Putin is starting to lose it, boxed in by a falling Ruble and falling Oil prices. Lashes out at US..

[stevenleser]

Putin is feeling the pinch of the falling Ruble and falling Oil prices and is starting to lose it and is lashing out at the US.
Hey Vladimir Vladimirovich, if you hadn't decided to invade Ukraine in an unprovoked war of aggression, the US might be helping you right now.
--------------------------------------------

http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-there-is-no-true-democracy-in-america-2014-10

Vladimir Putin Just Gave One Of The Most Anti-American Speeches Of His Career
ARMIN ROSEN - OCT. 24, 2014, 12:45 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin just gave one of the most stridently anti-Western speeches of his career, a 40-minute "diatribe ... that was reminiscent of the Cold War," according to Reuters.

Putin was speaking before an "informal group of experts" at a mountain resort outside the former Olympic city of Sochi that included Western specialists critical of his rule. The Russian president held little back rhetorically, blaming the US for military escalations in the former Soviet space and accusing the US and its partners of "pushing [Ukraine] into chaos."

"We did not start this," Putin said before accusing the US of trying to "'remake the whole world' based on its interests" — an accusation often lobbed at Putin's Russia by its foreign critics.

But Putin's speech went beyond critiquing American actions or defending his own. He made several statements that don't really fall within the realm of policy disagreement.
.
.
.
More at above link

See also
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-ruble-hits-new-record-lows-2014-10
http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-will-be-plunged-into-a-recession-if-oil-prices-fall-further-2014-10

[MannyGoldstein]

1. It's always a good strategy to crap on the heads

of people who can inflict all kinds of mayhem.

Regards,

TWM

[CJCRANE]

2. There's a much better article in the Guardian

that has more quotes and less spin.

And no I'm not a Putinista, I just preferred President Obama's foreign policy in his first term when he was working with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons and various other projects to bring stability to the world.

[davidn3600]

3. It seems it is Putin that has gone off on a tangent...not Obama

Putin still seems to be stuck in the 1980s. He still thinks the world is about bullying and intimidation when it is really about money and economics.

Putin, and Russia as a whole, seems to have a very difficult time trusting the rest of the modern world. The cause of that is complex and would take a long time to explain (and really not a completely irrational fear). But there are some political and social hurdles that Russia needs to jump for themselves. We can't do that for them.

[MinneapolisMatt]

4. Very insightful.

+1

[stevenleser]

5. It all started about two years ago. Something changed, before even Ukraine.

You could feel it if you had to deal with Russian media. They went from mildly anti-US to virulently so in a very short time, almost as if an order was given at some point. I had a string of appearances on RT and overnight it became a place I didn't recognize. I still kept going on until after the anti-gay law.

[CJCRANE]

10. You're right there. But it was the American and Western media that changed.

It went into full neocon mode.

The first big event that showed this was the Syria chemical attack. The MSM went into overload showing those atrocity videos, even in split screen while Kerry was giving a big speech.

The MSM hasn't looked back since then in trying to browbeat and manipulate us into war using fear and sensationalism.

[stevenleser]

14. No, it was the Russian media that changed. All of us that go/went on RT and VoR noted it at the time

the hosts became virulently anti-US.

[CJCRANE]

16. Well, it seems subjective because I noticed a strong anti-Russian turn

in our media *before* the Russians reciprocated.

Our own media and politicians engaged in full on demonization of Russia and Putin. We saw it right here on DU. It was very obvious and overwhelming.

My own personal view is that Obama's 2nd term is following a neocon script. His first term was very different and did seem to be moving towards a real break from neocon policies.

[joeybee12]

20. While our media certainly has a bias...

We're not full-time propagandists like the Russian media...which Putin has been cracking down on. Well, except for Fox Noise we're not full-time propagandists.

[MADem]

56. Putin took over the Russian media--he shut down the "opposition" outlet and pulled it all in

under RT. This was covered here when it happened.

There is to be NO criticism of Putin in the Russian media, mind you. And they'll report what he tells them to report.

