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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Can Vladimir Putin Be Prevented From Killing His Political Opponents? |
| 2020-09-04 |
| [PJ] Anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny is slowly recovering in a Berlin hospital after being poisoned with a nerve agent. His convalescence will be long and painful. Naturally, the finger of blame is pointed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose enemies continue to end up dead. In Navalny’s case, he escaped with his life. Others have not been as lucky. In truth, Navalny, like many Russian opponents of Putin, had angered several other powerful people in Russia, so Putin isn’t the only suspect. But the poisoning has all the earmarks of a state security operation. And since the Federal Security Service (FSB) is under Putin’s direct control, putting two and two together is not that difficult. But what can anyone do to stop it? The left in the U.S. has been screaming for more sanctions on Russia for four years, since U.S. intelligence confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 election. The EU has been mulling putting more sanctions on Russia and the various friends of the Kremlin who prop up Putin’s rule. But the reality is that sanctions against Russia will only harm the nations that impose them. Putin has been under sanctions for years and is hardly bothered by them. A good example is the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 Scene: A rainy night in Moscow. Vlad is bored. "What's the next name on the 'bad' sheet?" |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2020-09-04 23:52 |
| #13 /\ "I've got a little list" - Mikado (Gilbert & Sullivan)? |
| Posted by: magpie 2020-09-04 19:09 |
| #12 Does he take requests? Asking for a friend. Said friend has a list, looking for a quantity discount |
| Posted by: SteveS 2020-09-04 17:41 |
| #11 By the the standards of Russian rulers, Vlad is - practically - a libertarian. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-09-04 13:10 |
| #10 Send them a stiffly worded letter. *Harrumpf* That will show them. |
| Posted by: magpie 2020-09-04 12:25 |
| #9 Has Xi killed fewer than Putin? |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2020-09-04 12:12 |
| #8 Serious question... When liberty tree needs uprootin' In Russia, or dissidents shootin', From Cyril to Stalin, When strongman comes callin', Has any killed fewer than Putin? |
| Posted by: Oming Shusosing6115 2020-09-04 08:11 |
| #7 Made Dems happy. |
| Posted by: gorb 2020-09-04 05:54 |
| #6 Other than bringing hardship to ordinary Russians and turning millions of them against the US, what have sanctions accomplished? |
| Posted by: Slusorong Hatrack7793 2020-09-04 04:54 |
| #5 Someone tell the two they have dirt on each other. |
| Posted by: gorb 2020-09-04 04:45 |
| #4 Oh? Ok. But a bit of Polonium laced kahwa would be really good for some people I know.☻ |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2020-09-04 04:23 |
| #3 (a) If it were FSB, he would be dead. (b) Mind own business - the only ones benefiting from disorder in Russia are the Chinese. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-09-04 04:15 |
| #2 I would that some other nationalist leaders learned from him. Let the polonium flow ♫ O ♪ let the polonium flow ! Kings of the world, grow hair on your chest and let the polonium flow ♫ It's a wonderful antidote ♫ to those ♪ who get your goat, Say no to dissent with a little 210, and let the polonium flow !♫ |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2020-09-04 03:57 |
| #1 So when it's the enemies of the Clintons winding up dead, it's a crazy conspiracy theory. But change it to Putin and suddenly it's a dead lock. |
| Posted by: Mr Obvious 2020-09-04 02:39 |