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Following the re-appointment of Medvedev and his more or less reshuffled government, the public opinion in Russia and abroad was split on whether this was a good sign of continuity and unity amongst the Russian leadership or whether this was a confirmation that there was a 5th column inside the Kremlin working against President Putin and trying to impose neo-liberal and pro-western policies on the Russian people. Today I want to take a quick look at what is taking place inside Russia because I believe that the Russian foreign policy is still predominantly controlled by what I call the “Eurasian Sovereignists” and that to detect the activities of the “Atlantic Integrationist” types we need to look at what is taking place inside Russia.
The Russian 5th column and its typical operations
First, I want to begin by sharing with you a short video translated by the Saker Community of one of the most astute Russian analysts, Ruslan Ostashko, who wonders how it is that a rabidly pro-western and vociferously anti-Putin radio station named “Ekho Moskvy” manages not only to elude normal Russian legislation, but even gets money from the gaz giant Gazprom, which is majority owned by the Russian state. Ekho Moskvy is also so pro-Israeli that it has earned the nickname “Ekho Matsy” (Ekho Moskvy means “Echo of Moscow” whereas “Ekho Matsy” means “Echo of the Matzo”). Needless to say, that radio has the unwavering and total support of the US Embassy. It would not be an exaggeration to say Ekho Moskvy serves as in incubator for russophobic journalists and that most the liberal pro-western reporters in the Russian media have been, at one time or another, associated with this propaganda outfit. In spite of this or, more accurately, because of this, Ekho Moskvy has been bankrupt for quite a while already, and yet – it continues to exist. Just listen to Ostashko’s explanations ( and make sure to press the ‘cc’ button to see the English language captions):
Interesting, no? The state giant Gazprom is doing all it can to keep Ekho Moskvy afloat and above the law. In fact, Gazprom has been financing Ekho Moskvy for years! According to the hyper-politically-correct Wikipedia, “As of 2005 Echo of Moscow was majority owned by Gazprom Media which holds 66% of its shares”. If Gazprom is majority owned by the Russian state, and Ekho Moskvy is majority owned by Gazprom, then does that not mean that Ekho Moskvy is basically financed by the Kremlin? The reality is even worse, as Ostashko point out, Ekho Moskvy is the most visible case, but there are are quite a few pro-western media outlets in Russia which are financed, directly and indirectly, by the Russian state.
So let me ask you a simple question: do you really think that Ostashko is better informed than the Russian authorities, including Putin himself?
Of course not! So what is going on here?
Before attempting to answer this question, let’s look at another interesting news item from Russia, the recent article “Pension reform as a fifth column tool to overthrow Putin” (original title “About a fair pension system”) by Mikhail Khazin translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard from the Stalker Zone blog (and cross-posted here and here). Please read the full article as it sheds a very interesting light on what the Medvedev government has been up to since it was reappointed. What I want to quote here are Mikhail Khazin’s conclusions: (emphasis added)
In other words, all of this reform is frank poppycock, a political joke aimed at destroying relations between the People (society) and the Authorities. The specific aim of this is to overthrow Putin, as our liberals are commanded to do by their senior partners from the “Western” global project. And it is precisely like this that we should treat this reform. It has no relation to economic reforms – neither good, nor bad. It not an economic reform, but a political plot! And it is from here that we have to proceed.
Having explained what is really going on, Khazin then goes on the openly state how such an operation is even possible:
Now concerning the media. It should be understood that at the end of the 90’s-beginning of the 2000’s practically all non-liberal media died. Completely. And of course, practically all non-liberal journalists definitely died (only a few dozen mastodons from the times of socialism remain). And the youth that grew from the faculty of journalism are in general totally liberal. They were a little bit suppressed in the middle of the 2000’s, but after Medvedev’s arrival to the president’s post they again blossomed. But then the attack of the State on everything that doesn’t reflect “the policies of the party and the government” began.
And then it so happened that now there are many “patriotic” publications in Russia that employ mainly liberal journalists. An enchanting sight. These journalists (in full accordance with the ideas of Lenin that they didn’t read) see their main task as supporting “theirs” – i.e., liberal-financiers, Nemtsov, Navalny and, so on, and to sully the “bloody KayGeeBee”! And it is this that they are involved in, meaning that, propagandising as much as possible the policies of the government, they optimally irritate the population by using Putin personally. There is just a need every time to act out some disgusting story (how an elderly man died on the way to the polyclinic or hospital, how children were taken away from a large family, how an official or a priest hit a pregnant woman and/or juvenile children with their chic car), to explain that this isn’t just the result of the policies of the liberal power, but the concrete fault of the President, who put on their posts the very ministers and law enforcement officers who encourage all of this.
Amazing, no? This is an attempt to overthrow Putin and it is covered-up by the (pseudo) patriotic press. What about Putin himself? Why does he not take action? Khazin even explains that:
Of course, the President is guilty, first of all, because he understands that if he starts to cleanse this “Augean stable”, then he will be obliged to shed blood, because they won’t voluntarily give back their privileges. But the most important thing, and this is the essence: the liberal Russian elite today set for itself the political task of removing Putin. Why it decided to do this is an interesting question: if Putin himself and a liberal are flesh from flesh, then this task is stupid and senseless. Not to mention suicidal. But if he isn’t a liberal (it is probably correct to say not a political liberal) then, of course, this activity makes sense. But at the same time, for purely propaganda reasons – because people hate liberals, there is a need to hang the label of political liberal on him.
Now let’s connect all the dots: there is a pro-western (in realty, western-controlled) faction inside the government which is financing those who are attempting to overthrow Putin by making him unpopular with the Russian general public (which overwhelmingly opposes “liberal” economic policies and which despises the Russian liberal elites) by constantly forcing him into liberal economic policies which he clearly does not like (he declared himself categorically opposed to such policies in 2005) and the so-called “patriotic media” is covering it all up. And Putin cannot change this without shedding blood.
But let us assume, for argument’s sake, that Putin is really a liberal at heart, that he believes in “Washington Consensus” type of economics. Even if this was the case, surely he must be aware that 92% of Russians oppose this so-called “reform”. And while the President’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, declared that Putin himself was not associated with this plan, the truth is that this process does also hurt his political image with the Russian people and political movements. As a direct result from these plans, the Communist Party of Russia is launching a referendum against this project while the “Just Russia” Party is now collecting signatures to dismiss the entire government. Clearly, a political struggle of monumental proportions is in the making and the traditionally rather lame internal opposition to Putin (I am talking about the major political movements and parties, not tiny CIA-supported and/or Soros-funded “NGOs”) is now transforming itself into a much more determined kind of opposition. I predicted that about a month ago when I wrote that:
“it is quite clear to me that a new type of Russian opposition is slowly forming. Well, it always existed, really – I am talking about people who supported Putin and the Russian foreign policy and who disliked Medvedev and the Russian internal policies. Now the voice of those who say that Putin is way too soft in his stance towards the Empire will only get stronger. As will the voices of those who speak of a truly toxic degree of nepotism and patronage in the Kremlin (again, Mutko being the perfect example). When such accusations came from rabid pro-western liberals, they had very little traction, but when they come from patriotic and even nationalist politicians (Nikolai Starikov for example) they start taking on a different dimension. For example, while the court jester Zhirinovskii and his LDPR party loyally supported Medvedev, the Communist and the Just Russia parties did not. Unless the political tension around figures like Kudrin and Medvedev is somehow resolved (maybe a timely scandal?), we might witness the growth of a real opposition movement in Russia, and not one run by the Empire. It will be interesting to see if Putin’s personal ratings will begin to go down and what he will have to do in order to react to the emergence of such a real opposition”
Those who vehemently denied that there as a real 5th column problem inside the Kremlin are going to have a painful wake-up call when they realize that thanks to the actions of these “liberals” a patriotic opposition is gradually emerging, not so much against Putin himself as against the policies of the Medvedev government. Why not against Putin?
Because most Russian instinctively feel what is going on and understand not only the anti-Putin dynamics at work, but also how and why this situation was created. Furthermore, unlike most westerners, most Russians remember what took place in the crucial and formative 1990s.
