Benedict, who just came back from a stroll, stood for a while and watched the strange sight of Maurice taking a foot bath in the garden while peeling what appeared to be shrimps.
He considered going back to the woods, mostly in fear of being asked to help.
“First day at work in the new year”, said Maurice.
“I’d wager Volodin’s first words are going to be: We have a busy schedule.”
“No, he relayed good wishes from Putin and then he said »Our session will be busy«.
Go wash your hands and help me peel shrimps. It’s for lunch.”
Benedict waved goodbye to a little piece of himself and did as he was told.
“Assemblies appear to me to be rather alike, don’t you think?”
“Very much so: If you take away their ordinary chores, they are basically all a bunch of people who take the work representation very literally. They act like defense attorneys who are rarely engaging in moral disputes with the one they represent. It’s ‘my client is innocent’ to the end. They take the position of their client and puts their judicial knowledge to use in the defence of an amalgamation of him and his client.”
“Have you ever notice a single conversation where Ukraine expounded on the actual sentiments of the Russians? Or the deputies in the Duma expressing a clear and unproblematic perception of the feelings of the Ukrainian people? Or the US senate for that matter actually getting it?”
“Of course never. Deputies and MPs are - like their countrymen - innocent in all claims directed at them from abroad, unless proven guilty. They feel that they ought to be defended from foreign attackers who will never have a moral right to anything.”
“This is a human condition, and yet we employ sanctions and other means as if to say: ‘They will have to listen to this!’ - unsurprisingly it has no effect at all on the conversation inside the Duma, like Russian military parades and diplomatic demands impresses the Rada equally little.”
“We are observers of majestic politic reflexes performed by whale-size molluscs of government on collision course with each other.”
18.01.2022
http://transcript.duma.gov.ru/node/5768/
“The Chairman Volodin of United Russia gives a little bit of information on the development on the global scene.”
“And again, there are two strands running through the war: Human concern for people in Donbass and the ‘Grand Chessboard’-thinking. Putin’s concerns focus on the big picture.”
VOLODIN V.V., CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE DUMA, UNITED RUSSIA FACTION.
The main challenges today remain the pandemic and poverty
[…]
Dear colleagues, last year our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin proposed to discuss global security issues with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, consistently pursuing a policy aimed at ensuring peace and stability, and raised the issue of Russia’s security guarantees with the US and NATO leadership. Specific proposals were voiced to Washington that are designed to protect our citizens and European countries from explosive threats and unpredictable developments, but to this day, as you know, there has been no response from Washington. It is necessary that the United States of America and NATO provide us with legally binding long-term guarantees, enshrined in writing. We are talking about non-expansion of NATO to the east, non-deployment of strike weapons near Russian borders, and the return of NATO military potential and infrastructure in Europe to the status quo of 1997, when the Russia-NATO Founding Act was signed. The decision - I would like to emphasize once again - is on Washington’s side, it is its aggressive actions in the immediate vicinity of Russian borders and ignoring our “red lines” that force the Russian Federation to demand the conclusion of new binding agreements.
“The sanctions from 2014 forced Russia to become self-sufficient, he reminds.”
Maurice was sizing up Benedict.
“See, Benedict, we are now approaching a crossroad where we probably part ways.”
Benedict read on further down in Volodin’s introduction.
“Ah, I see why…”
VOLODIN V.V.
In recent months, hysteria has been noticeable around Ukraine. Congressmen and representatives of the State Department are frightening the entire world with an allegedly upcoming Russian invasion. It is quite obvious that Washington is trying to justify its expansion and the advancement of NATO troops to the Russian borders. They are acting according to a standard scheme, nothing new: first they invent an image of an enemy, then heroically fight it - this happened in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yugoslavia, they did not come up with anything new. All this can be regarded as informational preparation for NATO’s advancement into Ukrainian territory, their advisers are already there, instructors are there, and now they are thinking about how to justify the introduction of troops. In other words, NATO is trying to occupy Ukraine.
“The question becomes: Is Volodin and others perfectly aware that an invasion is (possibly?) planned? If so, is he deliberately lying?”
