by Sakari Linden
Republic of Karelia and its Head Alexander Hudilainen have targeted their eyes and hopes to China. After its relations with the West have been deteriorated due to the Ukraine crisis, Russia has increasingly directed geopolitically and economically towards Eurasia and China. Russia’s new direction changes position of Karelia, but at the same time it opens totally new opportunities for the region. From the point of view of Karelia, the ability to exploit the full potential of its connections to China will be determined by to what extent Finland and other Nordic countries are interested in being connected to Chinese markets via Karelia.
Alexander Hudilainen caused sensation in the International Economic Forum of Beijing, held on 4 and 5 September 2015, by revealing plans to connect Karelia to China’s gigantic project known as the New Silk Road. The plans revealed by Hudilainen include building of a nearly 2 700 km long motorway, which connects markets of the Nordic countries from the Finnish border via Karelia and the regions of Archangelsk, Komi and Perm to Ural mountains and the New Silk Road of and to the huge market of China. According to the plans, the first phase of the construction works will be a new motorway to be built from the Finnish border to Petrozavodsk, the capital of Republic of Karelia.
The New Silk Road: the greatest construction work of our era
The project known in China as “One Road, One Belt” (一带一路) is the biggest ever construction work, which was presented to the world by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Its goal is to spread China’s economic growth with help of investments and common infrastructure projects to countries situating along the New Silk Road. China’s eventual goal is to create new market areas for its own corporations in its neighbouring areas.
The goal of the One Road, One Belt is to connect China logistically to economically important regions with help of motorways and railroads directed to Eurasia, as well as with a sea road directed to the Mediterranean via India and the Middle East. Hence, the main parts of the mega project are the New Silk Road to be built through Eurasia, and the Maritime Silk Road to be built to the Mediterranean, to which China invests especially to the development of ports in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maledives and Pakistan.
On the continent, the plans about the New Silk Road include a building of a modern passage and trade road from China via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland to Germany. The countries situated along the route need investments for the building of high-speed railroads, roads and highways, energy transmission and distributions networks, as well as fiber optic networks. Investments will be focused especially to the cities situated close to the New Silk Road.
Russia is a vital country for the execution of the New Silk Road due to its geographical size and central location. Consequently, Russia is in the centre of China’s logistical plans on the continental side of the One Road, One Belt. While President Xi was visiting Moscow as part of the festivities of the Victory Day in May 2015, China and Russia signed several treaties, which connect the development of the New Silk Road to the goals of the Eurasian Economic Union.
One of the treaties signed by China and Russia is related to the building of the high-speed railroad, firstly from Moscow to Kazan and then further on via Kazakhstan to China. An estimated cost of the railroad is almost 20 billion euros. Eventually, according to the plans, the high-speed railroad will be connected to a high-speed railroad, to be built from Moscow to Europe.
Will Nordic countries be able to use potential of the east?
The motorway connection between China and Europe creates the basis upon which the motorway from will be connected to the Ural Mountains. A general agreement about the motorway construction plan has been signed between the government of the Republic of Karelia, Northwest Development Corridor Inc. and AVIC International Renewable Energy Development Company Limited.
Logistical connection of markets of the Nordic countries is at the core of the plan, which simultaneously determines its success. What then is Finland and other Nordic countries’ interest to take part to the construction of the motorway to Karelia and further on to Urals.
Conditions for a mutual agreement on the logistical plans between Finland and Russia already exist. According to a current government programme of Finland, the government aims to advance export, internationalisation of the SMEs and trade with Asian countries. Rail freight transportations from Finland and other Nordic countries via Karelia to China commenced in May 2015. Transportations are planned to occur on weekly basis in the future.
China’s interest in Karelia as a logistical route will hardly remain as a short-term phenomenon. Russia and China signed in August 2015 an agreement related to customs control and monitoring, which aims to facilitate and speed up treatment of goods in custom houses. According to Li Wei, the Vice President of the National Board of Customs of China, China is ready to develop through transports with Russia, among others via Karelia to Finland.
The New Silk Road of China is especially interesting to Finland, because Finland joined as a founding member to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is the main source of funding of the New Silk Road. Finland’s former Minister of Treasury Antti Rinne argued in March 2015 the joining of Finland to the AIIB by saying that there is a huge need for infrastructure investments in developing Asia, which can support Finland’s trade policy goals and export industry.
Moscow has remarked the potential of Karelia
Russian government informed in June 2015 about the launch of the Karelian Development Program, which tells about the grown importance of the region. The Karelian Development Program aims to improve Karelia’s investment climate until 2020. Goals of the program include the renewal of the railway station of Värtsilä as an international border crossing station and the building of a border crossing station in Syväoro. However, Finland has already turned down the latter opportunity due to its costs.
Besides the Karelian Development Program there are only three equivalent regional development programs in Russia. The Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation has even established a special unit dedicated to the development of Karelia, Kaliningrad and Crimea.
