Putin’s Survival Strategy - WSJ

Russia’s president clearly seems to be lifting strategies from the Hitler playbook, likely deliberately so.

Talk of regime necessity in both cases is unavoidably a euphemism for personal necessity. Neither man would have considered survival beyond office likely. Historical analogies should be handled with care, obviously, but this one can tell us something about the nature of regimes built on desperate and unsustainable gambles (however much the gamblers may surprise themselves with the limp reactions of their adversaries at first). It can also tell us something about how such regimes tend to end: History records at least 10 assassination plots against Hitler during his 12 years in power, two of which failed only due to unusually bad luck.

Putin’s Survival Strategy - WSJ

Saturday June 6th, 2015 at 11:26 AM

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If Hillary Clinton is to be our next president, we’ll have one who has already violated decorum by analogizing Vladimir Putin to Hitler (she likened his seizure of Crimea to the Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland). If other candidates and the Russian people themselves aren’t getting a similar feeling by now, they haven’t been paying attention. Mr. Putin’s latest decree, in Russia’s struggling economy, drafts young people to serve in military production plants. Well along, meanwhile, is his effort to label all critics and opposition politicians as “national traitors.”

Mr. Putin’s survival may well depend on his ability to conjure what passes for a mandate in the 2018 presidential election, already being set up not as a choice of candidates but a referendum on whether the electorate supports Russia or its enemies. “A newly vigorous campaign targets those who do not share in Russia’s officially sanctioned mood of expansionary euphoria,” reports the New Yorker’s Moscow correspondent.

According to Moscow’s Gaidar Institute, military spending has doubled since 2010, and accelerated even faster since the Ukraine war. Defense now accounts for 35% of government outlays, about 14% of gross domestic product. (The U.S., with the largest military in the world and its global responsibilities, spends less than 4% of GDP.)

“The government has two urgent tasks: strengthening security at all levels of society and promoting innovation to end the macroeconomic stagnation,” a Kremlin military adviser tells Bloomberg News this week. “The solution to both problems is to intensify the development of the military-industrial complex.”

Putin himself, from the site of the recent winter Olympics, on which the regime spent $50 billion, told a meeting of the defense ministry leadership: “We can and must do for the defense industry what we did for Sochi. All questions relating to adequate resource allocation have been resolved.”

Keeping in mind the limits of historical analogy, here’s a compressed version of Hitler’s militarization of German society, as told by his biographer Ian Kershaw, beginning with the November 1933 parliamentary elections, in which only Nazi Party-approved candidates were allowed to run.

“The coming election [Hitler said] marked a final chance to reject Communism by the ballot-box. If that did not happen, force—he darkly hinted—would be used. . . . Germany’s economy had to be subordinated to the preparation, then carrying out, of [the international] struggle. . . . As public works schemes initially [including the 1936 Olympics], then increasingly rearmament, began to pull Germany out of recession, Hitler garnered the full propaganda benefit. . . . By late 1938, the pressures of the forced rearmament programme were making themselves acutely felt. . . . The policy of ‘rearm, whatever the cost’ was now plainly showing itself to be sustainable only in the short term. . . . Continuing economic difficulties [were] the main stimulus to increased German pressure on Austria. . . . In economic terms, too, the fall of Czechoslovakia offered an enticing prospect. . . . He did not believe there would be military retaliation. At worst there might be economic sanctions.”

Hitler explained to his military leaders on the eve of the Poland invasion: “It is easy for us to make decisions. We have nothing to lose; we have everything to gain. Because of our restrictions our economic situation is such that we can only hold out for a few more years.”

Putin, as far as we know, is not a reincarnated Hitler. Unlike Hitler, Mr. Putin has nuclear weapons but he also has daughters—hopefully making him less apocalyptic. Yet he clearly seems to be lifting strategies from the Hitler playbook, likely deliberately so.

Talk of regime necessity in both cases is unavoidably a euphemism for personal necessity. Neither man would have considered survival beyond office likely. Historical analogies should be handled with care, obviously, but this one can tell us something about the nature of regimes built on desperate and unsustainable gambles (however much the gamblers may surprise themselves with the limp reactions of their adversaries at first). It can also tell us something about how such regimes tend to end: History records at least 10 assassination plots against Hitler during his 12 years in power, two of which failed only due to unusually bad luck.

Read the whole story

· · ·

Obama to Focus on Russia, Islamic State at G-7

Saturday June 6th, 2015 at 11:21 AM

Voice Of America

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GARMISCH, GERMANY—

U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing to go to the G-7 summit in Germany Sunday where he will attempt to rally the Group of Seven partners to extend sanctions on Russia for its continuing involvement in Ukraine.