The historical roots of the problem (very rough summary)
It all began in the late 1980s when the Soviet elites realized that they were losing control of the situation and that something had to be done. To really summarize what they did, I would say that these elites first broke up the country into 15 individual fiefdoms each run by gang/clan composed of these Soviet elites, then they mercilessly grabbed everything of any value, became overnight billionaires and concealed their money in the West. Being fabulously rich in a completely ruined country gave them fantastic political power and influence to further exploit and rob the country of all its resources. Russia herself (and the other 14 ex-Soviet republics) suffered an unspeakable nightmare comparable to a major war and by the 1990s Russia almost broke-up into many more even smaller pieces (Chechnia, Tatarstan, etc.). By then, Russia was subserviently executing all the economic policies recommended by a myriad of US ‘advisors’ (hundreds of them with offices inside the offices of many key ministries and various state agencies, just like today in the Ukraine), she adopted a Constitution drafted by pro-US elements and all the key positions in the state were occupied by what I can only call western agents. At the very top, President Eltisn was mostly drunk while the country was run by 7 bankers the so-called “oligarchs” (6 of which were Jews): the “Semibankirshchina”.
This is the time when the Russian security services successfully tricked these oligarchs into believing that Putin, who has a law degree and who had worked for the (very liberal) Mayor of Saint Petersburg (Anatolii Sobchack) was just a petty bureaucrat who would restore a semblance of order while not presenting any real threat to the oligarchs. The ploy worked, but the business elites demanded that “their” guy, Medvedev, be put in charge of the government so as to preserve their interests. What they overlooked was two things: Putin was a truly brilliant officer of the very elite First Chief Directorate (Foreign Intelligence) of the KGB and a real patriot. Furthermore, the Constitution which was passed to support the Eltsin regime could now be used by Putin. But more than anything else, they never predicted that a little guy in an ill-fitting suit would transform himself into one of the most popular leaders on the planet. As I have written many times, while the initial power base of Putin was in the security services and the armed forces and while his legal authority stems from the Constitution, is real power comes from the immense support he has from the Russian people who, for the first time in very long time felt that the man at the top truly represented their interests.
Putin then did what Donald Trump could have done as soon as he entered the White House: he cleaned house. He began by immediately tackling the oligarchs, he put an end to the Semibankirshchina, and he stopped the massive export of money and resources out of Russia. The then proceeded to rebuilt the “vertical of power” (the Kremlin’s control over the country) and began rebuilding all of Russia from the foundations (regions) up. But while Putin was tremendously successful, he simply could not fight on all the fronts and the same time and win.
Truth be told, he did eventually win most of the battles which he chose to fight, but some battles he simply could not wage not because of a lack of courage or will on his part, but because the objective reality is that Putin inherited and extremely bad system fully controlled by some extremely dangerous foes. Remember the words of Khazin above: “if he starts to cleanse this “Augean stable”, then he will be obliged to shed blood, because they won’t voluntarily give back their privileges”. So, in a typically Putin fashion, he made a number of deals.
For example, those oligarchs who agreed to stop meddling in Russian politics and who would, from now on, pay taxes and generally abide by the law were not be jailed or expropriated: those who got the message were allowed to continue to work as normal businessmen (Oleg Deripaska) and those who did not were either jailed or exiled (Khodorkovski, Berezovski). But if we look just below the level of these well-known and notorious oligarchs, what we find as a much deeper “swamp” (to use the US expression): an entire class of people who made their fortunes in the 1990s, who are now extremely influential and control most of the key positions in the economy, finance and business and who absolutely hate and fear Putin. They even have their agents inside the armed forces and security services because their weapon of choice is, of course, corruption and influence. And, of course, they have people representing their interests inside the Russian government: pretty much the entire “economic block” of the Medvedev government.
Is it really any surprise at all that these people also have their paid representatives inside the Russian media, including the so-called “pro-Russian” or “patriotic” media? (I have been warning about this since at least 2015)
Just like in the West, in Russia the media depends first and foremost on money and big financial interests are very good at using the media to promote their agenda, deny or obfuscate some topics while pushing others. This is why you often see the Russian media backing WTO/WB/IMF/etc policies to the hilt while never criticizing Israel or, God forbid, rabidly pro-Israeli propagandists on mainstream TV (guys like Vladimir Soloviev, Evgenii Satanovsky, Iakov Kedmi, Avigdor Eskin and many others). This is the same media which will gladly criticize Iran and Hezbollah but never wonder why the Russian main TV stations are spewing pro-Israeli propaganda on a daily basis.
And, of course, they will all mantrically repeat the same chant: “there is no 5th column in Russia!! None!! Never!!”
This is no different than the paid for corporate media in the US which denies the existence of a “deep state” or the US “Israel Lobby”.
And yet, many (most?) people in the US and Russia realize at an almost gut-level that they are being lied to and that, in reality, a hostile power is ruling over them.
Putin’s options and possible outcomes
Sadly, in the US, Trump proved to be a disaster who totally caved in to the Neocons and their demands. In Russia, the situation is far more complex. So far, Putin has very skillfully avoided associating himself with the Atlantic Integrationists. Furthermore, the biggest crises of the past decade or so were all associated with foreign policy issues and those are still controlled by the Eurasian Sovereignists. Finally, while the Russian government clearly committed some mistakes or promoted some unpopular policies (such has healthcare reform for example), they also had their undeniable successes. As for Putin, he continued to consolidate his power and he gradually removed some of the most notorious individuals from their positions. In theory, Putin could probably have most top Atlantic Integrationists arrested on corruption charges, but short of engaging in a massive and bloody purge, he cannot get rid of an entire social class which is not only large but powerful.
Some of my contacts in Russia expected a purge of Atlantic Integrationists right after the election, the logic here was “enough is enough” and that once Putin got a strong mandate from the people, he would finally kick Medvedev and his gang out of the Kremlin and replace them with popular patriots. That obviously did not happen. But if this pension reform program continues to further trigger protests or if a major war blows up in the Middle-East or in the Ukraine, then the pro-western forces inside the Kremlin will come under great pressure to further yield control of the country to Eurasian Sovereignists.
Putin is an exceedingly patient man and, at least so far, he won most, if not all, of his battles. I don’t believe that anybody can predict for sure how things will play out, but what is certain is that trying to understand Russia without being aware of the internal conflicts and the interests groups fighting for power is futile. In her 1000 year long history, internal enemies have always been far more dangerous for Russia than external ones. This is unlikely to change in the future.
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Since “The Saker” does not approve difference of opinion or dissent on his own site i will post my response here.
This is yet another episode of “doom & gloom” articles of his in a series that started almost a year ago. If you have read one, you have read them all. Since then a quite 180 degree different and depression-ridden “The Saker” or whatever is hiding under that name has produced articles to the effect that “Putin has surrendered”, “the end is nigh” or “it’s all over”. Hi’s sudden embrace of “Paul Craig Roberts” views of all things Russian further confirms that.
The content aren’t necessarily wrong and incorrect but the message is very far from what the author initially conveyed. The impression is now that things definitely doesn’t bode well for Russia and there’s nothing Russians or anyone can do about it, move on. “The Saker” is now using the encouraging confidence he built up with his “community”,that has grown significantly over the years, to tear it apart it seems.
Where have we seen that before?
President Putin has himself categorically stated that “there is no such thing as any “5th column”. When asked about the presence of Kudrin and a few like him, VP said, “it’s useful to hear different points of view, but to suggest they are some sort of 5th column is nonsense”
I think I would trust his word – he has never been known to lie and he has no reason to do so.
He gave his reasons for retaining Medvedev plus a few others – good solid rational reasons. No-body in Russia is doubting them.
Can it be forgotten by this writer, that Medvedev is an appointed position – by the President. Putin can remove him in an instant any time he likes: he holds the strings, and is under thrall to no-one.
As for the article the writer refers to in “The Saker”, the provenance of the authors shows how much value to put on it.
The writer – not mentioned here – is one Vadim Potapenko who gives details of himself as living in Cyprus, and working as a Development Manager – Slotegrator : Gambling & Casinos.!!
What a young man working in the ethically questionable world of casinos knows about pension reform and retirement age needs I dont know. He does deal in risk analysis of simplistic systems I guess, but an expert in the complexities of Government policy he can’t be.
The second author is Mikhail Khazin – a man who claims to an economist and publicist, and states that “Putin is following the ideas of Andropov. They didn t’ work then and they dont now: Putin by his very personality has polarised views in Russia, because some love him and some hate him”
This about a President with an 80% approval rating, a 77% voter return rate, and who is so far from any USSR person it’s unbelievable. The mans’ complete inability to understand the first thing about Putin, who he is, what he believes in, and the route he is following shows he is the last person whose views should be even listened to.
