The State of Affairs in Russia

[Monoriu]

At least they are honest.  That's a bit like the wolves' commission for sheeps' rights 

[Martinus]

So, the Russian Orthodox priest has the same views as the National Conference of Polish Bishops of the Catholic Church and about 40% of the Polish MPs.

[Syt]

http://rt.com/politics/243981-russia-america-security-strategy/

'Clearly anti-Russian' – Moscow blasts latest US national security strategy

The recently approved US National Security Strategy for 2015 has a clear anti-Russian orientation, according to analysis released by Russia's Security Council (SC).

"The analysis of the strategy conducted by specialists of the Security Council of the Russian Federation indicates that compared to the previous edition of the 2010 the new one is based on clearly anti-Russian tendencies and forms a negative image of our country," reads the statement released by the top Russian consultative agency on national security.

The strategy is based on the principles of American Exceptionalism and the alleged right for unilateral enforcement of US interests in various parts of the world, the message reads.

The council stated that the changes in the US security concepts could have many negative consequences for relations between the two countries. Moscow foresees that Washington and its allies would apply a lot of effort to attract traditional allies of Russia into the anti-Russian camp and also to diminish Russia's influence on the post-soviet political space.

The newly adopted security strategy also made Russian experts to come to the conclusion that the US administration would put more effort into perfecting the political technologies behind the so called "color revolutions" – the forced change of lawfully elected regimes through street protests. The probability that these technologies could be used in Russia has increased, the Security Council said in the release.

The SC also noted in the review that the United States clearly intended to continue the course on global dominance, backed by own military forces and by the increasing military potential of NATO.

Russia also expected the US to boost its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. "The military force will continue to be the main tool for backing the US national security and interests," the release said.

The White House published the newly adopted National Security Strategy for 2015 on February 6. The document details both the major threats to the US as seen from Washington and the ways and means that would be used for dealing with these threats.

READ MORE: US dusted off old USSR-break-up strategy for use in Ukraine - former FSB chief

In October 2014 the head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Patrushev, openly accused the US of playing a role in the current turmoil in Ukraine and the military conflicts in Georgia and the Caucasus, saying these were direct results of the anti-Russian policy of the US administration.

Patrushev revealed in a press interview that intelligence analysts established that American special services were executing an anti-Russian program that dates back to the 1970s, and is based on Zbigniew Brzezinski's "strategy of weak spots," the policy of turning the opponent's potential problems into full-scale crises.

[Liep]

Country searches on Russia's number one search engine, Yandex. I guess Russians don't care about the Americas or Africa. Also, I'm assuming Thailand and Egypt are favourite vacation spots.

[Valmy]

Our plans for global domination will be complete once we deal with those pesky Russians! Only they can foil our evil plans.

How delusional can you get?

[Syt]

Our plans for global domination will be complete once we deal with those pesky Russians! Only they can foil or evil plans.

How delusional can you get?

Notice how the article says nothing about the contents of the new doctrine. Only that it's Anti-Russian.



Also:

http://rt.com/politics/244269-putin-fsb-stronger-russia/

To change the situation for the better we must make Russia stronger – Putin to FSB

President Putin has told senior officers of Russia's domestic security service that despite the constantly increasing foreign pressure, the situation in the country will improve – once it stops giving in to its foes and starts becoming more powerful.

"No one has ever succeeded in intimidating or pressuring our country and no one ever will – we have always had and always will have an adequate answer for all internal and external threats to national security," Vladimir Putin said in an address to the FSB collegium on Thursday.

"The situation cannot always remain as it is, it is going to change and I hope it will change for the better, including the situation around our country," the Russian leader said. "But the changes for the better will not happen if we constantly yield, give in or use baby talk, it will only improve if we become stronger," he emphasized.

"NATO is developing its rapid response forces and is boosting its infrastructure near our borders, we are registering attempts to violate nuclear parity and the creation of the European and Asia-Pacific segments of the missile defense systems is being sped up," Putin said.

