What with the current investigation of the multiple poisonings in Salisbury following on from the Russian state's murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian government is certainly showing its true colours and seems to validate the oft repeated comment that Russia is a Mafia state.
I rewatched the excellent Russian film Leviathan last night and it's portrayal of corruption and tacky greed at all levels of Russian life rang true as did the general squalor and the pitiless Baltic weather and the grim lives of the protagonists. The truth about the nature of institutional corruption and perversion of the levers of government and law and order is more nuanced though as this excellent article on gang culture and the Russian state highlights...
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/m ... uper-mafia
Caco
Russia - The Gangster State
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Cacophonix
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
The article shows the IYI nature of The Guardian.
It avoids the screamingly obvious truth that Putin is also a gangster.
Russia is not a Mafia-State because it has large Mafias in it, it is a Mafia-State because it has the Mafia running it, Putin's Mafia.
The Russian State, under communism, was already rife with "institutional corruption and perversion of the levers of government and law and order".
All Putin did was change the guy at the top - the mechanisms were already in place, and furthermore almost every middle and senior manager had to have a 'Vicar of Bray' mentality to get where they were. This was always a consideration of mine when electing to join the RAF - Do we actually wish to defeat Communism/USSR, or just contain it? Better the Devil you know, etc. The problem was that with the proliferation of new weapons and doctrine, the SS-20 for example, the opportunities for the USSR (or individuals within it) thinking a first strike might work increased, and so the USSR was becoming too dangerous. On balance, the World is fundamentally better off with gangsters in charge rather than ideologues, gangsters care more about personal survival. However, in the intervening time, western Governments have also been replaced by a political class that is more concerned with personal aggrandizement than national defence (either internal or external), and that class is far more cowardly than a gangster, so Putin has been able to basically do what he likes. Add to that the human rights/"refugee" catastrophe, where the emotional angst of both population and politicians has thrown all logic, pragmatism, and courage out of the window, and Putin has a myriad routes to exploit and expand his influence.
is used in the sense that Mafia gangs are still able to be controlled by Putin.the state is the biggest gang in town
It avoids the screamingly obvious truth that Putin is also a gangster.
Russia is not a Mafia-State because it has large Mafias in it, it is a Mafia-State because it has the Mafia running it, Putin's Mafia.
The Russian State, under communism, was already rife with "institutional corruption and perversion of the levers of government and law and order".
All Putin did was change the guy at the top - the mechanisms were already in place, and furthermore almost every middle and senior manager had to have a 'Vicar of Bray' mentality to get where they were. This was always a consideration of mine when electing to join the RAF - Do we actually wish to defeat Communism/USSR, or just contain it? Better the Devil you know, etc. The problem was that with the proliferation of new weapons and doctrine, the SS-20 for example, the opportunities for the USSR (or individuals within it) thinking a first strike might work increased, and so the USSR was becoming too dangerous. On balance, the World is fundamentally better off with gangsters in charge rather than ideologues, gangsters care more about personal survival. However, in the intervening time, western Governments have also been replaced by a political class that is more concerned with personal aggrandizement than national defence (either internal or external), and that class is far more cowardly than a gangster, so Putin has been able to basically do what he likes. Add to that the human rights/"refugee" catastrophe, where the emotional angst of both population and politicians has thrown all logic, pragmatism, and courage out of the window, and Putin has a myriad routes to exploit and expand his influence.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
For a good insight into Putin's Russia and the behaviour of Russian oligarchs read 'Red Notice' by Bill Browder. 
Scary stuff.
Scary stuff.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
"Gangsta"........
I hereby declare the U.S.A. a Pariah state.
All U.S. Citizens or persons arriving from the U.S.A. will be denied access
All U.S. Citizens or persons arriving from the U.S.A. will be denied access
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
Like a change of government in your country? Disagree with your leader's policies? Why not go out and have a demonstration to show your support of your favoured opposition candidate? The BBC reports:
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny among more than 1,600 arrested during anti-Putin protests
Matthew Bodner, in moscow
5 MAY 2018 • 6:46PM
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and hundreds of his supporters were arrested in central Moscow on Saturday during nationwide rallies against President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fourth term in office.
Police grabbed Mr Navalny, 41, soon after he showed up at the rally in Pushkin Square, as some shouted "Shame" in Ukrainian, a famous slogan of the Kiev uprising that ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014.
