The death of Stalin and other animals

This extraordinary document deserves a translation. While my expertise as a translator is somewhat unimpressive, I shall try to do my best. The letter below was sent to Nikita Khrushchev immediately after the tyrant and mass murderer croaked. Khrushchev was the chairman of the funeral commission.

***

Dear Nikita Sergeevich [Khrushchev]!

Whether under the influence of the great grief that befell our Soviet people, or under the influence of burning hatred for the enemies and traitors of the people, murderous terrorists who carried their sting over our leaders and statesmen, or under the influence of both. I dare to express and hope, not only my opinion and wish, but also the opinion and wish of many Soviet citizens, the wish is that during the civil funeral for our beloved and beloved leader I.V. Stalin did not allow the "Jewish ensemble", called the State Symphony Orchestra of USSR, which team is always assigned to play mourning music in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions.

The mourning melody of this orchestra, consisting of 95% of Jews, sounds insincere. After each funeral, this Jewish weed, rallied under the guise of the State Symphony Orchestra of USSR, with a sense of satisfaction, calculates its unplanned income. I believe that this Jewish team of the symphony orchestra is not worthy of being in close proximity to our great, beloved leader, dear I.V. Stalin.

We have many orchestras consisting of the devoted sons of our multinational Soviet state, and there is no need to impose this mission on the people (the Jews), who have not shown examples of heroism and devotion throughout their history. The only thing that our industrious people hear and confront is theft, cheating, speculation, betrayal and murder on the part of this small, corrupt people, one word about which - “Jew” - evokes a feeling of disgust and distaste.

As for the composition of the State Symphony Orchestra of USSR, it would be useful to think about its future existence in such composition. A small group of leaders of the orchestra, that creates an aura of fame for Jewish musicians in the competitive selection of musicians for the orchestra, often under pressure from Jewish musicians, do not give players of Russian nationality the opportunity to join the orchestra, although they are far superior to Jews who insinuate into the orchestra through the intrusiveness of the Jews and the support of the Jewish members of the entire symphony orchestra.

V.Antonov [the author]

***

The official answer to this letter is no less amazing. Here are some excerpts:

***

... In fact, the position in the orchestra is as follows: out of 112 orchestra members, 66 are Russians (59%), 40 are Jews (35.7%) and 6 are of other nationalities(5.3%).

The message of the author of the letter that few Russians were accepted at the contests held in the orchestra is not true. In 1951/52, only 14 musicians were enrolled to the orchestra after the selection process, of which 11 were Russian and 3 Jews.

... During May - June of this year. The Arts Committee retires 10 musicians (2 of them are Russians, 8 are Jews). In September 1953, the orchestra will be replenished by new musicians of indigenous nationality.

V. Kruzhkov and P. Tarasov [signed the response]

***

Hat tip: M.T.

Murder of a poet - 80 years

Behind us still our fate was grimly holding,

A razor-handed madman, seeking fee.

(Arseny Aleksandrovich Tarkovsky)

The picture above is, most probably, the last picture of Osip Mandelshtam, one of the brightest stars in Russian poetry of XX century. It was taken by a prison photographer not long before his death. His murder, in fact. The poet signed his death sentence by his famous epigram of the tyrant:

We live, not feeling the earth beneath us
At ten paces our words evaporate.
But when there’s the will to crack open our mouths
our words orbit the Kremlin mountain man.
Murderer, peasant killer.

His fingers plump as grubs.
His words drop like lead weights.
His laughing cockroach whiskers.
The gleam of his boot rims.

Around him a circle of chicken-skinned bosses
sycophantic half-beings for him to toy with.
One whines, another purrs, a third snivels
as he babbles and points.

He forges decrees to be flung
like horseshoes
at the groin, the face, the eyes.

He rolls the liquidations on his tongue like berries
delicacies for the barrel-chested Georgian.

It is not my place to write about the life and poetry of the genius, but here are some memories of his last days. His last letter to the family:

Dear Shura! 

I am - Vladivostok, СВИТЛ*, the 11th barrack. Got 5 years for the к.р.д.** by decision of the ОСО***. From Moscow, the Butyrki, our group left on September 9, arrived on October 12. Health is very weak, exhausted to the extreme, emaciated, almost unrecognizable, but I don’t know whether to send things, food and money makes sense. Try all the same. Very cold without things.

My dear Nadinka, I do not know whether you are alive, my dove. You, Shura, write about Nadya to me now. Here I am at a transit point. I was not taken to the Kolyma. Wintering is possible.
My dear, I kiss you.

Osya and Shurochka, I am writing more. The last days I went to work, and it raised my spirits. From our camp, as a transit point, they send [people] to the permanent [camps]. I have obviously got "screened out", and I have to get ready for the winter.

And please send me a telegram and money by telegraph.

(*) СВИТЛ - Northeast Forced Labor and Correction Camps - a branch of GULAG.
(**) к.р.д. - Counter-revolutionary activities.
(***) ОСО, Special Committee) - an administrative body under the NKVD of the USSR, which existed from 1934 to 1953.

And a description of the poet's death:

...in November we have started being eaten alive by thoroughbred white lice. Typhus, of course, got to us. The sick people were taken away, and not seen anymore. On a morning at the end of December, a few days before the New Year, we were led to the baths, to "sanitary processing". There was no water. We were ordered to undress in the cold and take the clothing to the heating room*. And then we were transferred to the other half of the premises, the dressing room, where it was even colder. The room stank of sulphur and smoke. At this time two naked men fell unconscious.
Several flankeys came up. They took out pieces of plywood, twine and put tags on the dead. His tag said "Mandelshtam Osip, Article 58 (10), 10 years."

(*) Heating room - a preferred way then to kill the lice in clothing.

This is the end of one of the very few through whom the deity of poetry speaks.

Take from my palms some sun to bring you joy
and take a little honey - so the bees
of cold Persephone commanded us.

No loosing of the boat that is not moored,
no hearing of the shadow shod in fur,
no overcoming fear in life's dense wood.

And kisses are all that's left us now,
kisses as hairy as the little bees
who perish if they fly out of the hive.

They rustle in transparent depths of night,
their home dense forests on Taigetos' slopes,
their food is honeysuckle, mint and time.

So for your joy receive my savage gift,
a dry and homely necklace of dead bees
who have transmuted honey into sun*.

(*) Well, better a poor translation than nothing. Not that there is any possibility to translate him.

God willing, we'll kill you all...

To start with dry facts:

Russia’s Ministry of Defense plans to build the military’s main church in the Moscow Region, and it’s going to be big. According to blueprints, the church will be 95 meters tall, making it the third tallest Orthodox church on the planet. As it stands, the first and the second tallest are also Russian: Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, and St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St.Petersburg.

“Throughout history, Russians have built monumental churches, chapels, and whole architectural ensembles to commemorate the defenders of the Motherland,” the project’s official webpage says. Thus, the new church follows the traditions and aims at “uniting all the Orthodox servicemen of Russia.”

The Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu stated that both the government and the Russian Orthodox Church approve of the project. The church will be in the Byzantine style and located in Patriot Park in Kubinka, (75 km west of Moscow). It’s earmarked to be completed by 2020.

Few more details from another source:

The idea of building the main temple of the Armed Forces of Russia received the blessing of Patriarch Cyril. The temple will become a spiritual, educational, methodical and educational center for servicemen and other citizens of Russia. An exhibition exposition dedicated to the history of the formation of the Russian state and armed forces will be located on its territory.

To make sure, the planners haven't forgotten anything:

The temple will have several altars, the central one will be named in honor of the main Christian holiday - the Resurrection of Christ, the rest will be dedicated to the heavenly patrons of the different branches of the Armed Forces.