From all goals of the Karelian Development Program one is above all else from the point of view of Finland’s strategic interests. Plans about the building of international ports to Belomorsk and Kem could, if they come true, offer export of Finland its badly needed access to a year-round melt harbour. Moreover, the harbour would offer Finland access to the Northeast Passage, which will shorten distance between Europe and Asia by several thousands of kilometres.
There are clearly converging goals in the interests of Finnish business and Russia. Thus, President Vladimir Putin stated in his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly on 3 December 2015 that the Northern Sea Route should become a link between Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region.
The decision of the Head of Karelia Alexander Hudilainen to exploit the Russian new geopolitical direction based on the country’s membership in the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and use the New Silk Road as its leverage is an excellent decision from the point of view of the economic development of the Republic of Karelia. At the beginning of his incumbency, Mr. Hudilainen visited Finland several times in order to attract foreign direct investment and Finnish entrepreneurs to Karelia with help of a new advantageous investment law, but, however, without any success worth mentioning.
Karelia’s geographical location seems totally different compared to the situation a few years ago due to China and the launch of the New Silk Road project. Similarly to Russia’s role as the New Silk Road’s bridge between China and Europe, Karelia can be Finland and other Nordic countries’ bridge to the New Silk Road and to economic opportunities of China. Geographical and at least partly still existing linguistical and cultural proximity could help Karelia to function as a springboard of the Finnish business to Russian and Chinese markets.
More sanctions or towards new opportunities?
Relations between the European Union and Russia and the leeway they give to Finland in order to promote its own economic interests determine will Finland be able to benefit from the opportunities of Chinese markets through Russia and Karelia. On the other hand, in order to get leeway in foreign and trade policy, Finland either has to resign from the EU’s common foreign and security policy, which promotes classical goals of transatlantic geopolitics, or a turn in decisions taken by Brussels to a more favourable direction from the point of view of exploitation of opportunities of the east.
The United States tried to block the participation of its allies to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is essential information from the point of view of the building of Finland’s trade relations. As George Friedman, founder and chairman of Stratfor, has pointed out, the primordial interest of the United States is to stop a coalition between Germany and Russia. The phenomenon is related to a classical geopolitical struggle between maritime and land powers, determined by Harold Mackinder, according to which the main goal of the maritime powers is to prevent a coalition of Russia and Germany.
Austrian research institute WIFO (Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) estimated in its research published in June 2015 that 40 000 jobs are under threat because of the sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia and decreased number of Russian tourists visiting Finland. It remains to be seen whether Finland will concentrate on constructive economic cooperation e.g. in order to exploit the transport routes of the New Silk Road and the Northeast Passage after voluntarily damaging its own economy by sanctions.
Sakari Linden is a geopolitical writer, who holds Master’s degrees in
Political Science and International Law.”
We’ll see what happens, not to be pessimistic.. But Russia also planned on South stream and it failed, Russia planned on Turk Stream, but it failed, Russia planned for a quick war in Syria, but it failed and now it looks like it will take several years to finish, Russia planned for minsk 2 in Donbass and that failed.
Now Russia is quasi-involved in two conflicts, in Ukraine and in Syria, and oil prices are record low, and Russia is exposed to sanctions and Russia relations with Turkey has gone from friendly to hostile.
Not to be pessimistic? Hmm. How about we be realistic?
Russia hasn’t failed in Syria, it announced a timeline of several months and we’re a couple of months into it – with paradigm-changing results already. US reversals of policy, increasing pariah status of Turkey, the impending death of ISIS, Syrian airspace completely protected by Russia defenses, the Syrian army unstopped in its retaking of Syria.
Nord Stream was always in discussion, even while Turk Stream was offered to Erdogan. It was a chance for him to become sane, and he turned his back on it. Nord Stream stories in recent days show Germany advocating strongly for EU’s bowing to the inevitable. Even the US cannot prevent Nord Stream, because this is the economic fuel and winter heating of Europe. Russia planned on all fronts, and always has multiple objectives in play.
And even to think that South Stream is dead is to think that Russia and China have given up interest in the Balkans – which could never be the case. Or that Greece is forever under the boot heel of the EU. Certain things come to front burner, certain things move to back – for a time, and then things shift again.
As for Minsk 2 – the whole world including the UN, the US , the EU and NATO is constrained by the provisions of Minsk 2. Kerry and Obama even cite it as the roadmap – with their usual treachery built in, of course, but the point is that Minsk 2 is the language of the discussion across all fronts.
To be quite honest, I don’t know how anyone can conclude that Russia is failing in any of these matters, without a willful disregard for facts.
No they have Nord stream 2, The backbone of the jihadists are finished in Syria, oil prices are rising and the sanctions hurt the West more than they hurt Russia which has been forced to adopt diversification plans more quickly. Russia has billions in reserves next to no national debt and the Chinese Bank is always open to them. Compared to the West Russia is granite solid. Iran China and Russia are not going to let the ME continue on the path of jihadist either. KSA can’t even defeat Yemen, and Israel doesn’t know whether it is punched bored or pressed at the moment. No Israeli Golan, No Sunnis-tan, No Nabucco. Turkey is cooked. Civil war will break out in Turkey and KSA before Assad ever goes down.
