Putin...

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the   saviors  of   Syria

Η ζωη εν ταφω

Is Putin preparing a governmental purge?

This article was written for the Unz Review:http://www.unz.com/tsaker/is-putin-preparing-a-governmental-purge/

As he does once a year, last week President Putin spend over three and a half hours answering 80 questions out of the 3+ million questions which were received. The show, which was aired live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV channels, and the Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii was an unprecedented success which was watched and commented upon by millions of Russians. You can read the full transcript of the show by clicking here, and the transcript of a conversation between Putin and the journalist corps following the show here.

The main Russian TV channel, Rossia-1, also aired not one, but two special talk-shows (see here andhere) solely dedicated to a discussion of Putin’s performance. These talk-shows are the famous “Evening with Vladimir Soloviev” – by far the highest visibility talk-show on Russian TV. Just for the record, Rossia-1 is the crown-jewel of the powerful and state-controlled All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) media holding. Between the call-in show with Putin (3 hours and 40 minutes), the first talk show (2 hours and 12 minutes) and the second talk show (1 hour 44 minutes) the Russian public was exposed to a stunning seven and a half hours of discussion. Some will call it “propaganda”, which can be viewed as negative or as positive, but which changes little. The main issue here is that this was a major, huge, public-communications effort. So what was the overall message which was conveyed by all this? Let me summarize it for you:

First, Putin is the unchallenged and beloved leader of all the Russian people, he is an extremely effective manager, a defender of the simple Russian people everywhere and he is the last recourse for those who have been wronged by the authorities. Let me add here that all the opposition party heads fully agreed with this. Right now, nobody in Russia dares to criticize Putin personally, not because some KGB goons are going to come in the night and drag you away to a concentration camp, not at all, but simply because bad mouthing Putin is now tantamout to political suicide. Even some members of the non-system political opposition (aka 5th columnists) are realizing this now.

Second, a lot of Russian people are hurting, badly. Not because of sanctions or the drop in the prices of gas and oil, but because of the corruption, incompetence and ideological blindness of the “economic block of the Russian government”. The economy is a mess due to corrupt governors, lazy government bureaucrats and outright sabotage by a quasi-universally hated “economic block of the government”. Sanctions (especially the denial of credits) and the fall in the price of oil do make things worse, but they are not the real problem or even a major part of the problem.

Third, the individuals responsible for this mess are regularly mentioned by name. This hatred for the “economic block of the government” is never openly encouraged by Putin himself who, when directly asked, praises the work of the government’s ministers. Everybody else, however, including all the opposition figures and even the host Vladimir Soloviev, is now openly calling not only for resignations but even for jail terms for the guilty governors and even ministers. While Medvedev himself is rarely the personal target of such denunciations, Arkadii Dvorkovich (Deputy Prime Minister), Igor Shuvalov (First Deputy Prime Minister), Alexei Uliukaev (Minister of Economic Development) and Anton Siluanov (Minister of Finance) are now “openly hated” on Russian TV.

For example, when a woman calls in to denounce the horrible condition on the main road of her city and Putin promises to take action, all the commentators agree that it is a crying shame and a disgrace that only the President is willing to listen to such concerns, while all those who are directly responsible for such matters are indifferent, are doing nothing or, even worse, corrupt to the bone. Another example: workers treated like slaves by a gang of thugs on an island of the Russian Far East have complained to the local police and prosecutors and were completely ignored. One call to the President, and the Russian Investigative Committee (roughly the equivalent of the US FBI) will now investigate not only the mobsters involved, but also the local police forces and regional prosecutor himself. As for Putin, he personally apologized to these workers in the name of the entire Russian government. By the way, it is well known in Russia that the local bureaucrats are absolutely terrified by these call-in shows with the President, as they never know who might call. What they do know is that the investigation and sanctions “from above” will be swift and merciless. As for the Russian general public – he absolutely love it.

