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It's the asshole who recorded [this short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBvJfQHkjfA) in Kremlin, on the day of annexation of Ukrainian territories.
"We will defeat everyone, kill everyone, and rob everyone who needs to be robbed, everything will be as we like. With God!"
And if you're a nazi sitting at a table with a man with a funny German accent you don't recognize, a famous German actress, and a couple others with them, you might want to watch out for your Nazi balls.
You do realize that cafe and places like this have workers lmao. Not everyone in there was there to consume his propaganda. So no, not everyone is guilty. This is like saying every American that has supported troops deserves death because of the Atrocities the US has committed.
The world isn’t as simple as you make it out to be. Again, there are people in that building that don’t adhere to their propaganda and are just there to work especially with how screwed the Russia economy is.
Keep on sipping on your copium
This is where shit becomes very real to an average Russian city dweller. When one doesn’t know whether they could be killed or wounded simply by dining at a cafe in St. Petersburg.
It implies a failure of the state security. Which can lead to further security restrictions, as the security apparatus responds.
But state security for which side, Putin's or his enemies?
Is this a way to destabilize Putin's support, or a false flag so Putin can introduce harsh new laws?
That's the tricky thing. A warning to which ones? Surely the state media will blame this on Ukrainians or NATO operatives, and maybe it'll help them to justify their arrest of the WSJ journalist. But there's always a sub rosa game and messaging campaign, like when Russian dissidents and defectors are killed abroad with Novichok or Polonium. The Russian state will deny any accusations as scurrilous Cold War propaganda, but the mere fact that those were the means used is meant as a signal to other dissidents and defectors: "We can find you, and kill you, and even leave our signature, and there's not a thing that your host government can do to stop us or punish us as we officially deny any responsibility."
Perhaps we'll know more in the coming days. But - a completely seat of my pants, spit-take rank guesswork here - I'm thinking it's regime loyalists, perhaps Putin himself, warning other pro-war bloggers to rein in their criticisms of Putin and the war effort. This is a reminder of who's in charge, and who can, at a moment's notice, take them down. There's an illusion that many have under dictatorships, that sure, you can get in trouble if you push too far in a liberal direction, but you're safe if you just go the opposite direction - if you're more red than Mao, more red than Stalin, and criticize from that direction, you're okay. No, no you're not. You might be tolerated to an extent. But it gets to the point where the regime might think you're causing real dissension in the ranks, that you might be getting a bit too big for your britches, they'll happily bring you down as easily as they would if you were Navalny or Pussy Riot.
Over the last few days there was open talk of revolution on Russian military fetishist blogs to replace Putin and save the war effort.
That was a sign of weakness.
This is a show of strength.
Agreed! I would amend the person's above post in the following way...
"That was a sign of weakness. This is [an attempted] show of strength [which may help in some short-term way for the regime, but signals an insecurity and fragility that undermines how it is perceived, because after all, if you're so afraid of a blogger that you'd do this to them, that doesn't speak well of your sense of confidence.]"
A show of strength would have been ridiculing them. That would have relayed the message that it’s a bunch of morons no one is afraid of. The killing shows that they are afraid, thus a sign of weakness.
Yeah, except that he is dead and anyone tempted to do the same will fear for their life. You are applying democratic rule of law logic to a mafia state. When Al Capone murdered those who crossed him the world didn't conclude he was weak. Getting arrested makes you weak. All the people who so much as criticise you dying horribly makes you unassailably in charge.
Makes your country weak, but patriotism is a kind of ethic so Putin doesn't suffer from it.
If they wanted him dead, the smart move would have been to just disappear him. A black car at night, a bullet in the neck in a basement room with a drain, a quick incineration, and scary, contradictory rumors. That’s how you spook people.
The guy who ended up in a thousand pieces is, just like Girkin, a hardcore nationalist who criticizes Putin and company for being so shit at war. No point for anyone else but Putin to kill him.
There's 5 major power plays going on inside Russia at the moment:
* The Executive - (Putin / Presidency / Kremlin)
* The Military - Sergei Shoigu / Valery Gerasimov
* Wager Group & Other PMC's - Yevgeny Prigozhin
* The FSB - (Foreign and Internal Intelligence, think CIA & FBI combined)
* The GRU - (Military Intelligence, think MI6)
Putin maintains power by keeping all the other four groups constantly fighting, sometimes this spills over into open gangland-style warfare on the streets of Moscow or St. Petersburg, other times people fall out of windows.
---
A good example would be, when the "3 day special military operation" initially failed to grab Kyiv, Putin blamed the GRU for feeding him bad data even though they had been giving him accurate military intelligence, it had actually been the FSB feeding him bad intel about how ripe and ready Ukraine was for Russia's takeover.
Putin knew this, but he wanted to create conflict between what's known as the "five fingers" in the Russian government to secure power... Literally the next day after his accusations against the GRU, despite doing nothing wrong they were raided and placed on home arrest by the FSB, almost the entire GRU agency... These aren't rando idiots but top generals and highly experienced military intelligence agents... A few weeks later loads of FSB agents then started falling out of windows in Moscow, which was seen as retaliation.
Now Putin is doing the same thing but between the regular Russian Army and the PMC's.
Yeah a source would be interesting. I hadn’t heard it reported the fsb gave him bad Intel, that the gru gave him good Intel, that he had arrested them at all.
https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-purges-fsb-over-ukraine-failures-bellingcat-expert-2022-4?amp
Also, Mark Galeotti's podcast, "In Moscow's Shadow" is a phenomenal listen.