RR
‘Not to be pessimistic?’
Dear Liz… in regards to Russia’s failures… let me ask a simple question.
Could your President (or EU vassal state ) give a 3 hour coherent press conference to over 1300 journalists as V V Putin just did?
mmmm I somehow think not.
As I described in the Saker guest post “Chess in the Age of ISIS”, Turkey is cooked this Winter due to Ukraine stealing gas meant for the Transbalken pipeline to Turkey. Turkey cannot scare up any replacement gas in this upcoming very cold winter.
The two billion in gas pipes from the Turkstream project will not go to waste as Russia can now use some of them to build a gas pipeline to Crimea. If the EU wakes up the pipeline could cross the Black Sea to Eastern Europe. This is a better and cheaper gas route.
Liz:
“We’ll see what happens, not to be pessimistic.. But Russia also planned on South stream and it failed, Russia planned on Turk Stream, but it failed, Russia planned for a quick war in Syria, but it failed and now it looks like it will take several years to finish, Russia planned for minsk 2 in Donbass and that failed.
Now Russia is quasi-involved in two conflicts, in Ukraine and in Syria, and oil prices are record low, and Russia is exposed to sanctions and Russia relations with Turkey has gone from friendly to hostile.”
Reply
Liz, You *fail* to realise that “fail” may have positive connotations. also: ‘succeed’ translates to a negative depending on the *context*. It’s all in the context as per every other time.
In all: I *fail* to understand your point. Is it because I am dim or because you don’t manage to get your point accross?
Failed…failed..Because UKUSA regimes work on it – to isolate, destabilize and wipe Russia off the map.
Russian Federation has come a long way in the last 15 or so years. it is now taking on the US Empire virtually single handedly. A big ask. Like David taking on Goliath in some ways. Hopefully they will win out and remain and independent nation, but to say they failed, I don’t think is the right term. Win some, lose some, but it is what happens in the end that counts.
liz’s comment is ilogical at best, malevolent at worst..regardless of ‘pessimism’ apology.
success is measured by the number of reactions/responses she gets and we’ve already given it more than enough attention…i do not expect she would revisit this thread in an optimistic mode.
IF Russia failed to sell oranges you can say they failed.. But in fact Russia will produce another record in oil production.. I am totally against selling it for so cheap but they have a plan and it is better than open war.. But all the oil and gas in the ground is not going anywhere.. They WILL sell every last drop of it.. Wall street seems to think if you dont sell it now, it is worthless.. NOT SO!!!!!!
Sell what you need, not because you want the money now. Because it will be a lot more valuable later on. I was also against Russia selling off their strategic assets.. platinum and palladium, radium etc.. Even if they sold them at higher prices. Because they can not be replaced.
People think we dont need OIL, that is NOT true.. Many things we use today requires oil.. Not as energy but as the base materials. Civilization will not survive without oil. Selling it now to burn it off for energy is the worst use of limited oil reserves we can do to our world. Nothing else can replace oil.
I actually want Russia to sell their Oil and Gas to asia.. Why is it that the US and EU gets oil and gas far cheaper than in asia? The EU can afford to pay the higher prices, let them buy the higher priced oil and gas. You dont think Russia can not find buyers for Oil and Gas? Dont kid yourself..
@Liz’s comment is ilogical at best, malevolent at worst..regardless of ‘pessimism’ apology
It is neither of that. It is simply defeatist propaganda, what trolls are tasked to do.
I’ll just remind people that a while back Lix was arguing how Rusia would lose to any NATO attack, and contrast that with
http://sputniknews.com/us/20151217/1031881886/us-military-failure.html
NATO’s ‘Most Ambitious Exercise’ Only Showed It Will Lose
11:19 17.12.2015(updated 11:32 17.12.2015) Get short URL
84991334
NATO’s Trident Juncture 2015 maneuvers, described as its “most ambitious exercise in over a decade” were intended to send President Putin a strong message; instead, it turned a fiasco, “virtually unreported by US media, but noticed in the European and Russian press”, according to Peter Vincent Pry, an expert in National and Homeland Security.
“If the United States gets into a war under the leadership of Team Obama, we will lose,” Pry stated critically in his article for The Washington Times.
[…]
Alexander Khudilaynen is the head of the Republic of Karelia a federal subject of the Russian Federation. Your transliteration of his name might be the more correct, but it’s better to use the one adopted by Wikipedia since it’s the one that will let people find more info on the person (sadly his article is very sparse).
Nemo,
You do have a valid point with regard to name spelling as pertained to wikipedia but the spellimg in the article here would be the correct one for Roman Lettering.
It is the Finnish spelling of his name and Finnish is widely used as a language in Karelia.
Wikipedia is not an absolute source for information and much within it is suspect. It is though a good starting point in researching topics.
