Trans-Dniester is currently a part of Moldova with an overwhelming majority of ethnic Russians . Trans-Dniester has asked the Russian govt to investigate the possibility of joining back with Russia with the view of terminating ties with Moldova. Already Trans-Dniester has its own currency and border guard and tensions always run high with Moldova. May this very well be next on the Russian hitlist? Putin imperialist expansion could move quicker than the west thinks.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26662721
Maybe Russia may annex the South and East of Ukraine now? Ethnic Russians feel under threat from a Ukranian government that has had its territory annexed. Would Putin use this as an excuse to invade under the pretext of protecthing ethnic Russians?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0ME1WK20140317
Kazakhstan is locked into a customs union with Russia, maybe Russia is eyeing them up?
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Friday, 11 April 2014
Friday, 16 August 2013
The Man who saved the world...
Vasili Arkhipov is not a name that people are familiar with. Arkhipov was a naval officer in the Russian submarine fleet and had a fairly illustrious career and in one particular incident which he became famous for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Alexandrovich_Arkhipov
On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the diesel-powered nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 near Cuba. Despite being in international waters the Americans started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. There had been no contact from Moscow for a number of days and, although the submarine's crew had earlier been picking up U.S. civilian radio broadcasts, once B-59 began attempting to hide from its U.S. Navy pursuers, it was too deep to monitor any radio traffic, so those on board did not know whether war had broken out.[5] The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo.[6]
Three officers on board the submarine – Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second-in-command Arkhipov – were authorized to launch the torpedo if agreeing unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch.[7] Although Arkhipov was only second-in-command of submarine B-59, he was actually commander of the flotilla of submarines including B-4, B-36, and B-130, and of equal rank to Captain Savitsky. According to author Edward Wilson, the reputation Arkhipov gained from his courageous conduct in the previous year's K-19 incident also helped him prevail in the debate.[3] Arkhipov eventually persuaded Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow. This presumably averted the nuclear warfare which could possibly have ensued had the torpedo been fired.[8] The submarine's batteries had run very low and the air-conditioning had failed, so it was forced to surface amidst its U.S. pursuers and head home.[9] Washington's message that practice depth charges were being used to signal the submarines to surface never reached B-59, and Moscow claims it has no record of receiving it either.
Sitting in a tuna can a mile or two underwater and not having communication with the outside world can make a man go mad. Arkhipov had some power when it came to descisions having backed a previous captain in a mutiny that was happening on board a submarine a few years before that became the fim 'K-19 - The Widowmaker' with Liam Neeson a few years later. That must have been a feat of judgement to know that if the missile had been fired he would have been responsible for possibly triggering World War 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Alexandrovich_Arkhipov
On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the diesel-powered nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 near Cuba. Despite being in international waters the Americans started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. There had been no contact from Moscow for a number of days and, although the submarine's crew had earlier been picking up U.S. civilian radio broadcasts, once B-59 began attempting to hide from its U.S. Navy pursuers, it was too deep to monitor any radio traffic, so those on board did not know whether war had broken out.[5] The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo.[6]
Three officers on board the submarine – Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second-in-command Arkhipov – were authorized to launch the torpedo if agreeing unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch.[7] Although Arkhipov was only second-in-command of submarine B-59, he was actually commander of the flotilla of submarines including B-4, B-36, and B-130, and of equal rank to Captain Savitsky. According to author Edward Wilson, the reputation Arkhipov gained from his courageous conduct in the previous year's K-19 incident also helped him prevail in the debate.[3] Arkhipov eventually persuaded Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow. This presumably averted the nuclear warfare which could possibly have ensued had the torpedo been fired.[8] The submarine's batteries had run very low and the air-conditioning had failed, so it was forced to surface amidst its U.S. pursuers and head home.[9] Washington's message that practice depth charges were being used to signal the submarines to surface never reached B-59, and Moscow claims it has no record of receiving it either.
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
US Diplomat arrested for spying in Russia....
Is the Cold War not over?
Diplomat arrested for allegedly trying to recruit Russian intelligence officer...