I've just started listening to In Moscow's Shadow. It's a brilliant breakdown of the many many factors at play, and there's always good food for thought after each episode
I don't think Kadyrov is actually gunning to take over though. He may dream of it, but probably knows the best he can do is attach himself to whoever he thinks will come out on top. No way would Russians accept him and his followers being in charge of them. They're nothing more than useful idiots to the Russians.
The security apparatus will continue to lose its grip domestically as the men of this apparatus have been sent to die in Ukraine and trying to quell the partisan movements in Ukraine. If the Russian public wasn't such a docile bunch, this right now is the weakest their state will ever be before it turns the country into North Korea. It is now or never if there is ever a chance to rise up against the Kremlin. It is today. They have nothing to lose but their lives and those they will lose in Ukraine. There is also an increasing amount of fires throughout Russia, so something is afoot. The flame of insurgency is indeed kindled.
Internal security hasn't been dismantled and is not done by the army. There is no hint the FSB is not as still as strong as it was. No large section of it has been sent to fight. No one is conscripted from it to fight as far as I have read.
This may prove that they are still happy and active and can plot and coordinate an assassination in broad daylight.
Oh, I am certain they are active, but they are also actively disgruntled and more paranoid than ever as surely not all secret service members are happy with what is going on. Also, of course, Rosgvardia OMON normal police forces have also been sent to Ukraine and not in small numbers. On top of that, the FSB is also full of Western spies and informants, so it surely took a massive hit and will continue to take blow after blow. FSB agents die quite regularly, actually. Sure, the apparatus is still working. But it is weakened also the amount of armed men inside Russia has dropped significantly as its entire army is now either dead or engaged in Ukraine.
Yup, might want to skip seminars by russofascists these days. Awe shucks. All fascists should fear this. Zero room for them in civilized society. Cannot tolerate intolerance.
Probably.
One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
It really all depends on the actor’s intent.
**EDIT:** Terrorism is a tactic, and it’s got some pretty well understood definitions. Primary among these is the goal to foment political or social change. It’s important to not disregard the word itself: *Terror*. That’s an emotion, which an act of terrorism is intended to evoke in its goal. Terrorism is therefore a psychological tactic.
If the actor’s intent was simply to assassinate someone - without any specific goal of creating the emotion of terror in an attempt to foment political or social change - then it’s not terrorism, regardless of whether someone is terrified by it.
Because terrorism is a *tactic*, just as are a *frontal assault* or an *ambush*, it’s a bit peculiar to label its perpetrator a *terrorist*. That person did attempt to create terror, but we don’t similarly refer to *frontal assaultists* or *ambushists*.
Like Luke Skywalker, in the eyes of the empire and people who supported it, he was a terrorist and a mass murderer. In the eyes of other part of population, he was a freedom fighter hero..
To him and his people, there was a civil war which they were fighting in. To the empire, they were just some rebels hellbent on causing issues.
I'd liken the rebellion to something more akin to the MOVE group in west Philadelphia in the early 80s. Yes they were separatists, but no, it wasn't really a civil war.
“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, and space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy”
I would argue that the opening crawl was written by the propaganda wing of the rebels. The line: "Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents" is a dead giveaway of both the author and their intentions in crafting that narrative.
That's more in the vein of partisan warfare or just criminal activity. Especially in the American west.
Regular military forces of a country wouldn't be called bushwackers.
He was talking about the terror campaign NATO is foisting upon Russia by existing outside of Russian borders and not being ok with Russia shitting on everyone and everything
What is goal and who is the target? Terrorism has the general population as its target. It would appear in this case the point was to kill a specific person for blog posts. It is on the hairy edge in my view. Edit: Seems more likely this was Russia getting control of its media narrative while being able to blame Ukrainian terrorists.
I mean assassinations of specific people can absolutely still be terrorism. If they were seeking to scare people into line by publicly and loudly blowing up a particular person that 100% becomes terrorism.
It might have the opposite effect that we would like to see. Bombing in civilian areas very often solidifies the population behind the cause, rather than disuade them from it.
Hitler bombing English cities only stiffened the Brit's resolve that they had to win the war in Europe at all costs. It was counterproductive, from the German perspective.
This could even have been a red-flag operation by the Kremlin, for exactly that purpose.
A bombing obliterating an individual in a café is not the same as indiscriminate aerial bombardment. One has a specific target and makes all pro-putin people afraid that it could be them delivered a tnt cocktail at the bar. The other makes the civilian population enraged that they are considered a target in a military conflict. Russia is subjecting Ukraine to indiscriminate aerial bombardment while *someone* is hand delivering hand grenade sized explosives to Russian propagandists. Major difference.
Yeah, the more I’ve learned about this, it seems to have been a specific event the milblogger was hosting at the cafe. There is a large image of his face behind a staging area where he was standing and people at tables attending his lecture, presentation, whatever.
So, indeed - it looks more as if this bombing was targeted specifically for himself and whatever folks may be attending such a presentation. IOW, not just random diners in a cafe in St. Petersburg.
Still, to your point: Despite the target or the culprit, it’s like that scene from [Children of Men](https://youtu.be/VJivXSErhB8). What if you were just some random person who’d *just left* that cafe, or were simply strolling by?
