years, whose recent actions were reported by Marat Khairullen over the weekend and will follow the meeting transcript.

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

The topic of our meeting is the situation in the Russian border areas: Bryansk region, Belgorod region, Kursk region.

An assessment of the current events should certainly be given, and this will be done. But the main thing now is to solve the actual problems that are emerging at this point in time and based on the forecasts of the situation.

The main task, of course, is for the Ministry of Defense: to squeeze out the enemy from our territories and – together with the Border Guard Service – to provide reliable cover for the state border.

The Federal Security Service together with Rosgvardiya should ensure a counter-terrorist situation regime and an effective fight against enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups. And Rosgvardiya faces its own combat tasks.

Civilian agencies are required to ensure that law enforcement agencies are supplied with everything they need. I won't list everything, but this certainly applies to industry, transport, construction, medicine and financial support.

Finally, all of us – together with the leaders of the respective regions – should focus on the main task. And this is the support of our people who need help and protection.

Before getting to work and giving the floor to the meeting participants, I will add a few more words.

It is now clear why the Kiev regime refused our proposals to return to the peace settlement plan, as well as to the proposals of interested and neutral mediators.

Apparently, the enemy is using its Western masters to fulfill their will, and the West is at war with us through the hands of the Ukrainians. So, apparently, the enemy is trying to improve its negotiating positions in the future. But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities? What can you even talk about with them?

Second. Such actions, of course, pursue the main military goal, namely, to stop the offensive of our troops to completely liberate the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics and the territory of Novorossiya. So what? What is happening on the contact line, what are the results? The pace of offensive operations of the Russian Armed Forces, volunteers, and veterans has not only not decreased, but on the contrary, it has increased by one and a half times. Our Armed Forces are moving forward along the entire line of contact.

And finally, one of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord and discord in our society, to intimidate people, to destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society, that is, to strike at the internal political situation. But here, too, there is already a response from the citizens of Russia – it is the unanimous support of all those who are in trouble, the support of the army and, what is very important, an increase in the number of people who want to join our men, to the fighters who heroically defend Russia with weapons in their hands. The number of people willing to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense has increased in recent days.

The leaders of the Kiev regime not only commit crimes against the Russian people, but, in fact, have embarked on the path of extermination of the Ukrainians themselves, the Ukrainian people, which, apparently, they no longer consider their own. The losses of the armed forces of Ukraine are dramatically increasing for them, including among the most combat-ready units and units that the enemy is transferring to our border.

The enemy will certainly receive a decent response, and all the goals we face will undoubtedly be achieved.

Let's get to work. At the beginning of our meeting, I would like to give the floor to the regional leaders.

Let's start with the Bryansk region. You are welcome.

A. : Hello, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

We can say that the situation in the Bryansk Region is stable today, the same as it was a month ago. We can see by the number of attacks that it is basically constant, that is, in the range of 80-90 attacks per week.

But I would like to note that recently we have seen them start firing more and more at civilians. If we take literally the previous day, the ninth: out of 22 attacks, 11 were on civilians, on the population that lives there, on homes, on cars, on buses.We compensate all the damage from the regional budget.

We don't move people out today. Our power unit analyzes the situation that is happening there, and we make a general decision that we do not need to move out yet. But we are also working with residents, so we always offer them to go to a temporary residence center if they are afraid, but no one wants to do it yet. Therefore, we have this work in place, and we have established cooperation with all law enforcement agencies.

As part of the counterterrorism operation, we have 1,576 temporary residence centers ready, and if necessary, we can deploy more than 32,000. But we have now reviewed, taking into account the experience of the Kursk region, all temporary residence points were moved to a distance of more than 50 kilometers.

Today, the tasks are set by the Ministry of Defense, Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin is holding meetings with us, in principle, everything is ready, everything is mobilized, and we are starting to work. What problems there were – funding, lack of profiled flooring – they were all solved.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Here's what I want to say. It is obvious to us, and I have already said this, that the enemy will continue to try to destabilize the situation in the border zone in order to shake up the internal political situation in our country. Therefore, if the Bryansk region is relatively calm today, this does not mean that the same situation will remain there tomorrow.

And I ask you to take this very carefully together with the law enforcement agencies, together with the headquarters that is being created through the FSB of Russia with the support of Rosgvardiya. All issues that need to be discussed and prepared for any development of the situation should be prepared and resolved in advance together with the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.

Ok?

A. Bogomaz: All right.

Vladimir Putin: Agreed.

Please, Belgorod region.

V. Gladkov : Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Dear colleagues!

We have recently improved the situation only in the city of Belgorod, compared to the first quarter of 2024, there were only two rocket attacks on Belgorod with cluster munitions. In general, the situation on the border area has sharply worsened, and the number of attacks by both barrel artillery, mortars, MLRS, and attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles has increased significantly.

Sharply in 2024, the number of destructions and damage to housing in general is growing. We have damaged more than 30 thousand houses and apartments in 2.5 years, and now we have restored 25 thousand. But, unfortunately, the situation along the border does not allow us to actively do this. The most difficult situation is now in Shebekino, it is 38 thousand people-the city, 85 thousand-the district. In 2024, almost 300 people were injured and 36 people died. We have from three to five attacks a day, mainly from cannon artillery and MLRS, three to five houses are damaged, almost completely windows and roofs. There is no complete information, but according to our calculations, about 50-70 percent of the city of Shebekino has left the territory today, and social tension in Shebekino is growing, because the main thing is that we cannot guarantee security, provide it.

We place them in temporary accommodation points. In general, in 2022, we have 17 thousand places deployed. Currently, we have 2,100 people in the TAU (in the region), and 1,000 people outside the region. After today's events, we have moved about 10 thousand people in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, and temporary accommodation facilities have grown by another one and a half thousand.

