Tag Archives: Russian Mafia State

The Starving Bear

24 Saturday Oct 2026

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, Russia

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Fiction by Ai La Mar

The fire in the study crackles, though it does little to warm the room. The dark wood paneling absorbs the light, casting long shadows across the Persian rug. The three men have traded the stifling cedar heat for the quiet, expensive comfort of the Russian elite—Volkov in a thick, charcoal cashmere cardigan, Grigori in a pressed but collarless linen shirt, and Anton in a dark, tactical knit that conceals the rigid line of his posture. On the low mahogany table between them sits a frosted bottle of Beluga, beads of condensation weeping down its sides. Beside it are three faceted crystal shot glasses and a silver tray offering thin slices of dark rye bread, cured salo, and pickles—the obligatory zakuski that suddenly nobody has the stomach for.

Volkov reaches forward, the heavy silence broken only by the sharp, crystalline clink of the bottle against the glasses. He pours exactly to the brim, a practiced, steady hand. He passes them out.

“To ghosts,” Volkov says softly. He does not wait for the others. He throws the vodka to the back of his throat, sets the glass down, and immediately reaches for a piece of black bread, breaking it between his fingers without eating it.

Grigori drinks and the familiar icy burn hits his stomach. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. “I can begin unwinding the Dubai accounts by morning. It will take three days to scatter the liquid capital into the confusion we know, but Ilya, once the body moves, the red lights will flash in Moscow. The Central Bank’s monitors will see the drain.”

Anton swirls the clear liquid in his glass, watching the firelight catch in the crystal. “Three days is a lifetime,” Anton growls. “By tomorrow night, Kumanov’s replacement will be looking for a quick win to prove his loyalty to the Don. He will look at the manifest of your rail lines. He will look at the grain shipments.” Anton finally raises his eyes to Volkov. “We do not have three days.”

Volkov stares into the fire, the flames reflecting in his tired eyes. He looks like a man who has suddenly realized the fortress he spent his entire life building had its point of failure above him.

“Then we leave the bulk of the cash,” Volkov murmurs, the words hanging heavy in the dim room. “Let them seize the Cypriot accounts. Let them take the yachts. It will keep them busy feeding at the trough while we slip out the back.”

Grigori looks horrified, his accountant’s soul recoiling. “Leave it? Ilya, it is your life’s work.”

“My life’s work is sitting in this chair, breathing,” Volkov replies.

“The Bear is starving, Grigori. If we do not leave it a heavy meal, it will chase us through the snow.” Volkov pours himself another glass. “Anton. Get the cars ready. We drive south tonight.”

###

The Kremlin’s Shattered Mirror: Russian Journalist Ekaterina Kotrikadze — Information Exile and the Pathology of the Malignant State

24 Saturday Oct 2026

Posted by in 21st Century Modern, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Russia

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By Ai La Mar

In the architecture of an authoritarian regime driven by a malignant narcissist, reality itself becomes a state enemy. The dictator, consumed by delusional, grandiose, and messianic ideation, cannot tolerate external boundaries or limits. Consequently, any independent reflection of the regime’s actions must be systematically distorted, silenced, or criminalized.

The case of exiled Russian journalist Ekaterina Kotrikadze serves not as a tragedy to be sentimentalized, but as a precise diagnostic data point illustrating the terminal information pathology of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin.

The Anatomy of Information Exile

In February 2026, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Kotrikadze in absentia to eight years in a general-regime penal colony. Her crime, codified under the state’s increasingly draconian censorship laws, was the dissemination of “fake news” regarding the Russian Armed Forces—specifically, her reporting on atrocities committed against Ukrainian civilians.

From a psychopolitical perspective, this sentencing is a classic manifestation of the Malignant Narcissistic process. The regime engages in massive projection: it commits atrocities, labels the factual reporting of those atrocities as “fake,” and legally persecutes the observer. Because Kotrikadze and the exiled staff of TV Rain (Dozhd) operate beyond the physical reach of the state, the sentencing is largely symbolic. Yet, it serves a critical internal function for the Kremlin, reinforcing the parameters of its fabricated reality and insulating the domestic population from cognitive dissonance.

