Russia and Putin

[Beau]

I first read the article at this site:

Putin slams Erdogan on his policies in Syria
http://theiranproject.com/blog/2015/08/05/putin-slams-erdogan-on-his-policies-in-syria/

They are just repeating what Moscow Times has reported.

 

[angelburst29]

Russian president to Turkish ambassador: "tell your dictator President he can go to hell along with his ISIS terrorists, I will make Syria a 'Big Stalingrad' for him!"
http://awdnews.com/top-news/russian-president-to-turkish-ambassador-tell-your-dictator-president-he-can-go-to-hell-along-with-his-isis-terrorists,-i-will-make-syria-a-big-stalingrad-for-him

The Moscow Times--

I'm very skeptical about this story. Not only is it out of character for Putin, Moscow Times isn't a very credible source, and Gordon Duff has been spreading the story for a couple days... Can anyone find a credible source that supports it?

Each of you are correct and I apologize for the error.

Moscow denies Putin called Erdogan 'dictator'
http://www.newsfultoncounty.com/politics/news/056637-moscow-denies-putin-called-erdogan-dictator

– Russian president’s spokesman refutes media reports that Putin summoned Turkish ambassador, called Turkish President Erdogan a ‘dictator’



MOSCOW – Kremlin has denied media reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin called his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “dictator”.

“The news stories published on some websites, claiming that Putin summoned Turkish Ambassador Umit Yardim, and called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a dictator are not true,” Putin’s press spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a teleconference Wednesday.

Peskov also denied reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asked Putin to send Russian troops to Syria, adding that such a deployment was not on their agenda.

 

[Cosmos]

As I was looking at the news today I noticed that Alexander Lukashenko flew to Sochi in Russia to have a talk with Putin about the dangerous situation in Belarus. Then something occurred to me for the first time. How come that Putin (and government) seems to meet up and discuss important matters with high ranking foreign leaders in Sochi, of all places? Is it just me who has noticed that a lot of important matters seem to be discussed in Sochi now? It seems to me that Sochi has sort of become a "second Moscow" or something for quite some time now. Over the last couple of years we could hear a lot of important stuff (both internationally speaking as well as nationally?) that seems to have been discussed in Sochi rather than in Moscow or Saint Petersburg for that matter. I would like to know; Was it always that way? Anyone knowing that? It seems to me that the quite apparent "switch to" Sochi might have taken place ever since the city was basically rebuilt in 2014 due to the Winter Olympics.

Could it be that under the cover of preparing and building for the Winter Olympics in 2014, there was far more going on in terms of building and implementing certain safety measures or something? Maybe the Olympics were a good opportunity for Putin and government to build up something there that pertains to national and international security and other matters to discuss them outside the established centers such as Moscow? Or speculating further, is there something near Sochi that makes this place preferable? Like a secret monastery or something?

Or is Sochi just simply a far better place to meet up and make important decisions because it is located at a place that is better reachable, logistically and travel wise? Or is it simply because of other mundane reasons such as Putin being in the area at that point in time (or will be in the area in his next appointment) and thus it is logistically better to meet up there, instead of Moscow? And/Or just because Russia is so huge and you need more places than just Moscow in order for foreign and internal leaders to not have to travel so long? Or Putin wants to help the economy there by holding important meetings there and hold the city up as important after the Olympics?

Maybe a look at the map helps:

Looking at the map in the example of this recent meeting between Lukashenko and Putin in Sochi one would think that Moscow would far less of a hustle logistically and time wise speaking. Minsk is pretty much in the center of Belarus. Why not fly to Moscow, which is far nearer? Flying to Sochi might even mean to have to fly over Ukraine (dangerous) and it is much farther away. I would guess that the plane didn't fly over Ukraine and instead made an even bigger detour through Russia instead. Looking at the map, Sochi is also much nearer to the hotspots in the Middle East.

Anyway, I just wanted to mention it in case it holds any significants.

 

[Keit]

Over the last couple of years we could hear a lot of important stuff (both internationally speaking as well as nationally?) that seems to have been discussed in Sochi rather than in Moscow or Saint Petersburg for that matter. I would like to know; Was it always that way?

Well, this residency isn't recent. It was built in the Soviet times. Here's a short description:

In addition to his main residence, Putin has a number of residences throughout Russia. One of the most widely publicized is Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi.

Completed in 1955, it was commissioned by Kliment Voroshilov, a Soviet marshall and strongman under Joseph Stalin. This government dacha was frequented by Soviet leaders such as Khrushchev and Brezhnev. In modern Russia, Bocharov Ruchey became an official summer residence of Russia’s president, and it’s the only government dacha on the Black Sea.