According to your decision, Vladimir Vladimirovich, we have the opportunity, today there are 2,800 people outside the Belgorod region (we have a limit of 6,5 thousand people – those who are slightly injured, whose housing is damaged or completely destroyed). Thanks to your decision, 5,5 thousand children have left the country. In general, during the summer it is about 15 thousand people. We will continue this work. In general, in addition to Shebekino, these are Krasnaya Yaruga, Grayvoron, a third of the Belgorod district, Borisovsky district and Valuysky district.

We are very grateful for your decision, dear Mr Putin, to resettle 12,000 people in those localities that are now closed in fact. But in general, where there are daily attacks, we see the threat of the approaching winter and practically do not have the opportunity to call in rescue vehicles. Why? Because the enemy destroys it. We are not able to provide medical assistance, because the enemy destroys it. We are often unable, in many cases, to restore electricity supply, and we understand that when winter approaches, this will multiply the problem. In general, this situation is about 115 thousand people on the border.

I wanted to ask for solutions. Recently, a decision was made to increase payments for emergencies and terrorist attacks, and, unfortunately, realizing that this is a technical error, but still people are very worried, they believe that it is unfair. This did not affect payments for residents of the affected areas from the shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine. And I ask that these payments (this increase from 10 to 15, from 50 to 75, from 100 to 150) be transferred to the Belgorod region as well.

I would like to ask, if there is an opportunity, it is also a very big problem when housing is completely destroyed, a person still has obligations to pay the mortgage. Holidays are given only for six months by the bank, but after six months it is physically impossible to build a new house or apartment building. I think it would be fair to write off the mortgage with the subsequent provision of housing under the programs that are currently being implemented.

Today's situation in Krasnaya Yaruga, I hope that the interaction between all law enforcement agencies, first of all the Ministry of Defense and the border services will solve the current situation that arose in the morning, and tomorrow I hope that we will return people to their places of residence, with the exception of three settlements, first of all Kolotilovka, which has not yet been completed. it is inhabited, but it is actually under constant fire, and we will make a decision on its resettlement with the provision of housing. This possibility exists within the framework of previous decisions taken by the Government of the Russian Federation and your decision, Mr President.

All.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Denis Valentinovich.

Dmitry : Yes, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Please comment. We have already discussed some issues just now. You are welcome.

Dmitry Manturov: Yes, Mr President, thank you very much.

As for the Kursk region, we are in daily contact with Alexey Borisovich. Reports are received from all departments that have formed their headquarters, first of all, this concerns the federal emergency situation, this is the Ministry of Emergency Situations. All work is being carried out to evacuate the population to temporary accommodation points.

According to your decision, payments are provided, and a one-time payment of 10 thousand rubles per person is provided. Today we have clarified, including those payments that are provided in the framework of an emergency, that these are two different payments – 10 thousand and 15 thousand. All necessary measures are being taken, and we are keeping them under control.

The same thing happens with "Rosseti", transformers are constantly damaged, there is a power outage. "Rosseti" quickly goes to those areas where it is safe. Where this cannot be done, switching occurs. I just recently reported to you on the situation in Kurchatov.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, all other issues are under control, and we are working quickly with the region. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Look, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Gladkov has just raised a few questions: on mortgages and some others. Can you directly respond to this right now or not?

Dmitry Manturov: As far as the Belgorod Region is concerned. I can say that a decision has been made, and you have supported it, on Kursk regarding a moratorium on mortgage payments and consumer loans. All the banks have already started working. This applies to Sberbank, VTB, and all other banking institutions that provided services to residents of the Kursk region. We will also work quickly in the Belgorod region.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, it must be done.

Marat Shakirzyanovich.

Mikhail Khusnullin : Vladimir Vladimirovich, we will prepare this decision, it is absolutely fair, and it should be immediately extended to Belgorod, Kursk, and potentially Bryansk regions, if such cases arise. Denis Valentinovich and I will work out the relevant decisions here and report back to you.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, you will arrange this as a paper, so that it is a document.

Vladimir Gladkov: All right.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Please, Kursk region. Alexey Borisovich Smirnov.

A. : Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Dear colleagues!

Currently, the situation in the region is difficult, as of today, 28 settlements are under enemy control. The depth of penetration into the territory of the Kursk region is 12 kilometers, the width along the front is 40 kilometers.

Vladimir Putin: Listen, Alexey Borisovich, this is the military department that will tell us how wide and deep it is. You can tell us about the socio-economic situation and report on helping people.

Alexey Smirnov: We have 28 localities located in this zone, which is about two thousand people whose fate we do not know.

Colonel-General Yevgeny V. Nikiforov has arrived to coordinate our actions. Interaction has been established with all security forces.

During this time, as you instructed, Vladimir Vladimirovich, we have divided the resettlement of people into two stages. The first stage: in four districts – a 10-kilometer zone, and Sudzhansky, Korenevsky districts completely. On the 8th, all six border districts were fully operational, and two districts, Bolshesoldatsky and Lgovsky, were added to them, those that border the nuclear power plant. Total-180 thousand people. 121 thousand people left for today and were evacuated, and work continues on 59 thousand of them. In addition to our services and federal ones, the DND has also attracted volunteers from the Molodaya Gvardiya .

As of today, 53 thousand places have been deployed in the PVR, of which 20 thousand places have been deployed in Moscow (thank you very much to Sergey Semyonovich – we are constantly in touch). In all other regions of Russia – 25 thousand places. Mobile PVR we have 2400 seats at the station here – this is Russian Railways. In total, there are 106 camps, and 7524 people are accommodated in them. 1083 of them are children. There are reserves: a camp of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from the Federal Reserve for 10 thousand places has come up and an additional 10 thousand places are being prepared in Moscow. Psychologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, as well as local psychologists from our schools, work in each of these centers, and free legal assistance is provided.

