Alexei Navalny is not the pleasant liberal our mainstream media paint him to be. Before extensive grooming by the West, he was a racist populist. However, he now makes a more convincing liberal standard bearer than similar proteges like Juan Guaido and to some extent has probably changed with wider experience. He most certainly is not especially popular in Russia, outside some wealthier and younger demographics, but they are voters too, and human progress would not have been great without the much despised middle classes.
I am not in the least convinced by the ludicrous narrative that Vladimir Putin and the FSB were not competent enough to successfully assassinate Alexei Navalny in Russia, including as he lay unconscious in a Russian state hospital. I regard it as a nonsense. But neither do I necessarily suspect that the whole incident was engineered by the West or Navalny (exploited is different to engineered). Incidentally, I am perfectly prepared to accept that the security service outlet Bellingcat was right about the Russian security services following Navalny. I have no doubt whatsoever that they do follow him, and have done so for many years. So what? Western security services followed me intensely when I first became a whistleblower, and on and off ever since, most notably when I have contact with Julian or Wikileaks. The British government announced in Julian’s recent bail hearing it spent £16 million of public money on surveillance of the Ecuadorean Embassy – that’s £16 million on looking at a non-moving target! Security services follow people. There are thousands of the blighters, both in the West and in Russia, and follow people is what many of them do for a living. It is in no sense evidence of assassination. Every time my heart problem puts me in hospital, I don’t imagine it was the MI5 surveillance folks (who must, incidentally, be very bored. When I was younger they did get to look at some great parties).
Anybody who genuinely believes that Putin did not personally authorise the arrest and detention of Navalny on return does not understand Russia. Putin’s purpose is simply to show that he can – that the West cannot protect its protege, which is a good lesson for the next one, and cannot harm Russian interests abroad. In power calculations, Putin is almost always correct. I am fairly sure he is also correct in calculating that swatting Navalny will play well to his popular base, who like the macho thing.
I do not address the technicalities of whether Navalny’s suspended embezzlement sentence was legitimate, and whether he breached suspension conditions, because again if you think that has anything at all to do with what is happening, you are hopelessly naive. Navalny might very well be guilty of embezzlement, but on nothing in the same universe of scale as Putin himself and his inner circle. It is about selectivity of prosecution rather than innocence or guilt. If you have political control of the prosecutor, you hold the cards. Oh sorry, I was drifting back to Scotland.
So Putin can see Navalny jailed till 2025 on the embezzlement charge with no serious consequences and a minor stabilisation of his personal authority. But at what cost? My major criticism of Putin is that he has failed to move Russia, an absolutely vital pillar of European cultural heritage, back towards the European centre after decades of isolation. That involves development away from purely autocratic government; but there remains absolutely no sign that Putin even intends to position Russia for that move once he finally relinquishes power – which he ought to have done many years ago. Allowing Navalny to continue his campaigning will not hurt Putin and will not hurt Russia. It is a fascinating and universal fact that the longer people hold power, the more paranoid they become.
—————————————————–
Forgive me for pointing out that my ability to provide this coverage is entirely dependent on your kind voluntary subscriptions which keep this blog going. This post is free for anybody to reproduce or republish, including in translation. You are still very welcome to read without subscribing.
Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, this blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers – many of whom do not necessarily agree with the every article, but welcome the alternative voice, insider information and debate.
Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.
Choose subscription amount from dropdown box:
Paypal address for one-off donations: [email protected]
Alternatively by bank transfer or standing order:
Account name
MURRAY CJ
Account number 3 2 1 5 0 9 6 2
Sort code 6 0 – 4 0 – 0 5
IBAN GB98NWBK60400532150962
BIC NWBKGB2L
Bank address Natwest, PO Box 414, 38 Strand, London, WC2H 5JB
Bitcoin: bc1q3sdm60rshynxtvfnkhhqjn83vk3e3nyw78cjx9
Ethereum/ERC-20: 0x764a6054783e86C321Cb8208442477d24834861a
Subscriptions are still preferred to donations as I can’t run the blog without some certainty of future income, but I understand why some people prefer not to commit to that.
> Anybody who genuinely believes that Putin did not personally authorise the arrest and detention of Navalny on return does not understand Russia
Really? The “nothing in Russia happens without a direct Putin’s order” narrative is, of course, quite popular. Yet you would probably agree that all attempts to explain Navalny’s recent exploits on this basis look rather unconvincing. Shallow is another word.
“Nothing happens in the UK without Boris Johnson’s direct order”.
Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!
Putin should have blocked Navalny’s website long ago. Even he doesn’t need a court’s ruling for this, but his direct order is quite enough. Because he is an evil macho tyrant in barbaric Russia, and not some pathetic private business in a lousy democracy!
Tatyana
” That involves development away from purely autocratic government “
When Craig says Putin should adopt Western style democracy, lousy democracy, he doesn’t mean the financial system, he means freedom of political debate.
A few years ago Nicola Sturgeon signed a deal with Chinese investors for Scottish infrastructure projects. Billions of pounds of lovely free dosh , probably financially guaranteed by England, for the Scottish elites to eat. That’s exactly the same way Russia works , isn’t it? The state is an engine for private embezzlement. The poor people of Scotland were not told of the new financial jackpot until after the deal was signed.
Since Russia and the West are both operating the same corrupt system, which fills the bank accounts of the “””” oligarch “””” class, or 1%, there is no need for either of them to change. I think therefore that Craig must be referring to human rights and freedom of speech.
