On russian Telegram (which is monitored by the FSB): A russian publishes a rant.

He will be disappeared.

“What angers me most is precisely this kind of brazen and pseudo-humanistic lie”

1/6 If Russia cared about people and not territories, it would have simply resettled those who wanted to onto its lands, which are more than 90% empty, even before the war. It would not have mobilized the residents of the “new regions”, grinding them up in meaty assaults.

2/6

On russian Telegram: Putin fudges the housing crises, with a Trump styled alternative reality

Mutko muddies muddies muddies

Vitaly "let me speak from my heart" Mutko met with Putin today to discuss housing issues in Russia. And there (spoiler) everything is extremely bad.

1/1 Mortgages have already been recognized as a "dead" way to buy housing even in the State Duma. In 2024, mortgages fell by half. And the debt increased by 63%, which became a historical record. Only the elite of the real estate market, where prices don’t matter - is afloat.

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The US dumbfuckery on tariffs is going to result in a catastrophe that no-one has factored in.

I have published threads on the importance of Rare Earth Elements - and I have warned that China’s grip on REE’s is the USA’s most significant weakness in any dispute with China.

1/6 Currently the United States imports 78% of its rare earth requirements from China. When China shuts the US out of supply - this will result in a catastrophe that will be an economic apocalypse.

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On russian Telegram: Gazprom woes accelerate

Gazprom suffers failures and exits foreign projects en masse:

Gazprom is winding down its participation in the Bolivian Acero project: a well drilled 5,830 m deep turned out to be dry.

1/3 The company's corporate journal says it has gained "unique technical and production experience."

In addition, Gazprom announced the end of work in the Uzbek project Shakhpakhty due to the end of the production sharing agreement.

2/3

On russian Telegram: Putin can’t hide the conscription in the outlying regions anymore, now it’s a free for all in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Putin signed a decree on the start of the spring draft into the army. It will take place from April 1 to July 15.

1/4 160 thousand people are subject to conscription. From this draft, electronic summonses will be introduced in Russia; if a conscript receives one, he will it will not be possible to leave the country.

2/4

On russian Telegram: Remember Putin has repeatedly said the economy is the strongest in the world?

Russians have started complaining more often about wage arrears. According to Rostrud, the number of complaints increased by 37.4% in 2024.

1/3 Rostrud cites the suspension of payments for products shipped by companies, the diversion of resources to servicing loans, and a lack of working capital as reasons for the emergence of debt.

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Do not travel to the United States or Russia. The risk is equivalent.

On March 20, 2025, the United Kingdom's Foreign Office updated its travel advisory for the USA, emphasizing strict enforcement of entry rules and the possibility of arrest or detention for violations.

1/10 The #UK Foreign Office now explicitly states that US authorities strictly enforce entry rules, and travelers may face arrest or detention for breaking them. #Germany, #Canada, and #Mexico have also issued new or updated guidance for traveling to the U.S

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Mark Carney @MarkJCarney will be the next leader of Canada.

What views has he expressed on key topics?

In a message to US President Donald Trump, Carney says his government will keep retaliatory tariffs on US goods until "Americans show us respect"

1/8 The newly-elected Liberal leader also addresses the challenges Trump's tariff threats pose, saying "we cannot let him succeed, and we won't".

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On Russian Telegram: russians are openly celebrating statements from trump in the past few days. This is an indictment on the whole of the USA, now allies with russia.

👉 Trump said that it is easier to deal with Russia than with Ukraine on issues of peaceful settlement.

1/6 👉 Ukraine has no trump cards in the negotiations, the US President said at a press conference in the White House. (because rape, murder and genocide of Ukrainians doesn’t matter to him?)

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On russian Telegram: With the US now in Russia’s control, Europe is the next target.

“We will finish off Europe": Alaudinov threatens the EU with a general mobilization in Russia

1/4 Apti Alaudinov stated that the "conflict in Ukraine" could move to a new stage with the use of all types of weapons and possible general mobilization in Russia. In his opinion, this could lead to a final victory over Europe and the collapse of the NATO bloc.

2/4

On Telegram: A glorious FuckYou to the weak US President who is failing in his attempts to work with indicted war criminal Putin to strong arm Ukraine in the middle of a war.

This highlights just how weak the US President is - a wet fart President.

1/4 President Zelenskyy to the felon US President: "I am not signing something that will cost 10 generations of Ukrainians"

Zelensky refused to pay the US for aid during the conflict. He said that Trump wants to get a 100% markup from Ukraine on the aid provided.

