Current Events and Links

See also:
War of Gog and Magog
The New Cold War

Russia Backs Independence of Georgian Rebel Provinces

Aug. 25, 2008 - Russian lawmakers voted unanimously Monday to recognize the independence of Georgia's two rebel provinces. Their action is not legally binding - it just gives President Dmitry Medvedev additional power to reassert influence in the former Soviet republics and resist moves by Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO. Their action will undoubtedly anger the U.S. and Georgia.

Source: Fox

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles

Aug. 21, 2008 - The United States and Poland signed an agreement to install U.S. defensive missiles to protect Europe from attack by rogue nations. Russia sees the plan as a threat to their missile force. In response, a top Russian general said the deal exposes to Russian attack, possibly by nuclear weapons.

The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Source: Yahoo

Rice Signs Missile Defense Deal With Poland - See our summary on the "Cold War" page.

Poland risks Russia's wrath with Soviet nuclear attack map - Guardian - UK

Russia's Nuclear Threat Is More Than Words - Wall Street Journal

No sign of Russian pullout, West alarmed

Aug. 19, 2009 - Russia claims that a gradual withdrawal of troops from Georgia is underway but there is no evidence that it is actually happening. During the night observers watched the route troops would take to withdraw, but did not see any military traffic.

The peace agreement permits Moscow to patrol a limited buffer zone between South Ossetia and Georgia proper. But Russian checkpoints now block the main east-west highway, a vital trade route which links Tbilisi with Georgia's Black Sea ports.

Source: YNet News

Rice: Russia playing very dangerous game - YNet

Rice: Russia May Be Attempting to Rebuild Soviet Union - Israel National News

Russia Moves Short-Range Missiles into S. Ossetia - NewsMax

Georgia: Russian Armored Columns On the Move South - NewsMax

Russia Signs Truce But Troops Remain Deep Inside Georgia

Aug. 16, 2008 -

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a ceasefire agreement with Georgia after receiving it in Moscow.

The agreement calls for troop removal, back to the pre-attack positions. However Russian troops have actually penetrated deeper into Georgia, not only controlling Gori, but in positions near Kaspi, the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and other locations.

Source: BBC

Is the Russian Invasion of Georgia an End-times Development? - Ron Graff

Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man - Caroline B. Glick - Jewish World Review

Bush Accuses Russia of 'Bullying and Intimidation' in Georgia Conflict

Aug. 15, 2008 - President Bush warned Russia that the United States will not cast Georgia aside. They have chosen freedom and should be allowed to stay independent in spite of Russia's "bullying and intimidation."

He reiterated Gates' assertion of Thursday that Moscow's behavior in Georgia has damaged its relationship with Washington and its Western allies.

Source: Fox

Russians begin Georgia handover

Aug. 14, 2008 - Russia is apparently preparing to withdraw from the area around the town of Gori in South Ossetia.

In Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - Georgia's other separatist region - and pledged to support any decision the regions made about their borders.

Georgia has reacted to the Russian invasion by voting unanimously in parliament to withdraw their country from a Russia-dominated regional bloc, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The U.S. is supporting Georgia by sending them bedding and other vital supplies.

Source: BBC

Rice says Russia faces isolation - BBC

Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man - Caroline B. Glick - Jewish World Review

Georgian Ambassador to U.S.: Russian Attack Resembles Past Soviet Invasions

Aug. 12, 2008 - Georgia's ambassador Vasil Sikharuldize told Fox News that Russia's "full-scale military aggression" is like Soviet invasions or Nazi Germany's occupations. He said:

"It's exactly like Hungary, 1956. It's exactly like Czechoslovakia, 1968. It is like Afghanistan invasion. It is like Nazi Germany invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland."

Source: Fox

Russia warned over 'Soviet past' - BBC

Georgia Reports Attacks Continue as Russia's Medvedev Orders Halt to Military Action

Aug. 12, 2008 - Russian military actions during the past five days has sent Georgia's army into retreat and has left towns and military bases destroyed. Russian President Medvedev ordered a cease-fire, but Georgian officials say that Russia has continued the fighting in the city of Gori and elsewhere.