“Exactly. Volodin is purportedly an insider. What is going on here? Is he pretending? Is the entire Duma pretending because of foreign viewers?”
“The downside to that kind of mentality is the enormity of the conspiracy theories we have to construct. It’s one kind of approach, but I don’t favour it. Too farfetched.”
“At this point, the West usually justifies its own claims by relegating to Maskirovka and other trickery and deceit of the Soviet.”
“I am open to everything, but at length only the holistically consistent theories will work. Like with movies. If you invent a character that uses deceit on a daily basis, that trait must be at work constantly, not just when we find it opportunistic in our accusations.
But let’s see. Still a month until hostilities break out, the ball is still rolling.”
“Anyway, the term ‘planned’ is confusing. Both Russia and Ukraine of course have contingency plans ready, just in case. The fact that a plan exists is often used by the opponents in propaganda, but really it signifies very little.”
VOLODIN V.V.
In this regard, dialogue on security guarantees is extremely important. We must do everything to preserve peace, and this issue is precisely a question of preserving peace, because we cannot allow NATO to introduce its troops into the territory of Ukraine. This is a question of the security of our citizens, a question of the security of citizens of European countries, therefore, I would like to emphasize once again, the measures taken by the president are not only timely, they are the only correct ones in this situation.
“Again, when the West says that Putin is a dictator, we imply that Volodin here is forced to feign his agreement because he has been threatened to do so secretly. Possibly, but frankly I don’t buy into this Stalinism-repeated theory. We have to accept that many Russians are very satisfied with the actions of their president.”
“Basically the negotiation situation before the war was in a complete deadlock - both on Donbass and on the security issue at large.”
VOLODIN V.V.
Colleagues, our task is to prevent a terrible tragedy, the world is closer to it than ever. And in this regard, we need to convey information to all parliaments so that they realize their responsibility and understand how this could end. Russia has something to respond with, but it is clear what consequences this will lead to. Colleagues, we stand for peace, for friendship, for the development of relations based on the principles of respect for each other, mutual support, and we will continue to follow this.
“Zyuganov shares Putin’s view on the encroaching West.”
ZYUGANOV G.A., LEADER OF THE CPRF FACTION.
I fully support what is essentially an ultimatum that Putin has made public, but with any ultimatum you must understand that if you are refused, you must take the following three or four steps. […] In my opinion, they have been thought out, including by the military-political leadership […]
“Ah, so that was the situation in late January: A clear warning that war was prepared. Again, I emphasise that this is an internal discussion: They aren’t faking their reference to NATO as a ploy to mask out their real ambition: Conquering Ukrainian land. They take NATO seriously as a casus belli.”
“Yeah. At this point the cannonball is really starting to roll. Perhaps a better way to put it is that the Donbass war was the conflict that enabled and set in motion a much bigger gambit revolving around NATO presence in the vicinity of Russia.”
“Zyuganov was - if I recall correctly - part of some committee where he would have been briefed about any military contingencies planned. He mentioned a three hour speech he gave at such a meeting, so likely he is also an influence.
My point is that Putin clearly seems to have what political scientists calls legitimacy – his actions are deemed acceptable by the electorate and within his mandate. The West likes to paint the portrait of a dictator.”
I have long called on the president to support the left-patriotic forces as much as possible. We had 132 delegations from all over the world as guests, all of them supported us on Crimea, Sevastopol, Donbass, and foreign policy, but, unfortunately, the leftists are still being persecuted. Our colleague Khorzhan has been in prison in Transnistria for three years
“We have trouble reading these statements. Time to put on the proper pair of spectacles.
- We, the Communists, have saved Russia at least, and large swaths of the world from the imperialistic ambitions of Capitalism.
- But Capitalism fights back and is trying to destroy us.
- To safekeep the hard won freedom, we have to stop the Imperialists at any cost.
Perfect recipe for an escalation. Two saviours in the world is one too many.”
“Okay, that was an example of how the Communists views NATOs presence in Ukraine (which to a large degree was a consequence of the events of 2014 which again were part of the much larger battle of the spheres of influence).