I don’t know what the conditions of political debate are in russia, but i do know that it is increasingly difficult to have that in the u.s., and from what i read in the u.k.
One of the principles of government in the USA and UK is that people should, as far as possible, be allowed to say what they think. (Although, if the MSM and even social media refuse to publish what they say, it will be of interest only to their close families).
Then the government goes right ahead and does whatever it likes.
That’s democracy.
I am sure that I am not the only one completely baffled by all this Navalny story.
Maybe the lithium found in his blood (according to the medical records released on John Helmer’s site) is a clue?
Napoleon complex?
Maybe he actually believes everything he is saying, novichok and all, and all the NATO spooks have to do is prod him from time to time?
Compare and contrast our leaders to Putin. Compare and contrast our leaders popularity to Putin. Compare and contrast what our leaders have done for their countries to what Putin has done for his. Together with Lavrov, Putin has shown how hypocritical our ” Rules Based ” Community of Civilised Nations narrative is. The fact is that the majority of countries in the world are fed up with the grip USA, UK and France have on them. Russia can never be forgiven by Europe for resisting one invasion after another. Russia can never be forgiven for getting rid of its Monarchy. Putin leads an Independant country, proud of its history, resource rich, culturally rich, surrounded by NATO, with an economy the size of South Korea, the biggest land mass to defend, under blockade of sanctions and yet refuses to bend to the will of the old and new empires. These world dominating empires would do well concentrating on their own countries corruption rather than centuries of conquest and laying waste to others. Russians are strong in arms, Putin is a patriot unlike our little Toff.
Agree with that except the getting rid of the monarchy bit – my take on that fans history is that it was the ‘western’ banking global robbers who got their controlled cousins of the czars to decapitate their relatives family, because the Romanovs were relentless in their resistance to going the same way as every other European and new America Westphalian states by succumbing to a ‘national’ bank – owned by foreign private persons – and handing over the national resources to be reaped and raped. This also was the reason for the repeated attempts at winning Russia. That has been the real Great Game for centuries. ?
Dungroanin and Baron. Thanks for that information.
The fiddlers who stole billions via a drunk Yetsins Russian roof are behind all this anti-putin narrative, powered by their cousins in the Beeb and embedded all over the media eg rosenborg,maitlis at the Beeb and the powerful emigre russian deep state mob ie schiffs and maddows, in the US. Anybody who can reply transparently and precisely to intricate matters of state and foreign policy LIVE over 4 hours to all comers, including those who fought in Tashkent in the Patriotic WW2, is not your usual corrupt market trader/shyster like a browder/khodorokovsky. Gods hand is on Putins hand, otherwise we could ALL have been under the rule of a great satan in the control of the NY russian emigre mob. This mob has a track record, it was adam schiffs grandfather (& co) in NY who sent a lev bronstein (aka trotsky) to organise the 1917 killing of the tsar (and ALL his heirs) and steal the $400m he held at their NY banks. Same ol, same ol, the kind of intrigue CM is now experiencing in Scotland is but a FRACTION of this NY mobs much higher satanic machinations.
its surprising craig is unable or unwilling to see any of this… this especially since he is now on the receiving end of it..
As I may have said too often, you can take the man out of the Foreign Service, but you can’t take the Foreign Service out of the man.
We all have our quirks and odd beliefs.
“All the world’s queer save thee and me.
And even thee’s a little queer”.
Yes, now that the predominant opinion in the Whitehouse is driven by those who will trace their ancestry back to the Pale of Settlement, we can expect anti Russian rhetoric to be greatly amplified.
For those who might want to explore the foundations of the malevolence of Schiff and others, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Hundred_Years_Together . Good luck finding a copy in print in the west, for whilst Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag book elevated him to sainthood in the West, the topics discussed in Two Hundred Years would have many calling him a racist.
English translations are available in PDF format online, but as is always the case with such works, one can never be sure that the translator had no axes to grind.
Funnily enough the comments on the Daily Mail Online Site have been closed because, it appears no-one really believes the BS about Navalny and Novichok. I suggest you read John Helmer’s articles on his website that show the west is extremely sensitive about the results of the “tests” used to “demonstrate” that there was an attack. I suggest that CM reads them too.
Suppose him going back to Russia rules out further hair and skin metabolite tests to prove exposure.
If the Russians test, who’ll believe the results?
Exactly, Goose. And isn’t that an odd asymmetry?
Why exactly should we believe what Western governments, agencies and media tell us – and not their Russian opposite numbers?
Especially since we are daily drenched with evidence that the Western sources are deeply, organically dishonest and the Russians relatively truthful?
“Prejudice” and “discrimination” have long been dirty words in the West, except when it’s a matter of prejudice and discrimination against Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Venezuela…
But we’re not racists, no sirree Bob.
Navalny (a non-entity in Russia) is a CIA stooge, fronting the latest incarnation of their regime change ops in Russia. Now that the Fakeichok bs is over, he fully exposed as a US asset. As such he is more useful to the CIA dead than alive. His wife is already being pimped as the Russian equivalent of Belarus’ Tikhanovskaya, a bought-and-paid-for NATO front intended to take over from Lukashenko – in anticipation of his sudden demise ‘at the hands of the Russians’?. Ironically, being jailed will possibly save Navalny’s life. The Russians have a vested interest in keeping alive. The CIA just see another time-expired disposable asset, just like Nemtsov a few years back.
