Speak out against Putin? Russia The New Soviet Union has a fix for that. Russian Woman Who Told Putin To ‘Burn In Hell’ Faces Terrorism Charges https://www.ibtimes.com/russian-woman-who-told-putin-burn-hell-faces-terrorism-charges-3545253
Putin believes in holding Americans hostage... female basketball players and others. Putin World Lets Slip Sinister Master Plan for American Prisoners ‘LIQUIDATED’ Vladimir Putin’s cronies are now shamelessly blabbing about how American prisoners in Russia should be used in the Kremlin’s twisted game against the U.S. https://www.thedailybeast.com/state...-master-plan-for-american-prisoners-in-russia The anti-American atmosphere in Russia is off the charts and now, the Americans who had the misfortune of ending up in Russian captivity are being used as pawns in the Kremlin’s cruel game. Basketball star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia on alleged drug charges, as well as two U.S. veterans captured by Russian troops in Ukraine last week—Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh—are being portrayed by the Kremlin-controlled state media as bargaining chips in Russia’s crusade against the West. As Griner’s imprisonment was extended, the U.S. State Department reclassified her status to “wrongfully detained,” meaning that her case was placed under the supervision of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov bristled against that designation, telling NBC News: “She violated Russian law, and now she’s being prosecuted. It’s not about being a hostage.” Despite the Kremlin’s denials, the Russian media machine has shifted its tone when it comes to Griner. On Tuesday, host of state-funded TV show 60 Minutes Olga Skabeeva said, “Right now, we also have an American basketball player caught with drugs, so we have somewhat of an exchange fund.” Back in May, without naming its source in the Public Oversight Commission for the Moscow region, TASS reported that negotiations to exchange Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout are actively moving forward. The Kremlin has long been determined to free certain Russians in U.S. custody by arresting Americans who could later be swapped. In July of 2018, Russian lawmaker Leonid Kalashnikov commented about the arrest of convicted Russian spy Maria Butina on 60 Minutes, suggesting: “Let's arrest an American here and that's it... They arrested Butina, let's immediately arrest some Amerikashka here.” The same idea has been repeatedly floated on various state media television programs. During Tuesday’s broadcast of 60 Minutes, State Duma member Aleksey Zhuravlyov intentionally mispronounced the last names of Drueke and Huynh in the way that resembled obscene expressions. Describing U.S. POWs captured in Ukraine as “stupid Americans,” Zhuravlyov said that he could care less about their fate: “They should either be liquidated or exchanged for [Viktor] Bout. We need to get our citizens out of America. Thank God, we have such opportunities.” Back in 2019, after the release of Butina from U.S. custody, state TV host Evgeny Popov told The Daily Beast that Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko would soon follow suit and be returned to Russia. Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the United States. In April of 2022, he was exchanged in a prisoner trade for ex-U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who was jailed in Russia on charges of assaulting police. Aside from being mentioned as leverage to extract the sought-after Russian prisoners from the United States, seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner received very limited publicity in Russian state media. She personifies the trifecta of prejudices often exhibited by the Kremlin’s state TV mouthpieces, including racism, homophobia and pronounced anti-American leanings. For example, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is routinely described by state TV propagandists as a “dark-skinned lesbian,” with state TV host Evgeny Popov predicting that in a matter of months she would be replaced by a “white, heterosexual male.” Vladimir Solovyov, the host of a popular state TV program The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, along with his guests, routinely refers to Jean-Pierre as “Chunga-Changa,” a diminutive, racist reference to Soviet cartoon’s depiction of Black islanders. During Wednesday’s interview with Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Solovyov, donning a red sweatshirt emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle, complained: “Western hysteria isn’t stopping for a single moment. The world has never seen such a crazy level of Russophobia.” Zakharova concurred and added: “The evil is not omnipotent. They’ll be getting a harsh response in return. In the past we were held back by diplomatic correctness, but now we respond in ways that benefit us, first and foremost... In the first place, we’ll be thinking about our own citizens... [Westerners] are sick, they’re infected with xenophobia, racism and nationalism.” The tensions boiled over Wednesday morning on 60 Minutes, during a discussion about a diplomatic employee of the U.S. Naval Attaché in Moscow who reportedly took a picture of Russia’s “Z” symbol that represents the invasion of Ukraine, along with a gesture using the extended middle-finger. Lawmaker Zhuravlyov fumed: “Let this bitch step out one more time. We’re going to find him. Come out of the embassy, drive out. I’ll personally explain to you, bastard, what kind of a country you’re in and how you’re supposed to treat these symbols. Zhuravlyov went on: “This is a direct threat from me, a direct threat... I could spit on his [diplomatic] immunity.” Pinning their hopes on Trump and U.S. republicans, Russian lawmakers and top pundits repeatedly emphasized their desire to see the GOP force out the Democrats in the midterms, and Biden during the next presidential elections. Appearing on Wednesday’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, the participants floated an idea as to how American captives might play a part in defeating Democrats in the midterm elections. Host Vladimir Solovyov pondered out loud: “How will [the US and the UK] react if the Donetsk [People’s] Republic sentences all foreign mercenaries—Americans and the British—to death and carries out the execution?” Political scientist Dmitry Evstafiev chimed in: “And what if it’s done one day before the Congressional elections? I think that would be very politically correct... But in reality, this is not just about shooting some Americans. The issue is not to let the Americans escape the big European war, but to drag them into it. Every single day every American must know that the new 15 cents are being added to the price of gas because Biden got into the war. We need to intensify our efforts to drag Americans into it... America and Great Britain have to be incinerated in this conflict.” Evstafiev grimly emphasized: “Americans and the British started this fire and they have to burn in it.”