And, for dessert:

The steps of the main church of the Russian Armed Forces,... will be cast from Wehrmacht trophy equipment, said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting of the public council of the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday.

What kind of psychotic mind stands behind this project? Meet Sergei Shoigu:

Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation and and General of the Army that appears in the picture in military uniform and a treasure trove of medals has never served in the military.

No more to be said.

ROC vs priest Alexander Shramko and Facebook

ROC priest Alexander Shramko hasn't expected the bolt out the blue, I bet. He just wanted to document the epic arrival of Patriarch Kirill, the ROC chief, for a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in Minsk (Belarus). Well, he added a few sarcastic remarks about the manner of the Patriarch's arrival, his inattention to the public gathered to meet him, his seemingly excessive security detail. He posted a few pictures on his Facebook page, like these two (and more):

On October 16, the priest received a decree on his release from the post of cleric of the St. Michael's parish of Minsk. The document states that he is forbidden to serve, to wear the priestly cross, and to bless the believers. Such a decision is justified, in particular, by the publication of messages that "slander the Orthodox Church and sow hostility and hatred in the hearts of people." The ban will be valid for a year, after which the Minsk Diocese will consider the resumption of ministry. “They said that after a year, if you repent, change your attitude ... Probably, it means that I should stop writing, stop speaking,” said Shramko to Euroradio.

Decree attached:

The sensitivity of the most powerful religious institution of Russia (and beyond) is mindboggling, isn't it?

Don't you ever change, Russia. Stay classy!

This opus, written by a Facebook user Natalya Kuzmina* in 2017, isn't remarkable in its content. Only in the diligence and verbosity of its creator. Her Russian is quite poor, by the way. But she speaks for many, possibly for a lot over there.

Do not purchase sausage, grounded meat, cutlets, frankfurters. They are made of ritually slain children, which disappear in millions every year.
Blood is pumped out (sic!) from the kids, and meat is processed and arrives to the shops' counters.
Our children are being stolen during the year, and sacrificed for important holidays Purim, Hanukkah, Pesach.
[They] could use the adults as well, but the best are children, since they are clean and innocent.
Such sacrifice of innocence is identified with the virginal sacrifice of Christ.
The children are also taken away by Juvenilka**  and sold to Judeans for organs.
Read Psalter every day for your relatives. The strongest prayer in God's eyes comes from Psalter, especially the night one.
This information will soon be removed from the Internet possibly, forward it to people.

Somehow it doesn't look like vegan propaganda leaflet to me...

(*) Don't try to look her up, there is a myriad of people with the same name (Наталья Кузьмина) он Facebook. The name isn't rare.
(**) A slang moniker for the children social services.

NKVD uniform circa 1943, for children - why do you wait?

A personal disclosure: I have little sympathy for the Stalin's prime butchers of NKVD. My reasons are, with all else, rather personal. In 1939 one of my late and beloved uncles, being of the socialist persuasion, illegally crossed the border to get to the socialist heaven of USSR, was promptly arrested, accused of spying and spent more than 15 years in the worst parts of GULAG. The folks in blue and red hats have done their considerable best by him.

Anyhow, we are in the blessed XXI century now, and Mother Russia was celebrating the Victory Day (May 9), as it does every year. This time, some enterprising Internet-based outfit decided to spice the celebration with a special gift for kids:

NKVD officer defending the Motherland

"The uniform is intended for military reconstructions, role games, Victory Day celebrations, theatrical productions, photo shoots," it says in the product description. It is noted that, in addition to the uniform, you can buy a belt, a holster, a sword belt, leather boots and epaulettes.

So, enough time has passed that some elements in Russia, nostalgic for the days of the murderous dictator, decided to start whitewashing the murderous vermin at the beck and call of the 'roach mustaches.

We are living, but can’t feel the land where we stay,
More than ten steps away you can’t hear what we say.
But if people would talk on occasion,
They should mention the Kremlin Caucasian.

His thick fingers are bulky and fat like live-baits,
And his accurate words are as heavy as weights.
Cucaracha’s moustaches are screaming,
And his boot-tops are shining and gleaming.

But around him a crowd of thin-necked henchmen,
And he plays with the services of these half-men.
Some are whistling, some meowing, some sniffing,
He’s alone booming, poking and whiffing.

He is forging his rules and decrees like horseshoes –
Into groins, into foreheads, in eyes, and eyebrows.
Every killing for him is delight,
And Ossetian torso is wide*.

This is the man NKVD served so loyally, and the bones of their victims are scattered all over the country in their silent millions.

Adds a blogger tverdyi_znak:

It might be good to hand all buyers a memo - from whom and how the soldiers of the NKVD protected the Motherland. Among the terrible enemies of the Motherland was, for example, Misha Shamonin, who was shot at Butovo landfill at the age of 13. And not just by mistake, but by law, which allowed the NKVD to incarcerate and kill children from the age of 12.

Misha Shamonin, executed at age 13.

The Russians are obviously trying to forget their past, as do many others. And some (too many) of them will not rest until the past is safely buried. Here is a response from an arch-patriotic Bell of Russia. It is a long screed, most of it in defense of the heroic soldiers of NKVD that were the first to defend the Motherland against the Nazi hordes. It is full of scorn and hate directed at the "libruls" who dare to show their indignation by the revolting marketing ploy. The hateful rhetoric raises to its peak at the end:

What the Russian liberals are doing, mocking the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, looks like rehabilitation of fascism, for which the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for up to three years of imprisonment. Perhaps, when the Russian liberal public finally realizes that punishment for such things is inevitable, their desire to engage in sacrilege will begin to wane. Such kind of people, unfortunately, do not understand kind persuasion...

So much for kindness.

(*) Osip Mandelstam, 1933. The epigram that became his death sentence.

Russia - where go thee?

"National mourning during the run-up to the presidents inauguration - cynical disrespect to millions of voters", stated Volodin" - in regard of the tragic fire event in Kemerovo

Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin is a Russian politician who is the 10th and current Chairman of the State Duma since 5 October 2016. He is a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I heard that this mind-boggling message was later removed by its carrier, the state-owned TASS.

This unbelievable declaration after the Kemerovo disaster, besides showing the level of adoration of the de facto Russian autocrat for life, signifies the new era in Russian internal and international politics. It didn't happen yesterday, of course, it took some time, but the boiled frog method eventually succeeded. The country that, in the beginning of the nineties, had a chance to develop into a full-fledged democracy, was returned, slowly but surely and without undue violence, into its traditional slavish worship of the Strong Man. From now on anything he will do, no matter how criminal or stupid, no matter whether it is done in own society or without, will be accepted and hailed as a given.

The tone of the external discourse, as set by the ruler, has also changed, and became quite ominous. I would say that since Stalin's times, the language of the Russian foreign ministry communiques was never that crude and militant. Not to mention full of lies (that was never a showstopper for the ministry mentioned).

The British authorities have demonstrated their inability to ensure the safety of Russian citizens more than once. The glaring examples include the poisoning of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, the death of businessmen Badri Patarkatsishvili and Alexander Perepelichny under unclear circumstances, the mysterious “suicide” of Boris Berezovsky and the strangling of Berezovsky’s business partner Nikolai Glushkov, and lastly, the recent attempt on the lives and health of Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

In the latter case, London acted contrary to all the norms of international law, ethics and even common sense. London has accused Russia of poisoning Russian citizens without providing any evidence or the complete picture of the crime. At the same time, it has provided the alleged name of the toxic agent, which has never been used in Russia, and has launched a large-scale political and media campaign against Russia. It has initiated the campaign to expel Russian diplomats from a number of countries and representative offices at international organisations and has announced a package of other sanctions. Meanwhile, it has completely disregarded our legitimate requests to share the samples of the alleged toxic agent.