Source: Fox

'Oil, Israel and Iran' Among Factors that Led to Georgia War - Israel National News

Russia Invading Georgia Heralds Return of Cold War - NewsMax

EU Diplomats Call For Russia/Georgia Cease-Fire

Aug. 11, 2008 - A European Union delegation is trying to initiate a cease-fire between Russia and Georgia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has signed the document, and the delegation will now take it to Russia in hopes that President Dmitry Medvedev will also agree to the action.

Source: BBC

Bush: Russian Violence in Georgia is Unacceptable - Fox

Georgia Reports New Russian Air Attack Near Capital as Fighting Rages

Aug. 9, 2008 - On the second day of fighting in South Ossetia, it was clear that Russia was waging a full-scale war against Georgia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that some 1,500 people have been killed, with the death toll rising Saturday.

Source: Fox

U.S. Calls for Russia to Halt Attacks as Fighting in Breakaway Georgia Province Escalates - Fox

Russian Army Moving Against Georgian Forces Controlling Capital of Breakaway Province South Ossetia

Aug. 8, 2008 - Fighting has broken out between Russia and its former Soviet Union partner, Georgia. At issue is the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Georgian troops first entered South Ossetia to stop separatist forces there. Then Russian jets bombed Vaziani Air Base, 25 kilometres from the Georgian capital of Tblisi. Georgia claims to have shot down four Russian combat warplanes. In this developing story part of Russia's 58th Army is moving toward the capital of South Ossetia, including 150 tanks and armored vehicles.

Source: Fox

Georgia: Russian Jets Bomb Air Base By Tbilisi -AGI

Why the Russia-Georgia Spat Could Become a U.S. Headache -TIME

Georgian conflict puts U.S. in middle - Chicago Tribune

Russia Assails NATO Over Expansion Plan, Support for U.S. Missile Defense

Apr. 4, 2008 - Sergei Ryabkov, chief of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for European cooperation said that Russia is unhappy about NATO's promise to eventually bring Ukraine and Georgia into the NATO alliance. He also commented on NATO's approval of the U.S. sponsored European Missile Shield.

"We have new concerns about plans to integrate U.S. missile defense plans with NATO system," he said, signaling that Russia may abandon cooperation with NATO on a short-range missile defense in Europe.

Source: Fox

Russian bombers 'buzzed' US aircraft carrier

Feb. 12, 2008 - One Russian Tupolev 95 bomber buzzed the USS Nimitz twice on Saturday. It flew over the carrier at an altitude of just 600m. A second bomber circled nearby.

Four F/A-18 fighter planes were sent to intercept them when they breached an 800km perimeter. Two stayed with the Tupolev circling at altitude about 80km from the Nimitz while two followed the other bomber as it approached the carrier.

Source: Herald Sun - Australia

Russia Warns of New Arms Race in Outer Space - Voice of America

U.S. military weighing if Russia in Cold War pose - Reuters

Russia threatens nuclear attack on Ukraine - Telegraph UK

Gorbachev, Rebuking Putin, Criticizes Russian Elections

Jan. 30, 2008 - Former Soviet Union Leader, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, criticized Russia's electoral system in the light of President Vladimir Putin's control over presidential candidates.

“Something is wrong with our elections, and our electoral system needs a major adjustment,” the former Soviet leader said.

Putin has preserved power for himself and the Kremlin's inner circle by hand-picking a successor, Dmitri A. Medvedev. Medvedev, in turn, has pledged to give Putin the post of Prime Minister.

The opposition candidate, former Prime Minister Mikhail M. Kasyanov, was denied a place on the ballot on Sunday by the Central Election Commission

The commission claimed that 13 percent of the signatures submitted with his registration were invalid.

Source: N.Y. Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin Named Time's 'Person of the Year'

Dec. 19, 2007 - Time Magazine chose Russian President Vladimir Putin its 2007 "Person of the Year." According to Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor, the choice was made because Putin was able to lead Russia from chaos to stability.