This article is interesting and I would hope the Finns take up the offer to partake in development with Karelia in the Silk Road Project. Finland does have to break ranks with Brussels on this and work to a better future with her neighbors. The current EU sanctions against the RF have gutted the Finnish economy.
Justin, you are right, it´s Finnish spelling(even more Finnish would be Hutilainen). But I´m not sure is Finnish widely used in Russian Karelia? There used to be an old Karelian language, maybe only a mix between Russian and Finnish or old Finnish dialect mixed with Russian elements. I agree with you that the article is interesting and this kind of a development could be a ray of light for many Finns. The future with the EU starts to look worse and worse for Finland. Something must change in Finland, otherwise we end up to a very similar situation than in Greece. I suspect that in reality, we are not far from it, right now.
Why do we need to produce high-tech goods (electronic products) only in China when salaries for engineers over there are already bigger than for similar engineers in Eastern Europe ? Isn’t cheaper to re-create the industries of Eastern Europe that were destroyed after the so called transitions to free market from 1990 ? Why is Russia not seeing the potential of investing in creating their own productive industries rather than waiting for freebies from China ? Ironically, this Silk Road plays right in the hands of globalists. They are the ones who pumped China to where she is today. Maybe it will be good to analyze how strong are the business relations at all levels between China and USA today. And they get even stronger despite the fake masquerade of a potential conflict between them (I think it’s done to fool the Russians, who are giving now many military secrets to China). Chinese employees of american high-tech companies with subsidiaries in China are transferring to USA in droves, as we speak. And Chinese home-grown companies are looking first to open subsidiaries in USA and not Russia. That is a much more relevant indicator of what is going on in the world.
/the-new-silk-road-increases-the-strategic-importance-of-karelia/comment-page-1/#comment-188392
Science and technology centres’ are going up in Russia and some are joint projects with China.
You overstate your “facts” about China.
The trend is for overseas students to return and begin innovative, entrepreneurial firms of their own or to join Chinese owned corporations.
The ceiling in the West is cultural. The Chinese want to do things for China, to build it into a number one in all areas of science and technology. This generation of 25-35 yr. olds are even postponing marriage to build wealth for themselves and products for China.
Russia is completely handicapped by the first decade of economic and social rape of the nation by the West, the brain-drain of Russian Jews and Russian Liberals to the West, the collapse of the economy, and negative birthrate until very recently.
Russia has a longer road to get up to competitive like China because it has had very severe social, economic and geopolitical challenges.
But, because of sanctions and attempts to contain Russia, the nation is responding and changing its focus in order to develop their own institutions and products, to upgrade various industrial sectors and to produce product for itself and for export.
Ten years more will be needed for Russia to look like the great economic power it deserves to be.
Here is where a lot of the Chinese money is going, US houses:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/business/international/chinese-cash-floods-us-real-estate-market.html?_r=0
http://www.inman.com/2015/09/23/why-chinese-investors-are-pouring-money-into-us-real-estate/
And look how much business investments money is poured by Chinese in USA:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinese-us-investment-20150520-story.html
Here you can see that in 2013, there were officially over 2 million Chinese in USA (up from 1.7 millions in 2010).
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/01/china-passes-mexico-as-the-top-source-of-new-u-s-immigrants/
How many emigrate in Russia with which they have that special “double helix” relationship ?
How many properties did they buy in Russian cities compared to USA, Canada, UK ?
How much money was poured in Russia by the Chinese ?
These are the relevant questions and numbers to be discussed and not wishful thinking or ideas.
Vancouver is half owned by Chinese now.
The Chinese will only follow their own interest and will only help Russia if they can extract maximum of military technology and the lowest prices for oil and natural gas.
They know that USA will not go after them since it was USA who pumped China (and still does it) to the current status.
China has implemented the perfect neo-slavery system of communism combined with capitalism. That’s why so many workers commit suicide. Foxconn had to place nets around the building because too many workers jumped out the window.
Let’s be careful for what we wish, it might come true.
Russia is not “a vital country for the execution of the New Silk Road”, she is “THE vital country”. That was the vision of the great philosopher and statesman Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who saw as a necessary condition for the development of a unified Europe in Eurasia in the development of Russia as the mediation between China and Europe. He actively militated for an alliance of Europe, Russia, and China, based on the infrastructural exploration of these countries, in particular Russia’s Siberia, on the founding of scientific academies and on a common effort to engage in scientific, historical, and comparative language studies. Leibniz is the founder of the Academies of Sciences of both Prussia and Russia. He realized that only through the mediation of Russia, it would be possible to tie Europe with China, which would bring both sides, not only political-economic but also spiritual-cultural, mutual benefits. He wrote in the instruction drafting the Berlin Society of Science: “By this means, Chinese products and news from China would come to Europe, and on the other hand the Christian faith would spread to China and indeed spread through Moscow as the means of communication.” Moreover he stressed the importance of the czar, Peter the Great, as architect of the new European peace and economic order: “Because now the selfsame, owing to his great power and most extensive lands, can contribute a greatness to the establishing of our generally beneficial goal aimed at through the society, thus we want to consider, how with this monarch on this occasion trade be made customary and useful preparation be made, that from the boundaries of our lands as far as China, useful observations—astronomical, geographic, as well as national, linguistic and cultural things unknown to us, artificial and natural, and such-like—be made and sent to the society.”
