Russia Politics Thread

[britbox]

Trump & Putin? Proof will be in the pudding... I don't think this will end up being a lovefest as some seem to believe. I actually think Obama had good intentions with the notions of a "reset"... but you've got to remember that the machines (CIA, Russian Intelligence) are structurally built to oppose one another... and presidents aren't as all powerful as people presume. Trump talks more toward isolationism... I'm not sure how that will fit with some of the other machinery in Washington...

Anyway, it can't get any worse... so let's hope they can work together on some level at least.

 

[teddytennisfan]

Trump & Putin? Proof will be in the pudding... I don't think this will end up being a lovefest as some seem to believe. I actually think Obama had good intentions with the notions of a "reset"... but you've got to remember that the machines (CIA, Russian Intelligence) are structurally built to oppose one another... and presidents aren't as all powerful as people presume. Trump talks more toward isolationism... I'm not sure how that will fit with some of the other machinery in Washington...

Anyway, it can't get any worse... so let's hope they can work together on some level at least.

definitely SOBER analysis.

people can't get carried away about 'tectonic shifts" in the relation -- nor changes in america so big that suddenly everything is kumbaya.

ENTRENCHED forces in the USA OF THE kind that are BIGGER than hillary and trump - REMAIN and remain DANGEROUS...whose shill's election dashed simply bought some chance Trump - for his own purposes and preferences - simply presents a sliver of potential that at WORSE things at least , for the moment, be averted...

the ''forces" -- the pentagon (which now for all intents and purposes is acting like a ROGUE entity with ITS own ''state" policy -- such as insisting on its carving out a piece of syria ANYWAY , RAQQA, DEIR EZ ZOR region) ..
the wall street honchos of course, the federal fake ''central bank", the dollar printing shop - cia, fbi, corporates -- any of these or their combinations

REMAIN and america is NOTHING IF NOT THEM at this point anyway.

trump assuming he has NOT yet been captured (we will see from his choices of advisers and administration) - is - without knowing more and in action

is quite frankly what JOHN F KENNEDY tried to be..also a scion of the upper class - that somehow felt it wasn't even a normal country of rich , middle class, poor that can behave like a normal country and try to achieve something worthwhile for all its citizens...but CAPTURED country by a very, very vicious group of ideologues of a certain

thinking -- one that is SOCIOPATHIC -- USING such tools as ''the private federal bank printing shop" to control everything PURELY for power and its socio pathological allure...
and look at what happened to him the moment he suggested "to nationalize the federal bank" ....so it can be made to actually serve the population who will OWN it -- RATHER than the families and entities AND their 'enforcers" (such as the CIA , Pentagon, etc) - who HIJACKED it towards THEIR ends and AWAY from the purpose of a NATIONAL CENTRAL BANK for the people.

this IS the CORE of it all -- whether trump CAN remain ''outside" of the control of the VERY HEART of the evil that rules over ''our america" and with it 'the world".

what the ''campaign" of hillary - as well as her failure -- really accomplished -- whether or not trump is the one that ran --

is to MAKE CLEAR to everyone that the DEEP STATE OF UNACCOUNTABLE RULING FAMILIES AND INTEREST GROUPS

EXIST and with far greater power and instruments at their disposal INCLUDING the very institutions of governance AND economy in a ''world" in which the citizenry and people have always been a CAPTURED population.

 

[Billie]

A good article from a former member of the House of Representatives about the Foreign Policy Establishment. It seems to me that they can do whatever they want, and I wonder how much of an impact a president can have. Obama did want a cease fire in Syria a couple of months ago but got back stabbed by DOD. Money rules everywhere. Hopefully Trump can reign them in a bit, but I am suspicious.

https://www.thenation.com/article/w...t-spoiling-for-more-war-look-at-their-donors/

 

[teddytennisfan]

Trump & Putin? Proof will be in the pudding... I don't think this will end up being a lovefest as some seem to believe. I actually think Obama had good intentions with the notions of a "reset"... but you've got to remember that the machines (CIA, Russian Intelligence) are structurally built to oppose one another... and presidents aren't as all powerful as people presume. Trump talks more toward isolationism... I'm not sure how that will fit with some of the other machinery in Washington...

Anyway, it can't get any worse... so let's hope they can work together on some level at least.