There is more in this text, but the quote should be enough.

The war with Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Syrian adventures, the recent bragging session by Putin about the Russian military might - all this doesn't bode well for anyone with a bit of common sense. Whoever doesn't see that this is Putin's way to deflect the attention of the average Russian from the woes of the stagnating economy and the effects the Western sanctions are having on the daily life, could do worse than read this article from Pravda.

A word of caution: the person, quoted at the end of the article, one Sergei Gorodnikov,

is an unusual character. Described by Wiki as a "Russian scientist, writer, playwright, political economist, journalist, publicist, philosopher, politician", he is an ultra-nationalist, as reactionary as they come. During the Soviet years he was too much of a blackshirt to be supported by the ruling powers, but these days, with proliferation of ultra-patriotic filth, he's harnessed the wave. Gorodnikov was leading an extremist nationalist organization Русские ("Russians"), which appeared to be too much even for the sympathetic Russian administration and got dissolved in 2015 by a court order. Currently Mr Gorodnikov bills himself as a director of an entity called Global Policy Development Center (probably having about one employee/CEO/CFO).

His political stance is not quite clear, since he defines himself sometimes as "national socialist" and sometimes as "national democrat". But otherwise, his goals are defined very well in this article.

Director of the Global Policy Development Center, Sergei Gorodnikov, told Pravda.Ru that the Russians are absolutely uncompetitive in the world, "primarily because we have the universal Christian morality, and the West obeys concepts of national interests and corporate ethics. They see the rest of the world beyond the notion of ethics and morality," the political scientist noted in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

According to him, "the countries of the West that stand on the positions of double morality are much more powerful economically and financially. They will wipe Russia out with its weak economy that accounts to only 1.7% percent of GDP of the world economy. They will squash Russia like a fly, we have one or two decades left maximum."

The West, Sergei Gorodnikov continued, has been preparing its public opinion for a consolidated struggle against Russia on the scenario that they had used against Saddam Hussein. As soon as they all consolidate, they will launch an offensive on Putin's regime," the expert told Pravda.Ru.

According to the political scientist, Russia's salvation lies in her return to totalitarianism. "Party is a system-forming core that rules the country for generations. This is an instrument of strategic management. We've had the communist regime that would give the country a strategy for three generations,"

You could easily see where the learned national socialist is right: Russian economy isn't competitive and accounts for a very thin slice of the world economy indeed. The picture of the bloodthirsty West that is preparing to wipe Russia out, though, fits like a glove the current Kremlin view of the political map.

You might ignore the (indeed) odious "analyst", but ignoring the media outfit that publishes revelations like this, Pravda.ru, is a perilous decision at the best of times. Because Pravda.ru is not a mouthpiece of the weakened to the point of impotence communist party. It is toeing the Kremlin line quite devoutly, and its writers know very well the direction of the wind blowing from Kremlin.

Not to mention that the prophecy about returning to totalitarianism is rather a thing of the past. Everything points to it being a reality today.

Too bad.

Moscow was confident that nobody will catch them

The latest news on the poisoning of the Russian colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia brings another twist to the story.

The nerve agent which poisoned a Russian double agent was planted in his daughter's suitcase before leaving Moscow, it has been reported.

Of course, this is not (yet) a rock solid proof that the hand of Kremlin was in this assassination. As the article shows, there is a possibility of a run-of-the-mill criminal revenge, carried out by a person with security connections, possibly able to obtain the poison. A bit too far out, but still useful for deniers...

Whatever the conspinuts say, the nerve agent was traced back to Moscow. Not that this will deter the seekers of "real truths". For the rest of us, I am translating* here an interview with Vil Mirzayanov, a scientist and later head of Foreign Technical Counterintelligence at the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) in Moscow in the 1970s and 1980s, which produced the shadowy class of binary nerve agents known as the “novichoks” (newcomers). The reason for this translation: there are several other interviews in English with the man, however in all cases the interviewers were too lazy or too unprepared to ask the right questions. The reporter for Voice of America has done a better job.

(The headline of this post is, in fact, a translation of the title of the article in question).

***

The world learned about the existence of the nerve-fighting poisonous substance "novichok" from Vil Mirzayanov. In 1992 he wrote an article "Poisoned Politics" for the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. Mirzayanov was arrested twice, but the case against him collapsed before coming to court. The chemist went to the US, where he wrote the book "State secrets: the Russian program of chemical weapons from the inside." In his blogs, he argued that Washington was extremely unhappy with the publication containing complete chemical formulas of the poison agent.

Since 1992, Mirzayanov tried to achieve the ban of "novichok" as a chemical weapon, but failed. The substance officially still does not exist.

Where could have British chemists got samples of the "novichok", which country could organize the production of this nerve agent, how long the chemical weapons are stored, why Moscow insists on actions "in strict accordance with the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,"  - Vil Mirzayanov tells in an interview for Russian service of the Voice of America.

- You have participated in the development of unique Soviet chemical poisons - nerve agents, known today as "novichok". At the same time, you argue that there is no such weapon in any country in the world, except Russia. How did British investigators find out which substance was used to poison Sergei Skripal?


- In order to establish what "preparation" was used in this case, you need to have access to a powerful high-resolution mass spectrometer, in the "library" of which there are spectra of all compounds known to date. The sample taken is compared with those already known, and the computer indicates the spectrum with a 96 percent probability. That's it, there can be no mistake here.

- But for this purpose the investigators should have some kind of sample?

- These are the usual procedures. You can take blood, urine, extract the sample from clothes with the help of solvents. There are many ways.

- Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the chemical used to poison former colonel GRU Sergey Skripal could be produced in other countries, including the UK. You say that in England there were samples of the "novichok".

- The British could synthesize it on the basis of the formulas that I published in my book in 2008 [State Secrets: An Insider's Chronicle of the Russian Chemical Weapons Program Secrets .- VA]. Each country takes care of its own security independently, and in the study of potential threats it was possible to create a sample.

So that samples could exist in many countries, but production was set up only in the USSR and Russia.

- Have you published these formulas completely?

- Completely. I suspected that something like that [an attempt on the Skripal - VA] could happen, and therefore for a long time, since 1992, I tried to include "novichok" in the list of officially banned chemical compounds. But this can only be done by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), having an agreement on this decision with all the member countries of the convention.

After my book was published, this issue was discussed at a meeting at the OPCW headquarters and, to my knowledge, no decision was taken.

- The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, responding to the claims of the British side, accused London of non-compliance with the requirements of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.


- The OPCW, within the framework of this Convention, can only work with compounds that are on the list of banned substances. "novichok" is not on this list, and, therefore, the headquarters of this organization does not have methods for recognizing the "drug".

- You have announced the existence of "novichok" in 1992 for the first time. These weapons could have been improved since then? How can you be sure that in this case we are not talking about a completely different compound with similar characteristics?

- Of course, it could have been improved, but the "skeleton" of the drug remains unchanged. "novichok" differs from all, without exception, nerve gases in that it is based on the connection of phosphorus and nitrogen. All other poison agents do not have such a connection, so "novichok" is a fundamentally new class.

- "novichok" was created in the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GONIIOKHT) back in the late 1980s. While working on this project, you have assumed that it could be used in such cases as the "Skripal affair"?

- In Soviet times we always worked together with the KGB. When Markov [the Bulgarian writer Georgy Markov, killed in London in 1978 - VA] was killed, ricin, obtained in our laboratory, was used in the assassination. But we did not engage in tools of murder, for this purpose the KGB had its own laboratory.

- Russian officials claimed that the "drug" you created could be found in the republics of the former USSR. As a possible source, for example, they have named Georgia and Uzbekistan.