One can see why the Pirate Empire of the Seas was terrified by the prospect of a close alliance of Germany with Russia.
President Putin at his televised press conference to the nation on Thursday, in response to a question, http://www.euronews.com/2015/12/17/putin-sticks-the-boot-into-turkey-in-annual-address/ :
“You’ve asked whether there was a third party to this situation. I understand what you mean. We don’t know. But if the Turkish leadership decided to lick some part of the Americans’ anatomy, I’m not sure they did the right thing.”
:-)
No matter China’s plans, they will have to have the military to back it up. Unless they are prepared to defend the countries they are working with from the US, their plans will come to very little.
The latest from Reuters…..
The United States, believing its Asian allies – and Japan in particular – must help contain growing Chinese military power, has pushed Japan to abandon its decades-old bare-bones home island defense in favor of exerting its military power in Asia.
Tokyo is responding by stringing a line of anti-ship, anti-aircraft missile batteries along 200 islands in the East China Sea stretching 1,400 km (870 miles) from the country’s mainland toward Taiwan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-military-china-exclusive-idUSKBN0U107220151218
Although Japan and the eastern sea is not part of the Silk Road, US is turning up the heat.
That China has not publicly and militarily backed up Russia in Syria at this stage is a disappointment.
You are not considering one thing, the welfare of the people.. You can either haev a population who are decadent or you can have a war machine.. The US has a huge economy… based mostly on transactions and not anything produced… Hence why they have a huge war machine but the infrastructure is falling apart. Japan and Europe have a small war machine but the people have great standard of living… balancing those 2 is very difficult.. Russia is in a position of power just because the USSR was rather pretty good at producing things. They created a lot of cheap industries and produced a lot.. And if you look at what Russia was left with it is like less than 20% of the USSR… But that 20% is a lot.. If you tried to get to that 20% now, Russia would not be able to do it.. The entire world helped the USA to get where it is now. But they started to move away and we can see the results of that now. And not moving industries to china would not have helped.. It would have just hallowed out the US heavy industries slowly as chinese and indians started their own industries. The high end would have taken longer like where india is now without us expertise and financing. And in the end the US would have been left out in the cold without any influence at all unlike now. Japan got a big lead in industrialization and hence became a world power once but they were still less than a 1/4 of the US. They do have a higher technological base but if they start moving into a war footing they will drop out real fast. You need to get the money from somewhere.. And both china and russia don’t want war with japan,they both want to sell things to japan. Only the anglo-zionists want to rule others and control what others do.. No one else is interested..
When you think of China and Russia as strategic partners remember that this is not a military alliance. Thus Russia does its things and China does its own. Will they stand together and integrate if under direct attack? Yes.
Will China back up Russia’s moves in Ukraine? Diplomatically. Not with military.
Syria? Through Syrian military supply, not with troops.
What about South China Sea? Would Russian naval support help China? Only if China was in a shooting war with US + allies. Not if China moves first against its neighbors.
And this is what their strategic relationship is. They are two of the most integrated nations in the world. They are not united for military action except inside SCO. And why SCO is not in the mix in Syria? It has no members in the region, though Russia went there to fight terrorists. Apparently, the other Central Asian members of SCO are not ready for distant warfare, or it might be Russia is taking care of the fight and does not need any help.
But China will be in the diplomatic talks from here on. FM Wang will represent, with Lavrov and Kerry. China’s ploy is always diplomacy. They also are students of what Russia is doing. They do not know their way around armed conflict beyond their border. Russia has vast experience far beyond its borders. Soviet days in SE Asia, Africa, Central America, Cuba and Afghanistan were classrooms for confronting the Hegemon and its proxies. China learned little, even from the Vietnam war right next door. China is not a true martial nation. It is a trading and banking nation.
They are ten times the size and strength economically of Russia, and ten times weaker in attitude about war.
Russians fear nothing from outside. China frets over everything external.
Hope this helps explain why the Dragon acts like a Panda. It’s their nature and experience.
However, if Japan takes the East China Sea islands, or Taiwan arms with offensive weapons, or if the US really pokes them hard in the South China Sea, there will be a military response.
And if ISIS really replaces the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Chinese would put 300,000 troops on the ground, call in the SCO and fight the way Russia does. It is a question of threat and proximity that would trigger a Chinese military reaction.
“The New Silk Road: the greatest construction work of our era”
The greatest construction work of our era: The love of one human being to another through abysmal, desperate circumstances, or just anyway, any time, because of our era
(Louis Armstrong)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM
I am puzzled by this article. Russia still has a lot of roads between its main cities that need upgrading. So why would anyone want build some road through the thinly inhabited lands hundreds kilometers north of Moscow?
