Is Putin a Psychopath, or Does He Just Play One on TV?
The consensus opinion after Putin’s press conference earlier today is that he has lost his mind. It was rambling, angry, discursive, and at times just bizarre.
Of course all of the usual Putinisms were there. Most notably, blaming the West for everything in a stream of whataboutism. This was accented by claims that the Ukrainian opposition consists mainly of thugs and fascists; that Yanukovych was wrongly ousted and didn’t order any violence against protestors; and that the opposition was very well trained and professional, having passed through training camps in the Baltics and Poland. (Take this as a very ominous warning, people.)
My dear colleague, look how well trained the people who operated in Kiev were. As we all know they were trained at special bases in neighbouring states: in Lithuania, Poland and in Ukraine itself too. They were trained by instructors for extended periods. They were divided into dozens and hundreds, their actions were coordinated, they had good communication systems. It was all like clockwork. Did you see them in action? They looked very professional, like special forces. Why do you think those in Crimea should be any worse?
Yes. Those evil Poles and Lithuanians, training crack troops to throw rocks and fashion catapults. Definitely far more lethal than camouflaged masked men toting AKs.
More broadly, Russia and Putin are always right: the West is always hypocritical and wrong.
Putin also denied the obvious, claiming that there are no Russian troops in Crimea, just local “self-defense forces” which he denies were trained by Russia.
In other words, there is no agreement on the basic facts of the situation, meaning that any attempt at negotiation with him, either by the Ukrainian government or the West, is doomed to failure. He rejects the legitimacy of the protests, views the outcome as a fascist coup arranged by the West, and denies that Russia is directly involved in the occupation of Crimea.
These were the substantive elements of insanity (paranoia, specifically) of the conference. But Putin added various asides that illustrated a man that feels no need to self-censor, but is so convinced of his own brilliance that anything that crosses his mind should be shared with the world. These “thoughts” were truly bizarre and mendacious, and even more suggestive of madness.
For instance, when discussing the alleged self-defense forces in Crimea, Putin claimed they were just kitted out in store-bought gear:
QUESTION: Mr President, a clarification if I may. The people who were blocking the Ukrainian Army units in Crimea were wearing uniforms that strongly resembled the Russian Army uniform. Were those Russian soldiers, Russian military?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Why don’t you take a look at the post-Soviet states. There are many uniforms there that are similar. You can go to a store and buy any kind of uniform.
They must have some awesome Army-Navy stores in the FSU: not only can you get up to date cammo, you can also pick up the latest AKs and military trucks.
Then he went on to criticize the massive corruption and social stratification in Ukraine, but denied there was anything comparable in Russia:
Corruption has reached dimensions that are unheard of here in Russia. Accumulation of wealth and social stratification – problems that are also acute in this country – are much worse in Ukraine, radically worse. Out there, they are beyond anything we can imagine imagination. Generally, people wanted change, but one should not support illegal change.
Words fail.
In the same breath, he gave a Ukrainian history lesson:
In my opinion, this revolutionary situation has been brewing for a long time, since the first days of Ukraine’s independence. The ordinary Ukrainian citizen, the ordinary guy suffered during the rule of Nicholas II, during the reign of Kuchma, and Yushchenko, and Yanukovych.
Ordinary Ukrainians guys suffered under Nicholas II, Kuchma, Yushchenko, Yanukovich. Anybody notice a name missing from that list? Stalin, maybe? (Lenin should get honorable mention too.) The guy who killed one-third of the Ukrainian population via starvation and executions, a total of around 3-8 million people? Think there was a little suffering in 1932-1933? As bad as Yanukovych was, his total body count during the uprising is on the order of the body count every 6 minutes at the height of the Holodomor.
This omission is particularly disgusting given the immense psychological toll that the Holodomor took and continues to take on Ukrainians. Don’t think that the omission will not resonate deeply in Ukraine. It is a taunting reminder of how Russians deny, deny, deny the Holodomor, and get incensed-hysterical, actually-at any moral claim made against them by Ukrainians.
The impression of insanity is only reinforced by other actions during the past several days, including a live fire exercise in the Baltic (witnessed by Putin) and today’s launch of an ICBM test. Put it altogether, and Putin gives the impression of approaching Kim Jung Un or Kim Jung Il levels of aggressive craziness. (And for those who say these exercises and tests were planned in advance, they could have easily been canceled if Putin wanted to lower the tension level. The fact he let them proceed tells you all you need to know about his intent and mindset.)
