Free Republic

-snip- The changes Putin greenlighted limit coverage of Central Election Commission sessions to registered media outlets, which could exclude freelancers or independent journalists, according to the reports on Tuesday. The amendments prohibit media from reporting on the commission’s actions at military bases or in areas under martial law without advance clearance from regional and military authorities. They also bar the publication of any campaign content on “blocked sources”, referring to restricted websites and social media services. Under an intensifying crackdown on the opposition and the flow of information, Russia has banned an array of websites and services, including Facebook and...

A top-of-the-line Russian nuclear-powered submarine has gone missing from its harbor in the Arctic along with its rumored "doomsday weapon," according to multiple reports. NATO has reportedly warned members that Russia's Belgorod submarine no longer appeared to be operating out of its White Sea base, where it has been active since July. Officials warned that Russia may plan to test Belgorod's "Poseidon" weapons system, a drone equipped with a nuclear bomb that Russia has claimed is capable of creating a "radioactive tsunami," according to Italian media. The drone can be deployed from the submarine at any time and detonated at...

ransomnote: The Expose is over the target and taking flak, banned and censored - even Paypal turned against them in an effort to deprive them of funding. Please pray that the Expose receive the funds it needs to keep serving the public.Quoting Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, Ukrainian Channel 24 TV presenter, Fahruddin Sharafmal, called for his countrymen to destroy the Russian nation by killing their children, and urged Ukrainians to “kill at least one Moskal” – a derogatory term for Russian – each.Eichmann was a senior SS officer who played a key role in setting up the Nazi death...

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dismissed two more top security officials following the worst unrest in three decades in the central Asian country. Authorities said the situation has stabilized with forces from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization fully deployed. Russia's state news agency Tass said nearly 6,000 people, including foreigners, were arrested in last week's violent protests. Reports said at least 164 people were killed during the unrest, which mostly took place in the country's biggest city, Almaty.

China and Russia's combined military spending exceeds that of the United States when adjusted for purchasing power, which has allowed China to shorten capability gaps in its quest to become the top superpower by midcentury, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday. "Combined, the Russian and Chinese budgets exceed our budgets if all the cards are put on the table," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He called China's increased spending trend "disturbing." China and Russia are the U.S. military's two biggest competitors. Defense secretaries from Jim Mattis to Lloyd Austin have identified China...

Putin still has his Communist Party card, likes socialist ideals Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday revealed he has kept his USSR Communist Party membership card, and still has a soft spot for socialist ideals. "I didn't throw out my party card, I didn't burn it," said Putin, a former KGB agent in East Germany, at a meeting with supporters, quoted by Interfax news agency. "My card is lying round somewhere." To older Russians, holding onto a Soviet Communist party card -- once compulsory for top officials -- shows a degree of nostalgia for the previous regime. "I wasn't a...

Icky LeaksSensitive diplomatic communications have been published by the Wikileaks Web site, and some of this sensitive material concerns Russia. The importance of Russia as a global power has been downplayed since the fall of the Soviet Union. Leaked U.S. State Department cables give us a glimpse of how dangerous Russia is becoming. The true nature of the Russian regime has not been a popular topic of public discussion; but in secret meetings between diplomats, statesmen and law enforcement officials, there is growing concern. Russia has become the center of international corruption, drawing other states into her orbit.From the leaked...

New information has come to light concerning the Polish plane crash that killed the main figures of Poland's government, including its President. According to investigative reporter Jane Burgermeister, the black box indicates no mechanical issues with the plane and no interference on the part of Poland's President to force a landing of the plane against the wishes of the pilot. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Poland mourns. In addition, there is no indication at all from the recovered record that the plane attempted several landings, as reported by Russian officials. The plane attempted to land only once. Discrepancies also exist with...

MOSCOW — Nearly two decades after the collapse of the Communist Party, Russia’s rulers have hit upon a model for future success: the Communist Party. Or at least, the one that reigns next door. Like an envious underachiever, Vladimir V. Putin’s party, United Russia, is increasingly examining how it can emulate the Chinese Communist Party, especially its skill in shepherding China through the financial crisis relatively unbowed. United Russia’s leaders even convened a special meeting this month with senior Chinese Communist Party officials to hear firsthand how they wield power. ..." “The accomplishments of China’s Communist Party in developing its...

“Well you’re the obvious guy, uh, spirit, to ask about this stuff, because you spent most of your career watching the KGB didn’t you?” It was rhetorical, needless to say. I had finally connected with the shade of the late James Jesus Angleton after several dropped communications via the ouija board, and now that I had him I wanted to find out what he thought about the melodramatic death of former KGB agent (or FSB…whatever) Alexander Litvinenko in London. Ian Fleming couldn’t have invented a wilder story.....

Poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died on Thursday in an intensive care ward, London's University College Hospital said. Litvinenko, a fierce critic of the Russian government, suffered a rapid deterioration in his health on Thursday, but doctors still were unable to determine the cause of his death, a spokesman said in a statement.

There are many reasons to expect Moscow's deteriorating ties with the West will continue their downward trend this autumn. But the key one may be growing differences over the breakaway regions of Transdniester, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia and their stated desire to proclaim independence from Moldova and Georgia. The issue pushing the frozen conflicts to the fore are two independence referendums -- one in Transdniester on September 17, the second in South Ossetia on November 12. Russia, which has acted as a long-term booster for the separatist regions, is looking at the plebescites in two ways: a chance to bring...

Kazan(Russia), Aug 31: Officials and religious figures from Russia and more than a dozen Islamic countries kicked off a conference here that organizers said was aimed at deepening their dialogue and defending a "multipolar" world in the face of US power. "Values cannot be imposed by force," Mintimer Shaimiyev, President of Russia`s mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan where the three-day conference was being held, said in an opening address to delegates. "The example of Iraq has shown that democracy can only be the result of internal development. Liberal values can`t be exported like cars. A multipolar world without a system...

The radio host asked, "Which is a greater national security threat to the United States, the insecurity of America's southern border or Iran's nuclear ambition?" It wasn't a trick question. True, Iran poses an international apocalyptic sort of threat; one JINSA takes most seriously. But at the end of the diplomatic day, we - and even our reticent allies - will know what to do with a country threatening us with nuclear weapons. Mexico, our friend and neighbor, poses a different kind of problem. Mexico has been roiled by strikes and protests since July, when Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed...

Even if one rejects Golitsyn's overall thesis -- viz., that Gorbachev's changes comprised a long-term strategic deception -- one must still acknowledge that Golitsyn was the only analyst whose crystal ball was functioning during the key period of the late 20th century. When the Soviet Empire collapsed in 1989, the CIA was chastised for failing to foresee the change. "For a generation, the Central Intelligence Agency told successive presidents everything they needed to know about the Soviet Union," said Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "except that it was about to fall apart." Sovietologists both inside and outside CIA were indeed baffled,...

Click on the link to see why so many people in Russia are smiling ! Good ol'Hugo just ordered some toys. http://insidestraight.typepad.com/the_inside_straight/2006/07/hugo_chavez_whe.html

HUGO CHÁVEZ, the ardently anti-American President of Venezuela, arrives in Russia today to sign a billion-dollar arms deal that has infuriated and alarmed the US. The self-styled leftist revolutionary will sign an agreement with President Putin to buy 30 Sukhoi Su30 fighter jets and 30 military helicopters worth $1 billion (£540 million). The two leaders will also discuss plans to build two Kalashnikov factories in Venezuela — to add to the 100,000 Kalashnikov AK103 assault rifles that Venezuela has bought from Russia in the past year. The arms deals — and the visit by Señor Chávez — are the latest...

Relations between the US and Russia are deteriorating badly and there is a danger of conflict in the flashpoints of the south Caucasus, according to senior former officials and corporate leaders advising the EastWest Institute (EWI). EWI board members at the think-tank's annual meeting in Charleston were almost unanimous in calling for moves to prevent what one called an emerging "cold peace" between the US and Russia. John Mroz, founder and president of EWI, called the deterioration worrisome. He placed the trend in the context of growing distrust between the major powers, including China, with the world in a state...

SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld branded Iran as the world's leading terrorist nation yet hoped Tehran seriously would consider incentives from the West in exchange for suspending suspect nuclear activities. Rumsfeld, attending an annual security conference, also took aim Saturday at Russia and China for allowing Iran's involvement in a group that he said has stated opposition to terrorism and extremists. Iraq was on Rumsfeld's mind, too, as he expressed concern the war could alienate Muslims in Southeast Asia. Upcoming stops on his trip include Indonesia and Vietnam. The U.S. and five other world powers decided last...

MOSCOW—After a decade as a largely unknown body bringing together Russia, China and a number of Central Asian states, the Shanghai Co-operation Organization is evolving into a security and political bloc that could become a key global player with the clout to challenge NATO, experts say. Russian and Chinese leaders praised the organization this week as parliamentary leaders from its six member states met in Moscow ahead of a major SCO summit on June 15 in Shanghai. Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan founded the group as the "Shanghai Five" in 1996 and it was expanded to include Uzbekistan, renamed...