Haidar whos parents were both killed in the terrorist attack in lebanon goes to madrid to meet Cristiano, his football hero.
Guys, guess where is Haidar going???? YES, to Madrid. Have a safe flight habibi. #CristianoMeetHaidar
https://twitter.com/RanaHarbi/status/677748686110199808
HRW another paid for imperial pumper…
Remember all the atrocities committed by Assad? All were terrorists who kidnapped Christians and Shiites and SAA prisoners who were killed to set up a scene of atrocity to blame someone else. The moderate terrorists supported by the freedom loving west explicitly supports the murder of innocents so they can impose imperial will on others. These were NOT DEAD people, But kidnapped civilians and soldiers murdered to setup the pretense of atrocity to blame others.
11,000 bodies in that fake Qatari photo expose, but HRW can only identify 27 as detainees; half the pictures are of dead Syrian Arab Army soldiers being used as dead Syrians killed by Assad himself.
According to the Carter-Ruck report “In all, approximately fifty-five thousand (55,000) images have,to date, been made available outside Syria by these processes. As there were some four or five photographs taken of each body this approximates to there being images of about eleven thousand (11,000)dead detainees.”
However, according to the Human Rights Watch report, 24,568 of the photos are of dead soldiers and members of the security services and just 28,707 are ones which Human Rights Watch “understand to have died in government custody.”
Human Rights Watch maintain in their report that they “understand” the photos include 6,786 separate dead detainees. HRI has asked the HRW why they “understand” these dead individuals are all detainees – rather than, for instance, individuals who have died in violence in Damascus or the surroundings or died of their wounds after being taken to the military hospital – particularly as HRW have, in their own words, only been “able to verify 27 cases of detainees whose family members’ statements regarding their arrest and physical characteristics matched the photographic evidence.
Other questions which arise from a comparison of the two reports include why the authors of the Carter-Ruck report say 26.948 images were provided by Caesar as well as “some ” of the other 20,000+ whereas HRW make no such distinction; why HRW have used a medical examiner, Dr Nizam Peerwani, who reportedly excited some controversy regarding a dead infant, a missing brain and missing slides; why HRW have only reviewed some of the 24,568 images of dead soldiers and crime scenes and why they describe the numbers attached to the bodies as being indicative of detention centers rather that military intelligence units.
http://humanrightsinvestigations.org/2015/12/17/new-human-rights-watch-report-and-the-caesar-photos/
WOW what a shame.. The only US paper who published a picture of an empty desert where Iraqi Tanks were gathering to invade Saudi Arabia.. Hey the US told the UN security council where and when.. So it must be true.. Sad to see them go this low.. AOL another imperial puppet now..
(As an interesting aside – the Huffington Post, which is now part of AOL, has censored our comment on the HRW article which criticised HRW’s disgraceful coverage of the LIbyan conflict in which it turned a blind eye to the racist atrocities being committed there.)
HRW are still peddling the myth of a ‘peaceful revolution for human rights in Libya’ and purport to be shocked to discover the current “Libyan authorities” have made no attempt to investigate the murders of the loyalist prisoners in Sirte.
It is good you write about Karelia. I have visited Karelia on both sides of the border. I saw Russians shopping in Finland and many Finnish Karelians crossed the border to buy essential items like gas. Some Finns in Karelia speak Russian and on the other side of the border I was approached by somebody who spoke Finnish or the local dialect thereof.
There are old bonds between the two areas. One of my neighbours long ago was a refugee from Karelia after the war. She spoke perfect Swedish and Finnish. I also met a man, who said his parents spoke Russian at home and also spoke Swedish and Finnish. His family came to Finland as war refugees. Finland had to absorb a large number of refugees. The country was poor, but it was done somehow. That gave us for example Viktor Klimenko, a great singer, who is also trilingual. He was very popular in Sweden and Finland – until he became a Christian and had difficulties finding a job. You can hear him sing in different languages on youtube.
The prospects for Karelia are great. It is a sort of meeting place for Russians and Finns and it is easy for them to get a visa. When there is a foundation to build on, start building.
When the road has been built, we have another problem. Most trucks go on ferries between Sweden and Finland. Many more trucks may require more ferries. It is possible to go to southern Sweden and on to the continent by train, but then you have to go around the Baltic in the north and that is a problem. Take a look at the map and see the distances.
When Russian drivers started arriving in Sweden in the 1990s, they had a language problem. Silja, a ferryline, hired Russian speakers to help them, but that only helped them at the border. Not only Russians have language problems in Sweden I should add. A Silja employee called and asked if I could help a disoriented French driver. The poor man could communicate neither in Sweden nor in Finland. This problem must also be considered. We have international trade, but we are not completely ready for it.
A couple of years ago, trade between China and Norway was made possible in the North. Chinese goods arrived by train to Narvik. Then the railroad disappeared from the news. If this railroad can be improved, goods can easily be transported from Narvik by sea to the continent.