Humanitarian aid is issued around the clock. Today we have 10 thousand daily rations, 28 thousand weekly food packages, and 112 thousand liters of water. There are 13 thousand daily meals, 260 thousand water and 148 thousand food packages on the way. There are no problems here. There is also a lot of additional humanitarian assistance from residents, there is no shortage.

On medicine. 1912 beds are available. In addition, a 100-bed FMBA hospital and a 100-bed hospital of the Russian Ministry of Health have been deployed. The number of ambulance crews is 108, 61 work in the border area, and sanaviation. The supply of medicines and blood is sufficient. We continue to draw blood if necessary, there are no problems. The number of doctors who arrived in the Kursk region is 422 people, 436 Kursk doctors work, and 840 – secondary medical personnel.

12 civilians were killed and 121 wounded, including 10 children. A call center works around the clock, and all our possible points of receiving information are written, the administration has reception offices, during this time 35 thousand citizens ' appeals were received. We make payments of 10 thousand rubles each, we have received funds, and as of today, these funds have been received by 2,100 citizens, although 46,700 applications have been submitted. We worked with the Ministry of Digital Resources, and from this morning we will be able to automatically transfer a thousand applications per hour, so we are closing this problem.

Funds have been received to relocate people from the shelled border area to 300 families, 131 applications have been processed, people are selecting housing, certificates have been issued, and work continues. A decision was made – thank you very much – on a moratorium on payment for housing and communal services and interest on loans. Emergency crews have been created, all services are working, and we are also working with damage to industrial enterprises and agricultural producers. Just now, a team was sent out in the morning. The first time the Rosseti brigade failed to restore electricity supply in the Belovsky district the day before yesterday, it came under fire, and the shells were loaded with chemical weapons. They took refuge in the police department, everyone is alive, but both the police officers and the head of the village council were poisoned. But today it turned out, the transformer was repaired with the support of Rosgvardiya, and the head of IDGC of Center personally went there. Half of the district is powered by electricity, as well as a pig farm.

Currently, the Ministry of Defense has started fulfilling the task of building 90 platoon strongpoints, which involves 350 units of equipment and involves up to 5 thousand builders. We are in constant cooperation with the First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Marat Khusnullin, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport.

In addition, 40 kilometers of an anti-tank ditch have been dug out of the planned 46, and the work is being completed. We have also started placing 40 checkpoints. The KTO mode was introduced from 23 hours on August 9 this year. We work with the FSB of Russia and the Department of Internal Affairs.

Problematic issues. Given that there is no clear front line, it is a problem for us to understand where the combat units are located. Volunteers are working, constantly trying to get people out. We have applications from relatives for 3,500 people. Two volunteers disappeared, our DND fell into the DRG's area of operation, and they took out about 2 thousand people during these days. Work continues. Then, it is very important to know at what moment and where the enemy is.

There was a question about payments: 10 thousand and 15 thousand. Thank you so much for getting it settled. People were worried: this is the same payment, either mutually absorbing or different. Now let's calm their doubts. Thank you very much, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for your decision. We will calculate the damage later.

And now we are facing a problem: settlements and district centers are empty. Of course, they are now engaged in military units, not all of them are leaving, we are not forced to move out, so the shops continue to work. We were forced to ban the sale of alcohol, and we monitor cases of looting.

Of course, there is a danger that sabotage groups are operating here in our clothes, in our cars, with our documents, so we are increasing our patrols. Moscow helped, and 1,000 people came to us from the state-owned Moscow enterprise. Now we are waiting to strengthen the protection of railway bridges, roads, people from the Department of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, our DND.

But we still hope in resolving the issue that they can be armed in the same way as with Moscow. Applications were submitted by 1,200 people. Currently, up to 500 people are employed in shifts every day.

I finished my report. Ready to answer questions. Thank you. [My Emphasis]

This isn’t the first report of the Ukie’s using gas-loaded artillery shells which confirms the terroristic nature of the operation. The aim to foment political unrest and demand for the SMO to cease has failed, yet the effort outed one of the sleeping enemies within Russia. The following short essay by Marat Khairullen was posted to his VK and his Telegram yesterday and tells quite a tale that few readers here will be aware of. Oleg Deripaska is the person being investigated, his name is linked to his Wiki bio, which notes he’s been sanctioned by the Outlaw USW Empire and its UK dog, so he can’t fully enjoy the Cypriot citizenship he bought. His desire to have the sanctions dropped are clearly a motive for his actions, but how closely was he involved with the Ukies is a pertinent question. Now for Marat’s report:

Deripaska and emptiness

Against the backdrop of the terrorist attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region, entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska called for a ceasefire. To which a number of commentators immediately responded with a parallel with Khasavyurt[In 1996, the agreement was signed in Khasavyurt between Russian Federation and Chechen Republic of Ichkeria following the First Chechen War, known as Khasavyurt Accord.]. Indeed, the comparison suggests itself - peace agreements with the separatists were concluded immediately after the attack of the militants on Grozny, and before that all our most combat-ready units were withdrawn from the city, which the militants immediately took advantage of. Today, this fact is assessed as an obvious betrayal of the Russian elites and part of the generals, which led to the conclusion of the Khasavyurt agreements, which are unfavorable for our country. Historians call these agreements a forced mistake, which later had to be corrected by the new leadership of Russia.

Thanks to Khasavyurt, our country had to live side by side with a terrorist entity for more than five years. I will remind you what it has been over the years: kidnappings, constant terrorist attacks, the transit of everything prohibited to our territory - from weapons to drugs.
But it was the Chechen people who suffered the most, and for many years they became hostages of outright bandits who turned the republic into a hotbed of international terrorism and crime.
If you compare it with today, the analogy with ukropia is complete - democratic and independent Ichkeria number two, a stinking cancerous tumor on our border, only on a larger scale. This is another victim of the cursed Western friendship.
However, in addition to the external similarity, there is also an internal track. And it is as follows: the agreements were concluded by General Lebed, a direct creature of the oligarch Berezovsky.