So what are the broader implications of his disturbing display of mental imbalance? No doubt the Europeans are even more intimidated now, and will be all the more reluctant to challenge a leader with a nuclear arsenal that they view as mad.
And that raises another possibility: that Putin was playing the psycho for effect. The Slavic version of Nixon’s Madman Theory, and which Machiavelli wrote about centuries earlier: he wrote that leaders can find it “a very wise thing to simulate madness.”
I will say, watching the video, that Putin did a very, very credible impression of a madman, but that’s necessary to make the gambit work, isn’t it?
I don’t know whether he’s truly mad, or merely feigning it, but the effect will likely be the same. The disturbing display of mental imbalance will work to his favor, and lead the Europeans in particular to back away slowly, letting him keep his current conquests, and prepare for his next move. He may back off now, but he will be back for more. And quite possibly not just in Ukraine. But in the Baltic states and Poland.
http://rt.com/news/russian-troops-crimea-ukraine-816/
Russia’s 25,000-troop allowance & other facts you may not know about Crimea
Ukraine’s statement at the UN that ‘16,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed’ across Crimea sparked a MSM feeding frenzy that steadfastly ignored any hard facts that got in their way.
Especially unwelcome is the fact that the so-called ‘invasion force’ has been there for 15 years already.
The media many trust described in hysterical tones how the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was under a full-scale Russian invasion with headlines like: “Ukraine says Russia sent 16,000 troops to Crimea”, “Ukraine crisis deepens as Russia sends more troops into Crimea,” as well as “What can Obama do about Russia’s invasion of Crimea?”.
Facts, and ardent statements by top Russian diplomats were totally ignored by the western ‘war press’.
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin pointed to the longstanding 25,000 troop allowance while FM Sergey Lavrov stressed the Russian military “strictly executes the agreements which stipulate the Russian fleet’s presence in Ukraine, and follows the stance and claims coming from the legitimate authority in Ukraine and in this case the legitimate authority of the Autonomous Republic Crimea as well.”
So here they are, the facts:
1) A Russian naval presence in Crimea dates to 1783 when the port city of Sevastopol was founded by Russian Prince Grigory Potemkin. Crimea was part of Russia until Nikita Khruschev gave it to Ukraine in 1954.
2) In 1997, amid the wreckage of the USSR, Russia & Ukraine signed a Partition Treaty determining the fate of the military bases and vessels in Crimea. The deal sparked widespread officer ‘defections’ to Russia and was ratified by the Russian & Ukrainian parliaments in 1999. Russia received 81.7 percent of the fleet’s ships after paying the Ukrainian government US$526.5 million.
3) The deal allowed the Russian Black Sea Fleet to stay in Crimea until 2017. This was extended by another 25 years to 2042 in 2010, with a 5-year extension option.
4) Moscow annually writes off $97.75 million of Kiev’s debt for the right to use Ukrainian waters and radio frequencies, and to compensate for the Black Sea Fleet’s environmental impact.
5) The Russian navy is allowed up to
– 25,000 troops,
– 24 artillery systems with a caliber smaller than 100 mm,
– 132 armored vehicles, and
– 22 military planes, on Crimean territory.
6) Five Russian naval units are stationed in the port city of Sevastopol, in compliance with the treaty:
– The 30th Surface Ship Division formed by the 11th Antisubmarine Ship Brigade. Comprises the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship guard missile cruiser Moskva as well as Kerch, Ochakov, Smetlivy, Ladny, and Pytlivy vessels, and the 197th Landing Ship Brigade, consisting of seven large amphibious vessels;
– The 41st Missile Boat Brigade includes the 166th Fast Attack Craft Division, consisting of Bora and Samum hovercrafts as well as small missile ships Mirazh and Shtil, and 295th missile Boat Division;
– The 247th Separate Submarine Division, consisting of two diesel submarines – B-871 Alrosa and B-380 Svyatoy Knyaz Georgy;
– The 68th Harbor Defense Ship Brigade formed by 4 vessels of the 400th Antisubmarine Ship Battalion and 418 Mine Hunting Ship Division respectively.;
– The 422nd Separate Hydrographic Ship Division boasts the Cheleken, Stvor, Donuzlav and GS-402 survey vessels and hydrographic boats.
7) Russia has two airbases in Crimea, in Kacha and Gvardeysky.
8) Russian coastal forces in Ukraine consist of the 1096th Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment in Sevastopol and the 810th Marine Brigade, which hosts around 2,000 marines.
