NATO Seeks to Stem Greek-Turkish Row Over Migrant Mission - WSJ
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NATO diplomats are working to head off a disagreement between Greece and Turkey that threatens to derail the mission to deter migrants from traversing the Aegean Sea to reach the European Union.
Foreign Secretary says UK "uneasy" about Kurdish role in Syria, as YPG forces take advantage of northern offensive to take territory from US-backed rebels
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Saudi Arabia’s oil minister broke his silence over falling prices on Tuesday in remarks that deepened the debate over who controls the country’s oil policy.
Sarah Kershaw, a former reporter for The New York Times, has been found dead in the Dominican Republic.
Националисты покинули захваченный отель "Казацкий" в центре Киева и переместились в другое здание
Российский Диалог На данном переулке также базируется пункт приема помощи националистического батальона "Азов", который запрещен на территории России. Ранее представители МВД Украины исключили вариант силового разгона захватчиков отеля "Казацкий". В субботу, 20 февраля, люди в ... и другие » |
BBC Russian |
SIPRI: Экcпорт вооружений из России сокращается
BBC Russian США, Россия и Китай в последние пять лет остаются самыми крупными поставщиками на мировом рынке вооружений, говорится в докладе Стокгольмского института исследования проблем мира (SIPRI). При этом, по данным института, Россия в 2014 и 2015 году поставляла намного ... Россия нарастила экспорт вооружений в Европу на 264%РБК Доклад: Крупнейшими экспортерами оружия в мире остаются Россия и СШАВзгляд Доклад: США и Россия остаются крупнейшими в мире экспортерами оружияРИА Новости Газета.Ru -Аргументы и факты -Lenta.ru Все похожие статьи: 75 » |
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Российская Газета |
Опрос: Американцы перестали считать Россию "врагом номер один"
Российская Газета Американцы перестали считать Россию главным противником США, полагая, что основная угроза их стране теперь исходит от КНДР. Об этом свидетельствуют данные социологического исследования, проведенного компанией Gallup. При этом за последний год заметно увеличилось ... Американцы считают «главными врагами» страны Северную Корею и РоссиюРосбалт.RU Опрос: американцы назвали КНДР "главной угрозой" для СШАТАСС Новости России и мира сегодняИнформационно-новостной портал 07KBR Газета.Ru-Утро.Ru-Московский комсомолец Все похожие статьи: 214 » |
Росбалт.RU |
Власти Никарагуа освободили 8 тысяч заключенных, чтобы разгрузить переполненные тюрьмы
Росбалт.RU В Никарагуа из тюрем освобождены 8 тыс. заключенных. Таким образом власти решили разгрузить исправительные учреждения, передает ВВС. Под амнистию попали только заключенные, приговоренные не более чем к пяти годам лишения свободы. Отпускать их будут, меняя остаток ... В Никарагуа выпустили 8 тысяч заключенных, чтобы освободить тюрьмыРИА Новости В Никарагуа освободили восемь тысяч заключенныхBBC Russian Более восьми тысяч заключенных выпущены на свободу в НикарагуаРоссийская Газета Московский комсомолец -Вести.Ru Все похожие статьи: 20 » |
РБК |
Кадыров проклял Сталина и Берию за депортацию чеченского народа
РБК Рамзан Кадыров проклял Иосифа Сталина и Лаврентия Берию в день 72-й годовщины депортации чеченского народа. Он напомнил, что тогда погибли 54% коренного населения Чечни. Глава Чечни Рамзан Кадыров проклял Иосифа Сталина и Лаврентия Берию за депортацию ... Кадыров о Сталине и Берии: «Да будут они оба прокляты во веки веков!»Комсомольская правда Кадыров в день депортации чеченцев проклял Сталина и БериюМосковский комсомолец Кадыров призвал не забывать депортацию чеченцев в 1944 годуВедомости Фонтанка.Ру (Блог) -Накануне.RU -Вести.Ru Все похожие статьи: 99 » |
ТАСС |
Минобороны передало атташе США российские контактные данные «горячей линии» связи
Газета.Ru Представитель аппарата атташе по вопросам обороны при посольстве США в Москве был приглашен в Минобороны России, где получил российские контактные данные «горячей линии» связи, передает РИА «Новости». «В соответствии с поручениями президентов России и США по ... На авиабазе "Хмеймим" создан координационный центр по примирениюРИА Новости (Блог) Для контроля за соблюдением прекращения огня на базе Хмеймим создан центр по примирениюТАСС На авиабазе Хмеймим заработал центр по примирению сторон конфликта в СирииИнтерфакс ИА REGNUM -Вести.Ru -Российская Газета Все похожие статьи: 52 » |
Paul Goble
Staunton, February 22 – A major reason that Moscow has reacted so hysterically to Andrey Piontkovsky’s statement that Russia has been transformed into a greater Chechenya is that the Russian commentator has pointed to something “everyone knows but no one wants to admit,” according to Vitaly Portnikov.