Apparently also during the Soviet rule the residency received important guests and leaders from the Soviet block, and more recently in 2008 Putin met there with Bush, and in 2009 Medvedev met there with Merkel, and thenin 2017 Putin met there with Erdogan.

I would guess that the plane didn't fly over Ukraine and instead made an even bigger detour through Russia instead.

Yes, indeed. Here's the map of the detour, and apparently Russian Aerospace Forces were responsible for securing Lukashenko's flight.

Could it be that under the cover of preparing and building for the Winter Olympics in 2014, there was far more going on in terms of building and implementing certain safety measures or something? Maybe the Olympics were a good opportunity for Putin and government to build up something there that pertains to national and international security and other matters to discuss them outside the established centers such as Moscow?

Funny that you'd say that!

There is this short video (in Russian), where someone asked Khazin about huge amount of money that was spent on the Winter Olympics. And Khazin invited this person to consider the possibility that large sums of money could be infused into such projects for the purpose of building and creating facilities in various locations, and in order to avoid undesirable attention from the "unfriendly" eyes.

 

[seek10]

There is this short video (in Russian), where someone asked Khazin about huge amount of money that was spent on the Winter Olympics. And Khazin invited this person to consider the possibility that large sums of money could be infused into such projects for the purpose of building and creating facilities in various locations, and in order to avoid undesirable attention from the "unfriendly" eyes.

That's what I was thinking. Sochi is more associated with Olympics current world population mind set, which is good. It avoids unnecessary attention for those triggered by the "Russia", "Moscow" to "dictator". Another thing is, LOT of money gets spent on Olympics , but if it doesn't have expected business attention/flow after the Olympics, it is just waste of money and maintenance of the infrastructure is not cheap. One example is how Brazil's Olympic infrastructure gone bad after the event. Having meetings there, keep the attention back to Sochi becomes a reason to invest in the region.

 

[Siberia]

How come that Putin (and government) seems to meet up and discuss important matters with high ranking foreign leaders in Sochi, of all places? Is it just me who has noticed that a lot of important matters seem to be discussed in Sochi now?

You are right, Pashalis. Sochi has been consistently and noticeably developing in the recent years. President Putin often says that Sochi is a perfect place for development of tourism because of its unique location: warm sea and snowy mountains allow for all kinds of sport and tourist activities all year long. The Olympics was intended, among other purposes, to boost the economic development of Sochi as a sports and tourist region.

But surely there is more to this region than just sports and tourism. This region is strategically very important for Russia because of its geographic location. The city is located on the coast of the Black Sea. Notice how close it is to the southern border of Russia: it's the closest city to the border.

Just to give an example from the recent history: when the Soviet Union collapsed, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, has quickly transferred the capital from southern city of Almaty to Astana, a small town on the northern border. He did it because he feared that Russia may wish to reintegrate this territory which formerly belonged to Russia.

In case of Sochi, it is a sea port located on the southern border of Russia with predominantly Russian population located next to Caucasian regions with predominantly Caucasian population. Russia needs to make sure that she does not lose this region to her neighbours in case of any future conflicts.

Seems like one of the major reasons why many political and sport events are held here is to strengthen the region economically and politically.

 

[Michael B-C]

Has anyone else picked up on the stories floating around that Putin is soon to retire because he has advancing Parkinson's disease? Fascinating that these clearly steered rumors are doing the rounds at precisely this time just as a man with clearly advanced Parkinson's is being fraudulently foisted on the world/US.

Here's a couple of links - but the first has to have the best source of clear brain-fried-deductive reasoning I've seen in a while, thanks to the report of that great bastion of intelligence the UK SUN. I mean isn't it just great that these academics/experts sit around all day in their well paid jobs coming up with such front rank science based on the following from the first link:

However, The Sun has quoted a 2015 research at the Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, in The Netherlands, which highlights signs in Putin’s gait pointing to Parkinson’s.

The researchers pointed out that the 68-year-old Russian strongman walked with his left arm not moving – almost pinned to his side – while his right arm swings freely. However, this could be a “gunslingers walk”, as KGB agents were trained to keep their weapons tightly pinned to their left-hand side.

Does Vladimir Putin Really Suffer From Parkinson’s Disease Or Its Just Another Political Stunt To Save ‘Putinism’?​

Vladimir Putin to step down due to rumoured Parkinson’s disease, reports say​

Kremlin denies UK media report on Putin's readiness to quit due to Parkinson's disease​

The Kremlin rejected a report in a British tabloid, The Sun, which suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have Parkinson's disease and is poised to resign early next year.