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 2:49 am
The Ukrainian UN ambassador defends the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists but claims the obvious: that among the 11 million people in West Ukraine “millions” are NOT nazi-lovers but “normal Europeans”:
http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/03/04/n_5989605.shtml
However, he didn’t say how many millions exactly. More than 6 million or less?
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 3:08 am
What Vladislav fails to mention is that all movement of Russian forces is strictly controlled by the 97 basing agreement.
All movement between bases must be approved by the Ukrainian government, any deployment outside their bases must be approved by the Ukrainians.
Russian troops leaving their bases, surrounding Ukrainian forces, setting up checkpoints etc is a violation of said treaty and that results in the Russian forces being classified as invaders.
By the way Vladislav, did you miss the fact that around half of the parliament and cabinet are Russian speaking or Jewish? Also note the Ukrainian Jewish community has publicly stated the anti semitic threats they face come from Russia, not Ukraine.
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 3:38 am
Here is an article from February 18, 2014 describing the preparations for the bloodbath in Maidan:
http://timer.od.ua/news/praviy_sektor_prizivaet_vihodit_na_evromayda_s_ognestrel_nim_orujiem_965.html
Bing translate:
Leaders of the radical organization “Right Sector” called on owners of firearms to “protect the people” from the police, going to the “Euromaidan”. The message was posted on the official page of “PS” in social networks.
“We have confirmed information about the high probability of acceleration of Maidan by using armoured vehicles and firearms. Therefore, we call on all firearm owners to meet in Maidan Square to protect the people there from the criminal authorities”, reads the message.
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 3:38 am
Russia, land of real fascism.
United Russia Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fedorov is preparing the new law on criminal charges against those heads and editors of the media who “allow to publish false anti-Russian information, give informational support to the extremist and separatist forces of anti-Russian character, including covering the events outside Russia”.
A new amendment to the Criminal Code that makes anti-Russian publications a state crime will be added to Chapter 10, “Crimes against the state power,” that also includes articles on espionage, state treason, revolt and Article 282 — inciting hatred.
http://www.rferl.org/contentlive/live-blog-crisis-in-ukraine/25287590.html
I suggest Vladislav should go to the motherland and live there, he obviously worships the place.
But like the poxed up whore she is, Russia is best worshiped from afar….
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 4:01 am
> All movement between bases must be approved by the Ukrainian government, any deployment outside their bases must be approved by the Ukrainians. –
It was. It was approved by the constitutional and democratically elected President of Ukraine Yanukovich, who has almost 1 year left in his tenure/term.
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 4:09 am
No Vladislav, his own party voted to remove him prior to the troop movements.
83% in the Rada, or did you miss that?
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 4:24 am
Andrew,
You are preaching to the converted. I condemn Putin’s crackdown on the freedom of speech and of the press. He is hardly my choice for the post of President of Russia. Neither was Yanukovich. However, like Yanukovich, Putin was elected by a democratic majority. And as a libertarian, I respect the Constitutions.
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 4:26 am
It depends on the constitution Vladislav, do you also respect the constitution of Nazi Germany? According to that everything that sicko Hitler did was legal, same with Stalin.
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 4:38 am
> No Vladislav, his own party voted to remove him prior to the troop movements.83% in the Rada, or did you miss that?
The Constitution gives the Rada no right to remove the President, except for the case when he is found guilty of committing a major crime. Did you miss what I wrote earlier:
The President of Ukraine can be impeached and removed from office by the Parliament only AFTER a detailed investigation into his alleged crimes, a detailed parliamentary hearing in which he is given full freedom to defend himself, and the exact finding of what exactly he did that constitutes an impeachable crime. Just like in the USA. Nothing of this took place. There has been NO EVIDENCE that Yanukovich started the shooting. On the contrary, even the EU officials now suspect that it was Yanukovich’s ENEMIES (and I have been writing for two weeks in this blog pointing out the most likely organizers) that started the shooting, killing both innocent democratic demonstrators AND innocent government soldiers.
Therefore, according to the Constitution of Ukraine and the international law, President Yanukovich is not legally impeached and remains the legal president. On the contrary, the Parliament, that clearly broke the impeachment law, must be dissolved by the President, and new parliamentary elections held as soon as possible. In fact, as I recall
Of course investigations into who exactly hired those snipers that started the bloodbath in Maidan, must be conducted before these elections in order to determine which (if any) parliamentary candidates are guilty of this mass murder and which (if any) are guilty of intentionally covering up for them and refusing to conduct a thorough and objective investigation.
