Tag Archives: Russia

De-dollarisation: Russia and Saudi Arabia Continue to Ditch the Dollar

De-dollarisation

De-dollarisation is something I have been writing about for a long time. Two recent events are another nail in the coffin for the dollar, and by extension, US hegemony.

The first event was Russia’s main stock exchange halting the dollar and euro trades. The second is Saudi Arabia not renewing the Petrodollar Agreement. Let’s delve into this a bit more.

De-dollarisation, the process of reducing reliance on the US dollar in international trade and finance, can have significant implications for the US economy and global financial stability. Two recent events underscore this trend and offer insight into the potential future of the US dollar and its influence on global markets.… Click here to continue reading this article

How to Access Russian Media in the UK

Watch RT in the UK

How to access Russian media in the UK: You may have noticed RT (formerly Russia Today) and other Russian media outlets are blocked in the UK.

When you try and access Russian media in the UK, you’ll quickly discover that our internet is actually rather censored. The UK government, in conjunction with ISPs get to decide what you get to see.

It’s not only if you try to access Russian media sites from the UK, but also many file-sharing and other sites are sometimes blocked here too.

Try these links to two regular Russian sites to see if they are blocked for you in the UK:

… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Autumn/Winter 2019

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Autumn/Winter 2019.

This is our first newsletter in quite some time, and first we want to take a moment to welcome again our many new members to the conversation forums who perhaps never had a newsletter from us before.

So What’s Happening?

Our forum is now twelve years old, and we have just passed our half millionth post milestone. That’s a lot of people doing a lot of talking the last decade or so!

The forum was started back in the tail end of the Russian and Ukrainian so-called ‘mail order bride’ phenomenon, and our subject matter was a one-trick pony in that regard back then.… Click here to continue reading this article

Observations from an American who lives in Russia when he visited America again.

I have just returned from my annual sojourn to America recently; Texas and California to be exact.

This might have been the first time I had ever been to Texas and not see someone wearing a cowboy hat. Amazing, since I spent 10 days there (14 days in Cali). Equally amazing was not seeing any police, or very, very few in both places.

Nobody shot at me either. Always welcomed.

Nothing really has changed much, but it being an election year, one could sense a palatable shift in the mood of the country; interesting to witness I must say.… Click here to continue reading this article

The Realities of Expat Living in Moscow 2016

The main thing about living anywhere in the world is your attitude.

How easily you can adapt to living outside your “comfort” zone, to how willing you are in accepting a new reality.

There are advantages and disadvantages to living anywhere. I think this goes without saying, but I obviously have to say it to put things into perspective for some.

I have often said that you cannot compare Russia to the established Western world. One has emerged from 75 years of Communism, not to mention a whole host of tragic historical and cultural norms, to a meshing of free market policies and a new world order in the 21st century.… Click here to continue reading this article

Shock News: Western Media Suddenly Decides Russia is the Good Guy.

When a propaganda channel like Fox News begins to make positive noises about Russia, we must wonder why the narrative has changed so fast and who is pulling the strings.

We all know about Fox News, often referred to as Faux News, the comedic American ‘news’ channel that pedals agenda-driven, Republican-leaning, bite size propaganda chunks to the unthinking, gun-toting masses over the pond.

Quite often, Russia Insider reports on their hysterical output; among which has been “He (Putin) has been repeatedly invading foreign countries…” and “If we don’t interfere in Ukraine he (Putin) will go after Lithuania, Estonia, he is out of control now”.… Click here to continue reading this article

Turkey Exposed as More than Terrorist Accomplices by Shooting the Russian Jet Down.

This article first appeared on RT.

Turkey has shown its hand by destroying the Russian warplane over Syria and followed through on its previous threats to Russia. We must now regard Turkey as a hostile state that supports terrorism.