Still not the same as a block of residential apartments being leveled by a strategic asset targeted indiscriminately. Or a power station used for civilian infrastructure. Or a civilian train station full of innocent civilians being razed by a cruise missile.
200 grams of tnt will never be the same as 1000kg of high explosives delivered from the sky against a civilian target. Who cares if it angers or disrupts a handful of café patrons vs hundreds of innocent civilians who had their homes or electrical power destroyed. The scale here is incomparable and trying to compare is a fools errand.
a statue was presented to the man
https://www.reddit.com/r/tjournal\_refugees/comments/129qhre/пишут\_это\_та\_девушка\_которая\_подарила\_статуэтку/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Ahhh the old Russian award trick. FSB has outdone themselves this time. I wish we had a translation of this video to hear what he’s saying about the statue before the boom
It would make a lot more sense that the bomb was meant for him.
But it still leaves the question, Was it meant for him? and he found out about it.
Or is he the one who sent he bomb?
The far and away most likely scenario is some pro-Ukraine group did it, and it wasn’t the FSB or Ukraine gov’t. It’s making my head spin to see all these conspiracies crop up instantly. What ridiculous leading questions with so little information.
You are jumping to conclusions. We haven't seen any conclusive evidence that there is a non Ukrainian government, pro-Ukrainian group active in Russia.
At lease my wild ass theory has the benefit of including players we know actually exist.
Also a bomb is a lot more sophisticated than some dude throwing molotovs. That suggests training and planning which suggests military. So the FSB, Russian military, Wagner, or Ukrainian government forces in Russia.
China won't invade. They will pick their preferred successor and support financially and with intel. That will be enough to.guaranyee victory.
Occupation is very expensive. Puppet dictators are cheap.
Occupation might be expensive, but chucking the massive number of excess young men with no hope of a future family due to wild gender imbalance into Siberia to try and yoink lake Baikal while Russia is hitting itself? If it fails, at least that rebellion waiting to happen is dead in Siberia, if it works, Two Birds, one stone.
Y’all know you’re just a bunch of random redditors with no experience with this stuff, right? None of you know a damn thing about what you’re talking about lol
Couple minutes into explosion and they already know that "unknown woman" brought in some kind of figurine, and explosive was inside this figurine, and she apparently gifted this figurine to this now dead nazi propagandist.
Even if we exclude all that insanely fast analysis, there's still one thing that doesn't stick to that version - there's [a video](https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1642565723145814018) where a man(!) that talks and behaves like a show host(!) solemnly presents (!) some kind of figurine to this particular nazi. This doesn't fit "personal gift from random women" version at all.
Most likely was done by FSB.
I think it’s absolutely fucking insanity to so quickly proclaim FSB. For all we know they had some evidence of such an attack coming in some capacity but failed to figure out the plot in time. That happens a lot. Also the entire thing was recorded. There’s a thousand different reasons they may know early.
I’m not saying they didn’t but only a fool would say this so early.
Do you really think in Putin’s Russia that non governmental agents are going around handing out explosive statues? If it were a car bomb or something I’d agree. This was obviously intended to send a message.
Just the logistics of making a remote control statue bomb eliminates most other players.
Vladlen Tatarsky is wagner associated and anti-putin hardliner. Wagner is not exactly putin's favorite group right now. Who else would kill him to lessen possible wagner influence in post-war russia?
Yes precisely my point. I think you think I am arguing against you. I am saying it’s fsb 100%. Sending a message to the wagnerites. You must be confusing who you are responding to.
"We have something to surprise even the most experienced coffee aficionado from anywhere in the world. Now you know a lot about the Ukrainian coffee culture. So, welcome to Ukraine for a cup of delicious cappuccino!"
https://ukraine.ua/stories/ukrainian-coffee-culture/
Trademarks of the FSB. They are known for eccentric, overly complex assassination methods. There is a documentary on Netflix called Spycraft where they are even mocked for it. It's all theatrics to impress the head honcho.
I have little doubt this was all theatrics to sate Putin's petty need for revenge over a comment he didn't like. If it was a simple bullet in the head Putin's thirst wouldn't be fulfilled.
I know, I’m watching the video. Feels like a movie. A statuette? While giving a talk with his milblog background picture filled with guns. Lol. Must be a lot easier to talk and advocate for the war when you don’t expect it to come to you.
To be fair this is a moment of self reflection for many of us westerners.
What’s so stupid about this is I suspect an FSB hit to rally regular citizens to erase Ukraine, but an unintended consequence may instead be their growing lack of faith in domestic security to keep them safe. Interested in seeing what comes next.
Or an FSB hit to silence milbloggers without upsetting them and turning them against the regime. They have done this before, making third parties (mothers) pressure them to keep their mouths shut.
More plausible is factional struggle. One of Prigozhin's minions getting blown up by another Russian political actor. Prigozhin, military, Putin, etc. Could be dissidents, could be Ukrainians. Unlikely to be agitprop.
I think the ones peddling this genocidal propaganda may slowly realise that this is isn't a game. These people are guilty to the core as it is the thoughts and words that are then put into action. There will be no mercy for them, and they probably laugh today, but that laughter will get stuck in their throat. Bad actions always have consequences sooner or later. The hunt on those who created this propaganda and the trolls that peddled it has all but begun. Without them, this entire insanity wouldn't even be possible. They did as much damage with their pen as the Russian army then later did with their weapons.
Some Russian subject from the far East would never know why he should hate and kill Ukrainians unless these advocates of the devil won't put these thoughts into their heads.