Thoughts on the four day war of 2016 - Spring, 2016

Thoughts on the four day war of 2016 - Spring, 2016

It is said that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time-to-time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Armenia's tree of liberty was watered amply this spring. I salute those who gave their lives in the defense of our homeland with the words of Garegin Njdeh - Մահ չիմացեալ մահ է, Մահ իմացեալ՝ անմահություն: Our martyrs are now immortal and our tree of liberty has just grown a bit stronger.


Now, with that said, I would like to express additional thoughts on the four day war that took place between April o2 and April o6, 2016. I will most probably state things that will not be appreciated (or comprehended) by a vast majority of my Armenian readers. Knowing that talking to Armenians about geopolitics is like talking to a five year old child about the meaning of life (i.e. pointless), I would like to askthose of you who think that the war was a great victory for Armenia; or that this war proved that Armeniacan go it alone in the south Caucasus; or that this war proved Russians are anti-Armenian backstabbers; or that Armenia now needs to seek security guarantees from the West, to please refrain from reading the rest of this commentary and just go back to your silly little fantasy world where everything is black and white; where evil doers are punished and good people are awarded; where Armenians are an invinciblesuperpower when united; where Armenia's allies enthusiastically go out of their way to make Armenia happy all the time; and the where politics is like a street fight or a bar brawl.


What happened in Nagorno Karabakh (Arm: Artsakh) was a short but violent war that shocked the world. The global community realized that there was yet another hot spot in the world that could ignite a world war. Although confined to border areas of the yet unrecognized Armenian enclave, the clash between Armenian and Azeris troops saw the utilization of newly developed attack drones, special forces, combathelicopters, main battle tanks, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers. About one hundred Armenianlives were lost. Armenia is a small nation. Life is therefore precious for Armenians. I hope to see theirdeaths serve a greater purpose for the motherland. Ultimately, that purpose would be the recognition ofArtskah's independence or its unification with Armenia. Not officially recognizing Artsakh's independence (or its reunification with Armenia) made political sense as long as the ceasefire was maintained between the two sides and the region avoided a war. Despite periodic ceasefire violations, Yerevan's grand plan worked for a long time. But it's not working anymore. Baku is desperate. Turkey is desperate. Western powers may be seeking to create a new hot spot on Russia's southern border. For its part, Moscow may now be ready to finally settle the festering dispute and in doing so increase its footprint in the strategic region. Yerevan needs to recognize that the status quo which worked so well for Armenia during the past twenty years is gradually coming to an end. The south Caucasus stands on the verge of a new chapter. There will be a new calculus at play. It's time for official Yerevan to formulate a new approach.

Times like this is when the quality and depth of Armenia's alliance with the Russian Bear comes to the forefront. This is why I have been calling for closer, deeper Russian-Armenian relations for over a decade.

What happened on April 02 was not or should not have been a surprise to anyone who has been observing developments in the region during the past few years. In fact, many observers were predicting this kind of an escalation by Baku. We knew Baku was violating the ceasefire all along Armenia's and Artsakh's border with Azerbaijan on a regular basis; we knew Azerbaijan was spending billions of dollars on weaponsacquisitions from around the world; we knew Baku was growing increasingly desperate as a result of falling oil prices; we knew Baku's spiritual partners in Ankara were growing increasingly belligerent; wespeculated that due to their defeat in Syria, anti-Russian interests in the region may attempt to bring problems closer to Russia's borders in the south Caucasus; there was increasing chatter that 2016 was to be the year when the dispute over Artsakh got resolved. In hindsight, Aliyev may have also been seeking to divert public attention from the so-called "Panama Papers". We therefore had been waiting for something like this to happen for some time now.

