Given the fact that Putin has always lied to the world about his real mother, Vera Putina [1] [2] [3], and that he invented a story about 'a cornered rat' that he found in his surrogate parents' flat in St. Petersburg, it should come as no surprise that, being now cornered himself on the international stage, he is dangerously lashing out, bringing the world precipitously to the brink of war.
As reported by Harriet Agerholm (right),
"A Russian newspaper has warned that Russian President
Vladmir Putin is playing an "astonishingly risky game" in the Syrian
conflict that could even lead to a Third World War.And, rather disconcertingly,
"As relations between Russia and the US disintegrate as a result of the escalating proxy war in Syria,
[ ... ] tomorrow an unprecedented 40 million Russian citizens, as well as 200,000 specialists from "emergency rescue divisions" and 50,000 units of equipment are set to take part in a four day-long civil defense, emergency evacuation and disaster preparedness drill, the Russian Ministry for Civil Defense reported on its website." (Tyler Durden : Zero Hedge : Oct 4, 2016)
These dangerous developments come against the backdrop of,
"President Vladimir Putin [abandoning] a key nuclear disarmament treaty with
the U.S. and [demanding] the removal of sanctions and troop reductions
from Russia’s former Cold War enemy to restore the agreement....
In a separate document submitted to Russia’s parliament, Putin indicated his readiness to revive the treaty provided the U.S. reduces its military and troop presence in NATO member states to the level that existed on Sept. 1, 2000.
He also called for an end to sanctions against Russia imposed in 2014 over the conflict in Ukraine, and the abolition of restrictions under the so-called Magnitsky Act of 2012, which was aimed at officials accused of involvement in the prison death of whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky." (Stepan Kravchenko, Ilya Arkhipov, and Toluse Olorunnipa: Bloomberg : October 3, 2016) (my emphasis)
A direct indication of Putin's current mind-set can also be gleaned from from a Bill of Amendments published on Monday (3rd October 2016) which further SLASHES the Welfare budget and INCREASES the Military Budget.
"Russia’s
military spending is set to increase by 679 billion rubles ($10 billion)
despite the welfare budget decreasing by 375 billion rubles ($6
billion), the Gazeta.ru news website reported Tuesday, citing a source
in the government......
Alexandra Suslina, an economic analyst, told Gazeta.ru that defense and social spending are the government’s priorities.
All other areas of government would receive “whatever is leftover,” she said, adding that the economy was far from the government’s priority." (Moscow Times : Oct. 04 2016) (my emphasis)
In contrast, as Anders Åslund (left) points out,
"Ukraine’s immediate economic crisis has been resolved, but its economy
remains fragile and still needs international support. If the new
Ukrainian government becomes complacent, the country’s gains could be
lost....
Ukraine has been climbing out of an economic hole that Yanukovych helped dig.
....
Ukraine is keeping up on its foreign payments. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is buying foreign currency to maintain exchange-rate stability, and it has reduced inflation to just 8% (as of August) by gradually cutting interest rates and easing currency regulations.
...
[Last].. month [the IMF] approved a $1 billion loan, which could stabilize the exchange rate. The United States is expected to match the IMF tranche with a $1 billion loan guarantee, and the European Union will offer $673 million in macroeconomic-finance assistance." ( Project Syndicate :
Stepan Kravchenko, Ilya Arkhipov, and Toluse Olorunnipa) also signifies that the Russian economy is in more of a downward tailspin than previously thought of by many Western economists.
The international outcry against his bombings in Allepo has also raised the spectre of yet MORE sanctions against Putin.
As reported by Anton Troianovski, Laurence Norman and Julian E. Barnes,"The German government is considering a push for European sanctions against Russia in response to its behavior in Syria, a person familiar with the German deliberations said on Wednesday, signaling that Europe is seeking new ways to pressure Moscow to quell the violence there." (Wall Street Journal : Oct. 5, 2016) (my emphasis)
Whether these new sanctions against Putin materialises or not, the mere fact that they are now part of the international diplomatic discourse can only serve to further propell him towards putting Russia onto a near total war footing.
(to be continued)
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