“The court ruling allows a state secret to conceal a state lie – Navalny’s also. This outcome carefully documented by the Swedish government is unanticipated evidence of Navalny’s collaboration with the two foreign governments to support his Novichok assassination allegation.”
http://johnhelmer.net/swedish-laboratory-stockholm-court-confirm-alexei-navalny-prepared-nato-secrets-adding-evidence-for-treason-indictment-in-russian-court/
If this hypothesis is supported, he will be facing charges of actual treason.
Amazing how whenever Craig dares to write anything remotely critical of Comrade Putin the Russian troll factory goes into overdrive.
” Gods hand is on Putins hand ” Oh dear.
Charismatic leaders who build up personality cults are dangerous. Putin won’t live for ever, he’s already passed the life expectancy for Russian men by 3 years, then what?
Kempe. Putin can’t win, he is labled a Godless Communist Comrade, yet believes in God and promotes the Russian Church. Any counter argument you can make, would be better than ignoring points and just responding with Russian Troll factory label. I do agree on your point that he can’t lead his country for ever though. I am sure we in Europe hope that he is replaced by another Yeltsin. The Russian people however will miss him.
To be fair he has a bit of a blind spot.
Kempe, I resent that deliberate personal insult. I have never visited Russia, Tatyana is the closest I have to a Russian friend – she certainly seems honest, serious and pleasantly humorous – I have no government or corporate connections, and I don’t even speak Russian.
I am an educated Scot of a certain age, a libertarian in the proper sense, and one who believes in fairness and honesty. (Rather like Craig except that I was summarily rejected by the Civil Service, and lack many of his talents). I have absolutely no interest in power over others, or in wealth beyond my very modest needs.
I see some of those qualities in the current Russian leadership, and little or none in the West.
As for “charismatic leaders”, that is a dangerously deceptive argument. Would you prefer incompetent, dishonest buffons like Messrs Trump and Johnson? Or nasty genocidal social climbers like Tony Blair? Compared to them any straight politician might well look “charismatic”.
When, more by chance than anything else, a country gets an honest, decent, talented leader, the citizens of that country are incredibly lucky and should make the most of their good fortune. And give credit where it is due.
I have not noticed that Mr Putin is extravagantly or uncritically praised by Russians. But he has done an immense amount for them, and it is only reasonable and fair that they should acknowledge their debt to him.
” Before extensive grooming by the West, he was a racist populist” bit like the Daily Mail or Russia Today, zero evidence offered
That Navalny is a white supremacist, bigot and hatemonger is beyond doubt. Just go watch his cockroach video. Or read about his “stop feeding the Caucasus” campaign. Note that the main minority in Russia (similar to blacks in the US) is Muslims.
main minority in Russia is Muslims? I’m sorry, that’s something new to me 🙂
Of course Nalvany should be released, but the Nalvany story has been ridiculous for years.
The Russians seem to be incredibly tolerant including tolerating P1ssy Ri0t, who were also completely ridiculous.
The Russians in my view have been extremely sensible over the last few years, with all the taunting they have had from The West. They must try very hard not to laugh, at the ridiculous nonsense thrown at them.
From their point of view, and mine too The West has gone mad.
Now German politicians, seem to want their population to freeze to death, cos they have been told, when Nordstream 2 is nearly completed, er No, we do we don’t want your Russian Gas.
“An EU parliament resolution, backed by 581 MEPs out of 675 present, directs members to ramp up sanctions against Russia to stop the Nord Stream 2 project “once and for all,” linking it to opposition figure Alexey Navalny’s arrest.”
“WASHINGTON, January 20./TASS. The administration of US President-elect Joe Biden will use every persuasive tool to stop the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and will work to convince European partners not to move forward with it”
“He said Joe Biden’s strong conviction was that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a “bad idea” and that the administration would use “every persuasive tool” to convince partners, including Germany, to discard the project.”
Tony
Tony. As you know the Russians have always been selling Europe with gas. Uninterrupted even at times of great tension. The problem is like Japan, Germany is still occupied and not Independent. The Americans blockaded Japan prior to Pearl Harbour. We have now blockaded Venezuela and Iran, stopping them selling oil. We want to do the same with Russia. These, by any other measure, are acts of war by us on them. Any attempt of negotiation and reason, we reject. Its called continuous pressure and Global Dominance. When the war does break out by accident, miscalculation or goading, it won’t just be poor southern countries who have suffered till now, but us in the North also. What Europens fail to realise is that US war planners think they can limit the missile exchange to Europe and be safe in-between the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. Tombe La Neige.
Russia has already declared that any attack on its soil will result in the western decision makers bunkers in Washington or anywhere else being flattened by hypersonic missiles within minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cikvqdMRTTA
Tony_Opmoc
All anti-Russian propaganda is fake news, just as all anti-Iran propaganda is fake news. Creating fake dichotomies, leading to fake wars, the victims of which are people, usually Muslims. After all, you can’t really destroy a country without a war, any more than you can destroy a man without having some fake rape allegations.
This week Nicola Sturgeon signed a secret deal with a Chinese investor in Silk Road haulage infrastructure. That’s how much the UK hates China.
The Navalny novichok serves the same function as the Skripal novichok, fake tension . And if any of you were clever enough not to believe US, we have now disappeared both Navalny and Skripals to make you believe it.
This week, on the day that Biden swore in, Islamic State suicide bombed Baghdad. Just to let you know that peacemaker Trump has gone and Obama is back
In short, the shafting of the Muslim nations will now continue. But our spooks do need to control the narrative by creating believable tensions as a plausible justification for war. Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize ? Nah. The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize goes to . . .
