[this article was written for the Unz Review]
No, this will not be an article about Russians kidnapped in Chechnia (that was a very long time ago) or somewhere in a combat zone. I will be talking about the USA and Iran. First, here are a few links for context:
- About the FBI’s illegal detention of parliament member Inga Iumasheva “Imagine FSB interrogating a US senator? FBI agent questions Russian lawmaker, offers ‘informal’ meeting“
- About the IRGC’s rather weird arrest of Russian journalist Iulia Iuzik “Iran Arrests Russian Journalist Yulia Yuzik for Espionage“
- A recent article by Paul Craig Roberts “Will the Russians Ever Learn?“
- My own analysis for the Unz Review “Kidnapping as a Tool of Imperial Statecraft?“
Quick update: the Iranians have declared that the detention of Iuzik was not an espionage case, but a visa violation which will be resolved very soon.
Next, I would like to clarify a few things before discussing what I think is “Russia’s kidnapping problem“.
In the case of Iuzik, I do not think that she was a spy for anybody, including the Israelis. Why? For one thing, I read that she entered Iran with a passport stamped with an Israeli visa. That is not very smart, especially for a putative ‘spy’ and, besides, even the Israelis are not that arrogant (or incompetent). Furthermore, if the Iranians (who have truly world class security services!) had really suspected Iuzik they had many other options including:
- Setting up a sting operation and film her doing something illegal
- Feed Iuzik all sorts of bad info to confuse her bosses and smoke out any spies in Iran
- Contact the FSB and warn the Russians about her real professional profile
These are just the three most obvious ones. There are many more.
Finally, spies are not arrested immediately upon arrival, this really makes no sense whatsoever (what would be the point?).
[Sidebar: some have noted that Iuzik is closely linked to all sorts of toxic Russian “informal” or “non-system” opposition groups. That is absolutely true and I am sure that Iuzik has no more love for Putin than she has for Iran. And maybe she truly loves Israel. But that does *not* make her a usable spy while this could have made her a “victim of Putin’s regime and hatred for real journalists“, at least if the Russian Foreign Ministry had not acted immediately and firmly. The truth is that these Kodorkovskii-type of “journalists” are no threat to Putin or his “regime”. That is precisely what makes them so angry and why they have to invent “persecutions” ex nihilo]
So what happened here?
My guess is (and I hope and ask my Iranian friends to correct me if I am wrong!) that this is not about Iuzik herself. I see two possibilities:
- The Israeli visa really infuriated somebody at the IRGC and that person acted impulsively
- This is the result of internal infighting in Iran
The first one is obvious, so let me explain the second one.
A lot of Iranians harbor plenty of reservations about Russia, some are even outright hostile or suspicious. They are not alone, there is also plenty of Russians who do not trust the Iranians. In the first case, the history of wars and Russian interventions (not to mention the Soviet support for Saddam Hussein’s war on Iran!) is the cause. In the Russian case, the Iranian attitude towards Afghanistan, Chechnia and, especially, Bosnia created a bad image of Iran (and, to a lesser degree, Islam) in some circles in Russia. There is nothing new here, other countries have had the same problem (France and Germany, Russia and China, etc.). My guess is that somebody somewhere in the Iranian power structure saw this as a way to create problems between Russia and Iran. The telltale sign for me is that Iuzina was arrested, according to various reports, by a IRGC special forces team (that is what is done with real spies to prevent them from killing themselves or destroying evidence). Thus a REAL anti-spy method was used on somebody who was self-evidently NOT a spy. If so, that plan failed, since the Russians immediately summoned the Iranian ambassador who immediately promised to solve this issue.
The case of Iumasheva is much more primitive. This is simply the latest attempt of the US deep state to try to make the Russians do something in retaliation which could then be used to prove how evil and devious the Russians are. As for offering her to grab a coffee on the way out, it is simply a lack of education of the FBI agents involved. Maybe they wanted to hit on her, or brag to their pals about taking her out, or maybe they simply wanted to show some kindness and did not realize how this kind of clumsy “kindness” would be seen in Russia (where women have a very different status than the poor women of the United States).
So these two cases are completely unrelated and do not form a pattern.
Except they do, alas, and this is the real Russian kidnapping problem.
Where whining will get you in Russia
In the public opinion (both in Russia and outside Russia) Russia simply looks weak and easy to bully. Now, of course, inside Russia these kinds of views are mostly held by pro-US “liberals” who are just waiting to fan any flame against Putin and the Kremlin. Most people inside Russia do actually understand the reasons why Russia does not retaliate in kind (Maria Zakharova just repeated it all on TV recently, Russian speakers can listen to her here). She summed it all up by mentioning the Russian proverb “На обиженных воду возят” whose direct translation into English makes no sense whatsoever: water is carried on the backs of offended people. This proverb comes from the times of Peter I when canalizations were not available everywhere and when some dishonest employees of the state who were supposed to deliver the water by carriage for free began charging money for this. When Czar Peter heard about that, he punished these crooks by making them pull the horse-carriages themselves. Nowadays the word “offended” takes a different meaning of “pouting” or “whining”, so I would (very freely) translate it as “whiners get screwed” or something to that effect. An even freer translation could be “don’t bitch and you won’t be treated like one”. Simply put, concepts like “oi vey!” or “gwalt” are not Russian ones :-)
When westerners are outraged, they typically do a lot of talking. They threaten, they complain, they protest, they denounce, etc. Russians typically say nothing, take the pain and concentrate. Furthermore, complaints, threats or protests are seen as signs of weakness in the Russian culture. For example, the advice given to anybody going to jail in Russia is “не верь, не бойся, не проси” which means “don’t trust, don’t fear and don’t ask/beg”. If the so-called “Russian studies specialists” and other experts in the West understood this key feature of the Russian mindset they would not misread Russia so often.
So this is what happens: each time somebody in the West kidnaps a Russian citizen (or does not respect their diplomatic status) the Russian officials very boringly and vapidly protest, mostly behind closed doors and publicly repeat the canned sentences about “US obligations under international law”, about how the boorish behavior of the USA will end up boomeranging and even further discredit the country which modestly fancies itself the “city on the hill”, “indispensable nation”, the “land of the free”, “home of the brave”, etc.
