Call to action!
"It is our responsibility to show the international community a clear antiwar stance that we as Russian citizens, free from the claws of Putin's regime and propaganda machine, are taking"
message from @rusdemsoc
"We cannot allow ourselves to get used to this criminal war, let alone remain silent when Putin claims that it is being waged on our behalf and with our support." @rusdemsoc
These banners speak volumes (Prague, 26.3.2022)
It's been nearly a year since Putin has started an atrocious war against Ukraine
On Feb 24-26 there will be massive rallies & demonstrations held by Russians all over the world to protest against this terrible war
Russians living abroad, join them!
📷 Russians in 🇨🇿 (26.3.2022)
📢 Save the Date
📣 Russians all over the world protesting against this terrible war
🗓 When? February 24-26
Politico has named Putin as one of the ‘losers of the year’ for 2024. But I disagree.
🧵Here’s why
In naming Putin a loser, Politico cites the continued failure of his illegal invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s seizure of territory in Kursk region, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, the downing of an Azeri plane at Christmas, and the horrendous state of Russia’s economy
But in truth, how much does Putin really care about any of that? Thousands of Russian soldiers are dying in Ukraine, but that’s no loss to Putin – it’s a loss to their families, people he clearly doesn’t care about
Azerbaijan's Aliyev demanded an apology from Putin over a downed plane... and got it! This exposes cracks in Russia's regional alliances as its power fades.
🧵Turkey (and NATO) are reshaping the post-Soviet space in unexpected ways. Here's how
Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev has taken an unusually strong stance against Putin since one of his country’s planes was shot down over Russia at Christmas. We haven’t heard words like this from one of Russia’s few remaining geopolitical allies in a long time
The Kremlin's response to the crash was the same as always: denials, conspiracy theories, and the usual refusal to take responsibility. But this time, Aliyev didn’t accept it
Like every year, Putin held a very long press conference today. And like every year, he lied through his teeth the entire time.
🧵Here are just some of the falsehoods he pushed:
‘More than 40,000 sanctions have been placed on Russia’ – Just a couple of months ago, foreign minister Lavrov said the number of sanctions was only about half that, at 21,000.
‘We have no preconditions for peace talks’ – Putin himself in June said peace talks in Ukraine were conditional on Kyiv withdrawing from four of its regions and officially turning its back on plans to join NATO interfax.ru/russia/966604
In 24 years of rule, Assad and his cronies have robbed Syria blind.
@FT and @dossier_center reveal where the money went: luxury apartments in Moscow
(🧵Read on)
From March 2018 to Sept 2019, the Syrian central bank secretly sent 21 planeloads carrying over $250M in cash to Russia - nearly 2 tons of $100 and €500 notes. Supposedly for wheat, military aid & services. But the timing is suspicious.
Import-export documents were drawn up for these shipments, and on the surface they appear to be legal. However, suspicions were raised that all may not be as it seemed
🧵Here’re 3 crucial lessons that reveal Putin's strategic collapse (1/15)
(2/15) The Kremlin’s propagandists claimed the Syria intervention was a geopolitical triumph—a bold move to counter Western influence and return Russia to the big table on the world stage after the annexation of Crimea.
(3/15) Instead of proving Russia’s strength, Syria became a fiasco on par with America’s disaster in Afghanistan—only without any advance warning.
Wayne Gretzky signed on to promote a Chinese hockey team. Little did he know, it was actually a front for Putin's buddy to secretly sell Russian LNG.
🧵Here's how the greatest hockey player of all time has played a unknowingly helped Putin fund his illegal war on Ukraine
With pipeline gas exports dwindling, Putin is increasingly relying on LNG to fund his war. He’s entrusted it to one of his closest allies—his hockey buddy, Gennady Timchenko
Russia’s LNG exports are dominated by Timchenko-linked firm, Kunlun Red Star Energy Trading, which despite only having emerged recently, took in 51 billion rubles by the middle of this year