Дорогие москвичи!

К бюллетеню новостей RAGA в прошлый раз я добавил сообщение Эдуарда Лозанского от открытии скульптурной композиции «Встреча на Эльбе» в Москве 25 апреля на территории музея Бурганова по адресу Сивцев Вражек 11.

Благодарю тех, кто пришёл!   Церемонию можно посмотреть и сейчас на видео

​25 апреля 2016 года члены Клуба военачальников Российской Федерации приняли участие в открытии скульптурной композиции “Встреча на Эльбе” в сквере музея А.Н. Бурганова (Переулок Сивцев Вражек 11).
В этот день, 71 год назад 25 апреля 1945 года на реке Эльбе недалеко от города Торгау (Германия) состоялась историческая встреча войск советской и американской армий. Эта встреча стала знаковым событием завершающего этапа боевых действий вооруженных сил антигитлеровской коалиции в Европе.
​
Для сохранения исторической памяти об этом знаменательном событии известный российский скульптор Александр Бурганов, работы которого выставлены во многих городах и музеях мира, в том числе и в Вашингтоне, создал скульптурную композицию «Встреча на Эльбе». Выступали космонавт Алексей Леонов  и генерал Брюс МэкКлинток

Или можно посмотреть Репортаж Polit Russia 

А теперь поздравляю всех с праздником Пасхи! Для отдыха можно послушать музыку на видео, которые мне любезно прислал Чарльз, один из американских друзей RAGA.org


1. Hilarion Alfeyev: St Matthew Passion. No 1 в исполнении Московской консерватории
Micoraweb 

Uploaded on Apr 28, 2008
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This is the beginning of 'St Matthew Passion' (Страсти по Матфею, Matthäuspassion) by Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev. Conductor: Vladimir Fedosseyev. Performed in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatoire on 27 March 2008. The choir sings: Come, let us sing a holy lament to Christ. Alleluia. O Lord my God, I will sing to Thee a funeral hymn. Alleluia. Thine all-holy Mother weeps for Thee lamenting. Alleluia.

2. Arabic Orthodox Chant - Holy Friday
Wadih Rahal 
Uploaded on Mar 31, 2009
Taking down of Jesus from the Cross -

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit both now and ever and unto ages of 
ages. Amen

3. Hilarion (Alfeyev) - The Passion According To St. Matthew в исполнении оркестра и хора Пермского театра оперы и балета им. Чайковского, дирижёр Валерий Платонов 
Published on May 18, 2013

Perm Opera & Ballet Theatre's Orchestra & Choir, Nadejda Pavlova, Natalia Buklaga, Filipp Cherkasov, Viktor Shapovalov, Alexander Pogudin, conductor - Valeriy Platonov

​4. The Great and Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Lamentations in English

​Sincerely,

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues! 

First, on behalf of Ed Lozansky, a RAGA associate and ally, a Press-Release for those near Moscow: 
The unveiling ceremony of the sculpture dedicated to the historical “Elbe River Linkage”.
Monday, April 25, 2016, 11.30 AM Open to the public. 

Address: 11 Sivtsev Vrazhek (Old Arbat area)
Author: People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Burganov

For additional information visit www.RussiaHouse.org/wrf.php or call:

+79035097346; +74956950429; +74956905100;.+79268378100; +79262070343;+74956405150;

Details are at the end (тоже по-русски), in Russian too.

Since last RAGA Newsletter, Antidote 25 (March 31, 2016), I participated in a number of events in Washington DC, such as Ray McGovern's seminar on nuclear arms race and unsafety of civilian-use nuclear installation at the Festival Center in Adams Morgans on April 5, and US-Russia educational exchange forum on April 9th at the George Washington University, as well as its follow-up round-table discussion at the Russian Cultural Center on April 10th. On April 11th, I delivered two new Russian books to a former student of mine who now works at the Library of Congress.

On April 13th I had the pleasure of meeting and welcoming to Washington of Dr. John Andrew Morrow at The Westin Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA. In my previous newsletters I have already highlighted his booklet Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Christians of His time . John brought a good news to Washington: Cambridge Scholars will publish Six Covenants in Six Languages, including my translation to Russian. The following two days John was scheduled to speak at National Press Club, the Capitol Hill and the White House. 

Departing next day for San Francisco to see my family, I was unable to attend Dr. Morrow's lectures in Washington. But I am sure his main message is the same everywhere: the Daesh and other Muslim extremists do not represent the original Islam, its Medina constitution of religious tolerance, nor the documents produced under the auspices of the Prophet Muhammad. At the end of April Dr. Morrow will take his message to St. Petersburg where both he and myself are scheduled to speak at a major scholarly forum of Russia's Muslims.

As before, John asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration in defense of the Christians: http://covenantsinitiative.com/

To honor Spring time, I suggest an easy reading of just four items: Dr. Gilbert Doctorow, a RAGA friend and associate, will discuss the results of Dutch referendum on Ukraine and his impressions of Russia's president Vladimir Putin's latest press conference; Chas Freeman will share his assessment of US global foreign strategy; and Graham E. Fuller will discuss Pope Francis' gradual shift from the long-accepted notion of "just war" in favor of "no war can or should be justified".

Dutch Referendum:  a crack in the dam of European Russophobia. April 7, 2016
By Gilbert Doctorow, Ph.D.

<<Will common sense finally prevail over the illogic, hubris and plain pig-headedness of those who control the EU institutions in Brussels, and afar from Berlin and Washington?

On this overcast Thursday morning in Brussels, the Capital of Europe, rays of bright sunshine are breaking through from the East as the latest results of vote counting in neighboring Netherlands suggest that yesterday’s referendum on the EU’s Association Agreement with Ukraine passed the 30% quorum requirement of all eligible voters, while those who cast their ballots came out nearly two to one against the Ukraine deal
http://usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be/archive/2016/04/07/dutch-referendum-a-crack-in-the-dam-of-european-russophobia-1150587.html
Gilbert Doctorow, Fri, Apr 15, 2016, Putin's 2016 Marathon Q&A Session Was Polished, Folksy and Intelligent. An excellent roundup of the call-in Q&A with relevant context
<<...In a remarkable book entitled The End of Tsarist Russia, the widely respected British historian a Dominic Lieven remarks that it was almost impossible for any man to live up to the expectations that the Russian people had of their Tsar. He said this to exculpate Nicholas II, whom history has judged very harshly.

In this context, I would note that if Putin is to be seen as a Tsar, his performance in Q&A, just as his daily performance of his duties deserves the very highest grades for intelligence, diligence, reserve, man management skills and the rest. A Tsar of this quality comes along once in 300 years.
http://russia-insider.com/en/putins-annual-qa/ri13895?

The End of the American Empire by Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Apr 04, 2016
The American Committee for East-West Accord, Ltd.

Remarks to East Bay Citizens for Peace, the Barrington Congregational Church, and the American Friends Service Committee on April 2, 2016 in Barrington, Rhode Island. Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.) is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

The highlight:
<<Diplomacy-free foreign policy blows up enough things to liven up the TV news but it generates terrorist blowback and it’s expensive. There is a direct line of causation between European and American interventions in the Middle East and the bombings in Boston, Paris, and Brussels as well as the flood of refugees now inundating Europe. And so far this century, we’ve racked up over $6 trillion in outlays and future financial obligations in wars that fail to achieve much, if anything, other than breeding anti-American terrorists with global reach.>>
http://lobelog.com/the-end-of-the-american-empire/

Pope Francis Takes On ‘Just War’ Theory. By Graham E. Fuller, April 14, 2016

The Catholic Church, which over the centuries has blessed many dreadful wars, is shifting to an anti-war position favored by Pope Francis and more in line with Jesus’s teachings, writes ex-CIA official Graham E. Fuller.

Pope Francis is on a roll. He has already roiled the waters of Western thinking on economics and society by touching on the dangers of Western capitalism drifting into socially destructive greed. He has now turned his focus to an even grander theme — the place of warfare in human life and the hallowed concept of a “just war.”

The conclave that the Pope is hosting in Rome this week is of exceptional importance to the international order. He is in the process of revising longstanding Catholic doctrine on war, and in particular, on the Christian concept of “just war.”

The Vatican now suggests that “just war” has become an obsolete concept; that the massive predominance of civilian casualties in modern warfare undercuts the moral ground for conceiving of almost any war as just. He also perceives the need to eliminate the underlying causes of violence and war and to reintroduce the power of nonviolent action to the world — values that emerge out of the human community itself rather than from the preferences of ruling elites....

...Now, nobody expects that war as a human phenomenon is going to come to an end anytime soon. Sadly, war may reside in the deeper recesses of the human condition; in many ways we humans glory in war. But the fact that Pope Francis speaks of the obsolescence of the idea of “just war” suggests that times are shifting at the elite level. When a major bulwark of moral philosophy like the Catholic Church begins to shift, the signal cannot be ignored...