There are also subtle indicators that Baku's most recent aggression against Armenia was agreed to or even planned by not only Ankara but also by Western powers. The intent may have been to punish Yerevan for its close military ties with Russia and, as noted above, to divert Moscow's attention from Syria. After all, there had been a flurry of anti-Armenian and anti-Russian rhetoric coming out of Western capitols in recent months, and the tiny country called Armenia was being described as a threat to NATO. I personally think that the seeds of this most recent bloodletting in the south Caucasus can be found in thecontents of the following articles -

Alexander Prokhorenko a HERO - and the late Vadim Chumakov

Alexander Prokhorenko, Ρωσος των ειδικών δυνάμεων επιχειρουσε μόνος σαν προωθημενος spoter στην Παλμυρα. Μετα απο μια βδομάδα εντοπίστηκε απο τον ISIS και περικυκλωθηκε. Αφου του τελειωσαν τα πυρομαχικά  εδωσε το στιγμα του στην Ρωσικη αεροπορία για βομβαρδισμο με αποτέλεσμα μαζι με αυτον να σκοτωθουν και 10δες Τζιχαντιστες που τον ειχαν περικυκλωσει.
(προκειμενου να αποφευχθουν καταστροφες στην αρχαια Παλμυρα οι βομβαρδισμοι γινόντουσαν με οπλα ακριβείας με βαση τις ακριβεις συντεταγμενες που διναν προωθημενοι παρατηρητες.)

Russian 'Rambo' revealed to be Alexander Prokhorenko who bravely called airstike on himself as ISIS thugs surrounded him

Trapped and surrounded by murderous ISIS fighters, the heroic Russian 'Rambo' who wiped them all out by calling in airstrikes on HIMSELF 
-Alexander Prokhorenko, 25, was identifying targets for Russian airstrikes
-He was surrounded by ISIS near Palmyra when he ordered one on himself

The Life of Stalin

Life of Stalin 1: Birth of Stalin in Gori, Georgia, his parents and the first part of his youth in Gori and Tbilisi:

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is in the international wanted list through Interpol

The former head of "YUKOS" Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is in the international wanted list through Interpol for the murder of the Nefteyugansk mayor Vladimir Petukhov, told "Interfax" on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation. "National Bureau of Interpol in Russia on the basis of the materials received from the General Prosecutor of Russia and the Investigative Committee of Russia, announced Khodorkovsky's international wanted list corresponding decision was sent to the central Bureau of Interpol in Lyon. "- said the source. 

Now the headquarters of Interpol, after consideration of the evidence of the Russian office of the international police organization  included the former head of" Yukos "in wanted list.  Previously located abroad ex-oligarch has been declared in federal search Investigative Committee of Russia after presenting him in absentia charged with the murder in 1998, the mayor of Nefteyugansk Petukhov. 

A spokesman for the ex-head of Yukos Küllo Pispanen reported that the address Khodorkovsky investigators known. He is there on the page "Open Russia", she specified. According Pispanen Khodorkovsky does not intend to participate in the investigation and to get in touch with representatives of the Investigation 

The GRAN Guided Weapon System for 120mm Mortars

HOW RUSSIAN ECONOMY IMPACTS ITS FOREIGN POLICY

Written by Constantine Sivkov, appeared at VPK; translated by Don Courter exclusively for SouthFront

Russian foreign relations enter into contradiction with production opportunities?

Russian foreign vectors and internal politics are diametrically opposed. The first is leading to the revivification of Russian status and influence on the world stage and the second is pulling the country to the direction of liberalism, depriving Russia’s foreign policy initiatives of adequate financial support.

The end of November, continuing into early December, was a time of many significant geopolitical events. Turkey’s recent downing of our SU-24 bomber followed by Ankara’s insistent refusal to recognize the illegality of their aggression and apologize. The sanctions imposed on Russia and the publishing of compelling evidence that revealed Turkey’s bulk purchases of oil from ISIS are both related to the political maneuvers of the American and European elites. The Turkish military’s invasion of Iraq caused much outrage with Baghdad and Ankara’s request of Russia for an extension of bombing coverage into Iraq to strike enemy troops – i.e to protect the Mosul Turkish tank battalion. All of these events formed the backdrop in which the Parisian terrorist attacks and the destruction of a Russian plane over the Sinai Peninsula occurred, starting with the actions of the French navy and British Air Force against Russia’s ban on the “Islamic State” that resulted from President Hollande’s unsuccessful attempt to create a Russian – Western anti-terrorist coalition.

