Thread: How dangerous is Vladimir Putin?

Never ending meddling?

How Putin Built a Ragtag Empire of Tyrants and Failing States
4 APRIL 2019Russia has quietly built a network of influence among tyrants and failed states


Even in the worst of times, Russia had been a reliable friend to the Sudan of Omar al-Bashir. It continued selling him weapons during the atrocities his regime carried out in the Darfur region from 2003 to 2007. And when the International Criminal Court indicted al-Bashir in 2009 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, issuing a warrant for his arrest, Russia went its own way. Instead of detaining al-Bashir when the Sudanese leader landed in Sochi in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin received him at his official residence and put the meeting on state television.

As it turned out, Russia’s enduring friendship was about to pay off. The outlaw President had arrived with an offer: “Sudan,” he told Putin, “can be Russia’s key to Africa.” What he wanted in return was “protection from aggressive U.S. actions” in the region, said al-Bashir. The evidence shows Putin took him up on it. The leaders’ talks opened the gates to a flood of Russian ventures in Sudan, from political consulting to mining and military aid, according to documents obtained by TIME. As Russian geologists began drilling for gold near the banks of the Nile River last year, the Russian armed forces drafted plans to use Sudan’s ports and air bases as military outposts.

Sudan is just the start. Over the past few years, the Kremlin has once again been scouring the world in search of influence. In troubled countries overlooked since the Cold War, Russia has been forging new alliances, rekindling old ones and, wherever possible, filling the void left by an inward-looking West. Across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, TIME tracked the Kremlin effort through months of interviews with local officials, Russian operatives and other players, as well as by vetting documents provided by the Dossier Center, a private investigative unit funded by Mikhail Khodorvsky, an exiled Russian businessman and critic of Putin.

The Russian campaign reaches from major conflict zones such as Venezuela, Libya and Syria to the more obscure corners of Africa and, as al-Bashir hoped, to Sudan. What comes through is a newfound Russian willingness, even an eagerness, to involve itself in wars and cultivate regimes anywhere Moscow sees a chance to assert itself.

Read more (cannot find on RT)
Europe, Middle East, and Africa | TIME

Steady on Bob, OhOh's only got *so* much room on his bedroom ceiling you know.

Rather on the ceiling than your bed headboard. My knees aren't what they used to be.

WATCH Putin’s ‘beautiful’ Russian-made Aurus limo turn heads of German automakers at Mercedes plant


When President Vladimir Putin rolled into a new Mercedes plant near Moscow in his eye-catching Aurus Senat, the Russian-made ride turned the heads of the legendary German automakers, who even offered some words of praise.
Arriving at the opening ceremony of the new Daimler car factory, Putin stepped out of his slick metallic black limo and greeted the facility’s representatives on the shop floor. After shaking hands, one of the members of the welcoming crew commented on the Russian president’s automobile, telling Putin in German that he has a “beautiful car.”

Putin responded in German, proudly saying: “Ja, sehr schon” (Yes, [it’s] very beautiful).

The Aurus Senat was developed by the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute (NAMI) in Moscow, and was shown to the public for the first time in September 2018. Aside from boasting a 598-horsepower 4.4-liter hybrid V-8 engine, the presidential limo is equipped with armored plating. NAMI says that the Senat will serve as the launch model for a full line of homemade ultra-luxury Aurus vehicles.

https://www.rt.com/russia/455554-put...ercedes-plant/

Putin is awesome !!!

What sanctions?

Putin calls out ‘bandit’ translator for making him sound less friendly



Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven speak through a translator at the International Arctic Forum ©

Russian President Vladimir Putin branded his translator a “bandit” during a conversation with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, after noticing a not very accurate translation of his words.

The conversation Tuesday followed the international Arctic forum in St. Petersburg, where Russia is attempting to strengthen ties with other states in the region. Putin highlighted the $5 billion Swedish businessmen invested in Russia, referring to them as “druz’ya” (friends), not once, but twice, emphasizing the word.

Approximately five billion in investments by our Swedish friends, and that is what they are, our Swedish FRIENDS, have been invested in the Russian economy.

When the translator repeated the phrase in Swedish to Löfven, however, he used a more neutral term “partners,” that sounds more or less the same in English, Russian and Swedish. The wording didn’t escape Putin’s notice, who immediately made his objection clear.

“I said friends, and he translated it “partners,” the bandit,” Putin joked as the translator hurriedly repeated himself with the President’s comradely sentiment in-tact. Putin emphasized that the amiable term was important, as Russia sees the over 500 Swedish companies investing in its economy precisely as friends.

Both leaders talked about the development of good relations despite disagreement and difficulties. Lofven called Russia “a very important country in the region,” emphasizing large common interest in business. Putin noted a 30 percent increase in trade last year.

Nonetheless, not everyone is hopeful about the uptick in Swedish – Russian relations. This February, two UK based ‘news sources,’ The Independent and The Daily Mail, warned of an impending Russian invasion of the small Scandinavian nation… a “fact” that seemed to come as a surprise to both sides.

https://www.rt.com/russia/456135-put...it-translator/

Hey Vlad you fucking whiny crooked c u n t!

