Is Putin the new Tsar?

Until events earlier this year, I didn’t pay much attention to Vladimir Putin, but after the actions of his military in the Ukraine, and the annexation of the Crimea, you’d be a fool to ignore him.

Vladimir Putin is quoted as saying that “The collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geo-political catastrophe of the century”

Indeed this article even reports that Mr Putin wants to restore the Holy Roman Empire!

Putin Is The New Tsar Of The Holy Empire

He aims to deliver on pact with the Russian people.

L. TODD WOOD — MAY 19, 2014

Vladimir Putin may have been a communist, but he is no longer. Most Americans don’t understand that the Soviet Union was but a small seventy year slice of Russian imperial history. Instead of a new leader of the communist party, Putin has become the new tsar of Russia. It’s not about ideology for him; it’s about power. Rather than fomenting a communist utopia and spreading Leninism worldwide, Putin is resurrecting the Russian Empire. Under the Romanovs, the tsars expanded throughout Siberia and the Caucuses, even owning Alaska and parts of California at one point before withdrawing during the Crimean War. The tsars were experts at the geopolitical chessboard, conquering when they could and forging alliances when they were overmatched. Putin is borrowing from this playbook. He is reestablishing the long coveted third Holy Roman Empire.

When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in the fifteenth century, many Christian holy relics were moved to Moscow in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Muslim invaders. The Russian Orthodox Church was intimately intertwined with the imperial halls of power and began to plant in the royalty’s mind the concept of the third Holy Roman Empire after the fall of Rome and Byzantium. The Church wanted a continuation of the Christian state. Putin has reinvigorated the relationship between the Russian government and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. He uses it to build legitimacy among the populace of believers spread throughout the vast Russian territory. The royal necropolis, the Cathedral of the Archangel, stands only a few hundred yards from Putin’s residence inside the walls of the Kremlin. Ivan the Terrible and his two sons are buried there. One could be forgiven for wondering if Putin visits the necropolis for inspiration. As the Russian monk Philotheus said in 1510 to the royals, “Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will be no fourth. No one shall replace your Christian Tsardom!”

Putin has also tapped into a deep reservoir of imperial pride that has been pent up for several decades since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russians want desperately to be respected and even feared around the world. Putin is giving the Russian people what they want. They are willing to relinquish their newfound freedoms for the return of a strong leader who can regain the perceived rightful place of Russian people.

There are striking similarities to the way Putin governs compared to the tsars of the past. Perhaps the most important is a concept introduced by Ivan the Terrible after his beloved wife Anastasia was poisoned by the Russian nobility. The oprichnina is the concept of a palace guard or circle of wealthy supporters who protect the tsar and receive special favors, economic- and security-wise. The Obama administration has started to target these individuals to put pressure on Putin to cease and desist in his quest for reclaiming the old Soviet states. It will take a lot more pressure from the West than has been applied to turn the allegiance of this group of insiders. Their future and Putin’s future are joined together.

The bottom line is that Putin will continue to push to achieve his imperial agenda as long as there is no opposition. He is playing the long game. He realizes Obama is weak and has given him an opportunity. He started planning this adventure a long time ago. He also realizes the Americans will probably elect a much stronger president in less than three years. Therefore, he is moving as fast as opportunity allows to achieve his goals. He wasted no time moving into Eastern Ukraine with the same successful tactics after Crimea was annexed.

Sanctions will have no effect on Putin’s calculus. He can bear economic pain as he pivots to the east to build trade relationships. His goal is not to become part of the West, but to reestablish what he believes is Russia’s historical destiny. He doesn’t want to conquer the West but to transcend it. Putin wants what the tsars of Russia have always wanted: respect, wealth, and power. He aims to deliver on this pact with the Russian people.

Indeed Time Magazine reported on the Tsar in 2007 when it made him person of the year.