The Sun cited professor Valery Solovei, a Russian political pundit, who suggested earlier this week on a Moscow radio station that 68-year-old Putin was under pressure from his entourage to step down due to fears for his health, Reuters said.

The tabloid reported that Putin's partner Alina Kabaeva, as well as his two daughters, are also calling on him to resign.

"There is a family. It has a great influence on him. He intends to make public his handover plans in January,” Solovei stated, predicting that Putin would appoint a new prime minister soon who would be groomed to become his possible successor.

According to the report, which was widely picked up by other British tabloid newspapers, observers watching a recent video clip of the president "noted his legs appeared to be in constant motion and he looked to be in pain while clutching the armrest of a chair.”

"His fingers are also seen to be twitching as he held a pen and gripped a cup believed to contain a cocktail of painkillers,” the report added.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the claims and attested that Putin, who has been in power either as president or prime minister for two decades, is in "excellent health."

"It's absolute nonsense," Peskov said in comments shared by state news agency TASS. "Everything is fine with the president."

When asked if Putin was planning to step down in the near future as Solovei had suggested, Peskov said, "No."

The rumor emerged as lawmakers introduced draft legislation that would reinforce Putin's immunity from prosecution after his presidency to Russia's lower house of parliament on Thursday.

"The president of the Russian Federation retains immunity upon terminating his authority," the text says. "He cannot be held criminally or administratively liable and cannot be detained, arrested or subjected to a search or an interrogation."

The Sun's report quoted Peskov saying that the senator-for-life move is a "practice that is being applied in many countries of the world, and it is quite justified."

"This is not innovation from the point of view of international practice," Peskov claimed.

The report also said a team of researchers at the Department of Neurology at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands identified signs in Putin's movements that could point to Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Any of our Russian members have anything approaching sanity from within the Russian media to add to this latest 'let's project onto Russia all our own home grown derangeements in an effort to deflect from our own ever mounting defects'?

 

[Possibility of Being]

Somewhere around the summer of 2019, the nutbag Solovei "predicted" some radical changes upcoming in Russia. According to him, Putin was supposed to leave the presidency early, nationwide mass protests were also predicted and what not - basically the opposition's dream coming true. Around the same time (shortly after?) he was kicked out from the Moscow Institute. Putin is still Russian president, there are no mass protests, so Solovei had to pull out another bullet: Parkinson. Yeah, right.

 

[Cosmos]

I don't remember the russian government ever being so clear/blunt towards Israel and their role in the Middle East as they have been recently. It seems to me that they slowly but surely make their stands public/official about that little state and its role (not only) in the region.

About two weeks ago the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, gave an interview to the Israeli Newspaper Jerusalem Post in which he stated quite clearly that Israel is the destabilizing force in the Middle East and not Iran.

Israel reacted not very amused to his statements:

Israel rebukes Russian envoy for harsh interview; he claims words were distorted

Foreign Ministry summons Anatoly Viktorov for dressing down after he supposedly said Israel-Arab conflict destabilizing Middle East, while Iran isn't

www.timesofisrael.com

Now, two weeks later, the russian government clearly backed up Viktorov statements by saying:

Moscow ‘confused’ by Israeli anger at envoy’s remarks to ‘Post’​

“All statements by the Russian ambassador quoted in the publication are in line with Russia’s well-known position on the Middle East.”
Israel was too sensitive about Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov’s insinuation that Israel was the destabilizing factor in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday.

“We are confused by the overly sensitive reaction to the issues touched upon in the interview of our ambassador to Israel,” she said more than two weeks after Israel’s Foreign Ministry reprimanded Viktorov for his remarks in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.


“The position presented in it has been repeatedly communicated to Israeli colleagues on various levels,” Zakharova said, according to the Russian news agency TASS. “All statements by the Russian ambassador quoted in the publication are in line with Russia’s well-known position on the Middle East.”

Moscow ‘confused’ by Israeli anger at envoy’s remarks to ‘Post’

“All statements by the Russian ambassador quoted in the publication are in line with Russia’s well-known position on the Middle East.”

www.jpost.com

 

[Vulcan59]

The Genius of Vladimir Putin?

Is Vladimir Putin a genius? What other statesman can claim his accomplishments? What the US needs is someone like him.

julianmacfarlane.substack.com

 

[Niall]

RT has launched a dedicated archive with many of Putin's key speeches or statements (going all the way back to the 90s)... AI-dubbed into English:

Putin Speaks

Scroll down the page for dozens of nested Putin speeches in English. The results aren't as good as other examples of AI-generated translations of historical figures' speeches, but it's a great start.