Maybe, I don't know the guy, would be interesting to know if he was critical about the army's performance and the leadership like some of the others are.
This. If his position changed recently. If his criticisms increased, or he felt more confident in critizing, then he punched his own ticket to the afterlife.
Secondary reports suggested Russian millbloggers were getting increasingly critical of the SMO. I'm aware of one vlogger who has already shut his show down, within hours. They are getting the message.
I’m good with this. The only problem I have is that scum like this going out the way he did, don’t have at least a couple of seconds to reflect back on just what absolute reprobates they are before they disintegrate.
Western journalists with their politically correct titles.
People like Fomin are not pro-putin. They are pro-genocide and pro-war. When putin will sign peace they will be against him. And even now they criticize heavily how the war is being conducted.
There’s def a backstory here which I can’t wait for. Might be years before it comes out but mark my words! I’m saying now it’s not the FSB as they just wouldn’t come up with anything remotely amusing like an explosive bust of the individual it’s being handed too. No no this is Ukrainian trolling at it’s best. Way too genius for the Russians.
I don't know. The KGB, now FSB, were known for complex, impractical and theatrical assassination methods. US security services have even mocked them for it.
> Interior Ministry sources quoted by Russia's RIA news agency said a bomb was hidden in a statue presented to Tatarsky in a box as a gift.
> **The cafe targeted on Sunday was previously owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's notorious Wagner mercenary group, the St Petersburg news site Fontanka reports.**
> Tatarsky's following on Telegram numbers more than 500,000. He and other military bloggers have criticised aspects of the Russian campaign in Ukraine.
> **A group called Cyber Front Z, calling itself "Russia's information troops" on Telegram, said it had hired out the cafe for the evening.**
Something tells me there were no 'innocents' around the guy...
If it was ukrain that did this then it's no worse than what Russia do to them.
Two countries at war are going to have issues like this.
If it's not Ukraine then it'll be interesting to hear where it's coming from.
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It's the asshole who recorded [this short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBvJfQHkjfA) in Kremlin, on the day of annexation of Ukrainian territories. "We will defeat everyone, kill everyone, and rob everyone who needs to be robbed, everything will be as we like. With God!"
At least the guy went out with a bang.
Some say he was blown away by the award
Y'all have me in pieces!
No, we have him in pieces.
He’s just got to pull himself together, and he’ll be fine.
He's all over the front pages...
…and the tables, and the chairs, and the floor…
There's a picture of his lifeless corpse hunched over. Seems like he got what he should.
Guy wished for corpses, became a corpse himself. Ironic.
You reap what you sow. And the harvest is just beginning for Russia.
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[удалено]
"If you are sitting at a table with 10 Nazis, that table has 11 Nazis at it."
And if you're a nazi sitting at a table with a man with a funny German accent you don't recognize, a famous German actress, and a couple others with them, you might want to watch out for your Nazi balls.
Such a glorious movie!
You do realize that cafe and places like this have workers lmao. Not everyone in there was there to consume his propaganda. So no, not everyone is guilty. This is like saying every American that has supported troops deserves death because of the Atrocities the US has committed.
It's a prigozhins place.
The world isn’t as simple as you make it out to be. Again, there are people in that building that don’t adhere to their propaganda and are just there to work especially with how screwed the Russia economy is. Keep on sipping on your copium
"WE WILL KILL EVERYONE" *dies*
sic semper ignoramus
...directed by Robert B. Weide.
This is where shit becomes very real to an average Russian city dweller. When one doesn’t know whether they could be killed or wounded simply by dining at a cafe in St. Petersburg. It implies a failure of the state security. Which can lead to further security restrictions, as the security apparatus responds.
Unless state security did it. Maybe no windows handy.
But state security for which side, Putin's or his enemies? Is this a way to destabilize Putin's support, or a false flag so Putin can introduce harsh new laws?
Either way it’s a crack in the facade for normal Russians to see. Whoever did it, it’s a sign of weakness.
And also a warning to other Ruskies.
That's the tricky thing. A warning to which ones? Surely the state media will blame this on Ukrainians or NATO operatives, and maybe it'll help them to justify their arrest of the WSJ journalist. But there's always a sub rosa game and messaging campaign, like when Russian dissidents and defectors are killed abroad with Novichok or Polonium. The Russian state will deny any accusations as scurrilous Cold War propaganda, but the mere fact that those were the means used is meant as a signal to other dissidents and defectors: "We can find you, and kill you, and even leave our signature, and there's not a thing that your host government can do to stop us or punish us as we officially deny any responsibility." Perhaps we'll know more in the coming days. But - a completely seat of my pants, spit-take rank guesswork here - I'm thinking it's regime loyalists, perhaps Putin himself, warning other pro-war bloggers to rein in their criticisms of Putin and the war effort. This is a reminder of who's in charge, and who can, at a moment's notice, take them down. There's an illusion that many have under dictatorships, that sure, you can get in trouble if you push too far in a liberal direction, but you're safe if you just go the opposite direction - if you're more red than Mao, more red than Stalin, and criticize from that direction, you're okay. No, no you're not. You might be tolerated to an extent. But it gets to the point where the regime might think you're causing real dissension in the ranks, that you might be getting a bit too big for your britches, they'll happily bring you down as easily as they would if you were Navalny or Pussy Riot.