Although the formal purpose of the G-7 talks is trade, the issues of Ukraine, including Russia's annexation of Crimea, and the strategy against the Islamic State group are expected to dominate the discussions.

Some G-7 nations are participating in allied bombing raids against the Islamic State group and the fighters’ recent capture of Ramadi in Iraq has left many wondering whether Obama’s strategy is working.

Biggest issue: Russia

The biggest issue, however, is Russia – excluded from the meeting for a second year. Russia had been part of what was known as the Group of Eight since 1998, but was expelled  last year over its activities in Ukraine.

There are questions here about the U.S. leader’s approach to Russia, one that White House officials, including spokesman Josh Earnest, acknowledge has not changed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s behavior in Ukraine.

“The economic pressure that's been applied to Russia has not yet resulted in President Putin changing his strategic calculus inside of Ukraine," Earnest said.

"We continue to see the Russian military violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We continue to see the movement of materiel and personnel across the Ukrainian border in support of Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine," he added.

The United Nations is urging all sides in the Ukraine conflict to fully respect the cease-fire agreement reached earlier this year in Minsk.

"We are either looking at a return to a deepening, intractable conflict or a momentary upsurge in parts of the conflict zone, " U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman told an emergency Security Council meeting Friday.

Putin interview

Speaking about the Ukraine crisis in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, published Saturday, Putin accused Kyiv of being unwilling to implement the Minsk agreement.

Putin said that the peace deal should be implemented in close coordination with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics’ leaderships, to which Kyiv objects.

Putin said the United States and the European Union should influence the Ukrainian government to respect the peace deal as envisioned in the agreement. Russia, he said, would do its part to influence the authorities of separatist republics.

He added that there is "no need to fear Russia."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Friday that whatever Putin's "efforts might be to scroll backward in time Russia's trajectory, the rest of the world and the rest of Europe are continuing to go forward."

Diplomatic solution

Obama continues to believe the solution lies in diplomacy and not military involvement. He will rally G-7 members to extend sanctions that are due to expire in the next two months.

The Kremlin insists it has no direct role in the fighting in eastern Ukraine and has repeatedly denied supporting rebels with arms and fighters.

Protestors wearing masks of G-7 leaders during a demonstration one day before the G-7 summit, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, June 6, 2015. The summit is to take place June 7-8 at Schloss Elmau hotel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Pressuring and isolating Russia diplomatically is becoming a more complicated matter as the U.S. administration recognizes Moscow’s part in international efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and rid Syria of chemical weapons – a role U.S. officials describe as positive and important.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to the Russian resort of Sochi and met with Putin.

At the G-7 gathering in Germany, Obama will try to send a strong and unified message that the United States maintains its leadership role.

"There is growing sensitivity at the White House about criticism of the lack of American leadership or the lack of policy effectiveness on these two geo-strategic issues but at this point, this summit is an opportunity for foreign leaders to have their candid conversations privately and out forward a unity message of their approach on an incredible range of issues," said Heather Conley, a Europe analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

IS advances

On the Islamic State’s advances in Iraq, the U.S. leader will huddle with G-7 partners to discuss the next steps in the bid to degrade and ultimately destroy the group.

U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Iraqi forces may be losing the will to fight as evidenced by their retreat during the recent fall of Ramadi.

Obama is due to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Monday to learn more about the situation on the ground.

Conley said it will be an important first face-to-face meeting.

“Prime Minister Abadi said some very strong statements where he wanted much more U.S. and coalition activity – again very sensitive to the criticism that was leveled by Defense Secretary Ash Carter that you know the Iraqi forces lacked the will," she said.

Another big topic will be Iran. This will be the G-7 partners’ last meeting before a deadline this month for a nuclear agreement.

The gathering will also discuss Africa. Attending the meeting is newly installed Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who will join leaders for discussions on the fight against the Boko Haram group.

Also on hand will be Liberia’s President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson for discussions on Ebola.

Read the whole story

· · · ·

Obama, never a schmoozer, seeks to boost his legacy at G7 summit

Saturday June 6th, 2015 at 11:20 AM

Christian Science Monitor | USA

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Washington — President Obama travels to Germany Sunday for a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, which is expected to take up issues ranging from Russian aggression in Ukraine and the campaign to defeat the Islamic State to how to improve the global response to health challenges like West Africa’s recent Ebola crisis.

But before the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada get down to the heavy stuff, German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to escort Mr. Obama a few miles away from the summit to the Bavarian village of Krün – population 2,000.

There, the president and Ms. Merkel are expected to do a little shoulder rubbing with the locals. The White House says the visit to Krün will underscore “the deep ties between the American people and the German people,” while allowing the president to sample local food and local culture.