...But Pope Francis is carrying the argument of moral conduct even further in proposing to develop a clearer understanding of all the teachings of the New Testament, but under contemporary realities. In colloquial language it means, “What would Jesus do?”...

...And of course such an issue is today particularly relevant to Muslims as well who are struggling to translate the moral precepts of the Quran into meaningful moral action today — on the personal level, but also the social, political and economic level.

“What would Muhammad do” might be a quite relevant question — requiring just as searching an answer as “what would Jesus do.” Does the so-called “Islamic State” really represent the moral precepts of Islam? Any more than the Crusaders represent Christianity? If not, how might Islam be best interpreted in a contemporary new ethical context?...

...The Pope has launched an important moral shift out of the camp of war and into the camp of peace — or at least, in contemporary terms, into “conflict management.”  May he continue the pace.

Graham E. Fuller is a former senior CIA official, author of numerous books on the Muslim World; his latest book is Breaking Faith: A novel of espionage and an American’s crisis of conscience in Pakistan. (Amazon, Kindle) grahamefuller.com 
Read more https://consortiumnews.com/2016/04/14/pope-francis-takes-on-just-war-theory/

Now more details of the April 25th event in Moscow mentioned above 

<<At a low point in post-Cold War U.S.-Russian relations, a monument is going up this month in the heart of Moscow to celebrate one of the high points of cooperation between the U.S. and the bad old Soviet Union. U.S. and Russian backers say they will dedicate the Elbe River Memorial on April 25 at noon, 71 years to the day after American and Soviet troops first linked up at a river crossing not far from Berlin. The famous rendezvous of U.S. forces coming from the west and Russian troops advancing from the east effectively cut Nazi Germany into two.  In a matter of weeks, Berlin had fallen, Adolf Hitler was dead and the war in Europe was effectively over.

“I see this memorial not only as a tribute to our joint victory in World War II, but something to cause both Americans and Russians to take a pause for reflection and realize that we are on a dangerous and previously unthinkable road to World War III,” said Edward Lozansky, founder and president of the American University in Moscow and a prime mover behind the memorial.

The author of the Elbe memorial is a famous Russian sculptor Alexander Burganov whose statues are displayed in many cities and museums around the world, including Washington, DC where his statue of great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin can be found on the campus of George Washington University.

Many Americans, including military officials plan to take part and speak alongside with the Russian VIPs and veterans. 

Program:

11.30 AM: Musical performance by the military orchestra. Reconstruction of the Elbe River linkage

12.00 PM: Speeches by Russian and American Representatives

12.30 PM: The unveiling of the sculpture by the author Alexander Burganov. National Anthems of Russia and USA. 

12.45 PM: Musical program, open air reception

 Sponsors: Burganov Museum; American University in Moscow; International Union of Russian Compatriots: Club of Retired High-Ranking Military; Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in USA;

<<Приходите и приглашайте друзей

http://echo.msk.ru/blog/lozansky_e/1749030-echo/

Для дополнительной информации:  www.RussiaHouse.org/wrf.php

Эд и Татьяна>>

Sincerely,

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues! 


Since my last February 22 RAGA Newsletter, Antidote 24, a number of very elucidating articles have appeared, and I am in a hurry to share them with you right away. (For announcements, please skip to the end). 


Fay Voshell's article, written originally for American Thinker, recently was run in Russia Insider and with a good reason. The majority of Western observers focus on economics and politics, but ignore the fundamental spiritual evolution of Russia as a Christian country that has been re-emerging from under the ashes of totalitarian atheist USSR. In fact, the recent meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill underscores Russia's rebirth as a Christian country.

Fay Voshell, 
Who Will Save Middle East Christians: Obama or Putin?
October 6, 2015, American Tinker
Few Western foreign policy analysts have taken seriously Vladimir Putin's radical reorientation of Russia from communism back to Russian Orthodox Christianity. ..

While some in the West are looking askance at Russia's support of Assad's regime in Syria, seeing only the realpolitik of Russian expansionism, others who are concerned about the eradication of Syria's ancient Christian community tend to see as legitimate Putin's concern that the Christian minority in that country will be persecuted if Assad is toppled.  The beleaguered Christians in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East doubtless see the very recent Russian bombing of ISIS headquarters as a gift from God, and Putin as their potential deliverer from martyrdom...
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/10/who_will_save_middle_east_christians_obama_or_putin.html
The intrepid contrarian British journalist Robert Fisk takes Western leaders to task for the failure to defend "Western values" in Syria
Robert Fisk
Why is David Cameron so silent on the recapture of Palmyra from the clutches of Isis?
Sunday 27 March 2016,  Independent
In the end, it was the Syrian army - and its Hizballah chums from Lebanon, and the Iranians, and the Russians - who drove the Isis murderers out of Palmyra.

The Syrian official in charge of the Roman ruins (of which we cared so much, remember?) was himself beheaded. Isis even put his spectacles back on top of his decapitated head, for fun. And we were silent then.
 
Doug Bandow, a Libertarian scholar, praises what Russia is doing in the Crimea and scorns Ukrainian leaders in Kiev
MAR 23, 2016 @ 06:00 AM 35,389 VIEWS
Crimea Celebrates Its Second Anniversary As Part Of Russia: Time To Drop Sanctions Against Moscow

...argued Hungarian Foreign Minister Pere Szijjarto, renewal (of Western sanctions against Russia) “cannot be automatic” and must “be decided at the highest level.” He added: “You cannot decide on sanctions by sweeping the issues under the carpet.” Also skeptical of continued economic war are Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, farmers across Europe, suffering from retaliatory Russian measures, recently mounted protests in Brussels over lost trade.

Doug Bandow
Busted Fantasies In Kiev: America And Europe Won't Save Ukrainian Maiden In Distress
MAR 25, 2016, 10:00 AM 37,870 VIEWS, FORBES
Many Ukrainians expect America and Europe to save them. Suggest that they are living a fantasy gets you tarred as a blatant fool and Russian stooge. Yet Ukraine shouldn’t waste time posing as a fairy tale maiden in distress waiting for rescue by the Western knight in shining armor. Kiev risks ending up as a failed state.

Jon Hellevig, a Finnish businessman based in Moscow, shares his insights about 
The Hidden Story of Crimea's Economic Success 
Since reunification with Russia Crimea's economy has not only overcome all obstacles but is booming with dramatic increases in living standards and quality of life.
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider

Russia's investments in the Crimean economy have already repaid themselves and are contributing substantially to Russia's balance of payments....With great foresight, President Putin had launched an underwater electricity transmission line from the mainland across the Kerch Strait. Working against the clock the Russians were able to open ahead of schedule the first line of the four cables in early December and the second leg already Mid-December, thus already neutralizing the Ukrainian threat. The remaining two lines are due for April and May respectively.

Already in the difficult transition year of 2014, the proceeds from the tourist industry doubled to a value of about $1.5 billion from the level of the Ukrainian years of $700 million.

Nicolai Petro, an American professor and my former colleague, who spent a year in Odessa, Ukraine, as a Fulbright scholar, knows well
Why Ukraine needs Russia more than ever
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/09/ukraine-needs-russia-nicolai-petro
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian 

With country at risk of becoming a failed state, Kiev must recognize that economic survival depends on Moscow not the west.
By severing banking ties with Moscow, Kiev has denied itself investment and a vital economic lifeline – the remittances sent back home by zarobitchane, Ukraine’s migrant workers. Up to seven million Ukrainians have sought work in Russia, sending back $9bn in 2014 – three times the total foreign direct investment Ukraine got last year.

Patrick Lawrence seconds Professor Petro's warning about waste of US dollars
US Still Pouring Taxpayer Billions Into Ukrainian Black Hole
Mon, Mar 7, 2016, Russia Insider
Originally appeared in Salon under the byline Patrick L. Smith.

Add it all up: $550 million for the Nazi-peppered military in cold hard cash, a recent $1 billion “loan guarantee” (actually just a gift) from the ever generous Joe Biden , and a $40 billion loan from the IMF, 90% funded by the US, which is also likely never to be paid back.