Kallax, a Swedish airport in the far north, was built to improve trade with Russia. I don´t know about now, but the first years almost nothing happened. Infrastructure is important, but there must also be a will to use it. Those who plan Karelias future need to keep this in mind. China and Russia has an interest in the project, but there must also be an interest in the north and elsewhere in Europe. Trains should not have to return empty to China, for example.
Near weekly exploding factories (chem plants), collapsing bridges, mass layoffs, routine internal dissent, the worst pollution ever produced, trillions lost in the Chinese markets, already existing delays and cost overruns in foreign projects (Nic canal, Iraqi oil), making untold enemies by the day from its land grabs for its unbuilt infrastructure corridors; and we’re still supposed to believe that China is going to implement any of these plans? Perhaps only in the minds of journalists and Chinese central planners. The BRICS meme still seems like a profitable topic for journalists and book writers, but its pretty obvious the project is at the very least experiencing massive delays
Meanwhile, Russia, like the Americans, launch bombing runs with dubious effects, while politicial military figures cheer themselves on in an effort to advance their career. The reality is that the Russian military can’t even keep a few people from bringing Crimea to its knees, nor Russia itself. And the vastness of its similar infrastructure will guarantee prolonged vulnerability in this way.
ISIS is not that dangerous, and militaries multitudes larger than ISIS are unable to do much without someone else’s air strikes. That shows all you need to know about their quality. Expect to see more Russia air strikes and an eventual “Mission Accomplished” self congratulations, with little effect to ISIS. ISIS may not be able to hold a stable state, but they can change form in the same way the Iraqis did to the Americans. Both the Americans and British were defeated.
The only nation worse off than the two is the US/UK countries and vassal states. It seems pretty clear right now that Russia and China need no military to defeat the Americans; they are already applying the information they plundered from OPM and Joint chiefs. Why else would Kerry suddenly, for no apparent reason, say that Assad can stay. It will continue to become more obvious that Russia and China effectively defeated the US military without fighting, merely by applying information correctly.
Now the Americans are falling apart in the same way that China is, but worse. Their citizens were stripped to the bone to fight two lost wars, suicides and drug overdoses are increasing, and the narratives within the US look like a mix of Hitler’s bunker and a front row seat at a freak show. At least China and Russia have resources and manufacturing; the US has nothing to offer except garbage in every possible form.
All roads lead to the new Silk Road. Medvedev appeared even more enthusiast than his Chinese hosts in the last SCO meeting in Zhengzhou, China, where he spoke of a community extending from “Minsk to Manilla”. Including ASEAN, he meant. Europe drools, but they are clever enough not to show, for fear of you know who. The impetus to the West of the Silk Road will be just as inexorable as that of NATO is (was) to the East. NATO was fear-driven, but the Silk Road is money-driven. Real Chinese money, not virtual Western money
Dear Mr. Linden
It’s a great project, if we lived in a peaceful rational world.
Once again, you forgot that the EU has no independent foreign policy and it makes the European countries to be unreliable business partners. With the TPP, the US has tightened its grip over the EU and the “Nordic countries.” “Tightened its grip” that’s what you said about Russia in your previous article about Karelia., in which you called Russia to hand over Karelia to NATO, didn’t you?
That tells me everything about the intentions of the “Nordic countries” towards Russia.
The US can demand Europe to slap China with economic sanctions, and there will be nothing the EU wouldn’t do for Washington. I actually see how the very same day that China reports about the completion of the project, the EU would respond by declaring the economic and trade sanctions against China.
The Silk Road will have to face the same battles with the Euro-apparatchiks that Gazprom faces.
The Silk Road project is shutting out America as a policeman of the seas. Washington regime wants Europe to be completely isolated from any other trading partners. Washington wants Europe all to itself. Plus, the European sanctions against Russia and Russia’s sanctions against Europe create a very curious situation, logistically speaking.
Europe is in war on Eurasia, and no trade projects will ever change this fact.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your comment.
““Tightened its grip” that’s what you said about Russia in your previous article about Karelia., in which you called Russia to hand over Karelia to NATO, didn’t you?”
– You should read the article once more. You haven’t either read it carefully or you don’t understand what is written there. Looking at what I have written in this article, does that sound plausible? Have I given any support to the NATO in any part of my two articles published on this site? You do not seem to understand that the world is not totally black and white. You do not seem to understand that between the points of view of Russia and NATO, there may be shades of grey, too. You do not seem to understand, that criticizing one part in the actions of an actor does not mean an attack against the whole authority of the same actor.
Now, looking back at my first article published on this site, I was both right and wrong. I was right
because the threat of the color revolution in Karelia is definitely not
related to national minorities. However, I have found out that there
exists opposition activity between Karelia and Finland what I was not
aware of when I wrote the article. Vasili Popov, leader of the opposition
United Democratic Party (Yabloko) has escaped Republic of Karelia and
Russia and is now living in Joensuu, province of North Karelia in Finland.