Does this mean that cool and cerebral Obama is going all touchy-feely and upping the personal dimension of his diplomacy? He is a president who has not forged warm and close personal ties with any of the world leaders he’s worked with – and who is known to disdain rote international gatherings that have no results on tap. But is he suddenly enthusiastic about one of his most exclusive clubs?

Not likely, say foreign policy analysts who have watched Obama since 2008, when the then-presidential candidate wowed 200,000 Germans with his intellect and vision for America in a speech in Berlin.

Instead, they say, a president who has shifted into legacy-building mode will be looking for a little help from his foreign friends. Obama will seek in Germany to cement the cooperation of America’s key partners on the issues that are most critical to securing his vision of America’s role in the world.

At the top of the list of legacy issues is conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal and approval of the vast Asian-Pacific trade accord called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. But it extends to reaching a global climate deal this year, and more broadly to implementing a system of shared global responsibilities in which America remains at the apex of a multipolar world.

Yet even more than enlisting foreign leaders’ help in securing his legacy, some say, Obama will be looking at the G7 summit, as well as other meetings with world leaders, as places to head off potential roadblocks to the conclusion of those legacy achievements.

“Europe is not where Obama looks as he builds his legacy, and the G7 hasn’t had much importance for him because it doesn’t get him to his grand strategy” focused on Iran and pivoting US interests to Asia, says John Hulsman, president of John C. Hulsman Enterprises, a global political risk consulting firm based in Rothenburg, Germany. “But what he is interested in are people who can cause impediments and screw things up for him in achieving that grand strategy.”

Thus Obama will “work on the edges” of the G7 summit to press leaders on the issues that could get in the way of fulfilling his legacy, Dr. Hulsman says. (What had become the Group of Eight with the inclusion of Russia returned to the G7 after Russia annexed Crimea last year.)

Obama, he says, will underscore with Merkel the importance of working with Greece to head off a financial debacle that could drag down the global economy. He’ll also encourage Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make concessions on rice imports and other issues to ease TPP’s approval. And he’ll emphasize with French President François Hollande the importance of reaching a nuclear deal with Iran by the end of this month.

“The French are a perfect example of how the Europeans are not central to Obama’s vision except in how they could cause trouble for it,” says Hulsman, noting that French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has been stinging in his public criticism of some aspects of the emerging deal with Iran. “If in the end the French say they won’t do it,” he says, “there goes a key piece of the legacy.”

Obama administration officials insist the president has close working relationships with a number of G7 leaders. In particular, with Merkel, Obama “has developed ... one of his closest partnerships in the world,” according to Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.

But in previewing the Germany trip with reporters Thursday, Mr. Rhodes also hinted that Obama sees the G7 meeting as an opportunity to address any glitches that might arise to threaten the issues mattering the most to him.

Noting that the summit will be “the last opportunity the president will have to be in the same venue with the leaders of several of our key partners in the [Iran] negotiations,” Rhodes said, “We will want to make sure that we are in lock step with our key allies at the negotiating table.”

The G7 meeting will be “an important opportunity at the leader level to ... ensure that we’re on the same page in terms of the type of deal that we’re pursuing,” he added.

What that means, some foreign policy experts say, is that Obama will very likely pull Mr. Hollande aside to make sure the French are with the program concerning the Iran deal.

“If I was back on the [National Security Council] staff and writing the talking points for the president, and you had an ally [like France] that you were going to have a few minutes with ... you would say, ‘Can we get you back on the bus?’ or ‘What is it going to take to get you back on the bus?’ ” says Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in Washington and an NSC Middle East adviser under President George W. Bush.

Mr. Fontaine describes Obama as a leader “in legacy mode” who finds a pillar of his legacy taking public hits from a close ally. Obama, Fontaine says, should say to Hollande, “Let’s keep these disagreements behind closed doors, rather than doing this in the press which is harmful to our position.”

Of course, the other leaders of the G7 are not so much interested in boosting Obama’s legacy as they are in furthering their own national interests.

But for some foreign policy experts, it’s the G7’s evolution from a global-economy steering club when it was formed 40 years ago to a “values community” promoting Western principles that makes the group more relevant globally – and potentially more important to Obama’s efforts to further his global vision.

The more encompassing Group of 20 emerging and developed economies may have supplanted the G7 as the world’s economic steering club, says Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. But in response to crises like those in Ukraine and with the Islamic State in the Middle East, countries turn to partners that share common values, she adds.