No one is born with a stare like Vladimir Putin’s. The Russian President’s pale blue eyes are so cool, so devoid of emotion that the stare must have begun as an affect, the gesture of someone who understood that power might be achieved by the suppression of ordinary needs, like blinking. The affect is now seamless, which makes talking to the Russian President not just exhausting but often chilling. It’s a gaze that says, I’m in charge.

The Irony being the Time Magazine also made Adolf Hitler man of the year some years ago too.

The actions of the ex KGB officer over the last few months have proven that he is in many ways, similar to Adolf Hitler. He may not be as brutal as Joseph Stalin, and he may not as yet be a dictator, but he is as land hungry as Nazi Germany’s former leader. Which is ironic considering that Russia is the largest country on the planet. But as the saying goes “power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Watch this space.

Foreign policy

This morning a friend and I were discussing foreign policy. We were talking about the situation in the Ukraine, Russia’s aggression, and the history of the cold war. My friend went into detail about America’s roll in the world in the 20th Century, and I discussed England’s role, particularly in the 19th century. We both agreed that having an English speaking nation patrolling the seas, was essential to protecting free trade, and ensuring our liberties here at home.

We discussed what we would do if either of us was president, instead of our current befuddling fool in the White House. His was more of an aggressive plan, threatening Putin, while mine was more diplomatic. If I were the president, I would use the 1994 Budapest Memorandum to send US Troops into the Northern part of the Ukraine, with a statement that the troops will be put there to ensure a peaceful transition of power while the interim government goes about holding fair elections.

Many would view this as escalating the situation and provoking a third world war. Yes, it would escalate the situation, but it would stop Russia in its tracks. In fact, it may even prevent a third world war, because it would stop Russia from gobbling up sovereign nations, and consolidating more power for itself. Remember that Nazi Germany gobbled up neighboring territories in the late 1930’s, and then became unstoppable when it invaded Poland.

History is repeating itself, as it always does. Sometimes you have to meet aggression with aggression. Now I’m not saying we should go bomb Russia, or attack its troops or assets in the region. I’m simply saying we should put troops on the ground, in accordance with the existing treaty, and then figure out a peaceful deal with Russia to ensure a smooth transition of power in the Ukraine.

It is my understanding that much of the Crimea is actually of Russian decent, and consider themselves Russian before Ukrainian. That’s fine, if they want to hold a referendum and rejoin Russia, that should be put on the table. The northern part of the Ukraine could then hold a referendum to install a pro western leader, and then join the EU. In this instance, both sides win, and both sides save face.

Now, if we don’t do anything, Russia will attack the Ukraine, our president will look like the idiot he actually is, and Russia will aggressively expand her territory, while we sit on our hands, with the most powerful military in the world, looking pathetic and weak, when we could easily stop the aggression, without even a shot being fired.

Now, I know my libertarian friends will be furious that I would even suggest all this, but, we are the worlds foremost superpower, and we are a constitutional republic. We ensure free trade in the world, we are the check against Communist China, and aggressive nations like Russia. While I agree we should not go out of our way to meddle in other countries affairs, when we have treaties, we should enforce them. It’s a very fine line. We should promote and protect counties which want democracies and free trade.

That is my take on the situation. Unfortunately, I fear we will do nothing in this instance, and Russia will grow in power, while we sit around and do nothing but unnecessarily lose influence in the world.

What would you do if you were in power?

Obama is the joke of the world

As the Russian military prepares a full scale invasion of the Ukraine, President Barack Obama issues a weak response to the occupation of the Crimea by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Barack Obama’s polls are down at home, our economy is going sour, and there are many signs that it is about to crash. His healthcare bill is a complete disaster, our debt is at astronomical new highs, and he continues to spread more money for failed social programs while publicly announcing cuts to our military.

All this comes on top of scandal after sandal by his administration; Benghazi, fast and furious, the NSA spying on everyone, the IRS auditing conservative competitors. Mr Obama is no longer the darling of the left, nor of the world, who were practically at his feet when he took office.

Even in Germany where he was loved as a senator before his election, there are now graphics depicting him as the Stasi.