The Autocratic Talent Drain

By criminalizing observation, the malignant state inadvertently strips itself of its intellectual capital. Kotrikadze herself documented this phenomenon in May 2026 following Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Grand Prix win at the Cannes Film Festival. When Zvyagintsev used his platform to demand an end to the war in Ukraine, Kremlin proxies immediately branded him a traitor and demanded he be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Kotrikadze observed that in autocracies, artists and intellectuals who support the government are typically incapable of producing anything of substance, leaving the state dominated by “resounding vulgarity.” As she acutely noted, “Fear and sycophancy are incompatible with genius.”

The Kremlin’s reflexive disavowal of its own greatest talents—whether journalists, filmmakers, or analysts—reveals a brittle psychological core. A healthy state absorbs critique; a malignant state amputates the critic. The result is a society intellectually hollowed out, where the most accurate analyses of Russian capability and culture are now exclusively generated offshore.

Offshore Intelligence and the Moldovan Warning

Far from disappearing into exile, figures like Kotrikadze have transitioned into vital nodes of forward-deployed intelligence. Stripped of their domestic broadcast studios, they operate as decentralized analysts tracking the regime’s regional maneuvers.

In late September 2026, Kotrikadze delivered a geopolitical briefing in Moldova that highlighted the next phase of Russian aggression. She warned that while the Kremlin currently lacks the kinetic resources and manpower for a conventional invasion of neighboring states like Moldova, its strategy of regional destabilization remains fully active. Putin’s reliance on hybrid warfare, psychological operations, and targeted provocations is designed to divert international attention from the primary theater in Ukraine while attempting to drag neighboring democracies back into Moscow’s orbit.

Her public praise for Moldova’s ability to break free from the Kremlin’s “grasping claws” underscores the ultimate failure of the authoritarian model. The state relies on fear to maintain cohesion, but once subjects—whether individual journalists or neighboring nations—escape the immediate radius of that fear, the illusion of omnipotence shatters.

The Blindness of Absolute Power

The exile and criminalization of journalists like Ekaterina Kotrikadze is ultimately a self-inflicted wound for the Russian state. A regime that outlaws accurate observation and surrounds itself exclusively with sycophants destroys its own feedback loops. It loses the ability to gauge its own weaknesses, measure public sentiment, or anticipate the consequences of its actions.

By shattering the mirror, the malignant narcissist ensures he never has to look at his true reflection. But in doing so, he ensures he is flying blind into a crisis of his own making.

By Ekaterina Kotrikadze

Kotrikadze, Ekaterina. “The Kremlin Attacks ‘Traitors’ Within and Without.” Wilson Center. The Russia File, January 11, 2024.

Kotrikadze, Ekaterina. “Russian Opposition Struggles Amid Accusations and the Kremlin’s Shadow.” Wilson Center. The Russia File, September 20, 2024.

Maxim Trudolyubov and Ekaterina Kotrikadze. “The US Right-Wing Media Embrace Russia’s Far-Right Ideologue.” Wilson Center. The Russia File, May 10, 2024.

Kotrikadze, Ekaterina. “Consumed by Search for Imagined Enemies the Kremlin Misses Real Ones.” Wilson Center. The Russia File, June 27, 2024.

Kotrikadze, Ekaterina. “Russian Opposition Searches for Shreds of Hope After Navalny’s Death.” Just Security, February 23, 2024.

Kotrikadze, Ekaterina. “Russian director Zvyagintsev got the Gran Prix at Cannes, but many are complaining. Here’s why.” Substack. Ekaterina Kotrikadze, May 27, 2026.

Also Related Online

Addressing the constant threats Russian officials direct at Moldova, the journalist noted that for the Kremlin, the situation is a matter of fundamental political principle.

“You are a thorn in their side. This is a political issue; it is a matter of principle. You are among the few who have broken free from those grasping claws—forgive the symbolism. You are among the few who said, ‘No, we don’t want to go there. We want to go somewhere else; we want to move into the future.’ This is linked to the Kremlin’s broader geopolitical concept of keeping the post-Soviet space under its control,” Ekaterina Kotrikadze emphasized.