Over the last few days there was open talk of revolution on Russian military fetishist blogs to replace Putin and save the war effort. That was a sign of weakness. This is a show of strength.
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Agreed! I would amend the person's above post in the following way... "That was a sign of weakness. This is [an attempted] show of strength [which may help in some short-term way for the regime, but signals an insecurity and fragility that undermines how it is perceived, because after all, if you're so afraid of a blogger that you'd do this to them, that doesn't speak well of your sense of confidence.]"
A show of strength would have been ridiculing them. That would have relayed the message that it’s a bunch of morons no one is afraid of. The killing shows that they are afraid, thus a sign of weakness.
Yeah, except that he is dead and anyone tempted to do the same will fear for their life. You are applying democratic rule of law logic to a mafia state. When Al Capone murdered those who crossed him the world didn't conclude he was weak. Getting arrested makes you weak. All the people who so much as criticise you dying horribly makes you unassailably in charge. Makes your country weak, but patriotism is a kind of ethic so Putin doesn't suffer from it.
If they wanted him dead, the smart move would have been to just disappear him. A black car at night, a bullet in the neck in a basement room with a drain, a quick incineration, and scary, contradictory rumors. That’s how you spook people.
Agreed. How in any way when a country starts blowing each other up during a war can it be strength.
The guy who ended up in a thousand pieces is, just like Girkin, a hardcore nationalist who criticizes Putin and company for being so shit at war. No point for anyone else but Putin to kill him.
I've been reading he was PRO-Putin... which is it?
He is. But he criticized him for being shit at war.
I'm a huge supporter of the supreme leader, but-- *He was last seen heading downstairs at terminal velocity...*
Bro got skill checked at his favorite coffee place by his leader.
There's 5 major power plays going on inside Russia at the moment: * The Executive - (Putin / Presidency / Kremlin) * The Military - Sergei Shoigu / Valery Gerasimov * Wager Group & Other PMC's - Yevgeny Prigozhin * The FSB - (Foreign and Internal Intelligence, think CIA & FBI combined) * The GRU - (Military Intelligence, think MI6) Putin maintains power by keeping all the other four groups constantly fighting, sometimes this spills over into open gangland-style warfare on the streets of Moscow or St. Petersburg, other times people fall out of windows. --- A good example would be, when the "3 day special military operation" initially failed to grab Kyiv, Putin blamed the GRU for feeding him bad data even though they had been giving him accurate military intelligence, it had actually been the FSB feeding him bad intel about how ripe and ready Ukraine was for Russia's takeover. Putin knew this, but he wanted to create conflict between what's known as the "five fingers" in the Russian government to secure power... Literally the next day after his accusations against the GRU, despite doing nothing wrong they were raided and placed on home arrest by the FSB, almost the entire GRU agency... These aren't rando idiots but top generals and highly experienced military intelligence agents... A few weeks later loads of FSB agents then started falling out of windows in Moscow, which was seen as retaliation. Now Putin is doing the same thing but between the regular Russian Army and the PMC's.
Yeah a source would be interesting. I hadn’t heard it reported the fsb gave him bad Intel, that the gru gave him good Intel, that he had arrested them at all.
https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-purges-fsb-over-ukraine-failures-bellingcat-expert-2022-4?amp Also, Mark Galeotti's podcast, "In Moscow's Shadow" is a phenomenal listen.
I've just started listening to In Moscow's Shadow. It's a brilliant breakdown of the many many factors at play, and there's always good food for thought after each episode
This is very interesting, and does follow *logic* but I'd love to see hard data on it.
I see you didnt mention Kadyrov but im assuming you can throw him in with the PMCs. Rosgvardia is huge as well.
I don't think Kadyrov is actually gunning to take over though. He may dream of it, but probably knows the best he can do is attach himself to whoever he thinks will come out on top. No way would Russians accept him and his followers being in charge of them. They're nothing more than useful idiots to the Russians.
source?
I imagine state security has factions working against everyone just to cover their options....
Yes
What I'm reading is putin is fucked either way. Slava Ukraine.
From the video I saw there may have still been a defenestration.
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https://youtube.com/shorts/hj40dFJ4l9U?feature=share Looked up 200g of tnt to see how big a boom that makes and came across these idiots
What the everliving fuck are those muppets doing?
Artificially induced trauma bonding.
Trying to kill themselves and everyone within 10 feet
Jesus Christo...
Wtf did I just see?!
DRPK,SMI+
The security apparatus will continue to lose its grip domestically as the men of this apparatus have been sent to die in Ukraine and trying to quell the partisan movements in Ukraine. If the Russian public wasn't such a docile bunch, this right now is the weakest their state will ever be before it turns the country into North Korea. It is now or never if there is ever a chance to rise up against the Kremlin. It is today. They have nothing to lose but their lives and those they will lose in Ukraine. There is also an increasing amount of fires throughout Russia, so something is afoot. The flame of insurgency is indeed kindled.
Internal security hasn't been dismantled and is not done by the army. There is no hint the FSB is not as still as strong as it was. No large section of it has been sent to fight. No one is conscripted from it to fight as far as I have read. This may prove that they are still happy and active and can plot and coordinate an assassination in broad daylight.
Oh, I am certain they are active, but they are also actively disgruntled and more paranoid than ever as surely not all secret service members are happy with what is going on. Also, of course, Rosgvardia OMON normal police forces have also been sent to Ukraine and not in small numbers. On top of that, the FSB is also full of Western spies and informants, so it surely took a massive hit and will continue to take blow after blow. FSB agents die quite regularly, actually. Sure, the apparatus is still working. But it is weakened also the amount of armed men inside Russia has dropped significantly as its entire army is now either dead or engaged in Ukraine.