The Ukrainian commentator argues that “the Russian Empire in contrast to other empires of the past has always tried to adapt itself” to its new borderlands beginning with the absorption of Ukrainian lands and ending with the re-conquest of Chechnya, “changing the form of the metropolitan center in favor of the borderlands” (charter97.org/ru/news/2016/2/22/192158/).
Thus, “the ‘Chechenization’ of Russia” of which Piontkovsky speaks is “only a detail of a general picture” of what has taken place again and again in Russian history, Portnikov argues, and of something that has happened more than once in the post-Soviet period as well despite all the talk of Russian centricity.
He suggests that what happened in Tatarstan in the 1990s is the clearest possible evidence of this. Tatarstan in many ways stood apart from what was going on elsewhere in Russia, the Ukrainian commentator suggests. After August 1991, “Russia was a country learning democracy but Tatarstan was simply a renamed Tatar ASSR in which were preserved all the customary system of interrelationships of state and society, all the party-state vertical.”
Portnikov recalls speaking with Tatarstan President Mintimir Shaimiyev at a time when it was becoming clear that for the next while at least, Tatarstan would remain part of the Russian Federation, and seeking to find out how the Kazan leader would adapt to that situation in the future.
He says he expected Shaimiyev to obfuscate with talk of some kind of “’complex of measures’ for democratization.” But instead, he turned the tables and asks why Portnikov “considered that Tatarstan must become like the rest of Russia?” Perhaps,” Shaimiyev said, “Russia should become like Tatarstan given that it has an effective system of administration.”
The succeeding years “showed that Shaimiyev was right,” the Ukrainian commentator says, and the elections of 1996 showed that “Russia has already become ‘a real Tatarstan,’ an oligarchic state in which practically all power is concentrated above; and the population plays only a decorative and supportive role, taking part in elections and voting as they should.”
And it was thus “an irony of fate” for Shaimiyev when he tried to support “the ambitions of Primakov and Luzhkov,” Portnikov continues, only to be “quickly reminded that he now was living in a greater Tatarstan” rather than a democratic Russia.
Chechnya represented another challenge, one that in the end Moscow adapted to in much the same way. The Chechnya of the early 1990s seemed “alien and even wild simply because it was a model of a state organization in a province that was revolting” and therefore “it was necessary that Chechnya again become an inalienable part of Russia.”
To that end, Moscow adapted to Chechnya rather than the other way around, Portnikov says.
For many Russians, he suggests, “it would have been preferable that not Russia should have become like Chechnya but Chechnya like Russia.” But then one has to ask, like “what Russia?” Like the one similar to Tatarstan? “The Russia of Piontkovsky or the Russia of Dugin?”
It might have happened that the Russian government might simply have “copied the Soviet power vertical and the Soviet organization of society and its relationships with the societies.” But what happened was that the Kremlin copied “the Chechen model,” with its “fear, unrestricted power of the state, and the authority of the leader.”
The Russian Empire in its various guises is “like an onion,” Portnikov concludes. “The pealing away of its layers began already a century ago and always has been accompanied by tears. But the main thing is that no one knows” what in fact is at the center given that the center has been “mimicking” the outer layers for so long.
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Paul Goble
Staunton, February 22 – Most commentators have suggested that Vladimir Putin is supporting the Russian extreme right to force the governments of Germany and other European countries to lift sanctions against his country, Igor Eidman says; but in fact, Putin’s goals are “much more ambitious.” He wants to change the nature of European countries and of Europe.
“The goal of Russia’s information and lobbying attack is to change Germany society,” Eidman says, “to destroy its liberal foundations and to set it against European integration. Only after having changed Germany could Putin find a common language with it and make it his ally” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=56C9C281DE474).
Moscow’s chief instruments in this effort include “propaganda of xenophobia, dirty information technologies, the export of corruption, and the buying off of elites.”
Until recently, “many leaders of European countries were friends of Putin,” but Chancellor Angela Merkel “showed from the very beginning that she would not make friends with the former Chekist,” at least in part because she is the only West European leader who grew up under communism and thus understands what her “Russian partner” represents.