- This is empty talk. The Soviet Union collapsed 27 years ago, and if somewhere in the republics there was a clean "novichok", it had long since disintegrated and would not do as a weapon.

Any chemical poisoning agent decomposes. There is no compound that retains its properties for a long time. In the first year, 2% is lost, in the second year - 3%, and the resulting decomposition products accelerate the decay process. That is why the storage and disposal of toxic substances is a big problem, which, moreover, is more expensive than production.

- You said that during the assassination of Skripal and his daughter binary weapons could have been used ...

- Yes. It is because of the difficulties in storing and recycling that today nobody will produce the so-called "final product". Instead they produce components, relatively harmless individual components, which are mixed immediately before use.

- And such production can be hidden?

- Yes, for example, simultaneously with the development of a promising substance, when stage-by-stage tests are already under way, an agricultural pesticide is being developed, which in its characteristics basically repeats this substance. That is, the production of so-called "subproducts", which are components of binary weapons, can be conducted quite officially. At some enterprise they can carry out a plan for the production of pesticides, even without realizing that they are actually producing chemical weapons.

- From your point of view, how easy it is to transport such substances across borders and then use them?

- It's not very difficult. You need two glass ampules, some high-pressure agent, for example a light volatile gasoline. Ampules must be broken before use, and the mixed substances will give the desired compound. Then, as an aerosol, it can be sprayed. But this is a very crude option, and I'm sure that the FSB could come up with a more sophisticated way.

- You think that the attempt on ex-colonel Skripal was "emphatically demonstrative." That is, the culprits counted on the fact that traces of the "novichok" will be found in advance?

- I do not think so. This was really a demonstrative punishment, but in my opinion, Moscow was sure that no one would find traces of the substance. This "drug" does not officially exist, it is not mentioned in any of the lists of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Since almost 30 years ago, no one has been engaged in its development. It is obvious to me that Moscow was counting on the fact that no one will catch them.

- But you have published the formula of "novichok" eight years ago.

- I do not know whether the FSB saw my book. Perhaps in one of the departments it was read, but in the other one, which was preparing the attempt, they did not hear anything about it.

- After the incident with Sergei Skripal, representatives of the OPCW or of any international organizations approached you as one of the creators of the "novichok"?

- No, nobody approached me, except journalists.

***

(*) With kind assistance of Google Translate, for the bulk of the material.

Lenin and the log: a recent rendition that leaves comedy standing

The oldish post of mine Subbotnik, Lenin and the log is crucial for better understanding of the following. There isn't much verbiage, it is all in the pictures, so go there first.

The article Now I have seen it all... Ballet "Lenin and the log" is faithfully translated here with no additions from yours truly.

It turned out that the video "Lenin with a log", actively discussed in recent days, is not a fake, but a real ballet "Falcons of Revolution" staged by the head of the State Academic Dance Theater of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Bulat Ayukhanov.

The ballet is devoted to the ideas of equality and fraternity on the labor front. The play is divided into three parts. In the first appears the leader of the world proletariat. To the music of Georgy Sviridov "Time, Forward" Ilyich helps his party comrades to carry the log during a proletarian clean-up [Subbotnnik]. The theme of labor enthusiasm continues with a scene in the fields, where ballerinas dance in masks of old women.

In an interview with "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" Bulat Ayukhanov told the details:

"The premiere of the ballet took place in Almaty in 2013 and was a resounding success. Then it was called "Hammer and Sickle". Now we have made some changes and called it "Falcons of the Revolution." The main characters - Abai (Kazakh poet, public figure), Marx, Lenin, Stalin and our Kazakhstani president (Nursultan Nazarbayev) - he appeared on stage at the end of the ballet. "

There is nothing to add, just enjoy.

Exhumation of Stalin's fetid carcass: step by step

People carry a portrait of Soviet leader Josef Stalin during a march to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in Sevastopol in Russian occupied Crimea on May 9, 2017,

The slow motion Russian zombocalypse - returning to unlife the Bolshevik murderers and tyrants - is nothing new. It started in a relatively hushed manner, with Stalin and his sidekicks favorably mentioned on different state occasions. With Stalin's portraits appearing in private dwellings. With Stalin's statues reappearing in various cities, joined by Lenin, Dzerzhinsky etc.

Today nobody stirs while reading that "Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the "excessive demonization" of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin "is one means of attacking the Soviet Union and Russia.""

This roundabout expression of support for the smelly stiff pales, though, compared to the following clip. The recording comes from Omsk, not from a central Russian media outfit. Boonies by Russian standards, but the level of adoration heaped on the premier mass murderer is staggering. So I decided to translate the speech for those in the West who might be interested.

***

On December 25th 135 years passed from the birthday of Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin. During the time of his rule [sic!] Stalin succeeded to return to the State all historically Russian lands, lost as a result of wars and political intrigues. Under his direct guidance a really socially-oriented economy was created. It excluded parasitism and exploitation. In addition a powerful industrial-technological breakthrough occurred. The national economy progressed without crises and credits and without foreign manpower. The Soviet state succeeded on its own, without borrowing foreign capital, to perform a grandiose program of socialist endeavor. And this on the background of devastating international economic depression. A two-dimensional (?) system of pricing, the most effective in the history of humanity, was created.

Profit was derived not like it is done now - from a components of the end product - but from the end product itself. Thus the whole system was aimed at reduction of costs and reduction of the consumer prices. This is what allowed reduction of prices and increase of wages.

Iosif Vissarionovich was ahead of the whole world in the development of democracy. USSR already had direct elections system since 1936. Moreover, he insisted that the elections be equal and the ballot - secret. For comparison we'll remind that the least democratic elections system is the American one, where it is not direct and the right to elect was given to Americans only in the sixties [XX century]. It will be prudent to mention that the "exemplary democracy" in Switzerland allowed women to participate in election only in 1972.

From the point of view of a regular worker, unskilled in politics and economics, evaluation of Stalin's achievements could be expressed in simple words:

• A worker could be paid more than director.
• Everyone was guaranteed free healthcare.
• Pensions were higher than a minimal cost of life.
• Everyone could achieve free high education.
• A peasant boy, having the ability, could grow to become a minister.
• The referees in Olympic games were literally afraid to judge our athletes unfair.
• Not a single shred of Russian land could be sold to a foreign speculator.

The people loved Stalin and our enemies feared him. Our enemies fear Stalin even today, and, as long as the power of his spirit is alive in every one of us, as long as we feel pride in our past and believe in our strength, we are invincible.

***

So there. I am not commenting on this at all.

One remark only: after reading the list of Stalin's achievements, I realised that I want to live in USSR.

Then...

Anshel Pfeffer‏, RT and Ukrainian corruption...

A list of terms used in the headline first:

1. Anshel Pfeffer: a nice guy of Haaretz (picture above), prone to bloopers and not always at home, but nice.
2. RT: a Russian version of Alex Jones' Infowars, but with much more money.
3. Ukraine: an ex-republic of the late Soviet Union, now an independent country. Mostly, because parts of it are being either "restored" to Mother Russia or are in the process of restoration.

Oh, did I mention that our Anshel is a dork? Yes, I see I did in a way, but no matter: it bears repeating. So here is a new blooper from our poor mixed up Anshelke:

And what do we learn from this Twitter post?

• That ISIS downed an Egyptian helicopter using a Russian missile.
• That US sells similar missiles to Ukraine.
• That Ukraine is corrupt. It is kinda rich, coming from Moscow, but let it go for now.
• That the missiles sold by US to Ukraine might end up in the grubby hands of Middle East terrorists. Which hands are already full of Russian missiles. Hmm... creates a conflict of marketing interests, it seems.

Er... did I mention that our Anshel is a dork? My memory is not what it was back then.

