Free Republic

In general, the West should be horrified not by the 76 percent who backed Putin but by the fact that in the Russian elections: patriotic, communist and nationalist ideas were supported by 95 percent of the population, leaving the liberal ideas with a pathetic five percent. And you, my Western friends, are guilty of this. By your hostility and sanctions, you have pushed the Russian people into the arms of the Moscow regime. Had you behaved sensibly and reached compromises, this outcome would not have occurred; but now that it has, the West must assume all responsibility. As a result,...

A U.S. citizen known to have fought with pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 has been killed in Moscow-occupied Donetsk, Russian media reported Friday. Russia-installed authorities in eastern Ukraine had earlier this month reported the American — 64-year-old Russell Bentley — as missing. "Russell Bentley, known as 'Texas,' a real American, truly from Texas, was killed in Donetsk," the head of the pro-Kremlin RT network Margarita Simonyan said on social media. "He was fighting for our guys," she said. Simonyan gave no details on how he died. The Vostok battalion with which he fought confirmed his death, calling...

Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, have deteriorated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022... "Kazakhstan has unambiguously stated that it will follow the sanctions regime," Tokayev said following talks during an official visit to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Timothy Ash, an economist and associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at British think tank Chatham House, said the statement was significant and shows Moscow is losing influence. "Wow, huge move. Just shows weakening grip across region of Russia because of Putin's idiotic invasion of Ukraine. He lost Armenia in recent weeks on Russia's...