Russia-Ukrainian War

[Luke]

Sounds also like that western intelligence could find some people in Russia who could carry out an assassination against Putin, are they on it already? Will Ukraine AND Russia join Nato then and will the next war then be against China from russian borders?  

[Luke]

The historical record is clear and damning. From 1989, following the fall of the Soviet Union, neoliberal elites in Russia and the West conspired to suppress Russian democracy with violence, in order to divide Russia’s wealth between those who would become known as the oligarchs on the one hand, and Western fund managers and shareholders on the other. It was that deliberate strategy that paved the way for the violent authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin, much as Western neoliberalism and corporate greed was responsible for suppressing democracy in Chile in 1973 and for the bloody regime that followed under General Augusto Pinochet.

 

Properly understood, Vladimir Putin is yet another Frankenstein’s monster of neoliberalism.

 

The West’s suppression of democracy in Russia following the fall of the Soviet Union In the early 1990s, as Russians’ progress towards democracy appeared to be advancing at pace, the vast majority believed the fairest way to distribute the assets of the state would be through workers’ cooperatives. But that ran counter to neoliberal orthodoxy and threatened to deny spectacular profits to foreign investors and a handful of Russians. From the outset, democracy and neoliberalism in the new Russia were set on a course of collision. Influential publications in the West argued that privatisation and “economic reform” should be imposed by force. In 1990, for example, the Economist urged Gorbachev to adopt “strong-man rule … to smash the resistance that has blocked serious economic reform” 2 . In 1991, the Washington Post proposed General Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile as the model: “Pinochet's Chile A Pragmatic Model For Soviet Economy”.

 

As a reminder of what that implied: in 1973, the CIA backed General Augusto Pinochet’s violent coup in Chile against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, in order to open up Chile’s resources to US corporations. Pinochet crushed democratic resistance with murder, internment and torture on a massive scale.

 

Such publications foreshadowed what was to come. The US backed Boris Yeltsin in planning a programme of radical economic reform to be forced through so fast the Russian public wouldn’t know what hit them. According to Joseph Stiglitz, chief economist at the World Bank at the time:

 

“Only a blitzkrieg approach during the ‘window of opportunity’ provided by the ‘fog of transition’ would get the changes made before the population had a chance to organise …”

 

As the asset strippers feasted, millions of Russians lost their savings and by 1992 a third of the Russian population had fallen below the poverty line. 4 The Russian Parliament attempted to push back. Yeltsin declared a state of emergency to bypass Parliament, which Russia’s constitutional court ruled unlawful. The US backed Yeltsin with substantial financial support. On 3 October 1993, Yeltsin ordered the army to surround the Russian Parliament. Demonstrators were machine-gunned - about 100 were killed. On 4 October he ordered the storming of Parliament with tanks, setting the Russian “White House” on fire. The Guardian’s contemporary report carries the headline: “Yeltsin crushes revolt: Parliament taken in tank battle; Opposition parties and newspapers banned”. It records that:

 

“Western leaders … promptly declared support [for Yeltsin’s assault on Parliament]”

 

With all opposition removed, there was no impediment to the fire sale of Russian public assets for the vast and immediate enrichment of a handful of Yeltsin’s political allies (now known as “the oligarchs”) and foreign fund managers and shareholders. Giant oil and metals companies were sold-off for a fraction of their market value. Shell and BP grabbed their lucrative shares. The Wall Street Journal flaunted the extraordinary prizes on offer:

 

“Looking for an investment that could gain 2,000 per cent in three years? Only one stock market offers that hope … Russia.”

 

The political problem with this feeding-frenzy was that it came at the expense of the Russian people, whose security and economic circumstances collapsed. As a distraction, and to stave off rebellion, in December 1994 Yeltsin invaded Chechnya. Yeltsin’s national security chief, Oleg Rabov explained to Sergei Yushenkov, a Russian legislator 6 : “We need a small, victorious war to raise the president’s ratings”. The Guardian wrote at the time: “If, as many are suggesting, Yeltsin was reckoning on a short, sharp Falklands-style war to boost his authority and popularity, he has misjudged, and now risks igniting the North Caucasian region and provoking a clash between Orthodox and Muslim.”