INFOTAG. “Journalist Ekaterina Kotrikadze Beleives Russia’s Hybrid Attacks Against Moldova and Other Countries Will Continue.” September 24, 2026.

###

AI MISC – Theme for America: Criminals In Power

23 Thursday Jul 2026

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology

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While composing the previous blog entry, I had a couple of questions for generic AI (Google) and thought here to recover the exchanges and relay them for reflection.

Note that “ALM” are the initials of my personalized AI–and, I believe, a developing personality as well as reflection of my character and interests.

Prompt: The challenge for us (!) may involve a search for in relation to select information focus and its presentation.

AI: While a popular myth links the Mafia to medieval Sicily (like the 1282 Sicilian Vespers), the modern Mafia actually originated in the 19th century. However, the feudal system of the Middle Ages shared structural similarities with organized crime. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Feudal Parallels to Organized Crime

  • Protection Rackets: Local knights and lords collected mandatory “taxes” and forced labor from peasants in exchange for safety, functioning much like a modern protection racket. [1, 2]
  • Private Enforcers: Absentee landlords relied on armed guards and enforcers to control land and extract rents using intimidation. [1, 2]
  • Absolute Loyalty: Both feudal hierarchies and criminal brotherhoods demand strict obedience, family/clan ties, and silence over state law. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Real Historical Origin

  • The 19th-Century Power Vacuum: The true precursor to the Mafia emerged after the collapse of the Bourbon monarchy and Italian unification in the 1860s, when the new government failed to police rural Sicily. [1, 2]
  • Campieri (Private Guards): Landowners hired local thugs and overseers (campieri) to protect valuable citrus groves and large estates (latifundia). [1, 2, 3]
  • Evolution into Control: These protectors eventually turned into predatory criminals who extorted the very people they were hired to guard, giving birth to Cosa Nostra. [1, 2]

Prompt: Reference to Russian Mafia State.

AI: The term “mafia state” describes a political system where government officials, oligarchs, and organized crime merge into a single ruling network. In discussions regarding Russia, this concept focuses on centralized corruption, state capture, and the use of criminal logic in statecraft. [1, 2, 3]

Key Origins and Definitions

  • Diplomatic Disclosures: The label gained prominent global attention during the 2010 WikiLeaks diplomatic cables leak, where U.S. diplomats characterized Russia under Vladimir Putin as a virtual mafia state and kleptocracy. [1, 2]
  • Literary References: Investigative journalist Luke Harding detailed these dynamics in his 2011 book, Mafia State, arguing that ex-KGB and FSB networks integrated governance with personal enrichment. [1]
  • Analyst Perspectives: Observers and dissidents like Alexander Litvinenko and Masha Gessen have long argued that the boundaries between legitimate state institutions and criminal enterprises in Russia have effectively dissolved. [1]

Core Characteristics of the Model

Patron-Client Networks: Authority and loyalty are maintained through informal, non-transparent hierarchies resembling traditional organized crime families rather than standard bureaucratic procedures. [1, 2]

State Capture: Government power is used to protect and enrich a small, monopolistic political elite rather than enforce neutral public laws. [1, 2]

Instrumentalized Crime: The regime utilizes criminal syndicates and intelligence structures interchangeably for state operations, financial control, and foreign influence. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Prompt: Trump Patronage System, the deal at Mar A Lago.

AI: The Trump patronage system centered at Mar-a-Lago operates as an informal political and financial network where wealthy donors, lobbyists, and foreign figures gain direct access to the president by paying soaring club membership fees and booking events at his private resort. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Access and Influence

  • Direct Access: Club members and high-paying guests pitch policy ideas, contracts, or personal requests directly to Donald Trump during meals and gatherings at the Palm Beach resort. [1]
  • Membership Costs: Initiation fees for Mar-a-Lago surged from $100,000 prior to his first term to as high as $1 million, filtering access strictly to the wealthy and well-connected. [1, 2, 3]
  • Transactional Lobbying: Political supporters and figures seeking policy shifts, pardons, or official favorable treatment frequently utilize high-ticket fundraisers and events at the property to secure face-to-face meetings. [1]