More than 700 people were arrested in Moscow, where riot police were seen beating protesters with truncheons and dragging them into police vans. Tear gas was also briefly used, according to reports.
A helicopter hovered overhead in an apparent bid to drown out chants.
Similar demonstrations were organised in cities across Russia, with more than 1,600 people detained by police by early evening according to the OVD-Info independent monitor.
Mr Navalny, who was barred from challenging Mr Putin in the March presidential election, had called on Russians to stage the rallies under the slogan "Not our Tsar."
Along with opposition leader Nikolai Lyaskin, Mr Navalny was detained “for organising an unauthorised public event,” according to a police statement cited in local news reports.
An official count by Moscow police put the size of the rally at least 1,500 people. They warned they would use force and "impact munition" against the demonstrators.
Scuffles also broke out between Mr Navalny's supporters and pro-Kremlin activists who descended into the square in an apparent effort to sabotage the opposition demonstration.
Saturday's demonstration was the first major event organised by Mr Navalny since the presidential election on March 18, which the opposition leader encouraged voters to boycott.
"Craven old man Putin thinks he is a tsar," Navalny said on Twitter ahead of the demonstrations.
Authorities in some Russian cities issued permits for demonstrations, though many did not and mass arrests ensued.
In Saint Petersburg, several thousand people marched along Nevsky Prospect, the city's main thoroughfare, chanting "Putin is a thief" and "Down with the tsar".
When police tried to stop the unsanctioned march, protesters pelted them with eggs and water bottles, an AFP reporter said. More than 200 were arrested.
In the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, more than 160 people were detained by mid-afternoon. In Yakutsk, some 75 were reported arrested.
Observers had expressed fears that the protests could lead to mass arrests after similar rallies in 2012 led to a huge crackdown on the protest movement.
In May 2012, tens of thousands took to the streets to protest Mr Putin's inauguration for a third Kremlin term, with rallies descending into clashes with police.
Criminal charges were brought against around 30 demonstrators and many of them were sentenced to prison terms of between 2.5 years and 4.5 years.
Mr Putin, who is in the final days of his third term before his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, won with almost 77 percent of the vote.
Before his reelection, Mr Putin had secured his place in Russian history as the nation’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. He has been in power since 2000.
Looks like Putin is a 'worthy' successor to Uncle Joe!
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny among more than 1,600 arrested during anti-Putin protests
Matthew Bodner, in moscow
5 MAY 2018 • 6:46PM
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and hundreds of his supporters were arrested in central Moscow on Saturday during nationwide rallies against President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fourth term in office.
Police grabbed Mr Navalny, 41, soon after he showed up at the rally in Pushkin Square, as some shouted "Shame" in Ukrainian, a famous slogan of the Kiev uprising that ousted a Kremlin-backed regime in 2014.
More than 700 people were arrested in Moscow, where riot police were seen beating protesters with truncheons and dragging them into police vans. Tear gas was also briefly used, according to reports.
A helicopter hovered overhead in an apparent bid to drown out chants.
Similar demonstrations were organised in cities across Russia, with more than 1,600 people detained by police by early evening according to the OVD-Info independent monitor.
Mr Navalny, who was barred from challenging Mr Putin in the March presidential election, had called on Russians to stage the rallies under the slogan "Not our Tsar."
Along with opposition leader Nikolai Lyaskin, Mr Navalny was detained “for organising an unauthorised public event,” according to a police statement cited in local news reports.
An official count by Moscow police put the size of the rally at least 1,500 people. They warned they would use force and "impact munition" against the demonstrators.
Scuffles also broke out between Mr Navalny's supporters and pro-Kremlin activists who descended into the square in an apparent effort to sabotage the opposition demonstration.
Saturday's demonstration was the first major event organised by Mr Navalny since the presidential election on March 18, which the opposition leader encouraged voters to boycott.
"Craven old man Putin thinks he is a tsar," Navalny said on Twitter ahead of the demonstrations.
Authorities in some Russian cities issued permits for demonstrations, though many did not and mass arrests ensued.
In Saint Petersburg, several thousand people marched along Nevsky Prospect, the city's main thoroughfare, chanting "Putin is a thief" and "Down with the tsar".