[AndreaCG]

68. I have a friend who was a voice of Russia employee

In DC. I'm not sure if he is still working there but he is a principled liberal so he may have stopped too.

[mazzarro]

8. Guardian artcle is a better journalistic piece IMO

And having read it, I will say that the OP is somewhat off the mark with the title of his post. Some of Putin's observations of the past decade had been things that have been brought up here in DU regarding the neo-cons and neo-liberal forged foreign policies of the US. To say that Putin is loosing it seem to be more of personal bias than accurate at least with regard to this article.

[nationalize the fed]

9. +1 Guardian > American Pablum

[MADem]

54. Putin came up in the KGB--he LIKED the idea of the USSR and he wants it back again.

He also wants to restore the Russian fleet to its former glory. He was planning on fixing up a port in Syria (Tartous) when the shit hit the fan there, damn the bad luck for him--that's his only 'international' port facility, poor Poot.

[amandabeech]

23. During his first term, PBO was dealing with Medvedev, although Putin was behind the curtain.

At least on the surface, Medvedev was much more reasonable and seemed to want to move forward, rather than living in the past, just like PBO. Then by mutual agreement, Medvedev went back to being the Prime Minister, as Putin had been, and Putin came back as President. That's when the real problems began. Putin seems to have spent his time as PM licking old cold war wounds.

Really, I'm wondering if Putin has some sort of emotional problems or perhaps a physical problem that manifests in the personality.

[AndreaCG]

70. Or just outright mental illness

Paranoia for one thing. Is megalomania a mental illness cause I'd say he has that too. And sociopathic tendencies too.

[Cha]

40. Then maybe you could provide said article.. thank you, CJCRANE.

[CJCRANE]

45. I'm not sure that's a good idea. I wouldn't want to be known as a...

Guardianista!



FWIW I've posted the full speech at the bottom of the this thread. IIRC the former French Foreign Minister also speaks in the video.

I always advise people to hear a speech direct from the source if possible.

I generally watch speeches myself (whether Dem, Repub or anything else) and ignore what the pundits say.

I don't need them to tell me what I just heard or what to think.

[Cha]

48. I already know what I think about the homophobic/internet-journalist suppressing dictator Putin.

thanks anyway, CJ

[CJCRANE]

50. It's about foreign policy. Do you agree with our support of religious fundamentalists?

[KingCharlemagne]

6. If Putin is losing it and still has picked up Crimea, I'd sure hate to see what would happen

if Putin were winning it.

Falling value of the ruble pegged to the dollar? That may be something of a moot point in about 2-3 years, once the Russian Federation's trade agreements with the PRC kick in and take off.

[stevenleser]

7. Nope, also losing against the Euro. The agreements with the PRC wont help if oil is low. Also...

PRC having economic problems and isn't consuming as much oil. Economists dont believe they will solve their economic problems anytime in the near future. Their cost of labor has reached parity with the US is one of their big problems.

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. Russia & India Report: "Forecast for 2014-17 downgraded by Russian Economic Ministry"

The Economic Development Ministry has made substantial revisions to its forecast for economic development parameters downward for 2015–2017. Under the basic scenario, Russian GDP in 2015 will grow by 1 percent, instead of the earlier expected 2 percent, while inflation will reach 6.5 instead of 5.5 percent.

Furthermore, the ministry's analysts predict a fall in the export of oil, gas and petroleum products. While in 2013, oil and gas exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union stood at $323.4 billion and in 2014, at $ 313.56 billion, in 2015 they may fall to $292.5 billion. The ministry believes that oil prices will reach $90–95 per barrel and stabilize there.

"The forecast is indeed extremely pessimistic. It is hard to imagine a worse situation, of course, a global force majeure aside," says managing partner with AKG FinEkspertiza Agvan Mikaelyan.

Furthermore, he continues, the forecast proceeds from the economy's strong dependence on oil and gas and does not envisage any changes in the structure of the economy in the near future.