This all simply reeks of weakness to non-Russians (just see Paul Craig Robert’s article above!).
And that is a REAL problem for Russia.
In Asia, everybody “gets it”. The Iranians understand that absolutely perfectly and do not mistake politely smiling diplomats with Russian weakness (Iran’s future is, in so many ways, becoming dependent on Russia and the Iranians know that very well; just as with the Putin-Xi alliance, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Putin also understand each other perfectly). Hence their immediate reaction. As for the Russians, they also understand that this was not a hostile act on the part of Iran as a country but either a bureaucratic screw-up, or a case of Iranian infighting (which happens in Russia too!).
But in the West, Russia’s apparent passivity and even taste for pain only triggers bewilderment and frustration and I believe that Russia needs to address this problem for the following reason:
Thanks to the ceaseless efforts of Obama and Trump, the AngloZionist Empire is tanking much faster than anybody (including myself) would have ever thought. True, Europe is still a US colony, but the “natives are being restless” and there are all the signs that at least the “Old Europe” (aka “western Europe”) is slowly coming to its senses and realizes that the US not only fails to deliver much, but even cannot really punish very much either. Not only that, but the “Old Europeans” will vitally need Russia’s help to deal with the “New Europeans” (aka “eastern Europeans), wannabe colonial servants and full-time Empire-brown-nosing regimes when the EU finally tanks (which, at least to me, is not an issue of “whether” but only a question of “when”).
So far, and as long as Russia continues to look like a willing punching ball of the USA, future potential allies will always wonder whether Russia is a paper tiger or, even worse, a “pretend-resister” and a pushover in reality.
Europe and the Americas are no more a Russian foreign policy priority, if only because right now the US is “not agreement capable” while the EU is trying to find some middle-path between the US, Russia and the nutjobs in the East. True, Russian foreign policy priorities are now in the South, the East and the North. But let’s not confuse cause and effect here. A truly sovereign USA or EU would be an superb partner for Russia in so many ways that she cannot but do everything she can to try to change current US and EU perceptions.
So what could Russia do?
I will immediately exclude all actions which would be illegal under international and Russian law. The fact that a political Neanderthal acts like a thug is no reason for civilized people to emulate him or retaliate in kind. Each country, each nation, has to decide for itself whether the rule of law (national or international) is something which matters to it or not.
However, I believe that there are legal actions the Russians could take.
For one thing, the Russians could get much, much more assertive at the UN. I get it, Lavrov had to say that he was sure that Trump and Pompeo had nothing to do with the latest illegal denial of visas of Russian officials to the UN: he was trying to help Trump who probably really had nothing to do with this. But Pompeo?! Of course Lavrov and everybody else understand that this could not have happened without Pompeo’s go-ahead. How much did Lavrov’s diplomatic talk help Trump? I don’t think that it made any difference. And it did make Lavrov look plain silly (a very rare case indeed!) in the eyes of the western public. Was it worth it? I don’t think so!
Next, so far the Russians have failed to really put pressure on the USA worldwide, but the reality is that she has plenty of options to hurt US security, political and economic interests. For example in Africa where Russia (and China) have gained a lot of traction in recent years or in Latin America where Russia could provide much more political support to opposition groups to local comprador regimes (say in Brazil, Colombia or even Mexico!). I don’t mean do what the USSR did and waste millions on local Communist parties or by single-handedly supporting the local economies. But the Russians could begin using political methods (covert and overt) to being showing the US intelligence community (which will immediately detect this) that there is a price to pay.
What would be important in this case would be to start very “low”, with a few actions here and there, just enough to get the US Americans to notice and then to protest in back-channels. Once this happens, the Russians could simply say “you treat us as hostiles, fine, but there will be a price to pay”. The first time around Uncle Shmuel is unlikely to notice, but once this become a pattern, especially an increasing one, trust me, he will notice!
And, consider this: the USA is already, and has been since at least 2013, engaged in a full-spectrum aggression on Russia and they have pretty much exhausted all nasty measures which the USA could implement more or less safely. Escalating further by, say, disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT, or try to impose a no-fly zone over Syria or try to disconnect Russia from the Internet, or blockade Russian ships – these are all measures which are often mentioned, but which would definitely trigger a dangerous Russian retaliation. The Russians have made several (very uncharacteristic) warnings about that and the US Americans most likely understood that perfectly. This is also what happened when the Ukronazis were on the verge of an attack on Russia and Putin decided to (again very uncharacteristically) warn Kiev that any such attack would have major “consequences for the Ukrainian statehood“. All the Ukrainians, most of them being either Russian or understanding the Russian political culture, immediately understood what that meant and the much announced offensive was scrapped.
Conclusion: Russians still often suck at PR
Yes, RT was huge progress, and even Sputnik probably has a function for the western audiences. And ladies like Zakharova sure are a HUGE progress compared to the stone-faced Soviet spokesmen. But, simply put, this is not enough.
Furthermore, even inside the Russian society there are real patriots (not just western agents) who are getting mighty fed-up with the Kremlin’s, let’s kindly call it “meek” or “hyper-polite” attitude. Meekness is a great quality, so are good manners. But other attitudes and actions are needed when faced with rogue thug-like regimes, especially when those regimes are both self-worshiping and appallingly ignorant.
I have already mentioned in the past that I believed that the “retirement age reform” was a mistake and that it would create a new, patriotic, opposition to the Kremlin’s policies and even, but to a lesser degree, to Putin himself. This did happen, even if Putin’s last-minute intervention kinda softened the blow and, eventually, this topic was if not forgotten, then at least not the top issue.
Then there has been, for years now, a weird policy of apparent appeasement of the Nazi regime in Kiev. Since Putin’s very public threat, since he refused to even take phone calls from Poroshenko and since the Russians have FINALLY begun handing out passports to the Ukrainians, things have somewhat improved on that front. But for YEARS the Russian opposition (patriotic or not at all) was warning about an imminent “sellout” of Novorussia and that hurt the Kremlin (even if that sellout never happened).