Bibi Netanyahu.
“After all, you can’t really destroy a country without a war…”
That would certainly seem to be true, and it was until about a century ago. It is still true for the overwhelming majority of nations.
But the unique, exceptional, indispensable nation has some cards up its sleeve – that it dealt to itself back in 1944 – such as virtual control of the world financial and economic systems.
“You don’t need an army to destroy a country any longer. All you need to do is to teach it American economics”.
– Michael Hudson, https://thesaker.is/a-hard-look-at-rent-and-rent-seeking-with-michael-hudson-pepe-escobar/
This cartoon is about Goldman Sachs, but it could apply equally to the US government in its foreign policy.
https://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/styles/1200xauto/public/main/2019-Dec-18/screen-shot-2019-12-17-at-10.48.38-am-768×554.jpg?itok=_dMI6jmw
Soviet Russia began selling oil and gas to both Germanies roughly from 1966 when the Yamal oil fields were discovered, check it out Tony, google it. In the height of the cold war, the USSR accounted for more of the Western Germany’s demand for fossil fuels than Putin’s Russia is pumping through today.
The whole issue is about the US Governing Elites trying to kill two birds at the same time, deprive Russia of some foreign earrings, and keep Germany from getting closer to Russia. This is the top priority for the US Foreign policy, has been since WW2 – Russia and Germany must never become close, co-operate, join forces because it they did, it the combined entity would be a formidable competitor to the American Empire – the great unwashed in both countries have a penchant for strong leaders (Führer, Вождь), are loyal to them if they deliver, (Putin, Mutti), Russia has the natural resources and space, Germany the business acumen and drive, a truly formidable pair, the Americans got this one right.
Craig, this entire section is very poorly written. I initially understood the reverse of what I believe you are aiming to convey. I suggest rewriting it.
“I am not in the least convinced by the ludicrous narrative that Vladimir Putin and the FSB were not competent enough to successfully assassinate Alexei Navalny in Russia, including as he lay unconscious in a Russian state hospital. I regard it as a nonsense. But neither do I necessarily suspect that the whole incident was engineered by the West or Navalny (exploited is different to engineered).”
I assume you meant, you do not believe that Putin and the FSB attempted (and failed, due to incompetence) to assassinate Navalny. And that you do not believe either that he (or some Western service) staged the situation. If so, it probably should be stated more clearly.
It may also be interesting to develop why you so believe, incidentally.
With many thanks.
I find Navalny remarkably confident for a man allegedly recently poisoned with a ‘deadly nerve agent’. Contrast the western media cheering his bravery going back to Russia, with the vanishing act of the Skripals. The Skripals dominated headlines in the west, in events that led to global condemnation of Russia and a series of diplomatic expulsions.
And yet, not a single western MSM journalist has sought enquire about either one’s health since, or sought an interview with either at a secure location. What is the explanation for this most unusual news blackout. Al there has been is that highly staged scene with Yulia. Somebody clearly doesn’t want them speaking even to a trusted journalists, is it in case they slip up during the interview, or on the ample missing details? The ultra tight security and lack of journalistic access tells its own story. Remember Sergei was living at that address under his own name and his daughter lived in Russia with no sign whatsoever she’d been previously targeted.
We were asked to care intensely, then asked to quickly forget. The coverage was just plain weird.
It actually makes sense, Goose. They quickly run a “Russian atrocity”, then forget it – and go on doing so with one fresh atrocity after another.
Thus the broad masses do not remember any details, but do retain the overall knowledge that Russia commits atrocities.
It would be a mistake to think that any of this is accidental or left to chance.
The Heil appears to have access to some members of Skripal’s family.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9123017/Mother-ex-Russian-spy-Sergei-Skripal-died-aged-92-Covid-without-seeing-son-fully-recover.html
‘she claims’. ‘she said’ etc
The lack of contact with family is another oddity given Yulia’s leaked phone call in which she said they were both ok, complained of boredom with the whole ‘situation’.
In the same week that phone call emerged the guardian were running pieces claiming both were still in an induced coma and claiming doctors had given them less than <1% chance of survival… UK media is really good , isn't it.
Big breaking news indeed.
Even SNP MSP ultra loyalists should accept it’d be better now to clear the air and let the chips fall where they may.
The problem is that Russia is under increasing attack from the West especially the UK, who want to control/steal its resources and use its strategic position to get at China. Loosening the reins in Russia may cause devastation as in Libya and Syria.
I am wondering, if Nord Stream 2 is cancelled by Germany, who pays the costs/compensation, what do tne contracts say ?
Apparently the next likely German Chancellor, Armin Laschet favours NS2 completion. He has previously called out the anti-Russia/ anti-Putin hysteria sweeping Europe and the west. He seems to hold the view Germany should try to keep friendly relations with the east and west. It’s hard to argue with that logic /rationale, even if the US doesn’t like it.
Snowden revealed Germany as the FVEY’s most spied upon country in Europe – and by a v. big margin. The US has acted more like they own Germany and its politics, ever since WW2. Germany needs to finally emerge with its own voice and identity.
“The US has acted more like they own Germany and its politics…”
Actually the US government has been working methodically towards that end since before 1900. It worked very hard to start and maintain both world wars, because it saw Germany as its main industrial and military rival (apart from the USSR after 1945).
NS2 is complete (technically except for the German few miles/Km) and being pressurised and tested. If there was a major freeze in the next weeks and the gas was needed – it would be usable no doubt.