 

Approximately 80,000 civilians were killed in this first Chechen War (about 40% of them children). The consequences of this horrific bloodshed would pave the way for the rise of Vladimir Putin. In September 1999, Russia was hit by a number of terrorist attacks attributed to Chechen militants. Putin was put in charge of the response, launching the second Chechen war later that month. Al Jazeera estimates that 300,000 people have been killed in the two Chechen wars. As Yeltsin succumbed to alcoholism, Putin was anointed as his natural successor - he took power without elections in December 1999. Reflecting on this grim history, Wayne Merry, chief political analyst at the US embassy in Moscow between 1990 and 1994 admitted in 2000, with what now seems like understatement: “The US Government chose the economic over the political … Unfortunately, the choice was to ignore popular will and to press on with the policy. And I think there was a huge cost on the long-term development of rule of law and constitutional government in Russia from making that choice.”

 

We should remember also how the US and UK Governments exploited 9/11 to lead us into disastrous wars, including in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands were killed. The real motivation, as we now know, was to open up Iraq’s nationalised oil industry to Western corporations, such as Exxon, Chevron, BP and Shell. Tellingly, former US Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, wrote in his memoir: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." And how the banker induced financial crisis of 2008 was exploited to impose “austerity”, i.e. to wage war on neoliberalism’s favourite targets - our communities and the public sector. And how the Government’s lies and corruption through the pandemic accompanied a bonanza for its friends and corporate sponsors, while it waged war on dissent, including by fining a nurse £10,000 for protesting a below inflation pay-rise and by proposing legislation which threatens peaceful protestors with 10 years’ imprisonment (legislation that would make headlines if introduced in Russia or China).

 

 

 

Good geopolitical comments worth reading and thinking about while looking at this war.

 

 

Edited September 4 by Luke

[John Hjorth]

On 9/2/2024 at 7:00 PM, UK said:

 

No problem John:). IIRC, you already had asked once and I answered, but still the same today, I live in Vilnius, Lithuania. So EU and NATO, but at the same time it is like only 36 km to our border with Belarus or only some 40 km from the new Astravets Nuclear Power Plant, which Belarusians have built here for not totally clear reasons:)

 

Thank you, @UK ,

 

I'm sorry for bothering you with these questions twice ... - your factual replies adds up - by logic - to a great extent to what you have posted in this topic - at least to me, that is. 

 

 

[John Hjorth]

@Luke ,

 

Please add source by editing to your last post above for the readers understanding of content and context, thank you.

[UK]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Sounds also like that western intelligence could find some people in Russia who could carry out an assassination against Putin, are they on it already? Will Ukraine AND Russia join Nato then and will the next war then be against China from russian borders?  

 

Perhaps not so impossible: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/if-china-wants-taiwan-it-should-also-take-back-land-russia-president-says-2024-09-02/

[UK]

56 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Thank you, @UK ,

 

I'm sorry for bothering you with these questions twice ... - your factual replies adds up - by logic - to a great extent to what you have posted in this topic - at least to me, that is. 

 

 

 

No problem John and btw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark–Lithuania_relations#Modern_relations

 

Since Lithuanian independence, Denmark has taken a leading role in supporting Lithuania with international recognition and military and internal reforms. Denmark also played a significant role in Lithuania's accession to the EU and maintains a military presence in the country.

 

[Spekulatius]

17 hours ago, Luke said:

 

Posted today by the Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Economic Affairs. 

 

Shows very well where the west wants to go with Russia->Regime-Change->Putin into Prison->"democractic russia"->millions hoping to be safed from their government etc 

 

Now selensky said he doesn't plant to return the russian regions...imagine what would happen if the west would gain even more support for a direct war against Russia.

So what wrong with above?

 

As far as the a Russian land, I they could become a bargaining chip if Ukraine can keep them am sure Ukraine would trade them for Ukrainian land that Russia has occupied.

 

[UK]

https://www.reuters.com/world/lavrov-warns-us-not-mock-russias-red-lines-2024-09-04/

 

A new day, a new warning on red lines.

[Spekulatius]

16 minutes ago, UK said:

https://www.reuters.com/world/lavrov-warns-us-not-mock-russias-red-lines-2024-09-04/

 

A new day, a new warning on red lines.

Always good to hear that Russia is warning about red lines. It means they are hurting and we are on the right track. Ukraine needs long range missiles to destroy the Russian logistics infrastructure that supports their troops.