John Helmer, an Australian journalist, based in Moscow and well familiar with Russian economy, thinks
Russians Pack Their Troubles into Their Grocery Baskets
Putin Gains, Medvedev Loses, US War Aim Fails
 (Dances with Bears) Thu, Mar 10, 2016

<<The political opinion polling demonstrates the way in which the perception of foreign threats is reinforcing support for Putin and his leading subordinates. It is also showing the fallacy in the theory of the Obama Administration that isolating and sanctioning Putin “cronies”, like the Rotenbergs, would arouse Russian resentment against them,  and turn against Putin himself.>>

John Helmer (Dances with Bears) knows why we, the casual readers, don't know ANY good things about Russia, for truthfulness is the first victim of the West's Info War against Russia
Fossilizing the US Infowar Against Russia
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider

There <<must not become a state subsidy for the failing veracity and fortunes of people like Anne Applebaum (first lead image), Eliot Higgins (2nd), Edward Lucas (3rd), and Peter Pomeranz (4th).   They call themselves infowarriors on the US side against Russia. >>

Timothy Karr elaborates on the shrinking limits of free speech
It's Time for Western Journalists to Start Standing Up for Whistleblowers
The media requires free-flowing information — and so does our democracy
 Wed, Mar 16, 2016, Russia Insider

The Obama administration’s ongoing crusade against government whistleblowers — which culminated last year in the imprisonment of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — has reignited a debate over the role journalists should play in defending their profession and the sources and networks on which it depends.
Reporters Without Borders now ranks the United States 49th out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. “That’s a 14-place drop since 2012,” says Delphine Halgand, the group’s U.S. director.

It’s not enough for journalists to defend their own rights. They need to ask how they can better advocate for the people who are indispensable to their work. Their jobs depend on freeing the flow of information — and so does our democracy.

John Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble
Beyond a New Cold War
http://www.thenation.com/article/beyond-a-new-cold-war/
The threats of terrorism, failed states, and civil wars cannot be resolved without respectful collaboration between Russia and the United States, says the former CEO of Procter & Gamble.
MARCH 11, 2016, The Nation

William Perry, former US Secretary of defense
Russian hostility 'partly caused by west', claims former US defence head
William Perry says US contempt toward Russia as ‘third-rate power’ after end of Cold War played a big role
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian

“Our first action that really set us off in a bad direction was when Nato started to expand, bringing in eastern European nations, some of them bordering Russia. At that time we were working closely with Russia and they were beginning to get used to the idea that Nato could be a friend rather than an enemy ... but they were very uncomfortable about having Nato right up on their border and they made a strong appeal for us not to go ahead with that.”

Mr. Perry is right, except he failed to mention NATO's illegal war in Yugoslavia 
17 years after war — Yugoslavia again protesting NATO
By Heather Cottin, March 22, 2016

On March 24, 1999, the U.S. led its European NATO allies in a 78-day bombing campaign targeting Serbia in order to destroy Yugoslavia, the last socialist country holding out in Europe. NATO planes bombed hospitals, factories, schools, trains, television stations, bridges and homes, killing thousands of Yugoslavs.

In 2000, the same NATO forces destabilized what remained of Yugoslavia — the republics of Serbia and Montenegro — then overthrew its political leader, Slobodan Milosevic, later imprisoning and trying him in a pro-NATO court in The Hague, Netherlands, for alleged war crimes. Failing in its attempt to convict him, the court case ended when Milosevic died there on March 11, 2006. Many suspect NATO forces had him poisoned.

NATO’s pattern for the destruction of Libya and Syria — and also of Iraq and Afghanistan, with variations — was based on the experience in Yugoslavia:  demonization of a leader, with false charges of “ethnic cleansing” to give a pretext for a NATO “humanitarian intervention,” followed by slaughter of civilians from the air and destruction of the infrastructure.
March 25, 2016: THE HAGUE — Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by a United Nations tribunal on Thursday for leading a campaign of terror against civilians in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II....Mr. Karadzic, 70, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in lethal ethnic cleansing operations.No punishment was meeted out against illegal NATO war and its minions 
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/radovan-karadzic-verdict.html?_r=0
David, a British friend of mine and RAGA associate whom I met some time ago in my native town of Perm  when he was visiting as a member of Oxford-Perm Sister Cities group, wrote me a rather alarming and depressing email:

<<I have been very silent for the past year for the reason that I have found very little, almost nothing, to support the Russian side in newspaper reports on Ukraine and Syria. I have been horrified and depressed that even the Guardian has been sadly lacking in this respect, and even worse, the so-called impartial BBC and some of its famous international reporters have almost always taken the side of the EU and USA in reports which are overtly or covertly anti-Russian.>>

As the US now ranks 49th out of 180 countries in Press Freedom Index (see above), I can hardly console our British friend by pointing to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But then we must expect so much more from the remaining truthtellers (see above). In fact, David suggested one from the UK,  and I was happy to feature Robert Fisk on top of the list.

There was an alarming news from Russia too. Sharon Tennison, the founder and president of the Center for Citizen Initiatives and the site Russia: Other Points of View, shared with me her plan to resume Good Will tours of Russia for Americans, and RAGA was happy to promote her cause. 

Now she writes: <<The June trip to Russia had been on hold until I could get assurance that my next Visa would be issued by Russian authorities. I was unexpectedly picked up and detained by Volgograd Immigration authorities in late February. This coming trip rested on whether the pickup was a mistake or was part of a crackdown that could have included someone like me who has operated freely in Russia for the past thirty years. I’ve now been assured it was due to hyperactive protectors of their area–and extreme current concern about foreign government-funded NGO's that may actually be implementing foreign political objectives. (In the early 2000's CCI did receive State Department funding for some of its programs, which may have contributed to the misunderstanding.)>>

RAGA is happy that the conflict was resolved to Sharon's satisfaction.
Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-sharon-tennison-detained-us-agent/27558544.html
By Carl Schreck, February 17, 2016

Now two announcements:

(1) SCHILLER INSTITUTE CONFERENCE
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 9:00am - 9:30pm
 Building A World Land-Bridge: Realizing Mankind's True Humanity NEW YORK CITY
Pre-registration is required to attend this conference
*To pre-register call 201-562-9890 or CLICK HERE
**Registration is $25 for the conference, checks are made payable to Schiller Institute
Tim Rush <timrush@larouchepub.com>

(2) Ed Lozansky asked me to invite people to The US-Russia educational forum, Preliminary agenda

Saturday, April 9; 10 AM – 5.00PM; George Washington University, Lindner Commons, 1957 E Street, NW, 6th floor.

10.00 - 10.30 AM: Welcoming remarks from organizers and special guests

Peter Rollberg, Director, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University

Hon. Sergei Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the United States

Veniamin Kaganov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education via Video

Edward Lozansky, President, American University in Moscow  

 
10.30 AM- 1.00 PM:

James Carden, American Committee for East-West Accord, "The role of academic exchanges in time of crisis in US – Russia relations"

Mikhail Strikhanov, Rector, National Research Nuclear University, “International Science and Educational Programs at NRNU” 

Oleg Zhiganov, Director, Russian Cultural Center, “Opportunities for US-Russia educational Exchanges”

Joan Mower, Director of the BBG Development and International Media Training, "International Media Training: Opportunities for US-Russia Cooperation"

Ilya Ilyin, Dean, Department of Global Affairs at Moscow State University - “International Science and Educational Programs at Moscow State University

Lubov Vartikovsky, National Institute of Health, Russian – American Science Association, “Development of cooperation between American and Russian scientists”

Paul Robinson, Vice-Dean, Department of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, “Academic exchanges in contexts of Russian-Canadian relations”

Sergei Myasoedov, Vice-rector, The Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); Ph.D (Ec. and Sociology). "US-Russian educational cooperation in liberal arts and management. How we see the new opportunities from the biggest national University of RANEPA"

Richard Robin, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, "US -Russia Distance Learning Potential"

1.00 - 2.00 PM – Lunch break

2.00 – 4.30 PM

Sigfried Hecker, Professor, Stanford University, US - Russia Nuclear Security Educational Programs (TBC)

Steven Harding, Professor, Harvard University, “Building communication bridges for the future generations of world’s leaders”

Alexander Arefiev, Sociological Center, Russian Ministry of Science and Education, “New Tendencies in the education of American students in Russia”

Andrei Rezaev, Professor, St. Petersburg State University, “TANDEM” – a joint US – Russia research program”.

Grigory Klucharev, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, “Perspectives and problems in distance education in Russia”.

Sam Potolicchio, Director of Global Education, Georgetown University and Professor and Department Chair, RANEPA (Moscow), "International Exchange and the Future of Higher Education"

Irina Mukhina, Innovative Educational Center of Arts and Sciences, “Canadian Experience in International Educational Cooperation”

 
4.30 - 5.00 PM Concluding remarks

6.30 - 8.30 PM Reception at the Russian Embassy, 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW


Sunday, April 10; 11.00 AM – 1.00 PM, Russian Cultural Center,

1825 Phelps Place, NW


As before, I want RAGA associates to be aware of  Dr. John Morrow's ground-breaking study  The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World . I have translated his booklet  Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Chistians of His time  into Russian and am looking for a publisher. John asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration in defense of the Christians: http://covenantsinitiative.com/

After attending the April 9-19 conference in Washington DC, I am scheduled to go to a Russian Muslim scholars forum in St. Petersburg at the end of April so I could introduce John Morrow's work to a Russian audience.