In those years, Berezovsky was the headliner of the so-called Yeltsin family - he openly represented its political and financial interests. Today, it is no longer a secret that all the most crazy Russian opposition, from Kasyanov and Kasparov to Navalny, was grown under the umbrella of the Family. Since 2012, the Family has been openly trying to replace Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin with any other politician who can be directly manipulated. And the external forces interested in this act in the domestic political field of Russia precisely through the Family.

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Why. Because there is a legend, confirmed by reality, that at one time Putin gave his word to Yeltsin that he would not persecute the Family - first of all, Naina Iosifovna and daughter Tatiana.
And now the super-respectable VVP keeps its word, despite outright sabotage.

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Naina Iosifovna is considered a kind of absolute in this regard. For example, now Pugacheva and her stupid husband are waiting for a call in the Baltic States from her - allegedly only Naina Iosifovna can settle the disgrace of a pop family, Vladimir Vladimirovich very rarely can refuse her. Not to mention the fact that VVP always answers her calls.

Today, Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is still part of the Family. Officially, he divorced the daughter of Valentin Yumashev (husband of Tatyana Dyachenko, the youngest daughter of Boris Nikolaevich), after the events on Bolotnaya Square, in order to take the business out of harm's way. However, in the expert community, it is believed that Russian Aluminum, and earlier the Basic Element holding, is still part of the financial and industrial empire of the Family.

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The Family does not directly control them, but the resources of Oleg Vladimirovich's giant business are always at the disposal of the Family.Figuratively speaking, until a certain X.

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And now, apparently, this hour of X is coming. External forces directly appealed for support to the Family, as the only real opposition force within Russia that has representation in power. Let me remind you that de facto it is believed that a number of heads of departments of the Presidential Administration, and the heads of some state corporations (for example, VGTRK) have also remained loyal to the Family.

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Oleg Deripaska in 2020

And Deripaska's speech [reported here in English] (however, so far quite cautious) against the backdrop of the terrorist attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region can be regarded as such - the family reminds of itself and is ready to use all resources.
Another thing is that today in Russia the situation is completely different.

Let me remind you that the Chechen war was terribly unpopular among the people - any termination of it (on any terms) by the Russian people, immersed in the despair of the 90s, was considered as a respite - at least one problem less, at least for a while.

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Today, for example, people who are inside the front know very well that a whole generation of young officers has come to the troops. They are from thirty-five and above, and they are already combat colonels and generals - they are smart, evil, they managed to go through defeats and won difficult current victories with their blood, losing friends and relatives in this crucible.
They sincerely hate the drill and everything behind them, and they are sure that they have the right to vote. And their voice is as follows - the war must finally become a people's war, so as not to crush the enemy by a teaspoon at an hour. Now they are commanders of regiments and brigades, and tomorrow the commanders of armies and fronts, the future Zhukovs and Vatutins, are still very young, magnificent and brilliant.

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This is not the subtle Yashin, who was mated with Sobchak to get rid of the blue sins of youth, but it did not help - the sins won.

Having pushed Khasavyurt through the loyal and trampled officers of the 90s, the Family thinks that they can push these heroes over the baseboard. But it is no coincidence that Putin relies on them, opening the doors of all elevators - this is insurance against the treacherous actions of this very counter-elite, ready to sell the interests of the country when victory is just around the corner.
In this regard, Deripaska's call hung in the void - the people see victory, thirst for it, and to stop hostilities now is the same as signing a political sentence for oneself.
In this regard, Putin is more of a deterrent, because in addition to the military elite, let me remind you, there is a very influential group of industrialists (especially those related to the production of weapons and the public sector as a whole).
They are very uninterested in a world that will be interpreted inside and outside Russia as a direct defeat. They are interested in a world that looks and feels like a victory. Putin, as a system of power, relied on them in this difficult period, and, accordingly, Russian industrial capital expects to receive good bonuses from this.
Moreover, here it is - Victory - is already very close. And if an immediate peace is concluded on the advice of Oleg Deripaska, then all these bonuses will again go to European and American financial capital.
And therefore, when Oleg Vladimirovich begins to speak in this way, questions immediately arise: is Russian aluminum really Russian, or is it just called that?
Maybe it is still worth bringing its content in line with the official name. So, just in case, to deprive the counter-elite of potential resources, ready to give the Victory, already won with the considerable blood of our people, to the cursed West?! [My Emphasis]

Pretty powerful invective. The linked article from Novaya Gazeta Europe dealing with the speech is actually a retelling of an interview given with Nikkei Asia that itself is also edited and not reported in whole. Why didn’t they allow all his words to be known? One of the interesting snippets is this admission:

When asked about his current relationship with the Kremlin, Deripaska, who has long been rumoured to be close to Vladimir Putin, said that there had been “no changes”, adding simply: “They don’t touch me, and we don’t touch politics.”

Except that he just did deeply touch politics, so he just lied. Here’s the lie:

“If you want to stop the war, first you need to stop the fire,” Deripaska told Japan’s flagship financial newspaper, calling for an “immediate, unconditional ceasefire" in Ukraine.

And so the snake reveals itself. My cursory search to see how widely Russian media reported his speech got very few returns, the one provided being the most complete. An example of his being anti-Russian political-economic policy and the lies he employs to sell his point can be read in this article in English from 2023 by Politnavigator, where he whines Russia won’t see any foreign investment and is called Russia’s version of Donald Trump. Will this be the last time we hear about Deripaska and his antics? Probably not since he’s sanctioned and can no longer spend his ill-gotten loot in the West. But now that he’s entered the political realm, perhaps Putin will joust with him once the situation normalizes, whenever that happens.

And consider supporting The Greanville Post, the great carrier of all these extraordinary selections.

