Free Republic

[Make sure to read Daniel Greenfield’s contributions in Jamie Glazov’s new book: Barack Obama’s True Legacy: How He Transformed America.]After Biden’s withdrawal, the fighting ended in Afghanistan and moved into Europe.Even before the Taliban takeover, a massive traffic in migrants and drugs flowed over the ‘Balkan Route’ that took Afghans into Iran, Turkey and then Eastern Europe. One of the biggest holes in Europe’s armor was the former Yugoslavia, illegally invaded and partitioned by the Clinton administration, with a large Muslim population in Bosnia and heavy criminal organizations across the former republic that tie together the Russian mob, local gangs,...

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Finland will erect barriers at four crossings on its border with Russia from midnight, officials said on Friday, in a bid to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says has been orchestrated by Moscow. Finland has accused Russian authorities of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin. Barriers will go up at four of the nine crossings with Russia, at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala in its southeast, the Finnish Border Guard said. "Our aim is to...

In the early hours of Thursday, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Estonia launched a pointed accusation against Russia, alleging a failure to detain illegal migrants at its borders. The incident sparking this contention involved eight Somali citizens attempting to circumnavigate immigration control, attempting to enter Estonia via Narva. Geopolitical Tensions Highlighted This incident brings to light the ongoing concerns around border security and immigration control, issues that hold significant weight for Estonia, given its geographical location and strained political relations with Russia. The accusation by the Estonian official not only underscores these concerns but also spotlights the intricate complexities...

The Russian warning to the United States government in 2011 about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, was based on two intercepted telephone calls discussing jihad, both involving his mother, a law enforcement official said on Saturday. The Russian authorities informed the F.B.I. in March 2011 that Mr. Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who had lived in the United States for about a decade, had changed drastically, had adopted extremist views and planned to travel to Russia to meet with underground groups. The F.B.I. sent agents to interview Mr. Tsarnaev and his...

Palestinian group Hamas early Saturday hailed Russia’s rejection of an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. “We appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position on the ongoing aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, cutting off relief supplies, and targeting safe civilians there,” Hamas said in a statement. The group also welcomed Russian efforts “to stop the barbaric and systematic aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.” Putin warned on Friday that civilian casualties will be "absolutely unacceptable" in case of an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman refused to comment on Tuesday on the beating of a prisoner by the teenaged son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an incident that drew condemnation even from some pro-Kremlin hardliners. Kadyrov said on Monday he was proud of his son Adam, 15, for the attack on Nikita Zhuravel, a Russian man accused of burning the Koran, and posted a video of the beating. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the start of his daily briefing that he would not be commenting on the incident. When asked why, he said: "I don't want to." In the...

After posting a video on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov said he was “proud” of his son for assaulting a man accused of burning the Quran. The leader of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Monday he was pleased with his son for beating a prisoner accused of burning the Quran. Kadyrov posted his comments on Telegram along with a video of a young man dressed in khaki kicking and slapping a man in a chair, before throwing him to the ground. The 46-year-old, often referred to as "Putin's mad dog", said he released the video to clear up any doubts...

before his condition drastically “worsened,” according to Ukrainian intelligence. The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, is reported to be in critical condition, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. “The information is confirmed by various sources in the medical and political circles,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence branch, told Obozrevatel, which first reported the news. “There is information that the war criminal Kadyrov is in a serious condition and the diseases that were there have worsened and caused such a serious condition.” His ill-health is not due to an injury, Yusov added. “It is not about injuries. Other details...

Tucker Carlson has claimed the United States 'hates' Russia because 'it's a Christian country' - amid claims in Moscow that he's trying to land an interview with Vladimir Putin. The former Fox News star told MCC Feszt, a social, political and cultural festival in Hungary, that Russia is like Hungary in that both are nations 'built on Christian precepts'. 'That is enough to incite our policy makers in the United States and that is exactly why they hate Russia,' he said. Carlson told the audience at the festival - which ran through the final weekend of July - that he...

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has reportedly kicked the Wagner PMC out of Belarus, after refusing to finance the Russian mercenaries. (snip) But reports have now emerged suggesting Lukashenko has refused to finance their stay in the country and the mercenaries are being 'bussed' back to Russia for a “vacation.” According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, operations to remove all Wagner Group men began earlier in the month, with a second phase to remove the rest going into effect this weekend. Wagner’s services don’t come cheap. Putin recently admitted that the Kremlin has spent around $1bn on the private military company...

A nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been appointed the new head of Russia's Danone subsidiary (DANO.PA) after the Kremlin ordered the state to take temporary control of the French yoghurt maker's business in Russia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many Western companies have fled Russia and some assets have been put under state management, with close allies of President Vladimir Putin gaining day-to-day control. Many investors say a new generation of tycoons is being created in Russia. Loyalty to the Kremlin is rewarded with effective control over assets that garner significant cash-flow and have major growth potential.

Three thousand elite Chechen troops took up positions in Moscow early on Saturday morning to defend the Russian capital against advancing mutineers from the Wagner mercenary group, the Chechen state broadcaster "Grozny" said on Saturday night. "The fighters have been at their positions in Moscow since early morning and are ready to carry out any order from Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin," it said on Telegram. On Saturday afternoon, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin agreed to call back his armed convoy approaching the capital with the aim of toppling the military leadership, under an agreement brokered by the...

A large convoy of military equipment is moving in the direction of Rostov-on-Don, the Rostov Glavny telegram channel reported. The video in which she was filmed was sent to the channel by a subscriber. According to him, the convoy, which included armored vehicles, cars and military trucks, stretched for several kilometers. “Everyone is going to Rostov. All Chechens,” the man says in the video. He also added that the video was filmed near the village of Matveev Kurgan. This is about 50 kilometers from Taganrog. The distance from Taganrog to Rostov-on-Don along the highway is 75 kilometers. Later, another video...

Palestine | Special Dispatch No. 10669 Samir Zaqout, the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Political Bureau in Gaza, said in a June 8, 2023 show on Al-Quds Al-Youm TV (Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Gaza) the Muslims will conquer Rome and Europe as the .. Muhammad foretold in the Hadith." He said that this will happen "at its destined time."

Even conservative estimates suggest Russia has lost as many as 10,000 pieces of military hardware in Ukraine Analysts point to failure of Moscow's tactics and Ukraine 'outclassing' Kremlin's troops on the battlefield Tuesday saw Vladimir Putin host Russia's annual Victory Day parade to mark 78 years since the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. But while recent years have seen ostentatious displays with dozens of the Kremlin's most sophisticated pieces of military hardware rolling through Moscow's famous Red Square, this year saw a significantly slimmed-down affair. Some 8,000 troops took part in the parade - the lowest number since 2008....

Russian President defies reports of counter offensives to personally deliver Easter greetings to the troops. In the second time in as many months, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a visit to the newly annexed areas of Kherson and Lugansk, having visited Mariupol last month. He traveled by helicopter in spite of threats of a spring counter offensive by Ukrainian forces to receive personally progress reports from the military authorities in the regions, demonstrating that Russia is in control of these regions and no threat is serious enough to prevent him visiting at will. After receiving progress reports, the President congratulated...

Introducing CNN This Morning's segment today on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, co-host Poppy Harlow said: "This is a day to not forget. To never forget what happened." Except that CNN did "forget" to mention a central fact about "what happened" that day! The attack, which resulted in the deaths of five people and injured hundreds, was perpetrated by two Chechen jihadi terrorist brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Their family entered the United States on a tourist visa, was eventually granted asylum and received welfare benefits for many years. Ilhan Omar infamously described 9/11 as "some people...

Ramzan Kadyrov has expressed his outrage at the unfolding events in Moscow, where hundreds of people have come to a popular rally against the possible construction of a mosque. According to him, the Russian land must be defended on a daily basis, and Muslims are also involved in this difficult task. “If all these participants of the rally wholeheartedly have the idea of ​​​​defending Russian land, then go into the trenches with a machine gun,” Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in his Telegram channel.

Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov suggested that opponents of the construction of a mosque in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district in eastern Moscow go “to the trenches with a machine gun”. About this Kadyrov writing in your telegram channel. Previously, the possible construction of a mosque had provoked protests from local residents and a discussion on social networks. “If all these participants of the meeting wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly have the idea of ​​​​defending Russian land, then advance into the trenches with a machine gun! Take a machine gun, push back the Muslim who is fighting for you today in the Russian Donbass, and...

The Muslims in Moscow are planning to construct a huge new mosque on the shores of the Holy Lake. It is planned to be built large enough to fit more than 60,000 Muslims during prayer time. The initial blueprints show a size 4 times larger than Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. This has upset many local Orthodox Christians, who live and have lived near the shores of the Holy Lake for many generations. They do not agree with the majority migrant population of Moscow’s Muslims purchasing vast amounts of property nearby, building up the area and turning it into the...