I think that it is high time for Putin or Lavrov to start “not taking calls” from Trump or Pompeo, initially figuratively but, if needed, maybe even literally.
As for the patriotic opposition to Putin, there would be a very easy way to deal with it:
- start listening to it and show much more firmness
- finally give the boot to some of the more toxic 5th columnists in the government
- invite that opposition for a real national debate in various public forums (Valdai, TV, radio, etc.)
I think that many of these patriotic opponent of the Kremlin would be glad to fully support Putin if he did that. If he fails to do so, this opposition will only grow. Right now the Kremlin is “lucky” that this patriotic opposition has not succeeded (yet?) in presenting a single halfway credible political figure to lead it. To my great regret, most of the folks involved are angry, bitter and deeply resentful that they have been almost completely ignored by the Kremlin. But this will inevitably change, especially if the current government continues to look weak, indecisive and not truly patriotic at all.
Thus, I believe that, both for external and internal reasons, the Kremlin needs to develop and implement a much firmer policy towards US-ordered kidnapping of Russian citizens. I also believe that this will happen once the political costs for the Kremlin of its current “politeness” become even higher.
One more thing – remember the US seizure of Russian diplomatic buildings in the USA? Putin’s response was very typically Russian: he invited the children of US diplomats to Christmas ceremony in the Kremlin. For a short while, he did look like the proverbial “better man”. But what since? NOTHING! Another President sits in the White House and the buildings are still under illegal US control. Did Putin’s “better man” attitude do anybody any good? Especially in the long term? I sure don’t think so. There is a simple truth that every cop knows: narcissistic thugs do not appreciate good manners. There is a lesson here.
The Saker
PS: I just saw this video of Iumasheva explaining what happened to her:
Civility and Calibrs. That’s the Putin formula. What has it gained Russia?
Deep alliance with China, Turkey taken from NATO, a viable working relationship with Iran and Hezbollah, vital relations with Egypt, a powerful Middle East military and diplomatic base, Billions in military weapons sales, the recognition by the world that Russia is back as a Super Power.
Russia has absorbed far worse than embassy and consulate affronts. Passenger planes blown out of the Sinai sky, fighter jet shot down by Erdogan and the pilot machine gunned as he parachuted, an electronics warfare plane with 35 crew shot down, due to Israeli malice, an ambassador assassinated in Turkey for some more serious events.
These are the prices for Russia stepping into the global octagon and mixing it up with the hegemon.
You have to weigh the progress and accomplishments and gains against all the bad stuff.
Russia (and now with China) is transforming the global power structure from unipolar to multipolar. The struggle has costs.
China is suffering similar transgressions. And much worse in some cases than Russia, though not the loss of life and planes which are because Russia entered the war in Syria. China has not.
Russia and China merely need to sit tight, strengthen mutual assistance and co-operation and wait for the pig-sty on the Potomac to turn into a bedlam of internecine hatred and open warfare. Well-more of a bedlam of etc. The Exceptionals are at each other’s throats, and I saw Clinton itself, the Omega Feminazi, on PBS, musing, and not in a humorous or ironic way, of running against Trump in 2020 and ‘..beating him again’. How’s that for end-stage psychosis?
Field Marshall Montgomery (‘In defeat unbeatable, in victory unbearable’) speech to the House of Lords in May 1962:
“Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is: “Do not march on Moscow”. Various people have tried it, Napoleon and Hitler, and it is no good. That is the first rule. I do not know whether your Lordships will know Rule 2 of war. It is: “Do not go fighting with your land armies in China”. It is a vast country, with no clearly defined objectives.”
Killary Clinton’s campaign, from my perspective, seemed to run against Validmir Putin. Guess what -she lost.
Thankfully, in this case, lessons of history do not penetrate some vile people.
Putin clearly saw Clinton for what she is, and she cannot stand that. Her ‘We came, we saw-he died, cackle, cackle, cackle’, regarding the brutal murder of Gaddafi, is the measure of the beast.
Larchmonter445
Excellent comment. Russia is gaining prestige through diplomacy and dignity, while the US is losing esteem with imperial arrogance. This arrogance can indeed be interpreted as a sign of weakness, the imperial bully losing his nerve, seeing the rise of Russia and China and the influence they are spreading.
When it comes to the Russian mentality, the West is incapable of understanding it, especially the people in Washington DC. Patience is a Russian virtue, as it is Chinese. An average American can never handle patience as can an average Russian. In Russia they have a saying which goes like this:”Good. We wait”. And wait they can. When Putin came to power, he diligently and patiently started rebuilding Russian infrastructure, giving NATO a huge shock in Crimea, in Syria, and after that when he announced the existence of the latest Russian military high tech. Look at the reconstructions in Crimea. And the Russian population patiently waited for all of this to happen. As they say in Russia, “Russians saddle their horses very slowly, but once they do saddle them, they ride them very fast”.
The Saker is indeed right that Russia will have to change it’s response to American provocations. However, I don’t expect this response to change dramatically, as it will only be “updated”. As I mentioned, patience is a Russian virtue. The exception would be if the US did something really stupid, after which you would see the fury of the Russian bear.
When it comes to Western Europe, it is indeed beginning to wake up. The threats of sanctions directed against European firms who were building the Nord Stream – 2 gas pipeline was a huge shock. The other factor is NATO and it’s anti-Russian rhetoric. Europeans are coming to the conclusion that the US expects them to fight World War Three for the benefit of Wall Street, on the presumption that since Europe already fought two world wars on it’s territory, it “wouldn’t” mind fighting one more. Nothing could be further from the truth. And then we have, of course, sanctions that were introduced against Russia. By the second half of 2017 the EU lost 100 billion dollars in trade, bitterly resented. As we all know, these sanctions were not only directed against the Russia, but also against the EU, the intent being to separate the EU from Russia and to direct it entirely towards the US. It won’t work. Russia is in Europe, while the US is on the other side of the Atlantic. Old Europe has no intention of becoming a permanent colony of it’s former colony. I wonder if the Washington political establishment understands all of this. I doubt it. On the other hand, Europe fully understands the Washington political establishment and the infantile political shows it presents, like Russiagate and others. We can safely say that Washington has taken a downward flight from which it can never pull up.