Larry Johnson
sonar21

St. Petersburg Church (Larry Johnson)

I was shocked to learn that the U.S. Government seized Scott’s passport today after he boarded a flight that would take him to Turkey and then to St. Petersburg. Scott had been invited to speak at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. I guess they will have him appear via Zoom. I am at the same Forum and am speaking in response to an invitation from the SPIEF 2024 organizers. This forum is a big deal — 25,000 people are attending from around the world.

I suppose congratulations are in order to the Biden Administration — they are garnering more public attention for Scott and his message than he has received in the last two years.

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Why Was Scott Ritter's Passport Seized?

Larry Johnson

Streamed live on Jun 3, 2024

Scott boarded a flight at JFK today in preparation to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he was scheduled to speak. The Forum attracts 25,000 attendees. US authorities illegally seized his passport and forced him off the plane. Outrageous.

Judge Napolitano, despite reports to the contrary, was not removed from the flight. He had received news earlier in the day that required him to cancel the trip with Scott, but Scott’s plans were unaffected (until the Homeland Security dudes showed up). So, the Judge and his producer scrambled around and I did my normal 11am EST appearance (except it was 6pm in St. Petersburg).

Eric Zuesse
OpEds

Of humble beginnings, and a devout anticommunist, Missourian Harry Truman left his mark in history, for the worse, but, as usual, larger forces determined the nation's course.

Dr. Marco Soddu’s excellent 13 December 2012 study of “Truman Administration’s Containment Policy in Light of the French Return to Indochina” makes clear that (unlike FDR) President Truman’s historical understanding was poor and vulnerable to shaping by advisors who themselves had poor understanding, or perhaps ulterior motives.

President Roosevelt was far more of a strategic thinker than Truman was, and therefore was far less manipulable. In his 1 January 1945 Memorandum for the Secretary of State (Stenttinius, whom Truman viewed as being soft on communism and therefore Truman replaced him on 28 June 1945, even before deciding irrevocably to start a Cold War), FDR made clear that, “I still do not want to get mixed up in any Indochina decision. It is a matter for post-war.” And, “I made this very clear to Mr. Churchill. From both the military and civil point of view, action at this time is premature.” The aristocracies of both Britain and France were obsessed to continue their empires post-war. FDR held them off, but Truman was strongly inclined to yield to them whenever doing so would be “anti-communist.” He was simply manipulable. He never really understood what FDR’s vision was of the post-war world, nor cared. In fact, on 29 August 1945, in a conversation between Madam Chiang Kai-shek and Truman, “Madame Chiang recalled that President Roosevelt had spoken of a trusteeship for Indo China, whereupon the President stated that there had been no discussion of a trusteeship for Indo China as far as he was concerned.” This far, just a month, into the Cold War (supposedly against communism instead of for forming an all-inclusive global U.S. empire) that he now was committed to, he still had never even thought about what FDR’s vision for the post-WW2 world had been. To Truman, communists personified evil: to him, they were psychopaths and demons — end of story.

By contrast, here was the reason why FDR strongly favored for existing colonies to become taken over, after the War, by the U.N. (which FDR had, since August 1941, been planning to be quite different from what Truman made it), as trusteeships of the U.N., on the road quickly to independence (and Chiang knew at least something about this but Truman either didn’t, or else lied to say he didn’t):

history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1944v03/d708
Memorandum, President Roosevelt to the Secretary of State

FDR—Though a plutocrat by birth and acculturation, he was as decent and visionary as a bourgeois statesman can be.

January 24, 1944

I saw Halifax last week and told him quite frankly that it was perfectly true that I had, for over a year, expressed the opinion that Indo-China should not go back to France but that it should be administered by an international trusteeship. France has had the country — thirty million inhabitants — for nearly one hundred years, and the people are worse off than they were at the beginning. As a matter of interest, I am wholeheartedly supported in this view by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and by Marshal Stalin. I see no reason to play in with the British Foreign Office in this matter. The only reason they seem to oppose it is that they fear the effect it would have on their own possessions and those of the Dutch. They have never liked the idea of trusteeship because it is, in some instances, aimed at future independence. This is true in the case of Indo-China. Each case must, of course, stand on its own feet, but the case of Indo-China is perfectly clear. France has milked it for one hundred years. The people of Indo-China are entitled to something better than that.
F[ranklin] D. R[oosevelt]]

Another sign of bad faith on the part of the United States against the Soviet Union — besides the Marshall Plan and Operation Gladio (both instituted by Truman) — seems to have been America’s public refusal to accept as being anything other than ‘communist tricks’ the repeated efforts by the Soviets to restore the U.S.-U.S.S.R. joint national-security cooperation that had existed prior to 25 July 1945. America’s responses to each of those Soviet initiatives were insults, instead of welcoming the Soviet proposals and working behind the scenes with them to obtain progress toward the type of world order that FDR had intended — a world order policed by the United Nations, not by the united imperialistic fascists. For example, on 19 September 1959 at the U.N. General Assembly, the Soviet Representative headlined “Declaration of the Soviet Government on General and Complete Disarmament” and presented a series of proposals including:

https://undocs.org/A/4219
“Declaration of the Soviet Government on General and Complete Disarmament”