TRUE.

it's like - in the article that BILLIE posted in the USA thread...
in which John Pilger (hardly anyone on earth better than this journalist, seriously, imo) puts things in some context..

it's "tht there was no one else to vote for".

and simply - trump IS still establishment in the sense of the american \'way" - which in a sense -- harking back to the 'way it was" - is still the same one that BROUGHT things to where they were --

which is to say -- MORE american-style ''capitalism" - to 'rebuild' -- and once more ''bubble up" , produce ''neo-liberalism" etc..

but that is a matter of time showing what happens really.
if the REAL central issues are not addressed:
FEDERAL ''Central" bank - MONEY printing isn't addressed -- sooner or later it's back to economic power based on dollar hegemony which IS what all the wars are about to 'defend " THIS very same thing which led to all THIS.obviously with things as complexs as they are -- it likely will NOT be addressed and it's the very core of the entire american role in the world.

nonetheless -- i agree with what might pass for consensus around the world in opposition to this new-liberal excess -- that having to choose between the SCREECHING WITCH and the EAGERNESS to go for broke in ''defense" of this system rather than 'reform" it -- with global war erupting as it stokes fires all over the place (again -- in defense of this ''system" which is about exporting america's INTERNAL problems) --

TRUMP DEFINITELY was the ''lesser of two evils" if ONLY because it buys the WORLD a little bit of time to ''innoculate" itself BETTER against ANY future OTHER ''self-defense" behavior of this same american system ..which TENDS to

go VIOLENT -- economically or militarily.

for me -- it was really about hta t- THE WRLD BUYING ITSELF TIME -- by the fact that the american ''working class" revolted against the elite..and put an elite (no other choice really) -- who just MIGHT do at least a FEW things right by america in the way ordinary americans wish and even NEED. ..at least in the most immediate matter:

the ECONOMY-- the main street economy. basic dailymatters as JOBS and wages. that's really it about this election , i think.

NOT about ''white racism", ''lgbt rights'', and whatnot..

when people DONT' HAVE FOOD on the table because they don't have jobs or can't earn enough -- and can't keep up with rent or mortgage or do this and that are in the society's CUSTOMS -- are ''normal" -- they will sooner or later revolt in some way -- in this case -- by BALLOT.

WE'LL have to wait and see.

 

[britbox]

Peter Hitchens... Interesting, whether you like him or loathe him (there isn't usually much middle ground).

 

[teddytennisfan]

Peter Hitchens... Interesting, whether you like him or loathe him (there isn't usually much middle ground).

hitchens likes to RIDE whichever way the wind LOOKS GOOD to go to. that's what .like that rooster thing on top of barns...winds blow one way -- he'll turn that way ...whatever makes HIM look good depending on ''who looks winner at the moment".
lol.


a REAL observer and journalist is JOHN PILGER. now THAT'S A GUY. IF we ever saw one.

 

[britbox]

Disagree with that to be honest... He's a contrarian - goes against the wind... the devil's advocate... it's what he thrives on... but I will say that he contradicts himself quite often and feeds off discontent.

Yeah, Pilger's good... and authentic IMO.

 

[teddytennisfan]

what i'm really looking for in 2017 in russia is

the STOLYPIN GROUP of policy advisers that putin -- in his usually very subtle way -- seems to be ''encouraging' to ''bring your ideas to the table"

AFTER he made subtle noises about how the previous ''ideas" -- namely the neoliberal -- atlanticis -- ones that are STILL in the main driver's seats today (inclouding the central banking privatizers -- good as naibullina's ''anti-inflation" policies under the circumstances are as russia has just been emerging from the 1990's ruination) - have so far ''done a good job" but suggests "not enough"...

so -- he seems to be now wanting to 'give more voice" to the so-called '\STOLYPIN GROUP"

it is a group of intellectuals -- the counterpart of the ''ATLANTICIST - NEOLIBERALISTS" (Which include prime minister medvedev) -

that has long advocated ''going back to ORIENTALISM" -- and to pick up where the LATE former prime minister in the late 1990's -- SERGEI PRIMAKOV -- and former mentor of PUTIN --

who preached that 'russia MUST become independent of the USA dollar as well as the neo-liberal system"

and was actually the REAL godfather of everything you NOW SEE russia is trying to construct:

THE eurasian economic union -- EEU -- COMMON INDEPENDENT STATES - CIS - AND above all the now-well-known and TO washington MOST threatening of all projects

PUTIN'S EURASIAN INTEGRATION 'from lisbon to vladivostok'..coupled with china's SILK ROADS.