There is hardly any person, not even in Russia, who has done so much to show the world the uniqueness of Russian architecture, as William Brumfield, Professor of Russian Literature at Tulane University. He does it by travelling across Russia (when his university schedule permits) and finding architectural monuments which, from his viewpoint, deserve to be known outside of Russia. He takes care of supplying the viewer with a historical perspective. Below is his latest

<<My current article for Russia beyond the Headlines is devoted to the remarkable restoration of the wooden Church of Eiljah the Prophet at the northern village of Tsypino (near Ferapontov Monastery): http://rbth.com/special/discovering_russia/2016/03/18/miracle-at-tsypino-the-resurrection-of-a-russian-wooden-church_577065
​To see the slide show full screen, click the 4-arrow icon at lower right of photo window.
This is the 146 th of my articles and photo essays on Russia's architectural and cultural heritage for the foreign-language service of the Russian national newspaper Rossiiskaia Gazeta. A unified link to the series can be found at: http://rbth.ru/discovering_russia   Through this link a total of 4,258 photographs from my documentary work in Russia are now accessible.>>

We appreciate feedback!

Sincerely,

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues!

The US instigated and supported "democratic" coup in Kiev was overshadowed and cut into a relative historical insignificance when Pope Francis and Russia's Patriarch Kirill's met in Havana on February 12, 2016. It was the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, which is the largest in Orthodoxy.

They issued a pointed joint Declaration. 
Anthony Salvia
​
The Results of The Pope - Patriarch Meeting Were Substantial and Meaningful writes Anthony Salvia on the Russia-Insider site on Sun, Feb 14, 2016 . Anthony Salvia was Special Advisor to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs under Ronald Reagan, director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Moscow bureau. He is Partner at Global Strategic Communications Group, devoted to governmental relations and public advocacy.

<<The final communiqué’s strong and moving expression of concern for the plight of Christians in the Middle East", writes Salvia, "is highly inconvenient for the perpetrators of Western policy in the region: If Syrian Christians uniformly support Bashir al-Assad, why is the West supporting radical Islamist forces that seek to overthrow him?"

The two supreme clerics call for reconciliation – for the overcoming of the “schism” among Orthodox Ukrainian Christians through “existing canonical norms,” and for Catholic communities  to contribute to peace and harmony in the face of on-going tensions. This is not a message proponents of Western global hegemony, who fear reconciliation will put an end to anti-Russian sanctions, want to hear.>>
Joint Declaration
Well, let me quote the most relevant points of the Joint Declaration:

<<10. Thousands of victims have already been claimed in the violence in Syria and Iraq, which has left many other millions without a home or means of sustenance. We urge the international community to seek an end to the violence and terrorism and, at the same time, to contribute through dialogue to a swift return to civil peace... 

26. We deplore the hostility in Ukraine that has already caused many victims, inflicted innumerable wounds on peaceful inhabitants and thrown society into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. We invite all the parts involved in the conflict to prudence, to social solidarity and to action aimed at constructing peace. We invite our Churches in Ukraine to work towards social harmony, to refrain from taking part in the confrontation, and to not support any further development of the conflict.

27. It is our hope that the schism between the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine may be overcome through existing canonical norms, that all the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine may live in peace and harmony, and that the Catholic communities in the country may contribute to this, in such a way that our Christian brotherhood may become increasingly evident.

28. In the contemporary world, which is both multiform yet united by a shared destiny, Catholics and Orthodox are called to work together fraternally in proclaiming the Good News of salvation, to testify together to the moral dignity and authentic freedom of the person, “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). This world, in which the spiritual pillars of human existence are progressively disappearing, awaits from us a compelling Christian witness in all spheres of personal and social life. Much of the future of humanity will depend on our capacity to give shared witness to the Spirit of truth in these difficult times.

Unfortunately, Western mass media failed to give the Pope-Patriarch meeting the attention that it deserves. Its capacity to speak truth clearly cannot match the needs of "these difficult times".
Israel Shamir
The best comment on the meeting I've seen was made by a Russian Israeli journalist and peace activist Israel Shamir who is an Orthodox Christian convert. It is in Russian
http://m.kp.ru/daily/26493/3363152/
Сегодня 18 февраля 2016
BЕЛИКОЕ СРЕТЕНИЕ
Исраэль ШАМИР

<<Слишком мало было сказано о великом историческом событии – встрече римского и московского патриархов на острове Свободы, происшедшей в канун светлого праздника Сретения Господня... >>    Go Google Translate for Shamir's very significant article.
Medvedev at Munich
February 13, 2016, Prime Minister Dmitry Mevedev spoke at Munich Security Conference
Read Dmitry Medvedev's speech at the panel discussion.

<<The first cold war ended 25 years ago. This is not long in terms of history, but it is a considerable period for individual people and even for generations. And it is certainly sufficient for assessing our common victories and losses, setting new goals and, of course, avoiding a repetition of past mistakes....Before coming to this conference, I met with President Putin. We talked about his speech at the Munich conference in 2007. He said then that ideological stereotypes, double standards and unilateral actions do not ease but only fan tensions in international relations, reducing the international community's opportunities for adopting meaningful political decisions.

Did we overstate this? Were our assessments of the situation too pessimistic? Unfortunately, I have to say that the situation is now even worse than we feared. Developments have taken a much more dramatic turn since 2007. The concept of Greater Europe has not materialised. Economic growth has been very weak. Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have increased in scale. The migration crisis is pushing Europe towards collapse. Relations between Europe and Russia have soured. A civil war is raging in Ukraine.>>
Steve Cohen
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev confirmed what Professor Steven Cohen has been arguing for nearly a decade: Washington and Moscow are in a new Cold War more dangerous than the preceding one. Cohen asks why, if Pope Francis can establish a détente with his counterpart in Moscow after a 1,000-year schism, President Obama cannot do the same with Putin?
http://www.thenation.com/article/the-pope-and-the-russian-patriarch-have-ended-their-1000-year-cold-war/
The Washington Post
Remarkably, on February 17, 2016  The Washington Post ran an article that shows a degree of scholarly consensus between the US and Russia

Yes, the U.S. and Russia can cooperate to end the Syrian civil war. Here’s why.
By Yoshiko Herrera, Andrew Kydd and Fyodor Lukyanov February 17, 2016

<<Both the US and Russia urgently want to defeat the Islamic State. That’s the only reason the US intervened directly in Syria at all. The US also wants to defeat or at least weaken other Islamist extremists among the anti-Assad rebels, particularly al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. So do the Russians.>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/02/17/yes-the-u-s-and-russia-can-cooperate-to-end-the-syrian-civil-war-heres-why/
Vladimir Putin denounces Vladimir Lenin.
Contrary to those who see modern Russia is replay of Soviet ideological quest for global domination, there are many signs that suggest otherwise.
See fascinating Video of Putin from 1991 - Explaining His Views on Lenin
http://russia-insider.com/en/history/putins-views-lenin-are-controversial-consistent-video/ri12666
Alexei Pankin, Sat, Feb 6, 2016 

Earlier Putin had accused the founder of Soviet State Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik revolutionaries of a treason during WWI. Now he also denounces Lenin for laying a time bomb under the future of Russia, first by surrendering to Germany that had surrendered to Russia's victorious allies and then stipulating the right of ethnic autonomies to secede even though the country was in fact held together "by barbed wire" . Putin also berated the Bolsheviks for undermining economic unity of the country by destroying the market in the wake of forced nationalization of productive enterprises during the revolutionary upheaval. 

Putin may not be aware of it, but his actions bespeak his affinity not with Vladimir Lenin whose body is interred at the Mausoleum in Moscow, but rather with Vladimir Bright-Sun, the Grand Prince of Kiev who baptised the Old Russ, via Byzantine, in 988. Prince Vladimir is revered in Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine as an Equal to the Twelve Apostles for unifying them under Christianity. Remarkably, Putin has held such views since 1991 when he expressed them in an interview.
It was predicted
I am not too surprised at the evolution of a former Communist party member. In 1988 when I was writing my book "Russia Beyond Communism: a Chronicle of National Rebirth," I challenged the assumption of mainstream Western sovietologists that Gorbachev's reforms would lead to a sort of benign "reform" Communism. I foresaw and predicted that the country would transcend Communism and return to its spiritual foundations. In fact, my book was dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of Russia's Baptism which Soviet officials barely noticed in 1988. 