2/4

On russian Telegram: Israel want to double it’s russian tourists 🤬

Israel plans to double the flow of tourists from Russia to “revive” the destination.

This is Netanyahu’s dream to continue his special relationship with Putin and Russia.”

1/5 A wide range of measures to support the industry is being prepared, including new offers for Russians, said Vladimir Shklyar, director of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism's department in Russia.

2/5

On russian Telegram: Missile flop leads to resignation?

Cheka-OGPU channel reports on the real reasons for the resignation of the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov:

1/9 "First of all, Putin's anger was connected with the absolute failure in the issue of production and putting on combat duty of the Sarmat missile system, which should replace the outdated Voevoda (Satan).

2/9

On russian Telegram: businesses are projecting inflation nightmares in russia

A new wave of inflation is approaching Russia: almost 40% of large companies have announced price increases. According to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs…

1/4 37% of companies plan to increase prices on products to compensate for tax increases, the devaluation of the ruble and the deterioration of financial indicators - a record value over the past 7 years.

2/4

On russian Telegram: Russians waking up to the collapse of the National Wealth Fund.

Russia has eaten up two-thirds of its National Welfare Fund in the last three years

1/4 National Fund Russia's wealth - the "nest egg" for a rainy day that the government has been saving for years using the budget's oil and gas super-revenues - continues to rapidly shrink.

2/4

On russian Telegram: The truth is leaking out.

Former Morgan Stanley banker warns of a financial crisis in Russia. Craig Kennedy, a former banker, says in his report a hidden defense financing scheme that, creates the preconditions for a credit crisis.

1/2

Since mid-2022, corporate debt in Russia has grown by $415 billion (+71%), which is 19.4% of GDP. More than 70% of this increase was in sectors related to military activities.

2/2

On russian Telegram today; Proposal by russians to freeze russian deposits, in russia. Good idea vlad!

The Central Bank is considering freezing Russians' deposits as an alternative to raising the key rate, the media reports.

1/3 55 trillion rubles could be blocked with interest rates maintained in order to reduce inflation. The idea is supported by the Ministry of Finance, as it would help close the budget deficit.

2/3

On Russian Telegram today

Not enough food cards for everyone

Prices in Russian stores continue to grow and authorities in some regions are introducing food stamps. State Duma Committee Head on Financial Markets, Anatoly Aksakov proposed extending this to the entire country

1/4 The cards for cheap fish introduced in Kamchatka are only available to WWII veterans, home front workers, children of war, concentration camp prisoners and disabled combat veterans. Pensioners and large families cannot take advantage of this support measure

2/4

Trending on Russian Telegram:

“The Russian economy will collapse in 2025” – analysts are frightened by a new chilling prophecy from The Economist magazine.

1/3 Many believe that it is owned by a transnational elite that controls the course of history. In 1983, they predicted the collapse of the USSR. In 2000, the fall of the Twin Towers. The same with the high-profile events of recent years: from the SVO to the launch of Oreshnik.

2/3

November 07, 2024 - the UK Government sanctioned a little known paramilitary organisation called Espinola. This threads delves into this organisation, its origins and its structure in the Russia military regime.

But to understand who Espinola is, I first explore the context around Private Military Contractors, then we look at an organisation called Redut, which manages Espinola, then we look at the key leaders in Redut, and then a dive into Espinola themselves.

The trail leads straight to russian Oligarchs Roman and Arkady Rotenberg, the same two miscreants who financed Putin’s palace and life-long members of Putin’s inner criminal circle.

Consider listening to the narrated version of this 8 page thread, great for commuting or bed time listening. The link to the audio narration is in the first reply to the last tweet in this thread.

Let’s crack on..

👉 Rise of the private militia groups in Russia since 2021.

The abbreviation "PMC", private military company, is known in Russia primarily thanks to Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group. In fact, there are other military formations that (at least in the media) have this status.

The legalization of PMCs has been discussed by the authorities on numerous occasions, but so far, from a formal point of view, the creation of private military companies is directly prohibited by Russian law.

For many years, Wagner was the most famous and powerful private military company in the country. Its mercenaries, led by the group's creator Yevgeny Prigozhin, fought in Ukraine since 2014, and then took part in military operations in Syria, conflicts in Africa and, according to some reports, even in Latin America.

