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

Congrats!
Let me congratulate everyone with the Thanksgiving Holidays! And never forget about our predecessors in America, the native Indians!

ATTENTION - About using TOR or Opera VPN Browser to visit RAGA from other countries! For some time I have heard the reports that RAGA became inaccessible for readers located in Russia and, perhaps, some other countries. No worry:  try - out TOR Browser. It is easy to install, and it is FREE: https://www.torproject.org/download/ See more options at the end!

Right away, read two outstanding reviews of two outstanding books by two outstanding peace champions.

​Professor Michael Brenner reviews Edward Snowden's book "Permanent Record" 

There was a time in America when a Snowden would be celebrated as the model of an idealistic young man whose devotion to principle placed justice before self-interest. Nowadays, the baying pack of scoundrels,  careerists and bumblers who run the country howl for his traitorous hide.  Obviously, there are exceptions. Yet, one is hard-pressed to identify voices raised on his behalf. 

http://www.raga.org/news/edward-snowdens-permanent-record-book-review-by-prof-michael-brenner-must-read

​How to Save the Planet and Ourselves

Now Chris Hedges reviews Roger Hallam's New Book
Chris Hedges is a Truthdig columnist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a New York Times best-selling author  

If you read only one book this year, it should be Roger Hallam’s “Common Sense for the 21st Century: Only Nonviolent Rebellion Can Now Stop Climate Breakdown and Social Collapse.”
Hallam’s lucid and concise book, which echoes Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” says what many of us now know to be true but do not say: If we do not replace the ruling elites soon we are finished as a species. It is a cogent, well-argued case for global rebellion—the only form of resistance that can save us from ecosystem collapse and human-induced genocide. It correctly analyzes the failure of environmentalist activists in groups such as 350.org to understand and confront global corporate power and thus make a meaningful impact as we barrel toward ecocide. “Common Sense for the 21st Century” is a survival manual for the human species. “The corrupt system is going to kill us all unless we rise up,” Hallam, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, bluntly warns.  https://www.truthdig.com/articles/how-to-save-the-planet-and-ourselves/  

PeopleNow.org Newsletter #1  

Ron Fisher www.dfpa.org,
doing business as PeopleNow.org
Fisher@PeopleNow.org
703-725-7849
Arlington, Virginia
Ron Fisher Bio  

​More opinions

Gordon M. Hahn: Fables of Ignatius
Nov 24, 2019 08:47 pm
It is now important for every American to realize that he or she can get little to no reliable news from the US mainstream media on Ukraine, Russia, or even the United States itself.With it becoming ever more clear that the US government and media have been covering up especially the Democratic Party’s collusion with Ukraine’s government in order to facilitate the self-enrichment of DP leaders’ family members, undermine the presidential candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump (however unpresidential he may be) and foment liberal-socialist revolutions globally, the participants are moving into high gear propaganda mode. A recent piece from David Ignatius is a good place to begin to highlight the intensification.... 
https://gordonhahn.com/2019/11/22/fables-of-ignatius/

25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish On Russia
November 19, 2019 • Caitlin Johnstone discredits a CNN listicle on Trump’s “softness” towards Moscow. In fact, she writes, the U.S. president has  actually been consistently reckless towards Moscow, with zero resistance from either party. 
By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com
​
CNN has published a fascinatingly manipulative and falsehood-laden article titled “25 times Trump was soft on Russia,” in which a lot of strained effort is poured into building the case that the U.S. president is suspiciously loyal to the nation against which he has spent his administration escalating dangerous new cold war aggressions.

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/11/19/25-times-trump-has-been-dangerously-hawkish-on-russia/  
​
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2019/11/18/for-wall-street-russia-has-become-bullet-proof/#75f5c706ffd4  ​

Covert Operative In Ukraine Controversy Revealed To Be Associated Press – OpEd

November 15, 2019 By William Dunkerley
CONCLUSION:At this point it is necessary to reflect upon what AP is up to. What kind of role is it playing in bringing vital political news to American voters? A quote from Walter Cronkite can help put this into perspective: “We all have our likes and our dislikes. But… when we’re doing news — when we’re doing the front-page news, not the back page, not the op-ed pages, but when we’re doing the daily news, covering politics — it is our duty to be sure that we do not permit our prejudices to show. That is simply basic journalism.”  I can’t think of a rational argument that would support a notion that AP is practicing even basic journalism. It has exploited the presumptive trust enjoyed by its Stylebook — a bible in the journalism field — to covertly propagate one-sided “background” to its unsuspecting readers. If one accepts Cronkite’s concept of journalism, there no longer seems to be reason to trust AP’s Stylebook. It’s wrong on the political issues. It’s even wrong on the simple matter of how to spell the Ukrainian president’s name. The Stylebook might more honestly be termed a political document that manifests an insidious propensity to propagate false and misleading information. What a sad and troubling conclusion that is. 
https://www.eurasiareview.com/15112019-covert-operative-in-ukraine-controversy-revealed-to-be-associated-press-oped/  ​

Inconvenient Truths.  Alarming things we have learned under Trump, but not always about him.
By Stephen F. Cohen  NOVEMBER 6, 2019
The current state of US-Russian relations is unprecedentedly dangerous, not only due to reasons cited here—a new Cold War fraught with the possibility of hot war. Whether President Trump serves one or two terms, he must be fully empowered to cope with the multiple possibilities of a US-Russian military confrontation. That requires ridding him and our nation of Russiagate allegations—and that in turn requires learning how such allegations originated.  
https://www.thenation.com/article/inconvenient-truths-2/  

PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Impeachment Pantomime
The political theatrics that begin Wednesday raise several questions. For starters, will Joe Biden be investigated for mounting evidence of corruption? And why is the  corporate media turning the CIA “whistleblower” into a phantom in plain sight?
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/11/12/patrick-lawrence-the-impeachment-pantomime/

John Brennan's CIA Trump Task Force - Could it become Obamagate?
By Philip Giraldi
November 12, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - There is considerable evidence that the American system of government may have been victimized by an illegal covert operation organized and executed by the U.S. intelligence and national security community. Former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director Jim Comey appear to have played critical leadership roles in carrying out this conspiracy and they may not have operated on their own. Almost certainly what they may have done would have been explicitly authorized by the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, and his national security team.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52532.htm

RAGA.org thinks the "Neo-Con" title says it ALL. Cheers to David Stockman for saying it. Vladislav Krasnov
Up In Smoke: The Neocon Assault on Syria Is Finally Over
By David Stockman
October 24, 2019 "Information Clearing House"  

...Indeed, the evidence is overwhelming that the Arab Spring and the conflict in Syria were the result of external intervention and subversion....   

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52440.htm  

​Is Ukraine vital to U.S. security?
By Edward Lozansky - - Wednesday, November 27, 2019
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The ongoing impeachment inquiry of President Trump can certainly compete with Hollywood’s most successful drama or comedy shows. However, when we deal with national security issues one expects the actors, in this case members of Congress and witnesses, to tell the truth. In this case, some do, but some regrettably do not. The whole picture, said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, looks like a “Soviet-style” event.  ...In this political atmosphere, anyone who calls for resumption of U.S.-Russian dialogue is labeled as Mr. Putin’s bootlicker or useful idiot at best. It was French President Macron who pronounced NATO’s brain to be dead and has come up with some ideas on how to avoid, in the words of former Sen. Sam Nunn and many other serious analysts, the process of “sleepwalking into nuclear catastrophe.”   Will Washington listen? Chances are not good, but what is the alternative?
⦁ Edward Lozansky is president of the American University in Moscow.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/27/crosstalk-is-ukraine-vital-to-us-security/

Everyone Is a Russian Asset
America laughed at Hillary Clinton’s remarks about Tulsi Gabbard, but her ideas fit perfectly in the intellectual mainstream
By MATT TAIBBI

Hillary Clinton, not long ago the nominee of the Democratic Party, had some choice words about the state of American politics Friday.
  “I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said on a podcast with former Barack Obama aide David Plouffe. “She’s the favorite of the Russians.”
  Clinton appeared to be talking about Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a combat veteran. She wasn’t done, teeing off on former Green Party candidate Jill Stein:
  “[Jill Stein’s] also a Russian asset… Yeah, she’s a Russian asset — I mean, totally. They know they can’t win without a third-party candidate.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/clinton-gabbard-russian-asset-jill-stein-901593/

​Hillary Clinton Is A Psychopath And A War Criminal: Prof. Francis Boyle
Dialogos Radio Interviews Prof. Francis Boyle
   The transcript of Dialogos Radio’s interview with international lawyer and professor Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois. This interview aired on their broadcasts for the week of February 18-24, 2016. Find the podcast of this interview here.
    MN: Joining us today on Dialogos Radio and the Dialogos Interview Series is international lawyer and professor of international law at The University of Illinois Dr. Francis Boyle. Boyle has served as legal counsel to the Palestinian Authority, to Hawaiian independence groups, and served on the legal team which led to the conviction of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for war crimes. Professor Boyle, welcome to our program today.
https://www.countercurrents.org/boyle020316.htm

Pepe Escobar: The Road to Damascus: How the Syria War was Won
​Oct 23, 2019 10:58 am
What is happening in Syria, following yet another Russia-brokered deal, is a massive geopolitical game-changer.  

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/10/18/pepe-escobar-the-road-to-damascus-how-the-syria-war-was-won/  ​
​

Everybody Betraying Everybody in Syria
After some eight years of civil conflict, the situation in Syria is basically reverting to the pre-conflict norm, writes Graham E. Fuller.
By Graham E. Fuller
grahamefuller.com
Just what have we witnessed in the recent events in Syria? It’s hard to know, given the avalanche of superficial and over-the-top headlines in most U.S. media: betrayal of the Kurds, handing Syria over to Russia, caving to Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan, bestowing a gift upon Iran, allowing ISIS to once again run wild, end of U.S. leadership.
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/10/16/everybody-betraying-everybody-in-syria/

Restoration of the Monastery of St. Dimitry of Rostov
https://www.rbth.com/travel/331320-rostov-iakov-monastery

Comparison of early 20th-century photographs in the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection (Library of Congress) with photographs from William C. Brumfield Collection  (National Gallery of Art) . 

232nd article in "Discovering Russia" series. 
General link:  https://www.rbth.com/special-discovering-russia

Monumental art in Yaroslavl: Church of the Prophet Elijah
https://www.rbth.com/travel/331251-yaroslavls-church-prophet-elijah
​
Comparison of early 20th-century photographs in the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection (Library of Congress) with photographs from William C. Brumfield Collection  (National Gallery of Art). 

231st article in "Discovering Russia" series. 
https://www.rbth.com/special-discovering-russia

Rebuilding a masterpiece of wooden architecture. the Intercession Church from Ankhimovo:
https://www.rbth.com/travel/331188-intercession-church-petersburg

Comparison of early 20th-century photographs in the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection (Library of Congress) with photographs from William C. Brumfield Collection  (National Gallery of Art) . 