"If this is how it will be, then the level of pessimism is justified," Mikaelyan adds. In particular, he points out, the authors of the forecast do not expect any real growth in incomes. Furthermore, on key parameters, some analysts' estimates are even more conservative.

http://in.rbth.com/economics/2014/09/02/forecast_for_2014-17_downgraded_by_russian_economic_ministry_37995.html

[NickB79]

33. "The ministry believes that oil prices will reach $90–95 per barrel and stabilize there. "

Oil is currently in the low $80's/barrel on global markets.

$10/barrel off in their forecast adds up to billions in lost revenue.

Ouch.

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. This will be felt by Russia, Iran, Venezuela & Saudi Arabia the most. They've got nothing else.

[Cha]

49. Oh, yeah.. Putin's a big fookin' winner.

[KingCharlemagne]

51. Well, he does enjoy a domestic approval rating of somewhere between 80-90%. Are you

saying that the average Russian (worker) is wrong?

[Cha]

52. Rofl

[zappaman]

55. Wow.

[SidDithers]

69. Check your PM...

Sid

[stevenleser]

58. This has been discussed before. Bush had a very positive approval level after the fall of Baghdad

and "Mission Accomplished". His approval level was in the 70's.

Unfortunately, you can appeal to large percentages of a population with a successful war of aggression like Putin and Bush did.

Were you cheering Bush on in April/May of 2003?

No?

Well neither should you or anyone else be cheering on Putin now. Same deal.

[KingCharlemagne]

74. Yeah, you know, as I think of it, Bush's approval rating in the days and weeks

after 9-11 was an almost-unheard of 90% or something like that. (I don't remember what feelings I held for Bush at the time, feeling completely and totally traumatized. By November 2001, my wife and I were already protesting.)

I do think Putin's approval rating had climbed from its 2013 lows even before the Ukraine crisis began, but I don't follow the subject closely so it's more of a vague feeling than anything definite that I can point to in the way of polling results or links. (It may have been as a result of his handling of the Georgia crisis.)

[Tarheel_Dem]

67. Are you saying that polling in a damned near closed society should be taken seriously? Really?

How 'bout N. Korea? Should we believe the equivalent of KingCharlemagne about them as well?

Media Support Outside of Russia

<snip>
It is particularly ironic that the decision came the same week that Russian authorities denounced a district court in Kyiv for temporarily allowing the suspension of Russian broadcasts in Ukraine, a decision that Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Human Rights Envoy called “an infringement on democratic freedoms and a violation of Ukraine’s international obligations.”

In the last year, the Russian Government has passed laws imposing unprecedented censorship and restrictions on media and online publications. In the past few months alone it has blocked independent websites and blogs; turned the respected news wire service Ria Novosti into a propaganda service; denied visas and accreditation to foreign professional journalists; and forced leadership changes at several media outlets simply because those outlets dared to challenge the Kremlin’s extremist policies. Not only has the Russian Government ignored harassment, attacks, death threats and kidnappings of journalists in Russia and Crimea, it has made no progress in prosecuting the murderers of several other journalists, including American journalist Paul Klebnikov and Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.



The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international press freedom advocacy group, noted its own concerns about recent steps to restrict Russia’s independent media in an open letter to President Putin on March 20. Freedom House has also noted with concern the rapidly restricting space for free media in Russia.

http://thephilanews.com/does-the-russian-government-only-support-media-freedom-outside-of-russia-45368.htm

Being a dissenting voice in Mother Russia can be hazardous to one's health. In an environment like that, how the hell can you not have near unanimous approval?

[Alittleliberal]

71. Do you think Russia conducts fair polls?

[KingCharlemagne]

73. I know Gallup has come in for its share of criticism and I'm not a specialist

in polling. But back in July 2014, Gallup conducted a poll which asked Russians how they viewed Putin.

Some 83% at the time said they approved of his leadership.

Please note, this was the Gallup polling organization, not the Russian Federation government, that conducted the poll.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/173597/russian-approval-putin-soars-highest-level-years.aspx

I've seen polls since the onset of the Ukraine crisis that have put Putin's domestic approval rating as high as 88%, but cannot find those links right now.

