Thread: VLADIMIR PUTIN, THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS MAN

Apparently they've stuck some names in the indictment now and posted it. JD2 provided a link to one and there's some names. So odd they didn't have them for the press conference. Weird. All they did was interrupt the beautiful coverage of Trump's meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

CLICK: READ THE INDICTMENT

to see all of the names and all 29 pages of the indictment.

Mueller indictments: everyone charged so far in the Russia Probe - Vox
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/.../mueller-indictments-grand-jury
Feb 20, 2018 - That group is composed of four former Trump advisers, 14 Russian ... The full list of known indictments and plea deals in Mueller's probe. . .

Originally Posted by Judy

Apparently they've stuck some names in the indictment now and posted it. JD2 provided a link to one and there's some names. So odd they didn't have them for the press conference. Weird. All they did was interrupt the beautiful coverage of Trump's meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

Sort of like the Strzok hearing yesterday where he was told couldn't answer certain questions, then when the hearing asked the FBI why?, Strzok was suddenly able to answer. SOP is now, don't give information unless you are threatened with legal action.

‘Putin is more dangerous than Isis’, ex-Russian spy warns

Georgia Diebelius Wednesday 21 Mar 2018 10:00 am

Hiding in a remote Haltwhistle in Northumberland, he said he believes he will be safe from the Russian assassins that could want him dead. Putin is more dangerous than Isis, a former KGB double-agent has warned. Viktor Makarov has spent two decades on the run after he betrayed his country by supplying crucial information to the British secret service during the Cold War.

Hiding in a remote Haltwhistle in Northumberland, he said he believes he will be safe from the Russian assassins that could want him dead. However today, as the UK’s relationship with Russian remains under the spotlight after the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, Viktor has opened up about his fears. Speaking from his secret home, the 63-year-old said he believes the threat from Russia has taken a sinister new turn.

Viktor Makarov has spent two decades on the run after he betrayed his country by supplying crucial information to the British secret service during the Cold War. He added that he feels his new community will keep him safe from any Salisbury-style attack, but Theresa May needs to take ‘tough action against Putin to keep the UK safe’. Viktor said: ‘Salisbury was horrifying. ‘When I heard I quickly realised these people are very dangerous because they did it quite openly, they didn’t hide their tracks. It is much more sinister. ‘Putin is showing he will stop at nothing. Things are developing very quickly, Russia is getting more and more aggressive. ‘These people are capable of anything, you must not underestimate them. ‘I feel much less vulnerable here, it’s virtually impossible to do what happened in Salisbury here, they didn’t have this community. ‘For all I know they could be going to target me, but the local people would never let it happen. I feel protected by this community, not by the Government.’

Viktor joined the KGB when he was just 20-years-old. He spent 13 years as a double agent and at the height of the Cold War supplied MI5 and MI6 with crucial information about Russian spies’ penetration of secret British codes.

He added that he feels his new community will keep him safe from any Salisbury-style attack, but Theresa May needs to take ‘tough action against Putin to keep the UK safe’. But he was rumbled by his spy masters, arrested and imprisoned. Viktor was released in 1992 and fled Russia via the Baltic to Britain. However, he remains regarded as one of the KGB’s most influential and daring double agents. And he is among a list of around half a dozen defectors currently known to be hiding out in Britain.

After living on the south coast and in London, the former agent was given a £65,000 payout from the British Government. Viktor spent time researching the North East and decided Haltwhistle, in Northumberland, would be the perfect place to buy a home and start a new life where he would not be found. However, the arrival of a Russian stranger in the close-knit community did not go unnoticed, and it was not long before Viktor’s cover was blown. But he insists he feels safe in the market town, and is happy being surrounded by landscape that reminds him of home. He added: ‘It’s a beautiful, beautiful place, it’s a beautiful part of the country. Initially I came her to hide, but I quickly realised people find things out very quickly in Haltwhistle.’

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter remain in a critical but stable condition in hospital after they were found collapsed in the centre of Salisbury, in Wiltshire, two weeks ago. Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter remain in a critical but stable condition. It is believed a powerful ‘nerve agent’ was used is the attack, and Mrs May has said Russia is ‘culpable’ for the attack.

Viktor has been closely following events, and said while he is horrified by the severity of the attack, he is not surprised and says it confirms what he has known about the Russian President all along. He said: ‘Putin wants to be feared and Britain should respond accordingly. He was not taken seriously enough in my opinion. ‘The west has been trying to appease him for years. There is no other choice now than to stand-up to Putin. ‘This is a demonstration to the west how far he will go. Putin is more dangerous than Islamic terrorists. Islamic extremism is an enemy. But Russia is far more powerful. ‘I’m not glad that it’s happened, but I’m pleased that people are starting to realize.

There is a saying, “there is no evil without good”. People are now talking about what I have known all my life, and that is a positive thing.

'Unable to get a job because of his past Viktor is now living off benefits. The ex-spy spent eight days on hunger strike outside the Commons protesting about the lack of protection and financial support he has received. And he said he wishes he could work and contribute to society. He said: ‘I don’t have many qualifications. I can catch spies and I can translate, but these are not skills that are in demand. ‘I could have been a policeman. Catching local criminals would be not as difficult as catching spies. I would like to make some contribution to British society.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/21/putin...4/?ito=cbshare

Things you didn’t know about Russian President Vladimir Putin

WE often see him strutting around shirtless, judo fighting and firing guns. But there’s a lot more to Vladimir Putin than meets the eye.

