In case you hadn’t noticed, the world seems intent these days on self-destructing. Floods here, droughts there; blistering heat waves in one hemisphere, record-breaking cold in the other; volcanoes erupting, earthquakes splitting the planet’s surface, practically everywhere. And those are just the “natural” disasters . . . the ones we hardly have time to worry about because we’re so busy creating more and more man-made ones.

And, not surprisingly to anyone who knows me, my focus has been on recent activities as they relate to one specific, very busy individual: The Man Who Would Be Tsar . . . The Ruler of All the Russias (and Beyond) . . . The Kremlin’s Killer-In-Chief . . . Let’s hear it for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin!

“Boo! Hiss! Blow it out your ditty-bag, Vlad!”

Never a contender for Mr. Congeniality in any worldwide contest, he really seems to have outdone himself lately. First, there is today’s two-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine — not something brand new, but a tragic reminder that what he first tried to pass off as a routine military exercise near the Russia-Ukraine border, then a “special military operation” that was supposed to have been finished in no more than a couple of weeks, has actually turned out to be a full-fledged war of attrition against a sovereign nation that has cost his own country billions of dollars in military expenditures and economic losses resulting from sanctions . . . not to mention the lives of more than 300,000 young Russian citizens who had no idea why they were being sent to fight in the first place. Happy anniversary, Vlad.

*. *. *

But being a world leader also means being an accomplished multi-tasker, and our Vlad appears to be an expert in that department. He has managed, over the past two years, to detain 19,855 of his own citizens at anti-war protests; to chase hundreds of thousands of draft-avoiders out of the country, including an estimated 10% of Russia’s IT workforce; and to designate 444 individuals and groups as “foreign agents and undesirable organizations” under legislation “that allows [the government] to punish individuals and target groups for allegedly receiving support from outside of Russia or operating under foreign ‘influence.’” [The New Atlanticist, Atlantic Council, Feb. 23, 2024.]

He clearly has studied, and learned much from, an earlier leader, Josef Stalin, as to the use of fear to attain his goals and control the populace of his country. But he apparently missed the lesson on long-term effects.

But that’s understandable, considering how busy he’s been micro-managing his fear factory. I have inundated this blog — as shared on my Facebook account — with information about some of the more widely-publicized cases of the victims of Putin’s Purges: the arrests, charges, convictions, and imprisonments of those who have dared to speak in opposition to his regime: Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Ksenia Fadeyeva, Lilia Chanysheva, Vadim Ostanin, Sergei Udaltsov, and more recently, Ilya Yashin.

Putin also has found time to roll up a few Americans along the way, as pawns in his little game of “Swap the Prisoners.” Basketball star Brittney Griner was one of the lucky ones; they let her come home in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich haven’t been so fortunate, and are still cooling their heels in Russian prisons while Putin calculates how much he can get for them.

And of course, there is the long list of those who have already paid with their lives for daring to incur the wrath of the all-powerful Putin: Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, Aleksander Litvinenko, Boris Berezovsky, Sergei Skripal (who managed to survive poisoning, but is now and forever in hiding), to name but a few.

At the head of this list, of course, is the most recent, and most notorious case of Alexei Navalny: pursued, poisoned, survived, returned to Russia, imprisoned, tortured, and now dead “of natural causes” in Penal Colony IK-3 in far-off Siberia. But simply knowing that Navalny is deceased is not enough for Vladimir Putin; the victim’s family must also suffer further by being denied access to his body for a proper, dignified burial. Nice touch, Vlad.

There is also, somewhere, a long list of individuals — many of them former friends or associates of Putin himself — who have somehow managed to irritate the Vozhd (Chief), and ended up falling from a conveniently-located open window, or suffering a sudden “heart attack,” or plummeting to earth in an exploding airplane. Surely, if there exists a survey of the most accident-prone countries of the world, Russia must be No. 1.

