Staff Sgt. Gordon Black is 34 years old, a U.S. soldier with 16 years of service, most recently stationed in South Korea. He has a wife from whom he is estranged and who filed for divorce in 2022, a 6-year-old daughter, and parents back home in the U.S. And he reportedly has — or had — a girlfriend in Vladivostok, Russia, whom he met while in South Korea, where she had lived for five years and was working in a bar.

Black left South Korea last week for his new assignment at Fort Cavazos, Texas, where he was to report within two weeks. But instead of traveling straight to the U.S., he detoured to Vladivostok by way of China. Black’s mother and estranged wife believe the young woman, identified as Aleksandra Vashchuk, having returned home from South Korea, “lured” him to Russia for one last meeting. When he landed on May 2nd, he was arrested and charged with “secretly stealing property” of a person identified only as “citizen T.” He is being held until at least July 2nd, according to a spokesperson for the Pervomaisky District Court.

The U.S. Defense Department is investigating whether Black was specifically targeted by Russian intelligence services; the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has said Black’s detention had nothing to do with politics or espionage. We shall see what transpires by the end of his two-month detention. In the meantime, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black makes it onto the list of Putin’s HOSTAGES.

*. *. *

And reports of arrests for spurious reasons continue to crop up. Just two examples are the February 2022 detention of 21-year-old university student Danuta Perednya, sentenced to 6-1/2 years for reposting a message on social media app Telegram criticizing the war in Ukraine; and the October 2023 arrest of another university student, Olesya Krivtsova, for posting an Instagram story also criticizing the war in Ukraine. In the latter case — in circumstances far too reminiscent of the Stalin era — Krivtsova was reported to authorities by some fellow students at their university in Arkhangelsk. She has since been added to a list of terrorists and extremists, charged with discrediting the military. She has been placed under house arrest, and is facing as long as seven years in prison.

There has been little or no publicity concerning the estimated hundreds of such cases; there are just too many, and too often they simply fall between the cracks. But the Russian prison system is overflowing with them, for the simple act of reposting an article, or speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Clearly, the worst years of the Soviet Union are being revisited upon the Russian populace.

*. *. *.

And so, I once again implore you, please do not forget those who remain HOSTAGES; their families and friends haven’t. And here, one more time, are their pictures as a weekly reminder that they are real, and truly suffering. In no particular order, they are:

Brendochka
5/12/24

I’m not ghosting you. But I’ve got some personal business — the kind of stuff that invades everyone’s life now and then — that needs my attention and will be taking up the majority of my waking hours. So I’ll be taking time off from writing, because if I can’t give it my complete concentration, I feel as though I’m shortchanging my readers.

One exception, however: My Sunday rant about Putin’s hostages will continue to appear. I made a pledge, and I intend to keep it. They will not be forgotten.

So, see you on Sunday, and weekly thereafter, until this other stuff is done. Then, to quote Arnold you-know-whom, I’ll be ba-a-a-a-ack. In the meantime, the world will continue spinning . . . hopefully, not completely out of control . . . without my pearls of wisdom and humor. Be good, be happy, and be safe.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/11/24

An extra post today, to share an emergency announcement:

According to our county’s Emergency Management Agency (and other news sources), we on Earth are expecting a “Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm” this weekend, with “at least seven earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)” already on the way.

At first glance, this sounds positively terrifying. But reading on, it appears that we’re not about to be blown into millions of pieces and flung into the stratosphere, or wherever we would be flung in such circumstances. This has apparently happened before — three times just since 2019 — and I seem to have slept through them. The principal effect should be felt in our HF communication, GPS, power grids, spacecraft, satellite navigation, and other technologies . . . possibly. And mainly north of the 45th parallel, which seems to run through the state of Maine, where they may even get to see the Northern Lights if they’re lucky. Don’t know about the rest of the world below the 45th.

If all of this is accurate . . . and I make no such assurances . . . I would suggest, simply out of an excess of caution, (1) coming down out of your spacecraft, if you’re in one; (2) turning off your TV, laptop, iPad, iPhone, and all that other stuff; (3) getting out the candles, lanterns, and a good book or board game; and (4) not driving in unfamiliar neighborhoods unless you still use paper maps. And speaking of vehicles, does anyone drive a Tesla? . . .