Uncle Vova - we are with you! Or: Americans, mind Alaska!

I guess there is no need to tell a non-Russian viewer that this is a patriotic song. The performance is staged on a location of historic significance for the Russian people: Mamayev Kurgan.

Here are a few lines starting the song:

The twenty-first century has come, the Earth is tired of wars
The hegemony rides over people of the Earth
In the European Union there is no opinion, the Middle East groans from troubles
Over the ocean, the president is deprived of power

And to us from the northern seas to the southern borders
From the Kuril Islands, to the Baltic coasts
And on this earth there would have been peace, but if the chief commander
Will call for the last fight, Uncle Vova*, we are with you

Of course the patriotic zeal of the children is touching. Not that the words of the song make any special sense so far, but the readiness of a kid to die for Uncle Vova and the Motherland is a sign of uber-patriotic society, ain't it?

And now to a quote of this song that should be of real significance to Americans:

Our Sevastopol and Crimea we will save for our descendants,
We'll return Alaska to the harbor of the Motherland.

As we all (well, most of us, anyway) know, Crimea was already "saved" for the descendants.
Alaska, though, is a new wrinkle in the patriotic fervor, so there is something to think about.

The author of the song is one Vyacheslav Antonov, who, judging by his site, does a brisk business in similar patriotic songs, with hardly intelligible texts but drenched in patriotism.

But the author is much less important in this case. What is amazing is the initiator of (and participant in) the recording, as it is presented in the above YouTube clip. No other than a member of the Russian Duma (parliament), Anna Kuvychko.

So, dear Americans, you have to weigh all the pros and cons of keeping that piece of property. According to Wiki, the price was roughly $1.8 billion in 2016 dollar. Seeing as how the winds are blowing, call Anna and start negotiating. Taking into account all the amenities, infrastructure and all you have built since that purchase, you might get a cool offer... and better hurry before the little green men of Crimea decide it is time to relocate...

More on the subject.

(*) Vova is a endearment for Vladimir (Putin, of course, in this case).

Comrade Court - a bit of history

Comrade Court: in the USSR an elected public body called upon to actively promote the education of citizens in the spirit of a communist attitude to work, to socialist property, the observance of the rules of socialist community life, respect for the honor and dignity of citizens. The main direction of the work of CC - prevention of offenses and misdemeanors, that harm society, by education, persuasion and social influence.
...
CC can be created at enterprises, institutions, organizations, educational institutions (by decision of the general meeting of the collective of workers, students), in collective farms, houses served by house management or united by street committees, and in rural settlements (by decision of the general meeting of collective farmers , residents of the house, villagers, with the consent of the respective executive committees of the Soviets of Workers' Deputies).

Warning: A long post.

The term, which in Russian is "Товарищеский Суд", gives one a bit of a headache when trying to translate it. To explain it by an inversion: every offense that wasn't of a clearly criminal nature or wasn't of sufficient interest to the omnipresent KGB, but still required some measure of response, was shipped off to the Comrade Court. Some examples of situations that caused a person to be summoned CC:

• Underperformance at work, being frequently late for work etc.
• Adultery
• Pilfering of small items not warranting police involvement
• Rudeness to other comrades
• Alcoholism
• Violence in the family
• Political incorrectness: telling "anti-Soviet", jokes, dissing the Leaders, writing "subversive" statements in articles or books etc...
• Lodging a request to leave USSR permanently for some foreign location, worse of all - a capitalist state or, deity forbid, the Zionist entity.

Of course, the list of people "elected" to serve as members of the CC was approved by the management of the organization or the local party committee, but is wasn't necessarily a permanent appointment, usually an ad hoc selection.

Since most (but by no means all) sessions of the CC must have been carefully orchestrated, the session was usually preceded by a hearing. This meant that the guilty subject was summoned to a meeting with one or several senior employees of his organization, in some delicate (meaning political) cases joined by an outside (party or KGB, depending on importance) representative. It was very important to the powers that be to establish not only the guilt of the subject, but also his/her potential for disruptive and provocative behavior during the public session of CC. Potential troublemakers are not only bad for the organization's image, they are dangerous for the public moral. The mere possibility of such characters gaining even smallest public expression of support among their comrades, present at the CC session, was mightily feared by the organizers.

The "hearing" by itself was designed as a kind of preliminary punishment. Taking hours sometimes, it consisted mainly of a long and exhausting variety of probing questions, many having nothing to do with the specific offense, caused (or allegedly caused) by the subject. If behavior of the subject during the hearing wasn't satisfactory, the big cheeses present were peppering the questioning by direct or indirect threats - such as sacking, transfer to a low paying job, jail time etc. If the case was political and the subject was being stubborn and/or provocative, the case could have been transferred to the "higher authority", with the blessing of that KGB/party member present in the meeting.

But of course, alcoholics, thieves, wife beaters and similar were dealt with quickly in most cases. Eventually, if a person was deemed by the powers that be fit to stand a public CC trial, the employees were summoned to the public meeting, where the members of the CC and the defendant took the places of honor (see the picture). Of course, one of the prerequisites for this gathering was careful selection and preparation of volunteers (yep, don't be surprised by that oxymoron) that were schooled and assigned to raise their arms and come up with some short text fitting the occasion.

Apolitical cases were, in most cases, of little interest (well, possibly aside of the adultery-related ones). A member of the CC read the description of the offense in question, somebody (or the same member) gave a short speech relating the position of the State regarding the offense. Then one or two "volunteers" stood up and spoke briefly about their (negative, of course) feelings about this or another offense and the behavior of the offender. It was not unheard of that one or two of the people's present offered a positive personal characteristic of the offender, to go towards softening of the CC conclusions regarding the potential punishment. After all, adulterers, thieves and alcoholics are part and parcel...

The defendant was given an opportunity to speak, the expectation was for a sincere (depending on the subject's acting ability) repentance. The subject, in most cases an inarticulate victim of the circumstances, mumbled a few expected sentences and benignly allowed to stand down. Then the sentence of the CC - a petition to the management actually - for a fine, a temporary demotion, a record in the personal file etc, was proposed and duly voted "yes" by 100% of the public present (not that anyone counted usually).

Not infrequently, apolitical cases were enlivened by some unintended hilarity, when the questions addressed to the defendant got an unexpected funny result (what can I do, she slipped on the wet floor several times and these bruises, you know how it is...). A warm and fuzzy feeling was enveloping all present at the end of the session, and the accused was not infrequently patted on the shoulder: just don't do it anymore, buddy, although we all understand and know how it goes.

Not so with the "political" offenses. The atmosphere in the room was tense. People were usually quiet, the wooden expressions on the faces of CC members stressing the seriousness of the situation. In many cases the proceedings started with a senior member of CC giving a speech about the "international situation", about the latest capitalists' nefarious anti-Soviet intrigues, about the Zionists' latest aggression, about Soviet Union being the shining lighthouse and beacon to the progressive elements elsewhere in... etc. Then the litany of imperialist cowardly misdeeds seamlessly entered the current case - the obvious rudiment of the bourgeois (feudal... etc.) past that sits here before you, comrades, his/her misdeeds begging for punishment. How could our healthy body have caught this inexplicable disease, comrades? What have we hitherto missed?

After the speech, the "volunteers" were "asked" to present to the public their wrath and indignation. In most cases, the wrath and the indignation were inspired by the prepared in advance text, pre-approved by the CC. In most cases the relatively short speeches of this kind went down smoothly, a few clearly forgivable mistakes with some overly long or foreign words notwithstanding. However, overzealousness sometimes caused unintended hilarity too. When some of the ultra-patriots, present in the session and especially incensed by the gravity of the anti-Soviet offenses committed by the defendant, jumped up and offered their assistance with execution of the offender. Or, at least, offered a rich menu of punishments deserved by the anti-Soviet vermin. Unlike the apolitical cases, though, no one laughed during such outbursts. Just in case, you know...