*. *. *

And finally, just ten days ago, Moscow sent hitmen to Spain to gun down a Russian deserter — 33-year-old Maxim Kuzminov — who fled to Ukraine in his helicopter six months ago because he opposed Russia’s war offensive. He sought safe haven in Spain, but that didn’t protect him from the long reach of Putin’s assassins. Maxim’s body was found on February 13th in the town of Villajoyosa near the coastal resort of Benidorm. He had been shot six times, then run over with his own car. Spanish intelligence officials called the killing a “settling of scores.” [AFP, Feb. 22, 2024.] Ya think?

Russian officials haven’t even tried to hide their involvement in this one. Stopping short of actually claiming responsibility, Sergei Naryshkin — head of Russia’s SVR (successor to the KGB) — remarked to Russian state news agencies: “This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment when he planned his dirty and terrible crime.” [AFP, Feb. 22, 2024.] As stated by Matthew Schmidt, Assistant Professor of National Security and Political Science, University of New Haven, “The message is loud and clear: We will find you anywhere in the world. We will kill you just to send a message to the next person thinking about it. That’s an extraordinary power, and Putin did it effectively, making sure it wound up in the news.” [Business Insider, Feb. 22, 2024.]

*. *. *

And here’s one final note, from the “If you believe in coincidence” file: The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, occurred one day after the February 23rd anniversary of “Defender of the Fatherland Day” . . . originally called “Red Army Day.” Huge celebrations were held yesterday in Moscow and elsewhere, with Putin himself laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and boasting about Russia’s advanced nuclear weapons. He does irony rather well, doesn’t he?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/24/24

Ksenia Karelina: Remember that name. She is the most recent American citizen to be thrown into Putin’s endless prison system for treason as a result of having at one time donated — while living in the United States — $50 to a humanitarian aid organization providing assistance to the victims of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The 33-year-old manager of a Los Angeles spa emigrated to the United States about ten years ago, and obtained her U.S. citizenship in 2021. She thus holds dual U.S./Russian citizenship, which — under Russian law — still subjects her to treatment there as a Russian citizen. She was arrested while visiting her family in Yekaterinburg.

But how did the Russian security forces even know about her little donation on behalf of Ukraine? The answer to that is terrifying. According to the Russian lawyers’ group known as Perviy Otdel (“First Department”), “such donations could be tracked by bank records that could easily be recovered from a person’s phone during a border crossing or other checks by authorities. . . . We recommend deleting the history of money transfers to foreign accounts from banking applications, including foreign banks.” [Jaweed Kaleem, Sabra Ayres and Laura King, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 20, 2024.]

Make no mistake: Big Brother is alive and well and living in Russia . . .

White House spokesman John Kirby stated on Tuesday, February 20th:

“I want to reiterate our very strong warnings about the danger posed to U.S. citizens inside Russia. So if you’re a U.S. citizen, including a dual national residing in or traveling in Russia, you ought to leave right now.”

Excellent advice. And I would add to that: If you’re planning a trip to Russia — or even one of those wonderful Baltic cruises that offer an overnight stay in port at St. Petersburg — CANCEL. Do it now. Do not wait. Get your money back if you can . . . or even if you can’t. Your life is more important than any amount of money.

Not just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/23/24

A few days ago, I said that I felt Elon Musk had come perilously close to fulfilling the definition of Treason according to the Constitution of the United States, when he urged that the United States discontinue all further aid to Ukraine in defense of its country against the brutal incursion by the Soviet . . . excuse me . . . by Russia (easy mistake). His rationale: that “there’s no way in hell Putin will lose.” And, “Putin risk[s] being ‘assassinated’ if he were to back off the fight in Ukraine” (as if we should give a crap about Putin).

If that’s not “giving Aid and Comfort [to the Enemy]” * . . . well, I’d like someone to tell me just what it is.

* Constitution of the United States of America, Article III, Section 3, Clause 1.

And using Musk’s statements as a basis for comparison, how do we then justify not holding Donald Trump accountable for every appeasing, mollifying, placating, supportive, ass-kissing statement he has ever made in favor of the Kremlin’s Killer-In-Chief, Vladimir Putin?

J’accuse, Donald J. Trump! J’accuse!