Not only are the Western ruling psychopaths utterly impatient, wanting ‘it all’, and wanting it ‘now’, (a symptom of their utterly nihilistic materialism, fear of death and total indifference, in fact antipathy, to the future and future generations)but they also have an obsession with controlling the past, hence the whole industry of historical fabrication that characterises Western discourse.
I agree with you, I always ask myself how people can not see Russia’s rise in particularly the last 5 years as anything but extraordinary.
I disagree with the Saker that Russia needs to change their ways of responding to petty nonsense from the empire, in fact they don’t actually have to do anything at all.
The US is years, maybe months away from losing their most powerful tool, the dollar, as a reserve currency. Without it, there is no US empire, heck, maybe no US, at least not in the same form as we know it today. Russia knows this, China knows this, which is why both of them are buying gold like bling addicts. Crucially, the US knows this, too, which is the reason for Trump trying to squeeze everyone for money. “NATO allies must pay 2% of GDP!”, “China is screwing us, they need to pay us more!”, “Germany, South Korea and Japan need to pay for our troops to remain in their countries!” etc etc etc.
The US is done, no point in lashing out against a dying beast. Russia is already the undisputed diplomatic superpower of the planet, they literally talk to everybody and have friendly relations and business deals with countries who hate each other. Saudi Arabia and Israel vs. Iran, none of these officially talk to each other, all of them talk to Russia.
Russia (and China) have been building the foundation for a post-US world for years, once the inevitable end of the US empire is finally upon us, they are there and ready to pick up the pieces. There are dozens of countries waiting for that day to happen, countries who are living in the shadow of the US, unable to escape it because the US actively prevents them from engaging in anything more than basic diplomatic ties to Moscow, which includes some EU countries.
So Russia really only needs to wait, present a calm, collected exterior. As the Saker said, many countries understand it. The ones who don’t will get a free lesson soon enough, once they see the queue in front of Moscows door after the US collapses under the weight of their own hypocrisy, hubris and arrogance, it should be clear as to who had the winning strategy in the end, the Russian tortoise or the american hare.
The UN itself were investigating the visa refusals…’nuff said ie no solution? And embassy problem supposedly going through some legal process…..and Navalny support org declared a foreign entiity after investigation in recent days maybe that is connected….
…Lavrov kept on for years talking to Kerry re USA and their flipflop definition of moderate rebels in Syria …Russia say it will always be open to and prefer discussion dialogue than not…..but recently North Korea and China both gave up on pointless talks that were only attempted USA “hostage “situations so to speak….Iran will not even respond to the phone call arranged by Macron with Trump…
…so honest discussion with USA and Russia is just not possible…..just as Macron Merkel and EU will not listen honestly to VVP eg costing 39 million euros to rejoin PACE?
Russia could afford to stand up for themselves a bit more. That said, they’ve done some great things, and it’s thanks to them that Syria is still standing. At this point, I don’t think Russia can do anything to alleviate the insane, deranged attitude of the United States which has been taken towards both them and the rest of the planet. Only the American people themselves will be able to change anything… and even then, it might cause a civil war inside the US, a war which will be fought between the Neocons and the American people.
I doubt there will ever be a hot civil war in the states, a political one naturally. Today’s citizens are tied down financially or to unhealthy to consider actually fighting. We are mostly an obese, lazy, uneducated, and wanting to compete among our selves country, and an already exhausted one at that. To pick sides when so many sides are competing is just unthinkable here.
No, we will continue our own private eugenics experiment and cheer for our sides in a never ending battle of butting heads.
When excess food and gas is no longer available, expect civil unrest to follow. There are four groups of people who will naturally coalesce into self-preservation groups.
1) The urban and suburban whites who depend on the bloated dollar and all it buys. When Trader Joe’s ceases to offer organic, grain fed beef substitute, it will be the end of the world. This group will panic and descend into chaos and hilarity.
2) Ethnic Groups A and B who retain some semblance of adaptability from fifty years ago. They are adaptable.
3) Recent arrivals from Central and South America, who have not yet acquired the futility of the American Dream. That is to say, they depend less on all the trappings of a pampered lifestyle and can whither hardship.
4) Rural and small town whites. They’re ready.
Group one will be preyed upon by groups 2 and 3. Afterwards, there will be three factions in the civil war. I expect the final outcome will be groups 3 and 4 finding some sort of truce.
Your big problem is there is always going to be plenty of food and gas, we are the breadbasket of the world and have drilled deep enough to find the excess hydrocarbons, so that day simply wont arrive.
As for class warfare, its already raging, but not to extent it could. The flash mobs have not materialized and probably wont, they prefer local gang fights and protecting turf, the tent cities are growing but even once dismantled, they refuse to fight.
There need not be a truce, b/c their wont ever be a fight here, the fight here is a political one, and it might not ever get resolved.
Alabama
On this occasion I cannot agree with you. I believe I read somewhere that 2 % of the American population feeds the remaining 98 %. In case of social and political disturbances, how would food be transported to towns and cities, like New York City, which has a population of 7 million ? What if the dollar was to collapse ? Who would accept funny money for gas payment ? In such a situation you would get a pretty horrific anarchy.
Do you see any American groups getting together to survive and help each other out, or are they programmed to fight one another?
Yes, and yes. There are groups active today, that I am aware of, that have coalesced for the purpose of riding out the storm. Some are quite violent and secretive. Others are more serious about planning for the morrow, and notably non-violent. The latter are difficult to find and recognize unless you have yourself already recognized the winning strategy and are implementing it. If the major problem is that Trader Joe’s will no longer provide organic grain and other thought extravagances, then this group has already started to implement a solution.
Then there are certain ethnicities that naturally form gangs. I doubt these groups have much of a future do to the lack of ability to solve the necessary problems.
The only ”collective action” Pindos are capable of is lynchings. Otherwise, their corporate fascist misculture, exceptionalism, and indispensability leave the indelible mark of violently insane militant parasites upon the whole majority population. When the US Empire goes belly up, that will be an absolute nightmare to its most die-hard supporters/beneficiaries as their living standards will plummet instantly and no-one — bar a few retards in Eastern Europe — will feel particularly sorry about that.