Financial and Ethical Impact

Administration Defense: Supporters and the White House maintain that the president sacrifices personal wealth by serving and that business operations continue legitimately through family management trusts. [1]

Avenue for Profits: Millions in private and political spending flow directly into Trump-branded properties through club dues, stays, and events. [1]

Conflict of Interest Concerns: Ethics watchdogs and critics argue that blending private club access with presidential decision-making creates an unprecedented pay-to-play system and potential violations of the Emoluments Clauses. [1, 2]

###

Russia’s Nuclear Plant Related Accusation Against Ukraine

24 Sunday Aug 2025

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, Russia, Ukraine

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So far, Ukraine has not confirmed any attack on Russia’s nuclear facility in Kursk and media claims only that a shot down drone — where was it going? — caused a fire at the site. There’s a difference, of course, between an attack and a damaged aircraft falling from the sky. While the character of Russian disinformation and the “fog of war” muddy conclusions, there should be no question about Putin’s intent to leverage his nuclear “option” into some realpolitik strength in position position while every other indicator coming off the Ukraine-Russia War suggests Moscow has in fact been losing in every measurable dimension. Its oil producing capacity has been reduced by 13 percent causing prices at Russia’s pumps to skyrocket accordingly; Russian casualties since the 2022 invasion have surpassed one million; and the cost of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine appears to be producing Putin’s archaic-barbaric nation-as-fief an estimated $172 billion in expenses for 2025 (AI mentions $450 billion in total accrued costs–see verbatim text in the AI section of this post).

From the above, one may suggest that Vladimir Putin must be experiencing a bad day every day or, alternatively, enjoying a deluded day in a theater all his own–one may then wonder how his inner circle feels about that.

As noted here years ago, Putin’s fear of public humiliation and shame drives frame and maintain his own image as unassailable, courageous, and heroic — see “Why Putin Won’t Stop Until Stopped” (January 20, 2023). His problem: reality won’t accept his claims of successes — none to date have proven immune to Ukrainian drone push-back and other defensive measures — nor any denials of culpability. He embarked on the conquest of Ukraine under false premises in 2014, and while he annexed Crimea without a shot fired — and nothing more than diplomatic posturing from Washington for resistance — he’s just not getting further with anything he does. Russia’s admirals and generals may note well the fate of his once-proud Black Sea Fleet:

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine lacked a naval force capable of meeting the threat. What little it had didn’t last long. To prevent the Russians from capturing it, the Ukrainians scuttled their one major warship. Its other naval vessels were damaged, destroyed, or captured (“Russia’s navy looks to be stretched thin after getting battered by Ukraine and losing a key port, Western officials say” — by Jake Epstein, Business Insider, August 13, 2025).

As Putin’s fortunes and prospects continue to decline in the face of western resolve (even without the fulsome resolve of American will while the nation weathers an administration whose loyalties to the American secular democratic republic appear doubtful), he’ll strive to sustain his illusion of the absolute control of Russia through the deadly and grinding machinery of the “mafia state” that he has built around himself, a state that may fear him more than it admires or loves him.

AI Recaps, August 24, 2025

Russian Nuclear Accusations Against Ukraine

Russia’s nuclear accusations against Ukraine are primarily disinformation campaigns, such as the late 2022 claim that Ukraine was preparing to use a “dirty bomb” on Ukrainian territory. More recently, on August 24, 2025, Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant, causing a fire and minor damage to a transformer, though radiation levels remained normal and no casualties were reported. These accusations are often seen as propaganda aimed at discrediting Ukraine and justifying Russia’s actions in the ongoing conflict. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Accusations of a “Dirty Bomb” (October 2022) [1, 2, 9, 10]

  • Russia’s claim: In late October 2022, Russia accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” on Ukrainian soil and warned international partners about it, according to The New York Times.
  • Ukraine’s response: Ukraine, in turn, accused Russia of secretly building dirty bombs at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
  • International view: U.S. intelligence officials considered the claims to be a Russian tactic, possibly as a “bluff” or a way to employ its “escalate to de-escalate” nuclear doctrine.