This brings me to the finale – more and more it seems “The Saker” wants people to believe that there are dark forces at work in the Kremlin, that Putin is either too weak and stupid to deal with them or even worse, is working in with them. In other words, he effects to support the Russian President but calls him a weakling or a traitor!!
Better to read work by qualified people and investigate Russia for yourself – dont be led into thinking Russia would be a cakewalk for anyone thinking of invading and making war on her, because she has a weak and divided leadership. She doesn’t have – and waging war on Russia would have only one end, and it’s not pretty.
Putin doesn’t need to shed any liberal blood (a hatchet job conspiracy theory if ever there was one), but only to dry up the funds that give rise to these supposed western/liberal think tanks in the first place. And Putin, if nothing else, seems to be a master at misdirecting funds to areas that he feels need backing. It appears that Putin doesn’t put much stock in your conspiracy theories, Saker.
This doesn’t mean that Putin isn’t capable of silencing his liberal critics, and in a much more direct way. Look at how the Kremlin managed to effectively put its #1 liberal critic , Boris Nemtsov away without any negative repercussions. The message was loud and clear.
Saker has returned to the normal idiocy of his columns. Putin is doing a very good job of making himself unpopular without any resort to Saker’s 5th column in the Kremlin. Even if it exists, and I have some very serious reasons to doubt this, Putin will destroy himself, and Russia will go down with him.
Putin’s Russia is in serious decline, and it will not survive his regime. The centrifugal forces are already there. T fault lines simply await the final act of stupidity on the part of Putin. You’ll find that described in Ezekial chapters 38 and 39. His idiocy in Ukraine will be minor by comparison.
His name is Andrei Raevsky, as he states on his website. So what do you mean by “whatever is hiding under that name [The Saker]”?
I believe most of the confusing and seemingly contradictory actions of Putin can be explained if we assume Putin himself as a neo-liberal. It appears he genuinely believes that he can both retain Russian sovereignty and integrate with the west on a neo-liberal framework. My view is that his reluctance with purging Kremlin’s 5th column operators come from his belief that their differences are not reconcilable and that a grand bargain with the western elites is possible where they would consider Russia’s elites as equal partners.
I think this is not a sustainable position, even if western elites were willing to play ball with Putin and Russia’s elites. Because in a neo-liberal world nations cannot retain their sovereignty and that an international cabal of ultra-rich treat the peoples of the world as properties of their own. The best that could have happened would be that Russian elites would be partying with their western fellow billionaires on the corpses of the poor nations of the world. That part, I am convinced, is not acceptable for Putin (i.e. giving up sovereignty in return for a seat on the dinner table but I have serious doubts about anti-imperialism part)
Fortunately for Russia, the same cabal still cannot get over the fact that they lost the opportunity to rape Russia ad infinitum and still looking for holes in the Russian resolve. This will force Russia to take a clear anti-imperialist stand sooner or later, and on a war footing will have to purge all of the (would be) collaborators.
On a second note, it is indeed possible that Putin might have decided to postpone the decision for the purge after the world cup but I will not believe before I see Medvedev and Nabiullina be fired.
The Kremlin is financing the craziest knee-jerk Russophobes to discredit liberalism. The two exist in a comfy symbiotic relationship. What is so difficult about that?
The same “fifth column” that has over the past 18 years also forced Putin into adopting a flat tax, liberalizing land sales, monetizing benefits, and now pensions reform.
If Putin still hasn’t managed to get rid of them, then what the hell is he good for?
At least, that’s would I’d be asking – if I was the sort to rail against neoliberal fifth columns.
Reality is, all of those were great successes. Putin is an economic neoliberal and that is a good thing.
Where on Earth do people support raising the pension age? Thankfully, many countries (including Russia) have safeguards against demotic idiocy.
The business elites are not in a position to demand anything. Medvedev is there as a whipping boy to protect Putin’s ratings. He is very good at that, and that, too, is a good thing.
The author’s anti-Israel crusade is not Russia’s. That Russia is not to Iran, Palestine, or Hezbollah what the US is to Israel (a slavish sponsor) is also a good thing.
Russians need to clean up their act. The problem is behavior and attitude.
Karlin,
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-07/putin-s-under-the-radar-nationalization-of-russia-s-private-banks
Even if Bershidsky gets it, however in the field which doesn’t require any serious skills, except for good accounting. Now, you don’t want me to refer to Russia’s actual industries, especially hi-tech, which are nationalized, do you? Does the title Rostec ring a bell? What is remarkable, founding of Rostec somehow coincided with Putin’s Munich Speech–both events are hardly any evidence of neoliberalism. Is Putin a liberal? Yes, but to a degree and political mostly–his progression from liberal economic model to a mixed model since 2014 is visible to people with even rudimentary knowledge of Russia. This is not to mention that Russia, quoting even Wiki:
Some private bank is not a “strategic” area, nor is “liberalization” of land sales, resources and real hi-tech sector, however, together with agriculture, are. Since the start of Putin’s tenure, Russia re-nationalized, that is returned to the state control or ownership, an enormous number of truly strategic companies. In fact, whole industries. Putin recently himself clearly stated that, especially pointing out a bonanza Russian State got from 2008 collapse and from sanctions. These are hardly signs of neoliberalism, not to mention that Russia, rightly so, is considered one of the most protectionist nations in the world. This is if to discount all this theoretical and metaphysical mambo-jumbo on the obvious fact that neoliberalism is dead, together with its founding Free Trade gospel, and stinks to heaven, poisoning surroundings. And, yes, I am sure Russian State has no control over Novatek (it is a bad joke).
>Sadly, in the US, Trump proved to be a disaster who totally caved in to the Neocons and their demands.
If you’ve misunderstood American politics that badly, then why should I have any confidence you understand Russian politics?
I think Putin today is in a similar situation as Stalin was in the late 1940s regarding Jewish political activism and assertiveness, etc.
– https://www.unz.com/article/against-david-irvings-view-of-hitler/#comment-2396013
This is slightly off-topic, but I just commented on this subject matter in another comments thread, which has to do with the fact that many more persons of Jewish origin live in Russia and the former Soviet states than is commonly known or reported:
– https://www.unz.com/article/against-david-irvings-view-of-hitler/#comment-2394694
Putin might know how many Jews really died in the Holocaust and in World War II, and this is his way of telegraphing it and signalling to the Jewish Russian community that they should not get too uppity and bold?
‘Holocaust on ice’ dance by wife of Putin official causes uproar
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/27/wife-of-putin-official-performs-in-concentration-camp-ice-dance
Holocaust-themed ice dance sparks outrage
Putin has ensured that foreign interests have been prevented from taking over vital Russian industries such as Oil,Gas, Minerals, Banking and Defence. At best, foreign companies can only get limited concessions under conditions that suit the Russian State, eg BP.
Putin isn’t a Neoliberal, he’s a pragmatist. This is a very good thing.
Rostek, run by Chemezov, whose main qualification is being buddies with Putin in 1980s East Germany, famous for passing off an unsuccessful and outdated Taiwanese manufactured and American designed device as an example of “Russian innovation” [at pilfering government money].
But you are of course correct. Russia is of course not neoliberal so far as Putin’s kleptocratic chums are concerned. Fortunately, overall domestic economic policy (with said exceptions) is neoliberal, which rules out a Venezuelan scenario in Russia. That is a good thing.
Exactly, nor do you have any qualifications nor skills to write about Russia since, and I quote Margo Simonyan describing your kind.
https://ria.ru/analytics/20180625/1523351567.html?referrer_block=index_only_ria_1
I guess we have an overwhelming empirical evidence supporting these claims, don’t we?
The picture is mixed. The Federal Antimonopoly Service has been given real teeth since its humiliation by the Customs Service under Medvedev. It goes beyond antimonopoly. For example, it reviews incoming foreign investment in the 42 strategic industries. This was originally a protectionist committee. It gave Pepsico a hard time for buying Wimm-Bill-Dann, clearly a military asset. These days its approach to foreigners is “how can I help you? Do you want money?” It is frequently chaired by Putin.
Kudrin’s audit committee looks like being FAS Mark 2. He has been given the tools to take Sechin and other state moguls apart. Will he get to the Rotenbergs/Gazprom? Their behaviour is outrageous. Certainly not the kind of corporate governance required for a competitive market. e.g. Gazprom Bank has a Rotenberg son in charge of loans. Gazprom lent another Rotenberg son the money to build Aviapark. No Rotenberg capital at risk during the whole process. Now a \$1 Bn asset. Kudrin has a target rich environment. Will he settle out of court or make some high level examples?