[John Hjorth]

Today, I received a letter and a brochure in my digital inbox from the Danish State, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, containing advice about how to prep, for the purpose of staying self served for three days and nights.

 

I do not recall ever in my life before to have received something similar from the public here in nice and cosy Denmark. It says a lot about the general sentiment here and it is certainly related to the geopolitical sentiment in society here.

Beredskabsstyrelsen - Letter - 20240909.pdf Beredsskabsstyrelsen - Prep Brochure - 20240909.pdf -forberedt-pa-kriser_en-.pdf

[UK]

4 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

Today, I received a letter and a brochure in my digital inbox from the Danish State, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, containing advice about how to prep, for the purpose of staying self served for three days and nights.

 

I do not recall ever in my life before to have received something similar from the public here in nice and cosy Denmark. It says a lot about the general sentiment here and it is certainly related to the geopolitical sentiment in society here.

Beredskabsstyrelsen - Letter - 20240909.pdf 37.99 kB · 2 downloads Beredsskabsstyrelsen - Prep Brochure - 20240909.pdf 6.01 MB · 2 downloads -forberedt-pa-kriser_en-.pdf 114.36 kB · 2 downloads

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-searching-possible-drone-fragments-after-russian-attack-ukraine-2024-09-08/

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/drone-sightings-prompt-temporary-air-traffic-halt-stockholm-arlanda-airport-2024-09-09/

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-denies-reports-missile-transfer-russia-2024-09-09/

 

Same direction.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9 by UK

[John Hjorth]

Thank you for sharing, @UK,

 

Deeply worrying.

 

Today I have pressed 'Follow' on Reuters at the subsection 'World' <dropdown> -> 'Ukraine and Russia at War', by the use of my free Reuters account.

 

On 9/4/2024 at 12:39 PM, UK said:

 

No problem John and btw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark–Lithuania_relations#Modern_relations

 

Since Lithuanian independence, Denmark has taken a leading role in supporting Lithuania with international recognition and military and internal reforms. Denmark also played a significant role in Lithuania's accession to the EU and maintains a military presence in the country.

 

 

Better be prepared than sorry. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen has been in the political game for several decades and he is an experienced, driven and astute politician, not naive. I have seen him interviewed on TV where he openly and honestly admitted that some time now years back he made the serious mistake to trust Vladimir Putin on any matter, remembering being in Restaurant 'Grøften' [<- translates to 'The ditch' [mind the symbolic]] in Tivoli in Copenhagen, getting a beer [likely Carlsberg] with Putin, thinking he [Putin] was an OK guy :

 

[Obviously Putin liked the beer, and has now taken the Russian Carlsberg subsidiary. Carlsberg booked a loss of DKK 48 B [~ USD 7 B] in 2023 related to this 'transaction'.] I thank God that I did not own Carlsberg shares when that story broke, it would certainly not have been good for my blood pressure!

Edited September 9 by John Hjorth

[UK]

6 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

Thank you for sharing, @UK,

 

Deeply worrying.

 

Today I have pressed 'Follow' on Reuters at the subsection 'World' <dropdown> -> 'Ukraine and Russia at War', by the use of my free Reuters account.

 

 

Better be prepared than sorry. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen has been in the political game for several decades and he is an experienced, driven and astute politician, not naive. I have seen him interviewed on TV where he openly and honestly admitted that some time now years back he made the serious mistake to trust Vladimir Putin on any matter, remembering being in Restaurant 'Grøften' [<- translates to 'The ditch' [mind the symbolic]] in Tivoli in Copenhagen, getting a beer [likely Carlsberg] with Putin, thinking he [Putin] was an OK guy :

 

[Obviously Putin liked the beer, and has now taken the Russian Carlsberg subsidiary. Carlsberg booked a loss of DKK 48 B [~ USD 7 B] in 2023 related to this 'trans-action'.]

 

Calsberg's Baltika (Russian subsidiary) was once one of their best and most profitable division accounting for some 40 percent of total EBIT (>10 years ago). And now it is zero, but this was already of lesser importance for them lately. IIRC they still own Slavutych, their Ukrainian subsidiary, though.

