Two good posts from Andrew Stuttaford at NRO’s Corner. First, the ominous appearance of “little green men,” the unofficial Russian troops who took Crimea, in various places in eastern Ukraine. One data point in a pattern: Men in camouflage, armed … Continue reading →
Pretty good, over at WSJ. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →All countries sometimes conduct policy based on stereotypes and a bit of wish-fulfillment. John Vinocur in the WSJ (paywalled, alas) discusses the role unreality plays in German attitudes towards Russia and the present-day implications thereof. This is pretty much exactly … Continue reading →
Well, here’s something I hadn’t heard. The Kremlin founded an organization for ethnic Russians abroad to destabilize their countries of residence in favor of Great Russian imperialism. And they literally called it the Rusintern. Боже мой. Andrew Stuttaford has the … Continue reading →
Long-time readers of the Gormogons’ will be familiar with the Volgi’s Fallacy of Foreign-Policy Egocentrism. This states, more or less, “it’s not all about us.” Which is a short way of saying that, because states determine their own interests and … Continue reading →
Seagal ♥ Vlad. And apparently Grecian Formula and Just for Men. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Not the dolphins, Vlad! Not the dolphins! Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →U.S. lawmakers are increasingly concerned about Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine and the prospect of an additional land grab, as both houses of Congress voted to slap sanctions on Russia and extend loan guarantees to Ukraine. Pentagon … Continue reading →
The East Europeans know they inhabit the battleground between the West and a Russia that wants to return them to its sphere of influence. Ukrainians see tens of thousands of Russian troops across their border and know they are looking … Continue reading →
A typically well-written article which wraps up with some Œc. Vol.esque suggestions for what to do. But the beginning is great. Early in the Ukraine crisis, when the Europeans were working on bringing Ukraine into the EU system and Vladimir … Continue reading →
Russian forces storm Ukraine naval HQ in Crimea Russians taking down the Ukrainian flag SEVASTOPOL/SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag … Continue reading →
From Kiev: Ukrainians, however, were convinced from Putin’s speech to the Russian Duma that the conflict could not remain cold. Many said they found some of Putin’s phrasing chilling, including his statement that “We’re one nation. Kiev is the mother … Continue reading →
NRO’s Corner continues to have good stuff on the Crimean Crisis. Andrew Stuttaford: Putin’s Crimean Roar Putin’s big speech today was (very, very) light on honesty, and time is too short for now to list all the omissions and distortions, … Continue reading →
Via Jim Geraghty, the Daily Mail reports Ukraine remains under the sword of Damocles. Ukraine warned last night that 80,000 Russian troops were massing on its borders and could invade – as world leaders told Vladimir Putin to back off. … Continue reading →
In George Weigel destroys Eugene Robinson. I doubt that Eugene Robinson has any patriotic feeling for Russia, but his evident vulnerability to Russian propaganda suggests that he, like other members of the left-leaning commentariat, continue to read the politics of … Continue reading →
Justice & Nemesis Pursuing Crimevia mythindex.com. So argues Alex Alexiev in National Review Online: With the incorporation of Crimea into Russia by force of arms about to become a fait accompli next week, speculation is increasingly turning to the longer-term … Continue reading →
Some stories on Russia worth your time: Leon Aron: The Front Lines on Russia’s Home Front Those who claim Putin commits acts like seizing Crimea simply because he can are wrong. He does these things because he must — because, … Continue reading →
Apparently the Russian Army is storming a Ukranian air force base in Crimea, despite calls for a diplomatic solution during their phone call yesterday. I will make it legal… Remember President Obama’s words to former President Medvedev? “After my election … Continue reading →
The State Department gets a lot of flak, much deserved, but much undeserved, as its job is often to play the good cop or be the make-nice agency of the government. What it rarely does is load both rhetorical barrels … Continue reading →
Putin and others are hacking at the Pax Americana which sustains our historically peaceful, prosperous world. They need to be deterred, and we and our allies need to be serious about rebuilding the institutions, especially militaries, which have sustained it. As the Gormogons’ usual … Continue reading →
The American media is doing a really poor job of covering the Ukraine crisis, and this is largely because they ignored its importance for so long that they are scrambling to catch everyone up, what with gays not getting timely … Continue reading →
Reuben Johnson, with whom the Volgi worked with back in Russia’s old Wild East days, writes a great piece on how Western appeasement of Russia encourages her encroachment on the liberties (and independence) of her neighbors. Read it. Confucius, Œc. … Continue reading →
Well, your Volgi hasn’t run much news from the Rodina of late, so just to catch y’all up, here we go. Robert Gates is trying to reassure Ukraine and the Baltic states that we’re with them in the wake of … Continue reading →
But the military’s getting screwed. Thanks, Congress. Thanks, banks. Thanks, Fannie & Freddie. Thanks, real-estate speculators. You’ve made us all less safe. Thanks. Thanks so much. UPDATE: On the other hand, at least the same thing is happening in Russia. … Continue reading →
So Bad Vlad is raising the temperature on their “Ukraine sold arms to Georgia” claim. Now the claim seems to be either that they were selling arms into a war zone or that they sold arms “in the run-up” to … Continue reading →
Via Kathryn Lopez. Casus belli, Melvin Belli, what’s the difference? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Strong statement by Condi contra Russian demands: “We will not permit Russia to veto the future of NATO, neither the countries offered membership nor their decision to accept it…We and our European allies will give our help to Georgia…. The … Continue reading →
Nice gesture by Medvedev; let’s hope he does more. Too bad Stalin’s the “strong Russia” model Putin is going for. The Russia Lobby continues to press Washington. Matlock’s arguments about the effects of admitting Georgia and Ukraine aren’t trivial, but … Continue reading →
And somewhere, Vlad is smiling. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Leon Aron, who has forgotten more about Russia than the faculties of many universities know, predicts that Russia might skip the Moldovan preliminaries the Volgi has predicted and been monitoring (here, here, here, here) and go straight to the main … Continue reading →
Ukraine seriously considering rebuilding a nuclear arsenal? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Here. As I think I’ve argued somewhere (oh yeah, here, though sketchily), the West has a fair number of cards to play against a revanchist, expansion-minded Russia. NATO membership is one. If it’s as transparently a bluff as Fukuyama says, … Continue reading →
…the Russians say, “Bah, we are not intimidated by your puny warships. Behold our making-stuff-blow-up skills!“ Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Worth reading. Covers Georgia, the Near Abroad, and the Middle East. The main aim will be to weaken America’s position in the Middle East. In this respect, there are differences of opinion in the Kremlin. Some ex-generals have come on … Continue reading →
If the Georgians want to fight, Stuart Koehl has some ideas on how we can help. He doesn’t mention it, but we should be preemptively providing this kind of military assistance to other democratic countries in Russia’s sights, particularly Ukraine. … Continue reading →
Wow. Ukraine looks like they’ve realized that it’s on, and they’re trying to effectively lock up the Russian Black Sea Fleet. (Via Michael Ledeen @ NRO.) Good for them. As Krauthammer argues infra: we have cards; we need to play … Continue reading →
Well, this would be nice, if it’s true and it sticks. It’s a welcome distance short of the deposition of the Georgian government I was expecting. If this holds, it’s because Russia’s made her point; now, the ball is in … Continue reading →
The Œcumenical Volgi has been on the road and, due to a dodgy wifi connection, unable to blog at any length. Ensconced in an airport with all the modern conveniences, he can finally address the horrific events in South Ossetia … Continue reading →