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard of a Coronal Mass Ejection. However, I am of a long-ago generation, and we didn’t speak of such things . . . not in polite company, at least. So I’m rather looking forward to this weekend.

Oh-oh! I seem to have spoken in haste. That is not at all what I had in mind.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/10/24

Today I would like to pass along my two new favorite quotations, from much wiser and more eloquent individuals than I. Their words need no amplification; any commentary by me would be, not only superfluous, but downright presumptuous. So, for today, I shall stay silent and let others speak. You’re welcome.

*. *. *

“The greatest evils in the world will not be carried out by men with guns, but by men in suits sitting behind desks.” — C. S. Lewis

and . . .

When asked how fascism starts, this man’s reply was: “First, they fascinate the fools. Then they muzzle the intelligent.” — Bertrand Russell

Take from them what you will.

Just sayin’ . . . or not, for once.

Brendochka
5/10/24

Note: All of the following photographs have been seen many times before, individually. But thanks to CNN for putting them, and more, together in one place; you’ve made this endeavor much easier.

When I meet someone new, the first thing I look at is the person’s eyes. The rest can wait a minute, while I get a sense of the character of the individual. Because the eyes are where it shows. A gracious smile, a warm “pleased to meet you,” even a firm handshake, can all be rehearsed. But the eyes, as William Shakespeare told us, “are the window to your soul.”

I will never meet Vladimir Putin. But looking at a series of photographs of his life as compiled by CNN, I was immediately struck by the eyes in each and every picture. Whether laughing, serious, concentrating or relaxed, those eyes said only one thing to me: RUN! RUN LIKE HELL!

I present a few of them here, without commentary. See what you think:

And now, having looked carefully at each photograph, I would like you to think about your answer to one simple question:

“Would you buy a used car from this man?”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/9/24

* If you must know — although the very end of the second word is not visible — I’m quite certain the writing on the young woman’s back says “F*ck off, Putin.” But it’s not her back he seems to be focused on.

To Vladimir Kara-Murza . . . Russian historian, journalist, author, filmmaker, human rights advocate, and Kremlin critic . . . to you, I offer my sincerest, most heartfelt congratulations on having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for your columns written from your prison cell in Siberia. For your courage and ingenuity alone, you are more than worthy of this honor. For your words and thoughts, the world is indebted to you.

The announcement of the award was made yesterday, May 7th. It said that he was being recognized for his “passionate columns” as a contributor to The Washington Post from his Siberian prison “under great personal risk.” Despite the danger, his writing “warns of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and insists on a democratic future for his country.” [Mariya Knight, CNN, May 6, 2024.]

Needless to say, Kara-Murza will not be able to accept the award in person; his wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, will most likely stand in for him.

For those who have not been following his story, he was tried for criminal offenses including treason, spreading “fake news” about the Russian military, and cooperating with an “undesirable organization.” He was sentenced to 25 years in a “strict regime correctional colony,” where he is being kept in solitary confinement and denied essential medical treatment for a debilitating condition. His real crime: criticism of Vladimir Putin.

At the close of his trial in Moscow on April 10, 2023, he was allowed to make a statement. Rather than the traditional apology or plea for mercy, he spoke — as always — from the heart, knowing that he was doing himself no favor. His words, in part, are well worth repeating here:

“Members of the court: I was sure, after two decades spent in Russian politics, after all that I have seen and experienced, that nothing can surprise me anymore. I must admit that I was wrong. I’ve been surprised by the extent to which my trial, in its secrecy and its contempt for legal norms, has surpassed even the ‘trials’ of Soviet dissidents in the 1960s and ‘70s. And that’s not even to mention the harshness of the sentence requested by the prosecution or the talk of ‘enemies of the state.’ In this respect, we’ve gone beyond the 1970s — all the way back to the 1930s. For me, as a historian, this is an occasion for reflection.” [The full column can be found on the Washington Post website.]

