Putin. Once a KGB agent, always a KGB agent.

Nadia Kasakova (left), Russia oil and gas expert, in her recent article about the Russian economy, says the following;

"Russia's official macro statistics for February (just published by the economy ministry) look either good or bad, depending on which set of numbers you focus on. 

But whichever way you slice it, they still paint a picture of a struggling, export-driven, high-inflation economy." (Saxo Group : 30 March, 2015) (my emphasis)

And John Simpson (right), writing in the New Statesman yesterday had this to say about Putin;

"Putin is, in person, a very different man from the swaggering, macho public image. On each of the three occasions when I’ve talked to him, I have found him polite and pleasant and certainly not domineering. The three occasions could have been four, except that when I went to film at the mayoral office in St Petersburg where he worked in 1991, he didn’t seem important enough to interview: mea maxima culpa. He has been phenomenally successful ever since; he is the most successful leader in Russia since Stalin. But does that make his position safe?" (New Statesman : 30 March, 2015) (my emphasis)

It is difficult to imagine that a 'polite and pleasant .... non-domineering' person can bring a country such as Russia to its economic knees. Nor can one imagine that such a person would intentionally start a war in Chechnya or Ukraine.

Yet this is what Putin has done. And to simply argue that these actions of Putin have primarily been precipitated by his desire,

" ... to use every threat, every trick and every weapon in a disturbingly large arsenal in order to protect himself." (ibid New Statesman) (my emphasis) seems rather naive.

What John Simpson illustrates is the extent to which the propaganda machine and the KGB-schooled 'charm offensive' of Putin has, indeed, succeeded in 'pulling the wool over the eyes' of many commentators and political pundits in the West.

Many Western commentators and political pundits seem to have a disturbing 'blind-spot' about the central role that Putin's training as a KGB agent plays in his decision-making.

"His KGB training requires him to double down, fight his way out, turn up the pressure, never admit, never retreat. He will continue his support of his proxies in east Ukraine and hope that the West’s attention span will be short." (Paul Roderick Gregory : Forbes : 7/21/2014) (my emphasis)

 It is for this reason that, as Tomas Hirst reports,

"Russia will not negotiate delaying repayment over its $3 billion (£2 billion) loan to Ukraine that is due in December." (Business Insider UK : Mar. 27, 2015) (my emphasis)

Nor will he adhere to the Minsk2 'ceasefire' and stop supplying his proxies and Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine with heavy weaponry.

As reported yesterday by Damien Sharkov,

"22 Russian tanks crossed into Ukraine’s separatist-held eastern territories over the weekend, as pro-Moscow forces continue to seep into Ukraine’s war-stricken Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Donetsk’s local pro-government officials reported yesterday." (Newsweek : 30/3/15)

Furthermore that,

"Russia is frequently forced to deny that it is sending military equipment or personnel to Ukraine, despite evidence that they are. Rebel leader Alexander Zaharchenko estimated in August that there are as many as 4,000 Russian soldiers fighting under him in Donetsk, however added that they were there on a voluntary basis, out of personal solidarity for the pro-Russian cause. (ibid Newsweek) (my emphasis)

And just as he is ramping up his forces for their impending assault on Mariupol,

"Kremlin critic Ilya Ponomaryov (left) said on Wednesday he was under pressure from state authorities not to return to Russia after reports that the country's prosecutors asked parliament to lift his immunity from prosecution as a lawmaker.

Opposition members accuse the Kremlin of persecuting critics of President Vladimir Putin and say the former Soviet spy holds political responsibility for the campaign that culminated in the Feb.27 gunning down of senior opposition leader Boris Nemtsov." (Reuters (MailOnline): 25 March 2015) (my emphasis)

Oleg Kalugin (right) best  sums up this current strategy of Putin as follows;

"Nikolai Patrushev was my subordinate for years in Leningrad. One day he brought a report about one dissident in his district and said, We must take care of him, maybe arrest him. I said, Why? Give me the case. I read the file of this man, and it showed that he was honest about the lack of food, long lines you have to stand in for food, the bureaucracy of the Soviet party and government institutions. When Patrushev brought it, I said, Why do we have to put him in jail? What is this case? Patrushevs first desire was to put the guy in jail because he would spread his discontent and unhappiness among his friends and colleagues and that was dangerous."(Foreign Policy : July 25, 2007) my emphasis)

Recently, in his first foreign policy speech in a month, Putin stated that,

" ...... “the West” is encroaching on Russia and fomenting internal unrest, in his first foreign policy speech in a month.”. (Andrew Rettman : EU Observer : Brussels, 27. March, 2015) (my emphasis)

This speech, delivered to the internal intelligence service, the FSB, last Thursday (26 March), mirrors "Patruschev's desire to jail a dissident simply to prevent him spreading discontent and unhappiness among his friends and colleagues".

Putin is not playing 'find the pea', as John Simpson suggests. Putin is simply expressing in his actions the KGB training that he has received.

(to be continued)