@ Isabella,
I judge a wo/man not on his/her words, but his/her deeds. Suffice to say, the difference between Russia in 2000 and Russia today, speaks volumes all by itself and is fully self explanatory as well.
One day the world will realize how close we’ve come to WW III in the period between 2015/2020. An extended version of the Cuban missile crisis, if you will, but this time with only one statesman participating in this conundrum, the president of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. V.V. Putin.
Much blood has been shed in Syria, including Russian, so it would be unfair to single out one particular country, but I know if it hand’t been for Russia stepping up to the plate in 2015, the political landscape [in the M.E. and beyond] would be littered with the corpses of liberty, freedom and unity and the dust wouldn’t settle down for decades to come.
The Russian military went in, turned the tide and most of the temporary influx is retreating back to the motherland as we speak. That’s how a ‘job’ is done properly.
Read by letters: F-S-B (Operational Technical Departments–Operativno-Technicheskie Otdely). And then there is always G(R)U. Sure, those boys such as Ulyukaev or Kudrin who saw so “much” in their lives are real “contenders”. I am sure Naryshkin knows what color of stool Siluanov is having every day. The same goes for Kudrin. But he is a smart boy–he knows the routine. You obviously missed the revelation of the actual Putin’s position in KGB/SVR–it was all over Russia’s TV. Other than that–I agree, it is a “target rich” environment and yes, Kudrin is perfect for this job.
Hi Daniel – so good to see you again, I was wondering recently where you might be.
I agree with you – the “proof of the pudding” says it all. One has only to look at the last 18 years, at where Russia and Russians were back then, and look at her now, all under Putins’ direction and overall management. You do that, then read this sort of stuff and wonder just what is going on in some people’s minds. It makes less than no sense – which means one has to start looking at premises one would not like to think about.
As for expecting some publicist who thinks Putin is a follower of Andropov as a person worth printing and quoting – words fail me.
Good to hear from you Daniel – take care mi amigo.
“Since “The Saker” does not approve difference of opinion or dissent on his own site i will post my response here.”
Exactly what brought me here to comment, not on The Saker’s own site.
Because I am being critical of the articles’ thesis, and because I have criticised the provenance of the two writers of the article on pension reform, I knew it would not be published on his site.
I even had a comment I made, refusing to accept a pathetic reference for supposedly “proving” that V.V. promised to never raise the retirement age, redacted. There’s an unfortunate aspect to the Saker site that puts one off making useful critical comment – the “mods” can redact your work – or even ditch the entire piece – and leave a vague comment insulting to your own probity, leaving it looking as though you are some foul mouthed abuser, yet because you wont be published you can’t defend yourself.
I do have to commend “Unz” for it’s freedom of expression.
Oh – I agree with your take on the article too – so much of Saker has become a doom laden cry that denigrates and decries Putin – which seems very odd.
Some more background information on how the Soviet internal passport registration system worked, for anyone interested:
– https://www.unz.com/article/against-david-irvings-view-of-hitler/#comment-2395070
here:
– https://www.unz.com/article/against-david-irvings-view-of-hitler/#comment-2394826
and here:
– https://www.unz.com/article/against-david-irvings-view-of-hitler/#comment-2395136
Soviet Passport Line #5
Nailed it, well done!
National identity in USSR was important. Well, it is always important and yes, there was latent antisemitism (or whatever it is called) in some spheres of Soviet life. Not as big, though, as Jewish dissidents love to present to those who are ready to listen.
So what was the result of this policy?
Did anybody get shafted ? Did anybody lose ?
Hahahaha I agree 😉
Do you happen to know if Andrey Illarionov comes from a Jewish background? I know he is a dissident now, but I’m not sure whether he is ethnically Jewish or not.
Auschwitz joke angers Jewish groups
– https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1459350/Auschwitz-joke-angers-Jewish-groups.html
What is this dispensationalist neocon garbage? Have Freepers found Unz?
I missed the revelation. I tend to focus on business rather than politics. Expert is the only journal I try to read regularly. (I am not fluent but I can usually manage if I focus).
Soros’s newspaper still appears in Russia.
A few days after MH17 the front page text something like ‘Sorry, Netherlands’, in Dutch.
Just imagine a few days after Sept 11 a USA newspaper with headlines, something like ‘sorry, we had to kill a few thousand Americans in order te get an excuse for wars against Afghanistan and Iraq’ ?
” One day the world will realize how close we’ve come to WW III in the period between 2015/2020. ”
You suppose WWIII will not come.
Hope you’re right.
If not, there will be nobody left to realise anthing
After what happened in the groves at jisr al shughour russia stepped up and did what was right.in that time in the syrian war they stood the moral high ground.the rest is history.bear in mind that 100 km away live over million russians and that does not include cyprus.most support likud.
Well spoken. Analysts like the Saker would have us believe that what is happening in Russia is not really happening but something else is happening – something hidden, something powerful, all-pervasive, eating away at Putin’s power base and destroying him behind the scenes – like the john Birch Society – A communist under every bed! From what I can see, and I do not believe I am alone by any means, is that if there are dark forces at work in the Kremlin and elsewhere in the media for example, they are profoundly weak and ineffective in Russia at this point. And whilst they might exist, there is little outward evidence of their workings except the odd Navalny incident, or the constant drippings from Western oriented media like the Moscow Times. If you want to see the effects of a REAL, persistent, powerful, pervasive 5th column, you need look any further than the USA with its Zionist lobby and MIC influence on politics and policy. Or the EU with its incredibly powerful bureaucracy and its link to Soros and his ilk. Those are real 5th columns, and by comparison, Russia has little to worry about.
I have followed the Saker for years now, and I too have seen this gradual transformation from top notch analyst to conspiracy theorist. His website has become almost cult-like. He has a few ‘moderators’ who operate anonymously behind the scenes to filter out unflattering content – not just the crazy insults and freaks that websites like his attract, but honest content that seeks to criticise, sometimes sharply, his views. If you read the comment section, it reads like a religious cult at times, most comments prefaced by the seemingly obligatory preface like “Great analysis, Saker!” “Well said, Saker!” And always there are the comments both on the part of the Saker and his ‘community’ that praises that community for being ‘special’, unlike the rubbish of other sites, insightful, and more knowledgeable than others – heaping praise on themselves at the expense of other site with comments to the effect of “We should be proud that we are not like other sites.”.
I fear the Saker has over time fallen prey to the old devil’s trick of taking oneself too seriously. Someone who is constant the object of unquestioned praise can easily fall into that trap.
Thank you Mikkkkas.
Good to see that freedom of thought and freedom of expression is thriving in Russia. They have fortunately a long way to go in MSM herd-think before they achieve our oppressive anti-human intellectual conformity.
And good luck in overthrowing Putin.
I agree in that presenting Mr. Putin and Russia as weak seems to encourage military action, or a coup, against it, just “NOW”, when the US is trying ( or simply, pretending ) an intend of approach…..This has nothing to do with suppossed “depressive” mood of The Saker himself…..this is a plan….
Thus I agree with you both in the general tone and confussing meddley of articles at Saker´s site, and as well with your impression on the last “generation” of mods ( to my view part of the real staff of this project, The Saker ) who, not only were put in charge of getting rid ( by using the most dirty tricks ) from the genuine former regular commenters/moderators who had a very personal view on what a good moderation and avoiding of harsh censure was, but also have displayed a shameful dictatorial censure and editing which not only amputates genuine and legitimate oppinions but also, as you notice, try, at the same time, to discredit you as commenter for the rest, by implying you were being rude and offensive and moreover denying the right to make things clear by allowing you a response to such a clear outrage, according with most probably direct guidelines from the people who lead The Saker from behind….
This tactic, of obliterating your comment and answering you by implying that you were being offensive, ( and even denigrating ) towards somebody ( mainly the author/ owner of the site and/or his relatives, coleagues and friends ), is common with other sites, like Pat Lang´s SST. This is why I think these two sites are “closely” related….being their paterns so similar…also both have military ( more concretely counterintelligence ) background….have a harsh anti-communist stance…. and have a team of attack dogs who try to get you giving up on posting when what you say is of no convenience for them ( or their editorial line )….Then, they use the alibi on your comment not being “intelligent”, but then you have there the ubiquitous one-liner sycophant who says nothing all over these two places permanently….who are never summoned…….