She senses that partly for that reason, Obama may have come to value the G7 gatherings and what they offer more than he once did. “Whether the president likes these types of shindigs or not, I will leave that up to the White House for comment,” Ms. Conley says. “But I think at this particular moment it’s really critical for the values community to speak very clearly ... on all of these geopolitical issues.”

Still, two days of conversations based on shared values won’t necessarily rule out actions that promote what Hulsman calls Obama’s “grand strategy.” And Fontaine of CNAS says that when it comes to the “legacy department,” the White House will be looking for strong language from the leaders on a climate change agreement this year and in support of TPP and trade liberalization more broadly.

Getting that from the G7 club, he says, “would be something that they [in the White House] would see as a success.”

Read the whole story

· · · · ·

U.S. Considers Harder Line on Russia

___________________________________________

Q. If Putin is looking for wedge issues, how does the alliance maintain unity?

A. On certain issues, President Putin has stated his intent. One of his clear statements is he considers NATO as a threat to him and will look for opportunities to discredit and eventually undermine the alliance. He has been very open about that. What we do is ensure alliance solidarity in our decision making…

What should we be doing? We need to harden our allies who are NATO members. We are also doing the same thing with some of these nations that are NATO partners but not allies. We are training Ukrainian national guardsman in western Ukraine. We have a very aggressive campaign to help Georgia to reform its military and give it the capabilities to harden itself against subversive tactics. …

It is about hardening before the crisis occurs. Because once the crisis occurs you get into this debate about what is escalatory and what is not escalatory. This is about acting precrisis to deter and prevent crisis.

Putin and the Doctrinal Definition of Threat

Saturday June 6th, 2015 at 11:39 AM

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President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Group of Seven leading nations are meeting beginning Sunday in Germany, a gathering that will be dominated by concern over Russia and its actions in stoking the civil war in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal spoke recently with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the rekindled strategic challenge of Russia. An edited excerpt of his remarks follow.

Q. Talk a little about how you see Russia. Is it a big strategic problem, is it a declining power? Where is it on the hierarchy of challenges?

A. When I give my advice to our elected officials, I talk in terms of threat, what could threaten our interests. Threat is the combination of capability and intent. That is the doctrinal definition. I can’t tell you, as we sit here today, precisely what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Russia intend to do. They have demonstrated some behaviors outside the international order that clearly indicate that they are willing to push beyond what most of the nations with whom we deal consider to be international norms.

I can tell you on the capabilities side, they have developed some capabilities that do threaten security in Europe. I will just tick off a few of them:

Surrogates. They have demonstrated an ability to use surrogates.

They have demonstrated the ability to use instruments other than their military. They are very adept in the media space of propaganda, leading to subversion.

They have developed the capability to use their special forces to train, advise and in many cases assist the surrogate networks.

They have demonstrated the ability to conduct snap exercises with conventional forces that can coerce or at least threaten borders.

They own advantages in Europe—the advantages of time and geography.

They have demonstrated some capabilities with long-range aviation and with their nuclear forces that are clearly intended to signal the nations in Europe and us of their willingness to consider all the instruments of military power. I could go on and on.

We spend a lot of time trying to assess their intent. My job is to describe their capabilities and compare their capabilities with ours.

Q. The U.S. has been investing in technologies to counter China’s military modernization for more than a decade. Is it time to start investing in capabilities to counter Russia. Are you already making those investments?

A. The capabilities China is developing and capabilities Russia is developing are similar. And therefore the work we have done to ensure we are not adversely affected by antiaccess strategies will work against state actors, whoever they happen to be.

Q. Russia is a pre-eminent nuclear power; they have made nuclear threats. How worried are you about the nuclear threat from Russia. Is this posturing?

A. I consider it to be extraordinary reckless. Back to the concept I described of how you define a threat—intention and capability—I don’t know. But I do know they have a capability and have maneuvered it and we can’t take that lightly.

Q. Does NATO need to respond to that?

A. It’s mostly about strategic planning. That is one thing we talked about, ensuring we have accounted for all aspects of military power from the asymmetric to the strategic in our planning. And for the last 25 years we haven’t had to do that.

Q. There is what some people call an asymmetry of interest in Ukraine between NATO and Russia. Russia is right there, they have historic ties. They are probably willing to escalate further. How do you counter what Putin is doing beyond a face-off in Ukraine?

A. Fundamentally, our approach has been to harden our NATO allies against the subversive activities Russia has demonstrated its willingness to use. We have the conventional threat posed by Russia’s conventional forces. Separately, we’ve got this template that Russia has appeared to have employed that would cause us to harden our allies through training, equipping rotational exercises.

Internal to NATO, there is a healthy conversation about making sure ethnic populations are addressed in the internal domestic politics so they don’t become vulnerable.