 

Btw today this preparedness material was also announced here. At first I thought this maybe happened because of the upcoming elections:), but it seems this is some kind of EU wide mater:)

 

 

[Dinar]

@John Hjorth, anyone who thinks that a KGB operative is an ok guy is a fool.  Normal/moral people did NOT join the KGB.  An organization that murdered more Soviet citizens than Hitler's Germany.

[John Hjorth]

20 minutes ago, Dinar said:

@John Hjorth, anyone who thinks that a KGB operative is an ok guy is a fool.  Normal/moral people did NOT join the KGB.  An organization that murdered more Soviet citizens than Hitler's Germany.

 

Point taken, @Dinar ,

 

Where would you propose to read about that?

[UK]

10 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Point taken, @Dinar ,

 

Where would you propose to read about that?

 

I am sure Dinar has his own ideas, but: 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Putins-People-Took-Back-Russia/dp/0374238715

 

https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/12/03/our-books-of-the-year

 

Many books have tried to explain the rise and ruthlessness of Vladimir Putin; this one is the closest yet to a definitive account. It draws on extensive interviews and archival sleuthing to tell a vivid story of cynicism and violence. On this view, a massive concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few is used to quash dissent and project force abroad.

 

This one I think also is good: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514/

 

Edited September 9 by UK

[John Hjorth]

Thank you, @UK !,

 

Added to wish list. [For once, a book where I share interest with the Lady of the House, I think!]

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

Edit :

 

I saw your edit now, expanding proposed readings or where to look from one to three. Thank you again!

Edited September 9 by John Hjorth

[John Hjorth]

On 9/5/2024 at 4:29 AM, UK said:

https://www.reuters.com/world/lavrov-warns-us-not-mock-russias-red-lines-2024-09-04/

 

A new day, a new warning on red lines.

 

On 9/5/2024 at 4:47 AM, Spekulatius said:

Always good to hear that Russia is warning about red lines. It means they are hurting and we are on the right track. Ukraine needs long range missiles to destroy the Russian logistics infrastructure that supports their troops.

 

@UK & @Spekulatius,

 

Again :

 

Reuters [September 11^th 2024] : Kremlin warns of escalation if US allows Kyiv to hit Russia with long-range missiles.

Edited Thursday at 07:40 PM by John Hjorth

[UK]

6 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

 

 

@UK & @Spekulatius,

 

Again :

 

Reuters [September 11^th 2024] : Kremlin warns of escalation if US allows Kyiv to hit Russia with long-range missiles.

 

Thanks. Well it seems they really do not like the idea this time: 

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-west-will-be-fighting-directly-with-russia-if-it-lets-kyiv-use-long-2024-09-12/.

 

And honestly I have no idea what would be the best way forward, but I think odds are perhaps better than 50/50, it is only some loud barking one more time?

 

Edited Friday at 02:15 AM by UK

[John Hjorth]

Now, what [the ****] do you do, when you wake up in the middle of the night, just by routine checking our phone, your Facebook app then asking you if you have just tried to log on near Neresnytsya, Ukraine?

 

-You do nothing, but just thinking, 'thank God I'm here, and not i'n '[th]ere!''

[Luke]

WAR AND THEFT THE TAKEOVER OF UKRAINE’S AGRICULTURAL LAND

 

 

 

The war in Ukraine has been at the center stage of foreign policy and media reports since February 2022. Little attention, however, has been given to a major issue, which is at the core of the conflict – who controls the agricultural land in the country known as the “breadbasket of Europe?” This report addresses this gap – identifying the interests controlling Ukraine’s agricultural land and presenting an analysis of the dynamics at play around land tenure in the country. This includes the highly controversial land reform that took place in 2021 as part of the structural adjustment program initiated under the auspices of Western financial institutions, after the installation of a pro-European Union (EU) government following the Maidan Revolution in 2014. With 33 million hectares of arable land, Ukraine has large swaths of the most fertile farmland in the world.1 Misguided privatization and corrupt governance since the early 1990s have concentrated land in the hands of a new oligarchic class. Around 4.3 million hectares are under large-scale agriculture, with the bulk, three million hectares, in the hands of just a dozen large agribusiness firms.2 In addition, according to the government, about five million hectares – the size of two Crimea – have been “stolen” by private interests from the state of Ukraine.3 The total amount of land controlled by oligarchs, corrupt individuals, and large agribusinesses is thus over nine million hectares, exceeding 28 percent of the country’s arable land. The rest is used by over eight million Ukrainian farmers.4 The largest landholders are a mix of oligarchs and a variety of foreign interests – mostly European and North American, including a US-based private equity fund and the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia. All but one of the ten largest landholding firms are registered overseas, mainly in tax havens such as Cyprus or Luxembourg. Even when run and still largely controlled by an oligarch founder, a number of firms have gone public with Western banks and investment funds now controlling a significant amount of their shares.