Without going back through all the years of Trump’s outrageous, inflammatory, and often inaccurate blathering pronouncements, just a couple of the more recent examples are enough to have made my blood run cold. In case you haven’t heard these yet, allow me to enlighten you:

About our NATO allies: “Look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect, OK? . . . One of the heads of the countries said, ‘Does that mean that if we don’t pay the bills, that you’re not going to protect us?’ That’s exactly what it means. I’m not going to protect you.”

(Note his use of the pronoun “I.” He who would be king.)

And as though that weren’t enough, he has said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any of America’s NATO allies whom he considers to have failed to meet their financial obligations.

In other words, let’s just hand the world over to Russia now, and get it over with. First we cut off Ukraine, leaving them at the mercy of the ravenous Russian war machine. Then we dismantle NATO — the one military alliance that, for the past 75 years, has kept the free world . . . well . . . free. Never mind that, while freeing us of the obligation to defend our allies, so would our allies be free to thumb their noses at us.

About aid to Ukraine: “[T]hey [referring to other NATO members] laugh at the stupidity of the United States of America, where we have a guy that gives $60bn every time somebody comes and asks for it. We shouldn’t be doing that. They’re laughing at us. They think we’re the stupid country because of our leadership.”

About Alexei Navalny: Nothing from Trump for three days. Then . . . still nothing, other than to compare himself with Navalny, as a victim of persecution. But not a word of condemnation against the Putin regime; not even a suggestion that perhaps the Russians should turn Navalny’s body over to his grieving family. Nothing.

*. *. *

And those are just the highlights. You want more? Just read tomorrow’s news . . . and the day after that . . . and all the days after that. Donald Trump, a.k.a. “the Mouth That Roared,” will be glad to provide you with all the s**t you can swallow.

I have just one question: How in the name of all that’s holy is he still walking around free, and not behind bars or in a rubber room?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/22/24

It hardly seems possible. It’s been thirty years since I last saw Moscow — the city I once called my “second home.” Looking at it today, I doubt that I’d feel the same way about it. In 1994, Russia was a country in the midst of growth, testing the waters of democratization, capitalism, and personal freedoms.

Industries were being revitalized, and new ones created by a youthful generation of entrepreneurs — soon to become “oligarchs,” counted among the wealthiest in the world. Technology found its way into the mainstream; independent news media were founded; young men and women looked to a bright future, free of the restraints and fears that had plagued their parents and grandparents. Life was exciting.

And seated at the head of the government was a man named Putin, hand-picked by his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. Vladimir Putin: former KGB officer; born, raised and educated in Leningrad — now once again renamed St. Petersburg — and mentored by the one-time mayor of that city; then oozing his way through the ranks to sit at Yeltsin’s elbow, eventually to slide into the president’s seat upon Yeltsin’s resignation.

And, over the course of two decades in that seat, gradually showing his true colors, openly becoming the savage tyrant he had always been beneath the surface.

*. *. *

But not everything was rosy 30 years ago. Behind the scenes, we — Russia and the United States — were still political adversaries, spying the daylights out of each other. And on February 21, 1994, as I was returning to my Moscow apartment from a day of business meetings, a CIA officer named Aldrich Ames was being arrested near his home in Arlington, Virginia, where it was still morning. The charge: Treason. He was alleged — and later proven — to have been selling classified information to the Russian government since 1985. In Moscow, we didn’t hear about it on TV until the morning of February 22nd due to the time difference. And the general reaction was: “I’ll be damned! Are they still playing those games?”

That was pretty much my first thought. After all, I had never heard of this Ames guy; it had absolutely nothing to do with me. Did it?

Well, not directly, anyway. But life is funny. You think you’re on a straight path to a known destination, when suddenly — like one of those dreams that make absolutely no sense — you find yourself in a totally different location. Alice was about to enter Wonderland.

I’ve written about all of this, and even re-posted parts of it. It’s the tale that inspired me to begin this blog in the first place. Look back at Chapters 1-28, if you’re curious enough; it’s fascinating reading. But it’s not the main point of today’s monologue.