When police tried to stop the unsanctioned march, protesters pelted them with eggs and water bottles, an AFP reporter said. More than 200 were arrested.
In the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, more than 160 people were detained by mid-afternoon. In Yakutsk, some 75 were reported arrested.
Observers had expressed fears that the protests could lead to mass arrests after similar rallies in 2012 led to a huge crackdown on the protest movement.
In May 2012, tens of thousands took to the streets to protest Mr Putin's inauguration for a third Kremlin term, with rallies descending into clashes with police.
Criminal charges were brought against around 30 demonstrators and many of them were sentenced to prison terms of between 2.5 years and 4.5 years.
Mr Putin, who is in the final days of his third term before his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, won with almost 77 percent of the vote.
Before his reelection, Mr Putin had secured his place in Russian history as the nation’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. He has been in power since 2000.
Looks like Putin is a 'worthy' successor to Uncle Joe!
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Woody
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
When all else fails, read the instructions.
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OFSO
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
Lot of Russians buy villas in Spain and spend a fortune renovating them. One thing they always do is build an escape gate/exit at the rear of the property. In Empuriabrava where that is precluded because the houses back onto the marina canals, one Russian owner constructed a tunnel into his next door neighbour's garden. Next door called the police, Russian explained it was an access tunnel to his swimming pool machinery. Five doors down the same road Putin's secretary has a villa.
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Woody
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
Appears that he’s reappeared and it was a “sting” operation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44307611
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44307611
When all else fails, read the instructions.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
Bill Browder was arrested on yet another attempt by the Russians to take him to Russia for a show trial. Luckily Interpol told the over-zealous Spanish police to ignore the latest Red Notice. Russia does not allow extradition of its own subjects, which is why the murderers of Alexander Litvinenko are free in Russia, one even serving as an MP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning ... Litvinenko
I'm just reading a book about the 'Vory' - the thief culture of Russia. As an American Mafia man declared, "We'd murder you if we wanted, the Russians will kill your whole family".
'Gangster State is too mild a description of Russia and the one man who controls it all - Vladimir Putin.
I'm just reading a book about the 'Vory' - the thief culture of Russia. As an American Mafia man declared, "We'd murder you if we wanted, the Russians will kill your whole family".
'Gangster State is too mild a description of Russia and the one man who controls it all - Vladimir Putin.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
<r><URL url=" text="https://www.npr.org/2018/07/19/63044348 ... um=twitter">https://www.npr.org/2018/07/19/63044348 ... NK_TEXT><e>[/url]</e></URL><br/>
Here's an NPR report on the Russian connection to the presidential election, Cambridge Analytics, Robert Mercer who funded the Trump campaign and put some money into the Brexit campaign, Aaron Banks who funded Vote Leave and Brexit.
A very interesting 30 minutes.
There will be, I'm sure, some who see it has Fake News.
Here's an NPR report on the Russian connection to the presidential election, Cambridge Analytics, Robert Mercer who funded the Trump campaign and put some money into the Brexit campaign, Aaron Banks who funded Vote Leave and Brexit.
A very interesting 30 minutes.
There will be, I'm sure, some who see it has Fake News.
Persuading working people to vote against their own best interests is the primary focus of conservative politics.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
So, why would Russia back such a project as that described in the NPR/Guardian/NYT report?
It’s all a matter of good old imperialism. Putin’s adventures in the Ukraine can be seen as the thin end of the wedge. One well known poster at TOP described it as justified as the Ukraine is Russia’s ‘near abroad’. The same guy who is frequently bitching about loss of UK sovereignty to the EU. How does he think the Ukraine sees it’s sovereignty? The Finns and Estonians have every right to be nervous.
Helsinki immigration official to Putin, "Occupation?"
Putin, "No, just visiting."
(But really what can Europe expect with that gas pipeline to Germany? This makes Germany beholden to Russia? Well, but it gives Russia a hard currency customer that it has come to depend on. Germany could, if necessary, buy shipped in natural gas from elsewhere, but the pipelines are not so easily diverted.)
So what does Russia have to gain from Brexit? It’s the old strategy we learned from the Romans, divide and conquer. It's much easier to bully a group of smaller countries than a block like the EU.
What do they have to gain by supporting Trump? The jackpot, pulling the US out of NATO. Trump questioned NATO's usefulness in one of his first speeches as president. And Putin really loves that.