As has been widely reported, on the 24th November, Turkey – an EU aspirant NATO member – shot down a Russian warplane on legitimate Syrian duties. As a result, one pilot is dead and the other was rescued by Russian Special Forces. Another soldier was killed during the rescue operation and Russia lost a rescue helicopter in the process.… Click here to continue reading this article

Book Review: Exceptional – Why the World Needs a Powerful America by Dick Cheney

For fair disclosure, before you read this review, I will say that while I enjoy visiting America from time to time, I am disdainful of American foreign policy and its continual aggression, state-sponsored terrorism, wars and regime changes around the world.

I am a Russophile. I think Vladimir Putin is one of the worlds great leaders.

An American pal of mine gifted me this book recently. I promised him I would read it with an open mind. I think I have, but it hasn’t changed my opinion.

Here is some of the book blurb:

Exceptional – Why the World Needs a Powerful America by Dick Cheney

Former vice president Dick Cheney, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and his daughter Liz Cheney, former deputy assistant secretary of state, explain the unique and indispensable nature of American power, reveal the damage done by President Obama’s abandonment of this principle, and show how America can and must lead again.

… Click here to continue reading this article

US Complains As Russia Bombs its Terrorists

This article first appeared at journal-neo.org

The New York Times in its recent article, “Russians Strike Targets in Syria, but Not ISIS Areas,” attempts to frame Russia’s recent actions in Syria as dishonest and dangerous. It reports:

Russian aircraft carried out a bombing attack against Syrian opposition fighters on Wednesday, including at least one group trained by the C.I.A., eliciting angry protests from American officials and plunging the complex sectarian war there into dangerous new territory.

This of course would only make Russia’s actions dishonest or dangerous if groups trained by the US CIA were in fact the “moderates” the US claims they are.… Click here to continue reading this article

Taking the British Media to Task When They Lie About Russia

For the mainstream western media, lying about Russia is now just a routine part of the working day.

No British Sunday newspaper would be complete without the obligatory anti-Russian double page spread on the ‘threat’ Putin and Russia poses to somebody somewhere this week.

To get this right, one must not concern oneself with facts. Simply choose a country, any country will do, do some random Googling, make some stuff up to pad it out, but be sure to say you are “quoting a source” to absolve yourself of responsibility for what you write.… Click here to continue reading this article

Media: Putin will put forward four conditions to the West at UN General Assembly

In the West, discussion continues on the upcoming speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the UN General Assembly.

According to the magazine Politico columnist Paul R. Gregory, not much can go wrong, if we assume that the main emphasis of the Russian leader is to make a speech on the wording of the terms on which Russia is ready to participate in a broad international coalition to combat Islamic state (a terrorist group banned in Russia).

The author analyses the recent statements by Vladimir Putin and comes to the conclusion that the Russian president will lay out the four key conditions for cooperation between Moscow and the West to resolve the Syrian crisis.… Click here to continue reading this article

The Global De-dollarization and the US Policies

This article first appeared at Journalneo.org.

In its quest for world domination, which the White House has been pursuing for more than a century, it relied on two primary tools: the US dollar and military might. In order to prevent Washington from establishing complete global hegemony, certain countries have recently been revising their positions towards these two elements by developing alternative military alliances and by breaking with their dependence on the US dollar.

Until the mid-twentieth century, the gold standard was the dominant monetary system, based on a fixed quantity of gold reserves stocked in national banks, which limited lending.… Click here to continue reading this article

Upper House: No request from Putin to dispatch troops in Syria

This article was first published at RT.

Russian Upper House officials and the Kremlin spokesman have dismissed media reports about an alleged request to sanction the use of Russian military forces in Syria, adding that such document never existed even in preparatory stage.

“I know nothing about this, I have seen no documents on this issue. I cannot explain where this information could be coming from,” Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday when facing the question if media reports about the request to the Federation Council to sanctions the use of the Russian military forces in Syria were true.