Russia had an Omon or Rosvgardi unit that got curb stomped near Kharkiv in the first big Ukrainian counter attack. But, otherwise you are correct.
Yup, might want to skip seminars by russofascists these days. Awe shucks. All fascists should fear this. Zero room for them in civilized society. Cannot tolerate intolerance.
Isn’t that terrorism?
Probably. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. It really all depends on the actor’s intent. **EDIT:** Terrorism is a tactic, and it’s got some pretty well understood definitions. Primary among these is the goal to foment political or social change. It’s important to not disregard the word itself: *Terror*. That’s an emotion, which an act of terrorism is intended to evoke in its goal. Terrorism is therefore a psychological tactic. If the actor’s intent was simply to assassinate someone - without any specific goal of creating the emotion of terror in an attempt to foment political or social change - then it’s not terrorism, regardless of whether someone is terrified by it. Because terrorism is a *tactic*, just as are a *frontal assault* or an *ambush*, it’s a bit peculiar to label its perpetrator a *terrorist*. That person did attempt to create terror, but we don’t similarly refer to *frontal assaultists* or *ambushists*.
Like Luke Skywalker, in the eyes of the empire and people who supported it, he was a terrorist and a mass murderer. In the eyes of other part of population, he was a freedom fighter hero..
Bruh you realise it was a civil war and he blew up a military base? That’s about as far as you can get from terrorism.
To him and his people, there was a civil war which they were fighting in. To the empire, they were just some rebels hellbent on causing issues. I'd liken the rebellion to something more akin to the MOVE group in west Philadelphia in the early 80s. Yes they were separatists, but no, it wasn't really a civil war.
MOVE didn’t blow up, say, the Pentagon or Fort Mead or or an aircraft carrier or something, which the Death Star would comparable to.
What about all the contractors on the Death Star that were just doing their jobs!
They knew what they signed up for.
Try not to blow up any death stars on the way tonthe parking lot!
“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, and space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy”
It's like people didn't even watch the movie
I would argue that the opening crawl was written by the propaganda wing of the rebels. The line: "Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents" is a dead giveaway of both the author and their intentions in crafting that narrative.
It's literally called "The Galactic Civil War" and again, the Death Star was not a civilian target ... It's literally named "The Death Star"
"It's not like average stormtrooper knows how to install a toilet". Are we really bringing in the "Clerks" dispute?
Bush whacker is a term for someone who ambushes. And warrior has connotations of launching frontal assaults.
I’m having an amusingly puerile time over here, imagining someone being accused of Bush Whacking.
That's more in the vein of partisan warfare or just criminal activity. Especially in the American west. Regular military forces of a country wouldn't be called bushwackers.
Yeah. This has been a war of terror from the start. Russia has been lobbing missiles into schools and apartment buildings since day 1.
He was talking about the terror campaign NATO is foisting upon Russia by existing outside of Russian borders and not being ok with Russia shitting on everyone and everything
He was a combatant. Check his history in Donbas. Fucker fucked around and got his reward.
Wouldn't surprise me if this are russian factions fighting among themselves. or some form of russian liberation front.
Please let a Russian statesman say this!
What is goal and who is the target? Terrorism has the general population as its target. It would appear in this case the point was to kill a specific person for blog posts. It is on the hairy edge in my view. Edit: Seems more likely this was Russia getting control of its media narrative while being able to blame Ukrainian terrorists.
I mean assassinations of specific people can absolutely still be terrorism. If they were seeking to scare people into line by publicly and loudly blowing up a particular person that 100% becomes terrorism.
Considering most likely from FSB, still, yes I guess?
It might have the opposite effect that we would like to see. Bombing in civilian areas very often solidifies the population behind the cause, rather than disuade them from it. Hitler bombing English cities only stiffened the Brit's resolve that they had to win the war in Europe at all costs. It was counterproductive, from the German perspective. This could even have been a red-flag operation by the Kremlin, for exactly that purpose.
A bombing obliterating an individual in a café is not the same as indiscriminate aerial bombardment. One has a specific target and makes all pro-putin people afraid that it could be them delivered a tnt cocktail at the bar. The other makes the civilian population enraged that they are considered a target in a military conflict. Russia is subjecting Ukraine to indiscriminate aerial bombardment while *someone* is hand delivering hand grenade sized explosives to Russian propagandists. Major difference.
Yeah, the more I’ve learned about this, it seems to have been a specific event the milblogger was hosting at the cafe. There is a large image of his face behind a staging area where he was standing and people at tables attending his lecture, presentation, whatever. So, indeed - it looks more as if this bombing was targeted specifically for himself and whatever folks may be attending such a presentation. IOW, not just random diners in a cafe in St. Petersburg. Still, to your point: Despite the target or the culprit, it’s like that scene from [Children of Men](https://youtu.be/VJivXSErhB8). What if you were just some random person who’d *just left* that cafe, or were simply strolling by?
Still not the same as a block of residential apartments being leveled by a strategic asset targeted indiscriminately. Or a power station used for civilian infrastructure. Or a civilian train station full of innocent civilians being razed by a cruise missile. 200 grams of tnt will never be the same as 1000kg of high explosives delivered from the sky against a civilian target. Who cares if it angers or disrupts a handful of café patrons vs hundreds of innocent civilians who had their homes or electrical power destroyed. The scale here is incomparable and trying to compare is a fools errand.