In Russia, which never was an Oppressor Nation, the response to the collapses of 1917 and 1991 was collective action of the most excellent calibre. The US which isn’t only an Oppressor Nation par excellence but also boasts a morally and spiritually bankrupt population will see shooting sprees, lynchings, and all sorts of anti-social depravities. The state will disintegrate and so, finally, there will be progress towards world peace.
Alabama
I fully agree with you. In fact on a number of occasions I wrote that a replica of the 1861-1865 conflict is impossible, as who would fight it ? Having men leave their families unattended to fight ? No way. However, what is very much possible are severe social and political disturbances, which could implode the US. In 1998 Igor Panarin, Dean of the Russian Diplomatic Academy, presented his map of the implosion of the US into six parts. Just type Igor Panarin’s name on your search engine, and you will get his map.
Well it has been said, even many years in the past(even in old foriegn films), that only one person knows the future. And somehow I doubt it is your friend Igor, no disrespect naturally, it was probably stated b/c only one person knows the past, and as the two are very related after the said implosion, I shall take a pass on the map.
”There is a simple truth that every cop knows: narcissistic thugs do not appreciate good manners.”
Very true. But the good manners, calmness, and tranquility of Russia’s political leadership are absolutely not the primary reasons for Western anti-Russian hysterics and psychosis; it’s the results that count, as indeed they should. While I see a problem too with Russia’s liberal traitors I am, frankly, getting tired of the doom and gloom incessantly promoted by Paul Craig Roberts. It is as if he ignores the power shift taking place right in front of our very eyes. Also, he doesn’t seem to get that there is a profound advantage in that the rotting West sticks to its violently insane Russophobia. What I’ve always feared is that some sweet-talking Zionazis could succeed in catching Russia off guard. That risk is now minuscule, as the West has definitely lost the ability to produce any other sorts of people in power than confessed swine and scum. The West is on its last legs.
Dear Saker,
The evil combo “hybrid war + color revolution” has succeeded (“succeeded” according to the US deep state point of view, of course) in very few places: Ukraine, Lybia and… Brazil. In all three cases, the ultimate target was Russia (and, to an extent, China).
Russia should be aware that Brazil was targeted mainly in order to dismantle the BRICS arrangement (of course, the huge oil discoveries also played a role).
In all three cases, however, the targeted countries spiraled into chaos.
The USA excels in turning order into chaos, but to no value. Real value lays in reversing chaos into order – like Russia has been doing in Syria.
So, the same way Russia has intervened in Syria, she should prepare herself to intervene elsewhere, realizing that this might not be a matter of choice – otherwise, she would end figuring herself as a true weak nation.
That video is just classic. The lady was embarrassed as a person, as a woman and as a delegate of her country. The FBI officer? .. well, I’ve not seen other women comment, but an invite for a cup of coffee because ‘they are very interested in Russian-American Relations‘ is truly an overtly sexual pickup line, and a cheap one at that. It is also an overt male FBI power domination play given the state of visas and Russia Bad memes. I am sure she was a little afraid and not having a phone to be able to call her Embassy – its a situation of vulnerability. I wonder if he straightened his shoulders and stuck his chest out to look more ‘manly’ lol. She categorizes it as nonsense, and it was nonsense, but he wanted to explore the ‘relations thing’ and perhaps bag himself a very pretty Russian spy or at least get some kompromat that he could brag about.
Russians are going to have to get it that they are in danger if they go and do business in the US.
Nothing to see here, prolly just some loose cannons from the political civil war ready to get confiscated.
Ms. Yumasheva is obviously a very classy lady. I doubt the FBI agents had a clue as to how inappropriate their actions were. Most likely they were tasked with “shaking the tree” to see what falls out. Sadly for them, only embarrassment and ridicule.
I have one quibble.
The so-called ‘deep state’ is neither ‘US’ based nor US controlled. It is Transnational/Transatlantic and Zionist. It’s existence is captured perfectly by the oft used Sakerism ‘Anglozionist.’
The primary centres of control are the City of London and in Switzerland. Euro elites are still many times more sophisticated than their US counterparts while the most sophisticated of the later group (US elites) are generally alligned with European Zionism. Most of all Euro elites are sophisticated in terms of psychological warfare and control. Very few Americans can counter them in this respect and this is the primary reason we are encouraged to blame a thing, the USA, instead of the people who are actually responsible.
This is the Octopus of Global Control and there are branches of it in every nation on earth. When the final tally is made we will see if Syria gets a Rothschild bank, in the image of that which exists in Russia. If it does get such an institution as part of any peace deal we will know beyond any doubt what the Russian intervention was ultimately about. If on the other hand Russia gets a Syrian style nationally owned central bank, then the Russians will be fully redeemed.
The Octopus of Global Control has used Jews and more recently the Lubavitcher cult to do their dirty work for centuries. As we move closer to the end game, including the intentional collapsing of the US dollar to be replaced by a new Zionist controlled fiat, some of these Jews will be scapegoated to relieve pressure on top leadership. In fact the process is an ancient ritual. After show trials of certain prominent Jews the ruling Globalists will be cleansed of their responsibility leading, they hope, to complete renewal for the capstone set. This is the message given by the takedown of everyone from Weinstein to Epstein. Shut your mouth Jew or you will be next.
Which is not to absolve anyone of their crimes, least of all criminals like Epstein, who have had unofficial sanction and support for their activities since Five Eyes (essentially British Intelligence) took control of organized crime after WW2 in the United States and long before that in Europe.
What is critical, IMHO, is we don’t lose site of who has been dismantling and undermining the nation states of the US and Europe in particular, and by extension We the People. Transnational Zionist elites have been running this entire show from day one. Their holohoax religion portends who will carry the sins of ‘Israel,’ by which I do not mean that doomed nation state residing on Palestinian land but the Cult of British and Euro Israelites, who use common Jews as both human shields and colonizers. The true ‘Israelites’ of the modern world are the product of a merger of European Aristocrats and Jewish Mercantilists occurring over more than a thousand years, accelerating during the 19th century when relatively poorer land owning Aristocrats needed cash to save their estates and so married into Jewish-Mercantilist money.