Frightening words, harking back to the show trials of the Stalin era. But he speaks the truth, as is painfully obvious from even a cursory review of Vladimir Putin’s 24-year reign . . . officially as President, but in reality, as dictator of Russia. And for this, good men and women such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, Alsu Kurmasheva, Boris Akunin, and countless others are rotting in Russian prisons, while others like Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny, Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Berezovsky, Aleksandr Litvinenko, and more have paid with their lives.

As long as the noble survivors continue to speak out, perhaps there is hope. We cannot stand by and allow the good people of Russia to be dragged back into the horrors of the 70-year communist experiment. Even the honor of a Pulitzer Prize is not enough; the lives of these heroes must not have been sacrificed in vain. They need our unflagging support.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/8/24

And Vladimir Putin is playing games with them.

He has them, and he says he’s ready and willing to use them, if . . .

“If” what? Well, for example, if Ukraine were to strike Russian territory with U.K.-supplied weapons, Russia might retaliate with strikes on British military facilities and equipment on Ukrainian soil or elsewhere. And in preparation for such an eventuality, Russia will soon be holding drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons. The British and French Ambassadors in Moscow have been so advised . . . and so have we all.

What has brought this about, according to the Kremlin, are some recent comments by senior Western officials indicating possible increased involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “The drills are a response to ‘provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation.’” [Associated Press, May 6, 2024.]

Yeah, sure . . . it’s all our fault. It’s always someone else’s fault. Russia isn’t responsible for having invaded Ukraine; the West invited trouble by considering admission to NATO of a country that — according to Putin & Company — is being governed by Nazis who are committing violent crimes against Ukrainians the Russian government claims are actually Russian citizens as a result of Russia’s illegal annexing of areas of Ukraine in 2014 and since 2022. Got that?

Gibberish! Jabberwocky! Balderdash!

Bullshit!

But so said Tsar Putin, and on the very eve of his fifth inauguration (today, in fact) as President of the Russian Federation. So it must be taken as gospel.

Unfortunately, French President Emmanuel Macron keeps yapping about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine; and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron has indeed said that British long-range weapons would be able to strike targets inside Russia. And these were all the provocation Putin needed to escalate his rhetoric. So he sent his mouthpiece — my favorite stand-up comic, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov — to take front and center. But Dmitry wasn’t feeling the humor this day when — referring to Western officials’ comments — he said:

“It’s a new round of escalation. It’s unprecedented and requires special attention and special measures.” [AP, id.]

And, being summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, the British Ambassador to Russia was told “to think about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps from London.” [AP, id.]

Finally — never to be outdone, or to pass up an opportunity to spew a bit of venom at the world — Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council — “said in his typically hawkish fashion that the comments by Macron and Cameron risked pushing the nuclear-armed world toward a ‘global catastrophe.’” [AP, id.]

But in the midst of all of this furious, threatening hyperbole from Putin, Peskov, Medvedev, and the Foreign and Defense Ministries, what was most obviously missing was any mention of who started this whole mess back in February of 2022 and has been blasting the daylights out of sovereign Ukraine for more than two years. How convenient is Russia’s selective memory! But the world knows . . . and blame has been squarely laid at Russia’s feet. Further, “NATO countries said last week they are deeply concerned by a campaign of hybrid activities on the military alliance’s soil, accusing Moscow of being behind them and saying they represent a security threat.” To which Dmitry Peskov dismissively responded, without so much as cracking a smile, that such claims are simply “new, unfounded accusations leveled at our country.” [AP, id.]

Deny, deny, deny. It’s what they always do. It’s also what a three-year-old does when caught with a hand in the cookie jar. That, and threaten to hold his breath until he turns blue if he doesn’t get his own way. We’re dealing with three-year-olds here!

But they’re three-year-olds with weapons of mass destruction.

So is this just one more case of posturing and saber-rattling on Vladimir Putin’s part? Or is he actually prepared to commit suicide by making good on his threats? According to Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency, “Nuclear blackmail is a usual practice of Putin’s regime; it does not constitute major news.” [AP, id.]

I sincerely hope you’re right, sir.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/7/24

“. . . seek, and ye shall find . . .” Matthew, 7:7-8.