 

This international financing directly benefits oligarchs, several of whom face accusations of fraud and corrupt dealings, as well as the foreign funds and firms associated as shareholders or creditors. Meanwhile, Ukrainian farmers have had to operate with limited amounts of land and financing, and many are now on the verge of poverty. Data shows that these farmers receive virtually no support compared to agribusinesses and oligarchs.

 

In recent years, Western countries and institutions have provided massive military and economic assistance to Ukraine, which became the top recipient of US foreign aid – marking the first time since the Marshall Plan that a European country holds this top spot.7 As of December 2022, less than one year into the war, the US has allocated over US$113 billion to Ukraine, including US$65 billion of military aid,8 which is more than the entire budget of the State Department and USAID globally (US$58 billion).9

[Luke]

The report details how Western aid has been conditioned to a drastic structural adjustment program, which includes austerity measures, cuts in social safety nets, and the privatization of key sectors of the economy. A central condition has been the creation of a land market, put into law in 2020 under President Zelenskyy, despite opposition from a majority of Ukrainians fearing that it will exacerbate corruption in the agricultural sector and reinforce its control by powerful interests. The findings of the report validate this concern, showing that the creation of a land market will likely further increase the amount of agricultural land in the hands of oligarchs and large agribusiness firms. The latter have already started expanding their access to land. Kernel has announced plans to increase its land bank to 700,000 hectares – up from 506,000 hectares in 2021.10 Similarly, MHP, which currently controls 360,000 hectares of land, seeks to expand its holdings to 550,000 hectares.11 MHP is also reportedly circumventing restrictions on the purchase of land by asking its employees to buy land and lease it to the company.12

 

By contrast, small scale farmers in Ukraine demonstrate resilience and a great potential for leading the expansion of a different production model based on agroecology, environmental sustainability, and the production of healthy food.14 It is Ukraine’s small and medium-sized farmers who guarantee the country’s food security whereas large agribusinesses are geared towards export markets

 

Today, thousands of rural boys and girls, farmers, are fighting and dying in the war. They have lost everything. The processes of free land sale and purchase are increasingly liberalized and advertised. This really threatens the rights of Ukrainians to their land, for which they give their lives.”16

 

FIRE SALE IN UKRAINE!!: 

 

 

https://privatization.gov.ua/en/product-category/mala-pryvatyzatsiya-en/

[Luke]

At a time of tremendous suffering and displacement, wherein countless lives have been lost and massive financial resources spent for the control of Ukraine, this report raises major concerns about the future of land and food production in the country, which is likely to become more consolidated and controlled by oligarchs and foreign interests. These concerns are exacerbated by Ukraine’s staggering and growing foreign debt, contracted at the expense of the population’s living conditions as a result of the measures required under the structural adjustment program. Ukraine is now the world’s third-largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)17 and its crippling debt burden will likely result in additional pressure from its creditors, bondholders, and international financial institutions on how post-war reconstruction – estimated to cost US$750 billion – should happen.18

 

 

 

These powerful actors have already been explicit that they will use their leverage to further privatize the country’s public sector and liberalize its agriculture.19

 

What the IMF wants: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-04/ukraine-braces-for-imf-pressure-to-devalue-currency-cut-rates

 

 

 

 

[Luke]

Meanwhile everyone in the western world and media cheering for further war Selensky does a firesales to western investors and prepares Ukraine to be completely privatized and neoliberalized to foreign investors. Its so disgusting IMO that you hear absolutely nothing about these developements but only that the war needs to go on. 

 

Such a hypocrisy, ukraine gets empathy as long as they defend future investors assets. Its all about money and power again and nobody actually really gives a shit about the dead Ukrainian farmers etc

 

 

takeover-ukraine-agricultural-land.pdf

[Luke]

And of course, as a western financial institution you would want your assets to be protected by the peaceful NATO and get into the EU for trading benefits!