These are the people who must be held accountable after the multiple crisis’ and centuries long crime spree of Zionist and Israelite perfidy is foisted upon humanity.
As for the person arrested above, she could be acting on orders from any number of Globalist Zionist Intelligence organizations including the SVR or Mossad. She could also be working for the GRU or even Chabad, which may or may not be working for/against the Octopus in this instance. With the information available to us there is no way to know.
Russian and Iranian interests are in conflict on many levels, not least of which is the compeition to determine who will sell the most hydrocarbons to Europe. Syria is also a question mark but I have to wonder if the Turkish move into northern Syria is meant mainly as a block against Iran, as would be the creation of a Kurdistan, or now more likely the ‘effective’ creation of a simmering terrorist-ridden Sunnistan in the area east of the Euphrates.
If indeed Putin and Trump are secretly working together then Iran will have difficulties. Iran, contrary to popular explication, remains a Zionist-Globalist satrapy. It is not only the US and Israel who have something to lose if Iran gets unfettered access to the European energy market.
“Pray God for Peace”: yes but beeing in a man”‘s ( Neardanthal’s world) we need to handle them in a “man’s manner”. We are after all on earth and what we should ask God is to give us the
leaders and systems to fight this Evil (Satan) – I mean fight/ destroy – because Satan is really active in this world and needs to be “destroyed”. Evil will always find ways to come back to life; I don’t know how but that is a historic reality, and certainly more than “historic”.
The case of the Russian journalist in Iran is a little odd. I have been to Iran. As part of the visa application process, I had to submit my passport to the Iranian Embassy in my country. I know the animosity between Iran and Israel, and that a Israeli visa on a passport would be a big no no for a visa application. If she presented the passport with the Israeli visa, it would (or should) have been rejected outright. So either the visa staff were in on a setup, or the person has multiple passports.
It would be interesting (and funny) if this girl file a criminal complaint in some US court about sexual harassment from the FBI agent for his remarks about “more comfortable” meeting aside.
LOL!!!!
Yes, I like that idea.
Alas, Russians are not big on suing :-(
Besides, any US court would reject the complaint at the first hearing.
But yes, at least I can imagine this :-)
Cheers
I don’t agree that Russia is turning the other cheek and looking weak.
Putin’s announcement that Russia is building China’s early warning system is the biggest kick in the Hegemon’s nuts imaginable – not just for the early warning system itself, but for what it says about the strategic alliance.
I agree.
Russian POLICIES are usually good.
It’s their PR which sucks, imho.
Cheers!
I lot of the PR gets lost in translation. I wish they had a good english speaker getting the message across to the US audence. Maria is good but I doubt many Americans have herd of her.
True, but that is not a language problem, but the result of a deliberate policy by US and EU states to keep RT/Sputnik off the mainstream media distribution networks.
Can you imagine Maria Zakharova invited to a talk show on CNN/NBC/CBS/etc?
She would easily eviscerate the stupid argument hurled at her by the talking heads!
Hence, even if all Russian officials sounded like natives, the “free press” would never allow the US/EU public to discover them…
The Saker
Andrew
Yes, I’m sure you are correct…many many Americans will not have “HERD” of her indeed!
Love how you slipped that in.
Cheers and regards
Col
look here! No way should the USA or any other country, be able to arrest innocent Russian people at all. no way should the USA be able to railroad Russians diplomats arriving in New York to attend the UN.
this of course must apply to all nations but especially to Russia. interfering with Russians citizens in the flow of their legit employment is abominable behavior on the part of the USA and the USA did it on a reading of Russia that there would be no Russian response
I do not see this as patience on the part of Putin..whether it is or not. I see it as inefficient Russian performance for I don’t know of any developing country that would see it different to how I see it. if Russia is working to build alliances with those countries as pointed out above Russia should be mindful about how it is perceived in that part of the world
Russian’patience’ also raises questions about Putin himself which are never far from surface. Putin seems always suspect as some sort of Banking agent given the way he rose to power and his seemingly tight relations with Israel, while at the same time immersed with ME nations..enemies of Israel
back in the cold war did the USA ever attack by arresting Russian citizens anywhere..did the USA harass Russian diplomats period? how would Brezhnez have responded to such US actions?
american actions here represent a serious encroachment on the legitimate freedoms of Russian citizens anywhere in the world…and the Russians should not stand for it. in principle now the US can arrest Russians anywhere in the world and take them to America for investigation and probably trial. that’s insane! as someone pointed out..with the breach of the diplomatic procedures Putin himself can be arrested in New York if he goes there to the UN for eg
Russia should stop that encroachment now..and be seen to have stopped it. I think that his is a very important issue indeed that can get out of hand because as PCR has argued the hegem’on will not stop. patience is all I see recommended and waiting for the US elite to so split ad to eliminate themselves. if ever there was/is a non-policy it is that. the USA will not stop interdicting Russian citizens I don’t thin until Russia stops them. Russia should have stopped this immediately. the longer it goes on the greater the chances it helps to precipitate the very fight the ‘patience’ is supposed to preclude
I wouldn’t worry about the way Putin and Russia so downplay the insults. I know that, to start with, in Russia, it’s considered a weakness to react to them. So far Russian leadership is spot on to a “T” in treating them as though they are so small and beneath contempt, that Putin et al hardly notice their existence.
However, there is another issue and it is that we know so very very little of what is happening, and Putin, Lavrov et al know it all.
Two or three times now, from 1999 when he was head of FSB to last year, he has said, in answer to the question “well I know you can’t tell us classified things, but can you tell us everything else” and Putin has laughed and said “Well, if I can’t tell you whats classified there’s nothing left to talk about”. Just about everything goes on behind closed doors; heads of state, top diplomats live in another world to one we see and know. And that’s the one they are dealing with and reacting to.
If Putin is very subdued and mute in his responses, it’s certainly not because he’s frightened of anyone, not any more. But he has a reason, I suspect, that we cant know. So all we can do is look at the trajectory of Russia for the past nearly 20 yrs — and that tells it’s tale; and ti’s a good one.
