markgaleotti.bsky.social
Analyst of murky topics from Russian politics to organised crime.
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How did I say Zelensky wasn't? I said that was the Russian line, but that under martial law, elections were not permitted.
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He has leverage over Ukraine (because of aid) that he doesn't have anywhere else -- there's no reason to conjure any wider worries
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Quite -- there are far fewer stakes talking with people we already agree with!
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Thank you for yet another good episode, and most of all, for the end. People can have some very distorted views of what dialogue is, or isn't. I found your explanation very spot-on, and also the insistence that dialogue is necessary, even when it makes us uncomfortable.
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I just hope this never becomes fact...
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I'm not yet sure if I'll be staying, still exploring...
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Yes, and I'm just waiting for a suitable hook or novel angle to emerge...
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I do hope it was the pup that was listening...
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3. And there’s still the uncertainty about Trump: will he be useful, will he be dangerous, will be contained by the blob, etc. Even the Russians don’t know. 17/end
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2. His ‘Medvedification’ continues. Not for him admittedly the same intoxicated Telegram rants, but pseudo-measured interviews. All the same his role is to go beyond the official line, to float extreme options but also to make the Kremlin look – relatively – reasonable. 16/
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1. Patrushev seems to have time on his hands, despite now being a permanent member of the Security Council (without portfolio). Remember, he may still have credibility with Putin, but no actual power. 15/
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Aside from the fact that I would love to see a “Russophobic hurdy-gurdy,” right up there with a “Russophile harmonica,” what can one glean from all this nonsense? 14/
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Because “the authorities of these states continue to lead themselves into the deepest crisis with ill-considered actions and at the same time stubbornly crank the Russophobic hurdy-gurdy.” 13/
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And “discrimination against the Russian population in a number of countries, and of course, the Baltics and Moldova, must stop.” 12/
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Recognise it, he implies, or else trouble may spread. Firstly, “It is possible that in the coming year Ukraine will cease to exist altogether.” 11/
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So fraternal is this tie that “it is also important the world recognizes the inclusion of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, which are an integral part of our country in accordance with the Constitution, into the Russian Federation.” 10/
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Meanwhile, in the guise of fellowship he restates the usual line on Ukraine: “the Ukrainian people remain close to us, fraternal, connected by centuries-old ties with Russia, no matter how much the Kiev propagandists obsessed with "Ukrainianism" claim the opposite.” 9/
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It is noteworthy that this hyperhawk nonetheless implicitly accepts that the USA remains, if not the global hegemon, still the one determining power. 8/