230th article in "Discovering Russia" series. 
General link:   https://www.rbth.com/special-discovering-russia

ATTENTION - About using TOR or Opera VPN Browser to visit RAGA from other countries! For some time I have heard the reports that RAGA became inaccessible for readers located in Russia and, perhaps, some other countries. No worry:  try - out TOR Browser. It is easy to install, and it is FREE: 
https://www.torproject.org/download/

Opera is also free and offers similar VPN function: 
https://www.opera.com/computer/features/free-vpn

*TOR and other VPN browsers are restricted in some countries so know your local laws before using these programs. Act at your won risk. 

BBC News: The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev full interview
The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has warned that current tension between Russia and the West is putting the world in “colossal danger” due to the threat from nuclear weapons.
In an interview with the BBC's Steve Rosenberg, former President Gorbachev called for all countries to declare that nuclear weapons should be destroyed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYVsKoQXATY

Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (http://wiki-org.ru/wiki/Краснов,_Владислав_Георгиевич)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook

​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.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org​

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

Congrats!
​Let me congratulate Russian readers with the beginning of school year across the whole country, and the American readers I wish a Happy Labor Day!

ATTENTION - About using TOR or Opera VPN Browser to visit RAGA from other countries! For some time I have heard the reports that RAGA became inaccessible for readers located in Russia and, perhaps, some other countries. No worr:  try - out TOR Browser. It is easy to install, and it is FREE: 
https://www.torproject.org/download/

Opera is also free and offers similar VPN fiction: 
https://www.opera.com/computer/features/free-vpn

*TOR and other VPN browsers are restricted in some countries so know your local laws before using these programs. Act at your won risk. 

Now, some news!

Ron Unz's Strategy for the Alt-Media to Defeat the Mainstream Media Is Brilliant
Vladislav Krasnov Jul 25 2019, 9373 views 213 comments
 
Ron Unz’s article “The Alternative Media Can Defeat the Mainstream Media” makes a lot of sense, especially, as viewed against the background of his own articles in which he does not shy away from criticizing Jewish religion, Zionism, or ingrained habits. Above all, he welcomes others to do the same. In fact, he does more to undermine the moneyed Jewish MSM establishment than many alleged or real anti-Semite. Charles Bausman deserves the credit for rerunning Unz’s important strategy-minded article in Russia-Insider. 

I think that Ron Unz is right in focusing on the media. “Groups advocating policies opposed by the American establishment should recognize that the greatest obstacle they face is usually the mainstream media”, he says. And adds, “In Clauswitzian terms, the media often constitutes the strategic “center of gravity” of the opposing forces”.

READ MORE and feel free to participate in the debate it generated.
https://russia-insider.com/en/ron-unzs-strategy-alt-media-defeat-mainstream-media-brilliant/ri27507

The above article is also posted on RAGA site. However, since a few months ago, RAGA has been inaccessible from Russia. Indirectly one can access RAGA by using TOR Browser. 
Please try to use TOR Browser! Easy to install and FREE.
https://www.torproject.org/download/

Alternatively try Opera VPN: https://www.opera.com/computer/features/free-vpn
 
Then please try the link below.
http://www.raga.org/news/ron-unzs-strategy-for-the-alt-media-to-defeat-the-mainstream-media-is-brilliant-vladislav-krasnov-phd

That is how it happened when I invited Kevin Barrett and his readers/listeners to join the debate about my article about Ron Unz’s “strategy” to Beat the Big Media

AUDIO PODCAST VERSION

"Dear Kevin,
"This is to invite you and your readers/listeners to a debate on Jewish-Gentile relations that my article 'Ron Unz's Strategy for the Alt-Media to Defeat the Mainstream Media Is Brilliant' generated on the pages of Russia-Insider. 

"So far there are over 213 comments, and it is good as far as hits are concerned. However, I've noticed a negative dynamics because emotional negativism toward Jews seems to predominate. I can understand that the anger toward Jews in general is, at least, partially understandable and perhaps justifiable. However, I am convinced that all Jews are not alike. Moreover, the number of Jews who challenge Zionism, especially its current pro-Netanyahu trend, is growing. Some Jews are even more forthright about secretive Jewish shenanigans than the alleged 'anti-Semitic' authors of The Protocols of the Wizards of Zion were.

"Therefore I feel that it is incumbent upon us-- the 'Whites', Gentiles, Christian, Muslim, and secular non-Jews--to respond in kind and welcome such dissident Jews as Norman Finkelstein, Gilad Atzmon, Israel Shamir (whom I know personally and admire his work), Ron Unz, Brother Nathanael Kapner and several more into the community of truth-seekers.