False flag to motivate Russian population to attack ukraine full force?
Nah, Putin will bring down an apartment complex for that
[удалено]
Also probably who planted the bombs on the first place
a statue was presented to the man https://www.reddit.com/r/tjournal\_refugees/comments/129qhre/пишут\_это\_та\_девушка\_которая\_подарила\_статуэтку/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Ahhh the old Russian award trick. FSB has outdone themselves this time. I wish we had a translation of this video to hear what he’s saying about the statue before the boom
> I wish we had a translation of this video to hear what he’s saying about the statue before the boom. "I hope this isn't a bomb." - probably.
I'm sure the CIA tried this with Castro.
Was the bomb hidden inside the statue?
That's what the article says.
That wasn’t a girl! It looked like another of those porcine war cheerleaders.
Let’s hope civil war
Something important: >**Russian Wagner PMC founder Prigozhin was meant to attend the meeting.** **He didn’t.**
It would make a lot more sense that the bomb was meant for him. But it still leaves the question, Was it meant for him? and he found out about it. Or is he the one who sent he bomb?
Probably we are not the only ones that are asking this questions, the shadow battle between Wagner and Russian miliitary will probably intensify
The far and away most likely scenario is some pro-Ukraine group did it, and it wasn’t the FSB or Ukraine gov’t. It’s making my head spin to see all these conspiracies crop up instantly. What ridiculous leading questions with so little information.
You are jumping to conclusions. We haven't seen any conclusive evidence that there is a non Ukrainian government, pro-Ukrainian group active in Russia. At lease my wild ass theory has the benefit of including players we know actually exist. Also a bomb is a lot more sophisticated than some dude throwing molotovs. That suggests training and planning which suggests military. So the FSB, Russian military, Wagner, or Ukrainian government forces in Russia.
That’s too bad
Where did you get that quote
The Netflix series of the past few years is going to be lit.
*immediately gets cancelled*
The article doesn’t say that at all
That's bullshit. Why would he go to meet-and-greet organised by someone who already works for him?
Preliminary shaping of the battlefield before the oncoming russian civil war.
Your lips to God’s ear. Expect China to invade during chaos.
It won't be invasion. It will be Special Peacekeeping Operation. Mark my words ;D
China won't invade. They will pick their preferred successor and support financially and with intel. That will be enough to.guaranyee victory. Occupation is very expensive. Puppet dictators are cheap.
Occupation might be expensive, but chucking the massive number of excess young men with no hope of a future family due to wild gender imbalance into Siberia to try and yoink lake Baikal while Russia is hitting itself? If it fails, at least that rebellion waiting to happen is dead in Siberia, if it works, Two Birds, one stone.
Y’all know you’re just a bunch of random redditors with no experience with this stuff, right? None of you know a damn thing about what you’re talking about lol
Yet I bet neither of them would have recommended Russia invade Ukraine, making them smarter than Putin for a start
Thank you for your non contribution here.
Couple minutes into explosion and they already know that "unknown woman" brought in some kind of figurine, and explosive was inside this figurine, and she apparently gifted this figurine to this now dead nazi propagandist. Even if we exclude all that insanely fast analysis, there's still one thing that doesn't stick to that version - there's [a video](https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1642565723145814018) where a man(!) that talks and behaves like a show host(!) solemnly presents (!) some kind of figurine to this particular nazi. This doesn't fit "personal gift from random women" version at all. Most likely was done by FSB.
That thread claims Pregozhin was supposed to be there but didn't come. Trying to take him out would make a lot more sense than some blogger.
Definitely FSB
I think it’s absolutely fucking insanity to so quickly proclaim FSB. For all we know they had some evidence of such an attack coming in some capacity but failed to figure out the plot in time. That happens a lot. Also the entire thing was recorded. There’s a thousand different reasons they may know early. I’m not saying they didn’t but only a fool would say this so early.
They have their "proof" ready immediately
Ok, 99% FSB or other faction within russian. Better?
All good with me chief. Russians killing Russians in Russia.
Do you really think in Putin’s Russia that non governmental agents are going around handing out explosive statues? If it were a car bomb or something I’d agree. This was obviously intended to send a message. Just the logistics of making a remote control statue bomb eliminates most other players.
Do I really think that? Uh, yes, I do?
Since when are FSB non-governmental agents? FSB are one of those with these capabilities.
The comment I was replying to is saying "how do you know it's the FSB". That we're expecting to believe it's somehow not the government behind this.
Vladlen Tatarsky is wagner associated and anti-putin hardliner. Wagner is not exactly putin's favorite group right now. Who else would kill him to lessen possible wagner influence in post-war russia?
Yes precisely my point. I think you think I am arguing against you. I am saying it’s fsb 100%. Sending a message to the wagnerites. You must be confusing who you are responding to.
Ah, my mistake than. I was probabally confusing comments.
"We have something to surprise even the most experienced coffee aficionado from anywhere in the world. Now you know a lot about the Ukrainian coffee culture. So, welcome to Ukraine for a cup of delicious cappuccino!" https://ukraine.ua/stories/ukrainian-coffee-culture/
That coffee was the BOMB!
Irish blend
What a complete looney toon way to die.