Q. If Putin is looking for wedge issues, how does the alliance maintain unity?

A. On certain issues, President Putin has stated his intent. One of his clear statements is he considers NATO as a threat to him and will look for opportunities to discredit and eventually undermine the alliance. He has been very open about that. What we do is ensure alliance solidarity in our decision making…

What should we be doing? We need to harden our allies who are NATO members. We are also doing the same thing with some of these nations that are NATO partners but not allies. We are training Ukrainian national guardsman in western Ukraine. We have a very aggressive campaign to help Georgia to reform its military and give it the capabilities to harden itself against subversive tactics. …

It is about hardening before the crisis occurs. Because once the crisis occurs you get into this debate about what is escalatory and what is not escalatory. This is about acting precrisis to deter and prevent crisis.

Write to Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com

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· · · ·

How to bypass Putin – POLITICO

Saturday June 6th, 2015 at 11:38 AM

Comments On: Feed His Sheep

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Opinion

If the Russian president does not value the talent of his own people, the European community should.

By Guy Verhofstadt

Updated

“Instead of seeing Russia as a democracy in the process of failing, we need to see it as an authoritarian system in the process of succeeding.”

These words didn’t come from a historian reflecting on Tsarist rulers or communist dictators of the past. This was Karen Dawisha, a distinguished Russian expert, speaking about the Russia of today. As Vladimir Putin tightens his stranglehold on the Russian people, it’s more important than ever for us to speak out and defend progressive, liberal values, while standing by those fighting for fundamental rights in Russia.

In Putin’s Russia, members of the LGBT community and other minorities  have good reason to fear for their lives, as they are forced to hide from mobs who hunt them down in the streets of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Putin must be the world’s only head of state who is an honorary member of a motorcycle gang, the Night Wolves. Its leader, Alexander Zaldostanov, is a personal friend of Putin and a fierce defender of Stalin’s political heritage. He is the driving force behind the anti-Maidan movement, who has previously declared “death to faggots.” Putin regularly shows up at Night Wolves events, giving implied support to this kind of hate speech.

Those who dare to disagree with the Putin regime end up fearing for their life or their freedom. Worrying developments from Russia pour in every day: Activists are arrested, opposition leaders jailed or poisoned and critical journalists killed in cold blood. These are not exceptional events, but everyday headlines. The Russian economy is hitting rock bottom because of its over-reliance on gas and oil exports. “Innovation” is nothing more than a punchline of the regime, because the reality is that Russians are not free to express new ideas. Russian people are getting poorer by the day, but continue to support Putin because every single media outlet is controlled by the Kremlin, the Internet censored, and the elections rigged. Welcome to Russia in 2015.

The EU and Russia are in a stand-off, launching measures and counter-measures. Europe must not back down. This is the time to stay united and strong. Bullies like Putin do not respect weakness. All too often, the European Council has been slow to react to Russian provocations, resulting in sanctions that are agreed on too late or too hesitantly. Regrettably, the extension of sanctions linked to the continued Russian military presence in eastern Ukraine is still pending. The EU must be more proactive and should develop a clearer strategy. There is little hope that Putin will change his behavior. We have to plan a tough joint response to further provocations, which are now extremely likely.

We must never forget that the true victims of the regime are the Russian people themselves. On a daily basis, Russian citizens are bombarded with Kremlin propaganda, declaring the wickedness of the West. We have to rebut these lies more effectively, by engaging with the people of Russia directly, many of whom are enormously talented in a wide range of fields: arts, music, science, technology. The Russian regime is suppressing the country’s talented people, as if they were under communist rule. If Putin does not value the potential of his own people, we should.

The European Commission should come forward with a proposal to set up a vast program of scholarships for Russian artists, scientists, and students. The European Council has a duty to provide the necessary funding for this. If each of the 28 member states contributed, the costs would be minimal and the benefits — helping to win the hearts and minds of the Russian people — would be invaluable. We could help give talented Russians the funding they need to flourish, while providing more lenient visa conditions. It would enable Russians to see Europe for what it really is, not as it is portrayed by Putin’s regime.

The EU should also do more to support civil society in Russia, by actively participating in peaceful human rights protests. Putin can make as many blacklists as he wants, but he will never be able to silence those who stand united against his vile nationalist rhetoric and his regime’s uncompromising  suppression of fundamental internationally recognised rights.

Loudly and with conviction, we must reject Putin’s narrow authoritarianism and boldly offer the people of Russian an alternative liberal vision of a global society based on freedom, democratic values, equality and opportunity. Sanctions may hurt Putin’s pocketbook, but offering a positive alternative vision for  Russia, to her people, will hit Putin where it really hurts.