… Click here to continue reading this article

Russia Insider Smashes Expectations and Gains 30 Million Page Views in Under a Year

Russia Insider Smashes Expectations and Gains 30 Million Page Views in Under a Year

Russia Insider is going from strength to strength, proving that people are seeking out alternatives to the shameless bias and prescribed narratives they see and read on the ‘established’ media channels.

In a little over eleven months, Russia Insider has enjoyed over thirty MILLION page views. That is around 88,000 a day!

Page views are one of the metrics a website uses to determine its popularity. When a lot of people like and share your content, your page views increase.… Click here to continue reading this article

Ukraine and Putin: How the West May Walk into War

This is a long story. That should then but, for once, because it is a matter of life and death, war and peace. The story is about the conflict in Ukraine, and about how “we” – the West – a war sucked in danger of being with Russia. Because this happens, if we are not careful, though many Dutch it still will not even notice, busy as it is the quiet life to live in freedom that we take for granted, but so may come to an end.

To understand what is happening in Ukraine, which geopolitical game in the region is being played, who the key players – in politics, diplomacy and media – and what their goals are, we need to delve deeper into the details.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015

Russian Ukrainian Adventures Forum Newsletter – Summer 2015.

Hello,

It has been over a year since we sent out a newsletter, so we thought one was long overdue.

We would like to bring you up-to-date on the changes at RUA the last year.

The Forum Has Changed Direction a Little to Include More Travel, Culture, News and Politics.

The site was stuck in what is a dying and declining niche. When the site first started back in the mid naughties, it was firmly aimed at what some termed the “mail-order bride” niche.… Click here to continue reading this article

Oil: The US is in for a Bumpy Ride.

You are right to think that the US is in for a bumpy ride, it is, and for the reasons I and others have been going on about for more than a decade.

The core issue that connects all the significant actors, in different ways, is energy – its supply and its cost.

Right now US tight hydrocarbon firms are pumping for all their worth in order to generate cash flow to enable them to pay their loans. They are stuck. They simply can not reduce output by one iota, they have no choice but to pump and pump no matter how much money they lose.… Click here to continue reading this article

Two for the Price of One: De-dollarise and Reduce American Hegemony.

dedollarisation

Two for the Price of One: De-dollarise and Reduce American Hegemony.

As America’s influence in the world slowly declines, the de-dollarisation that goes along with it will benefit Russia and the rest of the world.

Russia has made no secret of the fact that it would like to see the rouble more widely used, and a reduction in the use of US dollars.

Putin and Medvedev have many times referred to a desire to see the rouble as a reserve currency. In order for this to become more of a reality, Moscow needs to continue its development as a regional financial hub.… Click here to continue reading this article

Russian-Produced Food Will Replace Imports Completely According to Russian Agriculture Minister

Russian-Produced Food Will Replace Imports Completely According to Russian Agriculture Minister

Importozameshcheniye (import substitution) is the new buzzword at the Russian Agriculture Ministry.

The Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachyov has once again underlined the ongoing policy of import substitution in Russia. He said that produce from Russian farms will eradicate the need for foreign food imports from the Russian market completely within a decade.

Some think this too optimistic, but Russia has the fourth-largest acreage of arable land in the world, and no shortage of fresh water. Analysts say this should be enough to underpin a huge ongoing increase in agricultural production.… Click here to continue reading this article

What Next After the Neocon Rape of Ukraine?

Since its divestment from the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been something of a schizophrenic nation with conflicting allegiances in the West and East of the country. In recent years, a neocon agenda has stoked up this internal strife to incendiary levels.

The people in the East speak Russian and incline towards Russia, while those in western Ukraine march to a different drum: they speak Ukrainian and foster fond hopes of becoming real Europeans. In Crimea, the majority converse in Russian and their hearts have always beaten patriotically for the motherland. Crimea, after all, was part of Russia from 1784 until 1954, at which juncture Nikita Khrushchev, a native of Ukraine incidentally, made what some consider a major blunder: the Soviet leader gift-wrapped the peninsula and handed it over to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

… Click here to continue reading this article