Apart from the military standoff with NATO, Russia had to oppose the attempts to undermine its political system, the Russian leader noted. "They are using a whole range of means for the so-called containment of Russia – from attempts at political isolation and economic pressure to a full-scale information war and tools used by special services."

The Russian president demanded that the FSB apply maximum effort to prevent the destabilization of the country.

"Western special services do not give up their attempts to use non-government groups and politicized unions to discredit Russian authorities and destabilize the internal situation in Russia. They are already planning actions for the period of the forthcoming elections in 2016 and 2018," Putin said. In 2016 Russia will hold the federal parliamentary election, and the next presidential poll is scheduled for 2018.

The president stated that the authorities intended to maintain their dialogue with the opposition and Russian civil society in general, as well-founded criticism and partnership have proved to be useful for any nation, including Russia.

"But it makes no sense to argue with those who work on orders from outside, who serve the interests of not their nation but an alien nation or nations," he said.

Putin pledged to continue the recently introduced practice of disclosing the foreign funding of political groups and NGOs, to check if the declared objectives of such groups match their real activities and to cut short any attempts at violations.

The president's statements are in line with the conclusions of Russia's top consultative body on national security, the Security Council, that said Wednesday that the 2015 US National Security Strategy was openly anti-Russian and could have multiple negative consequences on relations between Moscow and Washington. The document, published in early February, was based on the principles of American Exceptionalism and the alleged right of unilateral enforcement of US interests in various parts of the world, the Russian security experts claimed in their conclusion.

I find it pretty interesting (and telling) that Russian government is convinced that if the people rise up (anywhere) they must have been incited by an outside force. I'm not saying that this never happens, or that such movements are never influenced/supported from abroad. But it seems inconceivable to them that people, if they're unhappy with a situation, might gather and seek change through protest or in extreme cases revolution.

[celedhring]

I don't think the Russian government believes that, but it is pretty convenient that Russians do.

[Martinus]

http://uatoday.tv/politics/lithuanian-mps-unanimously-ratify-creation-of-joint-ukrainian-polish-lithuanian-brigade-417849.html 

[Martinus]

I don't think the Russian government believes that, but it is pretty convenient that Russians do.

I think they believe that. And I don't think it is unreasonable, from their point of view, to wish to diminish influence of foreign-sponsored NGOs promoting the "ideology" of liberal democracy. We do the same with NGOs that promote jihadism. Russia is evil so it sees liberal democracy as evil - but it is reasonable.

[Duque de Bragança]

http://uatoday.tv/politics/lithuanian-mps-unanimously-ratify-creation-of-joint-ukrainian-polish-lithuanian-brigade-417849.html 

First step for the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth?

[Syt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=14&v=QDfIhWJ9MAE

[jimmy olsen]

I find it pretty interesting (and telling) that Russian government is convinced that if the people rise up (anywhere) they must have been incited by an outside force. I'm not saying that this never happens, or that such movements are never influenced/supported from abroad. But it seems inconceivable to them that people, if they're unhappy with a situation, might gather and seek change through protest or in extreme cases revolution.

The Germans were 100% at fault for the Bolshevik revolution by shipping in Lenin so they know it's true from experience!

[jimmy olsen]

Looks like building a 5th generation fighter is pretty tough.

http://news.yahoo.com/grounded-russias-answer-us-next-gen-fighter-hits-161003932.html

Grounded? Russia's answer to US next-gen fighter hits the skids.
The Kremlin is cutting its initial production of the Sukhoi T-50 fighter by 75 percent amid cost overruns and rumored technical concerns – the same kind of issues that have plagued US development of the F-35.

Russia's ambitious T-50 fighter plane project was meant to develop a rival to two futuristic US jetfighters, the F-22 Raptor and the planned F-35 Lightning-II.

But now, the T-50 appears to be rivaling the F-35 another way: in development troubles. The Kremlin is slamming the brakes on its "fifth generation" fighter program and cutting its initial rollout to a quarter of those originally planned.