My point today is that tempus really does fugit. Those days of travel, of living and working in Prague and Moscow, of being caught up in the mysterious world of international intrigue . . . they’re as real to me now as they were 30 years ago, while what I did last week is already fading into oblivion. Perhaps because these past few days were unremarkable. Would I really want to write about a day I spent sitting at the computer for a couple of hours, then doing a little laundry, and talking to a friend on the phone? Would anyone care to read about that?

God, no! But that’s what happens when those 30, or 40, or 50 years are gone and the best times — the exciting times — are just memories. Vivid memories, but memories nonetheless. Maybe that’s why we (or most of us) are blessed with surprisingly clear long-term recollection, while short-term . . . well, not so much, really. Because the long-ago is more worthwhile remembering. Yesterday was okay, but it wasn’t the stuff I want to write about. The 1990s were.

And the 1990s, for me, were all about my Russian experience. Now, unexpectedly, those times have once again become disturbingly relevant. The things that make the headlines today, that don’t involve us directly but do impact us as human beings who live in this world . . . those are the events that have occupied my thoughts lately, and kept me tapping away at this keyboard. Compliments of Vladimir Putin, we are in another Cold War. I never expected or wanted to see it, but here it is. So, while I’m still regurgitating the memories of three decades ago, I’m also living through this new one vicariously, by way of other people’s experiences. That’s okay. I’m just glad to still be here.

But daily commentary is no longer enough to satisfy me. The reality of those long-ago days is still fresh in my mind, still significant, and already partially memorialized in writing. There is substance there, and it’s time to finish the job. Our time on this Earth is finite; we shouldn’t waste it . . . myself included.

So, back to work now.

Brendochka
2/21/24

A total waste
Of time and space . . .
I write, but no one reads me.

Of good and bad,
A world gone mad . . .
I write, but no one heeds me.

I don’t write fluff,
Or silly stuff . . .
It seems that’s more prefer-red.

Most folks want cheer
And happy fare . . .
A world with nothing lurid.

But still I see . . .
Oh, woe is me! . . .
A world in desperate trouble.

And I must be
Who I must be . . .
I can’t live in a bubble.

So now I’ll try
A road gone by . . .
And see where this one leads me.

I’ll write my book,
By hook or crook . . .
And hope that someone reads me.

TTFN,
Brendochka
2/21/24

Ksenia Karelina, age 33 — Russian-born, and a U.S. citizen since 2021 — has been arrested on charges of “high treason” while visiting her parents in Yekaterinburg, Russia. She has been specifically accused of “collecting funds used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition” for Ukraine. [Cameron Henderson, The Telegraph, Feb. 20, 2024.] In fact, she reportedly donated $50 to a New York-based, non-profit human rights organization collecting funds for the Ukrainian Army. She is also accused of having participated in events in the United States in support of Ukraine. This is what passes for “high treason” in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

And so the numbers increase.

Brendochka
2/20/24

What a cute idea: a robotic, suitcase-sized warming oven on wheels to deliver hot meals anywhere, any time (it even sees in the dark). It also senses obstacles, including people and animals, and somehow manages to navigate city streets without getting itself (or anyone else, hopefully) smashed to pieces.

There’s just one problem: It’s a Russkiy Robot. And it’s in Moscow. (Okay, that’s two problems.)

Have you ever been in Moscow? I have. It’s enormous, covering over 400 square miles, with a population of around 13 million (possibly not taking into account the hundreds of thousands who have recently fled to avoid being sent off to fight in Ukraine). And it’s a rabbit warren of avenues, prospects, small and large streets, plazas, lanes, pereuloks, all dotted with circles and squares that are anything but circular or square.

And during the months that I lived there in 1993, I never did figure out how anyone was able to find a particular address, since at the time there was no logic to the numbering of the buildings, and very few places actually had the building numbers shown on the exterior in any event — maybe to confuse foreign invaders. If so, it worked. If I hadn’t had a driver and access to taxis, I’d have been totally lost.

Add to that the miserable condition of so many of the streets and sidewalks, plus the Russian winter, and you’ve got . . . well, I haven’t seen them, but I’m imagining some pretty confused little ‘bots.