The critical moment usually came when the CC master of ceremonies called for the offender to speak. Even after the vetting by the previously described "hearing" committee, politically correct behavior of the defendant was not totally guaranteed, of course. There was a certain element of risk. A cautious defendant, minding his future, usually got over this part with a few mumbled sentences of repentance and apologies of some non-binding nature. As expected by all present. If, however, in spite of all the precautions and threats, the offender went into a defiant counterattack, the situation quickly deteriorated. Such behavior endangered not just the defendant, it stained the lily white record of the people that prepared that meeting and (especially) the people who have been present at the hearing. One of the hearing's goal was to make sure that such eventuality was prevented, after all.

The crowd present, of course, might have started booing and protesting the "anti-Soviet" outburst, but if a friend or two of the defendant, of more fearless nature, were present, expressions of support weren't totally unknown to happen. Havoc sometimes ensued, and the only remaining way for the august committee was to quickly declare the session aborted and done with. Usually in such case the punishment of the miscreant was stiffened. In one specific case of my buddy who was accused of anti-socialist behavior and views, his uppity behavior during the CC session caused a criminal charge being concocted against him later, ending in a criminal court* hearing and subsequent punishment.

Still, on the average, with all the travesty of the public "trial" with a predicted result, with no defense lawyer and no law at all, the absurd ritual no one really believed in and no one really was excited about, was much better than falling into the hands of the criminal court or the KGB. Besides, as mentioned, these CC proceedings sometimes provided some much required hilarity. Thanks for the small favors in the continuous grey reality of permanent lie.


(*) To remind you, there were no "political" cases or political prisoners, everything in USSR was filed under the Criminal Codex.

The Great October Socialist Revolution

will be celebrated here in a quiet and subdued way. By this random selection:

Raisa Bochlen (1917 - 1937)

A typist in the HQ of the Glavsevmorput [Northern maritime affairs HQ]

Date of arrest: September 23, 1937

Sentenced to death by shooting squad by a NKVD USSR committee on October 29, 1937.

Charge: spying for Japan.

Burial site: Butovo [a place of mass burials]

RIP, Raisa.

Russian biological material and theft thereof

For nitpickers: biological material in this case relates to human tissues, blood, urine and stool samples and any other material produced by a living organism.

When a conspiracy nutcase comes up with a new idea, it is usually both sad and funny. When a head of state does it, it becomes a problem.

A sentence stolen from Wiki, says: "Rudimentary forms of biological warfare have been practiced since antiquity". Knowing how human mind works, one could make a pretty safe educated guess: the conspiracy theories about use, development and abilities of the biological warfare tools started more or less at the same time. Of course, it is a bit difficult to believe that the Biological Weapons Convention is strictly upheld by all the players in that dirty game. After all, the research of the defensive measures is still allowed, so every self-respecting state is researching, and how do you research the defense if you don't have any samples of the offensive substance? A conundrum, isn't it?

Anyhow, to conspiracies. A good example will be an article on a thoroughly bonkers Global Research site, titled Ebola Epidemic Linked to CIA: Former NSA Contractor. The mere name of the author: Kurt Nimmo, "a longtime former editor for Alex Jones' Infowars.com", should ring a loud bell with any connoisseur of a good conspiracy theory. And the opening sentence of the article,

Investigative journalist and former NSA contractor Wayne Madsen told Press TV on Monday the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa may be a resurfacing of an earlier infection linked to the CIA.

where another heavyweight, Wayne Madsen is used as a reference, should really get that connoisseur salivating. Two grand masters of the game in one piece! Oh, and by the way, AIDS is also a CIA invention, as you shall see in that article.

Of course, where the Big Satan is involved, the Little Satan follows (or leads, depending on the speaker). I loath to link to the conspiracy sites directly, so a Wiki entry will do: Ethnic bioweapon.

In November 1998, The Sunday Times reported that Israel was attempting to build an "ethno-bomb" containing a biological agent that could specifically target genetic traits present amongst Arab populations. Wired News also reported the story, as did Foreign Report.
Microbiologists and geneticists were skeptical towards the scientific plausibility of such a biological agent. The New York Post, describing the claims as "blood libel", reported that the likely source for the story was a work of science fiction by Israeli academic Doron Stanitsky. Stanitsky had sent his completely fictional work about such a weapon to Israeli newspapers two years before. The article also noted the views of genetic researchers who claimed the idea as "wholly fantastical", with others claiming that the weapon was theoretically possible.

Whatever. These examples are by no means exhaustive. The 'net is fairly jumping with the blood curdling stories about despicable scientists producing in their deadly vials more and more deadly concoctions, every new one more sophisticated and murderous than the previous.

The last example, the one of that ethnic bioweapon, though, is directly relevant to the matter at hand, the theft of the Russian biological material and the dark goals of that theft.

Director of the "Russian Public Institute of Electoral Law" Igor Borisov told Putin that some foreign forces allegedly collect images of citizens who came to the polls. "The question is: what is the goal of such a number of interested people watching our elections and conducting video recording of the actual image of the voters and how will it be used," he said.

"As for the fact that the images of our citizens and voters are collected and somehow used: images are okay, but do you know that biological material is collected all over the country? Moreover, for different ethnic groups and people living in different geographical points of the Russian Federation. That's the question - what it is being done for?," Putin said in response.

He added that such activities are conducted "purposefully and professionally". "We are an object of very great interest," the president concluded. He called for treating this situation without fear. "Let them do what they want, and we must do what we must," Putin concluded*.

So this passage teaches us about two possible venues the enemies of Russia are exploring:

• Stealing the images of Soviet Russian citizens. The goal is obvious: to prepare voodoo dolls of the said citizens and to stick needles into them, burn them with matches etc.
• Studying the genetic code of Russian citizens in order to create a superbug that will kill only Russians.

On the other hand, if one is to believe the epic discovery made by the (in)famous Russian minister of culture, one Vladimir Medinsky, all Russians have a distinct genetic code, characterized by an additional chromosome. So that a virus or a bacteria being developed will have an easy marker to aim at. On the other hand, since the said minister has less than two oars in the water at the best of times, it might be a little more difficult.

Not that there aren't a few problems to resolve for them eggheads. First of all, how will that superbug distinguish between Russians and other Slavs? That same problem that boggles the Zionist eggheads, what with practically identical genetic code of Jews and Arabs. Maybe it's time to focus on finer details? Like a superbug that will be able to home in on the person's passport? Or a superbug that will kill off only Russian speakers?

Oops...

(*) Here is a video clip of this part of Putin's speech.

Putin and Netanyahu or journeys of a bibliophile

Netanyahu's trip to Sochi to meet Putin and to persuade him that Iranian corridor to Mediterranean is not a good idea, doesn't seem to be a great success story.

The Russian version of that same article in Pravda is titled: "Netanyahu's Fiasco in Sochi...". For the English version the Pravda's editors have chosen a softer version:

Benjamin Netanyahu’s nightmare comes true as Putin crushes his plans

The author of that article is slightly derisive of our Bibi, as could be seen in the opening paragraph:

Benjamin Netanyahu's nightmare is coming true. The guards of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and Hezbollah fighters prepare to attack Israel by using Syria as a springboard. The Israeli Prime Minister shared the "terrible news" on August 23, 2017 during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi (the meeting lasted for almost 2.5 hours). Despite Netanyahu's emotional state, the Russian leader remained calm.

The article, however, is not wholly unsympathetic to Israel's stand on Iranian expansion:

According to experts, Netanyahu does not exaggerate too much when he talks about Tehran's plans to expand its influence throughout the Middle East.