"And you, Kevin,  are the person who is best qualified and positioned to do so. You're a converted Muslim familiar with Christianity. And you are a secular scholar. You work well with Veterans Today and now a regular author of Ron Unz's site. What is personally very important to me, you know who Mikhail Bakhtin, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Solzhenitsyn are. You know that Russians were able to overcome Marxist-Leninist ideological and political monopoly ('monologue') via a dialogue and actually polyphony of many dissident authors as soon as glasnost was established. In the US we should be able to stave off the monologic tendency of Big Media by letting Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other genuine dissidents to speak up. And that's what you are doing at TruthJihad Radio."

http://www.raga.org/news/video-vladislav-krasnov-and-kevin-barrett-on-russia-and-jewish-gentile-relations-interview  (again this link may not open in Russia)

Other ways to access my interview with Kevin Barrett:

От: Kevin Barrett <truthjihad@gmail.com>
Date: Aug. 13, 2019
To: Vladislav Krasnov <president92@gmail.com>

Hello George,
Our discussion is now uploaded:
https://kevinbarrett.heresycentral.is/2019/08/krasnov-unz/ 
​and  at YouTube:  https://youtu.be/1xNzsxBLaZI 
It will be broadcast Thursday 1 to 2 pm Eastern on https://NoLiesRadio.org
Thank you for the great discussion, and for your patience.
Best, Kevin

Manifesto of Survival - by Anna Tolstoyevskaya
8/27/2019
http://www.raga.org/news/manifesto-of-survival
switch to Russian
http://www.raga.org/novosti/manifest-vizhivaniya
 
However, unless you use TOR Browser, you can read it only in English
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51635.htm
 
Our civilization has reached amazing heights of scientific and technical development, but we still have not learnt to see a human being in each other. And a friend. We are still throwing sticks and stones at one another, except they have become so much bigger and heavier. Too heavy even for our planet.

And now we are facing the question of whether anyone will be around tomorrow to greet the sunrise.

Yet, we still have a chance to save our mother planet from and for ourselves, and continue meeting sunsets and sunrises with her. And with our friend, in humanity and in spirit.
 ….
And we’ll finally find Christ in each and every one of us. A true son and daughter of our true god, infinitely beautiful universal consciousness in all its manifestations on earth and in heaven.
Let there always be the Sun!
 
Author: Anna Tolstoyevskaya grew up in the Soviet Union and came to the U.S. as a student of Philology and then Foreign Service in the mid-1990s. She is an analyst by trade and an Austinite at heart, having spent a third of her life in that beautiful city. She can be reached at atx3017@gmail.com

Mr. President: Send Sam Nunn to Moscow
U.S.-Russia ties 'in a state of strategic instability'
By Edward Lozansky - - Wednesday, August 14, 2019
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
  Nowadays it is hard for anyone much under the age of 50 to imagine, but once upon a time the threat of nuclear war and the prospect of planetary extinction were things people actually worried about. Backyard bomb shelters, duck and cover in the classroom, LBJ’s 1964 “Daisy” ad, apocalyptic books and films like On the Beach, The Day After and Dr. Strangelove both reflected and fed genuine fears that a nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, whether deliberate or accidental, would mean at least “the end of civilization as we know it” and maybe the end of all life on Earth.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/14/crosstalk-trump-should-send-sam-nunn-to-moscow

RAGA.org agrees with both Nixon and Simes. Vladislav Krasnov
Delusions About Russia
Russia is a dangerous adversary. But treating it as an outright enemy could result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, triggering mortal threats to its neighbors which otherwise may not be in the cards.
By Dimitri K. Simes
TWENTY-SIX years ago at a national policy conference in Los Angeles co-hosted by his foundation, Richard M. Nixon observed that one of America’s most fundamental foreign policy objectives was to build a new international order after the collapse of the Soviet Union which included the newly-democratic Russia as a partner. He stated, 
    "In discussing Russia, it is first necessary to dispel a myth. The Russians did not lose the Cold War. The Communists did. The United States and our allies played a crucial role in containing communism and in rolling it back, but it was democratic Russia that gave the knockout blow to communism on December 14th in 1991. So therefore, we should treat Russia today not as a defeated enemy but as an ally and a friend who joined with us in defeating communism in Russia."
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/delusions-about-russia-7232

​Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Experience and American Prospects Paperback – May 31, 2011
by Dmitry Orlov  (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865716854/ref=asc_df_08657168545963217?tag=shopz0d-20&ascsubtag=shopzilla_mp_1475-20;15652473671832126344610080302008005&creative=395261&creativeASIN=0865716854&linkCode=asn
The United States is in steep decline. Plagued by runaway debt, a shrinking economy, and environmental catastrophes to rival Chernobyl, the United States has been retracing the trajectory of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s toward national bankruptcy and political dissolution. By comparing a collapse that has run its course to one that is now unfolding, Dmitry Orlov holds a unique lens up to America's present and future.

RAGA.org agrees with Martin Gilman that Russia can survive any sanctions and get out stronger. Vladislav Krasnov
Martin Gilman
Professor of Economics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow; Former Senior Resident Representative, Moscow Office, International Monetary Fund (1996-2002)
Event Documents
How Russia Is Surviving Western Sanctions Event Slides (3.51 MB)...
See More  
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/how-russia-surviving-western-sanctions

LIBERALISM. Putin’s interview has stimulated some (more) silliness among people who probably haven’t read it. “What is happening in the West? What is the reason for the Trump phenomenon, as you said, in the United States? What is happening in Europe as well? The ruling elites have broken away from the people. The obvious problem is the gap between the interests of the elites and the overwhelming majority of the people… Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable… [the liberal idea] has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.” Well, what’s incorrect? Putin has a better understanding than all the op-eds about populism. Western elites respond with a barrage of clichés.  
https://patrickarmstrong.ca/2019/07/11/russian-federation-sitrep-11-july-2019

​"Volodymyr Zelensky’s Landslide Victory in Ukraine May Become a Slippery Slope," Nicolai Petro, The Nation, July 25, 2019.  
Well-organized, partly government funded, and armed to the teeth, nationalist groups currently exert a much greater influence in Ukrainian politics than their paltry electoral results would suggest. Even as their leaders vie among themselves for dominance, whenever their common agenda of a “Ukraine Above All” is challenged, such groups have resorted to violence and intimidation, to which state authorities have often turned a blind eye.  