Because of her resistance to him, Merkel is Putin’s chief target; and his “immediate goal is to achieve her retirement from office.” Unfortunately, “there are several categories of Germans who are helping Putin” in this effort: “deceived or false leftists, ultra-right ideological supporters of Putin, ‘pragmatic’ businessmen who for short-term profit are prepared to condemn their country to long-term problems,” and those who simply take bribes and payoffs.
“The strangest and most unnatural of these are the leftists,” Eidman says, given that they must know that “in Putin’s Russia rule all that the German leftists are struggling against in Germany and on a bestial scale: social inequality and the violation of labor rights, corruption and arbitrariness of the police, pollution by corporations and the seizure of free urban spaces, racism and homophobia, sexism and clericalism, an imperial foreign policy and militarism.”
A second category of “’Putin’s helpers’” are pragmatic businessmen, he continues. Their attitudes are not that surprising given that Lenin reminded the world that capitalists will always be ready to sell the rope that will hang them. Now, tragically, some business types are “prepared to sell Putin the rope he hopes to use to hang European democracy.”
When they oppose sanctions, these business people think that “they are simply defending the interests of German business. In reality, however, they are helping the Putin regime to stabilize the economic situation and to find the resources for expansionist activities in the international arena, for an ideological and information attack on democracy in Europe.”
The most active “friends of Putin” in Germany are “those who participate in projects paid for by Moscow” and thus do so for selfish interests. “The Russian authorities are buying up wholesale and retail German politicians, journalists and ‘experts.’ By corrupting the German elite, the Kremlin not only achieves loyalty to its policies but also changes Germany and destroys its democratic and law-based state.”
But in Germany there are many who support Putin because they share his views, Eidman says. These include in the first instance the far right. They would like their country to become like Russia today, and they often chant that “Merkel should be sent to Siberia, and Putin summoned to Berlin.” They and Moscow have been especially energized by the migrant crisis.
“In Russia,” Eidman concludes, “government propaganda long ago made liberalism and tolerance practically curse words. The Russian authorities are trying to promote the same attitudes in German public opinion. Merkel’s retirement is only an intermediate step for the Kremlin. It really wants Germany to become like Russia, “reactionary, clerical and xenophobic.”
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Moscow’s Creeping Annexation of South Osetia via the Militaryby paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, February 22 – Leonid Tabilov, the president of South Osetia, says that he and the Russians are working on a supplemental agreement that will include the units of the small armed forces of the republic within the Russian military, the latest example of the kind of creeping annexation of that breakaway republic into the Russian Federation.
In an article entitled “South Osetia Will Enter Russia via the General Staff,” Svobodnaya pressa journalist Anton Mardasov says that Tabilov in his February 19th message nonetheless stressed that “the republic must preserve a numerically small but effective part of its own army” (svpressa.ru/war21/article/142925/).
That is necessary, the South Osetian president said, so that his country will be “capable of solving military tasks” and responding to “diversionary-terrorist acts and provocations without the application by the Russian Federation of its own Armed Forces.” But the thrust of his message was that the 500-man South Osetian force will be integrated into the Russian Army.
The supplemental agreement between Russia and South Osetia was supposed to be signed at the end of January, but the South Osetian side was not ready. It had not drafted the portions of the accord having to do with the security services and military. And thus the two sides had to await the appearance of the Russian draft.
“At first glance,” Mardasov says, “news about the inclusion of a number of units of the Armed Forces of the republic into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation looks like a sensation” because it represents the beginning of the unification of South Osetia and the Russian Federation “via the military.”
Moreover, it addresses a serious problem. Because of high unemployment and the departure of many of its residents to Russian cities, the South Osetian military has not been able to meet its draft quotas. Now, it will be able to count on Russian assistance. But in fact, this arrangement does nothing more than put on paper what is already a fact: the South Osetian army is “part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”
The real concern apparently is how the West may react to even this move, given that it appears to be a kind of creeping annexation of the breakaway republic especially because in the words of one expert Mardasov cites, “de facto South Osetia is part of Russia,” even though it has been recognized by Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Tuvalu.
Moscow isn’t interested in moving further just now, Mardasov says; and statements by officials in South Osetia about yet another referendum on unification with the Russian Federation are all about the domestic politics of the republic rather than a reflection of thinking in the Russian capital.