In the meantime Yanukovich is the legal president, and the Parliament is an illegal junta that has refused the legal order from the legal President to dissolve and run for a new parliament. As such, it is not only the right but the duty of the legal President to call on any or all foreign countries to help him deal with the illegal putsch. I hope that our own American government, out of American alleged belief in democracy and the rule of law, will use all o fits power to restore the constitutional president in Ukraine. EU too, now that they themselves know that there is no evidence against Yanukovich. However, it appears that both the USA and EU believe not in democracy but in warmongering against Russia and will help the putschists rather than the Ukrainian Constitution. In this situation Yanukovich has the full right to invite whichever legal country he pleases to come to Kiev and arrest the criminals that have usurped his office, which appears to be Russia.
Let me point out to you that this is not the first time we see a civil war between the President and the Parliament in the former USSR. The other famous case was in 1993 when the USA and the West took the side of President Yeltsin against the Russian Parliament (and applauded it when he obliterated the Parliament with tanks). Why not this time too? The US and EU leaders don’t give a flying f**k about democracy and will support any criminal or even mass murderer (as was the case with the support, training and funding of Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980s and the support of KLA narco-dealers and terrorists in 1999) as long as he serves their selfish short-term interests.
Can you logically and legally refute my arguments?
And just for you (and other readers), here is what Kasparov says about the Rada’s right to impeach the president (use Bing or Google Translate):
http://www.kasparov.ru/note.php?id=4615F630DD466
В соответствии с Конституцией Президент Украины может быть смещен с поста Верховной Радой в порядке импичмента в случае совершения им государственной измены или иного преступления. Вопрос о смещении Президента Украины с поста в порядке импичмента инициируется большинством от конституционного состава Верховной Рады.
Для проведения расследования Верховная Рада должна создать специальную временную следственную комиссию, в состав которой включаются специальный прокурор и специальные следователи. При наличии оснований для импичмента Рада не менее чем двумя третями от ее конституционного состава принимает решение об обвинении Президента Украины.
Дело проверяется Конституционным Судом Украины, который дает заключение в отношении соблюдения конституционной процедуры расследования.
Затем дело рассматривает Верховный Суд. Он должен дать заключение о том, что деяния, в которых обвиняется Президент Украины, содержат признаки государственной измены или иного преступления.
После этого решение о смещении Президента Украины с поста в порядке импичмента принимается Верховной Радой не менее чем тремя четвертями от ее конституционного состава.
Under the Constitution, the President can be removed from the post by the Verkhovna Rada in the impeachment in case of high treason or other crimes. The removal of the President from Office by the procedure of impeachment is initiated by the majority of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada.
To investigate, the Verkhovna Rada must create an ad hoc temporary Commission of inquiry, which includes the Special Prosecutor and special investigators. If there are grounds for impeachment, there must be no less than two-thirds of the constitutional composition for the prosecution of the President of Ukraine.
After that, this case must be examined by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which must give an opinion on compliance with the constitutional procedures of investigation.
After that, the Supreme Court must considers the case. It should draw the conclusion that the acts attributable to the Ukrainian President, contain signs of treason or other crimes.
After that, decision to remove the President from Office by impeachment must be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of not less than three quarters of its constitutional composition.
//////////////////
Have the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court of Ukraine reached their decisions as to Yanukovich’s alleged crimes?
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 4:42 am
‘There Was No Quorum’: Crimean Lawmaker Calls Vote To Join Russia Flawed
Lawmakers in the parliament in Crimea voted on March 6 for that Ukrainian peninsula to join Russia and hold a referendum on endorsing the decision. Several lawmakers opposing the move, however, say they were either not notified or physically barred from entering the parliament building to cast their vote. RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Dmitry Volchek spoke to one of them: Leonid Pilunsky, of the faction Qurultay-Rukh.
RFE/RL: Did you take part in today’s vote?
Pilunsky: Of course not. They didn’t let me in. Even yesterday I couldn’t get close, the building is entirely cordoned off by people acting aggressively. There are many faces there that I’ve never seen. They are rumored to be Kuban Cossacks….
According to our information, there was no quorum. All these decisions resemble a schizophrenic outburst….
Crimean Tatars will categorically refuse to be part of Russia. They have just started returning home and settling down after more than 50 years in exile.
RFE/RL: You said there would inevitably be resistance to Russian rule in Crimea. What would this resistance look like?
Pilunsky: It will depend on what kind of draconian measures they decide to slap on the population.