September 19, 1959
P. 14:
The Soviet Government proposes that the programme of general and complete disarmament should be carried out within as short a time-limit as possible — within a period of four years.
The following measures are proposed for the first stage:
The reduction, under appropriate control, of the strength of the armed forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China to the level of 1.7 million men, and of the United Kingdom and France to the level of 650,000 men;
The reduction of the armed forces of other states to levels to be agreed upon at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly or at a world conference on general and complete disarmament;
The reduction of the armaments and military equipment at the disposal of the armed forces of States to the extent necessary to ensure that the remaining quantity of armaments corresponds to the level fixed for the armed forces.
The following is proposed for the second stage:
The completion of the disbandment of the armed forces retained by States;
The elimination of all military bases in the territories of foreign States; troops and military personnel shall be withdrawn from the territories of foreign States to within their own national frontiers and shall be disbanded.
The following is for the third stage:
The destruction of all types of nuclear weapons and missiles;
The destruction of air force equipment;
The entry into force of the prohibition on the production, possession and storage of means of chemical and biological weapons in the possession of States shall be removed and destroyed under international supervision;
Scientific research for military purposes and the development of weapons and military equipment shall be prohibited;
War ministries, general staffs and all military and paramilitary establishments and organizations shall be abolished;
All military courses and training shall be terminated. States shall prohibit by law the military education of young people.
In accordance with their respective constitutional procedures, States shall enact legislation abolishing military service in all of its forms — compulsory, voluntary, by recruitment, and so forth. …
(4) Conclusion of a non-aggression pact between the member States of NATO and the member States of the Warsaw Treaty

The U.S. response came a few months later at the “Conference of the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament”:
s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/documents/library/conf/TNCD-PV6.pdf
“Conference of the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament”

22 March 1960
Final Verbatim Record of the Sixth Meeting
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva
P. 36:
Mr. Eaton (United States of America): I have no intention of entering into this discussion on foreign bases. I think the discussions that we have had here this morning have indicated that we shall run into political problems at the very earliest stage, problems on which earlier conferences have foundered. I would only say that the forces of my Government are only employed outside my own country and within my own country for the purpose of defending both ourselves and those of our allies who wish to be associated with us, who welcome our troops as a part of theirs and as a part of the allied defences, and for no other reason. Whenever the time comes when these troops need not be employed, for defensive purposes only, there need be no doubt in the mind of anyone here that those forces will be withdrawn.
s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/documents/library/conf/TNCD-PV46.pdf
“Conference of the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament”
24 June 1960

Final Verbatim Record of the Forty-Sixth Meeting, Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, p. 4:
Mr. Nosek (Czechoslovakia): What did Mr. Eaton propose? He proposed the introduction of control measures. … exclusively with measures of control, that is with the old and well-known requirement of the United States — the introduction of control over armaments. Apparently with a view to misleading world public opinion, which requires a concrete discussion of general and complete disarmament, the United States representatives are beginning to prefer — for tactical reasons — to call those measures not “partial measures” but “initial steps” on the road to general and complete disarmament under effective international control.

b-ok.cc/book/5398150/073f73
“The United Nations and Space Security: Conflicting Mandates” p. 17:

This [obfuscation and evasion by the U.S. (which on p. 16 was referred to as merely “proposals directed towards the establishment of control without disarmament”)] ultimately led [on 28 June 1960] to the USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania not attending the 48th meeting of the Ten-Nation Committee, which signalled the end of these discussions in the Committee.

The U.S. Government refused to discuss the Soviet Union’s proposal for all war-weaponry to be placed under U.N. command, and decision-making only by the U.N., to enforce only U.N. laws — no longer under the command of individual nations (such as by the U.S. regime’s “international-rules-based [i.e., not international-law-based] order.”

Who benefited from America’s refusal even to discuss what had been U.S. President FDR’s aim for the post-WW-II world? The beneficiaries are what Eisenhower when leaving office called the “military industrial complex,” and are basically America’s hundred largest military contractors, especially the owners of the largest weapons-manufacturing firms such as Lockheed. Ike had served them well, and then three days before leaving office warned the public about them so as not to be blamed (along with Truman) by historians, for having created it.

Meanwhile, the German industrialists (such as this) who were likeliest to have been the individuals who had funded Hitler’s rise to power, were let off scot-free at the Nuremberg Tribunals after the war was over. Furthermore, as Bishnu Pathak documented in his 21 September 2020 “Nuremberg Tribunal: A Precedent for Victor’s Justice”, those Tribunals were, even at the time, widely condemned even by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and by the chief U.S. Prosecutor at the Tribunals, as being a “sanctimonious fraud,” a “high-grade lynching party” and nothing more than victors’ ‘justice’, instead of any respectable precedent-setter for the U.N., but Truman and the other leaders of the victor-powers simply did not care — and the U.N. became built upon that acceptance of victors’ ‘justice’: no improvement. One cannot say whether FDR would have caved to that if he had not died first, but certainly the U.S. that followed after him has been the type of tyranny that he had always been scheming to prevent both for the U.S. and for the world.

Nuremberg defendants—The trials seemed to mete out some harsh justice but in reality the Anglo-Americans and the French did their best to save and incorporate Nazis into the global anti-communist crusade, the first "Cold War". This pattern of high-handed hypocrisy continues to this day, with consequences that have put the world on the brink of a nuclear Armageddon.

Furthermore, the OECD or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was set up in 1948 nominally in order ‘to stimulate economic progress and world trade,’ but actually to administer the Marshall Plan. The OECD was just another anti-Soviet U.S. organization, but, since the cash that it was distributing was going to Europe, its initial membership was those countries and it was headquartered in Paris, so as not to seem to be an extension from the U.S. Government. The organization changed its name to OECD in 1961 so as to hide from historians that it had previously been called the OEEC, which was clearly traceable to the Cold War. The CIA-edited and written Wikipedia says that “In 1948, the OECD originated as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC),[7] led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan (which was rejected by the Soviet Union and its satellite states).[8]” However, it wasn’t “rejected by” them, but instead rejected them — just like the Marshall Plan itself rejected them.