On the other hand, Putin has moved Russia away from the democratic reforms of the 1990s by tightening control of the media, courts and parliament.

"He's the new czar of Russia and he's dangerous in the sense that he doesn't care about civil liberties, he doesn't care about free speech," Stengel said.

Since the Russian constitution limits presidents to two consecutive terms, Putin has hand-picked Dmitry Medvedev as his choice for the next president, and has said he would accept Medvedev's offer to become Prime Minister if Medvedev is elected.

Source: Fox

A Tsar Is Born - Time

Monitors denounce Russia election

Dec. 3, 2007 - A joint observer team representing the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, sounded the alarm that Russia's latest election was "not fair." President Vladimir Putin's party supposedly received 64.1% of the votes.

The statement said the polls "took place in an atmosphere which seriously limited political competition" and that "there was not a level political playing field".

Source: BBC

U.K. police probe ex-KGB spy's poisoning death

Nov. 25, 2006 - Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy died in London because of poisoning with a radioactive substance.

In a statement written before he died, Litvinenko called Russian President Vladimir Putin “barbaric and ruthless” and blamed him personally for the poisoning.

In 1998, Litvinenko publicly publicly revealed that he had been told to kill tycoon Boris Berezovsky. He was jailed for nine months but was later acquitted. In 2000 he sought asylum in Britain. Recently he had been investigating the October slaying of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another of Putin’s critic.

Source: MSNBC

Safire Warns of Putin's 'Creeping Coup'

Feb. 11, 2004 - William Saphire reports that Arizona Senator John McCain took a bold stand in a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov, stating that Russian President Putin and his regime are conducting a "creeping coup" against freedom within his own country and is trying to regain control over countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.

Source:Newsmax

Russia Said Preparing Nuclear Maneuvers

Jan. 31, 2004 - Russia has scheduled a massive military exercise in mid-February, designed to simulate an all-out nuclear war. It will be the greatest display of their military power in two decades, and is reminiscent of the Cold War era. It will use intercontinental ballistic missiles, bombers, replacement satellites and other means of demonstrating their military might. Analysists believe it will be timed to bolster President Putin's reelection campaign. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, relationships between the U.S. and Russia were improved.

But the U.S.-Russian honeymoon has soured lately over Moscow's criticism of the war in Iraq , U.S. concerns about authoritarian trends in the Kremlin's domestic policy, and Russia's perceived attempts to assert its authority over ex-Soviet neighbors.

Source:Associated Press (Story no longer online.)

The Russian Reversion

Dec. 11, 2003 - Award-winning columnist William Saphire analyzes the political situation in Russia, and draws a startling conclusion:

This week's corrupted Russian election put in place the siloviki — the hot political word means "power" — and paved the way for Putin's takeover next spring as president-for-life. Russia's short-lived experiment with democracy is all but dead.

Earlier steps toward away from democracy have also been obvious reversions from democracy. Recently Putin has taken over the mass media, and has seized the political opposition's source of funds. He has basically brought back one-party rule to Russia.

Source:New York Times

Expert: Russia Knew in Advance, Encouraged Citizens to Cash Out Dollars

Sept. 1, 2001 - There are reports that, during the summer, Russian media and officials encouraged citizens to cash out of U.S. dollars before some kind of "financial attack" against the U.S. It is also significant that Russia has close ties with most of the nations known for terrorism. These nations include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.

Source:Prophezine from NewsMax (Story no longer online.)

Collapse of USSR

Aug. 21, 2001 - Informative section on the collapse of the Soviet Union, on the 10th anniversary of the event.

Source: BBC

Russia and China sign friendship pact

July 16, 2001 - Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putkin have signed a friendship treaty - the first between their countries in over 50 years. It is intended to replace a 1949 Communist-era pact. They also signed a separate declaration stressing their commitment to the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The evident purpose of this declaration is to stress their opposition to the new U.S. missile defence plans.

Russia and China have found common ground in their opposition to Washington's "Son of Star Wars" anti-missile programme, which had its latest test at the weekend.