Wagner mercenaries participated in the Russian invasion from its first days.

It was Prigozhin (with the participation of Vladimir Putin, who signed decrees on pardons) who first began recruiting Russian prisoners for the war. The only formal successes of the Russian army on the front over the past year are associated with his figure - the capture of the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut.

In the fall of 2021. The Ministry of Defense announced that the reserve was going to be expanded, and regional administrations began to encourage Russians to join it by sending applications through a special website (officially, this resource is not associated with the Ministry of Defense) - then the abbreviation BARS first appeared in the public sphere.

Since March 2022, Russia has been recruiting people from civilian life to somehow compensate for the losses of its most combat-ready units. They recruited both veterans of past conflicts and those who had never been associated with the army before.

People were offered salaries that were 5-6 times higher than the average salary in the region, social guarantees and benefits for both the recruits themselves and their families.

Thanks to this, tens of thousands of men were recruited into the paramilitary formations.

1/
Next 👉 The rise of PMC’s continued.. Volunteers recruited for the war through military commissariats were mainly distributed either to volunteer battalions created under the supervision of regions (the most famous of them is the Akhmat battalion from Chechnya), or to those same BARS units. The first mentions of numbered units with this name appeared in Russian media and social networks just a few months after the start of the invasion.

But the recruitment of volunteers was so active and spontaneous that it eventually led to confusion, and dozens of volunteer units emerged at the front, fighting in an unclear status. Some of them were eventually included in the BARS system, sometimes retroactively. As a result, by the fall of 2023, the number of BARSs had grown to several dozen.

They are mainly fought not by "reservists" who were invited to BARS before the war, but by ordinary volunteers who wanted to go to the front after the invasion began.

The volunteers were promised a contract with the army - it was assumed that after its conclusion, the reservists would continue to live "in civilian life", but would constantly participate in army training, and in the event of mobilization, they would travel to their unit on their own.

It is unknown how many people were recruited for BARS-21. The Zvezda media group claimed that by the fall of 2021, a reserve of 38 thousand people had been formed in the Southern Military District alone (journalists described the reservists' situation as a "half-time army"). A few months later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Volunteers recruited for the war through military commissariats were mainly distributed either to volunteer battalions created under the supervision of regions (the most famous of them is the Akhmat battalion from Chechnya), or to those same BARS units. The first mentions of numbered units with this name appeared in Russian media and social networks just a few months after the start of the invasion.

By November 2023, the BBC reported that there were more than thirty BARS (their official register, of course, does not exist). Service in such structures varies greatly from unit to unit. Including because some BARS have not only the support of the Ministry of Defense, but also individual curators - among high-ranking officials, regional authorities and businesses.

Some BARS are united under a common leadership and fight together. And in addition, groups that began fighting in Ukraine nine years ago and are controlled by the country's military leadership are retroactively included in the BARS structure.

Several BARSs are united under the "brand" of the Union of Donbass Volunteers (UDV). The Union currently includes the BARS-23 ("Eagle", also referred to as BARS-9), BARS-20 ("Thunder") and BARS-13 ("Russian World", formerly "Rurik") battalions, all of which are actively participating in the invasion of Ukraine.

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Next 👉 Who is Redut?

It’s time to suspend Hungarian membership rights for serious and persistent breaches of the principles of the European Union.
In this video, we explain the European Union Article 7 process, specifically in relation to Hungary.

You can watch the YouTube presentation of this thread here 👇

youtu.be/HiMyVOOvnj8

Back in January 2024, The European Commission announced that it would will not push forward Article 7, the so-called nuclear option, against Hungary over breaches of fundamental rights until there is a strong majority in favour among member states.

Article 7 has in fact already been invoked against Hungary, back in 2018. Breaches of EU Principles were defined and agreed upon with Hungary, with specific remedies for these breaches agreed to - together with a grading of the breaches and timelines for the remedies were agreed with Hungary as a pathway to the resumption of EU funding.

The problem is that while Victor Orban and his regime has not only failed to remedy the breaches, he has in fact doubled down on some of the breaches in areas such as the judiciary and immigration rules, with a limited number of breaches being remedied and partly remedied. It is the European Commission that is responsible for progressing the Article 7 to the sanction phase, with clear grounds to do so as Hungary has failed to remedy a substantial number of breaches agreed with Orban and his right wing regime in 2018.