[Purveyor]

11. This will no doubt bump up Vlad's standing at home, whom he represents to what, 90%.

The Russian populace is all but 100% onboard with Putin's leadership after being 'kicked to the curb' and 'ridiculed' since the fall of the USSR.

Vlad hasn't no worries at home and one best not ponder his 'losing it' as our in
-house 'fox news contributor' surmises. That would be dire for all considering the Russian capabilities.

[KingCharlemagne]

13. Were Putin to be replaced by a real ultra-nationalist (like Limonov, for example), the

Putin bashers of today would seriously come to rue their stance. Sometimes I wonder whether they've forgotten that the Russian Federation is a global nuclear power.

[HereSince1628]

19. IIRC the Japanese attacked the US as a response to economic sanctions...

I may not remember that correctly, or I may remember it correctly but what I was taught was biased by WWII still being close to time of my education

But, real or fantasy I think the lesson I got from that memory is economic sanctions can lead to more than one outcome.

Ramping up Putin to be ever more hostile, or even causing Putin to fall and be replaced by an even more resentful leadership does seem part of the mix of risk in this approach.

[KingCharlemagne]

21. We've been playing a (very) dirty game in the region, ever since the collapse of

the Warsaw Pact and USSR.

IIRC, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker promised his Soviet counterpart Schevardnaze that there would be no, read ZERO, eastward expansion of NATO, if the USSR allowed a reunited Germany to remain within NATO. The USSR and Russian Federation kept their promises . . .

Of course, had the U.S. actually observed its obligation to disarm in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- and how many here knew about that little codicil of the NNPT? -- we might not be in such perilous straits.

Economic sanctions and stranglehold on a conventionally-armed imperial Japan is one thing; economic sanctions and stranglehold on a nuclear-armed Russian Federation?

[SidDithers]

63. ...

http://metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=883029



Sid

[AndreaCG]

75. Are those the only choices? Oy.

[tabasco]

24. The hero worship ends pretty quickly

when bread costs $20/loaf.

http://www.businessinsider.com/food-prices-have-begun-skyrocketing-in-parts-of-russia-2014-9

[Purveyor]

28. Ah but unlike we 'westerners' the Russia people have a backbone and

have lived this before. They are willing for sacrifice to retain their pride.

[HereSince1628]

39. Remember the American and British invasion of Russia? The Russians do

The Russians I met have a perspective on their exposure to invasions from east and west that by and large Americans wouldn't recognize.

[Cha]

41. Speak for yourself when you glorify Russia and bash "Westerners".

[Purveyor]

42. Who else would I be speaking for. I've never claimed to represent anybody

other than myself.

[Cha]

44. Good.

[treestar]

60. I'm curious. If they have a backbone

Why don't they have freedom of speech, representative democracy and so many other things? Why within the last 100 years were they subject to a totalitarian dictatorship?

Nothing against then, but you seem to say they were better than "westerners." How is that at all justifiable? Westerners have much better governments generally.

[Purveyor]

66. They have never had those things you listed and witness what many there consider the

debauchery in the West and they just don't want to go there.

[840high]

65. ....

[deutsey]

15. I initially thought that said "Palin is starting to lose it"

It's been a long day.

Regardless, I guess she's probably able to watch all of this happening to Putin from her backyard, so I suppose there's a connection here.

[mythology]

17. Good

Russia has definitely taken steps backward under Putin's regime.

[KingCharlemagne]

22. Um, you do know that the average Russian's standard of living has

improved dramatically since Putin took over from that drunken lout and CIA tool Yeltsin, right?

Do the living standards of average Russian working people mean anything to you?

[tabasco]

25. LOL!

http://www.businessinsider.com/food-prices-have-begun-skyrocketing-in-parts-of-russia-2014-9

[tsuki]

34. LOL!

Food prices are skyrocketing in the US. I see it every time I shop. Ain't that a laugh riot.

[Cha]

43. So? That doesn't detract from the point about Russia and "bad food imports"..

"Last month, we showed how Russian citizens had taken to social media to denounce their government's decision to bad food imports in response to Western economic sanctions.