The 1989 masterpiece by Christopher Simpson, Blowback: The First Full Account of America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Disastrous Effect on The cold war, Our Domestic and Foreign Policy, documented the U.S. regime’s comprehensive employment of ‘ex’-Nazis in order to assist its goal of conquering ‘communism’ but really Russia. Then, on 7April 2024, I headlined a supplementary account, “How & Why the UK, U.S., and Canada, Governments imported Nazis into Canada”, which I closed by saying: “And this is how it came to be that the pro-Nazi Ukrainians in Canada have been organized and effectively represented while the others (the non-Nazi Ukrainians) were suppressed; and, above all, how it came to be the case that America’s armaments-manufacturers and their NATO have thrived while coup-after-coup and invasion-after-invasion have continued to expand the U.S. empire up till the present moment.” All of this was an extension from Truman’s private decision on 25 July 1945, and its extension by Bush’s secret decision on 24 February 1990 to continue it even after communism in Russia would be ended in 1991. Furthermore, my 23 March 2024 “How Germany Is Still Controlled by Nazis” documented yet further, that as regards the anti-Russian aspect of Hitler’s nazism, there was no real change in Germany when the U.S. regime took it over from Hitler (and the rest of it from Gorbachev), other than the necessary cosmetic changes in the new unified Germany, which, of course, required outlawing any public displays of anti-Semitism (as-if Hitler had hated only Jews — Jews were instead his main hatred, but he also hated — and aimed to enslave — all Russians, and, indeed, all Slavs).

I especially recommend reading Christopher Simpson’s masterpiece, because it’s the best book yet done on the then and continuing fraudulence of the U.S. regime’s allegations that the comprehensive denazification of Germany’s Government, which FDR had been intending, and which was central to his planning for the post-WW2 world — and which all three of the Allies, FDR, Stalin, and Churchill, had supported — was carried out, instead of effectively aborted, by Truman and by Eisenhower (with Churchill’s support of aborting it), and by all successive U.S. Presidents and European stooges since then. The inside-the-book excerpts at the Amazon site for Simpson’s masterpiece, give a fair indication of the book, including its “Series Introduction,” by Mark Crispin Miller, which says that, “For over half a century, America’s vast literary culture has been disparately policed, and imperceptibly contained, by state and corporate entities well placed and perfectly equipped to wipe out wayward writings,” including the history that this book documents.

The U.S. Government’s National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had very reluctantly commissioned it, with an obligation to publish it, but then refused to publish the work because NARA’s top official refused to allow it. The team of investigators, headed by the work’s author, Simpson, finally found a publisher for the work, which was then, and since, suppressed. On 13 November 2010, Eric Lichtblau, whose chaotic anecdotal narrative book The Nazi Next Door was to be published in 2015, was the New York Times reporter headlining “Nazis Were Given ‘Safe Haven’ in U.S., Report Says”, and the newspaper introduced it by saying that, “An internal history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation provides gripping new evidence about some of the most notorious Nazi cases of the last three decades. The Justice Department kept the 600-page report secret for the last four years, releasing a heavily redacted version last month to a private research group that sued to force its release. A complete version was obtained by The New York Times.” The 600-page complete unredacted secret report, titled “The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust”, by Judy Feigin from the U.S. Department of Justice, and dated December 2006, was linked-to in the online version of the article, and it stated, flat-out, on its page 33, that “Congress’ overriding concern at the time was in helping refugees escape communist rule.” In other words: the U.S. Government’s ‘anti-communist’ (actually pro-U.S.-empire) obsession, ever since Truman took over, included assisting Nazis and their supporters to become “refugees” in America and in its (after WW2) colonies (‘allies’). And this has continued, likewise secretly, ever since U.S. President GHW Bush on 24 February 1990 started telling America’s European stooges to secretly continue the ‘Cold War’.

Neo-Nazi ideology has become one of the main protagonists of political and social life in Ukraine since the 2014 coup d'état. And that's a fact. 

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John Varoli
OpEds

The Holy Trinity Lavra in Sergiev Posad

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My lead above is obviously a play on Winston Churchill’s famous quip in 1939 about Russia being "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."

In their effort to support the liberal globalist war machine, major western media unabashedly fabricate their coverage of Russia, a country that they hate because of its defense of national sovereignty and traditional values.

This disinformation is so total and omnipresent that even the most educated and astute minds in the West can fall under its influence. The U.S. has few credible independent media and expert sources, and most Americans don’t have the time and skills to do their own research.

Even I had my doubts — just before departing New York last month, I almost cancelled my trip because I was bombarded with messages from people who tried to convince me that “Putin will abduct” me and use me as “a pawn to exchange” for Russians held in U.S. prisons. I began to wonder — “Maybe they’re right.”

With some apprehension, I boarded the plane and within a day I found myself on the Russian border. This was my first visit in five years. Instead of the lies and disinformation mentioned above, my trip revealed a country with a vibrant civil society where people enjoy far more freedom, economic opportunity and social protections than we do in the West.

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The Winter Palace on Palace Square, St Petersburg

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Developing in the right direction

I spent two weeks traveling to five regions — the Leningrad Region, Saint Petersburg, the Novgorod Region, the Moscow Region, and Moscow. I saw life in both provincial towns and big cities, and talked freely to a wide range of people. I traveled on my own schedule, living in local neighborhoods not in hotels.

Even though I visited in March, when the weather is gray and Russians still struggle with winter doldrums, I found the people to be of tremendous heart, goodwill, respect and kindness. I almost felt like I was back in the USA that we had 30 years ago.

The violence, arrogance, rapacity and anger that marked life in Russia when I lived there in 1992 to 2012 seemed to have dissipated significantly. What had happened in the past 12 years to make such a difference….especially when in this same period the U.S. has been on a downward spiral of violence, strife, hatred and collective insanity?

Visiting the tomb of St. Sergius in the Holy Trinity Lavra

Packed houses of worship

Orthodox churches are packed. Unlike the U.S. and Europe that are building ‘progressive’ societies based on secular totalitarian ideology, I saw Russians exhibit sincere devout religious sentiment, visiting houses of worship even during weekdays, and, in general, adhering to a moral code as they went about their daily lives.

Even in Moscow and St. Petersburg the churches were packed, which was very unexpected. Urban dwellers across the globe often have little room for religious faith in their lives. But that’s not the case in Russia. Moscow lives up to its moniker as the “Third Rome”, Christianity’s central city.

