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The Munich Security Conference’s report cannot afford to overlook the premiere enemy of anything “West” in the world – Russia.
In the report, Russia is called with a “cute pet name” – “Putemkin’s State.” Quite the apt name, since Grigory Potemkin was a favourite of Catherine the Great and was one of the main negotiations of the Treaty of Jassy, between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, after which Moscow consolidated its power in the Black Sea. Quite showing, and admitting of Russia’s recent victories in most, if not all areas.
According to the report, Russia’s “hand is weak” but it plays it well, scoring several diplomatic victories in 2019, in comparison to the US’ several diplomatic fiascos.
“Despite no substantial change in the Kremlin’s foreign policy, the past year saw Russia’s readmission into the Council of Europe, a NATO member state receiving the Russian-built S-400 air-defense system, and the cementation of Moscow’s “status as a power broker in the Middle East.” Most significantly, however, it featured a “diplomatic overture” by French President Emmanuel Macron, who urged Europeans to “rethink the fundamentals” of their relations with Russia.”
Thus, Russia hasn’t become more assertive, or anything of the sort, but somehow, some way its foreign policy is winning. How that is possible is very clear: by not attempting to strongarm its traditional allies into submitting to its will, more than anything.
Naturally, the Baltic States are opposed to any improvement in relations with Russia, and primarily Poland as Washington’s leading proxy state in Europe, but Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania aren’t falling far behind.
How much the general public believes that Russia actually carried out killings of individuals with known ties to terrorists, or simply people who were “former” terrorists in Germany, France and so on remains unknown. Since, it is primarily established as fact by the Western establishment, based on an entire lack of evidence. But that’s also what Russia’s “assassins and spies” would do – leave no trace, which, naturally is proof in and of itself.
But since Russia’s improvement in relations with the West is in a somewhat stagnated state, at least according to the report, it is reaching other world regions, such as Africa, and even the US’ backyard – South America.
Improvement in trade and cooperation between Russia and China also needs no further elaboration.
Internally, Russian President Vladimir Putin is undergoing a crisis of power.
“In light of ongoing economic stagnation, no growth in disposable incomes, and a highly unpopular pension reform, support for Putin has plummeted. These developments and the government reshuffle of early 2020 suggest that the domestic foundations for Russia’s global power projection may slowly be wearing thin. Moscow has long been punching well above its weight. In 2019, however, it still landed numerous hits.”
In September, in response to protests the “Moscow regime” carried out “mass arrests” and that’s as much as the report provides as insight into that “heavy repression” that was carried out. It doesn’t really matter what happened, if they were released, sentenced to anything, or what they were doing when arrested, it’s just that “the regime” snuffed their voices.
As a showing for how much trust is vanishing in the Russia leadership, the graphs presented in the article show that many young people would potentially like to permanently relocate to another country, as well as the declining trust in various institutions, such as the president, the army, security forces, mass media and NGOs.
The numbers can be seen below:
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Russia’s hand is strong, so long as it stands with humanity against barbarism. This is just what the people of the planet prefer.
A guy like Assange has a stronger hand than the whole US Empire for the same reason.
but he will be sent up for the maximum period regardless and he will soon be forgotten.
He won’t be forgotten. He will become a shining light of resistance to US power, every day they keep him locked away. They will probably kill him, but the stone of Assange will be hanging on the necks of every US administration to come for decades.
The South African apartheid state thought Mandela would be forgotten about.
He was President Mandela 30 years later.
Who remembers the apartheid leadership today?
hope you’re right – met somebody the other week who told an interesting story – sweden, a nordic country known for its humanitarian gloss, each year issues a price, the tucholsky price to journalists and such like creatures who are at odds with the regime and/or powers that are as a financial support and th measure of hypocrisy is boundless. tucholsky was a german journalist in the 30th hounded by the nazis and sweden apparently offered him a safe place to avoid the nazis, which should be contrasted with the way sweden willingly allowed a journalist, assange, to be captured by the neo-fascists in washington dc andmost likely locked up for the rest of his life. great stuff the swedes are made of today – makes me remember Palme!
The Swedes also allowed the transportation of German military transports, train loads of troops and ammo across their territory, to Norway.