Guy Verhofstadt, European parliamentary group leader for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), was prime minister of Belgium from 1999-2008.

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· · ·

Putin’s Survival Strategy - WSJ

Putin and Putinism

Putin and Putinism

Putin as a person and as a politician and his political system of "Putinism"

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06/06/15 04:01 from путин – Новости Google
Радио Свобода Либо Путин , либо "Большая восьмерка" Радио Свобода «Я не думаю, что Россия под управлением Владимира Путина может быть частью «Большой семерки». Точка», – сказал Харпер в интервью информационному агентству The As...

» Путин считает украинский кризис результатом непрофессиональных действий США - НТВ.ru
06/06/15 03:37 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин считает украинский кризис результатом непрофессиональных действий США НТВ.ru Как заявил Путин , Россия не чувствует себя обманутой, наблюдая за развитием событий на Украине, но в Москве не понимают, с какой целью было необхо...

» Владимир Путин дал интервью итальянским журналистам - Первый канал
06/06/15 03:14 from путин – Новости Google
Первый канал Владимир Путин дал интервью итальянским журналистам Первый канал Единственным путём к разрешению конфликта Владимир Путин назвал выполнение Минских договорённостей. Он заявил, что Москва делает и будет делать в дальнейшем вс...

» Путин рассказал, что будет с Донбассом - Телеканал "Звезда"
06/06/15 02:59 from путин – Новости Google
Путин рассказал, что будет с Донбассом Телеканал "Звезда" Президент России убежден, что от санкций и антироссийской риторики в Европе устали. Образ России как агрессора на Украине, говорит президент, нужен только США, чтобы сохранять пол...

» Владимир Путин уверен, что альтернативы минским договоренностям не существует - Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ
06/06/15 02:06 from путин – Новости Google
Владимир Путин уверен, что альтернативы минским договоренностям не существует Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Путин считает, что юго-восток Украины можно убедить остаться в составе страны, но только не с помощью оружия. Нужно уважать всегда наст...

» Путин ответил на вопрос, возможно ли присоединение Донбасса к России - NEWSru.com
06/06/15 01:58 from путин – Новости Google
РБК Путин ответил на вопрос, возможно ли присоединение Донбасса к России NEWSru.com В преддверии своего визита в Италию президент РФ Владимир Путин дал интервью местной газете Corriere della Sera. Глава государства отверг обвинения Росси...

» Путин считает себя счастливым человеком - Комсомольская правда
06/06/15 01:07 from путин – Новости Google
Комсомольская правда Путин считает себя счастливым человеком Комсомольская правда Кстати, не так давно Владимир Путин рассказал о том, как изменилась его жизнь после того, как он стал президентом РФ. Так, он отметил, что теперь не может ...

» 'Russia would attack NATO only in mad person's dream' – Putin - RT
06/06/15 00:53 from Putin - Google News
RT 'Russia would attack NATO only in mad person's dream' – Putin RT Russia is not building up its offensive military capabilities overseas and is only responding to security threats caused by US and NATO military expansion on...

» Путин ответил западным лидерам, не приехавшим на 9 Мая в Москву - НТВ.ru
06/06/15 00:52 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин ответил западным лидерам, не приехавшим на 9 Мая в Москву НТВ.ru Западные лидеры, проигнорировавшие приглашение на День Победы в Москву, не увидели за политической конъюнктурой серьезных вещей, считает Владимир Путин . 145. ...

» Путин: Россия не ведет агрессивную политику, но отвечает на угрозы в свой адрес - НТВ.ru
06/06/15 00:41 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин : Россия не ведет агрессивную политику, но отвечает на угрозы в свой адрес НТВ.ru Пред визитом в Италию Владимир Путин пообщался с итальянскими журналистами и ответил на вопрос о попытках Запада сдержать «российского медведя...

» Интервью итальянской газете Il Corriere della Sera
06/06/15 00:06 from Сайт Президента России: Все материалы
В преддверии визита в Италию Владимир Путин дал интервью газете Il Corriere della Sera.

» Russia backs Ukraine peace deal but Kiev is blocking progress, says Putin - The Guardian
05/06/15 23:57 from Putin - Google News
Bloomberg View Russia backs Ukraine peace deal but Kiev is blocking progress, says Putin The Guardian Russia fully backs the Minsk peace agreements in Ukraine, but progress is being stalled by Kiev, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin ...

» Путин: Греция имеет суверенное право выбирать, в каких союзах состоять - РИА Новости
05/06/15 23:52 from путин – Новости Google
Путин : Греция имеет суверенное право выбирать, в каких союзах состоять РИА Новости При этом, по мнению Путина , у греческой экономики есть определенные сложности, вызванные общеевропейскими правилами, как, например, жесткая привязанност...