A european army? It's starting to sound like a good idea if Trump were to get a second term and pull the US out of NATO. Is it a coincidence that opposition to an EU army has been built in to the Brexit ideology from day one?
Putin has had some pretty good days since 2016. I reckon he’s thinking about, ‘Making Russia great again.’
It’s all a matter of good old imperialism. Putin’s adventures in the Ukraine can be seen as the thin end of the wedge. One well known poster at TOP described it as justified as the Ukraine is Russia’s ‘near abroad’. The same guy who is frequently bitching about loss of UK sovereignty to the EU. How does he think the Ukraine sees it’s sovereignty? The Finns and Estonians have every right to be nervous.
Helsinki immigration official to Putin, "Occupation?"
Putin, "No, just visiting."
(But really what can Europe expect with that gas pipeline to Germany? This makes Germany beholden to Russia? Well, but it gives Russia a hard currency customer that it has come to depend on. Germany could, if necessary, buy shipped in natural gas from elsewhere, but the pipelines are not so easily diverted.)
So what does Russia have to gain from Brexit? It’s the old strategy we learned from the Romans, divide and conquer. It's much easier to bully a group of smaller countries than a block like the EU.
What do they have to gain by supporting Trump? The jackpot, pulling the US out of NATO. Trump questioned NATO's usefulness in one of his first speeches as president. And Putin really loves that.
A european army? It's starting to sound like a good idea if Trump were to get a second term and pull the US out of NATO. Is it a coincidence that opposition to an EU army has been built in to the Brexit ideology from day one?
Putin has had some pretty good days since 2016. I reckon he’s thinking about, ‘Making Russia great again.’
Persuading working people to vote against their own best interests is the primary focus of conservative politics.
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BenThere
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
On the other hand, NATO countries heretofore reliant on the alliance for their defensive well-being, have gotten a healthy reminder that defending their own countries is ultimately up to them.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
And this can only be a good thing.On the other hand, NATO countries heretofore reliant on the alliance for their defensive well-being, have gotten a healthy reminder that defending their own countries is ultimately up to them.
Nevertheless, the Trump Russia things shows all the signs of becoming an issue that will make Watergate look like a bit of juvenile mischief. NBC have produced numerous reports on the Mueller investigation but here's one related to the Maria Buttina case which the FBI is investigating. It is another brick in the wall.
The NRA spent 30 Million dollars on supporting the Trump campaign. One of their projects was to identify potential Trump voters who were unregistered and persuade them to register to vote. This seems to be where the use of social media, via Cambridge Analytics/Facebook etc came in.
In a case of a lot of that money it's unclear just who gave it to the NRA. As with vote leave funder Aaron Banks there seems to be evidence that the original source was Russian.
Persuading working people to vote against their own best interests is the primary focus of conservative politics.
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
An interesting further look at the tie ins between the NRA and Russia. This from Rolling Stone magazine.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... mp-630054/
Another Russian under investigation is Aleksandr Torshin. A top man in the Russian government .
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... mp-630054/
Another Russian under investigation is Aleksandr Torshin. A top man in the Russian government .
Torshin`s name came up in Spain in 2013 in relation to money laundering , where Spanish police just missed arresting him. The Spanish police have now passed their file on Torshin to the FBI. https://www.businessinsider.de/fbi-obta ... ?r=US&IR=TThe FBI is now investigating whether Torshin, the current deputy governor of the Russian central bank, illegally funnelled cash to the NRA to support the election of Donald Trump, according to a report by McClatchy that has sparked a probe by the Federal Elections Commission. Moscow’s NRA connections have also become a focus of House and Senate Russia investigators. In his House testimony, made public in January, (Glenn) Simpson pointed to “Russian banker-slash-Duma-member-slash-Mafia-leader” Torshin and his “suspicious” protégé, a young gun activist named Maria Butina. “It appears the Russians,” Simpson said, “infiltrated the NRA.”
Such activities seem to be consistent with the kind of 'Active Measures' that Russia likes to use to further its reach.Spanish police have turned over to the FBI wiretaps of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a prominent Russian banker suspected of money laundering who met with President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., during the 2016 US presidential election.
Persuading working people to vote against their own best interests is the primary focus of conservative politics.