Vladimir Putin, who is a cold calculating ex KGB operative, has now ponced on this weakness, and is preparing to retake what he sees as his in the Ukraine. The world is watching as our weak and foolish president sits back and does nothing, except issue empty rhetoric; symbolic of his entire term as president.

What a shame for this country that the first black president of the United States will be remembered not for the content of his character, but for the color of his skin. He has proved himself once and for all to be completely incompetent, and he has seriously weakened our nation, both at home and abroad.

While Russia’s Putin calculates war in the Ukraine, President Obama and Vice President Biden jog around the white house, while Michelle Obama gets ready to star in a sitcom. These people are so far removed from reality it is astounding.

I pray for the people in the Ukraine, and for the stability here at home over the coming weeks. Barack Obama is surely the joke of the world.

Check mate! Russia sends nukes to Cuba

Since writing this over two years ago, I have learned a lot about foreign policy. It seems that Russian propaganda has been spread far and wide throughout our own media. The US is not the aggressor I was regrettably led to believe. Indeed, in the last few months, the actions from the Russians have proven that they are indeed the aggressors, particularly after annexing the Crimea. When the US and Ally’s invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, they did not colonize or annex them. Russian aggression and propaganda needs to be watched carefully over the coming weeks and months, particularly with the tumble of the ruble. – Paul Townsend 12/18/14

I recently posted about a WWIII scenario, and of the future of warfare. How ironic, that a few minutes ago, I found multiple articles telling the story of how Russia has just sent nuclear weapons to Cuba. It sounds like something out of 1962.

Bringing the troops home, and engaging in peace talks would be far better for our relationships with other countries, than a build up of arms in the world.

After the end of the cold war, Russia began to withdraw its troops from its satellite countries, and relative peace was found around the world.

Since 9/11, the US has been on a murderous rampage across the middle east, and has created a missile defense shield in Europe.

In response to this, and to the volatility of our markets, our ignorance of debt, and our continuing violence in the middle-east. Russia has responded by deploying their troops to former soviet bases in strategic points on the globe.

President Vladimir Putin is quoted as saying:
“In 2001 I, as the President of the Russian Federation and the supreme commander, deemed it advantageous to withdraw the radio-electronic center Lourdes from Cuba. In exchange for this, George Bush, the then U.S. president, has assured me that this decision would become the final confirmation that the Cold War was over and both of our states, getting rid of the relics of the Cold War, will start building a new relationship based on cooperation and transparency. In particular, Bush has convinced me that the U.S. missile defense system will never be deployed in Eastern Europe.

The Russian Federation has fulfilled all terms of the agreement. And even more. I shut down not only the Cuban Lourdes but also Kamran in Vietnam. I shut them down because I gave my word of honor. I, like a man, has kept my word. What have the Americans done? The Americans are not responsible for their own words. It is no secret that in recent years, the U.S. created a buffer zone around Russia, involving in this process not only the countries of Central Europe, but also the Baltic states, Ukraine and the Caucasus. The only response to this could be an asymmetric expansion of the Russian military presence abroad, particularly in Cuba. In Cuba, there are convenient bays for our reconnaissance and warships, a network of the so-called “jump airfields.” With the full consent of the Cuban leadership, on May 11 of this year, our country has not only resumed work in the electronic center of Lourdes, but also placed the latest mobile strategic nuclear missiles “Oak” on the island. They did not want to do it the amicable way, now let them deal with this,” Putin said

This is a checkmate against the expansion of US forces in the world. To be honest, I cannot blame them for being cautious. Many people including myself, are highly suspicious of the current leaders in this country. Their actions toward our citizens, and nationals of other countries is extremely questionable.

I am praying that Ron Paul wins at the RNC later this month, and puts an end to the madness. Mitt Romney has already stated his intentions to bomb Iran, and called Russia ‘our number one geo-political foe’, this does not bode well for us. And we already know what four years of Obama has done for us.

The current issues of the day, go far beyond the elections, and even our freedoms, because as a superpower, our actions affect the entire world.

Stay informed!