Now, as for this delivery service itself, reviews have been mixed, which is not surprising. The concept of service in Russia in general is still somewhat sketchy; and factoring in all the logistical issues, how long would it take to receive an order? And how does a robot ring a bell to gain entrance to a building, or speak to the customer inside to let them know their delivery has arrived? How does it open a door? How does it navigate stairs in a building without an elevator? How does it accept a cash tip? A GPS will take you as far as the entrance, but after that, you’re pretty much on your own. A delivery person can wing it; I don’t think “winging” has been programmed into a robot as yet. Which means that all the leg work — coming downstairs to open the door and accept the delivery — has to be done by the customer, presumably after receiving an alert on their iPhone. Still, it’s better than having to go out to Pizza Hut in all kinds of weather.

There must be a market for these cute little R2-D2 knockoffs if no less than Grubhub entered into an agreement with Yandex back in 2021 for use of their little suitcase cuties to deliver meals to students on U.S. college campuses, beginning with Ohio State University. And then Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, and Grubhub — along with a plethora of other Western businesses — pulled out of Russia. And Ohio State’s students lost their little mechanical friends . . . at the same time the Russians lost their Pizza Huts.

Ah, the joys of doing business with one of the most unreliable countries in the world.

*. *. *

But once I stopped ooh-ing and aah-ing over its cuteness, I had another thought about this little Russian marvel . . . I wondered whether, being Russian, it might have a second, hidden agenda. It is, after all, an electronic gizmo. In many ways, it reminds me of R2-D2, who was very, very smart. I assume little “Igor” is also pretty clever . . . as long as someone remembers to plug him in to recharge every night.

And on the assumption that his AI-created brain lives up to the Russian hype, what else might he be capable of handling? After all, food delivery is — on a 1-10 scale — pretty much a 3rd- or 4th-level career. And considering what it must have cost to develop this little electronic marvel, I can’t imagine that his creators wouldn’t have had bigger plans for him.

“Such as . . . ?” I hear you asking.

Well, such as capturing customers’ personal information: names, addresses, and those all-important credit card numbers, for a wide variety of devious (and presumably profitable) purposes. You know . . . identity theft.

Or snapping photos and recording conversations of Russian citizens in compromising situations, or . . . worst of all offenses! . . . criticizing the government, the military, or calling the “special military operation” a “war.” Wouldn’t the Igors be the cutest little stool pigeons!

Or somehow planting incriminating evidence at pre-determined spots. I’m guessing “entrapment” is not a forbidden concept under the Russian judicial system.

Or even . . . No! I can’t finish that thought. Don’t ask.

*. *. *

“Impossible?” “Science fiction?” Perhaps. But I wonder what Alexei Navalny, Aleksandr Litvinenko, Sergei Skripal and Vladimir Kara-Murza would think?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/20/24

As the family and friends of Alexei Navalny continue to press the Russian government for the return of his body, and the Russian officials continue to stall (thus giving them time to cover any traces of their own guilt in connection with his sudden death), it is vitally important that we not overlook those other HOSTAGES being held in various prisons and penal colonies across Russia.

And the one who appears to be at the most imminent risk is Vladimir Kara-Murza, whose wife Evgenia temporarily lost track of him at the end of January when she was told that he had left the “strict regime” penal colony in Omsk, Siberia, where he had been held since last September. While ominously reminiscent of the earlier experience of Alexei Navalny, who had gone missing for three weeks before resurfacing in one of the worst of Russia’s Siberian prisons, it was soon learned that Kara-Murza was simply moved to another prison in the same region of Omsk.

In a letter from Kara-Murza to his attorneys, he said that this action was taken as “punishment for not standing up when told to ‘rise’ by a guard,” and that the guards had considered this a “malicious violation” of prison rules. He added, “Everything is okay with me – I’m clothed, shod, fed and warm, the people here are all fine.” Yet he also stated that he had been sent to an isolated cell, and had been told he might be moved back in four months. [Patrick Jackson, BBC News, Jan. 30, 2024.]

Keep in mind that — like the late Alexei Navalny — Vladimir Kara-Murza has serious health problems, some of which are the direct or indirect result of two earlier attempted poisonings. Conditions in a Siberian penal colony can only exacerbate those problems. I hate to think that this is a case of “deja vu all over again.”