But, Isabella, what you so confidently say about Mr. Andropov´s policies, intrigates me, since I wonder what idea you have on what the ideas, strategies, tactics and future plans of Mr. Andropov could be to state that VVP is not following them…..I think it is impossible for you, or even for Mr. Khazin, to know what the plans of Mr. Andropov would be, since he was, at different times in the USSR, at the helms of secret security agency and foreign policy, whose main directives were for sure secret, and not at the hand/knowledge of anybody but a few under/of his “umbrella”/confidence…call them “siloviki” or whatever you want….
Thus, in spite of that VVP moves seem to confirm he is a liberal playing the same play than the capitalist West, we do not know nothing for sure, since, if this would be obvious for all us, somebody would not be doing its work rightly, as certain senior strategist told me at Fort Russ….
The worst side of this secrecy, obviously needed for strategic purposes, is that common people, as happens to me, could start feeling dissapointed with VVP and discouraged of continuing supporting him….thus some signs from time to time would be neccessary for the people to continue trusting….
Of course there is a 5th column inside the Kremlin and Russia. The Anglo-Zionist Empire has paid for it.
When was he ever relevant? 🙂
Deep.
Fascinating. What is the source?
Zionists are Satanists and undermine governments everywhere that they get a foothold and they already created a holocaust in Russia with the 1917 overthrow of the czar and the resulting murder of some 60 million Russians and are now trying to undermine the Russian government again, this is no surprise as this is what Zionists do ie they are killers and wreckers of governments and are trying to do the same here in America.
One thing noticeable regarding people who comment Putin’s policies from abroad, not from within Russia: much projection of own prejudices and a lot of wishful thinking.
One thing noticeable regarding Putin’s policies: no prejudice, no wishful thinking, just Russian self-consciousness and pragmatism.
Order is restored. Russia’s military might is restored. The economy and the living standard have improved. Russia masters her destiny. So far, what he does works. What else?
The ladies got a great interview with Aleksandr Dugin–
“Aleksandr Dugin on Millennials, Modernity and Religion”
The ladies got a great interview with Alexandr Dugin–
Aleksandr Dugin on Millennials, Modernity and Religion
The article is written by Saker without any doubt for it has his imprimatur of length… for readers like me, matzo ball radio says it all. Finally, it seems that Jews and Russians have a sado masochistic arrangements; one can’t do without the other. Qui bono?
So, America is trying to do to Russia what Russia has been trying to do to America for 100 years.
Great story, bro.
There seems to be unanimity on this site condemning the Saker, and those commenting on his blog. But what if he is simply correct in his suspicions about a fifth column in Russia? Is that really so strange? Do you really think the Atlantacists and their ilk are nonexistent? I notice no real proof of the inaccuracy of the Saker’s contentions, but a lot of ad hominem critique of his “mood”. Maybe he is dead wrong in all his ideas about Putin’s Russia – but where’s the proof?? The commenters here seem in danger of falling into the same baseless contentions trap they accuse the Saker of.
They want the same democratic utopia for Russia they gave to Iraq,Libya ,Ukraine ,Syria etc. etc. etc.
said:
“Putin might know how many Jews really died in the Holocaust ”
Please preset proof that any Jews died in ‘the holocau\$t’ as alleged.
Revisionists are just the messengers, the absurd impossibility of the ‘holocaust’ storyline is the message.
The ‘6M Jews, 5M others, & gas chambers’ are scientifically impossible frauds.
see the ‘holocaust’ scam debunked here: http://codoh.com
No name calling, level playing field debate here: http://forum.codoh.com
To think about “Atlanticists” as some kind of coherent group is to submit to Saker’s paranoia. Such paranoia is normal in nationalism. Shades of the John Birch society. If you look for evidence of conspiracy X you will always find it.
Very well written synopsis of the current situation, and how Russia came to be in this place at this time. I appreciate the recap of the history from Yeltsin moving forward.
Saker’s a clown.
The “atlanticists” are a rampant fifth column throughout Europe. Germany is particularly badly infested and in need of a thorough cleaning out. Russians will be better off if they can keep them mostly out of their country.
Die Zeit Die Anstalt Netzwerke Think Tank Josef Joffe
Given Russian life expectancy, Russian pension age was too low. Naturally, raising it temporarily lowered Putin’s popularity, but taking that hit is the essence of forward-thinking leadership.
You Israeli-First traitors love citing Ezekiel 38 and Isaiah 17 to justify your wicked warmongering, but in your malice you have been blinded to the fact that Isaiah 17 describes not only the destruction of Damascus but also the destruction of a wicked faction in Israel: the Baal-worshipping Zionists whom you think are beyond God’s reach.
You guys getting excited? That false flag and/or “Ukro-Nazi” attack by the “Anglo-Zionist” Empire is still happening right?
During the World Cup. Remember?
Anybody want to bet on the exact date?
Ya think the refs throwing the game to the Russians today is all part of the master plan?
These are the people who murdered millions and millions under Yeltsin. By “privatizing” and other wonderful “conservative” “capitalist” policies. Getting rid of Communism by killing all the people who benefit by it. Brilliant.
So I guess that makes these “5th columnists” good, right? By your lights, anyway.
Except those who ‘benefited from Communism’ are the ones who got rid of Communism.
I think it’s clear at this point that Putin serves the globalist elites. He is in the process of serving Syria and Iran to them on a dish.
I’m still puzzled as to why Illarionov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrey_Illarionov made that Kyoto Protocol-Auschwitz comparison, and I am still not sure if he is ethnically Jewish or not. I found some new indicators that point to him having Jewish roots, though.
Either he made the comment in sincerity and not as a joke, or someone (Putin?) told him to say it that way for propaganda purposes. Maybe being asked/forced to make that comparison also contributed to him quitting his job some months later?
In a 2005 interview after his resignation from his economic advisory post, he says the following, which could indicate that the Kyoto Protocol-Auschwitz comparison was not of his own making, but a talking point given to him by the Kremlin public relations and propaganda department:
– http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1145192,00.html
Now to the point why I believe that Andrey (or Andrei, I don’t know which spelling is the correct one) Illarionov might come from a Jewish background. He worked under/with “Young Turks” economist https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/02/09/yeltsins-inner-circle-of-young-turks/3ab11a79-fcdb-4dd0-a14e-da71cee520ee/ Yegor Gaidar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yegor_Gaidar who apparently was of Jewish extraction. This, in my opinion, increases the likelihood that Illarionvo is too. According to some Russian nationalists Medvedev is as well.
– https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/may/22/russiasoldenmity
Putin seems to send mixed messages on and to the Jewish community. One to please his domestic audience of voters who, understandably, are overwhelmingly counter-semitic, because they blame predominately-Jewish economists and bankers and their radical and failed economic policies for the many millions of premature deaths during the 1990s economic crisis in Russia.
– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC259165/
And one philo-semitic or semitic-sympathique message to his predominately-Jewish billionaire/oligarch financial backers to assure them and clam them down that they are safe with him, unless they turn on him or try to undermine his authority.
Here a video of Illarionov talking about the Russian economy. By the way, he considers himself to be a libertarian, which could be another indicator that he is Jewish, since libertarianism is very popular with Jews https://fee.org/articles/libertarianism-rejects-anti-semitism/
Economics in Russia – Andrei Illarionov | Rhodes 2016
The important question: does the truth matter? Most people want the answer they want, not the truth and should be forced to truthfully answer why. One day that will happen.
With all due respect, I think that seeing Russian politics as eternal fight between Eurasian Sovereignists (used to be called Slavyanophiles under tsars) and Atlantic Integrationists (used to be called Westerners in tsarist times) is naïve, maybe even childish. Not to mention that this does not explain why China is where it is now, and many other obvious things.
I’d propose an alternative theory. Russian and Chinese elites include people who are OK being second- or even third-rate in the world elites, and those who want to be first-rate. The latter are patriotic, because you cannot be first-rate unless you have a strong truly sovereign country behind you. Apparently, Putin, Xi, and many Russian and Chinese oligarchs supporting them, want to be seen as first-rate, equals among equals, in contrast to pathetic nonentities like Ukrainian “president” Poroshenko, most Ukrainian oligarchs, Polish elites, or elites of vaudeville Baltic statelets.