Russians are so adorable when they get impotently stupid, it reminds me of Baghdad Bob. It seems that Rupert Murdock has decided to go with DeSantis so their leverage over Donny is wasted.
We know who will be purged next... Russian army wives demand return of husbands from Vladimir Putin's brutal war The men are from a military unit in the Buryatia republic, the Russian region with the single highest known death from Vladimir Putin’s bloody war and critics have claimed the men have been recruited as 'cannon fodder' for the war https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-army-wives-demand-return-27364221 Vladimir Putin’s troops in Ukraine are miserable and exhausted, a video of Russian army wives has revealed as they plead for their husbands to come home. Sixteen women recorded an emotional appeal to the head of their region, Buryatia, appealing for an end to a deployment which began when they were sent to Belarus in January for “drills." The women called for their husbands to be returned, fearing their fate as widows, like hundreds of others from their region, if the war continues. They bluntly told Putin-loyalist governor Alexei Tsydenov that their men “are exhausted morally and physically”. They claim their husbands have “mild or moderate” injuries caused by blast waves from proximity to shooting. The wives said: "Since January 2022, the soldiers are in field conditions, many of them suffering colds. "They require medical checks because of being in difficult military conditions. Note that many of the servicemen have not had a holiday for over a year.” The men are from military unit 46108 of the 5th Tatsin separate tank brigade from Buryatia republic, the Russian region with the single highest known death from Putin’s bloody war. Critics have claimed that it is an impoverished territory and men have been recruited as "cannon fodder" for the war. Known fatalities stand at 206 in the mainly Buddhist region close to Lake Baikal in Siberia. “We ask [you] to consider replacing the servicemen…with other Russian troops not engaged in the special military operation,” say the wives. “We ask to order our relatives back to their permanent location in Buryatia.” At least 30 men from their brigade are known to have died in the war in Ukraine, but Putin loyalist politician Tsydenov has not responded to the heartfelt plea from the women. The video was recorded near their husbands’ military base and appeared on the Instagram account of one of the women, Vera Partilkhaeva. She later deleted her account after the wives’ protest was noticed as the women could face prosecution and punishment for publicly denouncing the military deployment of their husbands. However, the identity of the women is unclear and the video was published by Baikal People, who has consistently revealed details of fatalities in the war. Ukraine has accused two soldiers from this brigade of war crimes during Putin’s invasion. They were named Bayaskhalan Shultumov and Pavel Aganaev by Prosecutor General of Ukraine Irina Venediktova, said The Insider. It is not clear if their wives were among those making the appeal.