South China sea area issues

Yemen TV : Yemeni army launched Anti-Ship missile destroying Saudi warship

Barzani .. what an oportunist

Barzani .. what an oportunist

Σε μια εποχή που ο τουρκικός στρατός διεξάγει ευρείες και αιματηρές επιχειρήσεις κατά των Κούρδων του ΡΚΚ στην Τουρκία και βομβαρδίζει σε τακτικά διατήματα θέσεις στο Βόρειο Ιράκ, πρόσφατα μάλιστα είχαν αναπτυχθεί και για μερικές μέρες τουρκικά στρατεύματα βαθειά στο εσωτερικό του Ιράκ (χωρίς όμως με τη συνήθη αποστολή - καταπολέμηση των Κούρδων στο Βόρειο Ιράκ), και απειλεί με παρέμβαση στη Βόρεια Συρία ενάντια στα στρατεύματα των Κούρδων της Συρίας (YPG / YPJ), συσφίγγει, σχεδόν επιδεικτικά, τη συνεργασία με την Κουρδική Περιφερειακή Κυβέρνηση (KRG) στο Βόρειο Ιράκ. Η συμμαχία της Τουρκίας με τον πρόεδρο της KRG Μασούντ Μπαρζανί έχει ήδη εγείρει σοβαρές ανησυχίες μεταξύ των άλλων γειτονικών άλλων χωρών, ιδίως με το Ιράν.

Η αυξανόμενη σημασία των σχέσεων Τουρκίας-KRG φαινεται από την πρώτη επίσκεψη στο Βόρειο Ιράκ ενός επικεφαλής της τουρκικής διπλωματίας, Φεριντούν Σινιρλιόγλου (αν το μεταφράζω σωστά από τα τουρκικά δημοσιεύματα), μετά τις εκλογές του Νοεμβρίου στην Τουρκία. Η επίσκεψη αυτή έλαβε χώρα στην πρωτεύουσα της KRG - Ερμπίλ. Στις 9 Δεκεμβρίου, λίγες ημέρες μετά την ανάπτυξη/εισβολή των τουρκικών στρατευμάτων στην ιρακινή επαρχία της Νινευή ο Μασούντ Μπαρζανί αφίχθη στην Άγκυρα, όπου συναντήθηκε τόσο με τον πρωθυπουργό Νταβούτογλου, καθώς και με τον πρόεδρο Ερντογάν, καθώς και με εκπροσωπους της τουρκικής μυστικής υπηρεσίας - ΜΙΤ. Αυτή ήταν η πρώτη επίσκεψη ενός Κούρδου προέδρου στην πρωτεύουσα της Τουρκίας και η πρώτη συνάντηση με τον Τούρκο αρχηγό του κράτους, παρά το γεγονός ότι ο Μπαρζανί συναντήθηκε ήδη το 2013 με τον Ερντογάν, αλλά αυτό ήταν στο Ντιγιαρμπακίρ, και ο Ερντογάν δεν ήταν ακόμα πρόεδρος, αλλά ο πρωθυπουργός της Τουρκίας. 

Ο ηγέτης των Τούρκων εθνικιστών - MHP, Ντεβλέτ Μπαχτσελί, με ένα μάλλον υστερικό ύφος σχολίασε σχετικά με τη συνάντηση με τον Μπαρζανί ως επικεφαλής κράτους, και ότι όλα αυτά αποτελούν ένα είδος αποδοχής από τις τουρκικές αρχές του σχεδίου για την δημιουργία του Μεγάλου Κουρδιστάν και την απώλεια του ελέγχου επί της Ανατολικής Τουρκίας (τουρκικό Κουρδιστάν). Ο Μπαχτσελί αναφέρθηκε και στο αντάρτικο πόλης των Κούρδων, το οποίο μέχρι στιγμής δεν συνιστά πραγματική απειλή για την ακεραιότητα της Τουρκίας, αν και η κατάσταση μπορεί να αλλάξει μέσω τρίτης χείρας - Ρωσία. Αλλά σίγουρα όχι ως αποτέλεσμα της Ερμπίλ. Πάντως, για να το θέσω πιο ήπια, η εχθρότητα, μεταξύ των Τούρκων και των Κούρδων εξακολουθεί να κυριαρχεί στις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις τους, τις διαπροσωπικές, αν θέλετε και αλλιώς.

