Category Archives: RUSSIA
Putin sees chance circumstances behind downing of Russian plane off Syrian coast
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the shooting down of a Russian military plane near Syria’s seacoast was the result of a series of tragic and chance circumstances. His comments appeared to somewhat defuse a possible crisis involving outside
Provocations have a history of escalating into war
Can War Be Avoided and the Planet Saved? By Paul Craig Roberts The Russian Government and President Putin are coming under pressure not from US sanctions, which are very good for Russia as they force Russia into independence, but from
Is Russia being betrayed by its own intelligensia?
By Paul Craig Roberts The Russian military refused to buy Putin’s excuse for Israel’s intentional murder of 15 Russian Air Force personnel. The Russian military knows precisely what happened and has not been hesitant to make completely clear Israel’s total
Russian peace talks raise specter of shifting influence
By Kathy Gannon Vladimir Putin’s Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before. To some, Russia’s offer to host talks next
Russian threat ‘is real,’ Trump officials say, vowing to protect US elections
By Michael D. Shear and Michael Wines Top national security officials vowed to defend American elections against what they called real threats from Russia only weeks after President Trump seemed to accept President Vladimir V. Putin’s denials of interference during
Why US’ sanctions “bill from hell” on Russia should worry India
By M K Bhadrakumar A fortnight after the Helsinki summit on July 16, US – Russia relations are set to take a turn for the worse. In an unprecedented move, White House fielded a joint media briefing by America’s top
Losing military supremacy
By Andrei Martyanov The fact that the USA is facing a profound crisis, possibly the worst one in its history, is accepted by most observers, except maybe the most delusional ones. Most Americans definitely know that. In fact, if there
Musings II The “intelligence community,” “Russian interference,” and due diligence
Did the United State “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election? By Jack Matlock Most commentators seem to think so. Every news report I have read of the planned meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in
Russia and the west On the brink
By Tony Brenton April saw the lowest point in Russia’s relations with the West since the early 1980s as embodied in three events. On 6 April the US imposed new, tougher, economic sanctions on Russia, battering the rouble and other
Russia upgrades nuclear weapons Storage site in Kaliningrad
By Hans M. Kristensen A buried nuclear weapons storage bunker in the Kaliningrad district has been under major renovation since mid-2016. Click on image to see full size. During the past two years, the Russian military has carried out a