From the US government’s perspective, therefore, Ukraine will continue to be a disappointment, but American policy-makers have only themselves to blame for this. By blatantly siding with Poroshenko on the country’s most divisive political, religious, and cultural debates, US policy became totally identified with him, and widely resented as a form of “external administration.” We are now seeing the backlash in the rising support for neutrality rather than membership in NATO, in growing pro-Russian sympathies and popularity of the opposition parties willing to make peace with Russia, and in the doubts that Zelensky himself has recently expressed about whether Western politicians really have Ukraine’s best interests at heart, when they urge him not to negotiate directly with Putin.
https://www.thenation.com/article/vladimir-zelensky-ukraine-election/  
​
Petro’s announcement
My previous piece on Zelensky, which appeared in The National Interest, is now also available in Russian: "Неужели национализм станет ядом для нового президента Украины?" 

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Solzhenitsyn House of Russia Abroad and toured the exhibition dedicated to the life of Russian emigrants who fled the country after the Bolshevik revolution. The president was accompanied by Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. After the museum tour, the president left a note in the Honorary Guests Book. He thanked the museum organizers for creating "a remarkable, interesting and informative exposition about the life of Russian emigrants."
He also spoke with Solzhenitsyn’s widow, Natalia Solzhenitsyna, thanking her for her work on the exposition. He stressed that people must not forget the tragedy of Russian emigrants and must not repeat the mistakes that had caused it.    https://tass.com/society/1070246  
You may like to know that I am an early admirer of the Russian writer and the author of
Solzhenitsyn and Dostoevsky: A Study in the Polyphonic Novel Hardcover – 1980
by Vladislav Krasnov  (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Solzhenitsyn-Dostoevsky-Study-Polyphonic-Novel/dp/0820304727
See also my articles
Emperor Michael II in the Solzhenitsyn House - Author: Vladislav Krasnov
http://www.raga.org/news/emperor-michael-ii-in-the-solzhenitsyn-house-author-vladislav-krasnov
Mahatma Gandhi and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Two Giants Who Blessed the 20th Century. Will Vladimir Putin, Other World Leaders Listen?
VLADISLAV KRASNOV • JANUARY 25, 2019.  • 8,100 WORDS •
http://www.unz.com/article/mahatma-gandhi-and-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-the-two-giants-who-blessed-the-20th-century

Wooden church from the time of Peter the Great
Church of St. John the Divine on the Ishnya (near Rostov)
https://www.rbth.com/travel/330722-wooden-church-bogoslov
Early 20th-century photographs from the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection (Library of Congress) and photographs from William C. Brumfield Collection (National Gallery of Art)  
224th article in "Discovering Russia" series. 
General link:   https://www.rbth.com/special-discovering-russia
 
Commemorating a battle between Moscow and Tver
St. Theodore Convent in Pereslavl-Zalessky
https://www.rbth.com/travel/330797-convent-theodore-pereslavl-zalessky
Early 20th-century photographs from the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection (Library of Congress) and photographs from William C. Brumfield Collection (National Gallery of Art)  
Sent from St. Theodore Convent as part of a project documenting the convent's architecture and art.
 
Also in Pereslavl-Zalessky:
https://www.rbth.com/travel/328978-goritsky-monastery-pereslavl-zalessky
​

​Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (http://wiki-org.ru/wiki/Краснов,_Владислав_Георгиевич)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
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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."

​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.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org​

So many good folks in America, Europe, even the world over are wondering what's going on out there in the Middle East, and particularly, in Syria?

The most concise and accurate answer is that it is a mess, semi-officially described as controlled chaos.

There is an obvious catch though. There is chaos all right, but what about control? The 'elephant in the room' question is whether there is any control at all, at least on the USA's behalf? The next obvious question to ask is how some degree of order can be established there, assuming that this is even America's objective?

Washington's canned response to such questions are well known: “Let's help the moderate opposition topple President Assad's secular regime and everything will be fine and dandy. Freedom, democracy, human rights, reform”, and more such feel good buzz-phrases without a doubt.

This may seem to be a reasonable strategy, were it not for America's past record.

We helped Iraq's opposition hang Saddam Hussein. Result: Years of internecine strife and an astounding rise in terrorism, culminating in the emergence of an entire terrorist quasi-state known today as ISIS.

We then helped our moderate Libyan opposition allies to lynch another dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, and what do we have now? Two competing regimes at each other's throats and countless fanatical terrorist hordes spreading terror toward neighboring countries like Egypt.

With such hindsight it can safely be assumed that the victories of armed opposition groups, whether moderate or fanatical, will not bring any semblance of order to the Middle East. America now finds itself in the schizophrenic position of wanting to oust Assad and siding with ISIS, whom we are supposed to eradicate, to achieve this.

It's a shambles, without any doubt.

One of this unholy muddle's most ghastly abominations is the conception of the so-called “moderate opposition”. The notion of an armed, moderate opposition is surely an oxymoron. What can be moderate about taking up arms against a legitimately elected president and government? Especially with funding, weaponry and personnel being supplied from outside the country, by states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and some 80 other countries?

Some wag said that a difference between moderate and immoderate opposition exists - the former cuts throats from right to left whilst the latter does it from left to right. Or vice versa.

Our administration casually denotes terrorist groups it intends (or claims) to want to eradicate as “moderate”, simply because these groups temporarily serve its interests by, for example, removing a legitimate foreign leader it dislikes. Would Bin Laden qualify for “moderate” status today? Quite possibly.