The Commission’s position is one of ambivalence and inaction, they claim there is insufficient member state support to progress the Article 7 sanctions which could or should result in Hungary being muted and denied a vote in EU affairs. In January 2024, after notifying Hungary of their failure to remedy breaches - the Commission put out this statement:

"It's not possible for the Commission to take a decision in the process," Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice As recognised by Transparency International, “the past decade has seen sustained attacks on the EU’s fundamental values by one of its own member states.

For the past 13 years, Hungary’s government has launched a barrage of laws aimed to erode its democracy, all while continuing to benefit from EU funds, as well as enriching its cronies through widespread corruption.

There is well-documented evidence that it has privileged granting public contracts to its supporters, diverted EU funds to its associates, subdued the country’s judicial system, undermined media freedom and pluralism, demonised non-governmental groups and criminalised some of their activities, eroded academic freedoms, violated the rights of women, refugees, asylum seekers, LGBTQI+ people and other minorities.

In a scathing resolution voted in January, the European Parliament demanded Article 7 shift to second gear and conclude the "existence of a serious and persistent breach" of fundamental rights inside Hungary. But this new step, which has never been activated, requires a written proposal by the European Commission or one-third of member states.

Attacks on the rule of law in Hungary are systemic and deeply rooted. Not only do they threaten to unravel decades of democratic progress, but they also pose a direct threat to the European Union’s democratic legitimacy and access to the European Single Market. The EU cannot claim to be democratic if one of its own member states persists in violating the democratic values upon which the EU was founded.

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Next 👉 The EU’s response The EU’s response to these developments has so far failed to deter Hungary from continuing to slide backwards into authoritarianism. Hungary has faced numerous Article 7(1) hearings in the Council of the EU and debates in the European Parliament, which have sought to establish that there is a risk of a “serious and persistent breach” of EU values in Hungary.

Yet no recommendation on this has been issued by the Council for five years and the process remains stuck. Hungary has also been the subject of multiple European Parliament resolutions and been harshly criticised by the European Commission in its various assessments and reports.

The repeated and systemic attacks of the Hungarian government on EU values have led to EU funds being frozen and to Hungary being subject to the EU’s rule of law conditionality mechanism.

In total, Hungary’s actions are under scrutiny by three separate instruments: the horizontal and thematic enabling conditions under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which enables access to Cohesion Policy funding; 27 super milestones under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund, which include measures such as combating corruption and rule of law reforms; and the rule of law conditionality mechanism, which imposes measures to protect the EU budget against breaches of the rule of law.

While Hungary may have undertaken some cosmetic reforms to unblock its EU funds, analysis by our partners in Hungary shows that these fail to address the remedial measures and reforms required.

In fact, the Commission’s own latest assessment is that “despite regular exchanges with Hungary, the Commission considers that Hungary has not addressed the breaches of the principles of the rule of law that led to the adoption of measures by the Council in December 2022 under the budget conditionality mechanism.”

The Commission also determined that Hungary had failed to fulfil the conditions it had proposed and committed to remedy. These breaches are related to public procurement, public interest trusts, prosecutorial action, conflicts of interest and the fight against corruption.

The Commission itself, then, has tacitly recognised that Hungary has undertaken multiple breaches of the principles of the rule of law, and failed to address these adequately. This goes beyond the risk of a “serious and persistent breach” of EU values, as stipulated by Article 7(1).

This is why Article 7(2) proceedings must be initiated. Article 7(2) would mark the first step to determining the existence of such a serious and persistent breach of EU values, as opposed to the mere risk outlined in Article 7(1). Upon confirming such a breach, which has been evident to the European Parliament since at least 2018 —when the Article 7(1) procedure against Hungary was launched—the Member States would be able to proceed to the second step under Article 7(3), potentially resulting in the suspension of specific membership rights to Hungary, including voting rights in the Council.

The last European Council meeting in December once again showcased Hungary’s obstructionist behaviour, including blackmailing the institutions and threatening to veto decisions on key policies. A strong response from Member States, as well as the EU Institutions, to these actions that deliberately undermine the Union’s functioning is now more critical than ever.”

Again in June 2024, EU M E P’s voted overwhelmingly on a resolution calling for Article 7 to be completed against Hungary.

There were the obvious detractors from this vote, primarily from Spain

From Italy and Germany

And other mostly right wing parties, who have sought to rally on russian narratives around the illegal and genocidal war being conducted by Russia in Ukraine.

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Next 👉 What is Article 7 you ask..