THIS STOLYPIN group has been marginalized since the 1990's as russia basically was forced to have a 'constitution" literally written by americans -- particularly JEFFERY SACHS of goldman sachs --

and they generally take their inspiration from the policies advocated long ago by the GERMAN thinker -- LISTER -- i forget the first name --
who was responsible for the late 19the century miracle of the german economy under BISMARCK...which prompted the USA AND UK to bring that infamous trade and naval blockade to ruin the threatening economic power in europe..and everything else is history after that.

but in PRIMAKOV'S thinking -- it was time to LOOK ''to the orient' rather than bother about the europeans -- considering that , in his thinking -- the true future and deepest ties of russia really lay in the asian superlandmass anyway..thus - he himself called it ''RUSSIA'S ORIENTALISM".

and it looks like THAT with some ''unintended" help from the sanctions and obsessions of the likes of brzezinksi, soros, ablright , neoGOONS and neolibs -- to conquer and ''slice up russia into smaller countries to manage" --

is just where RUSSIA might as well be moving - BACK to primakov's visionary thinking. PUTIN basically gave a ''chance' to the neoliberalists and atlanticists

and the result is still stagnation - from too much ''austerity measures' on the russian polity -- and job-killing ''anti-inflation'' obsession of central banker NAIBULLINA -- in keeping with wall street policies introduced since the 1990's ''privatization" of their very own industries and the CENTRAL bank itself.

the moment putin decides to NATIONALIZE that -- neoliberalism is DONE for in russia. it seems it is just a matter of time as russia is still just ''increasing" its GOLD hoard to back up what could be plans to turn the ruble independent and sovereign once more - and thus -- allow russia to survie and flourish by financing ITSELF if necessary without undue dependence on foreign DOLLAR capital. and keep itself under blackmail by the americna dollar global power.

so -- watch for 2017..that's going to be a BIG year as far as russia is concerned.

 

[teddytennisfan]

Disagree with that to be honest... He's a contrarian - goes against the wind... the devil's advocate... it's what he thrives on... but I will say that he contradicts himself quite often and feeds off discontent.

Yeah, Pilger's good... and authentic IMO.

who's te other == much older guy -- probably one of THE most properly venerable around the world -- at least for anyone who actually is bothered by conscience and truth -- the brit? on the tip of my tonque...

 

[britbox]

Putin's annual Q&A session. This is always great viewing.

 

[teddytennisfan]

Putin's annual Q&A session. This is always great viewing.

quite so. i didn't get to follow it live. so maybe the video is for replay or maybe the transcripts...but i read just some transcript live short summaries...not all yet.

but of course they have many questions of ''practical'' concerns like jobs, economy, wages, pensions...normal things like for any of us anywhere, lol.

but what's admirable is that he really does have good mastery or at the least given thought to just about every concern their citizens have..and if he isn't sure or doesn' tknow -- readily acknowledges and asks the aides to either correct him or not or make the appropriate attention later.

if even half of that sense of responsibility for the job is shown by any world leaders or -- half of them -- the world would be in much better shape, i think.

i don't know what the politics or effectiveness was of KEVIN RUDD of australia -- but he seems to be a more regular participant as one of the main panelists in big conferences in russia - like the St petersburg economic forum. the recent months' big discussion group - something about the Eurasian Economic Union Plus ASEAN plus China meeting talking about big stuff...and it was a really interesting discussion among the panelists onstage among his peers from across the continental region and australia - as they debated (the famous author MEARSHIMER was among them, also seemingly a regularly invited participant)

and fielded questions from the public that of course consisted of international participants -- this was in SOCHI , i think 3 months ago.

when i was in st petersburg for 2 weeks this past june-july - i did observe in one of the most ''ritzy'' hotels , because someone treated me to lunch there which was her hotel -- LOTS and lots of really expensive cars with chauffeurs and out come these businessmen and diplomat type people - all the time..japanese, chinese, korean, arabs, persians, germans, british, indians..

and only realized in back in my hotel switching on the TV (not understanding russian of course, just somehow getting the 'feel" for what the news showed )
that while it was the summer swing and ''busy" time for the city - tourists and all that -
PUTIN was indeed in the city in the other 'island" for the st petersburg economic forum - or whatever they call that...u know,talking high tech, future trends, etc...with the international groups and public forums.