The decision seems a setback for Vladimir Putin's sweeping $800 billion rearmament program, a vital component of the wider effort to restore Russia to its Soviet-era status as a major global superpower. However, the sharp slowdown in plans to procure the sophisticated new jet may represent an outbreak of wisdom on the part of Russian military chiefs, who will remember how the USSR was driven into bankruptcy by engaging in an all-out arms race with the US.

Financial constraints are the key reason cited for cutting the military order from 52 to 12 of the planes over the next few years, according to the Moscow daily Kommersant.

"Given the new economic conditions, the original plans may have to be adjusted," the paper quotes Deputy Defense Minister Yuriy Borisov as saying. The project to build a cutting-edge fighter plane, which is partly financed by India, will not be canceled, but held in abeyance while the Russian Air Force makes the most of its existing "fourth generation" MiG and Sukhoi combat aircraft, he added.

No one knows whether technical problems may also have played a role in the decision to shelve the fighter.

"We may suppose there are problems, but hard information is lacking," says Alexander Golts, an independent military expert. "For instance, the prototypes of this plane have been using an old engine, pending the development of the engine it needs. Has that been developed yet? We have no idea."

The only operational "fifth generation" fighter in the world is the US F-22. Its production was canceled in 2009, after fewer than 200 of the hyper-expensive planes had been built. American military services are now awaiting the arrival of the newer and also hugely overpriced F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, but that program has been dogged with serious delays and technical failures.

The T-50, an advanced stealth plane with many capabilities lacking in previous fighters, has prompted some alarm in the West. The Russians have presented the project as an example of how they are able to leapfrog over the lost years, after Russia's military-industrial complex collapsed along with the Soviet Union, and field 21st century weapons that can rival the best the US has to offer.

Most of the weaponry that's currently in Russia's military inventory are Soviet-era designs that have evolved to incorporate new technology. Only three projects currently in the testing phase have been entirely developed by post-Soviet Russia. They are the T-50, the recently unveiled T-14 Armata tank, and the Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Recent reports suggest that Russian military brass have also decided to slash orders for the new Armata tank, and instead continue using older, Soviet-designed models for a few more years.

There is no word on the fate of other grand projects that Russian military leaders have claimed to have on the drawing boards. These include plans for a super-sized aircraft carrier that would dwarf the US Nimitz class, and an enormous supersonic transport plane that could deliver up to 400 tanks anywhere in the world.

"Despite all these soaring plans, I think we see a bit of reason taking hold in the Russian military establishment," says Mr. Golts. "Even if there were no economic crisis, and no sanctions, this massively expensive rearmament program would not be what Russia needs right now. Scaling it back is a wise move."

[Tonitrus]

Poland has not yet perished! 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/world/europe/poland-steels-for-battle-seeing-echoes-of-cold-war-in-ukraine-crisis.html?hpw&_r=0

Poles Steel for Battle, Fearing Russia Will March on Them Next

By RICK LYMANMARCH 14, 2015

KALISZ, Poland — For evidence of how much President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has jangled nerves and provoked anxiety across Eastern Europe, look no farther than the drill held the other day by the Shooters Association.

The paramilitary group, like more than 100 others in Poland, has experienced a sharp spike in membership since Mr. Putin's forces began meddling in neighboring Ukraine last year.

Saw this, kinda of a supplamental to this story, which caused a minor Languish spat. 

Ordinary folk take up military training over Russia threat

Polish and British troops take part in a joint military exercise in Swietoszow, Poland, with more than 1,000 British troops participating. Czarek Sokolowski — The Associated Press file
By Monika Scislowska, The Associated Press
POSTED: 04/06/15, 3:01 PM PDT | 0 COMMENTS

WARSAW, Poland >> NATO aircraft scream across eastern European skies and American armored vehicles rumble near the border with Russia on a mission to reassure citizens that they're safe from Russian aggression.

