In terms of a recent poll done in Russia, the support for the Military has general increased which is also good for morale of the average soldier. On top of that, right now they are fighting on a winning side for a change. The Russian Military has basically through their actions in Crimea made NATO and the American's back down, so they are having that "Russia frack ya" moment in their military.
They're "winning" the same way the USSR's military build-up was "winning". They're sabre rattling and acting paranoid over stupid #### while their country implodes economically. Congrats to them on that "win" I guess, but we saw the same thing happen before. If history repeats itself we'll have a new super drunk in power in Russia in 5 years time.
The editor of a major Russian investigative paper claims to have a leaked Kremlin strategy paper that outlined the entire 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Paper was allegedly prepared between Feb 4 and 15th, 2014 a full week prior to Yanukovich fled Ukraine (speaking of which, he hasn't been heard from since has he?). Probably he'll be disappeared soon if he ends up getting this document out.
Quote:
The editor of a leading independent Russian newspaper says he plans this week to publish what purports to be an official Kremlin strategy document outlining Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine.
Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitri Muratov said the document appears to have been prepared weeks before Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from office in February 2014, following weeks of anti-government protests in Kyiv.
Muratov's disclosure came in an interview with Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio. He did not reveal how the document was obtained, but said he is confident it is authentic.
Muratov quotes the 2014 document as saying Moscow was obliged to intervene in Ukraine to protect against the possible loss of the Ukrainian market for Russia's natural gas. He said the document also noted the risks to the Russian economy and to western European consumers, if Moscow were to lose control of pipelines carrying natural gas through Ukraine to Western markets.
The editor also said evidence shows the strategy document was prepared between February 4 and February 15, 2014. Yanukovych did not abandon the presidency and flee to Russia until February 22.
Novaya Gazeta, founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is renowned for its aggressive investigations of corruption within the Kremlin, and has been nominated for a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. Six of its journalists have been killed since 2001, including Kremlin critic Anna Politskovskaya, who was shot dead at point blank range in 2006 after publishing reports critical of the Kremlin for Russian military actions in Chechnya.
Jeebus, reading through the assassination list of their journalists is nuts. Reads like something out of a crazy movie
Quote:
Yury Shchekochikhin, Novaya gazeta, Moscow. Deputy editor of Novaya gazeta and a Duma deputy since 1993, he died just a few days before his scheduled trip to USA to discuss the results of his journalist investigation with FBI officials. He investigated "Three Whales Corruption Scandal" that allegedly involved high-ranking FSB officials. Shchekochikhin died from an acute allergic reaction. There has been much speculation about cause of his death. Investigation into his death has been opened and closed four times. Homicide
7 October - Anna Politkovskaya, commentator with Novaya gazeta, Moscow, shot in her apartment building's elevator;.[97][98][99][100] Four accused in contract killing, acquitted in February 2009
On 19 January Stanislav Markelov, lawyer for Novaya gazeta, anti-fascist activist and opponent of human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot and killed in the centre of Moscow.[116] With him died Anastasia Baburova a trainee reporter with Novaya Gazeta, and a fellow anti-fascist activist.[117][118] In early November 2009 a man and a woman were arrested for the killing.
Natalia Estemirova,[120] a human rights activist with Memorial, who worked with journalists from Novaya gazeta, especially Anna Politkovskaya, and occasionally published in the newspaper herself, having been a TV reporter pre-1999. After years of investigating murders and kidnapping in Chechnya Estemirova was herself abducted that morning in Grozny and found, shot dead, by the roadside several hours later in neighbouring Ingushetia
They killed this guy in the Uk with polonium. Two russian secret service members are suspects but Russia will not let them leave Russia and are not complying.
At the evening shift change when CBC visited, almost no one was willing to talk about the future. One man stopped briefly, admitting only that they are being asked to watch spending.
"Where are you from?" he asks.
"Canada."
"Canada? That’s crazy! Make sure wherever this is shown, there isn’t anything negative against our government and our people", he warns. Then he hurries off into the cold and a darkening horizon.
I couldn't imagine anyone in Canada worrying about a foreigner going home and saying something negative about our government. By all means, bash them all you like! The mentality in Russia is just bizarre to me.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Siberia is a crazy place. There are a couple good Vice documentaries from there. One is about the rise of Krokodil (harsh drug made from cold syrup, turns your skin into scales and most users dont live longer than a year after getting hooked) and the other is about North Korea exporting their prisoners to Siberia to cut wood for the Russian government.
surprised this wasn't posted yet... Cyprus signed a deal with Russia to use the island for naval ports. Putin says not to worry though, so phew! All good! Yeah thanks Vlad it's not like you just randomly invaded a country and now are signing strategic naval deals in the heart of the eastern Mediterranean.
I highly doubt all that Russian money in Cypriot banks due to the tax breaks Russians get had anything to do with this little move?
'A prominent opposition leader, Boris Y. Nemtsov, was shot to death on a street in central Moscow on Friday night, the Russian Interior Ministry confirmed to the news agency Interfax.'
When I heard the news earlier, my first thought was "Holy ####, how brazen can Putin be?"
Then my second thought was "What if a third party committed this crime to pin it on Putin? There's no way someone could be so brazen as to just kill his direct opposition."
Then upon hearing that Putin would likely blame an outside party trying to discredit him, my third thought was that he had this guy killed knowing that he could blame it on an outside party and probably get away with it.