they have those areas of the city - more in the outskirts (as the city is really built on originally swamp land with all the rivers today and so is carved up into tightly packed islets , and so they have hundreds of bridges, big and small everywhere -- in a way , i can imagine London and the River THAMES and all similar types) -

and probably so as to preserve the character of st petersburg as it was built long ago - the outskirts are where the really modern 'city' is ..i didn't even realize it until the flight out (i arrived 2 weeks before on a VERY rainy, hard wind day) ...when everything was clear skies..that there were gleaming towers and buildings in the outer circles...really amazing.

incidentally -- in the sky -- you realize just how big that country must really be - we know it's big -- but man....green -- taiga as far as the horizon to any direction...and that's likely just what we can see from one angle before the horizon disappears to the ''east" .where it's even bigger..

u know one of the biggest shocks to me anyway? but also a confirmation that these are, as a former chiense dip;lomat general said :"a people of very, very tough fibre"...

when my plane flew in (finnair it was with a short stop and change of plane in helsinki with its GORGEOUS airport, oh my god!!) -

it was raining REALLY hard in st pete...cloudy and grey skies all over with hard, hard wind. whew!

but the thing is -- with the cab the hotel sent to get me - the guy could speak some english and was really funny andcommunicative - and seeing that we BOTH were smokers -- after exiting the airport and as the rain slowed down a bit -- said if i wanted we could smoke - to he stopped the car by the highway and we chatted away smoking and trading jokes, lol.

but then as later the rain hardened for real ..

i could see on the roadsides people walking, or standing waiting for the bus, or literally seating on park benches , chatting away...well-dressed business people, chic women in high fashion..laborers, students, children..families and NOT A SINGLE ONE was running away from the rain or wind...they just went about their business as if nothing was the matter at all...umbrella or no -- SOAKED all through walking calmly - like nothing was any different.

my mouth was agape in shock - coming from NYC where everyoen is so ''touchy" at the slightest ''disturbance" or perceived ''threat" or 'danger" ..

that the cab driver was laughing so loud..lol.

but the thing is -- when the days were HOT - even reminded me of the philippines..and naturally more sweaty - the russians behaved EXACTLY the same way -- always calm and well -- the proper word to describe in general is ''UNRUFFLED"...sweat drips down because of the heat is treated s if it is not there..just as rain isn't there or ice or snow..amazing composure, i thought.

they have one of these children's tales they say is quite popular among them...

about a young woman , girl , and ''MAN FROST"..
her mom died so her dad remarried a widow who also had a daughter somewhat older...and they were nasty to the girl and wanted all the riches of the father to themselves..but he couldn't oppose the wife too much..

and the wife ordered him to send his daughter away - nd he foolishly did - and left to live alone in the taiga (forest) - and winter to come so she will die of the cold as the wife hoped..

and when MAN FROST came he blew and blew and asked the girl "are you warm enough yet?"

and she pretending to be ok - said "yes, thank you very much old man frost i am quite warm".

he was so impressed that he stopped blowing a bit and instead left her a warm coat..
nd he came back the next day blew and blew and blew and asked "are you warm enough yet?"

and she says ?"yes old man frost thahnk you for the coat you are so thoughtful to ask about me".

he was even more impressed at how respectful and composed she was so he left her a house with fire and food...

and he came back again and blew harder and asked "are you warm yet?" and she says "oh very warm Old Man Frost because you are so thoughtful"..

and he gave her jewels and even all the food she wanted plus animals nd a garden...and he parted the clouds above her so the sun would shine on her garden in winter...

nd the wife wondered wht had happened meanwhile...ordered the husband to make sure if the girl had died by now so the wife will get the child's inheritance from her long-gone mother...

and the father found to his joy his daughter was alive, well, healthy, warm, rich adorned with jewels...

and he brought her home ..and the wife was so greedy she ordered the man to send HER own daughter to the forest in winter so old man frost will give her gifts too...

and this nasty girl was found by old man frost..who blew and blew and asked
|"are you warm yet , pretty girl?"

the girl said "what?!! are you insance/ dont' you see i'm cold witha ll that blowing you're doing -- why don't you give me the warm blanket and house and fire and food and rich jewels like you did to the other girl? hurry up!!">

and so Old MAn frost blew and blew and blew...

and when the wife told the father to check how her daughter must be so rich now...

he came back soon with the girl ice cold dead in his arms...

it is said to russians the lesson is not 'cleverness' of the first girl -- but in composure and what they like to say about nature and matters in the world>

"recognize, accept and respect".

recognize that you will die if you don't accept you are only nothing in nature's way and you don't respect it and act accordingly.

as PUTIN said when asked by some journalists -- foreign or russian"''WHO or WHAT is the russian? "

his answer was" i think teh russian is that which believes that to live means to live a life with conscience..such as in matters of material reality ...yes we all want comforts, riches, recognition, achievement, possessions, toys, -- but it is more than than -- it is about spirit something about which all material wealth and blessings are just a way to understand the spirituality of our existence..and this is taught to us by our land, its blessings as well as its terrors...

