Tag: #wagnergroup

The Global Russian Pox

August 28, 2024

Vladimir Putin’s malevolence spreads well beyond the borders of Ukraine. Russia’s immediate neighbors in the European Union (EU) can attest to the various means by which they are threatened – engineered mass migration that attempts to destabilize social order, cyberattacks upon financial and governmental institutions, disinformation campaigns focused upon societal grievances, sabotage, assassinations and other devices to be elaborated upon here. Territorial proximity, however, is not a prerequisite for Russian intrusion. Similar approaches have been applied to other nations throughout the world and particularly in the West which Putin regards as his archetypal enemy in the manner typical of his Soviet upbringing. … More The Global Russian Pox

Putin’s Odds (Part 1) – The Dissonance of War and Economy

January 30, 2024

Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is beset by a confluence of several factors, some apparent and others not so much, each with their own dynamic and shifting significance. The thing about chaos is its relative unpredictability in acute circumstances. The consequent unpredictability makes it difficult to foresee where and when a point of criticality is reached that will dictate an end to the conflict or determine a clear and inevitable path to that end. … More Putin’s Odds (Part 1) – The Dissonance of War and Economy

Putin, Latin America, Hybrid Warfare and the U.S. Border

October 21, 2023

For those who think that Vladimir Putin’s Russia and his war in Ukraine have little to do with the domestic situation in the United States (U.S.) and who likewise pay little attention to the influence his regime exerts in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America because it seems of little consequence for themselves or the world at large, it is more than time to reconsider. Since the end of World War II, Russia has been in a state of conflict with the U.S., vying for global advantage both militarily and geopolitically. The dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 brought this to a temporary halt until Putin came to power in 2000. What followed was the reestablishment of an authoritarian regime with the intention of recreating some facsimile of a Russian empire of the past. In the process, Putin has gained for himself the reputation of an indicted international criminal and demonstrated to the world his disregard for the rule of law and human welfare. Putin’s conduct on the world stage has amounted to a series of atrocities committed within his own Russia, the Republic of Chechnya and the nations of Georgia, Syria, and now Ukraine. … More Putin, Latin America, Hybrid Warfare and the U.S. Border

Pro-Russian Gaslighting in North America – the “Tankies”

October 2, 2023

“Tankie” definition: an individual on the far left or far right of the political spectrum who aligns with corrupt foreign authoritarian regimes to promote their foreign policy agenda, thinking them to be superior to that of their own nation. (Russian translation: “useful idiot”)

“Thinking of things is difficult; therefore, let the herd pronounce judgment.” – Carl G Jung   
With that sarcasm, so goes the global campaign of Russian disinformation in its various forms spread by well-funded media trolls, ill-informed journalists, political hacks and academics whose bias exceeds the guardrails of scholarship: Enter the tankies. The rhetoric is commonplace and repetitive giving one the feeling that, despite its absurdity, the more often it’s said, the more likely it will be taken as “truth.” To be clear, the United States (U.S.) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) did not instigate the war in Ukraine as some scholars are desperate to claim and others are keen to regurgitate. … More Pro-Russian Gaslighting in North America – the “Tankies”

Mr. Lavrov

May 25, 2023

There has been indication that Lavrov’s luster has diminished and his status in Putin’s orbit  has drifted into an extraplanetary domain. … More Mr. Lavrov

Russian Disinformation and the Inconvenience of Truth – 1941 and 2022

May 10, 2023

This is the scene that has been unfolding for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. It is witness to familiar elements of what we have come to regard as the worst of humanity – indiscriminate destruction of cities, mass executions, kidnapping of children, displacement of millions of civilians, rape, forced prostitution and torture, highlighted recently by the savagery of beheading prisoners. The bare truth underlying this Russian invasion is that it is entirely unjustified. … More Russian Disinformation and the Inconvenience of Truth – 1941 and 2022

The Isolationist Stance of the Uneducated

March 20, 2023

The comments made by some individuals vying for political relevance in the coming presidential race seem to have little to do with the reality of global affairs and more to do with voter appeal. More qualified authorities with a sense of world history, current geopolitical dynamics, military strategy, trade relations, humanitarianism and national identity are better suited for comment than those who merely seek distinction with provocative soundbites that pretend to show wisdom. When an effective global effort is underway in which the United States has taken the lead to address a crisis, American resolve should not be looked upon by the world as time-dependent and its promises restricted to the duration of a single presidential administration. There can be no assurance than that the welfare of the international community, including that of America itself, is under consideration and can remain secure in the long-run. This is particularly the case, when authoritarian regimes figure themselves to have permanency and have intentions of forever securing that state-of-affairs by whatever means available to them despite what history has repeatedly taught us. … More The Isolationist Stance of the Uneducated

The Russian Language of Victimization and the Promotion of Vengeance

January 29, 2023

There has been a very consistent pattern of rhetorical atmospherics among prominent Russian officials promoting the notion that they have been threatened by the encroachment upon their border of the sinful West with its democratic ideals. The rhetoric would not have been alien to Otto von Bismarck 150 years ago when he lamented having to confront Russians with their ‘unpredictable stupidity.’ The messaging, however, has been largely, if not wholly, intended for consumption by the Russian populace which, sadly, either believes the nonsense regurgitated by state media, or is obliged to simply tow-the-line as they have been apt to do for centuries. Putin has made use of an undercurrent of Russian nationalism conflating it with the nation’s spiritual faith, to recall its historic struggle most recently against Nazi Germany. The struggle now, as Putin wishes to have Russia see it, is to save itself from Ukraine, a hitherto unknown bastion of neo-Nazism apparently only known to him, which has also chosen to align itself with the West and its assumed pervasive decadence. The shrill and anger of the delivery is meant to obscure the absurdity of the message but falls short for those who understand its intention. … More The Russian Language of Victimization and the Promotion of Vengeance