The current German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, reflecting the values of what is fundamentally the German money-making machine (a Geschlossene Handelsstaat), shifted over time from an instinctive aversion to President Putin, born of her years in the Russian zone of Germany, into a path of discreet collaboration based on common commercial interests, the driving force in … Continue reading Russian Hopes for Next German Chancellor

In the blog on 4 February we noted that Russia had divested itself of unprecedented quantities of gold, which has inevitably meant large accretions of dollars to its reserves. This seemed to indicate that Russia has a touching faith in the enduring value of America's fiat currency that might well be tested by the massive … Continue reading Russia To Cut its Dependence on the Dollar

Whenever Moscow falls out with the states of Europe, as at present over the brutal breach of human rights in respect of leading oppositionist Naval'ny, those pushing for isolationism rear their heads to say we told you so. Why should we hang out with these people? Yesterday Nezavisimaya gazeta published an article by Veniamin Popov, … Continue reading Russia’s Eurasian Lobby: Here We Go Again

It is reported today that the lord and masters of Twitter, evidently now an adjunct of the Biden State Department, have cancelled 100 Russian accounts on their website because the accounts were deemed to be undermining NATO! In Britain we rejected the nanny state. Now we have a nanny corporation. I really had no idea … Continue reading Twitter’s Devastating Blow for Freedom?

A very strange report appears today in Nezavisimaya gazeta that does not normally associate itself with hearsay. If there ever appeared to be an unlikely occurrence in Afghanistan it would be that the Chinese intelligence agencies assisted by the Pakistani equivalent are engaged in gun running to Islamic terrorists. But that is what special correspondent … Continue reading China Aiding Islamic Terrorism in Kabul?

Rossiiskaya gazeta, the Russian government rag, appeared today with a statement from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov given in reaction to talk within the EU of inflicting sanctions on Russia. But he alighted upon a curious way of getting his message through that is unlikely to persuade doubters and effectively highlights the total self-absorption of the … Continue reading Russia Reacts to EU Talk of Sanctions

Today the Israeli ambassador to Britain, a hardliner as the former minister for settlements, took the unusual step of writing a piece for the Daily Telegraph claiming everything was just fine in relations with the United States, which of course is not the case otherwise she would not be writing anything at all. Indeed Nezavisimaya … Continue reading Russia Eyes US Snub to Israel

A shortage in people of working age is no bad thing in and of itself. The United States as it grew from a small east coast colonial fringe into a massive state perpetually suffered from lack of labour. Originally this led to the plantation economy of the south built on the backs of African slaves. … Continue reading Russia’s Eurasian Future

The Russians never took the EU, let alone the EEC, very seriously. But it is probably not a good idea to show it. Like Henry Kissinger, they ask themselves the question: whom do I call if I need a decision? Obviously Mrs Merkel. It is certainly not Josep Borrell, charged with implementing, not making, EU … Continue reading Russian Visit: the EU’s Road to Canossa

Nezavisimaya gazeta today produced a massive article on completing construction of the Nordstream II pipeline - now off Bornholm in Denmark (which the Russians wanted to occupy at the end of the war). The pipeline would bring natural gas directly from Russia into Germany, enabling the latter to become the hub for gas distribution throughout … Continue reading Biden to Concede on Nordstream II ?