The SouthStreams are progressing too.
Europe /EU will have a very robust ‘grid’ for gas and the ME states will be keen to get plugged in to – it is a lot cheaper and reliable than sea transportation.
Merkel/Putin/Xi keep their eyes on the big prize of energy security which leads to all other security for their citizens. Brits will be begging to remain plugged in and getting that – Drax is building the biggest gas power station ever !
The EU will not spite its face and cutoff its NoseStream.
My first reaction to your very true statement, Ruth, was “The bear is under increasing attack from the small pets and famyard creatures, especially the Chihuahua, which wants to… use its strategic position to get at the giant panda”.
The small animals would do well to remember that panda’s jaws can easily crunch bamboo stems, and that bears – even the most good-humoured and tolerant – occasionally get peckish and tend to pop a canape or two in their mouths in a fit of absent-mindedness.
Humour apart, of course, what you say is absolutely true. As a UK citizen, it makes me feel deeply ashamed – both of our leaders’ revolting amorality, and of their almost incredible stupidity.
When Navalny was conducting his anti-corruption drives, producing superb videos, kicking the hell out of the corrupt, he was a minor irritant for Putin (it helped to sack Medvedev), but he earned the respect of millions, if not many votes in elections.
His quitting the investigations, moving to befriend the likes of Bellingcat plus wasn’t a smart move, in the eyes of the Russian unwashed he became a traitor, he betrayed Mother Russia, something the Russians will never forgive, they can take on cruelty e.g. Stalin, but Mother Russia is sacrosanct, you should read what the ordinary Russians are saying that should happen to him, even on blogs far removed from the Kremlin.
Putin’s Russia has warts and boils aplenty, but Navalny’s attempt to engineer a Moscow Maidan was a grave mistake, he’ll regret it. And as for Putin, he’s unlikely to get a pat on the back even if he were to make Navalny the PM of Russia, whatever he does, the West will continue to demonise him and Russia, he may as well hit N hard, and very likely will.
“…Navalny’s attempt to engineer a Moscow Maidan was a grave mistake, he’ll regret it”.
In most countries he would have paid for it with his life, in very short order. In the USA he would probably have wound up with a multi-century prison sentence.
what about ‘you are going to be arrested if you return to Russia did this enfant terrible not understand.
why did he go back?
Was it to release some video and get ‘support’ from his miniscule amount of followers.
Did this well educated opposition politician/ convicted lawyer ask his supporters to face Putins police during a covid crisis, to placate himself, or did he do it to deliver them to the police?
I find this call to have him released is as flat as a tyre. This will not encourage dialogue, just as the case of Nazanin Radcliffe has been exploited by a bumbling PM who delivered her to her fate by disclosing her job in Iran.
If the grand chess game is still occupying the small minds of the empirical dreamers who deny ambassadors from the EU diplomatic credentials, then they will never be part of a peaceful future.
Dont buy this western fluff anymore, these people have to ousted by us, have their lordships scrapped and given the choice, reform society, introduce fair proportional voting and alleviate climate change by active means, or be sacrificed by all means.
It did not take long for us to understand Bidens call to unite the country. It means ‘agree with us, or shut the cfuk up’. He will try any form of revenge of the past republican administration, prolonging Americas divided and polarised people. A corrupt western society will always be vulnerable to being undermined.
Lastly, Im sad to have to call off my trial phone in, as I shall be digging to adjust history in the cold windy fields of Norfolk.
I so hope that Gyannes excellrnt prediction dont come to the fore and Craig will be found not guilty on all counts.
Navalny is not innocent, he is a fail safe to Putin.
Indeed, why go back? Were I Russian, I’d be wondering, what drops next?
You sense this is just Act two of a three-act or five-act play. Western intel seems to be catching the Russians flat-footed at every turn with them laying catch-up in recent years. They’ve suffered a series of humiliations including those given to Bellingcat.
Trump called it ‘spy games’. I wager the Russians wish they were as good as their predecessors were in the Soviet Union’s once feared KGB.
If the west is toying with Russia, ‘spy games’ as Trump called it, it illustrates a certain weakness on Russia’s part.
I doubt the west would toy with China similar way. For starters, they’re probably a much harder society to crack in terms of cultivating informants, the risks for those informants is also much higher. And China is more capable of real retaliation that exposes the west’s elites and powerful and their secrets.
Even Solzhenitsyn grew nostalgic for Russia in his Western exile. Your country may be misgoverned, dangerous even; but it is still your country.
Also, Mr Navalny may well feel safer in Russia than anywhere else.
Good people – the monied people – the Russians – the Chinese – the Americans will and shall do what they always are able to do – that is a given.
So, while we still have health, strength and some daily food – let us enjoy and celebrate. Trump is gone and I here share with you, from the Caribbean – his true anthem:-
MY TRIBUTE TO DONALD TRUMP IN TRUE CARIBBEAN STYLE ( IT IS CALLED ‘KING LIAR’ ) – DONALD WON THE CONTEST..
https://youtu.be/cYkqMT6HKD0
Concerning that Trump was absolutely convinced prior to the election, that the postal vote would be rigged.
This coming after the UK’s postal vote jumped from ~16% to 38% of the total vote in 2019’s GE, and coming after Pompeo promised to do all in his power to prevent Corbyn winning.
Some will dismiss it as ‘just Trump’ , but he was POTUS, not just someone shouting crazy stuff in the street.
