Putin, the Greek, and the Cossacks

In 2013, Ellen Barry informed us that,

"STAVROPOL, Russia — Outside this city’s police headquarters on a recent night, a priest in a purple velvet hat and gold stole moved from one man to the next, offering a cross to be kissed and drenching their faces with holy water from a long brush.

And so began another night of law enforcement as Cossacks, the fierce horsemen who once secured the frontier for the Russian empire, marched out to join the police patrolling the city.

In his third term, President Vladimir V. Putin has offered one clear new direction for the country: the development of a conservative, nationalist ideology. Cossacks have emerged as a kind of mascot, with growing financial and political support." (New York Times : March 16, 2013) (my emphasis)

Two years later, Nicholas Miletitch informs us that in the town of Perevalsk in eastern Ukraine,

"The young Cossack fighter gripped his automatic rifle as he swore he would defend the town of Perevalsk in war-torn east Ukraine that he and his comrades now control......

But the enemy the Cossacks fear most is the enemy within -- the separatist leaders of the self-declared Lugansk People's Republic (LNR) who they refuse to obey.

"We're under the orders of our Russian brothers of the Great Army of the Don Cossacks. We don't recognise the authority of the LNR," said the soldier." (AFP (Yahoo News) : Tue., April 7, 2015) (my emphasis)

Needless to say,

"Igor Plotnitsky (left), head of the Lugansk rebels battling the Kiev government, set an April 4 deadline for the Cossacks to either join the LNR's military wing, hand over their weapons -- or be outlawed." (ibid Nicholas Miletitch) (my emphasis)

What this 'fighting amongst thieves' (sic!) reveals is the nature of the 'hybrid' war that Putin has, unintentionally, set off amongst his own proxies in the rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. To minimise the serious damage that this 'fighting amongst thieves' could do to his plan for totally undermining both the government and the economy of Ukraine, Putin has to import yet more young Russian soldiers into eastern Ukraine to keep the flame of his war with Ukraine constantly burning.

On the economic horizon, Putin may be uttering a rather small sigh of relief.

Anna Andrianova (right) informs us that,

“The economy is gradually entering a recession,” said Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at BCS Financial Group in Moscow. “It’s difficult to say when a reversal will happen. I expect that it may happen in the course of the coming three to six months.” (Bloomberg Business : April 1, 2015) (my emphasis)

She further informs us that,

“The modest rate of economic expansion last year speaks of the anemic internal demand environment born out of sticky inflation and high debt servicing costs,” Johannesburg-based Tradition Analytics said in an e-mailed research note. “Global growth, meanwhile, remains uneven and is therefore unlikely to meaningfully boost GDP.” (ibid Anna Andrianova) (my emphasis)

Russian consumers are, however, finding it tough going. 

Shaun Walker in Simferopol informs us that,

"Crimea’s residents have only two options when they want to buy something nowadays: cash or Pro-100. .....

[Pro-100 is] the first phase of Russia’s plan to launch its own domestic credit card system – has been introduced ahead of schedule in Crimea to fill the gap......

Pro-100 is the only way to get cash in Crimea. International money transfer systems have also pulled out of the region, and even people with Russian bank cards cannot make transfers or withdraw money in Crimea.

“A friend in the US needed to transfer me some money, and he had to send it by wire to another friend in Moscow, who withdrew the money and then found someone flying here from Moscow to bring it to me by hand,” said one exasperated resident." (The Guardian : Tuesday 7 April 2015) (my emphasis)

If the people in Ukrainian Crimea are having difficulty getting hold of their electronic roubles, how much more so is it in the rebel held areas of eastern Ukraine.

One has to wonder whether Putin is coming to the full realization of the economic millstone that he has placed around his neck by annexing Ukrainian Crimea and incorporating the rebel held areas of eastern Ukraine into the rouble monetary system.

Ivan Nechepurenko tells us that an unidentified source, cited by Forbes, who participated in the[Minsk2]  meeting [in February],

"According to the source, Putin recounted the overnight Minsk negotiations, saying: “[Poroshenko (right)] told me directly: 'Take the Donbass.' I replied: 'Are you out of your mind? I don't need the Donbass. If you don't need it, declare it independent,'” Forbes reported. .....

The source said Poroshenko had asked Putin to take financial responsibility for the region. Putin replied that would only be possible if the Donbass joined Russia and that as long as the region remained part of Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities were tasked with such matters." (Moscow Times : Apr. 06 2015)

However,

"The head of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin (left), said Monday the comments published by Forbes were “a distortion” of Putin's words, RIA Novosti reported.
“The topic of discussion was relations between Russia and Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but I am not going to repeat [Putin's] words. … [The Forbes report] is an incorrect interpretation,” Shokhin said." (ibid Ivan Nechepurenko) (my emphasis)

The $64 question is, "Why has Forbes suddenly published this information?(06.04.2015)"
 
 Whilst the Ukrainian economy is in dire straits, nonetheless it is receiving critical financial assistance from the West, including from the IMF. Putin, on the other hand, has no access to international financial resources and thus the Russian consumer is paying a hefty economic price for his imperial ambitions.

Putin may be toying with the current Greek Prime minister, Alexis Tsipras (right), as he goes cap-in-hand to Putin to save his political skin as the Greek economy splutters on the edge of economic oblivion.

But even the rather contrived, and childish, tie-less Tsipras will soon discover that Putin is simply using him as a pawn to try and undo the sanctions of the EU against Russia in July.

The rather childish political antics of Tsipras is best illustrated by his "demand" that,

" .... Germany owes Greece nearly €279bn (£204bn; $303bn) in war reparations for the Nazi occupation during World War Two.

It is the first time Greece has officially calculated what Germany allegedly owes it for Nazi atrocities and looting during the 1940s." (BBC News : 7 April 2015)

To which the Germans have replied,

"...... the issue was resolved legally years ago.
...
Reacting to the Greek claim, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel (left) said it was "dumb" to link Greece's bailout by the eurozone with the question of war reparations." (ibid BBC News) (my emphasis)

It would seem, indeed, that Alexis Tsipras is taking over the mantle of Putin's cheerleader in the EU from the 'fragrant' Mogherini (right). Or is it simply that putin now has two cheerleaders in the EU.

 (to be continued)