» Путин прокомментировал возможность повторения «крымского сценария» в ДНР - РБК
05/06/15 23:48 from путин – Новости Google
РБК Путин прокомментировал возможность повторения «крымского сценария» в ДНР РБК Путин прокомментировал возможность повторения «крымского сценария» в ДНР. Георгий Перемитин. Президент России Владимир Путин заявил что ситуация в Донецке и...

» Путин: Россия из-за Украины потратит на модернизацию энергосистемы €10 млрд - Газета.Ru
05/06/15 23:36 from путин – Новости Google
Mail.Ru Путин : Россия из-за Украины потратит на модернизацию энергосистемы €10 млрд Газета.Ru Включение Украины в энергосистему Европы вынудит Россию потратить €8-10 млрд на перестройку своей энергосистемы, заявил президент России Влади...

» Путин: Россия вынуждена реагировать на угрозы НАТО и США - Газета.Ru
05/06/15 23:35 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин : Россия вынуждена реагировать на угрозы НАТО и США Газета.Ru Россия вынуждена реагировать на угрозы со стороны НАТО и США, заявил президент России Владимир Путин . Об этом сообщает РИА «Новости». «Россия ни с кем не говорит...

» Путин: не приехав на 9 мая в Москву, на Западе исходили из конъюнктуры - РИА Новости
05/06/15 23:29 from путин – Новости Google
Путин : не приехав на 9 мая в Москву, на Западе исходили из конъюнктуры РИА Новости Западные лидеры в решении не приезжать в Москву на юбилей Победы исходили из текущей непростой конъюнктурой международных отношений и не увидели гораздо ...

» Путин назвал причину украинского кризиса - Интерфакс
05/06/15 23:29 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин назвал причину украинского кризиса Интерфакс Президент РФ Владимир Путин в преддверии визита в Италию в интервью газете "Il Сorriere della Sera" напомнил, что беспорядки в Киеве "были активно поддержаны европе...

» Путин: кризис на Украине — результат непрофессиональных действий США - НТВ.ru
05/06/15 23:29 from путин – Новости Google
НТВ.ru Путин : кризис на Украине — результат непрофессиональных действий США НТВ.ru Как заявил Путин , Россия не чувствует себя обманутой, наблюдая за развитием событий на Украине, но в Москве не понимают, с какой целью было необходимо д...

» Путин оценил вхождение Прибалтики и Украины в энергосистему Евросоюза - РИА Новости
05/06/15 23:25 from путин – Новости Google
Путин оценил вхождение Прибалтики и Украины в энергосистему Евросоюза РИА Новости "Нет, проблем нет, но вот так мы решили, так будет лучше", — сказал Путин . Россия вынуждена будет строить в некоторых западных регионах России д...

» Путин: Россия из-за Украины вынуждена потратить на модернизацию энергосистемы €10 млрд - Газета.Ru
05/06/15 23:18 from путин – Новости Google
Путин : Россия из-за Украины вынуждена потратить на модернизацию энергосистемы €10 млрд Газета.Ru Включение Украины в энергосистему Европы вынудит Россию потратить €8-10 млрд на перестройку своей энергосистемы, заявил президент России Вл...

» Путин: США и Европа должны повлиять на Украину по минским соглашениям - РИА Новости
05/06/15 23:11 from путин – Новости Google
Путин : США и Европа должны повлиять на Украину по минским соглашениям РИА Новости МОСКВА, 6 июн — РИА Новости. Москва делает и будет делать все, что от нее зависит для оказания влияния на самопровозглашенные ДНР и ЛНР, но США и Европа д...

» Путин: Россия не собирается нападать на НАТО - Газета.Ru
05/06/15 23:10 from путин – Новости Google
Петербургский дневник Путин : Россия не собирается нападать на НАТО Газета.Ru «Что касается опасений каких-то стран по поводу возможных агрессивных действий России — думаю, что только нездоровый человек, и то во сне, может себе представи...

» Путин: альтернативы "Минску-2" нет, но РФ не может влиять на стороны конфликта на Украине - Информационное агентство России ТАСС
05/06/15 23:03 from путин – Новости Google
Информационное агентство России ТАСС Путин : альтернативы "Минску-2" нет, но РФ не может влиять на стороны конфликта на Украине Информационное агентство России ТАСС Президент России Владимир Путин уверен, что альтернативы минск...

