Putin’s Gulag-Based Empire of Abduction, Deportation, & Modern Slavery
By Brad Blitz and Alexandra Lewis, Byline Times
“The abduction and deportation of up to 402,000 Ukrainians to Russia, including some 15,000 people from the besieged city of Mariupol, sends a chilling reminder of the region’s Soviet past. While Russia claims that this constitutes an “evacuation”, human rights monitors report that deportees have been stripped of their passports and forced to sign papers saying they will remain in Russia in the districts they are moved to for two years to work without payment, rendering them as slaves.”
—
“According to Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, some 84,000 children are among the abducted, who may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to surrender in what has been labelled a “kidnapping” by the US Embassy in Kyiv. This forms only the latest chapter of a long history of forced population transfers by Russia, which, we argue, serves both economic and political ends.”
More than 400,000 Ukrainians forcibly displaced to Russia
(Euronews, 30. March)
“Lyudmila Denisova, who has responsibility in Ukraine's parliament for monitoring human rights abuses, said her country is collecting evidence of alleged Russian war crimes. She was in Brussels to discuss atrocities taking place in her country and said Ukrainians are being forced into Russia on a mass scale.”
—
"Our citizens were deported from our territory to their territory," she said. "They went against their will they were taken by force first to [a] filtration camp in Donetsk region. After that they were taken to Russia by bus. Then they are taken by train to different places, including depressive regions of the Russian federation, like Sakhalin."
Kidnapped Ukrainians taken to FSB interrogation camps in Russia
(The Times)
“Ukrainians have told of being kidnapped from occupied areas and deported to “filtration” camps in Russia run by agents of the security services. Detainees reported that FSB officers interrogated them for hours, took fingerprints and downloaded data from their phones.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kidnapped-ukrainians-taken-to-fsb-interrogation-camps-w3cfg8qrd
“Venemaa viib röövitud ukrainlased FSB kinnipidamislaagritesse.” - ERR
“Maternity patients among 20,000 civilians forcibly deported to Russia.” - NPR
“Reports of Russians deporting Ukrainians to camps trouble Stalin survivors.” - NBC News
“Ukrainian woman gave a harrowing account of what is happening at a Russian "filtration camp.” - Business Insider
“Russia transfers thousands of Mariupol civilians to its territory.” - BBC
Friday 1. April
Valitsus toetas Paldiskisse sügiseks LNG terminali rajamist
(ERR)
“Majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniministeerium sai valitsuselt ülesande jätkata töödega, et sügisel oleks Paldiskis rajatud võimekus võtta vastu veeldatud maagaasi. Regionaalse terminali rajamiseks tuleb jätkata läbirääkimisi Läti ja Soomega.”
https://www.err.ee/1608550927/valitsus-toetas-paldiskisse-sugiseks-lng-terminali-rajamist
Estonia needs help from Latvia and Finland in race for LNG terminal
(Postimees)
“While Russia is threatening to turn off gas supply unless buyers pay them in rubles, European countries are racing to find ways for escaping from energy dependence which is feeding the war. A quick remedy could be above all the increase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, which is expected to replace as much as two thirds of the pipeline gas flows from Russia by the end of the year. … The Estonian government has also a plan of building a floating terminal and the necessary infrastructure in the region …”
“Estonia to Build LNG Terminal to Cut Russia Energy Dependence.” - Bloomberg, 23. March
“Eesti loodab sügiseks olla valmis LNG impordiks.” - Estonian World Review
“Eesti Gaas pole Gazpromilt rublamaksete kohta veel selgitust saanud.” - ERR
“Venemaa ei keera reedel gaasikraane Euroopasse kinni.” - ERR
Russia’s Neighbors Look at Putin and Ask “Who’s Next?”
By Molly Schwartz, Mother Jones
“How far will Russia’s imperial ambitions go? Could Finland be next? Or Latvia? Or Estonia? Or even Poland? People in countries bordering Russia and Ukraine, are looking east fearful that they may be the next target. In each place, autonomy has endured for thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but their histories during the 20th century involve various, bloody encounters with Russia. While those memories are distant, the entwined history has given them new immediacy over the last month.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/04/russias-neighbors-look-at-putin-and-ask-whos-next/
Eestis tegutsev IT-firma korraldab Venemaa veebilehtede vastu küberrünnakuid
(Postimees)
“Ettevõtte juhi sõnul on nende rakendust alla laetud üle 55,000 korra ja umbes 5,000 arvutit kasutavad praegu tarkvara aktiivselt ja koordineeritult Venemaale suunatud DoS-rünneteks. “Praegu areneb disBalancer selle poole, et muutuda veel nutikamaks tööriistaks, sealhulgas mööda minema CAPTCHA-testidest (kasutaja kindlakstegemise tööriist – toim).”
