Free Republic

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine, his aim was to sweep into the capital, Kyiv, in a matter of days. He wanted to overthrow the pro-Western government and return Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence. Putin failed, but more than three years on a fifth of Ukrainian territory is in Russian hands (Excerpt)

A top ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin has advised him to remove Vladimir Lenin's body from a mausoleum in Moscow in order to seal his legacy as Moscow's leader. Alexander Dugin, a far-right political philosopher, has advised the president to remove Lenin's body from the burial site in order to "make room there for the real Emperor" and make other changes to the mausoleum, according to the Telegram post by the account Kremlin Snuffbox. -snip- The Russian philosopher also reportedly advised Putin to make improvements to the mausoleum by rebuilding the structure, decorating it with military trophies accumulated during...

When North Korea’s 12,000-strong 11th Army Corps deployed to Kursk Oblast in western Russia to help Russian troops battle an invasion by a powerful Ukrainian force, they brought along anti-tank vehicles, howitzers and rocket launchers. They also brought along a rarely seen air-defense vehicle combining a large wheeled chassis with the radar and missile launchers from a Russian-designed Tor surface-to-air missile vehicle, which normally rides on tracks. The customized North Korean Tor is so unusual that the Russians themselves apparently didn’t recognize it as belonging to their side. On or just before Friday, Russian drones spotted and struck the North...

THE bizarre fiefdom of Chechnya has long been controlled by warlord and top Vladimir Putin crony Ramzan Kadyrov and his trigger-happy cosplay soldiers. Disturbed chief Kadyrov, 48, has ruled over the twisted Russian republic since 2007 with his reign now coming under fire again since the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash took place on his doorstep. The Christmas Day disaster left 38 dead after the packed passenger plane lost control and smashed into a fireball as it hit the ground. Reports have been swirling in the days since saying it was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile believed to...

Russian deserters from the Ukraine war were burned alive in Vladimir Putin's infamous "torture jail". Five so-called 'refuseniks' were killed as a fire ripped through the army jail where they were being held in Yakutsk, the world’s coldest city. Reports suggest seven more were injured. The fire broke out at around 2am with seven people admitted to hospital, officials said, although the Russian defence ministry has not said what caused the fire. The notorious facility has been the target of numerous allegations of torture after footage from the grim prison was leaked in May. At the time of the blaze...

In a coordinated operation, Russian authorities conducted raids on three of Moscow’s largest and most popular nightclubs on Friday night, detaining hundreds of men and taking them to military conscription offices. The raids, which took place at the Simachev, Mutabor/ARMA, and Mono nightclubs, began around 2 a.m. and continued for several hours, sending shockwaves through the city’s nightlife scene. According to witnesses, dozens of police vehicles, including paddy wagons, lined up outside the nightclubs as enforcement personnel, accompanied by police K9 units, systematically entered the establishments. Clubgoers described the scene as chaotic, with people being escorted out in groups. The...

Vladimir Putin has been forced to call up dozens of creaking T-55 tanks used by Russia's Hollywood as props in war films. The army has raided the Mosfilm warehouses in its desperation to invade Ukraine. Desperate Russian president Putin thanked movie chief Karen Shakhnazarov for the outdated Cold War military hardware during a Kremlin meeting. 'We have handed over to the [Russian] Armed Forces 28 T-55 tanks, eight PT-76 tanks, six BMPs (combat vehicles) and eight tractors [that] we had stored at the military-technical base,' Shakhnazarov said. 'I found out that there was a need, contacted the Ministry of Defence...

Amid shortages of basic groceries in Russia as a result of its war in Ukraine, instances of petty thefts of essential items have been reported online, with butter emerging as one of the targeted products. -snip- The shortages in the country stem from a combination of supply chain disruptions, Western sanctions, and declining domestic production. As reported by state-owned news outlet Moskow 24, large butter-making enterprises have begun to reduce production and suspend shipments of their products to retail chains. One production company cited 46 percent cumulative inflation for eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023,...

Caracas, Venezuela. Aug 16. (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Venezuelan voters participating in the referendum to recall President Hugo Chavez, waited in line for up to 10 hours in order to make use of their constitutional right to recall elected officials.Historic voter turnout due to the political polarization around the permanence of President Hugo Chavez in office, efforts from the CNE to facilitate voter registration from the working classes, and delays in the installation of fingerprint scanning machines At 8:00 pm the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the extension of the voting period until midnight today. But past 1:45AM Monday, many people were waiting...