It’s true. I sought, and I found more information on Russell Bentley, who seems after all to have “turned up dead” eleven days after his disappearance on April 8th. The word is that he was most likely “picked up by soldiers mistaking him for an American or NATO spy.” [DailyMail.com, April 25, 2024.] Although if he’d been embedded with the Vostok Battalion for so long, how could he not have identified himself to them? . . .

At any rate, that just confirms what has already been reported about Russell’s mysterious disappearance. What is even more interesting, though, is what was previously unknown about him, at least to most of the world. His death has precipitated an apparent media storm in Russia, where he is said to have been a “propaganda favorite” of the government, including his most recent stint as a reporter for state-run Sputnik-TV. He was an American turncoat of the sort usually only dreamt of by the Kremlin, dropped right into their laps.

His murder has been depicted as a tragic error, understandably occurring when he was found photographing scenes of destruction in Russia-annexed areas of Ukraine. But was it indeed a mistake? It is now known that he had become involved in ultranationalist circles, “and his death has made him the latest in a number of leaders of the annexation of eastern Ukraine to show up dead . . .” It is still not clear why he really was detained on April 8th, or exactly how he was killed; but “unverified reports said he was kidnapped by ‘unknown people in military uniforms.’” [Id.] There were a few more grisly details, better left unsaid here. But his involvement with the ultranationalist movement, which generally promotes the opinion that Russia is not pursuing the war aggressively enough, immediately brings to mind the fate of the like-minded Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the Wagner Group, and his attempted revolt against the military. That sort of criticism does not sit well with Vladimir Putin.

*. *. *

But you may be wondering how a burly, middle-aged Texan wound up in Ukraine, fighting with the Russian military, in the first place. What must the first half-century of his life have been like? Was he poverty-stricken, neglected, abused? Were his parents “closet commies?”

The answers to those questions are: Fine, no, no, no, and no.

In fact, in an interview for a 2022 article in Rolling Stone, he revealed that he had grown up in the very exclusive Dallas, Texas, neighborhood of Highland Park, which he called “the Beverly Hills of Dallas.” He portrayed himself as the “black sheep” of his family, drawn to communist ideas and anti-Vietnam causes. He read, and admired, Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. He described himself as “anti-racist” and “anti-imperialist.”

Somewhere along the way, he became a drug dealer. He was convicted of drug trafficking in 1996, sentenced to five years in prison, and somehow escaped after three years, remaining at large until 2007. He was then recaptured and ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in a maximum-security prison.

Inexplicably, he had managed in 1990 . . . well before his run-in with the law . . . to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota — a state as different from Texas as one could hope to find. His platform largely revolved around the legalization of marijuana; he won only 1.65 percent of the vote.

He was, in the simplest of terms, a born loser.

*. *. *

Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 may have been the spark that ignited his fervor. He described it thus: “This is the battle, not just of Ukraine. This is the battle between good-and-evil for the future of the world. And right now, it’s looking like the world might just have a chance because us [sic] and our friends are kicking some Nazi ass right now.” [DailyMail.com, id., citing Rolling Stone.]

And in 2022, when Russia once more invaded Ukraine, he announced his support on Russian social media platform VKontakte: “Heading West with the Liberators of Ukraine. We may stop in Kiev, we may stop on the English Channel. We may liberate the USA.” [DailyMail.com, id.]

In reality, he was stopped in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/6/24

It has been a quieter week, in the sense of being unable to find updated information on any of the HOSTAGES already on my list, or reports of any new victims of Putin’s purges. I suppose that’s a good thing.

There is, of course, the ongoing saga of the (apparently) late Russell “Tex” Bentley, the American adventurer who fled his home in Texas in 2014 to serve in the Russian army in Ukraine . . . only to be deemed a “CIA spy” after ten years of loyal service to the Kremlin, and dealt with in ways as yet unconfirmed. He is reportedly deceased and thus not eligible for anyone’s hostage list; but look for more about him in tomorrow’s post.

*. *. *.