Stoltenberg: Venemaa mitte ei tõmbu tagasi, vaid valmistub uuteks pealetungideks
(Postimees)
“President Vladimir Putini jõhker invasioon Ukrainasse oli šokeeriv, aga mitte üllatav, nentis eile NATO peasekretär Jens Stoltenberg.”
“Miski ei viita, et Venemaa oleks oma eesmärkidest loobunud.” - ERR
Belgium hands off Baltic Air Policing mission to France at Ämari
(ERR)
“In connection with Russia's attack on Ukraine, the French jets were brought to Ämari 15 days ahead of schedule.”
“Peskov: Venemaa tugevdab oma läänepiiri.” - ERR
“Air Force commandos are learning how to fight in Sweden’s frigid forests where ‘nothing works’.” - Task and Purpose
“Kaitseliit panustab maakaitsesse 20,000 kaitsjaga.” - Pealinn
“Kallas: We’re Not Doing Enough to Stop Russia.” - Time
“Joint press conference of the Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and France.” - Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Arvamus: Haridustöötajatel on võimalik ukrainlasi sõjas päriselt aidata
Liina Kersna, Postimees
“Ukraina põgenike arv kasvab iga päevaga. Politsei- ja piirivalveameti statistikast teame, et praeguseks on Eestisse jäänud üle 25 000 Ukraina kodaniku, kellest ligi 40 protsenti on alaealised. Usun, et keegi meist ei suuda täielikult ja päriselt hoomata, mida tähendab jätta maha kodu ja tulla teadmata ajaks võõrale maale, kaasas vaid paar kotitäit isiklikke esemeid, kõrvus kumamas raketiplahvatused. Vähim, mida teha saame, on võtta põgenikud hästi vastu ning pakkuda neile võimalikult turvalist ja rahulikku keskkonda. Oleme sõjapõgenikele lubanud tagada ligipääsu kvaliteetsele haridusele.”
Tallinn University offers tuition free studies for Ukrainian students
By Sten Hankewitz, Estonian World
“… who start their studies at the university from September 2022.”
Post-war Russia must be de-Putinized
Laas Leivat, Estonian World Review
“Putin’s contrived de-Nazification intent has been ridiculed world-wide. However, de-Putinization deserves serious consideration.”
https://www.eesti.ca/laas-leivat-post-war-russia-must-be-de-putinized/article59132
Finland in talks with NATO
(Yle)
“Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that on Monday he and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the "principles and procedures involved" in the military alliance's acceptance of new members.”
https://yle.fi/news/3-12381821
“Soome eksperdid põhjendavad, kellest sõltub NATO-ga liitumine.” - ERR
“Niinistö: Russian attack unlikely if Finland applied for Nato.” - Yle
“Is NATO finally in Finland's future?” - Deutsche Welle
“Will Sweden and Finland join NATO?” - Riddle
“Before the Ukrainians, It Was the Finns Who Kicked Russia’s A**.” - The Bulwark
“Presidentti Niinistö: Naton jäsenmenettely käyty ”perusteellisesti” läpi Jens Stoltenbergin kanssa.” - Uusi Soumi
“How Moscow's war in Ukraine sparked a seismic shift in Finland.” - Euronews, 10. March
“Youngsters in Finland worried conflict could spread.” - BBC
“War with Russia? Finland has a plan for that.” - Financial Times
“Deep in the Finnish Forests, People Feel Fear.” - North High New
“Sanctions impact Russian students in Finland.” - Yle
“Opinion: Finland’s NATO folly.” - Helsinki Times
Finland concerned about Russian interference in NATO debate
(Euronews)
“Finnish society as a whole should be prepared for various measures from Russia seeking to influence policymaking in Finland on the NATO issue," said Supo Director Antti Pelttari in the service's latest annual report released this week. "Public authorities must secure the conditions for a full and frank debate without intimidation, and ensure that outsiders are unable to influence security policy decisions made by Finland.”
Thursday 31. March
Recruitment efforts by Russian intelligence in Estonia have become more active
(The Times, Uk | Estonian World Review)
“There are concerns in Estonia that unwitting citizens could be turned into spies working for the Russians inside the country to escalate tensions, destabilise a protest, take photographs of military infrastructure or even gather intelligence on the British-led Nato mission in the country, which has now doubled in size. When recruiting spies, Russian spies are trying to get information about Estonia's border facilities and how the border could be secretly crossed, the Minister of the Interior said.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kremlin-recruiting-estonians-as-spies-n5dc78klg
—
https://www.eesti.ca/kremlin-recruiting-estonians-as-spies-before-possible-invasion/article59114
Once branded 'alarmist' over Russian fears, Baltic states call for more military support
(NBC News)
“Baltic states' officials and lawmakers see Ukraine’s struggle and its future as intertwined with their own security and the fate of their liberal democracies. Russia’s latest acts of aggression, they say, are affirmation that the Kremlin remains their greatest threat, despite close allies telling them for years that they were alarmist.”