Why was he so convinced it’d be rigged like that?
Probably in the same way he was “convinced” that Obama was truly Kenyan and therefore ineligible to hold the office of President.
Trump produced similar amounts of “crazy stuff” on a gargantuan scale both before and during his time in the White House, as his social media accounts showed before their recent deletion.
You have to see things correctly.
Obama is “black” even though he is only half Kenyan.
But he is eligible to be President although he is half Kenyan.
Accentuate the positive!
There are other problems.
The UK postal vote was apparently 12.2 million votes … helluva lot
Quote: The postal vote was, in many areas, ‘managed’ by a private company that donated to the Conservative & Unionist Party. Private company Idox, who till 2018 had a Tory peer on its board, used a wholly owned subsidiary Halarose, to manage Postal votes in 12 Dec 2019 and yet Halarose is already listed on or before 19th December 2019 as being ‘dissolved on 24 Dec 2019’. This seems too convenient.
– Progressive Pulse.
Not half. I’m not claiming it was rigged but it certainly should be reviewed.
We had Laura Kuenssberg gloating over early returns she’d been told about in the days before the election. In a serious breach of BBC guidelines.
because he could spin the predicted vote totals in favor of democrats as the election being rigged.
Courtenay. Thanks for yet another musical agit prop. Cheered me up.
Was Navalny an idiot for going back? I would avoid the KGB like the plague if they tried to put poison in my tea as a warning (in a deniable way of course).
Or is Navalny a very brave man and an even better political calculator than Putin, and are his calculations basd on the fact that the warning was not lethal?
Time will tell!
PS. His calculations may have included the fact of Biden’s impending inauguration, and he may have been in contact with his sympathisers.
Goose
Why has it taken the Inquiry this long to legally instruct the Crown Office to deliver the documents?
ASSANGE.
Hello! somethings stirring …
‘David Davis has told Declassified UK that the British legal establishment is “blinkered” to the one-sidedness of the UK/US extradition treaty under which the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being heard.
Davis, a former chair of the Conservative Party who served as Brexit minister in 2016-18, described the treaty as “massively asymmetric” and said the judge, Vanessa Baraitser, “got the law wrong” by claiming the treaty included political crimes. ‘
…
‘Davis has been prevented from tabling a motion for debate in the Commons on the grounds that it would breach sub judice rules even though Assange’s case is being heard by a judge alone with no jury potentially liable to be influenced by outside pressure.’
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-01-22-uks-former-brexit-secretary-says-assange-judge-got-the-law-wrong/
The whole article is quite eye opening.
————
Well ! It is Davis so probably a bit of a sugar rush and hot air … but, who knows? What game are they playing now?
‘
Of course the British legal establishment is blinkered.
Just like a horse, and for exactly the same reason. So that it doesn’t notice things that its owner would find inconvenient.
“I am not in the least convinced by the ludicrous narrative that Vladimir Putin and the FSB were not competent enough to successfully assassinate Alexei Navalny in Russia,”
Craig, Putin tried to assassinate Navalny through the FSB. His intention was that the murder be mistaken for a natural death. That is why they used a small dose of poison, so that death was not immediate. But they were not counting on the commander of the aircraft deciding to make an emergency landing. Nor did they count on Russian doctors to immediately treat him with Atropine, Novichok’s only antidote.
Well yes, the FSB failed in its attempt to assassinate Navalny. Those failures happen.
i suspect the blind terror about ‘weapons grade novichok” may be slowly diminishing.
Let’s hope weapons grade Covid goes the same way !
400k roughly (a little more) currently dead in the u.s. from covid. 0 from the “weapons grade novichok” anywhere, as far as i know. fake virus is right up there with russiagate as a successful propaganda operation, especially in the gullible united states.
It depends on the dose. A small dose of a very active poison produces a small effect. The most toxic poison known is not Novichok but Botox. In fact, Botox is a hundred times more toxic than Novichok. However, Botox is applied to millions of people in subtoxic doses without any danger.
Your argument seems to be that the Russian authorities, whether at the level of the courts or at the level of the President, if you wish, should say “This man has been convicted and sentenced and appears to have broken his conditions, but as our judicial system is not independent of political influence, we should chuck the whole thing up in the air and not enforce an apparent breach of the law”
I know you’re under a lot of stress, and I’m rooting for you, Craig, but your argument doesn’t begin to stand up.
They poison him with Novichok and then accuse him of failing to report to the authorities while in an induced coma. The appointment he was supposed to keep happened while he was hospitalized.
Navalny was supposed to report monthly. He missed about six appointments before poisoning, and on December 22, quite a bit after his recovery.
“I do not address the technicalities of whether Navalny’s suspended embezzlement sentence was legitimate, and whether he breached suspension conditions, because again if you think that has anything at all to do with what is happening, you are hopelessly naive.”
So if the guilt or the lack of it is not an issue here, what is the reason to double-guess the court that will consider that matter? Because Navalny is so special? I fail to discern any reasoning, more like rumination.
@Giyane
I don’t understand very well what people mean when they talk about Western democracy. The word is too general.
The most common opinion that I meet is the turnover of power. People truly believe that a change of a leader every 4 years guarantees them control over the government.
But it seems that they refuse to notice that they are simply choosing the next one from the same close circle of rich elderly dinosaurs who have been at the top of power for decades, having long arranged their cozy elite nests, creating their own profitable connections and clans, like the Bushes or the Clintons.
