Bare Bear

Friends,
The bark is worse than the dog? Russia faces many problems but does have lots of money and an abundance of natural resources. They have also given voice to "separatist" movements in the South of Russia. Diplomacy is the answer to all questions while facing Russia.

Peace and Love,
Rev O

The vulnerabilities that lie behind Putin’s belligerence Financial Times of London
By Philip Stephens, Columnist
Philip Stephens is associate editor of the Financial Times and a senior commentator.

"Yet the precise casus belli (Russia/Georgia war) has been rendered irrelevant by the manner and scale of Moscow’s response. If there were ever any doubts about Mr Putin’s plan to re-establish hegemony over the former Soviet space, they were dispelled by the ferocity of Russia’s assault."

"One intended implication, of course, is that Russia reserves the right to intervene on behalf of its citizens in Ukraine, in the Baltic states and in former Soviet republics in central Asia. Force, or the threat of it, sits alongside dominance of Europe’s oil and gas market as a supposedly legitimate instrument of Russia’s regional hegemony."

"This analysis misses one of the paradoxes of Russia’s power. The riches and political leverage provided by gas and oil have restored Russia’s economic and geopolitical standing. Yet, for the medium and long term, almost all the other indicators point to a future of relative decline."

"They may share an authoritarian political instinct, but all logic says that Moscow and Beijing are more naturally strategic rivals than partners. Mr Putin’s support for separatism in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, meanwhile, sends a curious message to those in Chechnya and elsewhere on Russia’s southern border who want to be free of Moscow’s rule."

The vulnerabilities that lie behind Putin’s belligerence Financial Times of London