Thing is, if your country is a poodle of the US, you are second-rate at best (e.g., EU elites), but when your country is a poodle of the EU, you are no better than third-rate. So, the whole intrigue in Russian and Chinese politics is essentially the struggle between ambitious members of the elites (they call themselves patriots, thereby wooing the support of the populace), and weaker-spirited members, who would rather be third-rate than fight for a better position (pro-US, or generally pro-Western forces). So far proud patriots are winning in both Russia and China, but lower grade pro-Western forces won’t concede and keep fighting. As far as pension reform in Russia goes, robbing the public to enrich the elites is in the interests of both factions. However, I won’t be surprised if the patriotic faction blames it all on pro-Western forces, which Russian and Chinese people do sincerely despise.
That’s what Ukies hope for. They were always wrong (Mazepa serving Sweden, some scum serving Austro-Hungarian Empire, some scum serving Hitler, “holier-than-thou” communists serving USSR, etc.). They are wrong again. But it’s inhumane to say this: you don’t want to shatter pipe dreams of people who have nothing else, and never will.
Lots of people pretended to be persecuted just to get freebees in the US and elsewhere. Antisemitsm was by ~90% the myth created by these people. One example I know first-hand: in my year at the school of Biology in the best and most privileged Moscow State University about 20-25% of students were Jewish or half-Jewish, whereas Jews constituted 2-3% of the USSR population.
A note for those who know stats: this was a representative sampling: ~ 250 people graduated from MSU School of Biology in my year, and the picture was pretty much the same in subsequent years.
A 5th column in the Kremlin won’t do anything. You need one in the security service or in the army.
Saker likes to waste our time when he spins fantasies.
Dmitry Medvedev denies having any Jewish roots/ancestry: https://www.rferl.org/a/1079677.html
The following source claims his mother is Jewish, but I don’t know how reliable he is:
– http://victorshikhman.blogspot.com/2010/11/lieberman-for-win.html Archived link: http://archive.is/Fi1Rn
You will notice that the comments section at that site is infested with leftist dinosaurs. Maybe they have a certain influence on the analyses.
Ozymandias
You are spot on. I, too, have noticed a change toward the negative on The Saker’s part. A bit befuddling. Seems that Russia and Putin have been doing well on numerous fronts, in spite of Western attempts to the contrary. Difficulties may often exist, but I just don’t see 5th column doom and gloom.
Putin is perhaps the most rational, level headed, intelligent leader whom I’ve seen in my lifetime. Wish we had his equivalent in the USA.
@seeing Russian politics as eternal fight between Eurasian Sovereignists (used to be called Slavyanophiles under tsars) and Atlantic Integrationists (used to be called Westerners in tsarist times) is naïve, maybe even childish
It is quite inane. Many Russians can’t think outside a Manichean ideologizing box. As if Russia is not a country which manages itself its own affairs, as it did for 1000+ years!
For some people, if bad then Jew. According to https://eupedia.com/europe/european_y-dna_haplogroups.shtml, Dargins, a minority in Dagestan, Avars, and I thought they were from Mongolia, and Lezgins, Dagestan again, are more semitic than Ashkenazi Jews. Frankly, I think arguments like “he’s bad, of course because he’s a Jew”, “he’s a Jew therefore he’s bad” discredit those who make them. The Saker has a another that is commonly used to justify racial / religious prejudice, “Jews are a 5th column in Russia, but I’m not anti-semitic, I have Jewish friends”.
I’ve written it in precious comments, by any criteria, Russian Jews are as native to Russia as Francs are to France, Magyars to Hungary, or Bulgarians to Bulgaria, and even more than Albanians to Kosovo, if one’s to trust genetics, and definitely more than Americans are to the USA.
There are goyims who are atlanticists, there are plenty of such in France, which admittedly is under zionist influence, but there are also plenty of such in Serbia, among people with no semitic genes and no Jews in position of political power. I promise you, they too root for their national teams in sports. Dismissing them as a 5th column is simplistic and is a recipe for civil conflict. There are many reasons why some people root for some ideas rather than some others, and treason is not necessarily one of them, even though some indeed appear as less moral than others.
Now, if we speak of conspiring with foreigners to overthrow a legitimate government, or of election rigging, or of corruption, or of illegal appropriation of public or private property, or of illegal funding of activities, those are criminal offences, and should be prosecuted as such. If the people that the Saker and many here point as a 5th column engage in no such activity, then I see very little Putin / Russian authorities can do about them. If we apply here the standard we wish to see applied in Russia then Unz.com would be shut down.
I have to disagree. The majority of Russians is a lot more sophisticated than Russian and American elites would like. Apparently, in this regard the expectations of the Saker are the same as those of the elites. Sad.
This approach (borrowing the “Animal farm” phrasing, “Jews – bad, non-Jews – good”), even though it is very primitive, is quite popular, likely because of its simplicity. I was with a tour in Baku, a capital of Azerbaijan, in 1990, right before the dissolution of the USSR. The tour guide said that Armenians and Azeris look alike, even locals can’t distinguish them by the looks. But there is an easy way to distinguish: if the person is good, it’s an Azeri, if bad – an Armenian. He appeared to be sincere, which likely explains why the Azeris lost all wars to Armenians, losing even the parts of Nagorno-Karabakh where Azeris used to be a majority.
BTW, there is a lot more freedom of speech in Russia than in the so-called West. You can hear a wide spectrum of views even on prime time TV, in sharp contrast to the US and Europe, where the reports of all MSM on any subject related to Russia, LGBT, or race apparently come from the same approved boiler plate.
Yep, exactly. Enough to recall a significant Jewish strata in Soviet (and even Russian) military (and security) officer corps in 1940-1950s and on to, basically, call most of this “antisemitism” a BS. It always was about Chutzpah. Same as the disgusting Holocaust “milking” industry in the US.
Illarionov comes from morons’ background. Cheap opportunist and ignoramus; was given enough public profile in 1990s, which saw a whole generation of scumbags and shysters getting into power in Russia. By far not all of them were Jews. Some were.
I have no doubt that there is greater freedom of speech in Russia than in the West. Freedom of speech in the West is like Spain’s soccer team’s game yesterday, a lots of passes between teammates. A lots of passes that used to pass but no longer.
How much has America changed under the relentless opposition and pressure from the counties like Syria,Iran,NK,and Russia? It has a lot. This wont have been possible without Russia and without the determination of Syrians and Iranian. Syria is in one piece . ISIS has been routed ( despite US attempts to bolster it at each step of the way . US has supplied it with drones [ One wonders why Taliban has no drone . Taliban doesn’t have it because no country supplies it with one} ) Venjualea is standing and Mexico has sent the message. NYT is screaming lies about China regarding the 90 yrs lease of the land and the port of Sri Lanka uneducating American again in contrast the ugly effects of austerities f IMF and WB on other countries in similar situations . Argentina is falling apart .
Israel following the advice of the elders of the church of the Zionism has reacted like a mad dog periodically Mad dog has been denied the opportunity of infecting with it’s rabies virus those it have been attacking .
At home Putin is using the faces of the Russian neocons and the Zionist to hurt their rogue ambitious malevolent plans .
And we say Putin has sold out !!!!
OT. To the administrators, has there been an attack on your website that appears to have come from the part of the world where I am?
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/07/no-need-for-nato/
I have seen some of these two girl’s videos before and it seems they are intelligent and seem to have their hearts in the right place. However, if they want to be taken more seriously by a wider audience (other than drooling young guys) they need to have a more mature delivery than sitting like two 14 year olds at a pajama party. If you’re at a hotel room girls, sit in a chair at a desk so that people will pay attention to your face and what is coming out of it.
He worked with Nelegaly (full undercover)–this is the next level to deep undercover people themselves. A combination of skills no nominal Russian so called “liberal” has nor could ever have. I am not talking about run-of-the-mill KGB bureaucrats.
I generally agree.
I think the problem or issue is the concentration of power in the hands of a relatively small minority, many of whom have dual loyalties, i.e. nation (Russia, USA, etc.) vs. tribe (Diaspora, Israel, etc.).
Mr. Unz is quite unique, to put it mildly. People like him, in my opinion, are the exception rather than the rule in the Jewish community. But, I think, you are correct the Unz Review would probably be censored in Mother Russia, but probably in Israel too 😉
Laibach – Rossiya
Laibach : YISRA’EL
I actually believe that Jews have less power in the U.S. than they have in Russia, this is why I, personally, prefer the U.S. to Russia despite all its shortcomings, etc., however under Trump, at least on the executive branch level, this has been changing because of Ivanka and Jared Kushner, etc.