But these days, ordinary people aren't taking any chances.

In Poland, doctors, shopkeepers, lawmakers and others are heeding a call to receive military training in case of an invasion. Neighboring Lithuania is restoring the draft and teaching citizens what to do in case of war. Nearby Latvia has plans to give university students military training next year.

The drive to teach ordinary people how to use weapons and take cover under fire reflects soaring anxiety among people in a region where memories of Moscow's domination — which ended only in the 1990s — remain raw. People worry that their security and hard-won independence are threatened as saber-rattling intensifies between the West and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 people have died.

In Poland, the oldest generation remembers the Soviet Army's invasion in 1939, at the start of World War II. Younger people remain traumatized by the repression of the communist regime that lasted more than four decades.

It's a danger felt across the EU newcomer states that border Russia.

"There's a real feeling of threat in our society," Latvian defense ministry spokeswoman Aija Jakubovska told The Associated Press. Military training for students is a "way we can increase our own defense capabilities."

Most people are still looking to NATO's military umbrella as their main guarantor of security. Zygmunt Wos waved goodbye to a detachment of U.S. armored vehicles leaving the eastern Polish city of Bialystok with apprehension: "These troops should be staying with us," he said, "not going back to Germany."

Poland has been at the forefront of warnings about the dangers of the Ukraine conflict. Just 17 hours by car from the battle zone, Poland has stepped up efforts to upgrade its weapons arsenal, including a possible purchase of U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles. It will host a total of some 10,000 NATO and other allied troops for exercises this year. Its professional army is 100,000-strong, and 20,000 reservists are slated for test-range training.

It's the grassroots mobilization, however, that best demonstrates the fears: The government has reached out to some 120 paramilitary groups with tens of thousands of members, who are conducting their own drills, in an effort to streamline them with the army exercises.

In an unprecedented appeal, Parliament Speaker Radek Sikorski urged lawmakers to train at a test range in May, while Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak called on men and women aged between 18 and 50, and with no military experience, to sign up for test-range exercise. So far, over 2,000 people have responded.

"The times are dangerous and we must do all we can to raise Poland's ability to defend its territory," President Bronislaw Komorowski said during a recent visit to a military unit.

The Poles believe they have grounds for feeling particularly vulnerable because they have been invaded by Russia repeatedly since the 18th century. Russian leader Vladimir Putin seems to have singled out Poland, a staunch U.S. ally, as a prime enemy in the struggle over Ukraine, accusing it of training "Ukrainian nationalists" and instigating unrest.

Recently Moscow said it will place state-of-the-art Iskander missiles in its Kaliningrad enclave, bordering Poland and Lithuania, for a major exercise.

Last week, over 550 young Polish reservists were summoned on one hour's notice to a military base for a mobilization drill. In their 20s and 30s, in jeans and sneakers, the men and women arrived at a base in Tarnowskie Gory, in southern Poland for days of shooting practice. One of them, 35-year-old former soldier Krystian Studnia, said the call was "absolutely natural."

"Everyone should be willing and ready to fight to defend his country," he said.

In Warsaw, Mateusz Warszczak, 23, glowed with excitement as he signed up at a recruitment center. "I want to be ready to defend my family, my relatives, from danger," he said.

Even older Poles feel obliged to take responsibility for their own safety.

In September, Wojciech Klukowski, a 58-year-old medical doctor, and his friends organized a civic militia group of about 50 men and women of various ages, and called it the National Guard. They practiced skirmishes and shooting, with the aim of becoming citizen-soldiers in their hometown of Szczecin, on the Baltic Sea coast.

"We do not feel fully safe," Klukowski said. "Many people ... want to be trained to defend their homes, their work places, their families."

Rayyan Sabet-Parry in Riga, Latvia and Jari Tanner in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.

[Martinus]

2000 people responded? Wow. 

And further 550 people were called to training.

Poland is fully mobilised it seems.