Those complaints do not appear to have been misplaced: Deutsche Welle is now reporting that food prices have skyrocketed in Russia's import-dependent far east, and that the rest of the country will soon follow. In Primorsky, a territory near China, meat prices have climbed 26%, while fish prices soared 40%. Chicken legs on Sakhalin Island, north of Japan, skyrocketed by 60%."

[tabasco]

26. Standard of living went up in Germany under Hitler

How'd that work out?

[KingCharlemagne]

27. Actually, it didn't. The Nazi regime's policy of economic autarky actually led

to slight but statistically significant declines in the average German's standard of living from 1933-39, according to William Carr's Arms, Autarky and Aggression.

That's an aside to your impllied Godwin-esque slur upon Putin (two of whose close family members died during the Siege of Leningrad, btw).

[GGJohn]

29. And another Putin apologist emerges.

[Tarheel_Dem]

38. TYT/Buzzfeed: "Russia's Online Troll Army Is Huge, Hilarious & Already Everywhere "

Emphasis on "Hilarious".

"Moscow is financing legions of pro-Russia Internet commenters. But how much do they matter?"

"Russia's campaign to shape international opinion around its invasion of Ukraine has extended to recruiting and training a new cadre of online trolls that have been deployed to spread the Kremlin's message on the comments section of top American websites."

[KingCharlemagne]

47. Can you please tell me where to put in my application? I really

need a paycheck and, since I've already earned the sobriquet of 'Putin apologist,' I feel like I should be able to monetize my status.

[Tarheel_Dem]

77. Hey, I never said you were good at it. But if it's "hilarious" they're looking for, you've at least

got a foot in the door.

P.S.: You can start here, cuz outside Russia, where folks have actual news & internet access, he ain't doing too well.

Americans' Views of Russia, Putin Are Worst in Years
Clear majority view the Russian president and his nation unfavorably

http://www.gallup.com/poll/167402/americans-views-russia-putin-worst-years.aspx

Russia’s Global Image Negative amid Crisis in Ukraine
Americans’ and Europeans’ Views Sour Dramatically

http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/09/russias-global-image-negative-amid-crisis-in-ukraine/

[KingCharlemagne]

46. Not to be outdone, another tiresome Putin basher appears.

[CJCRANE]

53. The thing is, this shouldn't be about Putin. It should be about our relationship with Russia

and using that to improve global security.

The politics of personal demonization has achieved nothing but chaos in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Neocon policies are always counterproductive and produce more of what they claim they want to reduce.

[Cha]

59. Putin bashes his fucking self.. ask the mothers of the Russian Soldiers killed in the Ukraine

"What does Russia tell the mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine? Not much."

snip//

"..But such anonymity, which helps Moscow pretend that no Russian soldier fights in Ukraine, comes at a high cost. Rights groups, activists and local journalists now allege that Russia, already burdened with a dark history of soldier abuse, has suppressed the truth of its own killed soldiers, obfuscated details of their demise and buried some of the dead in unmarked graves to hide their role in Ukraine. And Russia’s response if its soldiers are caught: They’re wanderers who “accidentally” crossed the border."

snip//

Valentina Melnikova, who leads the Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, told the Daily Beast she was “personally humiliated as a citizen of the Russian Federation by our commander-in-chief’s pure, direct crime.” She said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “violating not only international laws, not only the Geneva Convention, [he] also is breaking Russian Federation law about defense. And as for the [Russian airborne commander], we should be too disgusted to even mention his name. He forces his servicemen to fight in a foreign state, Ukraine, illegally, while mothers receive coffins with their sons, anonymously.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/29/what-does-russia-tell-the-mothers-of-soldiers-killed-in-ukraine-not-much

[leeroysphitz]

18. Quick! Somebody post that pic of him hunting lions with a spear in a loin cloth riding a white rhino

[Thinkingabout]

30. The sanctions are having an effect on Putin, he may want to have all the control, they are hurting

his game. Time will tell, he snapped his fingers and the world continued to tighten the sanctions, it is slowing down Russia.

[tsuki]

31. I watched the three hour meeting. It was

very good. But I suggest that rather than take the word of the Business Insider, the propaganda tool of the oligarchs, you watch and think for yourselves.