Allegedly, he is still leading and financing the activities of Yabloko in
the Republic of Karelia.
http://www.finlandtimes.fi/national/2015/09/14/20400/Popov-considering-asylum-in-Finland
http://yle.fi/uutiset/tabloid_russian_opposition_leader_detained_in_eastern_finland_receives_travel_ban/8261279
Do you see Scott, with a peaceful argumentation, we both can learn and maybe come to common conclusions?
Scott wrote:
“Once again, you forgot that the EU has no independent foreign policy and it makes the European countries to be unreliable business partners.”
Your statement is oversimplified because many European countries including Finland were able to join the AIIB against the will of the US.
You claimed that I forgot to analyse the extent of the EU’s independency in foreign policy. Please read once more:
“Relations between the European Union and Russia and the leeway they give to Finland in order to promote its own economic interests determine will Finland be able to benefit from the opportunities of Chinese markets through Russia and Karelia. On the other hand, in order to get leeway in foreign and trade policy, Finland either has to resign from the EU’s common foreign and security policy, which promotes classical goals of transatlantic geopolitics, or a turn in decisions taken by Brussels to a more favourable direction from the point of view of exploitation of opportunities of the east.
The United States tried to block the participation of its allies to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is essential information from the point of view of the building of Finland’s trade relations. As George Friedman, founder and chairman of Stratfor, has pointed out, the primordial interest of the United States is to stop a coalition between Germany and Russia. The phenomenon is related to a classical geopolitical struggle between maritime and land powers, determined by Harold Mackinder, according to which the main goal of the maritime powers is to prevent a coalition of Russia and Germany.
Austrian research institute WIFO (Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) estimated in its research published in June 2015 that 40 000 jobs are under threat because of the sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia and decreased number of Russian tourists visiting Finland. It remains to be seen whether Finland will concentrate on constructive economic cooperation e.g. in order to exploit the transport routes of the New Silk Road and the Northeast Passage after voluntarily damaging its own economy by sanctions.”
Thank you, Sakari, for your kind response, and especially for the links about Vasili Popov.
Since your June article, I have been collecting research material about the anti-Russian and anti-government activities in the Northern Russian regions conducted by the authorities of what you call the “Nordic countries” but what in essence are the Northern EU regions. I mean the illegal activities in Karelia involving the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and his father. Past summer all this was hidden. You article was an indication that something was ready to blowup and it did. I am talking about the investigation, arrests, and the truly revealing report that was done by REN TV about NATO countries’ activities in Karelia.
“You do not seem to understand that between the points of view of Russia and NATO, there may be shades of grey, too. You do not seem to understand, that criticizing one part in the actions of an actor does not mean an attack against the whole authority of the same actor.”
This is the Washington regime’s policy towards Russia, we are talking about, right?
We are talking about people who want to bomb Agrabah, Aladdin’s homeland, right?
The US new political meme instead of “Assad has to go” is now replaced by “Jafar has to go.”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/poll-30-republicans-want-bomb-fictional-disney-country
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=americans+voted+to+bomb+agrabah
My friend, a musical theater actor, who performed in Aladdin, called me yesterday with an expression of absolute horror about the republicans wanted to bomb Adrabah because of the human rights violations by their dictator Jafar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UL0CDMhjj4
Now, back to Europe. The entire EU perimeter, Europe essentially will be locked in by the new border force.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-10/ft-shocker-eu-unveils-standing-border-force-will-act-even-if-government-objects
You are preaching to a choir, talking about the untold possibilities in development that the Silk Road via Russia might bring to Europe. I understand the excitement of Karelia’s administration trying to bring the investments in the region. But all this is just a pipedream, since we are talking about actors, like your country, with no sovereign power to decide anything .
I was right back in June responding to your first article, and you got very upset then. You will see that I will be proven to be right again. The US won’t let European country to trade freely with Eurasia and to bypass Washington. The only way for Europe to prosper is for the European countries to gain their sovereignty back and to trade as independent actors.
Essentially, the plan you have described is very good. Most definitely Russia and China will see Finland leaving the EU as demonstration of the seriousness of its commitment. However, you might consider the following:
1. Finland might have a color revolution, facilitated by the US. You will have a Nazi regime installed with Junta run by Nuland, Sen. McCain, and John F. Tefft and other neo-cons. Finland is not Donbass, and doesn’t have the balls to fight with the Hegemon.
Neo-fascist rally exposes Finnish government’s ties to extreme right
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/01/finl-s01.html
2. After all said and done, the EU members might refuse to trade with Finland.
3. The EU might demand that the Silk Road must go via Ukraine. Don’t forget that now every EU member is obligated to support Ukraine forever. Every night you go to sleep and pray and count your blessings, you must think about how much you pay for the upkeep of all those poor Ukrainian Nazis. You might even need an Ukro-fascist maintenance calculator. Even with Finland being out of the EU, they still would want you to pay your share of the support for Ukraine.
If you want to know my humble opinion, Finland should return back to be a member of the Russian Federation.