Just one generation later Russia emerges as a new polity. Though it has retained some Soviet features, it no longer opposes such fundamental Western values as private property, freedom of religion, individual rights, and free enterprise. Above all, it does not seek to impose its ideology or political structure on other countries. It merely seeks, for its own security, to contain the hubris of unipolar world. My book was republished in Russian as Новая Россия: от коммунизма к национальному возрождению.
US presidential politics
The emergence of Berny Sanders and Donald Trump as viable presidential contenders may bode well for US-Russia relations. Sander's early opposition to the Iraq war is a good tell sign, and so is Trump's pro-Russian and pro-Putin sympathies. However, Trump's islamophobia goes against the grain of the Republic and does not agree with RAGA's philosophy. 

Allan Brownfeld
RAGA does not and will not descriminate among its associates based on their religion. We strive for inter-religious harmony. Therefore, I invite you to read Allan Brownfeld's article "Remembering Muslims Who Saved Jews in the Holocaust"

http://jewishcurrents.org/remembering-muslims-who-saved-jews-in-the-holocaust-40781 

Allan's article so timely and universal that I promptly translated it into Russian, and now it can be read at one of Russian Muslim's sites:

http://islamic-culture.ru/viewrubric.php?code=94f6d7e04a4d452035300f18b984988c

As before, I want RAGA associates to be aware of 
Dr. John Morrow, the author of the ground-breaking
 The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of theWorld asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration: http://covenantsinitiative.com/
I have translated Dr. Morrow's booklet
 Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Chistians of His time into Russian and am looking for publishers and new translations to Tatar, Bashkir, Ingush and other languages of Russia. I would appreciate hearing from volunteers. About John Morrow and his book you may want to read my article in Russian
Имам Ильяс Абд аль-Алим Ислам (д-р Морроу) осуждает ИГИЛ - Владислав Краснов
http://www.raga.org/1053105410421054105710581048/30
Radio Radonezh
As I want to promote better Christian-Muslim relations, on February 2, 2016, I had a 25-minute discussion of Morrow's booklet on Radio Radonezh, an independent Christian station which broadcasts in Russian world-wide. http://radonezh.ru/radio/2016/02/02/20-35.html

«6 обетов пророка Мухаммеда христианам всего мира» — беседа с профессором В.Г. Красновым, переводчиком буклета Дж. Морроу. 02.02.2016

I appreciate feedback to this Newsletter. Below is what I got from an anonymous donor:

Invasion of Europe Video
as a result of US failed policy in the Middle East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzwBN-YDSOc
Published on Feb 5, 2016
WINTER Moscow video
Spectacular drone footage of Moscow in winter 7 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THz94hA-vJQ
Published on Feb 4, 2016

WINTER Moscow city Aerial reel/ Зимняя, заснеженная, красивая Москва, аэросъемка
All Moscow sightseeing’s cowered in snow and ice: Kremlin, Red square, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow city, Old city center, Gorky park, Novodevichiy monastery and much more. All flights performed in extreme cold weather -10C to -20C. 

Stay warm! 
Remember “It's useless to disarm the hands, if the heart remains armed.”
--  Bangambiki Habyarimana

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues!

First, urgent announcements from RAGA's friends and allies (some materials in Russian at the end--по-русски в конце).

EIR Forum – Tues. Jan. 26, 2:00 PM, Washington D.C.
National Press Club
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045
 
Only a Scientific and Cultural Renaissance Can Stop the Dark Age Now Descending Upon Humanity. You are invited to an Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) Forum in Washington DC on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 2:30 PM. 
     
​The western financial system is now collapsing under the weight of the cumulative, speculative insanity by the Bush and Obama administrations, while Obama and his British allies are driving the world towards nuclear war against Russia and China. 
     
​See websites – www.larouchepub.com (the EIR website) and www.larouchepac.com

Questions? Call Tim Rush
timrush@larouchepub.com
Office: 800-929-7566
Cell: 703-727-7054

THE EURASIA CENTER & THE EURASIAN BUSINESS COALITION (EBC)
Invites you to join us for a very special International Business Reception and Networking Event
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH • 6 PM–8:30 PM • ROTUNDA
RONALD REAGAN BUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER
Ambassadors, embassy officials, executives and representatives involved in international trade are encouraged to attend.
Pre-register by January 29th to receive a discounted ticket at $75 per per person. 
Regular ticket price after the pre-registration deadline is $150 per person.
For questions: 
Call Michael Cooper, Director, Eurasia Center at 202-494-0773 
Email Director@eurasiacenter.org

Now a couple of articles that are NO LESS URGENT

Rearming for the apocalypse
By Stephen Kinzer   JANUARY 24, 2016
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2016/01/24/beware-obama-nuclear-weapons-plan/IJP9E48w3cjLPlTqMhZdFL/story.html

AMERICANS ARE IN near-panic over the danger posed by Islamic terrorists. That danger, however, pales beside an emerging new one. President Obama has proposed a frighteningly wrongheaded plan to “modernize” our nuclear arsenal at the unfathomable cost of about $1 trillion over the next 30 years. Terror will never reach even 1 percent of our population. Nuclear “modernization” increases the prospect of true devastation...
...The most sobering of these voices belongs to William Perry, who during the 1970s and ’80s directed the development of air-launched nuclear cruise missiles and later became secretary of defense. Now Perry is campaigning against Obama’s plan to develop and buy 1,000 new missiles with adjustable nuclear capacity, 100 new long-range bombers, and a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines.
... Obama’s project is ruinously expensive. Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calls it “spending ourselves into oblivion.” He describes our skyrocketing national debt as “the most significant threat to our national security.”
...Nuclear weapons are useful for deterrence only. The United States has more than enough for that purpose. Investing huge sums in a new arsenal will not protect us from tomorrow’s threats. Most depressing, the proposal for this investment comes from a president who campaigned on a pledge to reduce and seek to eliminate nuclear weapons — and who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his apparent sincerity. Keeping our country safe requires agile thinking, not reliance on policies shaped for a bygone age.
See https://www.facebook.com/groups/RAGAforPeace/

Political Responsibility in the Nuclear Age: An Open Letter to the American People
North Korea’s nuclear test reminds us that the danger of nuclear war is not an abstraction but a continuing menace that we ignore at our peril.
By Richard Falk, David Krieger and Robert Laney. JANUARY 14, 2016

Dear fellow citizens:
     By their purported test of a hydrogen bomb early in 2016, North Korea reminded the world that nuclear dangers are not an abstraction, but a continuing menace that the governments and peoples of the world ignore at their peril...

     This should be Number One Priority in all USA-Russia dealings! I posted it on facebook and suggest you do the same https://www.facebook.com/RAGAforPeace/

<<Five of these nuclear-armed countries are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China), and are obligated by that treaty to negotiate in good faith for a cessation of the nuclear arms race and for nuclear disarmament. The other four nuclear-armed countries (Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea) are subject to the same obligations under customary international law.>
Read  http://www.thenation.com/article/political-responsibility-in-the-nuclear-age-an-open-letter-to-the-american-people/
Willy Wimmer: Russia Stands for Law, Faith, and Family; The West for Blood and Chaos
Popular radio show host Ken Jebsen interviews Willy Wimmer, a special guest at RT's recent 10th anniversary dinner Jan 16, 2016
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/giving-russia-second-thought-germany-willy-wimmer-interview/ri12236?utm_source=Russia+Insider+Daily+Headlines&utm_campaign=d703d4fe75-Russia_Insider_Daily_Headlines11_21_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c626db089c-d703d4fe75-178949765&ct=t(Russia_Insider_Daily_Headlines11_21_2014)&mc_cid=d703d4fe75&mc_eid=73f16282b9

In his opinion, Germany’s reunification was made possible foremost by the efforts of Russia, set in motion by Mr. Gorbachev above anything else. “He, was tricked by the Americans during the process of the Soviet Union’s collapse, just as Germany was tricked after WWI, which brought us Versailles and in turn, Adolf Hitler.”

Jon Hellevig: Gherman Gref is So Wrong on Russian Economy
http://www.awarablogs.com/german-gref-is-wrong-about-russian-economy/  1,771 views

Please share it on facebook as I did:  Thank you, Jon!  It's very important for the Russians (as well as foreigners) to know that your view of the Russian economy is based on research of Awara Group, run by Finnish entrepreneurs. 
Awara Group​  says <<Contrary to the general belief shared in the West, today’s Russia is a veritable market economy, more so than the West. Features of the Russian market economy are, among other things: a freely convertible and fluctuating currency, real interest rates, low taxation, and flexible labor markets. In the conditions of the market, the high interest rates of the last few years have caused one really beneficial outcome in that they have forced enterprises to continuously improve their competitiveness by shedding excess weight and restructure operations> Sometimes Russians need a pride boost from the West, that is Finland! There are, and should be, different views of Russia. But yours is an essential counter-point to Western and pro-Western neoliberal "group-think". Vladislav Krasnov, www.raga.org
Obama Changes Tack on Russia,  Calls up Putin 
By M.K. Bhadrakumar on January 14, 2016
The US President Barack Obama sprang a New Year surprise on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by telephoning him Wednesday night. It was a double surprise since the Russian New Year Holiday Week is ending on Thursday, January 14, and Obama rarely makes such gestures; and, secondly, the call signified a virtual U-turn just a day after the US president had made some unfriendly remarks about the Kremlin’s policies and caricatured Russia as undermining the international system.
http://atimes.com/2016/01/obama-changes-tack-on-russia-calls-up-putin/
By PHILIP GIRALDI • The Distortion of Russia. January 6, 2016
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-do-we-hate-russia/

One does not need to love Vladimir Putin to appreciate we have shared interests with Russia.