RFE/RL: Ukrainian military bases are already refusing to lay down their weapons.
Pilunsky: Of course they are refusing. [Russian forces] are behaving like Nazi troops, asking people to surrender. That’s exactly what’s happening here. Suddenly, people in an independent state are asked to hand over their weapons. All this brings many sad, unhappy thoughts. You start wondering what kind of place you live in and whether this really is the 21st century.
http://www.rferl.org/content/interview-crimea-vote-ukraine-russia/25288146.html
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 4:55 am
Andrew,
So you agree that by law, Yanukovich remains the President of Ukraine, or do you have an explanation as to how his impeachment was done with full accordance with the Constitution? Which steps of the Constitutional impeachment have been fulfilled, and which remain to be undertaken in the future? And when will the process of the impeachment of Yanukovich be continued? I can’t wait to hear the Supreme Court investigate as to who hired the snipers in Maidan: Yanukovich or the Opposition. How about you?
Comment by vladislav — March 7, 2014 @ 5:11 am
@ Vladislav
Re: rumors about who ordered the shootings. This is a rather silly point, sorry. The taped conversation simply indicated that there were rumors that people in the Opposition government ordered shootings, and the government isn’t investigating these rumors. Well, there are rumors that Putin ordered those apartments in Moscow destroyed, and these were not AFAIK officially investigated. There are rumors that Lyndon Johnson ordered a hit on JFK – also not investigated. There are rumors that Mossad or the Americans brought down the twin towers – also not officially investigated. Simply because a rumor exists and it is not officially investigated does not make it true. Unfortunately for rumormongers regarding Ukraine, plenty of footage exists showing government snipers shooting at demonstrators. And you yourself have admitted that there was a call to arms by Ukrainian demonstrators such as Right Sector, which would place guns in the hands of demonstrators and not in the hands of shadowy snipers.
Re: Yanukovich the Constitutional President. Your argument is sound. The Rada easily passed the 2/3 mark needed to begin the impeachment process but the other conditions – investigation followed by a 3/4 vote – have not been fulfilled. Fortunately Turchynov is merely the acting president, a status that is quite legal for him. From wiki:
“In the event that a President is incapable of committing his/her duties as President, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada becomes the acting president until a new president is elected. The acting president is not given the authority to address the nation and parliament, dismiss the legislative branch and appoint candidates for parliamentary approval of government and judicial posts. The acting president cannot call for a referendum, grant military ranks and state orders and exercise their right of pardon.”
Clearly, Yanukovich has become incapable of committing his duties as president. He has completely lost control over it, his allies have deserted him, and he has fled the country. There is no way that he could rule the country now. Even Putin concedes he has no future in Ukraine. Yanukovich is now, allegedly, in a hospital in Russia after a cardiac arrest. He may die soon. Given that Yanukovich has lost the capability of ruling the country, the parliament elected a speaker who has become acting president. Given that Yanukovich is permanently incapable of being president of Ukraine, new elections have been scheduled. When the acting president is replaced by a president, the new president will presumably call new parliamentary elections. Ukraine will then have a democratic government in both elected branches for the first time since 2010.* You should be happy about that, if you care about democracy for Ukrainians.
*Recall that although Yanukovich was indeed elected freely and fairly in 2010, almost immediately after taking office he subverted the parliament, illegally and nondemocratically giving himself a parliamentary majority. Yanukovich was elected president with limited powers, of a divided government; he was not elected president with total power over the legislature. So don’t pretend that his presidency was democratic merely because he freely and fairly won the 2010 election. The usurpation of power and locking out the majority of voters form the legal political process is the cause of Ukraine’s political instability and ultimately Yanukovich’s downfall.
Comment by AP — March 7, 2014 @ 8:42 am
vladislav, our own personal Kremlinoid troll, has been furnished with lost of foaming-at-the-mouth ammo by the Kremlin in its massive dezinformatsiya campaign
thank you Andrew and AP
yanukonvikt, Putler’s buttboy, is now reported to have suffered an “infarct” and in “grave condition” in a hospital somewhere near Maskva
http://tsn.ua/politika/rosiyski-zmi-zayavlyayut-scho-yanukovich-u-tyazhkomu-stani-v-likarni-338512.html
who ordered the snipers?
from someone who knows – Hennady Moskal
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7018031/
“Було кілька груп снайперів — із СБУ (“Альфа”) та МВС (спецпідрозділи внутрішніх військ плюс “Сокіл”)”, – заявив Москаль.