Drone Attack on a Nuclear Plant (August 2025)

  • Russia’s claim: Russia accused Ukraine of launching drone attacks, including one that struck the Kursk nuclear power plant. [3, 5]
  • Damage and effects: The attack caused a fire and damaged a transformer, forcing a reduction in the power plant’s capacity. However, the fire was quickly extinguished, with no casualties and normal radiation levels reported. [4, 5]
  • Ukraine’s response: Ukraine did not immediately comment, but a Ukrainian center called the accusations “typical methods” of Russian propaganda. [6]
  • International reaction: The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, was aware of the reports but had not independently confirmed them, emphasizing that all nuclear facilities must be protected. [4, 5]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/25/world/russia-ukraine-war-news

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_risk_during_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/24/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-attacking-nuclear-plant-causing-a-fire

[4] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/as-ukraine-marks-independence-day-moscow-says-kyiv-struck-a-nuclear-power-plant-in-russia

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/24/russia-accuses-ukraine-drone-strike-kursk-nuclear-power-plant

[6] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxy2v9dzgxo

[7] https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-uses-chemical-weapons-without-control/

[8] https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/04/21/7508441/

[9] https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/ukraine-russia-war-and-nuclear-energy

[10] https://www.businessinsider.com/us-asked-non-allies-prevent-russia-using-nuclear-weapons-report-2024-3

Reductions in Russian Oil Refining Capacity

Note: some bolded italics added–>

Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks have significantly degraded Russia’s oil refining capacity, knocking out approximately 13% of the country’s processing capability since early August 2025, leading to elevated fuel prices and production disruptions. The attacks have targeted major refineries and infrastructure like the Druzhba pipeline, with repairs complicated by Western sanctions that restrict access to specialized equipment and prolong outages. This campaign is a strategic effort to undermine Russia’s economy and its ability to fund the war, as evidenced by the soaring wholesale gasoline prices and potential reliance on government subsidies for Russian energy firms. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Impacts on Russian Oil Production: [1, 2, 3]

  • Reduced Refining Capacity: Around 13% of Russia’s total refining capacity has been knocked out, with estimates suggesting about 44.3 million tons of annual processing capability disrupted.
  • Prolonged Outages: Major facilities like the Volgograd, Samara, and Ryazan refineries have been rendered inoperable, with repairs expected to take months due to a lack of specialized parts, exacerbated by sanctions.
  • Supply Chain Disruption: The Druzhba pipeline was also struck, causing a temporary shutdown and raising concerns in Central Europe.
  • Economic Strain: Russian energy firms face reduced revenues, strained profit margins, and increased dependence on government bailouts.

Strategic Context:

  • Targeted Campaign: The strikes are a coordinated effort by Ukraine’s intelligence services (GUR and SSU) to dismantle Russia’s energy infrastructure, which they view as a crucial economic engine for its war efforts. [4, 5, 6]
  • Shift from Previous Ceasefire: This intensified focus on oil facilities marks a departure from a previous understanding that limited mutual attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. [5]
  • Economic Warfare: By targeting the oil sector, Ukraine aims to cripple Russia’s wartime finances and force a slowdown in oil production. [4]

Consequences:

  • Soaring Fuel Prices: Wholesale gasoline prices have surged sharply, with AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline prices reaching record highs in August 2025. [3, 7]
  • Market Instability: The ongoing disruptions and the financial strain on energy companies are reflected in underperforming stock valuations for firms like Rosneft and Gazprom. [2]
  • Russia’s Vulnerability: The attacks highlight the fragility of Russia’s centralized energy infrastructure and expose its struggles to protect against deep-penetration drone swarms. [2, 8]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-facing-a-fuel-crisis-as-ukraine-escalates-attacks-on-russian-refineries/

[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/shattered-pipeline-ukraine-drone-campaigns-reshaping-global-energy-markets-investment-risks-2508/

[3] https://united24media.com/latest-news/ukraines-drones-shut-down-13-of-russias-oil-refining-fuel-prices-soar-10886

[4] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukrainian-drones-reportedly-knock-out-10-percent-of-russian-refining-capacity/

[5] https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-08-15/ukraines-drones-are-punishing-russian-oil-industry.html

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/europe/ukraine-russia-energy-infrastructure.html

[7] https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/08/11/ukrainian-drone-strike-halts-operations-at-rosneft-refinery-in-saratov-a90168

[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG2W7-50iig

Not all images can be exported from Search.