 The architect of U.S. Cold War policy, George Kennan, warned at the end of his life, in 1998, that President Clinton’s policy of advancing NATO east risked war… It’s clear Putin never intended to seize Ukraine, or even the Donbass. Instead, Putin’s actions signaled that the status quo over NATO’s forward movement must change. The Donbass was his leverage.
Putin celebrates Christmas
The church in Turginovo, about two and a half hours northwest of Moscow, is where Putin’s parents were baptized. Putin’s attendance at the mass was unannounced, and parishioners were surprised to see the president come to celebrate Christmas with them. After lighting a candle at an icon, Putin stood with students of the spiritual-educational center of Turginovo during the midnight service.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160106/1032772315/putin-orthodox-christmas-mass.html#ixzz3wY2Ud97B
Dr. John Morrow, the author of the ground-breaking
 The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of theWorld asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration: http://covenantsinitiative.com/
I have translated Dr. Morrow's booklet
 Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Chistians of His time into Russian and am looking for publishers and new translations to Tatar, Bashkir, Ingush and other languages of Russia. I would appreciate hearing from volunteers. About John Morrow and his book you may want to read my article in Russian
Имам Ильяс Абд аль-Алим Ислам (д-р Морроу) осуждает ИГИЛ - Владислав Краснов
http://www.raga.org/1053105410421054105710581048/30
Also in Russian see recent reports from the Schiller Institute
Хельга Цепп-Ларуш на конференциях в Японии с обращением о необходимости создания Всемирного наземного моста с целью положить конец войнам и геополитике
 
4 декабря 2015 (EIRNS) — 2 декабря основатель Шиллеровского института Хельга Цепп-Ларуш выступила на двух мероприятиях в Токио, рассказав 400 японским бизнес-лидерам о необходимости строительства Всемирного наземного моста как единственного способа положить конец войнам и геополитике, и решить нынешний кризис на Ближнем Востоке. Утром Цепп-Ларуш выступила на VII ежегодном Азиатском форуме инноваций, который посетило 300 молодых японских предпринимателей. Форум проводил его основатель — Нобуюки Идэи , бывший председатель и главный исполнительный директор корпорации Sony, который в настоящее время занимает пост генерального директора основанной им компании Quantum Leaps.

Lindon LaRouche organization cares enough for better US-Russia relations that they offer their materials in Russian as well  www.larouchepub.com/russian
 
Видео по теме на странице Ютуба LaRouche0na0russkom
Х. Цепп-Ларуш, «Стратегическое значение Нового Шёлкового пути» (ноябрь 2015 г.)
Р. Дуглас, «Принцип ‘настоящее определяется будущим’ — Зачем нужны гамильтоновская кредитная система и национальные банки» (декабрь 2015 г.) 
Напишите по адресу Rachel Douglas: racheldouglas@larouchepub.com

Professor William Brumsfield, my friend and RAGA associate, invites you to view 
<<My current article for Russia beyond the Headlines is devoted to the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod the Great--one of the defining monuments of medieval Russian culture: 
http://rbth.com/arts/2016/01/22/divine-wisdom-in-novgorod-the-great_561709
​For best results with the slide show (full screen), click the 4-arrow icon at lower right of photo window.
This is the 142 nd of my articles and photo essays on Russia's architectural and cultural heritage . A unified link to the series can be found at: http://rbth.ru/discovering_russia   Through this link a total of 4,172 photographs from my documentary work in Russia are now accessible. WB>>

Sincerely,

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook


Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."










---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Vladislav Krasnov <president92@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 24, 2015 at 7:22 PM
Subject: RAGA Newsletter Antidote 22: Col. Wilkerson with Abby Martin on the US, Israel Shamir on Russia, Allan Brownfeld on Christmas, Ed Lozansky, Jeffrey Sommers, X-mas carol from Damascus
To: Vladislav Krasnov <president@raga.org>
Cc: Robert Sherretta <INTERINV@aol.com>, Victoria Parker <vlparker1983@msn.com>, Dave Bryant <dave.bryant1965@yahoo.com>, Dave Wansbrough <davidwansbrough@yandex.ru>, Morgan Cris <cris.morgan01@gmail.com>, Gerry Janco <eurasiaevent@gmail.com>, Israel Adam Shamir <israel.shamir@gmail.com>, Sharon Tennison <sharontennison@gmail.com>


Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues!

On behalf of RAGA I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year of 2016 AD!

But before you open your stockings stuffed with Christmas gifts, I want you to relax with a cup of coffee and digest a couple of antidotes I usually prescribe to counter the anti-Russian MSM propaganda. Except, this time, the antidotes are extremely powerful. The first one is

This Ship is Sinking' Says Former Bush Official
Abby Martin interviews retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former national security advisor to the Reagan administration, who spent years as an assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell during both Bush administrations. Today, he is honest about the unfixable corruption inside the establishment and the corporate interests driving foreign policy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgig1QVU2lY
Published on Dec 11, 2015
In the belief that Vox Populi vox Dei, I selected the best ones:
SGTreport.com 1 day ago (edited)
 How do I give this interview 1,000 thumbs up?!  Thanks for the gargantuan dose of truth Colonel Wilkerson. The American people need to bathe in this information until they finally get it.
mtopper66 1 week ago
 This may be one of the most important interviews people should watch right now, and as I type this it has a paltry 1,065 views.  This needs to go viral. (P.S. As of December 24 it got over 100,000 views). 
Critical Thinking 1 week ago
 War is the most profitable business in history. It has absolutely nothing to do with ideology, conscience, democracy, defense or national security. Pure and simple economics. The biggest export from the U.S. is weaponry and death.
David B 6 days ago
 AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME interview!!!!!  Thank you for a great resource to help wake people up.  I will be sharing this interview with many, many people!
Pavel “tree” Stepanov 1 day ago
 Repent brothers and sisters. and pray for Gods will to be done!
dadgumtooten • 2 days ago
Col. Wilkerson is a modern day patriot, like we have not seen the likes of for far too long. Shame, we don't have more intelligent people like the Colonel, who stands up to the neo-cons who have ruined US and continue to place people in their political parties to do even more damage. How did we fall so far, so fast?
William Blake • 2 days ago
Great interview that will unfortunately accomplish exactly zero. The System in all of its pernicious forms and layers has such an immense stranglehold over "reality" such as it is, it really is all quite hopeless. And to top it off the average American is an NFL, reality-show addicted,SUV driving moron who could care less.
Ron · 1 day ago
We have gotten so far off the path of our ideals, the intentions of our founding fathers and the admonitions they gave us about large standing armies and seeking foreign monsters to destroy, the evils of central banks in which they, not the government, control the currency, that we have lost our identity as a people. What's worse is millions of Americans don't realize what has happened, and yet more millions don't care.
ringo · 15 hours ago
MR WILKINSON SHOULD BE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT , he seems to be the only guy with a brain.

Several commenters have suggested that unless something Real Big happens in 2016, such as the election of Col. Wilkerson to US Captaincy, the unwieldy, unruly, and over-confidant Ship of State, over-loaded with financial debt, as well as weapons and ammo of destruction, may collapse and sink. Abby Martin, whom many RAGA readers know as a great professional journalist during her affiliation with RT, does an excellent job getting Col. Wilkerson say the ESSENTIALS. He introduces him as a war hero who flew 1000 combat missions in Vietnam, an American patriot and Republican who belonged to the innermost circle of the US war machine. Now he says that US "national security state" is subservient to the military-industrial-financial complex and is geared toward an interminable war. Alas, in its quest for sheer power, it is so zealous at expansion that its EFFECTIVENESS decreases and might collapse under its own weight. He finds the present situation unsustainable.

Unfortunately, in the assessment of Israel Shamir, the situation in Russia leaves much to desire.