I look at European countries, and I see no free people, but firmly built-in levers of control in their brains – money, religion, friend / foe – and the elite at the top deftly manipulates these levers.
I see centuries-old dynasties of the super-rich, a full chamber of lifelong spiritual lords and an openly hostile huge militaristic machine that has penetrated every corner of our planet.
I believe that political debate and free speech is allowed only to the extent that it doesn’t threaten that long-established system, as clearly demonstrated with Salmond, Assange, Corbyn, Trump… As soon as your speech becomes dangerous to the system, you will be silenced, freedom of political debate and free speech ends at that point.
For me personally, the brandname “Western democracy” is just a bright candy wrapper, a new wrapper created to sell the same old shit at a higher price. Branding, marketing etc.
That’s true of most of the big countries in Europe. Also representative of the thinking among the unelected high officialdom in the EU.
The more transparent, peace loving, environmentally friendly Nordic countries still offer hope for Europe though. And I don’t think you can say for example, democracy is merely a trick played on the population every 4 years in the Netherlands, to give one good example. In their last general election (2017) no less than 13 parties won seats and the highest share of the vote any single party got was 21.3%. No corrupt controlling elite could ever establish itself under such a voting system unless the population allowed it.
FPTP two-party systems like those in the UK and US are wide open to corrupt elites merely swapping power occasionally, fake sham democracies, I’d agree. Not necessarily bad countries to live in if prosperous, but sham democracies nonetheless.
As opposed to a vibrant “democracy” like Israel where proportional representation enables any number of parties to win power, and yet Likud and Netanyahu always remain in office.
Sorry, instead of “power” I should have said “seats”.
Israel has a good democratic system.
The problem there is in how everything is dominated by the politics of fear. Netanyahu, aided by foreign supporters, has reaped huge electoral rewards and moved the whole political compass in Israel to the right by leveraging a permanent state of war to his own advantage.
If ever there were a two-state peace agreement, it’d be a disaster for the likes of Netanyahu and his style of politics. A man who thrives on bigging up what he suggests are existential threats(Iran,Hezbolllah,Hamas) and making defence Israeli voters’ priority over other things.
To be fair, it’s worth noting that the Arab countries surrounding Israel have expressed too little friendliness from the very beginning, so Netanyahu’s politics certainly have many fans in a completely natural way.
“Israel has a good democratic system”
For Jews, perhaps. Suspect residents in Gaza and many parts of the West Bank might beg to differ, though..
Ultra_Fox
Or indeed for Israeli Palestinians, i.e. those with Israeli passports. They are barred from entering into government.
Tatyana. There are many Russian Jews in Israel and in the occupied territories, so I guess you are right that “they are fans in a totally natural way” (as you say) of Israel. The UN and most countries in the world, including Israel’s neighbours are not fans. It’s not a question of Arabs or Muslims, it’s a question of International Law.
@Wikikettle
Perhaps the law stands first for you, but I understand well the system of values of those generations that have already been born in that country and consider it their homeland. I understand this well. Being surrounded by hostile neighbors and living in constant expectation of an attack.
The survival instinct – firmly sewn into every cell of every human being by billions of years of evolution – the survival instinct prevails over the thin crust of civilization, which is international law.
Please also note, that the violation of international laws by others, unpunished violation, only makes it worse. It reduces the responsibility to obey the law down to the feeling of annoyance.
The English-speaking world’s billionaire owned media plays a big and deeply deleterious role in keeping the populace focused on the political personalities rather than actual policies too.
Despite having marvellous scientists, tech specialists and academics, the general population are kept largely in the dark about other countries’ systems and different socio-economic ways of organising our society. Much as China censors discussion about democracy, the English speaking world’s political and media elites, won’t allow discussion of better, more accountable democratic systems that could challenge their control and power.
Except what you describe as the “English speaking world” extends way beyond those nations (UK, USA & Australia) where the occupancy of political office is usually subject to the whim of an ageing media oligarch of indeterminate national allegiance.
In Africa, many of the Caribbean nations, and more recently, New Zealand, these discussions are still happening – and their cumulative impact may be brought to global attention in the near future.
Some here in the UK argue proportionate systems give small parties too much power.
But really that’s an argument about post-election negotiation, compromise and process. Generally those that make that argument have been exercising absolute power via absolute seat majorities built on a minority of the vote under FPTP.
Good proportionate systems protect against embedded corruption, protect against foreign interference – there’s no point even trying. And produce govts that are more representative of the people they serve.
‘ As soon as your speech becomes dangerous to the system, you will be silenced, freedom of political debate and free speech ends at that point ‘
Absolutely. And worse there are methods for dealing with people who try to expose the vast crime organisation run by the Establishment/deep state
“People truly believe that a change of a leader every 4 years guarantees them control over the government”.
Whereas what it actually guarantees is that there is no continuity of policy, so that nothing can be accomplished that takes longer than 2-3 years.
And, of course, its main purpose: nobody can be held accountable.
“My major criticism of Putin is that he has failed to move Russia, an absolutely vital pillar of European cultural heritage, back towards the European centre after decades of isolation. That involves development away from purely autocratic government; but there remains absolutely no sign that Putin even intends to position Russia for that move once he finally relinquishes power – which he ought to have done many years ago.”