Interesting that they are arresting scientists in Russia and charging them with for spying for China. Terminally-ill Russian scientist hauled from hospital and detained over treason charges Frail Dr Dmitry Kolke was hauled from his hospital bed in Novosibirsk, Russia, and flown four hours to Moscow where he is now incarcerated in notorious Lefortovo prison https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/terminally-ill-russian-scientist-hauled-27376307 Russia’s state security service FSB has taken ruthless action against a terminally-ill top scientist amid suspicions Vladimir Putin’s key laser secrets have been handed to China. Frail Dr Dmitry Kolker, 54, was hauled from his hospital bed in Novosibirsk, Russia, and flown four hours to Moscow where he is now incarcerated in notorious Lefortovo prison. He is charged with collaborating with Chinese intelligence agencies, a potentially acutely embarrassing blow to Putin who has boasted of his close ties with Beijing. Dr Kolker heads Novosibirsk State University’s quantum optical technologies laboratory, and is regarded as a world expert on lasers, having previously collaborated with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford major institutes in many countries. It is not clear if his alleged “treason” accusation is related to advanced military secrets concerning new-age weapons He and his family deny all accusations against Dr Kolker, the details of which remain secret, and they accuse the authorities of “torturing” a dying man. He is now locked inside Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison. His apartment was searched and equipment seized. Colleagues fear a “Stalinist witch-hunt” against the “dying scientist”, amid a rising number of arrests of academics under suspicion of espionage seen as a return to sinister Soviet ways. A tube was ripped from his vein and he was taken away into custody despite being too ill to undergo chemotherapy, say his relatives, who claim he has just days to live. His daughter Alina Mironova, 29, said: “Our family is going through total hell. “Our father cannot pass away surrounded by his family members. “He has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which is a death sentence. “But to face this sentence away from home, at a detention centre without proper medical help, is the worst that could happen to a man.” She said he was “a true patriot of his country” but he is now held incommunicado. “He obtained his knowledge and learned his skills abroad, but brought them back here, to Russia. “He is a doctor of sciences, head of laboratory, and a talented scientist.” The distraught daughter said: “He can’t feed himself independently, his body doesn’t take the food in. “Chemotherapy cannot help anymore, he was prescribed palliative care. “We don’t even know how he feels. Is he alive now, will we see him again?” She said he was grabbed from hospital on Friday by the FSB security service, which Putin once headed. “We can only pray he is given medical help, and that we, his family, will see him again to give him a decent farewell.” The scientist’s son Maxim, 22, admitted his father had travelled to China on a lecturing trip. But he was accompanied all the time by an FSB agent who approved every word of his lectures, he said. The furious son said Dr Kolker’s arrest from his hospital bed was “utter chaos”. “Within hours he was taken out of hospital, put on board a secret plane - and vanished,” he said. “I don’t any longer care what kind of investigation they will carry out, or about his freedom. I want my father to peacefully die in good conditions, with relatives he needs for help and support.” Alina said her father was known all over the world, and he had close links with laboratories in France and Germany. “I am not afraid to defend our rights,” she said. “Our family is convinced that the ban on communication with this terminally-ill man, the failure to provide information about the state of his health, the denial of basic assistance and the presence of relatives in the last days of life is a violation of human rights. “And also a sophisticated form of torture. A person deserves a right to die at home. “You can just look at these pictures [of the frail scientist] and assess his condition. “They were taken on the day he was taken to the clinic because his condition worsened.” Pictures showed the scientist’s mother - Alina’s grandmother - taking care of him, she said. Alina posted: “Just. Look. At. These. Pictures. “He cannot walk, or eat, or take care of himself. He needs special food and care, in the circle of his family and friends.” Dr Kolker was a talented pianist and organist.
Spying for China. WOW! Probably Russia will protest by calling the Chinese ambassador in and reprimanding him and then expelling Chinese diplomats from Russia. OR NOT.
Follow-up -- the first terminally ill scientist died. Russian laser scientist dies two days after arrest for state treason https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...after-arrest-state-treason-lawyer-2022-07-03/ So they grabbed another for their show trial... Second Russian scientist from Siberian city detained on treason charges, TASS reports https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...ity-detained-treason-charges-tass-2022-07-02/
I'm amazed he hasn't been disappeared by now. Father of Missing Moskva Sailor Says 'My Country Has Betrayed Me'
It's like the good 'ole Soviet days are back... Putin moves to block Russian Jews from immigrating to Israel https://www.rawstory.com/russia-jewish-immigration/ In response to growing tension with Israel over its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government has ordered the Jewish Agency to cease all operations in the country, The Jerusalem Post reports. The move could greatly undermine the ability of Russian Jews to immigrate to Israel, of which thousands have already secured the paperwork to do so, but the sanctions on Russia have caused most international airlines to stop flying to the country. Sources in Russia's Jewish community told the Post that "people from the Jewish community have been feeling the Iron Curtain setting on them and they fear they won't be able to escape the country" and that "a number of Jews have said that the Russian authorities are trying to arrest them and that they fear for their lives." The Jewish Agency works to facilitate aliyah from Jewish communities around the world. If the organization is blocked in Russia, it will be the first time in the past 30 years that aliyah efforts are banned in the country. "I was updated this morning regarding the decision of the Russian Ministry of Justice. As is well known, the Jewish Agency is a central arm of the government and the ministry for the assistance of the immigration of Jews from all over the world to the State of Israel," Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said in response to the move. "We must ensure that their scope of operation is maintained as it has been throughout the years. I appealed to the Prime Minister to work with the Moscow administration to resolve the problem and I want to strengthen the Jewish community in Russia, which must be worried at this time about the consequences of the decision. Aliyah is a basic right for the Jews of Russia and we will make sure that it is preserved as such."