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Democratic Lawmaker Asks FBI Director to Withdraw Apple Unlocking Case by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
A Democratic U.S. congressman on Tuesday asked the FBI to rescind its demand that Apple help unlock an iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters. U.S. Representative Ted Lieu argued instead that Congress should ultimately decide whether American technology companies must grant authorities access to their products. In a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey seen by Reuters, the California Democrat said that allowing a federal magistrate to order Apple to write new code granting investigators access to the phone relies on a "strained interpretation" of a centuries-old law and could set a dangerous precedent that would weaken encryption more broadly. Lieu's letter echoes the sentiment of some lawmakers on both sides of the debate who have said since the Apple standoff began that Congress should resolve the encryption debate, despite a longstanding legislative impasse on the issue. The FBI declined to comment on the letter, but referred back to a Sunday blog post by Comey that said the case was not about precedent but "victims and justice." Last week, a federal magistrate in Los Angeles said that Apple must provide "reasonable technical assistance" to investigators seeking to unlock the data on an iPhone that had been used by San Bernardino shooter Rizwan Farook, who, with his wife, killed 14 people on Dec. 2. In opposing the judge's order, Apple has framed the dispute as an issue of digital privacy and security that affects all of its customers. Lieu earlier this month introduced the ENCRYPT Act, which would prevent any state or locality from mandating that a "manufacturer, developer, seller, or provider" design or alter the security of a product so it can be decrypted or surveilled by authorities.
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- Opposition Activist Yashin to Release Report on Kadyrov’s 30,000-Strong ‘Personal Army’LIVE UPDATES: An opposition report based on both open sources and the testimony of sources who fear revealing their names details the alarming growth of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s “personal army” to 30,000 men and the atmosphere of intimidation that reigns in the republic. Welcome...
- Opposition Activist Yashin to Release Report on Kadyrov’s 30,000-Strong ‘Personal Army’LIVE UPDATES: An opposition report based on both open sources...
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The Briefing: Exposing Kadyrov by Brian Whitmore
Chechnya’s mercurial leader Ramzan Kadyrov will be back in the news this week as the first anniversary of Boris Nemtsov’s assassination approaches and Russia’s opposition prepares to release a lengthy report on his activities.
On this week’s Power Vertical Briefing, we look at the likely impact of opposition leader Ilya Yashin’s upcoming report, titled National Security Threat, excerpts of which were published in the Russian newspaper The New Times.
Joining me is Pavel Butorin, managing editor of RFE/RL’s Russian-language television program Current Time.
Enjoy..
NOTE: The Power Vertical Briefing is a short look ahead to the stories expected to make news in Russia in the coming week. It is hosted by Brian Whitmore, author of the Power Vertical blog, and appears every Monday.
A woman named Nikol looks to the camera, wiping away theВ tears of happiness. She has reason to be happy, having navigated through to the next round of the Russian television show "Battle of the Psychics."
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The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has appealed the court's decision to put the owner of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport Dmitry Kamenschik under house arrest, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.
Turkey will not engage in ground military operation in Syria without UN Security council approval, Ankara's UN envoy said, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.
The new cease-fire deal agreed upon by Russia and the U.S. was deemed so momentous in Moscow that state-run Rossia-1 television network interrupted its regular programming to broadcast a statement by President Putin.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has published on social media a report by an opposition activist Ilya Yashin which claims that Kadyrov's rule poses a threat to Russia.
Newspaper suggests staff at the refugee home in Mölndal were aware of suspect's mental health problems
'For him the crime was a solution. He wanted a free, happy life which he had control over,' judge says
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German dictator could have suffered from medical condition called 'hypospadias'
US and Russia agree to enforce new Syria ceasefireby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
The ceasefire, subject to the agreement between the warring parties, would take effect on Saturday
A new deal between the US and Russia to enforce a ceasefire in Syria has been reached, with the cessation of hostilities set to come into force on 27 February.
The ceasefire, subject to the agreement between the warring parties, would exclude Islamic State, al-Qaida and al-Nusra Front.
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Putin has let former rebel turn region into his personal fiefdom with 30,000 fighters loyal only to him, says report
The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, is a ruthless and corrupt leader who could pose a threat to the whole of Russia, according to a report by the Russian opposition.
The report – written by prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin and entitled National Security Threat – alleges that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has allowed Kadyrov to turn Chechnya into a personal fiefdom beyond the control of the central authorities.
Continue reading...
John Kerry says partition of Syria could be part of ‘plan B’ if peace talks fail by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
US secretary of state tells committee it ‘may be too late’ to keep Syria whole and suggests Washington would support partition if ceasefire is unsuccessful
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has said he will move towards a plan B that could involve a partition of Syria if a planned ceasefire due to start in the next few days does not materialise, or if a genuine shift to a transitional government does not take place in the coming months.
“It may be too late to keep it as a whole Syria if we wait much longer,” he told the US Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday.