“Estonian government to leave symbols of aggression undefined.” - ERR
“Latvia bans use of symbols of war propaganda.” - BNN
Eesti võib olla sunnitud metsaraie süsinikuheite sadade miljonitega kinni maksma
Ülle Harju, Postimees
“Intensiivne metsaraie on viinud Eesti maakasutuse süsinikubilansi punasesse: samamoodi jätkates tuleb meil eurokohustuste täitmata jätmine kinni maksta – kas heitekvooti juurde ostes või kahjutasu makstes. Jutt käib sadadest miljonitest eurodest.”
The modernisation of the Estonian Defence Forces
(Army Technology)
“A history of conflict and occupation by the Soviet Union has left the populace, and successive governments, extremely wary of a belligerent and expansionist Russian Federation.”
https://www.army-technology.com/comment/modernisation-estonian-defence-forces/
The Baltic States’ response to the war against Ukraine
Dalia Bankauskaitė, CEPA
“All three countries have adopted similar measures …”
https://cepa.org/the-baltic-states-response-to-war-against-ukraine/
“Estonia among 41 states investigating war crimes in Ukraine.” - Baltic Times
“Lithuanian Orthodox Church condemns Russia's war against Ukraine.” - Delfi
Moscow Mulling Wholesale Border Changes in Central Eastern Europe
By Paul Goble, Jamestown Org.
“Even if none of these changes are in fact realized, the mere discussion of them will have the effect of heightening tensions in the region by spreading suspicions that their borders are at risk and the conviction that what had once seemed permanent may be anything but.”
—
“In an article entitled “Russia Will Blow up European Borders,” Moscow-based commentator Albert Akopyan (Urumov) argues that the conflict in Ukraine has given Russia “a unique opportunity” to promote border adjustments in Europe—both near its western frontiers and further afield … Ukraine is on course toward disintegration, the analyst writes, and Moscow can distribute its territories to neighbors in ways that serve them and Russia.”
—
“Moscow can give Poland Lviv in exchange for Warsaw granting Moscow control of the Suwałki corridor, which would open a land bridge to Kaliningrad and prevent any Western blockade of that non-contiguous Russian territory from being effective.”
https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-mulling-wholesale-border-changes-in-eastern-europe/
Wednesday 30. March
Meil tuleb olla valmis massiliseks rändeks Venemaalt
Elo Mõttus-Leppik, Postimees
“Eestil tuleb tõenäoliselt aasta lõpus valmis olla ulatuslikuks sisserändeks Venemaalt, ning erinevalt koju naasta plaanivatest ukrainlastest soovivad venelased lahkuda Putini režiimi alt jäädavalt.”
Estonia needs to be prepared for massive immigration from Russia
(Postimees | Baltic Times)
“Russian social media recommends moving to Estonia to those who would face language barriers elsewhere. Narva is presented as a super-Russian city. “The most tolerant immigration laws are in Estonia. If living in Tallinn seems too expensive, you can choose Narva, this is a super-Russian city with a large Russian-speaking population,” recommended You-tube poster Varlamov.”
—
“Economic expert Raivo Vare considers it highly likely that a large number of fugitives from Russia will reach Estonia. “Half of them would be political and half economic refugees,” said Vare.”
https://news.postimees.ee/7489394/we-need-to-be-prepared-for-massive-immigration-from-russia
—
https://www.baltictimes.com/estonia_must_be_ready_for_mass_emigration_from_russia/
Nato must bolster its eastern flank before it’s too late
By President Alar Karis, Financial Times
“In the Founding Act on Mutual Relations between Nato and Russia, signed in May 1997, Moscow promised to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states. It also promised to respect the right of all states to choose the means of ensuring their own security. In the last month, Russia has violated this by invading Ukraine and in seeking to dictate which countries can belong to Nato. It is time for us to declare the act null and void.”
—
“A permanent allied presence will underline the fact that the Baltic states and Poland are just as equal as Germany, Italy or the UK — and that a forceful military response begins from the very first centimetre of the alliance’s territory.”
https://www.ft.com/content/30d0f1fa-593e-4254-9e4e-e9de9e280b73
“Intervjuu: Alar Karis - Eesti rahvas on paganama hea rahvas.” - Postimees
NATO Must Free Itself from Its Promises to Russia
(The Bulwark)
“It has been a quarter century since NATO committed itself to playing nice with Russia. In May 1997, President Bill Clinton flew to Madrid to sign the NATO-Russia Founding Act, a compromise that cleared the path for NATO enlargement into the former Warsaw Pact while granting concessions for Russian security concerns. (East Germany had already merged into NATO with German reunification.) Those concessions, granted at a time when the Russian threat was minimal, have made it difficult or impossible for NATO to defend the Baltic states, which joined NATO in 2004. Now that the enormity and urgency of the Russian threat is clear, the reasons for NATO to abide by the NATO-Russia Founding Act are withering away.”
