Free Republic

VIENNA (AP) — Members of a nationalistic Russian bikers club were greeted by cheering supporters as they laid a wreath Saturday at a monument to the Soviet soldiers who liberated Vienna from the Nazis. The pro-Kremlin Night Wolves are commemorating the Russian and Allied defeat of Nazi Germany 70 years ago in World War II with a ride from Moscow that is meant to end in Berlin May 9. Some EU officials have expressed criticism of their plans and Poland denied them entry, reflecting strains between Warsaw and Moscow over Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict. In contrast, their reception...

<p>The Night Wolves formed during Perestroika in1980s Russia as a counter-Soviet group idolising rock music and motorbikes.</p> <p>Alexander Zaldostanov (C), nicknamed "the Surgeon", leader of a group of Russian bikers called the Night Wolves, attends a rally of pro-Russian activists waving the Russian flag, in front of the local parliament building in Simferopol, Crimea By Harry Alsop10:58AM GMT 02 Mar 201415 Comments The Night Wolves are Russia’s largest motorbike club, with over 5,000 members. Fiercely patriotic, they believe that “wherever the Night Wolves are, that should be considered Russia”. On Saturday, the Night Wolves organised a mass ride from the northeast of Ukraine through the Russian speaking eastern regions to the Crimea. They wanted to hand out supplies to pro-Russian militia forces there. A member of the club's local chapter said: “We don’t want what happened in Kiev to happen here. Nazis and bandits have seized power there. And if we have to fight, we’ll fight with everything we can get our hands on.”</p>

Maybe I am a little too focused on the Ukraine for a guy from New Jersey, probably because I partly concentrated on Russia in my study of economic history thirty some years ago. But this whole thing is just becoming hilarious. As the retrograde United States publicly draws down its military strength, we are reduced to the media propagandists telling the low information voters what is happening. While trying the catch the latest on on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, it wafts into our consciousness that President Obama on Friday issued a harsh warning against any further military action....

On Friday afternoon, the regular flight from Moscow touched down in the Crimean capital of Simferopol, in the south of Ukraine, carrying the leader of a Russian motorcycle gang known as the Night Wolves. Alexander Zaldostanov, an old friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was wearing his usual get-up – a flaming wolf’s head stenciled onto his black leather vest – but for once he was not the most intimidating figure on the scene. Since the morning, dozens of masked troops had been sauntering around Crimea’s main airport, armed to the teeth but refusing to identify themselves. In some ways,...