» German Stance on Russia Complicates Long-Cultivated Tie as G-7 Meets - New York Times
05/06/15 20:45 from Putin - Google News
New York Times German Stance on Russia Complicates Long-Cultivated Tie as G-7 Meets New York Times Yet for all that Ms. Merkel has done to use her nation's growing influence on the world stage to counter Russian aggression, Germany&#...

» Greece's Alexis Tsipras refuses to pay up - then flirts with Vladimir Putin - Daily Mail
05/06/15 19:57 from Putin - Google News
Daily Mail Greece's Alexis Tsipras refuses to pay up - then flirts with Vladimir Putin Daily Mail He held lengthy phone discussions with president Vladimir Putin , and agreed to travel to St Petersburg for further talks later this mo...

» Tsipras turns to Putin and accuses West of sabotage - The Australian
05/06/15 19:39 from Putin - Google News
The Australian Tsipras turns to Putin and accuses West of sabotage The Australian Hours earlier, Mr Tsipras talked by telephone with President Putin and agreed to meet him in Saint Petersburg on June 18. The news fuelled fears in EU capi...

» A Russian chief rabbi stands by his strongman, aka Putin - Jewish Journal
05/06/15 18:45 from Putin - Google News
Jewish Journal A Russian chief rabbi stands by his strongman, aka Putin Jewish Journal Lazar's work, his Russia boosterism and his ties to the Kremlin — he is sometimes called “ Putin's rabbi” — has helped Chabad's Russian br...

» Putin's Survival Strategy - Wall Street Journal
05/06/15 18:43 from Putin - Google News
Wall Street Journal Putin's Survival Strategy Wall Street Journal Mr. Putin's survival may well depend on his ability to conjure what passes for a mandate in the 2018 presidential election, already being set up not as a choice of...

» Две войны в одной - Интернет-газета Гарри Каспарова
05/06/15 18:11 from путинизм - Google News
Интернет-газета Гарри Каспарова Две войны в одной Интернет-газета Гарри Каспарова Когда вошедший в полосу финального кризиса и увидевшей в зеркале Майдана свой последний час, путинизм искал варианты спасения, и опричной чистке номенклату...

» G7 summit: Vladimir Putin will miss out on a weekend at Colditz sister castle ... - The Independent
05/06/15 15:33 from Putin - Google News
The Independent G7 summit: Vladimir Putin will miss out on a weekend at Colditz sister castle ... The Independent It has been described as a Colditz castle for the super-rich, but this weekend the emphasis at Schloss Elmau, Colditz's...

» Russia curtails population's access to publicly available information - The Ukrainian Weekly (press release) (subscription)
05/06/15 14:31 from putin's health - Google News
Russia curtails population's access to publicly available information The Ukrainian Weekly (press release) (subscription) On May 28, President Vladimir Putin expanded the definition of information constituting state secrets to includ...

» Президент Владимир Путин обсудил с губернатором Московской области перспективы развития региона - Первый канал
05/06/15 14:25 from путин – Новости Google
Первый канал Президент Владимир Путин обсудил с губернатором Московской области перспективы развития региона Первый канал В итоге многие предприниматели начали сворачивать филиалы, которые были расположены в Подмосковье. Владимир Путин п...

» Владимир Путин проверит работу Пенсионного фонда и ФАС - Российская Газета
05/06/15 13:42 from путин – Новости Google
Российская Газета Владимир Путин проверит работу Пенсионного фонда и ФАС Российская Газета Как рассказал журналистам пресс-секретарь главы государства Дмитрий Песков, Владимир Путин проведет совещание с главой ФАС Игорем Артемьевым. На э...

» Путин в понедельник встретится с главой ФАС и обсудит работу ПФР - РИА Новости
05/06/15 12:27 from путин – Новости Google
Mail.Ru Путин в понедельник встретится с главой ФАС и обсудит работу ПФР РИА Новости МОСКВА, 5 июн — РИА Новости. Президент РФ Владимир Путин в понедельник проведет международный разговор, а также обсудит работу Пенсионного фонда и встре...

» Песков рассказал, как Путин относится к критике в свой адрес - Газета.Ru
05/06/15 12:26 from путин – Новости Google
Mail.Ru Песков рассказал, как Путин относится к критике в свой адрес Газета.Ru « Путин неоднократно говорил, что абсолютно спокойно относится к критике в свой адрес, если эта критика является корректной критикой и если она не выходит за ...

» Putin's Thinly Veiled Threat of Nuclear War Is Working - Newsweek
05/06/15 11:33 from Putin - Google News
Newsweek Putin's Thinly Veiled Threat of Nuclear War Is Working Newsweek Russia's President Vladimir Putin lays flowers during a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the beginning of the war against Nazi Germany in Moscow, ...