Putin Blues
ISRAEL SHAMIR • DECEMBER 23, 2015 • 2,700 WORDS 
The Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection
http://www.unz.com/ishamir/putin-blues/

Israel Shamir is a friend of mine and RAGA associate of long standing. He is a former Soviet dissident who emigrated first to Sweden, then to Israel where he came to oppose the official Israeli attitude toward Palestinians. In fact, he became a champion of equality and human rights throughout the world. Fluent in several languages, Israel is one of the best political analysts of the USA-Middle East-Russia conundrum. That's why The Unz Review regularly runs his articles to offer Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media. In this article too, he discusses the role of Israel in the Syrian conflict that nobody in either Russia or the USA dares to touch.

<<Israel has a good working relations with Daesh, too. I was told that Daesh troops entered the Palestinian camp al Yarmuk being equipped with long lists of Palestinian activists. They were assembled and publicly executed. The Palestinians think that Daesh received the names from Israeli secret service and acted upon their request. Moreover, Daesh never ever attacked a Zionist target.
Putin – and Russian media did not say a word on that. Perhaps Putin is right; Russia does not need such a strong enemy as Israel, since Israeli leaders can say “Jump, Uncle Sam,” and Uncle Sam will ask “How high?” >>

Here is a couple of insights into Putin's Russia:

<<Putin went, hat in hand, to Yekaterinburg for the grand opening of Boris Yeltsin’s Memorial Centre (price tag – nine billion roubles) and referred kindly to the loathed late President who appointed him his successor. People were furious seeing their president enjoying himself among the carpetbaggers of Yeltsin’s regime.

Can you imagine Fox TV transmitting Russian propaganda? In Russia, a major chunk of Russian media, state-owned or subsidised by the taxpayer, transmits pro-Western and anti-Russian agenda, alleged the eminent film director Nikita Michalkov, a staunch supporter of Putin, in his video seen by over two million viewers in a few days. He called upon Putin to assert his line and banish the enemies within, but state TV refused to broadcast the video.>>

Here is Israel Shamir about US presidential campaign and its effect for Russia:

<<Trump – or any straightforward decent politician who does not take orders from the Masters of Discourse – would be able to play ball with Mr Putin, by classical rules of international law. Trump and Putin could return the concept of sovereignty to its privileged position. This would end many wars. The war in Syria began when Mr Obama and Mr Hollande said “Assad must go”. By the classical rules, no state may interfere in the affairs of another sovereign state. From the Russian point of view, the war in Syria is first of all a war for sovereignty and against global Imperial vassaldom>>.

Another friend of mine is Allan Brownfeld. Like myself, he is a contributor to the website of Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation. He is also active in American Council for Judaism which has adopted a strong anti-Zionist stand. A Jew, Allan Brownfeld has penned down the best Christmas greeting to all Americans, regardless of their creed. "Christmas 2015: a time for the introspection our society desperately needs". In addition to FGF site, it was also posted by the conservative Chronicles magazine.

https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/christmas-2015-a-time-for-the-introspection-our-society-desperately-needs/
By:Chronicles | December 21, 2015

Brownfeld quotes the British author Malcolm Muggeridge who during the 1980s lamented the West's inability to resist Communism because Western politicians had renounced Christian values, "I firmly believe that our civilization began with the Christian religion, and has been sustained and fortified by the values of the Christian religion, by which the greatest of them have tried to live. The Christian religion and these values no longer prevail, they no longer mean anything to ordinary people. Some suppose you can have a Christian civilization without Christian values. I disbelieve this. I think that the basis of order is a moral order; if there is no moral order there will be no political or social order, and we see this happening. This is how civilizations end."

Had Western leaders retained a modicum of Christian values--the EU statutes don't even mention Europe's Christian underpinnings---they would have noticed that Russia of today is considerably more Christian than she ever was since 1917. Yet, they resent and denounce the New Russia more than they ever did the USSR.

To people who, like Donald Trump, call into question the loyalty of American Muslims, Brownfeld says that "Intolerance toward those of different faiths or races or ethnicities is the opposite of what Christmas embodies."

<<Christmas 2015 comes at a time when we need the kind of introspection and consideration of what is really important in life which it provides. Christmas, of course, is many things. It is a season of celebration and family reunion, a season of merriment and good cheer. More than this, however, it is a time for contemplation of the meaning of life—and of our own lives—and of seeking our answer to the question of what God expects of us.

This holiday season, all of us, whatever our religious beliefs, would do well to reevaluate the real gods in our lives and in the life of our country. Intolerance toward those of different faiths or races or ethnicities is the opposite of what Christmas embodies. As the popular hymn proclaims, "In Christ there is no north or south, In Christ no east or west." And while Jesus told us to "love our enemies," we seem barely able to tolerate those with whom we simply disagree on this or that public policy.>>

Ed Lozansky too worries about the rudder-less and leader-less US Ship of State

Does America Have Any Leaders Left?
Where is the new American leader who can inspire the country and the world to save civilization?
Edward Lozansky (Dec 16,2015)
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/search-next-american-leader/ri11884

<<There were even some encouraging words pronounced by John Kerry during his December 15 meeting with Putin in Moscow when he said that  “The United States and our partners are not seeking regime change in Syria. We see Syria fundamentally very similarly and want the same outcomes; we see the same dangers, we understand the same challenges.”

It remains to be seen if this is indeed a real change in Washington’s thinking or just due to Kerry’s exhaustion, since judging from Obama’s statements he is still in a state of denial regarding the disappearance of a unipolar world ruled by Washington.

There are some who think it’s too late and the train for our civilization as we know it is hurtling downhill to the abyss, but we must prove that this is not the case.>>

Clearly, Lozansky's paramount concern is the same as that of Col. Wilkerson, Israel Shamir or Allan Brownfeld: US-Russia rift has the potential of spinning out of control and resulting in a global destruction.

That's why even The New York Times begins to see that
A New Approach to U.S.-Russia Relations Is Needed
Jeffrey Sommers, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a senior fellow at its Institute of World Affairs, is visiting faculty at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia.
DECEMBER 10, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/12/10/trade-an-end-to-sanctions-for-putins-help-against-isis/a-new-approach-to-us-russia-relations-is-needed

<<It’s clear Putin never intended to seize Ukraine, or even the Donbass — even though domestic pressures weighed heavily on him to act. Instead, Putin’s actions signaled that the status quo over NATO’s forward movement must change. The Donbass was his leverage. Putin is a tough nationalist, but rather than fueling the fire of Russian revanchism, Putin is actually the one carefully dousing those flames.>>

Now is the Christmas gift I promised. A beautiful Syrian girl sings--for all of us--the Silent Night carol in Damascus:

Fairuz -sawt el eid [silent night] Christmas carol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58t3e3xUWmk

Sincerely,

W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook


Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.

 миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:

"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."

The CEO of Russia’s biggest bank, the state owned Sberbank, German Gref delivered a scathing criticism of the country’s economy at an economic forum in Moscow 15th January. According to Gref, the biggest trend in the world economy is the “end of the hydrocarbon era”. He willingly shares the belief peddled in the Western media that Russia has foolishly relied on an economic model based on export of oil and gas while neglecting to develop its industry and modern sectors of the economy. Russia is thus doomed, Gref points out, to rank among the “downshifter countries” shedding their wealth as the oil money drains.

Strange enough, Gref contends that the dramatic fall in the price of oil is due to the “radical changes in global energy consumption patterns.” Obviously, no coherent analysis of the problem and its possible solutions can follow from such faulty premises. The drop in the oil price has certainly not been caused by any shifts to alternative energy sources and it is dubious if there has been a decrease in consumption at all beyond the effect of the overall downturn in the world economy. In reality, the sharp fall in the oil price reflects this global downturn, coupled with the over-supply caused by North American speculative investment in new oil wells fueled by zero-financing lending to super risky projects, and the sanctions trade wars.

Look around, the West is sinking​

​This brings us to one of the most fundamental defects in the thinking of Gref and his ilk: the criticism of Russia’s economy without any consideration to the global economy at large. They point at real – and invented – problems in the Russian economy while thinking – or letting out (?) – that the rest of the world, and in particular the West, would be performing well and developing, thanks to some presumed superior political and economic model. But the ugly fact is that the Western economies have totally failed and are able to keep up a feeble façade of decency only thanks to massive borrowing as shown by this Awara Accounting study. This they have been able to do for the past 10 years on the strength of the Western monopoly currencies that have enabled virtually zero-rate interests and stable currencies notwithstanding destructive and fatal lending on all levels of economic actors: state, corporate and household. Gref would be well advised to know that what we are experiencing today is not as much the end of any hydrocarbon era as it is the end of this era of massive Western borrowing with which the two-decade long consumption binge is kept rolling. In September 2015, we published a study on the pernicious effects of this suicidal Western debt Bacchanalia with predictions of an imminent crash of the whole system. This Awara Accounting study titled How the Dollar and Euro monopolies destroyed the real market economy. And what Hayek told about the need for competing currencies can be accessed here.  