Cool, that's got to be $500 worth right there. Just put it on my account.

Russian court fines Internet user hundreds of dollars for calling Vladimir Putin an ‘unbelievable fuckwit’

A court in the Novgorod region's Chudovsky District has fined a local man 30,000 rubles ($470) for violating Russia's new law against insulting state officials on the Internet. The defendant, Yuri Kartyzhev, later uploaded a recording of the verdict being read out, where Judge Igor Ivanov says, “On March 31, 2019, at 6:45 p.m., Kartyzhev... shared on the social network VKontakte two notes with text that read ‘Putin is an unbelievable fuckwit,’ along with a graphic image of Russian President [Vladimir] Putin.”

According to human rights legal expert Pavel Chikov, Kartyzhev's case might be the first time Russia's court system has enforced the new law against insulting state officials.

https://meduza.io/en/news/2019/04/23/russian-court-fines-internet-user-hundreds-of-dollars-for-calling-vladimir-putin-an-unbelievable-fuckwit

Trump will be trying to institute a similar law before long.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Trump will be trying to institute a similar law before long.

Wouldn't he just love to.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Trump will be trying to institute a similar law before long.

His approach is more subtle.

Two shots in the back of the head, suicides. Keep people locked up with no trial for eternity. Disappearances to black sites on tropical islands.

Carrying the notorious banner handed on from previous POTUCSoCs

Nobody notices, or dares to report it, these days.

Originally Posted by OhOh

His approach is more subtle.

Two shots in the back of the head, suicides. Keep people locked up with no trial for eternity. Disappearances to black sites on tropical islands.

Carrying the notorious banner handed on from previous POTUCSoCs

Nobody notices, or dares to report it, these days.

Oh FFS. Forget your meds again?

Originally Posted by Cujo

Oh FFS. Forget your meds again?

Maybe it's time for you to take another memory/intelligence, "enhancing" brew.

The brown bottle, dammit.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Oh FFS. Forget your meds again?

He does that a lot.

Vald you festering mass of cunty pissflaps cheese!

That's got to be worth a grand at least. Put it on the slate.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

festering mass of cunty pissflaps cheese!

Projecting again, oh the adoration you show to a humble government servant.

Fuck you Vlad you cock munching arse bandit!

That's got to be a couple of grand on the account.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Trump will be trying to institute a similar law before long.

He already threatened SNL over one of their unfunny sketches about him. He said "they should be looked into" by the courts.

Putin arrives in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China to take part in the One Belt One Road international forum on April 26-27.

Putin travelled to Beijing from Vladivostok where he held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Putin’s working program will begin on Friday. Together with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, he will speak at the opening ceremony of the forum in Beijing's National Convention Center.

The Russian leader will also hold a series of meetings, specifically, with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Serbia, Egypt and Cyprus and Myanmar’s foreign minister. Putin’s bilateral talks with Xi Jinping are due to be held too.

The forum’s three working sessions are scheduled for April 27. Putin plans to address one of them.

TASS: Business & Economy - Putin arrives in Beijing

in normal times, this wouldn't stand. but...here we are.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday Moscow is considering fast-tracking Russian citizenship for all Ukrainians, not only those living the war-torn parts of eastern Ukraine.

Putin made his comments during a press conference at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Russian state news agency TASS reported.


This comes days after Putin signed a presidential decree that would allow people who permanently reside in certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions to apply for Russian citizenship through a simplified process.


The EU condemned the decree Thursday “as another attack on Ukraine's sovereignty by Russia.” The plan also drew condemnation from the U.S. and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.


The Russian government said that the new decree is designed to help people on humanitarian grounds, “protecting human and citizens’ rights and freedoms.”


Putin’s new comments were met with outrage from Ukrainian officials.

https://www.politico.eu/article/vlad...an-in-ukraine/

Originally Posted by OhOh

Lavrov’s interview for Zvezda network

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for Glavnoye with Olga Belova programme on Zvezda network, Moscow, April 21, 2019.

A video here ;

Lavrov’s interview for Zvezda network

written words here, Russian with English subtitles ;

http://Lavrov’s interview for Zvezda network

Lavrov you fat diseased fuck!

Only a couple of hundred bucks there, he's not that important.

Originally Posted by raycarey

in normal times, this wouldn't stand. but...here we are.



https://www.politico.eu/article/vlad...an-in-ukraine/

Sounds like Vlad (the fucking tosspot! - $100) is engineering an excuse to invade and annex yet more of Ukraine's territory.

Originally Posted by raycarey

in normal times, this wouldn't stand. but...here we are.

You may want to check what the Polish, Hungarian and Romanians have been doing in Ukraine, for some time. Prior to pointing fingers.

"Poland has been issuing the ‘Karta Polaka’ (Polish Card) for ethnic Poles in Ukraine, while Hungary and Romania issue passports under similar programs, Putin said."

https://www.rt.com/russia/457518-putin-ukrainians-russian-passports/

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

an excuse to invade and annex yet more of Ukraine's territory.

One presumes you include the other countries in such things .