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world...aims-1.1392967
Russian security services have held a US diplomat they claim is a CIA agent after catching him trying to recruit a Russian agent.
The FSB agency said that Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the US Embassy in Moscow, was carrying special technical equipment, disguises, written instructions and a large sum of money when he was detained overnight.
Diplomat arrested for allegedly trying to recruit Russian intelligence officer...
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world...aims-1.1392967
Russian security services have held a US diplomat they claim is a CIA agent after catching him trying to recruit a Russian agent.
The FSB agency said that Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the US Embassy in Moscow, was carrying special technical equipment, disguises, written instructions and a large sum of money when he was detained overnight.
Friday, 15 June 2012
Democracy in Russia - the stifling of dissent and opinion
Russia is in theory only a new country. For years living under one of the most oppressive regimes and as centre of the USSR the people of Russia suffered brutal conditions and freedom of speech was severely restricted . Protests were crushed and dissent was stifled through force but have things changed? Russia is in its prime. They have a young population and are coming to form one of the biggest economies in the world and most industrialised making up the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) but at what price?
Elections in 2011 were widely believed to be rigged with various spokespersons and oberservors noticing ballot stuffing in and around Moscow and other polling stations in the region. Even before this though the people were afraid to speak as was the case with gay rights activisits who were banned from holding gay pride marches in 2010 in St Petersburg and this was followed suit in Moscow this year with the Mayor Of Moscow ,Yury Luzhkov ,stating in 2007
Quote:
"For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a satanic act,"
Numerous reporters have been threatened for being critical of the establishment and in more serious cases reporters were shot which do not certainly needed to be mentioned as they are well known but what is not as well known is cases like that of Sergei Sokolov who was allegedly driven to a forest by a top investigator and threatened with his life. There has been denials of course of this but the fact that there has been sixteen journalists killed in the last few years means there could be something to it.
Finally in a show that the establishment wants an autocracy and is afraid of the people , draconian legislation has been brought in that bans marches that are not authorised. This has been brought in to combat the growing tide of what the Russian establishment sees as dissent, a move by the people to empower themselves. People who gather with "authorisation" are subject to a fine of €5900 .
As Thomas Jefferson said
Quote:
“A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!”
Judging by the Russian establishments actions, they are very afraid...
References:http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=9663327http://www.channel4.com/news/moscow-...sian-electionshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...6bV_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...V_story_1.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5b1bbf82-b...#axzz1xmcgCJv4
Elections in 2011 were widely believed to be rigged with various spokespersons and oberservors noticing ballot stuffing in and around Moscow and other polling stations in the region. Even before this though the people were afraid to speak as was the case with gay rights activisits who were banned from holding gay pride marches in 2010 in St Petersburg and this was followed suit in Moscow this year with the Mayor Of Moscow ,Yury Luzhkov ,stating in 2007
Quote:
"For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a satanic act,"
Numerous reporters have been threatened for being critical of the establishment and in more serious cases reporters were shot which do not certainly needed to be mentioned as they are well known but what is not as well known is cases like that of Sergei Sokolov who was allegedly driven to a forest by a top investigator and threatened with his life. There has been denials of course of this but the fact that there has been sixteen journalists killed in the last few years means there could be something to it.
Finally in a show that the establishment wants an autocracy and is afraid of the people , draconian legislation has been brought in that bans marches that are not authorised. This has been brought in to combat the growing tide of what the Russian establishment sees as dissent, a move by the people to empower themselves. People who gather with "authorisation" are subject to a fine of €5900 .
As Thomas Jefferson said
Quote:
“A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!”
Judging by the Russian establishments actions, they are very afraid...
References:http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=9663327http://www.channel4.com/news/moscow-...sian-electionshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...6bV_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...V_story_1.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5b1bbf82-b...#axzz1xmcgCJv4
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Gay Rights Russia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...tTN_story.html
Gay rights have suffered a set back in Russia . A new bill says that it is now against the law to promote gay culture to minors in what could be seen as a set back for gay rights. Im not a fan of gay pride myself but they should be allowed march where they like, whats the harm?
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