Putin turns Russia into an Outlaw Nation

Over the the powerful and influential American Thinker blog, LR publisher and founder Kim Zigfeld shows how Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine has turned Russia into an outlaw nation.  Putin lied brazenly about his intentions in regard to Crimea, and in launching his attacked violated Russia’s written promise in the Budapest accord to respect Ukrainian territory.  From now on, no nation can trust Russia.  No agreement Russia makes is worth the paper it is printed on.  As such, Russia is cast out from the fold of civilized countries and will now exist as a criminal state, a pariah unable to count on any other country as its partner.

It is the end of days for Russia.

The Dangerous Friends of Putin on U.S. Far Right

Over on the powerful and influential American Thinker blog, LR publisher and founder Kim Zigfeld exposes the dangerous collaborators of Vladimir Putin to be found on the American far right, and issues a clarion call for remembering the example of the greatest American conservative, Ronald Reagan, as new iron curtain descends across the former USSR.

Russia’s Fraudulent “Claim” to Crimea

If you think Russia has some type of “claim” on Crimea because it used to be part of Russia and people there speak Russian, do you also think Mexico has a “claim” on the Southwestern USA for the same reason?

Over on Pajamas Media, LR publisher and founder Kim Zigfeld points out how totally ludicrous Russia’s “claim” on Ukraine has to be viewed by any patriotic American citizen.

Top 10 Achievements of Putin in Ukraine

Here are the top ten achievements of Vladimir Putin so far in Ukraine, following close on the heels of his invaluable assistance in helping Victor Yanukovich out of power:

10.  Kremlin websites downed in DDOS cyber attacks.

9.  Putin exposed before the world as maniacal mental case.

8. Precedent set for autonomous regions to vote themselves out of Russia.

7.  Ukraine shows the world what patriotism really means.

6. Russia stock market a smoking ruin, reserves and ruble plummeting, inflation soaring.

5. Russophobia permanently and totally validated.

4. John McCain in the Maidan.

3. Prospects for NATO membership of Georgia and Ukraine vastly increased.

2.  Russia Today totally and permanently discredited.

1.  Europe galvanized against Russia as common foe.

Putinomics in Free Fall

As shown in the chart above, ever since the Russian military incursion into Ukraine began the Russian economy has been in a state of free fall.

At present, the MICEX stock index is down 15% from its February high, having shed roughly $100 billion in value.  The chart shows how the free fall radically halted and reversed on March 3, and there’s only one possible explanation for that event:  The Kremlin entered the stock market and began furious buying Russian shares in order to artificially increase demand and stabilize prices. But the Kremlin can’t afford to do that forever, and when it stopped the market went right back into free fall.

The stock market isn’t alone in its woes. The bond market has been obliterated as well, interest rates are soaring and and the value of the ruble is plummeting, meaning inflation on foreign goods, which the Russian consumer depends upon, is raging.

The falling ruble forces the Kremlin to make Russia’s foreign currency reserves to double duty: it must not only buy Russian stocks but also buy the currency itself, in order to prevent devaluation from turning Russian pocketbooks inside out.

And the worst is yet to come.

The EU and USA have just announced that they will soon impose draconian economic sanctions on Russia, choking off already feeble Russian economic growth and putting even more pressure on the ruble and the stock market.

Are the people of Russia really prepared to make such horrific sacrifices in order to pursue bloodthirsty imperialism in Ukraine? Do they even know that such sacrifices are being asked of them? Kremlin-controlled broadcast TV is certainly not telling them, and the Kremlin has just liquidated yet another independent news source, the respected Lenta.ru website.

Russia Today gives up on Journalism

Over on the powerful and influential American Thinker blog, LR publisher and founder Kim Zigfeld reports on how the Kremlin’s propaganda network Russia Today has given up all pretense of journalism and accuracy and given itself wholly over to militant lies in support of Putin’s cause in Ukraine. A big part of its content in this regard, of course, is virulent anti-Americanism.

Michael McFaul, the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, has announced a boycott of Russia Today because he is so appalled by the gross distortions it is publishing, and many others have joined him. RT’s Marina Buinovskaya ‏ admits that it has become extremely difficult for the network to book foreign interviews.

The Winds of War in Ukraine

Over on the powerful and influential American Thinker blog, LR publisher and founder Kim Zigfeld sets fire to the series of brazen lies Russia is trying to tell the world about its wanton, horrifying imperialist aggression in Ukraine.

Has Putin finally gone too far this time?

He has if you judge by the Russian economy.  On Monday its stock market shed a whopping 10% of its value, and key stocks like Gazprom and Sberbank were down even more.  The ruble went into free fall as well, hitting a new low against the dollar and forcing the Kremlin to take two dramatic actions, hiking interest rates and spending ten billion dollars in foreign reserves to buy rubles, that will choke off the final vestiges of economic growth and undermine Russia’s ability to grapple with the inevitable recession that will follow.

And he has if you judge by Russia’s relationship with the United States.  On Monday, the USA broke off economic and military ties with Russia, and began planning sanctions that could further imperil the Russian economy as well as instigating an move to eject Russia from its most prestigious international membership, the G-8.

Commentators of every stripe all around the world, including many ardent Russophiles, are condemning Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine as by far his biggest policy blunder since he took office. It may well be that neither he nor his country can ever recover from it.