So I urge you once more: Do not forget or forsake those men and women being held HOSTAGE by the Russian government, who have done no more than speak out against the dictatorial, fascist regime of Vladimir Putin. While they have been forced into silence, we have not.

Let us use our voices for them.

*. *. *

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
2/19/24

Here’s an interesting headline from Beatrice Nolan of Business Insider on February 14th:

“Elon Musk says the US should stop sending aid to Ukraine as there’s ‘no way in hell’ Putin will lose.”

Omigod! When will Musk learn to keep out of politics and keep his big yap shut? Stick to what you know, you lunatic, and leave the ruination of the world to the experts.

What’s he done this time? Oh, not much . . . only given Russia the nicest, biggest Valentine he could think of, saying that Ukraine can’t possibly win this war and they should just hand over chunks of their country to Russia. Don’t negotiate . . . capitulate. The very thing that Musk the billionaire businessman would never, ever do.

And since he feels a Russian victory is inevitable, we — the U.S., and presumably the rest of the Western allies — should save our money, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by hastening the end of the conflict, leaving Ukraine dangling in the wind. On the plus side, he also points out that we would be saving a bunch of lives in the bargain.

Okay, saving lives is good; and saving money sounds good . . . depending on what you’re sacrificing in exchange, which in this case is not much: just the sovereignty of an entire nation, along with its freedoms, its amazing history, and its very identity. Not to mention the reputations and consciences of the allied countries that will have allowed it to die.

Now, Musk says that he is NOT an apologist for Putin; that such an accusation is absurd; and that “his companies have done more to undermine Russia than anyone.” [Business Insider, Feb. 14, 2024.] Oh, really? How? By lobbying for cessation of funding to Ukraine? By urging Ukraine to give in to Russia’s claims of sovereignty over large portions of historically Ukrainian territory? Or by worrying that “Putin risk[s] being ‘assassinated’ if he were to back off the fight in Ukraine”? [Id.]

He couldn’t be more of an apologist for Putin if he were a parrot perched on that evil little man’s shoulder.

Ironically, if the tables were turned — if Musk were a Russian citizen urging Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and accept defeat — he would find himself in a Siberian prison so fast his head would never stop spinning. Yet that is the side he chooses to defend . . . the side that he hopes will win this war of attrition that they started . . . the side that just murdered Alexei Navalny for expressing those very opinions.

Elon Musk may be the richest man in the United States and the second richest in the world; he may be a technological and entrepreneurial genius; he may be a gaming wiz without equal. But he apparently knows little or nothing of Russian history in general or Vladimir Putin in particular. And he seems to me to be treading dangerously close to the line of treason when he opens his mouth and spews the sort of garbage that could be construed by some as “adhering to [our] Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” [Article III, Section 3, Clause 1, Constitution of the United States.]

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/18/24

What a dreadful time this is! Yesterday brought news that Vladimir Putin’s No. 1 political hostage — Alexei Navalny — had died while imprisoned in Russian penal colony IK-3 in Siberia. And the world groaned, and wept, and cursed the man who put him there to die.

For make no mistake . . . that was the intention from the very beginning, when he was poisoned (but unexpectedly survived), then arrested and imprisoned again, then sent off to the frozen wasteland inside the Arctic Circle where no one from the outside could see how it really happened.

And now — while Putin smirks and disingenuously claims that he can’t keep track of every single prisoner across Russia — we wait to learn whether the United Nations’ request for an independent investigation will be honored, and when, or if, Alexei Navalny’s family will be allowed to receive his body for proper burial.

And while we wait, we also wonder: Is there anyone, inside or outside of Russia, willing and able to step into the shoes of this courageous and able man? For surely he was unique, and possibly irreplaceable. And Putin’s “win” will be, as always, Russia’s loss.

But in our grief, we must not forget the other brave men and women who languish in Russian prisons for allegedly having broken one of Putin’s tyrannical new laws by speaking against the regime, or simply calling a war a war. They must be brought home before even one more is lost. Their families need them, and the world needs them.

Their power resides in their words . . .

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
2/17/24