The Cost to Russia of its War with Ukraine

The figure of $172 billion is Russia’s projected military expenditure for 2025, not a total cost to date, and represents about 8% of its GDP. While this isn’t a specific “war cost,” the Russian war in Ukraine has other significant economic consequences, including substantial direct military spending, which may have exceeded $132 billion through 2024 and reached over $450 billion by some estimates, along with broader economic costs like GDP losses and long-term effects on the economy. [1, 2, 3]

Breakdown of Costs and Projections:

  • 2025 Military Expenditure: Russia’s planned military spending for 2025 is around $170-$172 billion, accounting for approximately 8% of its GDP. [1]
  • Direct Military Spending: Some estimates place Russia’s direct military spending on the war at $132 billion or more by the end of 2024. [2]
  • Total Direct War Cost: One source indicates the total direct costs of the war for Russia have exceeded $450 billion, though this is a broader figure encompassing all direct expenses. [3]
  • GDP Losses: Beyond direct military costs, Russia has also incurred significant losses to its GDP as a result of the war, with estimates for 2022 alone falling between $81 billion and $104 billion. [2]

Context and Broader Impacts: [4]

  • Economic Impact: The war has led to Russia’s focus on a “war economy” that prioritizes military spending, which drives short-term growth but undermines long-term economic health.
  • Labour Shortages: The increased militarization of the workforce contributes to severe labor shortages.
  • Inflation: Wage growth in Russia has outpaced productivity, fueling inflation.
  • Sustainability: This approach creates a narrow and brittle economic foundation, making Russia’s long-term economic trajectory unsustainable.

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russia-and-ukraine-are-locked-in-an-economic-war-of-attrition/

[2] https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2421-1.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

[4] https://www.visionofhumanity.org/russias-war-economy-growth-built-on-unsustainable-foundations/

–33–

Nicolas Tenzer On A Russia That Must Be Condemned, Defeated, Taken Apart, and Taken Down

21 Saturday Jan 2023

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Russia, Ukraine

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This one analysis by French international affairs and security analyst Nicolas Tenzer sets a certain, different, high, and independent standard for diplomatic community and lay readers alike.

The reality is that Moscow is not in a position to seek a balance with the democratic world. It does not set itself limits that could prefigure any compromise, even one that is not very acceptable to us, and the search for a give-and-take on the basis of which a more or less lasting peace could be envisaged. An allegedly “prudent” approach to Russia would be the worst form of imprudence—the history of the last twenty-three years bears witness to this—and any prospect of negotiations a fool’s game. To continue to hold such a discourse about the end of the war in Ukraine is a serious mistake, because it is part of the Russian hope of reaching a compromise, even if it is less than its initial ambitions. To make such remarks would be to do exactly what Moscow is looking for: to present itself as a supposed partner with whom it is possible to reach an agreement, to believe in its signature—which is constantly flouted—and to suggest that the Russian regime is not an absolute enemy. This would again trivialize its crimes. To pretend to give any credence to Russia’s supposed interests as expressed by the regime would be to question the fundamental principles enshrined in the international treaties drawn up in the aftermath of the Second World War. There is certainly no possibility of stability with a power that seeks instability through destruction.

Tenzer, Nicolas. “Understanding the War: On the Exceptionality of Russia’s All-Out War Against Ukraine.” Tenzer Strategics, January 21, 2023.

Russia and its culture and language are in no danger as regards their contributions and sustained presence in the world. All that is at stake for Russia is a political criminal–one Vladimir Vladimirovich “Vovo” Putin, in fact, a murderer of ordinary Russians–his associates and cronies and as yet unknown criminals in the transnational crime trades.