Ωστόσο, για να καταλάβουμε τι ακριβώς συνδέει την Άγκυρα και την Ερμπίλ, και πώς επηρεάζει την κατάσταση αυτή η σχέση, θα πρέπει να εξετάσουμε τα δρώμενα υπό το πρίσμα και των δύο πλευρών, έστω και συνοπτικά. Ήδη από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '90, μετά τον πόλεμο του Κόλπου υπήρχαν διάφορες ιδέες σχετικά με την κουρδική κάρτα της Τουρκίας, προκειμένου να αποκατασταθεί η (νεο)οθωμανική επιρροή στη Μέση Ανατολή. Αυτό αφορά τα σχέδια του Τουργκούτ Οζάλ, ως πρωθυπουργός και στη συνέχεια ως πρόεδρος από το 1983-1993, όπου μετά τον πόλεμο του Κόλπου προσπάθησε να προσαρτήσει το βόρειο τμήμα του Ιράκ και τη Συρίας και να δημιουργήσει κάποιο είδος τουρκο-κουρδικής ομοσπονδία. Ο Οζάλ, ο οποίος ήταν και ο ίδιος μισο-Κούρδος, ήθελε επίσης να τερματιστεί η σύγκρουση με το ΡΚΚ μέσω διαπραγματεύσεων.

Και είναι ακριβώς λόγω αυτών των σχεδίων που το 1983 δηλητηριάστηκε από τον τουρκικό στρατό. Η περίπτωση του Οζάλ είναι σημαντική από την άποψη του τι συμβαίνει αυτή τη στιγμή στην Τουρκία, επειδή ο Ερντογάν, 10 χρόνια μετά τη δολοφονία του Οζάλ, κατά κάποιο τρόπο συνέχισε την πολιτική του έναντι των Κούρδων. Επιπλέον, το κόμμα του Ερντογάν έχει μια ομάδα που συνδέεται με τους πολιτικούς του Πατριωτικού Κόμματος, του οποίου ηγέτης ήταν ο Οζάλ. Θα πρέπει να σημειωθεί, ωστόσο, ότι η διαφορά μεταξύ του Οζάλ και του Ερντογάν είναι, μεταξύ άλλων, ότι ο Οζάλ ακολούθησε μια πολιτική πιστος στο ΝΑΤΟ, και κυρίως τις ΗΠΑ. Η Τουρκία υπό την ηγεσία του υποστήριξε την πρώτη επέμβαση των ΗΠΑ στο Ιράκ, ενώ η Τουρκία υπό την ηγεσία του Ερντογάν αρνήθηκε την υποστήριξή της κατά τη διάρκεια της δεύτερης παρέμβασης/επέμβασης.

Παρά το γεγονός ότι από αυτές τις ιδέες του Οζάλ εχουν περάσει κάπου 25 χρόνια, η δημιουργία μιας κουρδο-τουρκικής (συν)ομοσπονδίας όχι μόνο δεν έχει χάσει τη σημασία της, αλλά αντίθετα, εξακολουθεί να είναι πολύ επίκαιρη. Το θέμα είναι ότι αν και τα δύο μέρη (Κούρδοι και Τούρκοι) έχουν να κερδίσουν πάρα πολλά από μια τέτοια εξέλιξη, δεν είναι έτοιμοι για ένα τέτοιο ενδεχόμενο, ιδίως οι Τούρκοι, λόγω του εθνικισμού τους.

Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani (Persian: قاسم سلیمانی‎‎, born 11 March 1957) is a major general in the Iranian Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC) and since 1998 commander of its Quds Force—a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.A veteran of the Iran–Iraq war, he has been active in many conflicts in the rest of the Middle East, especially in Iraq and the Levant. His methods have been a blend of military intervention through ideological proxies and hard-nosed strategic diplomacy. The Quds Force has long provided military assistance to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. After the United States invasion of Iraq, Suleimani has always had political and military influence in the Iraq through the Shia & Kurdish Political Parties; who rebelled against Saddam in the 1991 uprising in Iraq. Iran had armed equipped the rebels against Saddam.In 2012, Soleimani helped bolster the Syrian government, a key Iranian ally, during the Syrian Civil War. Soleimani also assisted in the command of combined Iraqi government and Shia militia forces that advanced against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2014–2015.

In 2015 Soleimani started to gather support from various sources in order to combat the newly resurgent ISIL and rebel groups which were both successful in taking large swathes of territory away from Assad's forces. He was reportedly the main architect of the joint intervention involving Russia as a new partner with Assad and Hezbollah.  According to Reuters, at a meeting in Moscow in July, Soleimani unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory - with Russia's help. Qasem Soleimani's visit to Moscow was the first step in planning for a Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Iranian-Russian alliance in support of Assad. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei also sent a senior envoy to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. "Putin reportedly told the envoy 'Okay we will intervene. Send Qassem Soleimani'. Gen. Soleimani went to explain the map of the theatre and coordinate the strategic escalation of military forces in Syria.  Soleimani, who assumed overall command in the Aleppo offensives of 2015, had a decisive impact on the theatre of operations and led to a strong advance in southern Aleppo with the government and allied forces re-capturing two military bases and dozens of towns and villages in a matter of weeks. There was also a series of major advances towards Kuweiris air-base to the north-east. By mid-November, the Syrian army and its allies has advance deep into the southern countryside of Aleppo capturing numerous rebel strongholds. Soleimani was reported to have personally led the drive deep into the southern Aleppo countryside where many town and villages fell into government hands. Soleimani reportedly commanded the Syrian Army’s 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi), Kataebat Hezbollah (Iraqi), Liwaa Abu Fadl Al-Abbas (Iraqi), and Firqa Fatayyemoun (Afghan/Iranian volunteers). In response to reports about his injury or death during offensive in the southwest of Aleppo, he responded as "martyrdom is what I seek in mountains and valleys but isn’t granted yet".

Crimea. The Way Back Home.

The events of January through March of 2014 were cataclysmic for Ukraine, a wholesale and virtually overnight change of an entire country and political climate. I will not go in to the political effects nor will I expound on the outside influences before, during and after the coup d’etat, it is common knowledge.

The events of December, January and February in Kiev were watched in Krimea with rapt attention. Make absolutely no mistake, President Yanukovich was not loved or admired in Krimea or for that matter in Ukraine. However, he had been elected to replace President Yushenko in an election that even US and EU grudgingly admitted was fair and aboveboard, therefore he was the internationally recognized legal president of Ukraine. While my wife and I personally are not aware of all the events that took place in Krimea in those three months we are quite aware of many of them and we were aware of certain events before and during their execution.

This video is amazing in the fact that President Putin took the time for the very extensive interviews involved in the composition and it is also obvious that various security apparatus of Russia were as open as OpSec would allow in the making and technical informations provided in this film.

There is enough real footage of the events in the dramatizations of certain events that you can see for yourselves that all the events shown in this video did take place and the events themselves are true and it is also true that a couple of the events were so taut with tension that one nervous finger on a trigger could have started a vicious action between armed groups that would have spread armed conflict with Ukrainian troops and the citizens throughout the peninsula.

In essence the tragedy of the events in Kiev and Ukraine and the triumph of Krimea and Sevastopol returning to Russian Federation or Russia proper by the will of the citizens of The Autonomous Republic of Krimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol are portrayed well.