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CNN |
Russia is using Syria to run circles around US
CNN In October, when Russia started bombing Syria, Obama confidently predicted that Putin would regret his decision to enter the Syrian civil war. "An attempt by Russia and Iran to prop up Assad and try to pacify the population," Obama predicted, "is just ... Syria conflict: Warring parties accept US-Russia truce planBBC News Syria state media: Assad accepts US-Russia cease-fire dealUSA TODAY Syria government, opposition accept US-Russia proposed truceStars and Stripes ABC News-New York Times- Wall Street Journal all 4,045 Voice of America-Washington Post all 3,973 news articles » |
Washington Post |
United States and Russia agree to a partial cease-fire in Syria
Washington Post The United States and Russia announced Monday that they have agreed to the terms of a partial cease-fire in Syria, a deal that will depend on their ability to cooperate amid deep mutual suspicion and test their willingness and ability to dictate terms ... US-Russia Deal on a Partial Truce in Syria Raises More Doubt Than Optimism New York Times Kerry Hails Deal With Russia for Syria CeasefireTIME Syrian Cease-Fire to Begin Feb. 27, U.S. and Russia AnnounceBloomberg The Guardian-Reuters-BBC News all 3,132 news articles » |
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New York Times |
US-Russia Deal on a Partial Truce in Syria Raises More Doubt Than Optimism
New York Times WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia announced an agreement on Monday for a partial truce in Syria, though the caveats and cautious words on all sides underscored the obstacles in the way of the latest diplomatic effort to end the five-year-old ... Russia Is Launching Twice as Many Airstrikes as the U.S. in SyriaDaily Beast United States and Russia agree to a partial cease-fire in SyriaWashington Post Syrian rebels see flaws in US-Russian truce planReuters The Guardian-BBC News all 3,308 news articles » |
Washington Post |
Russia wants to fly more spy planes over the US, and the Pentagon can't stop it
Washington Post Russia filed a request Monday to fly a spy plane carrying advanced digital cameras over the United States. The move presents the United States with a dilemma: How does Washington respond at a time when Moscow and Washington are at odds over Syria ... and more » |
BBC News |
Syria conflict: Warring parties accept US-Russia truce plan
BBC News The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella group say they accept the terms of a deal to cease hostilities from Saturday. The government said it would halt "combat operations" in line with the plan announced by the US and Russia. But the ... Russia is using Syria to run circles around USCNN Russia Is Launching Twice as Many Airstrikes as the U.S. in SyriaDaily Beast Syria state media: Assad accepts US-Russia cease-fire dealUSA TODAY Wall Street Journal -Voice of America -Washington Post all 3,950 news articles » |
The Guardian |
Chechen leader Kadyrov 'threatens whole of Russia', opposition warns
The Guardian The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, is a ruthless and corrupt leader who could pose a threat to the whole of Russia, according to a report by the Russian opposition. The report – written by prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin and entitled National ... Opposition Calls Kadyrov 'Private Army' Threat To RussiaRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty all 33 news articles » |
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has dismissed a proposal by Russia and three OPEC members to freeze oil production as "ridiculous."
The Odessa Center for Nonproliferation (OdCNP), a partner of the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, invites applications for a fellowship hosted in Odessa, Ukraine. The Fellowship is an opportunity for scholars and researchers to conduct research on themes pertaining to the nuclear history of Ukraine. This fellowship is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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Самопровозглашенное «Исламское государство» можно ликвидировать, если найти этническим курдам правильное место
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/kurds-in-middle-east/3201699.html
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/kurds-in-middle-east/3201699.html
Благотворительные организации и социальные службы стараются по мере сил помочь нуждающимся
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/winter-on-fire/3201698.html
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/winter-on-fire/3201698.html
After five years of carnage, the Syrian civil war can seem poised to go on indefinitely. But the "cessation of hostilities" engineered by the U.S. and Russia may actually stand a chance, in part because of the weakness of the mainstream rebels fighting President Bashar Assad.
Mark Davis: The FBI's demand on Apple is unacceptable
Dallas Morning News These are challenging days for FBI Director James Comey. As his agency ... Director Comeymisdefined his duty this week when he suggested his agency owes it to the terror victims to press Apple to open the gates to its technology. It is the FBI's ... I ... and more » |
Middle East: The next president will have to make a distinct choice - either engage in the region or continue to disengage.
Enemies by fredslibrary
Title: Enemies
Author: Tim Weiner
Weiner, Tim (2012). Enemies: A History of the FBI. New York: Random House
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