Sadly, this “moderate” opposition business is clearly a sham and the conclusion is obvious. Let’s stop racking our brains for ways to dislodge Assad. Fighting ISIS, that fountain-head of a terrorist pandemic, is a far more pressing priority. ISIS are driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward  Europe and who can tell how many of them are trained terrorists? Who knows how many of them will eventually disembark in America?

To crush ISIS we need allies on the ground, and it looks like our search for them is becoming rather  desperate. Sure, the Kurds could make a staunch and reliable ally for wiping out ISIS, except for one more complication to the already convoluted mess out there, namely: Turkey. Turkey, a NATO member and thus supposedly on our side, is using the fight against ISIS as a pretext for bombing the hell out of the Kurds. Who needs enemies with friends like that?

Turkey can not be much of an ally if we are to be earnest in our desire to defeat ISIS.

However, we do have a strong potential ally - and you know who I mean - an ally who is willing to join forces with us to defeat an obvious, absolute evil. The obvious question is, why not? Why the hell not shake the proffered hand?

There are problems, of course. This ally has a poor democracy record. Their leader has a displeasing tendency to occasionally claim that his own country's interests do not quite mesh with those of the USA. He is definitely not a Washington yes-man.

Within the framework of this cruel world's realpolitik, it would inadvisable to cite democratic values at every turn because, if this were done, fingers will instantly point at US allies and partners such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both countries where people are regularly stoned to death or have limbs publicly severed for committing legal transgressions.

Against this backdrop, we would do well to recall that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (no angels themselves - Ed.) had no hesitation in sitting down at a round table to discuss weighty matters with Stalin, a man with rather imperfect democratic credentials who nevertheless played a prodigious role in crushing Nazism and Japanese imperialism.

Obama has now been afforded an opportunity to salvage his legacy by forging a similar alliance with Russia to destroy ISIS and other Islamist radicals. Pressing issues such as the illicit trade in nuclear materials, drugs, climate change and other similar challenges facing the world today could also be discussed.
​
Should Obama fail to take this vital step, the only legacy he will be remembered by is this:
For the first time in history a Nobel Peace Prize winner - Obama - has had to apologize for bombing another Peace Prize Laureate - Médecins Sans Frontières. An unenviable distinction to be remembered by.

© Edward Lozansky

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.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association and antiwar colleagues!

As Antidote # 5 against Western anti-Russian propaganda, I'm happy to forward what I got from Ed Lozansky:

<<Today, roughly 40 percent of the supplies for US troops in Afghanistan move through the Northern Distribution Nethrk across Russia.As the US military prepares to draw down in Afghanistan, the NDN likely will continue to grow in importance>>

<<according to the latest polls the solid majority of Americans disapprove Obama’s foreign policy and only 13 % approve the job done by Congress. This is the good sign which shows that perhaps the Western civilization still has a chance to bring back the world’s respect and admiration but this could happen only if American political landscape changes dramatically and finds the strength to recover from the devastating policy f a i l u r e s  o f   C l i n t o n , Bu s h  a n d O b a m a  a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s .>>
http://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2014/10/02/amspadea100214.pdf

Sharon Tennison sends her greetings from Russia:
<<MOSCOW, September 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Anti-Russian trade sanctions imposed by Western countries and Moscow retaliatory restrictive measures against European countries did not split Russian society, says a poll conducted by Russia's state-run All-Russia Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) on request by ITAR-TASS Political Analysis Center in August 2014. As many as 1,660 respondents from half of the country's regions participated in the public opinion poll. The results show most Russians take the harsh current situation with understanding and do not attach much importance to the sanctions war. The survey showed that 92% of those asked did not notice after-effects of sanctions imposed on Russia. Only 4% have noticed price growth.>>

Martin Sieff sends from Washington DC his insights about NATO Summit in Wales
http://en.ria.ru/analysis/20140906/192682387/NATO-Summit-in-Wales-Further-Deepened-Chasm-Between-Russia-NATO.html

<<"It is essential for the peace of Europe and the world that the United States and NATO return to the policy of seeking constructive dialogue and partnership with Russia," Sieff underlined.>>

Lisa Atfield echoes the recent US-Russia Moscow Forum from London:
<<The main message at the Forum was that the USA, Europe and Russia should focus their efforts on creating “peace and prosperity in all of the Northern Hemisphere from Vancouver to Vladivostok.”>>

As to the guiding symbol of this Peace and Prosperity effort, Lisa liked RAGA's attitude that the choice should not be between the American Bald Eagle or Russian Double-Headed Eagle, nor any other European bird of prey but rather "the Pelican the Provider who teaches the needy how to fish"

http://www.shoutoutuk.org/2014/09/17/us-russia-forum-working-together-not-against/

While the standard of living in Russia, while still relatively low, has been steadily rising, this cannot be said of the US:

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/crisis-middle-class-and-american-power#axzz3FC4znpFL
The Crisis of the American Middle Class

<<The median household income of Americans in 2011 was $49,103. Adjusted for inflation, the median income is just below what it was in 1989 and is $4,000 less than it was in 2000. Take-home income is a bit less than $40,000 when Social Security and state and federal taxes are included. That means a monthly income, per household, of about $3,300. It is urgent to bear in mind that half of all American households earn less than this. It is also vital to consider not the difference between 1990 and 2011, but the difference between the 1950s and 1960s and the 21st century. This is where the difference in the meaning of middle class becomes most apparent.>>

And the situation is hardly much better in 2014

Read more: The Crisis of the Middle Class and American Power | Stratfor 
Follow us: @stratfor on Twitter | Stratfor on 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."

Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (=Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA

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.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association and antiwar colleagues!
In stead of wasting global resources for destruction and killing people in Ukraine and elsewhere, the USA, Europe and Russia must unite their efforts to create an area of Peace and Prosperity in all of Northern Hemishere from Vancouver to Vladivostok -- this was the main message of the US-Russia Forum in which I participated in Moscow on September 8 and 9, 2014.

The Forum was organized by Russian Association of International Cooperation and American University in Moscow headed by its founder and president Eduard Lozansky. About hundred scholars, politicians and journalists from the US, Russia, Germany, Denmark and Finland discussed "Advancing a Constructive Agenda for US-Russia Relations" .

After a day of reports and discussions at President Arbat Hotel on September 8, next day the FORUM moved to MGIMO, the prestigious Moscow State University of International Relation, the chief incubator of Russian diplomats. The main agenda here was Gilbert Doctorow's proposal to re-create the Committee on East-West Accord. Dr. Doctorow is an American scholar and business leader currently residing in Brussels, Belgium. He is also a RAGA associate.

Here are the highlights of Gilbert's speech:

--all our journalists (write) that the present confrontation between Russia and the West is the worst crisis since the end of the original Cold War in 1989...I would say it is among the worst crises since the beginning of the original Cold War. We have approached the risk level of the Cuban Missile Crisis (of October 1962).
--We suffer from "the apparent loss of all sense of fear of nuclear holocaust, a totally unfounded complacency. Our senior statesmen and politicians behave as if the Star Wars mythology of the 1980s has become reality and an entirely unproven ‘iron dome’ were in place". 
--"this belittlement of Russia (is) a cardinal difference from the days of the original Cold War, when Russia/the USSR was morally condemned but always respected or feared as posing an existential threat to the United States and Europe"...
--the original Committee for East-West Accord was created in 1974 to keep the nuclear-armed MAD antagonists talking and soothing the US-USSR relations during the worst years of the Cold War...
--"The doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) kept the peace through the original Cold War...what we have today on the US-European side is a belief in survivability of nuclear attack, and a First Strike mentality has taken hold..".
--"I come to you today with the proposal to re-create a platform for a common sense approach to relations with Russia that was founded in Washington in 1974 and closed its doors in 1992 when the Cold War had ceased to exist and a golden age of friendly and constructive international relationships with Russia seemed to have arrived..."
--"the Russia of today presents a starkly different political landscape from the USSR of the 1970s and 80s, with a newly emerged and vibrant civil society that constitutes our natural counterpart-interlocutor in any effort to build bridges and establish reasonable and just state-to-state relations."

In fact, not only RT, but also Russia's main TV Channel One reported about the Forum
http://www.1tv.ru/news/polit/267221

I strongly supported Doctorow's proposal, saying: "We should stress not the differences... but commonalities between us." 

"Our guiding symbol should be neither the Russian double-headed Eagle, nor the American Bold Eagle, nor any other bird of pray. We should not project belligerence. When I travelled across the States as a contract interpreter for US Department of State with various groups from the Former Soviet Union, everybody liked best the state symbol of Louisiana, the Pelican the Provider who teaches the needy how to fish. I am convinced that the Bird of Europe, hopefully a Pelican, will not fly very far unless it relies on both of its wings, its Western extension, the USA, and its Easter extension, Russia."

The Forum adopted by acclamation Gilbert Doctorow's proposal to create an organization, East-West Dialog (the name could change)  to coordinate all peace-loving activities in the US, EU, and Russia. 

At the end of the Forum, I thanked Eduard Lozansky and his wife Tatiana for their 25-year long effort for bettering US-Russia relations and presented them my new book, Новая Россия: от комунизма к национальному возрождению. Originally written and published in the United States in 1991 under the title "Russia Beyond Communism: A Chronicle of National Rebirth", the book was part of a series of publications of the Center for Contemporary Russian Studies founded by Professor Nicolai Petro at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. At the time when the "best and the brightest" of the West were beholden to Communism and Gorbachev's half-hearted reforms, we  introduced Americans to a new emerging Russia that is neither a clone of the Soviet Union, nor recreation of Russian Empire, but a new political, social, economic, and spiritual that the USA and EU must respect as a serious global player.

RAGA will be happy to serve as a conduit for all pacific and practicable suggestions the readers of this pages can offer. The East-West Dialog  would need an office, small staff, and many journalist volunteers with access to facebook, twitter, and, of course, funds. Suggestions and inquiries should be sent to:
Gilbert Doctorow
Edward Lozansky 
or Vladislav Krasnov 

I thank everyone who came to this Forum, especially those who responded to my invitation. I enjoyed meeting and talking to a number of new people who may receive this Newsletter anonymously before a more personal email exchange.

You may enjoy information below that is conducive to peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine which now has fortunately reached cease-fire.

• RT CrossTalk with the Forum participants Nicolai Petro, Gilbert Doctorow, and Ray McGovern

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEMjiTgZKyg&list=UUpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg
Published on Sep 10, 2014

A troubled relationship or a transforming international system? As the West and Russia turn away from each other, can we expect more tensions or merely indifference? And is this a divorce or just a long-term separation?