Putin, as usual, displayed his majestic indifference:

"Iran is Russia's strategic ally in the Middle East," Putin said. "But Israel is also an important partner for Russia in the region," he added.

In other words: nothing doing, Bibi. As a matter of fact, Russia is not as neutral as the above quote might make you think. The article doesn't mince words:

The truth is that Tehran is the only counterbalance for Moscow to the powerful alliance of wealthy Arabian monarchies that try to establish an Arab analogue of NATO in the endeavor to impose Washington's rules in the entire Middle East.

Therefore, the Kremlin is interested to further strengthen Tehran's influence in the region. The question of accepting Iran into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has almost been resolved. It is Russia that advocates the early adoption of Iran at the SCO. When it happens, the fact itself will remove US plans for air strikes on the Iranian territory.

And the conclusion is quite unequivocal:

Benjamin Netanyahu failed to convince Russian President Putin of the need "to stop Iran's expansion in the Middle East." Israel is a friendly country for Russia, but it is not up to Tel Aviv to teach the Kremlin how to structure Russia's policy in the Middle East.

Makes sense if you sit in Kremlin, of course.

The uncharacteristically brief statement by Bibi, after he emerged from the meeting, seems to confirm the Pravda's points. Very unlike the usually bombastic overwhelming success reports from same source.



Jerusalem Post, which in most cases is sympathetic to Bibi, has a completely different view of the meeting and its purpose(s). In the article What Netanyahu hoped to gain from meetings with Putin, its author, Herb Keinon, explains:

So why did Netanyahu go? Because the objective is less to try to convince Putin of Israel’s position, and more to look him in the eyes and tell him squarely what Israel will do if Iran begins to militarily entrench itself in Syria.

Israel’s message to Putin, which is the same message that was conveyed to the Americans last week via a blue-ribbon security delegation headed by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, is that Israel will act militarily.

Netanyahu wants this to be a factor in Putin’s decision-making process.

That, of course, puts the visit in a totally different light - if you believe it.

Whatever. In any case, Bibi might (deservedly) claim that he didn't return from Sochi empty-handed. Because:

At their meeting in Sochi on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a copy of the first-ever Bible printed with Rashi’s commentary.

Putin certainly knows how to sweeten the bitter medicine, after all it is not the first time:

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu received a special gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow on Thursday — a nearly 500-year-old copy of Roman-Jewish historian Josephus’ book The Jewish War.

Well, at least there is a beginning of a library, if not much else.

Cool.

Update: Apparently there is a third version of the meeting coverage and its results. By Environmental Minister Ze’ev Elkin, a Russian speaker who was present at the meeting:

While refusing to comment on whether Netanyahu was able to convince Putin to rein in Iran’s regional military ambitions, Elkin said the meeting would have “very important implications.”

So, which version is your preferred one?

Man, do your duty! Or else...

The notorious State Duma Deputy, Yelena Mizulina, has already appeared on these pages. Twice, and I've used the same picture of her twice, which is really doing an injustice to the lady. So here is another one:

This time Ms Mizulina turned to a new domain for her unerring sense of problem solving: the male performance in their marital beds. Here is the article, translated mostly by Google, with some nudges here and there from yours truly.

State Duma Deputy, Yelena Mizulina from the party "Fair Russia", Chairman of the Duma Committee on Family Affairs, Doctor of Jurisprudence proposes to introduce a penalty for men for failing to perform their marital duty.

- The family is a social unit, - says Mizulina, - evasion of execution of marital duty is an evasion of duty to the community. If a man for no apparent reason (eg health-related.) systematically fails to fulfill his conjugal duty, or executes it carelessly to get done with it - he must pay a fine to the State. This measure will further strengthen the family and improve the morale in the country. And adultery must be punished as treason - by imprisonment. It is proposed to set the quota of execution of marital duty in Russia for men aged up to 45 years - to 1 time per week. For older people, this rate can be reduced.

The idea looks good, but I would suggest that for the public to get into the spirit of the thing, a few public executions here and there, from time to time, would be helpful.

So there.

Putin as the big bad wolf of XXI century

This post is a sequel to previous one on the mayhem caused to the 2016 elections in US of A. It is inspired by the article:

U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack

I don't see any reason to disbelieve that claim. Putin has the necessary mentality of a mid level KGB officer, which was his last rank, and of course he would have wanted to be a part of this specific bit of nefarious dealings. And, as already mentioned previously, CIA does have a gift of perfect hindsight vision.

What bothers me somewhat is the storm of indignation coming out from all directions of American political spectrum. It is as if the incessant scandals related to NSA and its various tentacles eavesdropping on everything that goes on around the globe, be it a phone call, an e-mail or an Internet site, never happened. And if you are trying to tell me that no US secret outfit ever performed a B&E on any foreign computer, please pull my other leg.

And of course, the spooks in other countries, friendly or not, are quite busy doing the same to their allies, enemies and everyone in between, so let's stop playing that injured innocence drama, it just doesn't wash. This was re indignation.

About this analysis of Russian motives:

Putin's objectives were multifaceted, a high-level intelligence source told NBC News. What began as a "vendetta" against Hillary Clinton morphed into an effort to show corruption in American politics and to "split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore," the official said.

I don't have any problems with the "vendetta" point, nor with the "effort to show corruption in American politics" - the true DNC material that was publicly uncovered has done both quite well. Shouldn't all Americans be bipartisanly grateful to Putin for that disclosure? - is another question I've never succeeded to get a coherent answer to.

As for creating the image mentioned above: that objective is really funny: I was quite confident that the 8 years of the last administration accomplished it quite well. Why should Putin bother?

In short: the outfit that usually learns about many key events happening on this globe from TV should really restrict its collective imagination and leave the analysis like this to tea leaves readers.

The list of atrocities caused by the big bad wolf is growing, branching out to things like this one:

Labour MP claims it's 'highly probable' Russia interfered with Brexit

And, once an example of blaming one's problem on somebody else was given, there will be no end to it, obviously. You must check out this inanity as well.

Russia may organise migrant sex attacks in Europe to make Angela Merkel lose German elections, EU experts claim

These same experts who allowed NSA, CIA and, I bet, uncounted other secret services to listen to the phone conversations of their leaders, try to predict the future? Spare me, please.

And now to quote myself, to finish on an upbeat note:

Have you noticed the other positive thing that came out of the Moscow hacking scandal? Lately many transgressions that people were routinely ascribing to the Jooz are blamed on Kremlin.

Kinda breath of fresh air.

On the negative side, we are becoming much less fearsome. Hmm...

Russian hacking of US elections process: for Trump or against Hillary?

After several months of indecision, CIA came out swinging. The result is expressed in a WaPo headline:

Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House

The article leaves at least one line of investigation untouched. It also puts the headline's conclusion (Russians rooting for Trump) as the final one. Of course, WaPo is not a PR branch of CIA, but if in that article WaPo faithfully reproduced the CIA findings, they (the findings) smell fishy. It is not unheard of that this mighty intelligence outfit fails to produce a correct assessment of the goings on. But in most cases it was related to predictions and not to the analysis of the past affairs - the hindsight so far worked OK. More or less.

I am not challenging the conclusion about the Russian involvement, far from it. After all, if European media, talking heads and others were so heavily involved in the US elections process, why would SVR/KGB stay away from the occasion to muddy the waters?

Nope, the point that I still can't agree with is the insistence that Russians rooted for Trump. Russian style of managing their international affairs always favored stable and predictable leaders in the seats of power abroad. Why would Russia work to help out a totally unpredictable and mercurial one like Trump and not Hillary, much more stable and predictable? Highly doubtful.