The “liberal” critics of the Russian economy want us to think that the West is doing well because of some supposed superior economic model of what is hyped as innovative economies. The real picture across the West, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, the EU, is bleak with falling industrial production, failing exports, massive budget deficits, scaring trends in poverty and huge chronic unemployment, which the governments try to hide in official statistics by removing jobless people from the statistics. The only real innovation in the West during the last decade has been the innovation of the perpetual debt binge – only alas, it will not be perpetual.

You must look beyond and beneath the easy surface statistics

On the contrary none of this is applicable to Russia. Admittedly, the Russian economy is suffering but it is not in any way a doom or a chronic and fatal depression as it is in the West. What Russia is suffering from are: the global downturn, sanctions and trade wars. But the effect of these is not a depression or end to development, on the contrary these conditions spur the country’s  fundamental industrial development. Gref and consorts want to be perceived as being engaged in strategic thinking and yet all they do is peddle surface images based on the most superficial economic data. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking something is fundamentally wrong with Russia when the GDP is down some 3.8% year-on-year and the currency seems to be in free fall. But to think strategically you would have to penetrate the surface level and engage in a more fundamental analysis of the economic conditions and trends. The first step would be to choose whether one wants to badmouth the economy or analyze it. If one opts for the latter option, then one would have to stop picking and choosing among the easy statistics in an effort to only list the bad ones. There is a wealth of good data dangling right in front of the noses of the liberals if they just dared to reach out for it. We have the excellent job data, 5.8% unemployment (November 2015) which is better than in any of the Western countries. Industrial production was overall slightly down for year 2015 (-3.5%), which is not at all that bad considering the extraordinary global situation and the Western hostility against Russia. Moreover, beyond the sum-total of the statistics, there are several sectors of the industry that are developing heartily, for example, high-tech industries, pharmaceuticals and food, and of course, the military industry which is now being so successfully showcased in Syria.

Nobody suffocates from a bit of belt-tightening

The picture, which emerges behind the talk of doom and gloom combined with this dose of reality is that Russia has not failed, is not failing, but has merely shed 10% of its surface wealth. Imagine a rich person becoming 10% less rich. I would think that does not spell doom and gloom, rather you adjust your consumption, refine your development plans and work harder. This is precisely what Russia has done. This whereas the West acts as a decadent heir to past wealth refusing to face the new realities and denying the imminent financial ruin trying to uphold the former life style by mortgaging the estate and keeping borrowing and borrowing, till the end.

The 10% drop in wealth is neatly backed up by the figure on the disposable income of Russians, which is down as much over the year.

​The huffs and the puffs of the West did not topple Russia, nor its leader​
So, the windfall oil wealth is washed away and the Western financing dried up due to banking sanctions. And what happened? Russia is 10% less well off. Could be, but that is hardly a catastrophe. On the contrary, I would think that this is one more economic miracle, the fact that the Russian economy anyway proved so resilient. Well, actually I would not call it a miracle, and it should not come as a miracle for those who took part of my study on the Russian economy (December 2014) Study on Russian economy. Diversfication, Modernization and the Role of the State in Russia’s economy. In this study, I punctured a whole range of faulty propaganda myths about the health and developing trends of the Russian economy. I showed that it was totally misguided to claim that the Russian economy was all about oil and gas, telling that the share of oil and gas was only 16% of the economy. The study showed how Russia in fact had diversified and modernized its economy and how healthy the growth trajectory of the industry and other fundamental and modern sectors of the Russian economy had been so far during Putin’s presidency since 2000.

I argued in the study, not to put too fine a point on it, that Western economic coverage about Russia amounted to one big propaganda lie. Most importantly, I warned the Western leaders against the dangers of their self-delusional propaganda, which might tempt them to go for the easy final solution in the Russian question, believing that Russia was industrially weak and with a huff and a puff by the big bad Western wolf the Russian economic house would come toppling down like that of the first two in the story of the Three Little Pigs. But as I forewarned, the Russian house was like the third one, built of bricks, or should we say BRICS. – Actually the story is quite metaphoric: “The third pig builds a house of bricks. The wolf fails to blow down the house. He then attempts to trick the pig out of the house by asking to meet him at various places [Read Ukraine, Syria], but he is outwitted each time. Finally, the wolf resolves to come down the chimney [sanctions and trade war], whereupon the pig catches the wolf in a cauldron of boiling water, slams the lid on, then cooks and eats him.
​
Incidentally, I was vindicated as the two years of economic war has proven my analysis valid and solid. The Russian economy largely withstood the assault. At the same time, the sanctions war led to Russia finally breaking off the dalliance with the West and consequently emerging as a veritable world power, Syria being a brilliant example of what that means. And the economy will develop in this same vein, no doubt.

Russia needs time, all the reforms are already in place

There has been some belt-tightening, and there will evidently be some more of it, but largely Russia’s economy is standing on solid ground. Moreover, what we have seen so far is the effect that the blitzkrieg had on Russia in the two first years. What we have not seen yet are Russia’s new industrial capacity that is in the making. The analysts want to denigrate Russia’s efforts on import substitution production by pointing out that the statistics on industry are slightly down. Hitler made a similar mistake before Stalin kickstarted the arms industry after he relocated it into Siberia following the previous German attack on Russia. But as they are no real analysts they totally ignore the lead-time in developing new products and whole industries; obviously it will take some time before the newly engineered products will roll off the production lines. Expect to start seeing that increasingly from the second half of the current year. One thing to watch, for example, is the aviation industry which is about to take off like Phoenix from the ashes of the liberal destruction of Russian economy in the 1990s.

Again, I am reminded, Russia does not need any of Gref’s and Kudrin’s much touted – and elusively formulated – reforms. Russia needs time. Russia has time, and time is on Russia’s side. I argue, that apart from the external global economic constraints there is nothing fundamentally wrong or badly done in the Russian economy. Except for one thing: The punitively high interest rates maintained by the Central Bank, which does not understand that the inflation in Russia is not a monetary issue but caused by supply side constraints.

Inflation, therein the problem, and the solution​

Historically the post-Soviet Russia has suffered from producing too little domestically and importing too big part of everything consumed. This led to two forms of inflationary pressure: with huge growth since 2000 the imported supplies did not keep up with the demand, and the prices became directly dependent on the ruble’s currency rate, a drop in the ruble rate directly pushing up the inflation.

However, the picture is beginning to change as Russia produces much more locally. Local production will start to tear down the umbilical cord between prices and currency rate. This is already happening. In the last two years the dollar rate has more than doubled, a more than 100% increase in the ruble to dollar. In the same two years, the price inflation was only about 25%. Thus, already the pernicious relation has been significantly weakened. Yet a stronger reduction is expected as local production will increasingly replace imports. In fact, imports to Russia are already quite low in a global comparison. For example, the monthly import volume of tiny Finland, with a 5 million population, is approximately 5 billion USD. This compares with Russia’s monthly imports at a level of 15 billion, that is, Russia with its 30-times bigger population imports only three times more products than Finland. This is after a 40% reduction of imports in 2015. Moreover, I would expect the import volumes further to decrease this year, perhaps by 10 to 15%.

Hereby, Russia’s import structure has undergone a remarkable rehabilitation away from consumption towards purchase of machinery and equipment as well as crucial raw materials and ingredients for investments in the future and growth. Import of food is down to less than 2 billion USD per month. This equal less than 15 dollar per person, or about 2-3% of average net disposable capital. (And even so, the bulk of the food imports are nowadays further processed in Russia).

While inflation, and the accompanying high interest rates, has been the biggest problem of the Russian economy, it also forms its greatest reserve for future growth. And this is something that the media hyped Russia-experts have totally missed. The inflation will inevitably go down sooner or later, and with that the interest rates, and the lower interest rates will again fuel economic growth. Strange they don’t get it, especially because all the growth, if any, there has been in the Western economies (actually the keeping of the surface afloat) has been entirely due to the constant decrease of their interest rates during the last 10 years.
​
The latest data on inflation is encouraging. The renewed significant drop in the ruble has not caused a new spiral in inflation albeit keeping it a bit higher than it would otherwise have been. The reading for first 10 days of January predicted a monthly inflation of about 1%, down from 3.9% of January 2015. If this level would be maintained through February and March, then the cumulative annual inflation would drop to levels of 9-10% (from last year’s more than 16%), and the expected annual inflation would, considering seasonal fluctuations, press closer to 6%.

​By Jon Hellevig

All statements in this report are an opinion of the author. Act at your own risk. Russia & America Goodwill Association (RAGA) is not responsible for the content of the article. Any views or opinions presented in this report are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RAGA. Any liability in respect to this communication remain with the author.

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