Sometimes it seems as though the mainstream and independent media are getting their analyses of the news from me.

No . . . I’m kidding, of course. But when my thoughts on a particular subject coincide with those of the experts, I do at least feel validated.

Early yesterday morning — in fact, just after midnight — I posted my comments on “The Ominous Silence From the Kremlin,” expressing concern about the lack of response from Moscow to recent world events. I worried about what might be quietly taking place behind those high Kremlin walls, without speculating about the possibilities because most of them were frankly too terrifying to contemplate . . . and because I felt — and hoped — I might be exaggerating the implications of the silence. What I said was:

“No, the silence is emanating — if silence can actually emanate — from the Kremlin. Why are we not hearing the customary daily rhetoric from Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov, or Dmitry Peskov? While they’re inexplicably not bombarding the world with verbal threats of impending Armageddon, what the hell are they doing?”

But last evening, my concerns were vindicated by an article from RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty on that very subject, following the first publicly-shared, work-related meeting of 2026 for Vladimir Putin, which took place on January 12th . . . not with his foreign minister, defense minister, or top security advisers, but with a deputy prime minister on the mundane subjects of Russian manufacturing and the space program.

The article read, in part:

“No, the US raid on Venezuela — a close ally of Moscow — and the seizure of its president the previous week was not on the agenda, at least not publicly. Nor were the snowballing public protests roiling Iran — another vital ally for Moscow. Not even Cuba, whose government is under stress due to the Venezuela turmoil, was discussed.” [Mike Eckel, RFE/RL, January 14, 2026.]

Mr. Eckel then quoted Hanna Notte, director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies:

“The Russians must say something on these issues, and so the [Foreign Ministry] will come with expected language and expected criticism, but overall the Russian system does not want to criticize the United States too brazenly, so that’s why you have total silence from the Kremlin and the [sic] Putin. . . . I think Russia cannot really do anything to change the US course of action, or to sort of restrain it. And so in that kind of situation: what is Vladimir Putin going to say? And so he says nothing that [sic].” [Id.]

And that was followed by a statement from Nicole Grajewski, a Middle East expert and assistant professor at Sciences Po University in Paris:

“I wouldn’t say that they’re being silent. I would say that maybe we just aren’t seeing what they’re doing behind the scenes, especially in Iran.” [Id.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

Which brings us right back to my worst nightmare.

But at least it’s not all in my imagination.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/15/26