I have to be honest here, image is not everything. Everything is everything. Reality is what we must focus on shaping, not what someone wants someone to think about something. I see the achievements made against the aggression and hostility of the west to be remarkable, to say the least. Though it does get tiresome to see the provocations of Washington continue as if everything were just ‘la dee daa’.
Regarding Yuzik’s arrest in Iran:
1. Israeli stamp on a passport, works like waving of a red flag in front of a bull: it GUARANTIES an arrest in Iran, no discussion about that.
The rest of the accusations are just an automatic follow up to ANYONE accused of slightest collaboration/association with Israel, regardless of it being with their security staff or laying in a beach in Jaffa sunbathing
2. Iran is doubtlessly being targeted for a color revolution. Multiple Iranian expects, including my own brother, have been detained & questioned for various minor infractions or for that matter harmless but “unusual” activity. My expat brother got involved with relief effort, distributing tents after a quake a few years ago. He was approached by “internal security people (Etela’aty)” & warned “be cautioned, we are keeping an eye on you, don’t do anything stupid” (حواست جم باشه، خرابكازى نكنى! ما هراتو داريم!) . He was documenting addressing the stealing of tents by some corrupt official at the time during a snowy winter. Whether that “Intelligence Operative” was even real, trying to intimidate or fleece the victim, is difficult to say. Normally though they wouldn’t hassle the foreigners Witt these type of interventions.
3. There is whole side business going on within the security services of “arresting” expats (especially the ones from US) for overstaying their visas or for dodging the draft. Generally they are looking for a semi-official bribe. In my brother’s separate case, it costed $20k.
4. Hatred of USSR or Russia is a non-issue at this point in time, except for the “Westoxificated” rich upperclass “Bala Shahria” (Living in “Uptown Tehran” or equivalent areas in other cities). The latter are against the Iranian State, let alone the government too. They are constantly bombarded by satellite TV anti-Iran, anti-China, anti-Resistance, anti-Russian propaganda, from Manoto TV & Iran International (latter two funded by Saudi MBS Clown Prince Muhammad Bone Saw), VOA, Radio Free Iran,…, witha considerable degree of success. However this group has ZERO political & administrative clout, despite their riches. You can compare them to people around Medvedev although I don’t really know that much about the intricacies of Russian politics. I Iranian’s mind, at this point in time, the Russian Federation is identified with Vladimir Velikiy, and has a positive vib.
A lot of Iranians visited Russia for the World Cup and they all seem to have good memories and certainly were treated humanly at the border, which can not be said of the majority of tourists to the “West” (especially US) who need to humiliate themselves & beg to be allowed to enter & “be given the honor of being allowed to spend their money in the host county”, although I am using some hyperbole here. A lot of friends meet their family or even celebrate their wedding; in Turkey, Cyprus, Mexico, Georgia (the county) & Armenia these days, instead of inviting them over to mainland USA.
However, I think the main reason for the arrest, is the Israeli stamp. The latter would just activate an “arrest reflex” in the first lowly official who notices it.
A few of my former colleagues who had visited Israel, specifically ask not to stamp their passport, upon entry. The Israeli customs people cooperated with them and solely attached a paper to the passport, that needed to be returned upon exit.
“The Israeli customs people cooperated with them and solely attached a paper to the passport, that needed to be returned upon exit.”
And some countries will issue another active passport if you’re a frequent traveller to IL.
Also, about the saying, I am reminded of a story in the bible where slaves were made to carry water and firewood on their backs. While the realization is not easy to put into words, some time ago I realized that allowing myself to be offended (especially on purpose) only served to put me under someone else’s influence. That’s a big part of the reason that offensive people run around trying to offend people, it’s a manipulation tactic pure and simple. Not allowing that takes a good deal of their power away from them, and returns a good deal of your own power to yourself.
Well Saker, your article portrays one extremely clear fact: when Russia does put its foot down, everyone, including the Israelis and the US, toes that line.
Personally, I think that’s a supreme accomplishment from refusing to act against its own culture, and simply forcing the world to learn how Russian thinking works.
Maybe the loud mouths don’t get it – they don’t get much of anything – but they also aren’t the people with the guns and the forces to deploy. The people with power understand that when Russia says NO, that’s the final word.
I don’t see the problem here. You have long said that Russia should do better with the information war, and I have long argued that she is not responding at the level of words but at the level of paradigms. Russia has changed the “major inarticulate premise” – which the whole world has adopted and is spelled out in my first sentence.
I see nothing but success.
~~
And the westerners will have to clear up their own indoctrination and propaganda overload. Those of us trying are doing it with help from sources such as RT – and you of course. But to expect Russia or China to overcome the propaganda saturation of the western populations is too much to hope, in my opinion, when nothing in the west itself can manage to achieve that.
when Russia does put its foot down, everyone, including the Israelis and the US, toes that line.
I absolutely agree! Now I hope that the folks in the Kremlin fully realize that too :-)
Kind regards
> when Russia does put its foot down, everyone, including the Israelis and the US, toes that line.
And one requirement for that is that stepping one’s foot would not bee seen at hysteric bitchy kid throwing a fit.
Stomp once in a year – and people listen, people get it that you are on the verge of going unhinged.
Stomp every minute – and people would learn to ignore it.
Make Putin talks as often as Trump tweets – and no one would listen to him, hyperinflation.
These “kidnapping” episodes are just worthless distractions, imo.
Putin once remarked the methodology of his problem solving is based on the Judo principles. That was a massive giveaway from him. Here’s an unabashed take from a random internet source on Judo :
You have have to understand the Eastern/Oriental psyche. Its movies often stereotype the hero as cool, calm and collected, just waiting for the right moment to counterstrike. Its very rare for one to display full emotion just before the task. Quiet stoicism is seen as a virtue.
Those so called full spectrum aggression were mostly non-impactful harassments, in military context. Annoying, aggravating, perhaps even makes Russia look like a coward but ultimately a pointless exercise. It does not prevent Russia and its allies from quietly readying their militaries.
