by Mark Hackard Geopolitical analysis, the art of explaining power relationships through the prism of impersonal geography, can be a helpful tool for observers of the Great Game – but it also has its limitations. A case in point is the renewed US-Russia confrontation. Think tanks and policy insiders easily sell the narrative that from the dark days of the Cold War to our own time, Russia and the United
Dear friends and readers,Today I am writing to you to appeal for your help. By now it must be clear to everybody that what is taking place today is not just some “Cold War v2” or some “East-West tensions”, but a full-scale total war between not only Russia and the USA, but between the entire AngloZionist Empire and the Resistance (lead by Russia and the BRICS). Make no mistake, this
Interesting news this morning: Khasan Zakaev, one of the terrorist which organized and executed the 2002 attack against the Dubrovka theater in Moscow and an aid to Shamil Basaev was arrested in Crimea when he tried to enter from the Ukraine with false documents. Khasan Zakaev I very much doubt that Zakaev wanted to visit Crimea to enjoy the beautiful sights, sample the local cuisine or to relax on the
by LeonardoOn December 15, 2014 the Italian reporter Giulietto Chiesa, who had been invited to take part in a conference in Tallinn on Russian-European relations, was detained by the Estonian authorities for a few hours after being declared “persona non grata“. Facts appear to point to a deliberate move on the part of the Estonian authorities meant to prevent the journalist from attending the conference, thus censoring the speech he
Medvedev has just called a government meeting with most of the directors of top Russian corporations and the director of the Russian Central Bank. He immediately announced that he will not introduce any harsh regulatory measures and that he will let the market forces correct the situation. As for the former Minister of Finance, the one so much beloved in the West, Alexei Kudrin, he expressed his full support for
by “Diogenes” Preamble: First of all, when I heard of Central Bank decision to increase the rate, I have to admit that number looks suspiciously familiar to me. Yes, I knew Central Bankers manual. If you wish I can send you this That number 17% was used by my professor of macroeconomics who was lectured Central Bank staff consequently. It was in all American books on Macroeconomics, from 80s –
by Aleksei Kettunen Translation to English: Petri Krohn Russian ruble exchange rate changes have all the ingredients of success detective story. On Monday, 15.12. 2014 ruble weakened to a record low since 1998: the dollar cost 64 rubles and 79 rubles to the euro. In recent years, the price of an euro has been hanging around 50 rubles, or 5 000 rubles withdrawn from an ATM for a night of
Listen to this Ukrainian Nazi, speaking in Russian with his fellow Ukrainians, explaining that there are no peaceful civilians in Donetsk but only collaborators of the enemy. As soon as he is done spewing his hatred he gets hit by an artillery shell. Call it ‘karma’ or remember the words of the 3rd Psalm “thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly” but this guy sure got what he deserved.
The horrible events in Pakistan immediately brought to my mind the barbaric attack by Wahabi Chechens against the school in Beslan. It is amazing for me to see that, apparently, attacking schools and taking children hostage is a God-pleasing action in the sick minds of the human reptiles known as Wahabis. They also love to slit throats, torture and, occasionally, eat livers. Truly, this ideology which we can call Wahabism
The result of the Russian Central Bank’s hike in interest rates turned out to be worse then my worst nightmares: it reversed the downward spiral of the Ruble for only about half an hour, then the Russian currency resumed its collapse. Rumor has it that the Central Bank might begin buying Rubles next, which I personally don’t see as useful at this point.I have asked for expert opinions and I
Oh boy, today is a bad day for sure. First, the Russian Central Bank has suddenly raised its interest rates from 10,5% to 17%. I am dubious that this will do much for the Ruble (currently in free fall for many different reasons) but, boy, will that slam the breaks on a Russian economy which needs acceleration! Not being an expert myself (I did get an MA in International Economics,
by Vadim Zolotaryev, http://matveychev-oleg.livejournal.com/1722656.html via http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/1729991 translated by Eugenia (thanks so much!!) A matter-of-fact view backed by numbers 07-12-2014: By profession, I am a geologist, not a fortune teller or a psychic. I have no way of knowing what Putin is currently thinking of or what Poroshenko and Obama talked about yesterday. I am not on intimate terms with oligarchs of different countries involved in the events in Ukraine and
Dear friends, A very interesting question was recently asked by a reader of the French Saker Blog, “FD”: Should we expect a coup AGAINST Putin or a coup BY Putin? Given the power of the pro-USA forces at the top political, intellectual, financial and media circles, will Putin not have to make his own “18 Brumaire“? This is a very interesting idea because, in a way, it might appear to
Dear friends,I would like to ask for your assistance in the following two matters:First, I was asked by the Russian Saker Team to get an English transcript of the presentation of Sheikh Imran N. Hosein I have recently posted entitled “Islam and Russia’s Tryst with Destiny“. If somebody could write such a transcript and send it to the Russian Saker Team Leader at editor@vineyardsaker.ru we could then make a translation
English Transcription & Translation by: VineyardSaker Video TeamTranslations: S Editing: Bernie, AlexFrench Translation: StéphaneProduction: Marina & Augmented Ether