"i think that we are who we are because we are a reflection of the grandeur of our land".

 

[teddytennisfan]

Disagree with that to be honest... He's a contrarian - goes against the wind... the devil's advocate... it's what he thrives on... but I will say that he contradicts himself quite often and feeds off discontent.

Yeah, Pilger's good... and authentic IMO.

i tjust recalled the other guy - SEYMOUR HERSH -- another real venerable veteran that's truly respected worldwide -- for the right reasons.

 

[britbox]

Oliver Stone's interviews with Vladimir Putin, conducted over 2 years. I'm posting some of the vids ahead of what i've seen so far, but fascinating stuff.

 

[Hoergren]

Just to remind you of the toiletsituation right now

 

[Federberg]

There are no saints here....

 

[Federberg]

Putin Is Finding War Is Hell, and Expensive

A decade-long effort to increase professionalism seems to have failed, but Russian troops are adapting in Ukraine and still have brute force on their side.



General incompetence.

Photographer: Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images

By

James Stavridis

15 March 2022, 07:00 GMT



James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also chair of the board of the Rockefeller Foundation and vice chairman of Global Affairs at the Carlyle Group. His latest book is "2034: A Novel of the Next World War." @stavridisj

+ Get alerts forJames Stavridis

One question I get repeatedly these days: What is wrong with the Russian military? Many in the West had a mistaken belief that the Russian war machine was a rough match for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and they are surprised at how much trouble the massive force is having subduing a much smaller and less-equipped neighbor, Ukraine.

During my time as NATO’s military commander, I spent time with the Russian military and the chief of its general staff at the time, General Nikolai Makarov. A congenial figure, Makarov told me about Russian efforts to modernize his forces, starting with professionalizing them and weaning the nation from a brutal conscript system. There were plans to improve offensive cyber capabilities, precision-guided weaponry and unmanned vehicles.

He seemed confident of progress, but from all I have seen in Ukraine, the decade-long effort has not been successful, and draftees abound. There is little evidence of the hardware improvements, either. The Russians present not as a sophisticated 21st-century army, but rather a blunt force in the style of World War II’s militaries.

Unlike in Syria, where Russian forces have been effective but are not fighting pitched battles against a serious standing military, today’s battles in Ukraine are showing the fissures in the Russian approach to training, equipping and organizing. Three key problems are worth highlighting, and none can be solved immediately, meaning they will continue to hobble operations in Ukraine.

The first is obvious: logistical failures. In the military, we often say that amateurs study strategy but professionals study logistics. Getting ammunition, fuel, food, heat, electricity and communications equipment to the troops is crucial. In particular, getting fuel forward has proven very challenging for the Russians, which is logistics 101 for a Western force.

The image of the 40-mile stalled tank and transport convoy outside of Kyiv is a good example of incompetence — any modern Western military would have developed the detailed plans to ensure that such a massive offensive weapon wouldn’t sit on highly exposed terrain for days. Supplying relatively small units in Syria is easy compared to providing sustenance for a 200,000-troop force.

A second challenge is perhaps less obvious but more insidious. A significant number of the troops invading Ukraine are conscripts or reservists. They are not a professional, volunteer force led by career senior enlisted cadres. There have been anecdotal examples of Russian soldiers who are literally unaware of the importance of their mission — some surprised to discover they are not on an exercise in Russia when captured by Ukrainians.





The third key misstep is the bad generalship on vivid display. The Russian plan encompassed attacking Ukraine from six different vectors, dividing their forces significantly. A battle plan that spreads forces over six axes is inherently flawed. This no doubt can be attributed to flawed assumptions and intelligence: The Russian generals must have expected the Ukrainians to welcome them with flowers and vodka, not bullets and Molotov cocktails.