Let’s listen to the Liberalists.”
ZHIRINOVSKY V.V., LEADER OF THE LDPR FACTION.
Now we have a historic moment when we must win against the West, and win once and for all. If we try to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, it will give nothing: whether it joins or not, there will be bases there, there will be saboteurs and cybercrimes. We need to resolve the issue radically.
[…]
I would make the points more radical. For example, demand not the return of NATO to the position of 1997, but its complete dissolution: NATO, as a military-political bloc, should not exist.
“LDPR under his leadership clearly takes the hard line. But honestly, the most moderate party when it comes to NATO is the majority United Russia.”
All nuclear weapons should be destroyed on the European continent - except Russia - both French and British and American at bases in Germany, Italy, Turkey. All sanctions should be lifted - all at once, not lifted piece by piece.
[…]
Naturally, they will not do this - then we must use our advantage in the military-technical sphere.
Maurice was stunned. “… Zhirinovsky loves to act like a cartoon military dictator.”
“But again, it only confirms that putting pressure on a country always backfires. And yet we never learn. Russia puts force on Ukraine, and the MPs harden. USA puts pressure on Russia, and the deputies harden. One inch closer to war. What has anybody gained, except the satisfaction of following your gut instinct for another day?”
They don’t want war, but they provoke it, they say that we allegedly want it - even Hitler didn’t wage such malicious propaganda against us and in general there has never been such propaganda at all! The most malicious propaganda against us is to provoke in order to punish us once again. “It will hurt you,” - that’s what they tell us. You have been hurting us for a thousand years! “You will pay dearly,” - yes, we have already paid dearly! In the Second World War we lost 30 million, if not more, and you, Americans, 600 thousand, the British - 400 thousand. So you will pay, and we will not take any bills from you. You will not be - that’s how the question should be put! You will not be! And we will decide in Moscow, and your franc, this euro will collapse, and the dollar. Smart people now should not buy dollars and euros - buy rubles! Then there will be no one to accept euros and dollars from you, because America will abandon the dollar, the European Union will be dissolved and NATO… Some are grabbing dollars now - don’t rush, buy rubles.
“Either we wake up and invest energy into understanding our opponents (and stop calling them opponents), or we accept living with perpetual war.”
“Zhirinovsky reminds me that I had it wrong: When we were looking at what we deemed peaceful working days in the Duma and the Rada, we missed the important bit, that a heavy feeling of war was approaching. And both assemblies - Duma and Rada - vigorously declared their resolve and determination. All the more important it becomes then that USA and EU will use their considerable influence to exert diplomatic pressure on both. But of course, both EU and USA had already decided which country to side with, so nothing could stop the train.”
[…] this is our last and decisive battle, the spring of 2022. Let it be in April, in May, but this year it can be done. We will win and only then will we solve all the economic problems, then all the money will be handed over here, all the money will be returned from the offshores, and our oligarchy… There will be immeasurable money, and there will no longer be so much money for defense…
For Russia’s victory in the new war!
“… And while he is raving, he even manages to convey death threats against his own colleagues!”
[…] so sit and keep quiet, Kolomeitsev. We were silent when Zyuganov spoke, and you keep quiet now, otherwise you’ll get the message that you’ll be the first to go to Belorussky or Kievsky Station. I’ll take you all to the front lines, so to speak, there you, communists, must be the first to die, and we’ll wait until you die in the trenches against Nazi fighters.
“!”
“However do note one thing: The population of a country do make up a very big mass of sociological consensus. However loud the world screams from abroad, precious little will happen internally. If we believe that war is our only method of persuasion (and even the bombing of Dresden and the Blitz in London proved how weak an argument that was), then frankly we have no instrument with which to stop a war.”
— Kazakhstan —
“The matter of the coup or revolt in Kazakhstan that took place in Kazakhstan earlier in January 2022 is mentioned by several party leaders this day.”
“Foreign Affairs has an article”
Like Russia, Kazakhstan was quick to adopt shock-therapy economic reforms in the 1990s.