In the meantime, I once again implore you, please do not forget those who remain HOSTAGES; their families and friends haven’t. And here, one more time, are their pictures as a weekly reminder that they are real, and truly suffering. In no particular order, they are:

Brendochka
5/5/24

The United States and Russia already have their respective — and very different — definitions; now maybe we should ask a Georgian. (That would be a Georgian from the ancient country in the Caucasus Mountains, not the U.S. home state of peaches, peanuts, and Scarlett O’Hara.)

Because there is currently a great hullabaloo being raised in the capital city of Tbilisi over a proposed bill that’s been put forth in the Georgia Parliament that, if passed, would establish a law governing the activities of “Foreign Agents.”

The problem seems to be in defining a “foreign agent,” and then determining what such a creature would and would not legally be allowed to do if he or she wished to avoid penalties . . . and, not incidentally, just what those penalties would be. It’s a sticky wicket all around.

No, this little guy is not the type of “foreign agent” we’re talking about . . . or is he? In the U.S., he (or she) would more likely be referred to as a “secret agent,” or simply . . . well, let’s call a spy a spy, shall we? That is not what we mean when we refer to our Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Not exactly.

FARA was enacted in 1938 primarily to counter Nazi propaganda, with an initial focus on criminal prosecution of subversive activities. Since 1966, though, enforcement has shifted primarily to civil penalties and voluntary compliance. It does not prohibit lobbying for foreign interests, nor does it ban or restrict any specific activities. It does require transparency, with an initial registration and periodic (every six months) filings of updates thereafter. Its explicit purpose is to promote transparency with respect to any possible foreign influence over American public opinion, policy, and laws . . . such as interference in our election process, with which we have become all too familiar in recent years.

This is not, however, how Russia sees a “foreign agent.” For the Kremlin’s purposes, that would be any individual or organization that allegedly is in the pay of, or under the influence of, or in any way associated with a foreign entity or individual that does not toe the official line, thus being assumed as guilty of “distributing false information,” “insulting the government or the military,” or — in the worst-case scenario — out-and-out treason. And the penalties are not mere fines; rather, they almost invariably involve long-term sentences of incarceration in Russia’s harshest prisons and penal colonies. And there are hundreds of inmates to substantiate it . . . as well as a few who did not, or may not, survive.

*. *. *

So, why did I say to “ask a Georgian”? Because there is presently a bill before the Georgian Parliament aiming to reintroduce a “Russian-style foreign agents’ law similar to one they were forced to withdraw a year ago.” [VOA News, April 26, 2024.] And the people of Georgia — a former Soviet Republic that has fought so long and so hard since the dissolution of the Soviet Union to establish and maintain a West-leaning, democratic government — have taken to the streets en masse to oppose its passage. Because they know the danger; they have lived it in the past, and refuse to accept it as their future.

The U.S. has expressed its concern to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in the form of a letter from a bipartisan group (unusual enough in itself) of 14 U.S. Senators, warning that passage of the bill could “undermin[e] Georgia’s European future and its relations with the U.S.,” and further that, if the legislation were to become law, “they [the group of 14] would be compelled to encourage a shift in U.S. policy toward Georgia.” [VOA News, id.]

Opponents of the proposed law say that it is designed to stifle the freedom of speech of Georgian individuals and organizations, including the activities of election monitors, by labelling them as “foreign agents” — “which in the post-Soviet context equates them to traitors.” [Id.] The Georgian government’s proponents, however, equate the law to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act. But the Senators’ letter rejected that allegation:

“We must also make it clear that the reintroduced foreign agents’ law does not mirror any U.S. law and would be used to silence the civil society and media that play a significant role in advancing Georgia’s democratic institution.” [Id.]

*. *. *

I do not propose to interpret the language of the Georgian bill. But I have seen the manner in which the Putin government has used their law to stifle any and all dissent. And if the fear of the Georgian people that the same thing would happen in their country is indeed legitimate — and all indications are that it is — then the people must be supported in their opposition, and the government of Georgia discouraged as strongly as possible from imposing any such Soviet-style restrictions upon their freedom-loving citizenry. Make no mistake: the future of their country is at stake.

And to the good people of Georgia, I wish the best of luck and success, now and in the future.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/5/24