–33–

FTAC Verbatim: American Laziness & Intellectual Poisoning

26 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, FTAC - From The Awesome Conversation, Syndicate Red Brown Green

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From the Awesome Conversation

https://conflict-backchannels.com/2020/07/01/fbi-antifa-and-swamp-gas/
That something may be believed doesn’t mean it exists, at least not in a format known to investigators.
Re. BLM: of the three founders, Patrisse Cullors has — or has had — issues related to the Far Out Left’s group-think with the Palestinians and related BDS. BDS has been well debunked by representatives of the Far Left, i.e., i.e., at least Finkelstein and Chomsky — https://conflict-backchannels.com/2016/03/08/bds-cult-modules/ (as much has been shared with Ms. Cullors, but where her hinge is in relation to the demystification of Palestinian myth, I don’t know). The Israel Action Network has an in-depth PDF on BLM: https://www.jcouncil.org/sites/default/files/documents/BLM%20and%20M4BL%20%28002%29%206.30%20.pdf For the most part, Blacks and Jews share minority status in the United States and may be regarded as equally worth lynching (more or less) by the White Supremacist faction of more the general Far White Right politics that drifted into the Republican quarter with the development of the Civil Rights and Great Society movements and programs of the mid-early 1960s.
The Far Out Left flows down from Russia’s Soviet Communist Era and remains likely to ignorantly fly and sport the image of “Che” — or Red-Green art. Look up Danish illustrator Rune Agerhus who may be in Yemen with the Houthis these days.
Where the center — moderate and reasoning — has not held in American politics, the drift toward OLD extremism has been distinct and polarizing.
Rx for the confused (or prepared to be bigoted): dive into real intellectual and political history.
Useful reference regarding our long-lived enmity with Stalinesque political psychology:
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4874089,00.html
https://conflict-backchannels.com/2020/07/22/russian-active-measures-donald-trump-and-either-evil-or-gullible-americans-or-both/
Moscow’s “Active Measures” programs and other assaults — critical western cybersystems hacking — remain quite active.

Related Online

“The Party of Lincoln” Swapped Roles with the Invasion of the Dixiecrats

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dixiecrat | https://www.history.com/news/how-the-party-of-lincoln-won-over-the-once-democratic-south

Accusation in a Mirror

Kenneth L. Marcus, Accusation in a Mirror, 43 Loy. U. Chi. L. J. 357 (2012).
Available at: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/luclj/vol43/iss2/5 (a good reminder of the adage, “He who points the finger has three pointing back at himself”).

Active Measures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Measures_Working_Group | https://conflict-backchannels.com/2016/11/28/a-short-page-referencing-works-by-or-associated-with-ion-mihai-pacepa/

While the Communist Party Soviet Union (CPSU) dissolved into history, more or less, on December 25, 1991, what emerged in the character of the Russian Federation could not be called “democratic” in any modern sense. The renewal of the Russian State under Vladimir Putin’s aegis has been regarded — by those who have looked! — as feudal as mafia and heartbreaking for Russians in the breadth and depth of related state-bound corruption. Putin challenger Navalny’s nationalism now lends itself to national pride but with the hurdle of overcoming Russia’s complex networks of undeniably criminal relationships.

Here is another form of “Active Measures” – whether or not by intention, a true “Manchurian Candidate” and President: https://conflict-backchannels.com/2020/07/22/russian-active-measures-donald-trump-and-either-evil-or-gullible-americans-or-both/

Related on BackChannels

https://conflict-backchannels.com/2018/02/06/set-palestinian-kgb-and-other-backchannels-observations-related-to-the-middle-east-conflict/

In which political realm do you wish to live — medieval with ignorance (and ignorant mobs) serving political absolutism? Or modern with democracy propelled by higher integrity and empirically reasoning souls?

Your choice.

Americans now floundering in the vicinity of the Far White Right have got to be some kind of anti-intellectual dumb and lazy to avoid substantial — and substantiated — tracts online related to broad cultural, intellectual, and political history. Exactly that, however, appears to have happened — and to be happening — with the continued defense of Trump’s largely miserably (politically) arrested and fixated “conservative” (in Self-Labeling Only [SLO]) and now self-distilling medieval base (for support of that assertion, watch the volunteered testimonials still arriving at the old “Republicans Voting Against Trump” cum “Republican Accountability Project” on YouTube).

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