Russian killed-in-action numbers are stunning. In 20 years of hard fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. suffered roughly 2,000 troops killed in combat. The Russians, in just over two weeks, have lost at least 4,000 and possibly twice that. This will haunt President Vladimir Putin even as he tries (but ultimately fails) to keep those numbers from his public.



In addition to blood, Russia is bleeding treasure. War is an expensive proposition, especially when your sources of hard currency are drying up due to Western sanctions. And much of the war chest that Putin counted on — more than $600 billion in reserves — has been locked down in Western institutions under sanctions.

Russia is reportedly sending its jets on 200 sorties a day, using a tremendous amount of fuel and spare parts that will be increasingly hard to come by given sanctions. Ukraine claims to have shot down more than 50 aircraft at $20 million to $50 million a pop. One recent estimate put the cost of the war at billions of dollars per day, and at that rate Putin will run out of money even before he runs out of public support.

For the Russians on the ground in Ukraine, the worst is still ahead. For Putin to subdue Kyiv, a city of nearly four million, he will have to throw a significant level of combat power into the fight. It took the U.S. First Marine Division — the most elite combat troops in the world — nearly two months to conquer Fallujah, an Iraqi city about a tenth the size of Kyiv.

The locals know every corner and intersection of their city, are increasingly well armed by the West, and are motivated to fight with their families behind them or evacuated to Poland. It promises to be a long and bloody battle.

Here is the caveat: Despite the failures of the Russian military thus far, it is adapting and learning as the battle unfolds. The Russians have held cyberattack technology in reserve for the moment, probably to preserve certain capabilities to use against the West as sanctions increasingly kick in.

Bottom of Form
Moscow’s information warfare and decapitation strategies appear to be sharpening. At least two Ukrainian mayors have been kidnapped. Video of one being hauled off with a bag over his head was surely meant as an example to others. And the Russians have mass and sheer scale on their side, with more reserves upon which they can draw. This could be as many as several hundred thousand troops, depending on how much Putin is willing to move from elsewhere.

As of now, time is on the Russians’ side if they choose to simply grind down the Ukrainians and reduce the cities to rubble. But over a longer period, dissatisfaction at home, the coming of the spring mud and military failures will compound for Putin.

I do not detect an ounce of quit in the Ukrainians, particularly in their Churchillian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He will address the U.S. congress on Wednesday, and one of the topics upon which he will certainly touch are the tactical failures of the Russian military, coupled with fervent requests for more weapons and ammunition.

Barring a peace agreement, this war is likely to be a long haul. I suspect we will learn more about both the tactical failures and underlying weaknesses of the Russian military before it is over.

 

[Jelenafan]

There are no saints here....

With all due respect Federberg, is there ever?
To say there is corruption in the highest political levels of many countries is like saying "there is sand in the beach".

Having said that, unilaterally invading a neigboring sovereign country and bombing the hell out of targets that include civilian population, again, war is hell, but it certainly makes the defenders at least have some moral latitude to look better in comparison, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Federberg]

With all due respect Federberg, is there ever?
To say there is corruption in the highest political levels of many countries is like saying "there is sand in the beach".

Having said that, unilaterally invading a neigboring sovereign country and bombing the hell out of targets that include civilian population, again, war is hell, but it certainly makes the defenders at least have some moral latitude to look better in comparison, wouldn't you agree?

I 100% agree with you.

I've been bombarded with a lot of hagiographic stuff about Zelensky recently, so take my posting with that context.

 

[Jelenafan]

Quite a few sports federations have banned Russian athletes:

Which sports have banned Russian athletes?

Sporting bodies have moved to ban athletes, flags and anthems and move or cancel events in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

 

[Kieran]

Quite a few sports federations have banned Russian athletes:

Which sports have banned Russian athletes?

Sporting bodies have moved to ban athletes, flags and anthems and move or cancel events in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

It’s interesting, isn’t it? Part of me says it’s good, part of me says it’ll only feed a Russian sense of grievance against the world, and make Putin worse.

I think of the tennis players, and I feel a little sympathy for them, but at least they can play in individual events.

The International Olympic Committee has called on sports federations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials and teams from international events wherever possible.

This is rich, given how they allow Russian athletes of all sports to compete anyway. That Russia has a backward attitude to sports doping is well known, but the IOC were too cowardly to fully ban them. Now they’re calling for other sports bodies to ban them?

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out. This awful war is going bad for Russia anyway, so hopefully that’ll affect the right people in Russia, and they’ll throw off their current tyrant….