“Same model as Russia: IMF and the World Bank advised privatisation. The consequence - like in Russia - was that few oligarchs ended up with most of the wealth. Worse so than in Russia, actually. Zuyganov points to the poverty of the masses:”
ZYUGANOV G.A.
44 percent of the population of Kazakhstan answered that they only have enough money for food. The subsistence minimum at the level of 6.3 thousand - 2 times less than ours, although ours is also, in fact, beggarly.
“Typical for a Marxist, he then goes on to disregarding expressed emotions of anti-Russianism (since Russophobia has become a laden word), explaining them as driven by poverty. The masses are driven by economic forces. He warns that it could happen in Russia too.”
“It is however interesting to witness a shift in liberalism outside Russia. The unrest resulted in incumbent Tokayev finally wresting power from Nazarbayev who has effectively controlled Kazakhstan for thirty years. That once popular reformer who spearheaded the country through the liberalising reforms ended being disliked owing to the poverty arisen from those same reforms. Tokeyev immediately went in a more socially responsible way after the unrest. From the Foreign Affairs article:”
These reforms suggest that Tokayev has been paying attention to the demands of the street. It also reflects a growing international trend away from free-market economics toward improved social welfare protections.
“This speaks volumes. The old guard of shock therapeutic puritans are no longer wanted on the stage. Now the Western corps of editors invites a new breed who have learned to say ‘welfare’. Russia’s rather belated response to shock therapy of course doesn’t count in our mythology. Kazakhs protest consequences of Shock Therapy, Russians are just imperialistic. One is a victim, the other is pathological.”
“The discussion on the post-Soviet poverty due to privatisation is important. But yes, we should recognise our own prejudices.”
— Other talks —
“Nechaev – another one of those people we have sanctioned:”
ALEKSEY GENNADYEVICH NECHAEV (NEW PEOPLE)
You and I know about torture in prisons and pretrial detention centers. And we support the idea of introducing a bill to increase responsibility for torture in Russia, and we will definitely hold hearings on this topic in the State Duma with the involvement of well-known experts and human rights activists. They now feel that the authorities hear them very little, you and I are also part of the authorities, and they should also be involved in this issue.
We learned about torture in pretrial detention centers in Russia from the media. As you know, the people who revealed all this were not only… not that they received recognition, they received, on the contrary, pressure - the label of foreign agents. Of course, development is impossible without freedom of speech.
20.01.2022
http://transcript.duma.gov.ru/node/5769/
“Today the Iranian head of government, President Ebrahim Raisi stopped by to say hi.”
“Friendly words from one sanctioned country to another.”
Ebrahim Raisi
RAISI SEYYED EBRAHIM, PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.
Undoubtedly, the root of what we see in society today, what it suffers from, is the separation of politics from morality and spirituality. Violence, terrorism, the disintegration of the family institution, the spread of drugs - these are precisely the consequences of separation from spirituality.
“Russians can agree.”
Once again, I want to repeat: the goal, the main goal of such an agenda is to weaken independent states from within. This is done through the introduction of economic sanctions, destabilization of the internal situation, the spread of destabilization, as well as the artificial creation of tense situations within states.
“Russia agrees.”
The spread of the Western model and opposition to independent democracies, opposition to the self-identification of peoples, culture and traditions of peoples is precisely on NATO’s agenda, and this, of course, is built on deception.
“Russians wholeheartedly agree.”
“The rest of the day is like most days. Concerns about stuff most of us are also concerned about, though the rhetoric often follows a harder line as well as a more socialist one.”
“How would you describe the typical Russian deputy?”
“He favours severe punishment for sexual child abuse. He is manifestly against hazardous driving. She will legislate against littering. She will loudly rail against poverty. Overall I would say that the political spectrum in Russia spreads out from a spectrum that considerably overlap with the MAGA movement in USA.”
“Yeah. There is a prolonged debate on re-introducing the death penalty for really severe crimes. It’s actually the Communists that are against it. The others sound like arch-conservatives in the Senate.”
/PARADOX