The two countries say they are not planning a military or political bloc and that their treaty is not meant to threaten anyone.

Source: BBC

Russia, China Working on Cyber Warfare -US Official

June 21, 2001 - Russia and China appear to be developing computer-based tools with the potential to do long-lasting harm to the U.S. economy. See the article in our Cyberwar section.

Bush faces growing Russian challenge

June 15, 2001 - President Bush plans to meet Russia's President Putin tomorrow. In preparation for this meeting, President Putin has been busy building new alliances with China and unifying former Soviet Union Nations.

Bush will meet Putin in Ljubliana, Slovenia, tomorrow as Putin comes to the conference table with strategic accords with China, further progress on a revolutionary transit system across Russia and success in rebuilding the framework of a new Soviet Union.

The Russian president's efforts have been aimed at creating a democratic 'multi-polar world,' (as opposed to the uni-polar domination of the United States). The meeting from which Putin is returning is the summit of the "Shanghai Five," consisting of Russia, China and the Central Asian former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kirgizia and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan may also become a part of this alliance.

At the same time, legislators have been trying to establish unity between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and several smaller former Soviet Union countries have also expressed interest in alliance. They include Kirgizia and Moldova.

Source: WorldNetDaily - By Toby Westerman

Russia Markets Missile Shield System To Mideast

June 14, 2001 - Egypt and Iran have both expressed interest in Russia's S-300V missile shield system which they claim can protect military facilities and troops against ballistic missiles better than the U.S. Patriot batteries.

Source: Middle East Newsline

Ukrainian Entrepreneur Seeks to Launch "Christianity" Magazine in the Former Soviet Union

June 12, 2001 - Alex Yefetov, a successful high-tech magazine editor and publisher in Kiev, Ukraine, became a Christian in 1997, and now plans to launch a balanced Christian life magazine for his country and other nearby nations. He has already registered the name "Christianity" for the publication, and hopes to begin with the first issue of about 10,000 copies in the Fall of this year.

Source: Worthy News

Russia's Chabad fights 'Messianic Jews'

May 25, 2001 - Mainstream Jews in Russia and surrounding countries oppose the message and growing influence of Messianic Jews, which have grown greatly during the past 10 years. Jews for Jesus are especially active.

Source: Jerusalem Post (Story no longer online)

Global space race heats up

May 23, 2001 - See the summary in our "Wars and Rumors of Wars" section.

An independent military space force is planned to begin June 1 in Russia to combine all Russian military space programs and commercial space ventures.

Source: WorldNetDaily- From Stratfor Global Intelligence Update

Memo: Bush, Schroeder to Halt Aid

May 21, 2001 -

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to withhold financial aid from Russia as long as vast sums continue to flow out of the country, two German magazines reported Saturday.

Source: Moscow Times

EU Asks Russia to Ax Dollar for Euro

May 16, 2001 -

Source: Moscow Times

Russia eyes the European family

May 18, 2001 - Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to position his country as part of the European family. In Moscow, many citizens feel the same, although there is also a strong anti-Western sentiment.

In the villages, however, many people have no concept of Europe, and are, in fact, influenced more by Asian history and culture.

Other problems make it difficult for Russia to become European:

Russia's legal system is still a long way from being EU compatible.

The same could be said of its democracy: There are widespread concerns in the West about the state of freedom of the press, human rights and the war in Chechnya.

Source: BBC

Back to Bad Old Days

Apr. 26, 2001 - By Konstantin Preobrazhensky

The writer, a retired KGB lieutenant colonel, laments the loss of the one television outlet in Russia that was not controlled by the state.

The death of NTV has transformed Russia into a qualitatively different state. The Western world simply cannot continue treating this new Russia as if it were the same country that it was just a few weeks ago. It only makes sense now to relate to Russia with the same suspicion and caution with which the West treated the Soviet Union.

He is also concerned that the average citizen does not dare to stand up against the situation. He concludes they say they don't have enough information to form an opinion, and at this rate, they never will.

Source: Russia Today - from The Moscow Times (Story no longer online.)