We have to look at the timing and the contents of the leaks to understand their purpose. That same WaPo has quite clearly stated at the time what was the intention of the leaks:

Many of the most damaging emails suggest the committee was actively trying to undermine Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign. Basically all of these examples came late in the primary -- after Hillary Clinton was clearly headed for victory -- but they belie the national party committee's stated neutrality in the race even at that late stage.

Lots of other leaks attacked Hillary directly, of course:

Long before Hillary Clinton called millions of Americans a “basket of deplorables,” her top campaign advisers and liberal allies openly mocked Catholics, Southerners and a host of other groups, according to newly released emails that offer a stunning window into the vitriol inside the Clinton world less than a month before Election Day.
The emails, published by WikiLeaks after a hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s private account, also show Clinton campaign officials and Democratic leaders disparaging supporters of Sen. Bernard Sanders as “self-righteous” whiners, calling Hispanic party leaders such as Bill Richardson “needy Latinos,” labeling CNN anchor Jake Tapper “a d—k” and even lambasting longtime Clinton ally Sidney Blumenthal.

Yes, Hillary clearly was the target, but was the leaking campaign inspired by support for Trump? The timing doesn't figure. The leaks came when the main focus of Hillary's campaign was one Bernard Sanders.

I would say that if there was active SVR involvement, knowing the Russian penchant for predictability and deeply rooted sympathies for the left and far left, the goal was to help out Bern. And this is the line of inquiry totally neglected by the high and mighty in CIA. Why had CIA chosen to produce a conclusion that seems to be so detached from reality? Beats me. Consider me confused. Like this:

Putin's Russia, the parable of the boiled frog and penal colony IK-31

Since the parable of the boiled frog was mentioned, I feel it is my duty to save the reader some googling.

Suppose you want to boil a frog. How do you do it? You could place the frog into a pot of hot water, but as soon as it feels the heat, it will jump out. So, what can you do? Put a pot of cool water on the stove and then add the frog. Not sensing danger the frog will stay. Next, turn the burner on low to slowly heat the water. As the water warms, the frog relaxes. The warmth feels good. As the water gets hotter it acts like a steam bath draining away energy and deepening the frog's relaxation. The frog becomes sleepy and has less and less energy while the water is getting hotter and hotter. By the time the frog realizes its danger, the water is beginning to boil, and it is too late to take action. There is neither time nor energy left to do anything. The frog perishes in the boiling water.

There seems to exist a debate on the parable's scientific value, but still there is a general agreement about the premise that when you heat the water slowly enough, the frog stays put and eventually is boiled to death.

Whether the parable carries any scientific truth or not, it is an excellent parallel to the goings on in the modern Russia during the 17 years reign of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Unlike Stalin (to use one example), Putin didn't arrest his real or imaginary enemies, dissidents and protesters in their hundreds of thousands. The railway cattle wagons weren't (still aren't) stuffed by hapless victims and taken to Siberian or northern Gulag camps . People aren't taken from their families in the middle of the night to be tortured and shot in NKVD basements. The (initial) proliferation of free press was surprising everyone familiar with the Soviet (and previously Russian) censors' heavy hand on the media's throat.

Nope, Vladimir Vladimirovich has chosen another way. Yes, a few too feisty protesters were arrested here and there, some even incarcerated - but never to the tune of the 193... Yes, a few journalists that went too far were eliminated in suspicious circumstances, later usually ascribed to various criminal acts. A few (but very few) political rivals died of violence, but of course the regime wasn't really implicated, was it? And you can't really blame censorship, when a too frisky TV channel gets taken over by a bigger rival - after all, it is a free market. If that bigger channel happens to be a government-owned one, so what? And if the government subsidies are denied to a certain theater or a troupe, if a controversial painter has his show closed down for some reason having to do with public morals - why, doesn't it happen everywhere? So slowly and gradually the screws are being turned and the freedoms are chipped away, with the (really small percentage of) people concerned feeling the heat a bit too late. The frog(s) is getting close to the boiling point.

Of course, to see to the sufficiently slow rise of the metaphorical water temperature in this case, you need some sophisticated measurement tools. And what is better than to produce here and there a wink to the good old days as a provocation? A public paean to Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin or to one of the lesser mass murderers under his command. A nostalgic speech about the good days of the Soviet empire (as if the current borders are insufficient for the ever dwindling population). A gradually managed and now at its pinnacle (oh well, probably not yet) discrimination of the LGBT... folks. The list of acts that allow the regime to measure the response of the hated liberal community (our frog) is endless, and the results are - very encouraging for Vladimir Vladimirovich. The frog is mostly relaxed and the movements of its appendages or its blinking are really not that alarming.

It is not to say that the Western liberals give a flying donut about the Russian regime becoming more and more oppressive, about the last remains of freedom being taken away from their Russian comrades. The opposite is rather true - Putin has become a darling of many Western lefties - but it's a separate, albeit a very sad, story.

All of the above (and apologies to all who consider that long introduction too obvious and unneeded) was a preface to a description of a recent outrageous affair that happened in Komi Republic, one of the favorite locations of GULAG. First the visual:

The text on the plaque says:

August 16 of the year 1937

In this place the construction of the penal colony (camp "Vodorazdellag - Mikunskaya") was started. This memorial plaque was placed on August 16, 2016 as a sign of respect and gratitude to the first builders and staff* - creators of the colony.

(*) Obviously "builders" and "staff" are not the same group of people, the first being the wretched prisoners - "Enemies of the People", brought to the empty, freezing and deadly environment of Komi and the other... well, it is your guess.

The colony in question - IK-31 is its official designation in the Russian prison system - is still open for business. Lately dealing mostly with criminals, it recently hosted a political prisoner, Hennadii Afanasiev, a Ukrainian protester of the Crimea grab (to name only one). But the uncounted thousands of political prisoners of Stalin's times, who entered the gates of IK-31 to die later of cold, illnesses and exhaustion - they and their names are not mentioned on that plaque. Well, there definitely isn't enough room for all. Besides, why be negative, when as festive an affair as unveiling of that plaque is being held?

And the unveiling of the plaque was festive indeed. Here come some pictures from an official site of the Russian prison authority:

The pair of prison employees who were entrusted with the honor of unveiling the plaque. 

To make you see the sweet side of the whole story, the author of that official article added some enjoyable tidbits (partial translation):

The most anticipated event was the beauty contest "Miss IK-31 - 2016", which brought together six female convicts. They had four competition stages to identify the most beautiful, intelligent, creative and economic girl.

The finest stage was the catwalk in dresses made [by the female convicts'] own hands. Here the contestants showed all their imagination, because they used for raw material steel wire, trash bags, thread and glue, shoes and gloves. Particular delight was caused by a dress made of crumpled newspapers, glued together and painted in the colors of the rainbow.

Another sporting event was held in the "Jubilee" city stadium. Here, on the football field, the colony staff team met the team of the colony's convicts. No matter how the convicts tried, they once again failed to defeat the staff. The match ended with a score of 10:2.

Ernest Mezak, the man who has written on Facebook about the whole wretched plaque affair, adds:

I think that it is necessary to read the lists of the repressed, incarcerated in the Komi Gulag camps near this "monument".

Let's not hold our collective breath waiting for this to happen.

And how does our frog do after that story was published (officially, no less)? Aside of Mr Mezak, there was some limited noise on the 'net (in Russian only), one article in English (by a Russian poster, obviously using Google Translate and not much else). And that's all. Nothing from the above mentioned Western knights of the human rights, freedom and justice. Nada. Zilch. As expected.

Yeah, so our frog is indeed very close to the boiling point. Moreover, it (the frog) doesn't have any friends to come to the rescue.

Too bad.

Hat tip: E.S. (aka M.M.)