Besides having dual loyalties due to Israel, Jews are known to be one of the most ethnocentric/clannish ethnic-religious groups, with one of the highest rates of ethnic-religious networking and nepotism, etc. https://www.unz.com/tsaker/no-fifth-column-in-the-kremlin-think-again/#comment-2396189
I believe that the Russian system and society is more geared towards “clannishness”, so Jews, naturally, thrive and prosper in such environments and societies, because they maintain the socially-accepted order, whereas as in the less-clannish West their clannish, nepotistic behavior patterns are less in harmony with the greater society around them and therefore they become disruptors instead of maintainers of the natural and historic social order.
– https://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2018/06/10/edward-dutton-on-the-culture-of-critique-the-importance-of-jewish-ethnocentrism/
I have done some of my own research into this subject matter that is important to take into consideration as well in this context:
– https://heartiste.wordpress.com/2017/06/19/ashkepathy/
Jews have a clannishness rating comparable to Southern Europeans (6-7), which is pretty high, but with Orthodox Jews it is even higher, probably in the 8-11 range:
– https://hbdchick.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/clannishness-defined/#comment-32673 Archived link: http://archive.is/OUuP9
From the comments section of the same blog post:
– https://hbdchick.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/clannishness-defined/#comment-32673
The second factor is the farming and inheritance systems that arose – in part due to geography and climate, in part due to the characteristics of the people who adopted them:
Source: https://www.unz.com/jman/clannishness-the-series-a-finer-grained-look-at-how-it-happened/
I said ‘many’, not the majority. My point was precisely that the majority of Russians do not think in those categories which actually are a reflection of the projections of western misunderstanding of Russia and Russians.
Saker has answered a question which has bothered me for the past 18 months. Over a year ago I read that President Putin ordered a team of economic experts to take a hard look at Russia’s central bank which had been Westernized after 1990. According to the article I read the experts were to present opinions and, recommendations by October 2017. Well, I never heard another word about the reform committee. From reading this article I sense Putin must feel this isn’t the right time go to war with the bankers as it will mean spilling blood. Too bad, I was looking forward to them all being kicked to a Siberian curb. Patience my friend, patience.
Typo: … message to his predominately-Jewish billionaire/oligarch financial backers to assure them and *calm* them down …
Most readers and commenters are probably aware of this already.
One of the consequences of the Russian economic crisis of the 1990s and for me personally the most fascinating and paradoxical thing about today’s Russia is that its population has the highest female-heavy sex ratio in the world:
Sex ratio by country for total population. Red represents more females, blue more males than the world average of 1.01 males/females.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_sex_ratio
The majority of Putin’s supporters are actually women, which flies in the face of the mostly negative Western narrative and press coverage about/of Putin and the country:
Babushkas for Putin
– https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/opinion/sunday/babushkas-for-putin.html
Female wisdom and emotionality/sentimentality in action means countries get leaders like Putin…
Dmitry Medvedev is also very popular with women:
Source: http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/05/23/chapter-4-views-of-leaders/
With regards to the customs and practices of Kosovo Albanians, I would have rated them 10 rather than 7/8.
Regarding Emmanuel Todd, he’s Jewish and to say that I take any social research done by a Jew with a grain of salt would be an understatement. Regarding Serbia, it’s total Jewish bullshit. Though I understand that Westerners draw borders between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia, Voïvodina is definitely not nor wishes to be a separate country, it is part of Serbia, yet Western asses persist in drawing borders there. As for his observation that people live with their parents, it’s also bullshit. People share courtyards with their parents but don’t live with their parents. And families definitely don’t share apartments with parent families. As for strict-equal inheritance, his “findings” are also total bullshit, people here have total legal control over who’ll inherit them. They can also disinherit their children if they wish so, and it is not an uncommon practice. Good luck to the children with the courts.
As for supposed Jewish power in Russia vs the USA, I’ve never heard of Russian politicians having to publicly pledge allegiance to Israel in order to get elected and I’ve never heard of a US politician who hasn’t publicly pledged allegiance to Israel and was elected.
You are funny… now all Jewish social scientists are bad!?
You seem to be contradicting your comment from earlier:
– https://www.unz.com/tsaker/no-fifth-column-in-the-kremlin-think-again/#comment-2399281
It specifically says “Traditional family systems of Europe” not contemporary or modern ones, which implies that those were the family arrangements/systems of the past rather than the present. But past traditions, of course, influence present/contemporary ways of doing things.
Also,
Most Northwestern Europeans and Americans, in my opinion, would regard this kind of living arrangement as living with your parents.
I think you are being unnecessarily critical of and overly pedantic towards Todd’s research.
Maybe it is not necessary to declare one’s undying love and support for Israel in Russian politics because it is implicitly understood that it is always there, an unwritten law so to speak that does not constantly have to be reaffirmed.
Sometimes requiring such public declarations of loyalty and support is rather a sign of and a belief in the weakness and precariousness of one’s (political) position and standing rather than a true conviction that one can always rely on and trust a partnership or cooperation/alliance.
Obama did not give Israel everything it wanted, particularly on Iran and the nuclear deal. He also did not bomb Syria unlike Trump. He made a deal with Putin to get rid of most of Syria’s chemical weapons instead, for example.
Politics: President Obama and Israel | The New York Times
EXCLUSIVE OBAMA INTERVIEW: President on Israel | The New York Times
– https://www.unz.com/tsaker/is-putin-really-ready-to-ditch-iran/#p_1_34
Was Netanyahu able to convince Putin to surrender Iran? (Ruslan Ostashko)
All governments encourage and fund controlled opposition groups for the purpose of giving the impression they have legitimate enemies with which to contend.
There’s a slight possibility we do, but at present, he’s stymied by Russia-hating Jews who despise Putin for putting a stop to their wholesale looking of Russia’s assets. The same was true for the US Jewish mafia who hated Castro’s guts for taking their assets and kicking their asses out of Cuba.
…except, unlike the US, which is controlled by Israel, Russia has no desire to conquer the world, and neither does anyone else with the exception of England.
As one Jew says to another: “The spider taketh hold with her hands and is found in king’s palaces” Proverbs 30:28
https://martynballestero.com/2010/04/25/spiders-are-in-king%e2%80%99s-palaces/
I don’t think many people in England still have this ambition. The UK faded into insignificance a long time ago, having become the US poodle (slightly deranged).
I don’t say Jewish scientists are all bad. I don’t put in question their competence. They just have a tendency to have an ideologically tainted approach to social sciences.
“Maybe it is not necessary to declare one’s undying love and support for Israel in Russian politics because it is implicitly understood that it is always there, an unwritten law so to speak that does not constantly have to be reaffirmed.”
While Jewish oligarchs have undeniably enjoyed a period a total impunity during the Eltsine years, it was no longer so after Putin rose to power. If you consider that Russia’s refusal to augment the chaos in the Middle East by bombing Israel or Netanyahu’s presence at Victory Day’s parade in Moscow as evidence of great Russian sympathy for the zionist cause, I beg to differ. Along Netanyahu was also present the president of Serbia, Vučić, and I very much doubt Putin feels any sympathy towards either, let alone trust. The show was realpolitik, less from Putin, more from the part of his guests, who due to their respective policies are fearful of provoking too much hostility from Russia.
Regarding Obama, he did the Iran deal that Trump scrapped, he didn’t pander to Israel as other US presidents did and as Trump does, he didn’t bomb Syria, but, he banalised extra-judicial assassinations using drones, he destroyed Libya, and he closed eyes when his State Department and the CIA armed and trained in Syria some of the worst psychopaths the world has ever seen.
Obama was a fraud. His most redeeming quality was cowardice. That’s why he did fewer despicable things as the US president than W or Trump. Then again, Trump at least seems to have street smarts, whereas neither W nor Obama did.
I don’t disagree.
Brought to us courtesy of B.H.L.
Did Bernard-Henri Lévy Take NATO to War?
– https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/did-bernard-henri-lvy-take-nato-to-war
This is why I supported Trump in the 2016 election despite his close personal relationship with Netanyahu (who had a close friendship with his father Fred Trump, I believe), his business dealings with Jewish/Zionist Russian oligarchs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Sater , etc.
The Moscow Project: Trump-Russia Collusion Presentation | The Russia Desk | NowThis World
I don’t blame Obama that much though. I think Erdogan is the real culprit, and I believe he is a psychopath:
– https://www.unz.com/jpetras/the-middle-east-pivot/#comment-2050307
Erdogan & his family involved in ISIS oil trade – Russian MoD
Putin “We’ve Been Stabbed In The Back! By The Associates Of Terrorism!”