Він переконує, що накази стріляти спецпідрозділам МВС міг тільки екс-міністр Віталій Захарченко, а “Альфі” – екс-керівник СБУ Олександр Якименко.
There were several groups of snipers- the Alpha group from the Security Service and also from the Interior Ministry, special divisions of the interior army plus “Hawk”
The orders to shoot were given by ex-minister Vitaly Zakharchenko and the ex-director of the Security Service Alexander Yakimenko.
In Crimea, the Putlerists have eliminated the only independent TV station, and have now converted 4 other stations to Rooshan TV
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7018037/
In addition, the Putlerites are engaging in cyberwar against Ukraine – just like in Georgia
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/07/opinion/bergen-ukraine-cyber-attacks/
Oh, and guess what – the new “speaker” of the Crimean parliament owes Ukrainian banks over $1 billion
what better way to get out of paying debt than to ask Der Fuhrer Putler to come in and “help”
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7017988/?attempt=1
And the Crimean Tatars have asked Turkey and other countries for help
http://euromaidanpr.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/crimean-tatars-ask-turkey-kazakhstan-and-azerbaijan-for-help/
In addition the Putlerites have scuttled Rashan ships to prevent the movement of the Ukrainian Navy in Crimea
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/7/7018008/
Comment by elmer — March 7, 2014 @ 10:03 am
the Crimean ballott
https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/441540983235170304
Comment by elmer — March 7, 2014 @ 10:17 am
Elmer good points as usual.
Comment by Andrew — March 7, 2014 @ 12:12 pm
@vladislav
Your statements are hysterical and overblown. I was under the bridge in 93 maybe ten meters from the tank closest to the bridge in front of the Hotel Ukraina (there you go for coincidence) when they fired the first volley. The parliament was not obliterated, there was no outside interference (except for a few US Marxists holed up with the other idiots in the White House), and no one but no one requested international support. As for me personally it did take a minute or so to determine I was not missing any important body parts.
Your anti Americanism is shrill at least to the point of hysteria
Comment by pahoben — March 7, 2014 @ 12:57 pm
@vladislav
Fortunately for me the snipers that day in the White House were no match for the efficient snipers at the Maidan. There were a lot of people on the bridge later in the day. There were sniper rounds coming in but I personally didn’t see anyone hit. The snipers at the Maidan were extremely efficient well trained snipers and current snipers. It begs credulity to suggest someone placed a snipers wanted add on Liviv Craigslist and these guys showed up.
Comment by pahoben — March 7, 2014 @ 1:13 pm
> vladislav, our own personal Kremlinoid troll…
elmer, our own personal Hitler worshiper, stop personal attacks on me and try to stick to facts, if right-wing extremists like you are capable of that.
Comment by vladislav — March 8, 2014 @ 12:05 am
Vladislav, is that a Russian name that means hypocrite liar?
Comment by Andrew — March 8, 2014 @ 1:29 am
Vladislav (Belarusian: Уладзіслаў (Uladzislaŭ); Polish: Władysław, Włodzisław; Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian: Владислав; Ukrainian: Владислав (Vladyslav); Hungarian (a non-Slavic language): Ulászló) is a Slavic male given name.
The name is of old Slavic origin, meaning “one who commands glory/fame” from Slavic vlad- (to posses, rule, command) and slav- (glory, fame).
Comment by vladislav — March 8, 2014 @ 2:09 am
Inappropriate then.
Comment by Andrew — March 8, 2014 @ 10:12 am
@Andrew
Very funny.
Comment by pahoben — March 8, 2014 @ 3:34 pm
Andrew,
Let us decide again, which of us is a liar and a vicious deliberate slanderer. Here is a direct factual libel that you wrote about me recently:
> “given your violent racism towards Georgians and other non slavs, I well remember your descriptions of Georgians as animals on LR, and your intense hatred of ethnic Ukrainians.”
If push comes to shove, I will also produce here dozens of other pieces of lying and libel from you, along with hundreds of quotes of your vicious attacks on Russians, Jews and gays.
Now can YOU quote me any text from me where I deliberately lie?
Comment by vladislav — March 10, 2014 @ 1:12 pm
any post under your other pseudonym of Ostap Bender, Mr X, and various others at LR.
Particularly those around 2008 relating to the war.
Comment by Andrew — March 10, 2014 @ 11:08 pm
[…] show of derangement” could be a “front to intimidate the West.” Actually, prof. Craig Pirrong put that idea forward ten months earlier, in response to Putin’s long press conference in […]
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