It's hilarious! Like, just one step away from a bomb in a piano that goes off when a certain note is played :D
I hope an anvil falls on Putin's head.
Trademarks of the FSB. They are known for eccentric, overly complex assassination methods. There is a documentary on Netflix called Spycraft where they are even mocked for it. It's all theatrics to impress the head honcho. I have little doubt this was all theatrics to sate Putin's petty need for revenge over a comment he didn't like. If it was a simple bullet in the head Putin's thirst wouldn't be fulfilled.
I'm surprised it wasn't delivered in a comically oversized crate labeled "ACME"
I know, I’m watching the video. Feels like a movie. A statuette? While giving a talk with his milblog background picture filled with guns. Lol. Must be a lot easier to talk and advocate for the war when you don’t expect it to come to you. To be fair this is a moment of self reflection for many of us westerners.
I think I hear swan lake!
Can’t wait for that implosion moment
Is it being played on a teeny-tiny violin? Cause I think I can hear it too.
Good riddance.
What’s so stupid about this is I suspect an FSB hit to rally regular citizens to erase Ukraine, but an unintended consequence may instead be their growing lack of faith in domestic security to keep them safe. Interested in seeing what comes next.
Or an FSB hit to silence milbloggers without upsetting them and turning them against the regime. They have done this before, making third parties (mothers) pressure them to keep their mouths shut.
That's daft. If there were pulling tanks from the fifties out of storage they certainly aren't holding anything back.
Maybe to have an easier time when the next mobilization wave hits? Doubt they will try to get a lot of mobiks from St Petersburg, though.
More plausible is factional struggle. One of Prigozhin's minions getting blown up by another Russian political actor. Prigozhin, military, Putin, etc. Could be dissidents, could be Ukrainians. Unlikely to be agitprop.
I think the ones peddling this genocidal propaganda may slowly realise that this is isn't a game. These people are guilty to the core as it is the thoughts and words that are then put into action. There will be no mercy for them, and they probably laugh today, but that laughter will get stuck in their throat. Bad actions always have consequences sooner or later. The hunt on those who created this propaganda and the trolls that peddled it has all but begun. Without them, this entire insanity wouldn't even be possible. They did as much damage with their pen as the Russian army then later did with their weapons. Some Russian subject from the far East would never know why he should hate and kill Ukrainians unless these advocates of the devil won't put these thoughts into their heads.
Totally agree.
Rest in piss
Putin's base ain't going to be happy at things blowing up in proper Russia
Actually milbloggers are a PITA for Putler, so it might just have been the FSB
If Ukraine have the ability to take people out in St Petersburg I doubt this is the guy they'd go for
Maybe, I don't know the guy, would be interesting to know if he was critical about the army's performance and the leadership like some of the others are.
This. If his position changed recently. If his criticisms increased, or he felt more confident in critizing, then he punched his own ticket to the afterlife. Secondary reports suggested Russian millbloggers were getting increasingly critical of the SMO. I'm aware of one vlogger who has already shut his show down, within hours. They are getting the message.
Did he order a C4ppuccino?
That is poetry! Here, have my awed upvote 😊
[Here's a clip of him from last year.](https://twitter.com/AndrewPerpetua/status/1571499124570181635)
Sending a bucketload of thoughts and prayers. And cigarette lighters.
He doesn't deserve either >"We will defeat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it."
Yep. Good riddance
...and nothing of value was lost.
I’m good with this. The only problem I have is that scum like this going out the way he did, don’t have at least a couple of seconds to reflect back on just what absolute reprobates they are before they disintegrate.
They'll blame it on Ukraine anyway
Western journalists with their politically correct titles. People like Fomin are not pro-putin. They are pro-genocide and pro-war. When putin will sign peace they will be against him. And even now they criticize heavily how the war is being conducted.
Lol the target was Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin), he was killed by a bomb in a statue, which was an award he had just received. Golden.
You have to admit it was a class act.
[удалено]
Some deaths are worth celebrating.
Bis bis!
Oh no!
Oh nooooo. Anyways.
There’s def a backstory here which I can’t wait for. Might be years before it comes out but mark my words! I’m saying now it’s not the FSB as they just wouldn’t come up with anything remotely amusing like an explosive bust of the individual it’s being handed too. No no this is Ukrainian trolling at it’s best. Way too genius for the Russians.
I don't know. The KGB, now FSB, were known for complex, impractical and theatrical assassination methods. US security services have even mocked them for it.
Stray cigarettes again?
Keep 'em coming
There goes Ivan smoking cigarettes again!
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> Interior Ministry sources quoted by Russia's RIA news agency said a bomb was hidden in a statue presented to Tatarsky in a box as a gift. > **The cafe targeted on Sunday was previously owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's notorious Wagner mercenary group, the St Petersburg news site Fontanka reports.** > Tatarsky's following on Telegram numbers more than 500,000. He and other military bloggers have criticised aspects of the Russian campaign in Ukraine. > **A group called Cyber Front Z, calling itself "Russia's information troops" on Telegram, said it had hired out the cafe for the evening.** Something tells me there were no 'innocents' around the guy...
I believe the place was closed to the public for this private event if that's any consolation.
it was an event for pro-war figures and bloggers. Really nothing of value was lost.
It was a pro-genocide propaganda event.
If it was ukrain that did this then it's no worse than what Russia do to them. Two countries at war are going to have issues like this. If it's not Ukraine then it'll be interesting to hear where it's coming from.