Assassination of Andrei Karlov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Andrei_Karlov
Agree for Merkel and Erdogan. I don’t know what deal Putin has managed to strike with him but I must say that I’m very skeptical regarding his trustworthiness. Merkel is more clear cut. Her pattern of behaviour doesn’t match that of a psychopath. I speculate that there is some sort of serious blackmailing going on, and not only by Erdogan.
As for Bernard-Henry Lévy, what can I say? He’s an intellectual fraud, but he is a fanatical zionist with strong connections in finance, industry and politics, and is the rich heir of a Jewish industrialist who made a fortune exploiting wood in West Equatorial Africa’s forests using local labour under near slavery conditions. A backround he never mentions. So much for his “humanism”.
I’m not as dismissive of Obama. He may have had the best intentions or he may have been a fraud, I don’t know. Whatever, he got acquainted wih the “Deep State” and I’m not sure how any of us would have behaved in his place.
This is to give to much credit to BHL. Everything was set up already. He just offered the rhetorical BS.
As odd as it may seem given his character, he does have a lot of influence. His mentors are Jewish zionist philosophers. Apart from his connections in various circles, he is among other things president of the advisory board of the French-German cultural TV channel Arte, the channel of establishment liberals in France. His fortune is officially estimated at 150M €, partly inherited from Becob, the society of import of precious wood from Africa set up by his father. Many African personalities have denounced the society’s practices, and you’ll guess, all the critics were dismissed as antisemitic.
BHL is not only about the former Yugoslavia, he pops up on every troubled spot on Earth, enjoys staged photo-ops, and every time on the wrong side, from a humane point of view, but on the right side from a zionist point of view.
I doubt he is a decider, but he is an influencer with presence in the media that is at odds with the French public perception of him. Very few in France consider him as worth paying attention to, yet he’s everywhere and his words seem to carry a weight that definitely doesn’t match his popularity.
His books are unreadable, his films are unwatchable, he’d make a snail die of boredom, he obviously has a hyperinflated ego yet he’s there, selling his bs and politicians acting upon his bs. I can’t call that a clown or a joker, nor a court intellectual like Voltaire, another famous French intrigant.
BHL is very intelligent, masters fallacious rhetorics and has indeed nefarious influence on events, not because of what he says in public but because what he does behind the scenes.
Whether he does it on his own or by following someone’s orders is in my opinion irrelevant.
France is a country totally submerged by the effluents of the Jewish sewage long before BHL started to swim in them. He was in his element.
Philip Owen’s obsession reveals his true loyalty. The Atlanticists are clearly an Anglo American, Zionist, Masonic, homosexual secret society. The same homosexual group that murdered Rasputin and sabotaged his relationship with the Czarina. These homosexuals control EVERY major urban center on the planet. They control every social, political and economic institution in every major urban area. I am a firm believer in paranoia. Please, call me paranoid, I embrace it!
Sorry, this is not paranoia, this is just belief in illusions created by the evil sorcerers. Homos and other LGBT are no more than pawns in the hands of the puppet masters, same as people of color, “progressives”, feminists, etc. All of these pawns have one useful characteristic: they are self-blinded and stupid because of that. Therefore, they serve the puppet masters well. The puppet masters are those who make money in this game and control the purse strings. Now, can you guess who those masters are?
You are hasbara, right? Israeli? Perhaps getting Hasbara university credits for your disinformation? Go away troll. You are not wanted here. BTW, just checked some of your past reviews, your support of Israel,
demonizing Putin, Ortega etc. Your comment “Israel has the right to defend itself.” says it all. You have been exposed…Even though you say a few “truths” you are a limited hangout. .Any comments by you should be discredited
Saker has every right to “doom and gloom.” Like other intellectuals, he has had his hopes shattered many many times. The zio deep state never quits. If at first (or second or third) they don’t get their way, they keep trying until they get their feet in. It’s just a matter of time. The central banker’s (mostly Jewish) ability to print money for anything and everything-including private mercenary forces, blackmailing of most of all the world leaders, threats of death and actual murder) makes Saker’s paranoia understandable. He is looking at the glass half empty. He knows how dangerous these psychopaths are. Saker knows that any person that goes hungry (via manufactured food shortages) , any person that is homeless, (via mortgage loan usury) any person that dies of sickness or disease(via total control of the pharmaceutical industry; suppression of new cures, purposeful spreading of manufactured diseases etc) all wars and even internal conflicts are a direct result of the Zios.
I like your measured approach. Of course you are correct, many homosexuals are useful idiots. But, these “sorcerers” you speak of sure do interest me. (sorcerers =Hollywood= homosexuals IMHO) I must call you out. Please tell me who are these puppet masters? I don’t spend alotta time in the ivy league environs but the most intelligent professors I encountered were undeniably homosexual or bisexual. Education is the key to unraveling this puzzle. Where do these purse string controllers get their new recruits? Scouting new talent,for the continuation of the enterprise, must be an imperative element. Economics is also a key to understanding the puzzle. So, I am wondering where are you going to go with this?
Sorry, I am not versed in the Hollywood slang. Never was near that crowd, and, frankly, I’d rather keep it that way. From my perspective, at least 95% of Hollywood movies in the last 40 years are trash, a lot of them actually remakes/sequels/prequels of earlier trash, so I don’t see much creativity in Hollywood.
Personally, I am not going anywhere with this. I have an interesting job doing research in biochemistry and cell biology. I am not into political activism, never was. As I live in TN, there is no point even in voting: if the Republican party nominates a horse, good God-fearing church-going people of TN would vote for a horse. It was actually good in 2016 – even Trump is better than that corrupt to the core mad witch.
I know a lot of very smart people, including university professors in natural sciences and members of the National Academy of Sciences, and >95% of them, male and female, are heterosexual, the same percentage as in general population. So I don’t see the correlation between smarts and sexual orientation. In fact, I know only one gay guy who substantively contributed to my field. He is not a leader, but maybe in the top 100.
The puppet masters are the top 0.01%, those who control enormous wealth. Using it they control the government and the media. Their driving force is boundless greed, so they are globalists and faithful supporters of MIC. As company owners, they benefit by the thievery and various scams around Pentagon contracts, as well as other government contracts where one can skim a lot of taxpayers money. They like playing “patriots”, too, to add insult to injury. Via MSM and direct spending on “rent-a-crowd” they effectively manipulate various groups that I listed. However, all these “progressives”, Antifa, BLM, LGBT, and the like are not completely innocent, either: they blinded themselves by their narrow-mindedness, which makes manipulating them a piece of cake.
BTW, putting two and two together is no rocket science, it does not require a PhD.
Well, I can honestly say we come from totally different cultures. My experience in Ivy League universities (Skull and Bones) and Military academies. Shadow operatives with old ancient homosexual proclivities. One book I will recommend, Den of Thieves, by James B Stewart. Stewart,A Harvard law degree, Sullivan and Cromwell. Now a Columbia University professor. Real blue blood CV. ( He’s an out homosexual) Money power is not a big thing with homosexual secret society mafias. Den of Thieves, was about how the homosexual mafia, with no real observable economic power, took down a Wall Street mafia with unlimited money. They did it with ease. Simply put, monumentally powerful Wall Street mafias are no match for this ancient brotherhood with access to secret information that others in society do not have. You do know Rockefeller, Harriman, Bush, were all Skull and Bones. It is the Anglo American (EASTERN ESTABLISHMENT). There is an unusually excellent You Tube video by a lady named Kaye Griggs who dealt with the Princeton University wing of this EASTERN ESTABLISHMENT. The homosexual links with Princeton and The US NAVY is mind boggling. Oliver Stone another Skull and Bones man is referenced in theis You tube video
And to end this rant the ultimate you tube video on Hollywood and the homosexual mafia that have secretly dominated it for a century. Watch it dude! It is extremely well done!!!!
Some people are obsessed with Jews, others are obsessed with homos. I have no doubt that one can find books and UTube videos telling about anything, including UFOs and alien visits. Life is too short to pay attention to this kind of things.
@ AnonFromTN
Aw geez dude such an abrupt departure. WTF? To bring it all home. The Saker mentions the Atlanticists as the Fifth Column. He is spot on correct. It is this Atlanticist group that is top heavy with this homosexual brotherhood. Imagine the James Bond film SPECTRE with it’s manipulation of pharmaceutical, prostitution, media, terror networks, to name the tip of the ice berg, (remember Pussy Riot?) And you get a pretty good idea of who these dudes are. Sorry I disillusioned you. Be well.
My thoughts too.