Mother Russia

[Ian]

Does anyone have any thoughts on Russia lately? Just thought I'd ask...

[pErvinalia]

Mental asylum.

[Svartalf]

Neo Soviet state trying to recapture its former satellites.

[Clinton Huxley]

Big. Snowy. Bonkers.

[mistermack]

The UK is still buying shitloads of coal from Russia.

I don't think the sanctions were on anything we actually needed.

And the UK dairy farmers are in the shit, because the price of milk is on the floor, due to Russian sanctions against the UK.

But the Ruble is still on the floor. It won't do anything unless the oil price picks up.

[Hermit]

Russia is slowly but inexorably heading towards Tsardom under Putin, who is well on his way to becoming a latter-day Ivan the Terrible. Right now he is ruling the country in concert with a bunch of modern day robber-barons. Eventually he'll attempt to cut some of them down to size in order to consolidate his own power. One good thing is that he is not grooming either of his two children for succession. Neither seem to possess his lust for power.

[klr]

Frontal Aviation (or whatever the long-range Russian bomber force calls itself these days) has been busy again disrupting civilian traffic around the UL:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31049952

[Seth]

Putin is a megalomaniacal kleptocrat who might just blow up the entire planet.

Somebody needs to Polonium him right away.

[piscator]

Putin is a megalomaniacal kleptocrat who might just blow up the entire planet.

Somebody needs to Polonium him right away.

Rhythm, Seth. Rhythm.

[JimC]

Putin is a megalomaniacal kleptocrat who might just blow up the entire planet.

Somebody needs to Polonium him right away.

You are saying that he's not a marxist?

[Warren Dew]

Neo Soviet state trying to recapture its former satellites.

Russia is closer to fascist than Soviet, these days.

[Calilasseia]

Frontal Aviation (or whatever the long-range Russian bomber force calls itself these days) has been busy again disrupting civilian traffic around the UL:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31049952

That'll be the VVS. They have this painted on the tails of their Tu-95 fleet. What was Frontal Aviation is now the ground-based air defence section of the VVS, after a reorganisation.

[rainbow]

Lots of people called Dimitri in Russia.
Lots of Greeks are called Dimitri.


A coincidence?

I think not!

Russia might bailout Greece – finance minister

Published time: January 30, 2015 10:15

Greece hasn’t outright asked Russia for a loan, but Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow wouldn't rule it out. His statement comes days after Greece openly opposed further economic sanctions against Russia.

http://rt.com/business/227751-russia-gr ... ncial-aid/

[mistermack]

I have a suspicion that the rebels are planning to take land connecting Eastern Ukraine to Crimea, making a land bridge to Crimea from Russian territory.
Which Putin would have no objection to whatsoever. I didn't understand why they didn't do that right at the outset, but it is looking like it's on the cards now.

Look out for lots more condemnation and sanctions if it happens.

[Seth]

Putin is a megalomaniacal kleptocrat who might just blow up the entire planet.

Somebody needs to Polonium him right away.

You are saying that he's not a marxist?

He's at best a MINO. His behavior is clearly fascistic and kleptocratic and his intentions seem to be aimed at tyrannical despotism without even the facade of Marxism.