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Woody
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
I’m sure that this has nothing to do with Russia 
The fugitive wife of a "fat cat banker" who's spent £16m in Harrods is battling to keep her London mansion after the UK's first use of a new power to combat international corruption.
The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is challenging a demand by the National Crime Agency that she reveal the source of her wealth or face losing her British properties.
The hearing at the High Court is the first time the agency has used an "Unexplained Wealth Order" to force a suspected corrupt foreign official and his family to account for their riches.
The NCA believes two homes worth £22m were bought with cash stolen by the woman's husband while he was working for a state bank in their home country.
If the woman fails to overturn the court order, or fails to prove she is legitimately wealthy, the NCA can ask the courts to seize the homes.
Major fraud
Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) came into force earlier this year to help investigators identify and seize British property suspected to have been bought by cash laundered by corrupt foreign politicians and officials.
The power was introduced because it's difficult for agencies to prove how these suspects obtained their wealth overseas - and that makes criminal prosecutions almost impossible.
During the first challenge to an UWO, the High Court revealed that "Mrs A" is the wife of a state banker from a "non-EEA country", that also cannot be named for legal reasons.
The couple have an estimated wealth of more than £55m ($72.5m), and 10 years ago, Mr A applied to settle in the UK under the visa scheme for wealthy investors.
The first London property was bought the following year - but Mr A was subsequently jailed overseas after being convicted of a major fraud.
Mrs A is also wanted for trial - but has been living what the court heard was an "extravagant" lifestyle in the UK, spending the vast sums her husband allegedly embezzled.
Jonathan Hall QC, for the NCA, told the court that Mrs A had spent £16m in Harrods over 10 years.
When all else fails, read the instructions.
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OFSO
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
One suspects Mrs A and her husband were from Africa. But who knows ?
Have just spent two weeks In Spain with Russian families next door. Women and children in evidence, quiet and polite, good neighbours, much better than French or English on holiday. Parked their smallish car opposite my house. Men heard but never seen. Odd, that.
Have just spent two weeks In Spain with Russian families next door. Women and children in evidence, quiet and polite, good neighbours, much better than French or English on holiday. Parked their smallish car opposite my house. Men heard but never seen. Odd, that.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
Is that the same Rolling Stone that coughed up $1.65m in damages last year for the made-up frat rape story at the University of Virginia because it "failed to take basic journalistic steps to verify"?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/busi ... -frat.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/busi ... -frat.html
Re: Russia - The Gangster State
It is but Reuters and other sources are covering the same story.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1KC0DC
https://www.businessinsider.de/nra-russ ... ?r=US&IR=T
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/01/59007694 ... s-revealed
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1KC0DC
https://www.businessinsider.de/nra-russ ... ?r=US&IR=T
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/01/59007694 ... s-revealed
Persuading working people to vote against their own best interests is the primary focus of conservative politics.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Russia - The Gangster State
As with all the other "Russia did it!", I await actual proof of anything substantial.
We've been waiting rather a long time.
And given that the Clinton campaign spent nearly twice what Trump's did, and that the States which apparently surprised everyone were mainly the ones Clinton either insulted or ignored, there would seem to be a prima facia case that the election result turned on basic politics, not nefarious expenditures (if any).
And as for reporting in general:
Personally, and this applies to pro-Trump stuff as well as anti-, I'd like some facts I can cross-check independently. 98% of what the MSM has turned out in the last year that I've been able to cross-check has either turned out to be circular sourcing, hearsay, or wrong. Or deliberately poor, like the Rolling Stone article you linked to which links to a House document 165 pages long, significantly redacted, with no clue as to where the relevant bit is. The standard of journalism these days is simply sh!t.
..and none of the above is a personal thing, Jim. It's just that I can't be bothered anymore with bad reporting; there's far too much of it.
We've been waiting rather a long time.
And given that the Clinton campaign spent nearly twice what Trump's did, and that the States which apparently surprised everyone were mainly the ones Clinton either insulted or ignored, there would seem to be a prima facia case that the election result turned on basic politics, not nefarious expenditures (if any).
And as for reporting in general:
- 7j9q8bqazkcqjcfisbuawa.png (53.66 KiB) Viewed 611 times
..and none of the above is a personal thing, Jim. It's just that I can't be bothered anymore with bad reporting; there's far too much of it.