Look at the big picture, the empire has been steadily losing the information war irrevocably. Anti-empire sentiments has risen significantly since 10 years ago, massively since 20 years and beyond. The empire is no longer seen as a saviour but instead a destroyer. I think most countries out there, by now, can see what is being written on the wall. At the recent Valdai conference, Duterte demonstrated his sentiments clearly when he made his speech (which I bet made a few people uncomfortable in their seats).
What the world waiting for right now is the turning point, the right moment, the hour of the wolf.
When will that be? No firm idea, but I’m betting when the empire gets more hysterical in its act as anti-empire sentiments rises further and its traditional allies starts to question its stance.
to Sturm:
I fully agree with your observation, point of view.
Because (as I had already written in this blog somewhere):
One of my sons was at a national competition for Taekwondo (years ago). This is also some sort of self defense from Asia (as Judo etc.).
The first round he did only try to avoid being hit by his competitor.
The second round the same. We all sat in the tribune and were shaking our heads why he didn’t fight. However, the third round changed: this round he started to attack.
What to say: he won and got a medal.
Most postings here display Western kind of thinking: tit for tat. Aggression. War.
Eastern ways of thinking are different insofar as their point is how to achieve a desired result i.e. “to win”.
About Iran, detention and interrogation are standard procedure for anyone trying to enter the country with an Israeli stamp in their passport. It’s not kidnapping or an attempt to threaten, but just their procedures. This also happened to one of my students, a Russian woman who lives in Moscow.
It’s time to end the Viktor Bout kidnap.
Fully agree with everything, which is rare for me
“… even Sputnik probably has a function for the western audiences …”
… indeed, namely showing to the world, that even Russian taxpayer funded
news outlets push Jewish Mafia propaganda, sleaze and idiocy …
: )
I will say my thoughts with regards to Luzik. My first thought was: she went to Israel to get the instructions. I think Iran’s reactions was quick and swift, the rest is just BS. Russia knows it and will not react. Eventually, Luzik will get slap on the wrists and released, but the lesson will be learned. I agree with S that she is not an agent, just a stupid tool used for whatever purpose, perhaps to stir some $hit between Russia and Iran. These things happen all the time. The examples are around: Chinese (including HK), Koreans and Iranians with Canadian passports, all “innocent tourists subjected to unexplained regime brutality” and jailed in the corresponding countries.
Diplomacy is a part of the adult world. Russia, and a surprising number of other nations recognize that. Even some nations under the israeloamerican thumb. These likud provocations by the quisling trump regime only serve to further isolate the usa.
I mean seriously, who would want to keep this kid around?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c_0bhT98g9Y
Interesting that you mentioned Mexico. I’ve been wondering for a while if that country represents an opportunity for further accelerating (if that is even possible) the ongoing decline of Western hyper-aggression.
Mr. Saker,
I agree with you, the absence of firm reactions is harmful to Russia.
Epina39
To answer the question posed rhetorically in the video included in the article: Yes, they can’t control their intelligence network. Consider the ongoing coup attempt which is heating up against the executive branch of the government . my suggestion:
1. Keep the whole world posted on the progress of the court case against the illegal seizure of Russian private property in the US. Private property rights are near and dear to the hearts of the ordinary American and government intrusion on these rights makes them want to assert their 2nd amendment rights so that at least a spirited legal fight would seem the thing for Russia to be doing. Sure, counter seizures are good enough to give one a bargaining position but that does not mean the fight is over.
By the way, how is that going?
2. proclaim that female Russian diplomats or government representatives will be escorted by a guard due to the ignoble treatment of Iumesheva. Sadly, inviting her to coffee given the circumstances ( she was in a detention like atmosphere) was a sexual power play . There is the “natasha and boris” factor in the subconscious program placed by Hollywood into the minds of a generation of American children. And it gives Russia a chance to assert its cultural difference . This can be respected, too, especially by the folks who back Trump.
3. Admit the horrendous possibility that Looneylandia is becoming a failed state and proceed accordingly.
4. The best way to help Latin American is to continue support, win-win action like this:
https://theduran.com/cuba-signs-economic-deal-with-russia/
Maybe there will be a chance to do likewise with a new Ecuadorian government?
Most of these country’s with civil disobedience problems demanding new gvt stem from financial hardships mostly at the top of the food chain, a lost subsidy here, a tax raise there, and soon your talking real rebellion, here in the states its been common place for so long that it is now the new norm and barely makes it into conversation.
Usually once a gvt is removed,(and if another takes its place) the debts and social financial obligations remain, and if the remainder cant not be paid back, the lender goes in and makes an attempt to change course in their liking. Most of the time the peasents revolt, sometimes like in Iraq they wait it out until failure becomes the norm, then they revolt.
This is going to be a common occurance with 3 exceptions, Russia, China, and the U.S.
Regarding the Russian embassies in the US….here is some info from Lavrov: https://sputniknews.com/world/201909251076890830-russian-fm-lavrov-suggests-raising-issue-of-un-hqs-location-after-unga-visa-scandal/
“This all simply reeks of weakness to non-Russians”
These are not a rhetorical questions:
Does it really matter what people think, regardless of whether they are pro or anti-Russian ?
Do people’s perception of Russia have any influence on the realities on the ground ?
For example, will there be business people or diplomats that will decrease cooperation with Russians due to this perceived weakness?
She needs to throw her phone away, that was probably the main reason for detention, to bug her phone.
(puts on baseball cap)
Very important that Russia should be reactive to zionazi-gay provocations and give the sods what they are psywarring for.
(turns cap backwards so visor covers back of neck)
Russia should militarily attack in some way, preferably in a way that can be propagandized in a hitlerian way by the zionazi-gay psywar specialists.
“Russia could get more assertive at the UN”
Is this what you are looking for???
https://sputniknews.com/world/201909251076890830-russian-fm-lavrov-suggests-raising-issue-of-un-hqs-location-after-unga-visa-scandal/
https://sputniknews.com/world/201910111077025294-russia-on-friday-to-formally-call-for-moving-un-1st-committee-to-geneva-or-vienna/
I read Saudi Arabia asked Russia to probe the attack on Aibqaiq oil refinery. Look forward reading the results of Russia investigations. A significant diplomatic achievement for Moscow but also a challenge because of alleged iranian involvement in the attack.