With some friends, I visited the tomb of St Sergius at the Holy Trinity Lavra in the Moscow Region. The line of the faithful stretched long to approach the saint’s tomb and leave a prayer request. In the fight with the West, Russia’s monasteries are the country’s ‘secret weapons’. No contraption designed by NATO’s military industries can overcome the spiritual power of Russia’s monasteries and its faithful.

Unlike Zelensky’s Ukraine where the native Orthodox Church has been banned, priests jailed, and churches and monasteries bombed, freedom of religion flourishes in Russia. Traditional faiths are protected from the scorn, derision and persecution that they often face in the West.

No anti-American feeling

Even though I’m a citizen of a country that now sponsors terrorism and fuels a brutal war against Donbass and Crimea, Russians didn’t harbor ill feelings towards me. I had encountered far more anti-American sentiment while living in Russia in the 1990s, a time when relations were rather friendly.

St. Petersburg — Nevsky Prospekt and Griboyedov Canal

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Rising living standards

The Russian economy is booming and people now live far better than before the year 2000 when Vladimir Putin became president. Unemployment hovers just above 2.5%, and inflation is under control. Interest rates, however, are in the range of 17%, which is a drag on further economic growth.

Even if we put aside the technological and industrial advances of the past two decades that have improved life for most people across the globe, there are specific policy decisions by Putin’s government that have improved the quality of life.

These include his vigorous efforts to improve law-enforcement, restore public safety, as well as smash organized crime and the stranglehold that liberal oligarchs once had over Russia’s economy. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, the oligarchs siphoned off hundreds of billions of dollars in national wealth, mostly from the sale of natural resources, and then stashed the cash abroad.

To this day, I can personally name Russian gangsters, fugitives from justice in Moscow, who have found a warm welcome in the U.S. This is why some oligarchs in exile can’t forgive Putin and continue to finance so-called ‘opposition figures’ such as the deceased U.S. asset Alexei Navalny.

By ‘rising living standards’ I don’t merely mean material well-being. There are also non-tangibles to consider, such as living in a country where the government protects and supports national cultures, traditional values and sovereignty. This is certainly a major factor contributing to the optimism that I sensed in the air.

Finally, the food — the food is fantastic. Natural. Delicious. Fresh. I surmise this is the result of strict state regulation over the food supply and the quality of ingredients and means of preparation — Something that’s nearly absent in the U.S.

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With students in St. Petersburg

Vibrant and open discussions

Everyone I spoke to, from the average person in the street to those who I met at events, exhibited an exceptional intellectual curiosity and ability. People were open-minded, eager to discuss and debate. They exhibited a high level of knowledge about their country and the world.

For the most part, the vast majority of Russians sincerely support President Putin, as recent elections prove. There are two main reasons for his massive popularity — he stopped Russia’s disintegration in the 1990s, and his policies have made the country a much better place to live.

Also, I attended a few talk shows on state-run TV where we discussed geopolitics. I was surprised that the TV host always presented the U.S. version of events, even showing western media coverage so that the audience would clearly understand both sides of the issue, and not just the Russian point of view.

Then several of us would go on to discuss, debate and analyze the issue at hand. Never once did anyone try to prep me, control me, prod me or push me to say certain things. In fact, a few of the talk shows were live on air — which goes to show just how much freedom the Russian media allows.

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“Do Not Travel” to Russia?

This could be the finest portrait of Joe Biden (left), capturing the essence of his soul — an evil man who has brought misery and suffering to so many. I suspect that such a portrait is hidden somewhere in a White House attic, something right out of Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The White House is afraid of Americans traveling to Russia. Why? Because they don’t want us to know the truth about how Putin has succeeded in making Russia stronger and more prosperous, how he protects the national culture and its traditions — All things that most Americans would love to see their own government do.

That’s why the State Department has labeled Russia as “a level 4 risk — DO NOT TRAVEL.” John Kirby, the White House’s national security communications adviser, has said that “If you’re a U.S. citizen, including a dual national, residing in or traveling in Russia, you ought to leave right now. Depart immediately.”

For my part, I can’t wait to return to Russia. And many Americans agree with me. Russia has become a destination for American dissidents and refugees, with a private effort afoot to build two ‘American villages’ outside of Moscow.

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Soviet heroes

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Crocus and Russia’s historic mission

My trip to Russia was marred on my last day with news of the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Investigators have pretty much proven that Ukraine’s secret services were behind the Crocus City massacre and that the West most likely assisted. Earlier this year, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland had threatened Russia with “nasty surprises”, while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Miley threatened “There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night.”

At the very least, the U.S. and all of NATO bear responsibility for the attacks because over the past two years they’ve incited hatred of Russians through disinformation, as well as by arming the regime in Kiev, and because the CIA actively trains the Ukrainian secret police in committing terrorist attacks and other crimes.

The Crocus City terror attack is a turning point. It’s the nail in the Kiev regime’s coffin, and possibly that of NATO. The attack has only strengthened Russian resolve. Just in the past week, the Russian Air Force has knocked out much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and a hunt is underway for agents of its secret services responsible for a multitude of terrorist attacks.

More than ever, Russians understand very well that they’re fighting for their survival, against a formidable coalition of some 50 hostile nations that’s come to their doorstep to continue where Napoleon and Hitler failed. In many ways, we could even classify the liberal globalist onslaught as the ‘spiritual heir’ to the Nazi death cult.

Recent events show clearly that we’ve left the realm of mere geopolitical rivalry between East and West. This is now another epic war against evil. And the past 210 years show conclusively that Russia always emerges triumphant.

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ABOUT JOHN VAROLI 
Former foreign correspondent for New York Times, Bloomberg and Reuters TV. Trained as a U.S. foreign policy expert with a focus on Russia and Ukraine.