DANIEL PIOTROWSKI with STAFF WRITERS

NewsComAuMARCH 5, 20142:58PM


Lucky they brought their binoculars to this boardroom meeting.Source:NewsComAu

WE KNOW he loves to strut around shirtless, pose shamelessly for Kremlin <acronym title="Google Page Ranking"><acronym title="Google Page Ranking">PR</acronym></acronym> photographs and invade former Soviet republics.

Whether he is providing former US security contractor Edward Snowden with asylum, designing deals to rid Syria of chemical weapons or invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is easily one of the world’s biggest newsmakers.
Today, a tough talking Putin gave one of his characteristic swaggering performances while at the same time cooling tensions over Ukraine by saying he had no intentions “to fight the Ukrainian people”.

While lounging in a chair like a world-weary aristrocrat, he insisted Russia was seeking to de-escalate tensions. But his speech came as Russian troops fired warning shots at Ukrainian soldiers and Russia fired a nuclear capable missile.
It was classic confounding Putin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel admits she is bewildered by the man in charge of one of the world’s largest countries. After speaking with Mr Putin, she said she was not sure he was in touch with reality. She is believed to have told US President Obama that Putin was “in another world.” US Secretary of State John Kerry was equally confounded.

Responding to claims by Ukraine’s new authorities that thousands of Russian troops had poured into Crimea in recent days, Putin said that only “local forces of self-defence” were surrounding Ukrainian military bases in the region.

Asked if Russian forces took part in operations in Crimea, he said, “No, they did not participate”, adding: “There are lots of uniforms that look similar.’’ When told of Putin’s remarks by a reporter in Kiev, Kerry responded: “He really denied there were Russian forces in Crimea?” and shook his head, bewildered.

So who is the man behind the headlines and staged photographs? Here are some facts you may not know about the Russian strongman and his strategy for Russia.

He has a grand plan: Bring back the USSR

Lucky they brought their binoculars to this boardroom meeting.Source:NewsComAu

Putin saw out the dying days of the Soviet Union working for the KGB, the former superpower’s secret police force. He was rewarded for his loyalty with several promotions.

He may still be loyal to it. Putin’s motive for invading Ukraine is debatable but a popular suggestion is he wants to rebuild a Russian Empire similar to the Soviet Union.

“Putin’s broader plan is to recreate some kind of ‘Soviet Union lite’, a ring of countries under Moscow’s control, with the goal of boosting Russia’s geopolitical standing,” Ulrich Speck, a visiting fellow at the Carnegie Europe Institute wrote for CNN this week.

“Ukraine is the cornerstone of that project. The downfall of President Yanukovych and the triumph of the popular Maidan movement in Ukraine have signalled to Moscow, however, that it is losing its grip on Ukraine and that its grand strategy is going nowhere.” One of Putin’s key policies has been to create a “Eurasian Customs Union” — a trade bloc between Russia and former communist states that could rival the United States, China and the European Union.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has never been on great terms with Putin, described it as “a move to re-Sovietise the region”. His macho, macho man image is a carefully crafted creation


Putin meets with the leader of a Russian bikie group. Picture: APSource:NewsComAu


Putin’s government is almost as prolific as the North Korean regime when it comes to distributing tailored propaganda images that make him look like an Action Man.

For instance: He butterfly swims through chilly lakes ...

Too muscular to fit in your typical lap pool. Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu


... Drives Formula One vehicles:

Why the hell not? Picture: APSource:NewsComAu

... Is a judo master:

If you don’t invite him to G8, he’ll smash you. Picture: AFPSource:NewsComAu

... And sometimes fills in as a comic book superhero:

Watch out, Joker. Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

He’s got a foul mouth

How Vladimir Putin fooled worldSource:News Corp Australia

When Hillary Clinton said in 2008 that Putin “has no soul”, the Russian president returned fire with what was widely believed to be a misogynist penis joke.

“At a minimum, a head of state should have a head,” he told reporters.

Putin has a considerable track record of making crude remarks, particularly about his enemies. Discussing the guerillas behind a series of bombings in Moscow in 1999, he said: “If we catch (the terrorists) in the toilet, we will rub them out in the outhouse.” Translators were left lost for words at a news conference in 2002 after he launched into a confusing tirade about Islamic terrorism with many references to circumcision.

“If you are determined to become a complete Islamic radical and are ready to undergo circumcision, then I invite you to Moscow. We are multi-confessional,” he said. “We have experts in this sphere as well. I will recommend to conduct the operation so that nothing on you will grow again.” And then there was the rape “joke”. On a diplomatic visit to Israel in 2002, Putin was overheard praising the sexual prowess former Israeli president Moshe Katsav after he was charged with rape and sexual harassment.

According to one version of remarks, Putin said to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert: “Say hello to your president. He really surprised us ... I met him. He didn’t look like a guy who could be with 10 women.” Russian media accounts suggested he was even more crude. “He turns out to be a really powerful guy. He raped 10 women. We all envy him.”
Putin’s aides tried to explain the joke as the result of difficulties from translating from Russian to English.

He has a mysterious personal life

007: Licence to Thrill. Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu

Putin’s love life is shrouded in mystery. He and his wife, former flight attendant Lyudmila Putina, divorced after nearly 30 years in 2013.

Putina was rarely seen in public over the course of his presidency with rumours about his complicated love life spreading in the media.

One of the most widely reported rumours is that he had been involved with — and perhaps even fathered the children of — former Olympic gymnast and Russian lawmaker Alina Kabaeva.

Putin had two daughters with Lyudmila — Maria and Yekaterina — both in their late 20s.
Little is known about them. Unlike their attention-seeking father, they shy from the public eye.

Putin’s rumoured gymnast girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva. Picture: SuppliedSource:NewsComAu


https://www.news.com.au/world/europe...04c897e3bfae9b