That is quite naïve. MIC needs enemies, you cannot justify Tridents with Belarus or North Korea. For the ruling circles in the West, Russia can be a nice, acceptable country — like Ukraine, and thoroughly looted, like Ukraine. Or resist that situation, and then, yup, it is an enemy, and does not matter an iota if Navalny walks free or not. But if you are obedient ally who purchases overpriced weapons and military services by tens and hundreds of billions (this is getting looted or submitting tribute, not exclusive), you remain in good graces even if you occasionally slice and dice dissidents and get voice recorded on that.
It also ignores assorted symptoms showing that Russia is not purely autocratic. Like Tories in UK, Putin owes his electoral successes to manipulation of the public opinion, coupled with satisfying the public expectations. Unlike Tories, Putin is extra cautious to pull back from austerity measures and such. To Tories (and major parties in USA and other places), excessive popularity is an indicator that you did not do all you could for the plutocrats, that keeps elections very close and very entertaining, and as long as Labour (the other party in USA, whichever it is) is as amicable to plutocrats as Tories. And if the oppositions fails to be so amicable, stern measures are taken.
Notably, Russia has quite a few parties, the “opposition parties” win local elections regularly, access to opposition views is quite free, penalties for purely political offenses like participation in meetings that got no permission, are quite low (compare with Saudi or China). Should Putin strive to decrease his popularity, e.g. with persistent austerity? “No, no, no, he should go away”.
“My major criticism of Putin is that he has failed to move Russia, an absolutely vital pillar of European cultural heritage, back towards the European centre after decades of isolation”.
Sorry this map is so small, but it seems that even ZeroHedge cannot keep files up on the Web for very long. I hope everyone recognises the gist: “The World” versus “Isolated Russia” – with most of the map being marked “Not the World”.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.GTX67ifGl4n5UbkvGtU1kgHaDj%26pid%3DApi&f=1
Navalny has to have his nose rubbed in his own mess…in full view of world MSM…and a treason charge ….”assistance rendered to a foreign State, a foreign organization, or their representatives in hostile activities to the detriment of the external security of the Russian Federation”…will suit that purpose nicely. Let’s have him on his hind legs in a witness box being cross examined…..and supplying the evidence that he was poisoned. Let’s see if his NATO handlers will cough up the medical reports that they have thus far refused to give Russian investigators. (In other words, let’s have exactly the opposite of how the OPCW whistleblowers were treated….with everything done in darkness and everyone refusing to answer any questions.) Let’s have all the witnesses examined by prosecutor and Navalny’s lawyers. Let’s get the truth out…and let’s make it happen in a huge courtroom with plenty of room for his supporters & MSM, (ie the opposite of the Assange hearing.)
I don’t believe any of the above will happen.
I think he will remain detained for even less than the announced 30 days. I expect that his suspended sentence will never be replaced by prison, and Navalny will simply be released when the authorities get the necessary crumbs of information from him. I believe that another reason for his detention is to prevent him from “sudden death” after returning to Russia.
I also expect that in Germany Navalny developed a plan, and a new high-profile event will happen soon. I also believe that Putin is a damn good player, so the return courtesy will be much fun.
One thing I like about Craig is that he is an independent individual and I wouldn’t say fearless (because who is) but he is willing to take the unpopular line. He did it with FO over torture and here with his supporters over Russia.
Not one place in our media is it an unpopular line. Could be a wise play on the eve of his trial, demonstrating he is not some “Corbyn-type stooge of the FSB”?
To be a fly on the wall in the Sturgeon/Murrell household right now.
politicians order the Courts and tell them what to do always sound ominous, but if its a real help, and they cant force AS to testify, it might be eough to get the slow wheels of the SNP to start proceedings against those who instigated the bending of laws.
Putin knows perfectly well that any move to a more “liberal” position will be exploited by “the West” to try to destroy Russia as a functioning nation state.
In reality, Putin, and Russia are trapped in their current situation. Any relaxation or lack of vigilance will lead to destruction. Working example: Yeltsin who tried to be friends with the West.
I agree
Don’t be paranoid. The West does not want to destroy Russia. That idea sounds very Trumpian.
Er, Manuel, how do you know that the West does not want to destroy Russia? Have you been appointed “the West”‘s official spokesman?
And mickc wrote “…to destroy Russia as a functioning nation state”. The last five words are critically important. What powerful interests in “the West” want – and therefore what its governments will try to do – is to dissolve Russia’s strong government, disarm it, and if possible break it up into many small defenceless fragments. Then they can just walk in and vacuum up all the wealth – just as they started to do in the 1990s.
don’t be naive. Russia is a target since the 18th century, resources beyond anyone’s dreams and thats what the west wants to get its hands on, still. Even now that we should really have a carbon based tax system and root out CO2 proliferation, choking coal emissions are still coming, indeed the UK is just about to agree a brand new deep coal mine, the first in 30 years.
Then there is the EU coming out with empty promises of zero carbon, when Germany is still pumping out the most dirtiest brown coal emissions ever. Will they insist on doing it a little longer at COP26?
When you describe hardships of ‘relaxation’ or ‘more liberal position’, please note that the assessment of the current situation is highly biased.
I have a very topical example to illustrate what I mean:
Rallies in support of Navalny are scheduled today. Yesterday the school warned us, the parents, that in social media children are invited to participate.
What will a Western reader see in the news about the school’s warning?
I’m sure it’s like “the dictatorial regime is putting a stick in the wheels of the liberal opposition”
What will a Russian see in this?
My thoughts were like “Children under 18 go to the rally only with their parents. I’m not going to support Navalny, so thanks for the reminder, I’ll make sure that my son doesn’t get there alone, so doesn’t involve me in problems with the law.”