• Sharon Tennison's article A REALITY CHECK FROM RUSSIA
  

http://www.russiaotherpointsofview.com/2014/09/reality-check-from-russia.html#more.
Sharon, the founder of the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), was one of the speakers at the forum and demonstrated the importance of grass-root peace initiatives. Her affiliated site Russia: Other Points of View which I often cite in these letters, has proved to be a crucial source of well-informed opinion

• Nicolai Petro, Eastern Ukraine: The Neverending CrisisThe National Interest
  
  September 3, 2014. Professor Petro was also one of the speakers at the Forum.
  
  
• <<the Ukrainian public remains sharply divided over the legitimacy of the protests on the Maidan, and the coup that removed President Yanukovych from office. While there is little love for Yanukovych anywhere in Ukraine, three-quarters of the populations in Ukraine's eastern cities regard the Euromaidan protests as illegal.  Specifically, two-thirds of Donbass residents consider the Maidanto have been "an armed overthrow of the government, organized by the opposition, with the assistance of the West.">>

• Michael Payne's article U.S./NATO and Russia/China On A Direct Collision Course
  

NationofChange / Op-Ed
Published: Sunday 14 September 2014
http://www.nationofchange.org/usnato-and-russiachina-direct-collision-course-1410698606
<<We might say that Ukraine is the eye of this “gathering storm” or, more accurately, it’s the point at which a small spark could ignite a military firestorm. If NATO continues to aggressively attempt to recruit Ukraine into its organization then that could easily happen. And if anyone thinks Putin will back down and yield to the power of U.S./NATO then they better think again because he will not.>>

• Please be patient while the RAGA site is being rebuilt. Don't hesitate to comment, even to disagree.  We need volunteers TOO. Meanwhile join https://www.facebook.com/RAGAforPeace

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. Peace and Justice to the World.
Mиру мир и благоволение в сердцах!

Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (=Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA

Disclaimer: All statements in this report are an opinion. Act at your own risk. 
RAGA News

What influence does Russia have on the current situation in Ukraine? Is it a geopolitical blunder from a part of Washington, or is it a part of Putin's gambit? And does Washington want in fact a revolution in Russia? RT Peter Lavelle is CrossTalking with Gordon Hahn, Joe Lauria and Edward Lozansky. 

Source: 
- youtu.be/YdFyWgM_TAE
- rt.com/shows/crosstalk/157828-russia-influence-situation-ukraine/

Report by
RAGA News

It is time to abandon political posturing and introduce some rationality to the discussion. The stakes are too high to allow this confrontation between Washington and Moscow to continue, as the consequences are unpredictable.

The violent chaos spreading in Ukraine has the potential to spark a much wider conflict in Europe on a scale not seen since 1945. The expansion of NATO military hardware and personnel along Russia's borders and the threats of further devastating Western sanctions intended to cripple the Russian economy are pushing us towards a nightmare scenario that neither the US nor its European allies are prepared to face.

A certain modicum of cynicism and hypocrisy is perhaps unavoidable in foreign policy, but choosing to overlook any of the interim Kiev government's wrongdoings, and blaming every instance of violence on Russian provocateurs exceeds these limits – or, to borrow from US President Barack Obama's parlance, crosses every red line.

It is true that some opposing views occasionally penetrate the Western media's wall of anti-Russian consensus, but their numbers are as few as those of Soviet-era dissidents in a KGB-dominated state.

The recent Geneva agreement was a step in the right direction, but it has not changed the untenable situation on the ground. The real question now is who is going to put it into effect?

For example, Kiev has not followed through on its promise to disarm illegally armed militant groups – such as the nationalist Right Sector paramilitary group – which was one of the vital points of the Geneva deal. Nor does it show any inclination that it will do so any time soon.

The greatest danger here is that Ukraine is edging closer and closer toward a full-scale civil war by the day. But there is an even greater danger of the conflict escalating into a direct military confrontation between US-led NATO forces and Russia, a scenario with the most horrific consequences for both sides.

A NATO intervention in Ukraine, followed by a reciprocal move by Russia, is not a desirable outcome. Therefore, as tensions rise and the conditions in Ukraine continue to deteriorate, policymakers in Washington and Moscow need to recognize the extremely urgent need to find a means of extricating themselves from this crisis. This should be done before it transforms from a regional crisis to a full-blown international conflagration.

During a recent interview, President Vladimir Putin offered Washington an opportunity to break this futile cycle of mutual accusation and ineffectual posturing. "I think there is nothing that would hinder normalization and normal cooperation with the West. This does not depend on us, or rather not only on us. This depends on our partners," said Putin. In the same interview he welcomed the appointment of former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as the next NATO secretary-general.

Regardless of your opinion of Putin, since first taking office 15 years ago he has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness and ability to constructively cooperate with the US on major issues. Even today, crucial US air supplies to the NATO-backed security forces in Afghanistan are made easier by Russia, which provides secure access via its Northern Air Corridor. Both nations share the same security concerns with regard to the spread of nuclear weapons and terror threats from radical Islamists.

To be sure, it is Washington that holds practically all the keys to a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. Not only has it helped to install the present government but, judging from the incessant visits of senior US officials to Kiev, it is they who are calling the shots.

Kiev's actions, paired with Washington's threat of additional sanctions and failure to push for a compromise by implementing the Geneva agreement, raise the fears that we are quickly moving toward a situation that both sides might end up deeply regretting.

Edward Lozansky and Martin Sieff for RT
Edward Lozansky is President of the American University in Moscow
Martin Sieff is a Senior Fellow of the American University in Moscow

Article published with permission from Edward Lozansky
Article source: http://rt.com/op-edge/155916-america-russia-tensions-over-ukraine/
Report by
RAGA News