They weren’t that neutral, having many volunteers who fought against the Soviets.
but palme, later murdered by the cia, walked in a protest march with north vietnam’s ambassador and the americans had some serious hissy fits.
Have they ever found his assassin?
There was also another case of a Swedish UN rep went missing around the 50’s. I’m not at all well versed in Swedish affairs, but maybe the Socialist parties became more popular after the war, and the US were conducting covert programmes against suspected Reds throughout Europe. The Swedes are certainly good buddies with the US today, but Sweden has only recently, relatively speaking, stopped being imperial bully boys themselves. It’s said that Sweden done a census in the early 19th century, and realised they had a tiny population, after all the wars with Russia, Poland etc. Then they decided not to get involved with wars for territory, and to present themselves as a progressive, peaceful nation concerned with world peace!
gallup is US imperialist propaganda
Russia isnt evil that simple. Always blame the other side with the crimes you yourself commit. CIA/Mossad protocol 101…
“….cries out in pain as he hits you….”
What I ask myself is why so many Think Tanks and Poll researchers, led by Academics, get it so wrong and have no understanding, outside statistics of a small few, as to what goes on in the world?
How much does a Western/US education cost and what do you get for your money?
Because most of them are born raised and educated in a bubble.
Void of experience.
It costs more than ordinary people can afford, and gets you access to the sort of people who can afford to pay for that education.
A closed loop.
To actually pay to live a life with no soul. How depressing and so glad to be a mere mortal.
It’s the new type of vetting.
You get what you pay for, in the free world. lol
I still have a soul and have had a wonderful life, full of fun, laughter, enjoyment and the experience of living and never had to sell my soul to achieve it.
May it long continue.
Good on yer mate. You remind me of Assad.
Thanks for the compliment.
It’s indoctrination, not education. Education is about learning to question
Not over in the UK. The education system, leaves you highly schooled, but, never questioning or having the basics to understand and work with critical thought skills.
its like ww2 Germany.I want this… Yep take it Russia :D
Russia does so well internationally because it has a mysterious skill that Western politicians no longer know how to use nor to comprehend. It’s called diplomacy. The art of sending people round the world who know how to speak to other people and make them see your way of things, or come up with a reasonable compromise. As opposed to the West which only knows how to use/threaten with military force, sanctions and issue demands and ultimatums. The Chinese speak an alternate form of diplomacy, which seems less able to speak with others, but which comes with large cheques of money.
As it turns out people seem to respond very well to being spoken too as equals, of if you hold out a carrot rather then just a big stick.
Russia is not doing well. It has a pathetically tiny economy for such a large, oil-rich country (even some of the U.S.’s 50 states have a bigger economy than Russia!), and, increasingly, anaylsts see Russia’s future as being a defacto economic colony of China.
Russia has almost no debt unlike China, US, EU and everybody else.
unfortunately this is not enough
also a homless can be without debts
San Francisco, with pavements lined with human faeces.
How much national debt does the US carry? The world’s largest debtor nation.
Russia, zero debt, owing to healthy currency and gold reserves, more than over the minimal debt they have, in order to make exports easier.
The vast wealth of natural resources, that Russia the Creditor nation has control of.
A country cannot be homeless, so the metaphor breaks down immediately! But we can say that a country with massive debts is kind of homeless since they have leveraged their country to run their own affairs.
How many big macs did they make in the USA this year. lol
Didn’t they have to ask China to send them over? Lol
precisely
US largest debtor nation, with over $22 trillion, national debt to pay off. How much does it cost for your average American to graduate? GM Laden diet, unaffordable health care, food stamps and cities lined with human faeces, owing to homeless problems and universally recognised, dodgy voting system, with mega problems, recording voting data.
Russia, creditor nation, minimal debt, healthy currency and gold reserves. In control of their natural resources. Free education, including University level. Free health are, bonuses for each and every baby delivered (remember, US is bringing in legislation to make full term abortion legal). Russia, who can also feed their people, with a diet free of GM toxins. A self dependent nation, unlike the US.
You forgot to mention Putz Putin the Poisoner’s pet clown in the White House. When he’s removed in November things will change quite a bit. When the Dems have control also of the Senate as well as the House, the Putz and his RF will be put into really really deep economic and diplomatic doo doo. They won’t be able to punch above their class anymore. Damn, they will be lucky to be able to punch out of a paper bag.