I did not agree with everything he said, but I found him very plain spoken. I guess that is "lashing out" to an oligarch.

[Cha]

57. How sweet you're sticking up for that homophobic/internet suppressing dictator. How nice Putin is

so plain spoken to you.

Too bad he's not so "plain spoken" when families of Russian Soldiers want to know how their sons died..

"What does Russia tell the mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine? Not much."

snip//

"..But such anonymity, which helps Moscow pretend that no Russian soldier fights in Ukraine, comes at a high cost. Rights groups, activists and local journalists now allege that Russia, already burdened with a dark history of soldier abuse, has suppressed the truth of its own killed soldiers, obfuscated details of their demise and buried some of the dead in unmarked graves to hide their role in Ukraine. And Russia’s response if its soldiers are caught: They’re wanderers who “accidentally” crossed the border."

snip//

Valentina Melnikova, who leads the Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, told the Daily Beast she was “personally humiliated as a citizen of the Russian Federation by our commander-in-chief’s pure, direct crime.” She said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “violating not only international laws, not only the Geneva Convention, [he] also is breaking Russian Federation law about defense. And as for the [Russian airborne commander], we should be too disgusted to even mention his name. He forces his servicemen to fight in a foreign state, Ukraine, illegally, while mothers receive coffins with their sons, anonymously.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/29/what-does-russia-tell-the-mothers-of-soldiers-killed-in-ukraine-not-much/

[CakeGrrl]

61. I think this is more about

whom Putin's hosting.

[CJCRANE]

62. You make some good points. What is your opinion of our policy in Syria?

Do you agree with Joe Biden's take on it in his speech at Harvard?

[tsuki]

72. Is this the same Washington Post that

smeared and jeered Cindy Sheehan and the Tillman's every chance they got? That backed an illegal war and cost the lives of many American youths? I guess that they can only cry for Russian Mothers while they name and defame American Mothers.

[Cha]

76. Oh you don't believe the WAPO.. you don't think that plain spoken Putin could do such a thing?

Not a very good attempt at covering for the poor misunderstood homophobe.

Mothers of Invasion

08.28.14

Russia Lies About Invading Ukraine as It Invades Ukraine

As Russia troops and tanks make an apparent bid to open the land route to annexed Crimea, discontent is growing in the motherland about the obvious but oft-denied war in Ukraine

President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have failed to make Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledge his ever-more-overt invasion of Ukraine and think about pulling back, Valentina Melnikova, the head of Russia’s famous Soldiers’ Mothers Committee, might just have a chance

Early Thursday morning, Melnikova started getting phone calls from Russian army bosses. All of them, from the deputy defense minister to the paratrooper division commanders, wanted to meet with the great matriarch of the Russian military. She had accused the entire high command, along with Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin of invading Ukraine and of committing a crime against Russian citizens by sending Russian soldiers to "the bloody battlefields" without declaring the war, without signing legal papers with the servicemen, without letting Russian mothers know where exactly their drafted sons ended up dying.

MOre..
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/28/russian-moms-denounce-putin-s-not-so-secret-ukraine-invasion.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

32. That seems like a tendentious take on Putin's speech.

[stevenleser]

80. A dictator having just completed a war of aggression blaming other folks? No its not "tendentious"

Its overly generous, is what it is.

[CJCRANE]

36. Here's the full video of the speech:

Putin at Valdai - World Order: New Rules or a Game without Rules (FULL VIDEO) RT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017222976

I don't necessarily agree with or approve of Putin's domestic policies but I preferred President Obama's first term foreign policy of trying to find commmon ground and areas of cooperation with Russia (such as reducing nuclear weapons and working together to remove and destroy Assad's chemical weapons). I was very disappointed by the recent resurgence of neocon-style rhetoric.

[840high]

64. Thank you.

[LostInAnomie]

78. Remember when people were calling Obama weak and Russia was mocking the sanctions?

I wonder if those clowns still think the economic approach is weak and funny.

[Tarheel_Dem]

79. I certainly remember. Wasn't so long ago, was it?