https://www.thebulwark.com/nato-must-free-itself-from-its-promises-to-russia-putin-ukraine/
“The 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act.” - NATO official text
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on war in Ukraine and the Russian threat
(PBS News Hour)
“… 18 years ago we joined NATO and that makes a huge difference. No NATO country has ever been attacked. We don’t see any military threats and we feel secure.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijLFTxLDw_4
“NATO must boost Baltic defences, Estonia's prime minister says.” - Reuters
“Estonian PM urges Canada to hit NATO's defence spending target.” - CBC
“Cyber threat in Estonia rising since Ukraine war began.” - ERR
“Russian hackers targeted NATO and eastern European militaries.” - Euronews
“Russia to expel 10 Baltic diplomats in tit-for-tat move.” - RFERL
“NATO Must Boost Baltic Defences - Estonia's Prime Minister.” - US News
Kallas: vajaksime NATO-lt diviisi
(ERR)
"NATO is protecting every centimeter of its territory - we need reliable protection on land, in the air and at sea. [But] the current situation in our region is not enough. We would need combat-capable divisions supported by anti-aircraft, indirect fire and command elements," Kallas said. "We need to move from air security to air defense and we also need more NATO ships patrolling the Baltic Sea.”
https://www.err.ee/1608549115/kallas-vajaksime-nato-lt-diviisi
US Army’s new short-range air defense system debut in exercise held in Estonia
(Defense Blog)
“M-SHORAD is a Stryker-mounted air defense platform, providing the Army with a replacement to the legacy Avenger system. Better armored, better armed, and more mobile than the system it’s replacing the M-SHORAD is going to provide the Soldier with a flexible air defense solution that can keep up with a unit on the move, closing out a vulnerability as the use of low altitude threats like helicopters and small drones …”
Britain patrols Baltic Sea, delivers supplies to Battlegroup in Estonia
(Defense Connect)
“Throughout the security task, Royal Navy vessels HMS Northumberland and HMS Richmond performed patrols throughout the Baltic Sea, supported by members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) including Danish frigate HDMS Niels Juel alongside warships from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.”
US F-35s Conduct Air Policing from Estonia
(Warrior Maven)
“Launching from Estonia, an F-35 could easily hold areas of Russia at risk from the air, given that the F-35 has a combat radius of several hundreds miles.”
https://warriormaven.com/russia-ukraine/f-35s-estonia-ukraine-russia-nato
Estonia in the UN Security Council: A History in Three Crises
(ICDS)
“This analysis explores Estonia’s Council term through the lens of three crises: (1) the 2020 Iranian sanctions “snapback” debate, which saw the Trump administration almost completely isolated in the Council over its call to restore previous sanctions resolutions against Tehran; (2) the Council’s muted response to the deterioration of security in Eastern Europe through 2020 and 2021, beginning with the post-electoral protests in Belarus; and (3) the UN’s response to the Afghan collapse in the second half of 2021. Estonia played notable but different roles in all three cases.”
https://icds.ee/en/estonia-in-the-security-council-a-history-in-three-crises/
West taking Estonia more seriously on security than ever before
(ERR)
“… and the country has more influence on security issues than at any time in the past, according to one security expert.”
Four Million-Plus Ethnic Ukrainians in Russian Federation Becoming a Problem
By Paul Goble
“Ukrainians … are almost as large as the second largest nation there – the Tatars – and Putin’s war in Ukraine may be transforming them into a serious problem for Moscow.”
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/03/four-million-plus-ethnic-ukrainians-in.html
__________
Putin’s War
__________
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 31. March 2022
(ISW)
[ISW produces excellent, detailed, open-source intelligence analysis.]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-31
Russian Families Are Disowning Each Other Over Putin’s War
By Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast
“It is just scary to see how friends and family members demand to ‘cleanse’ Ukraine.”
“Lack of Accurate Information Far from the Most Serious Problem in Russian Information Space.” - Paul Goble
Russia sees tech brain drain
(AP)
“By one estimate, up to 70,000 computer specialists, spooked by a sudden frost in the business and political climate, have bolted the country since Russia invaded Ukraine five weeks ago. Many more are expected to follow. …”
Anne Applebaum: How to Fight Back Against Dictators Like Putin
(Persuasion)
“One of the things that to me, as a historian, is really horrifying is watching the Russians do in eastern Ukrainian cities exactly what they did in eastern Poland, Hungary, the Baltic states, and East Germany, right after World War II: decapitating the top of society; arresting the mayors, museum curators, intellectuals, journalists, and then using random terror on everybody else. This is how the Soviet occupation was conducted in Central Europe after the war, and they seem to have the same playbook here. And so, for the Ukrainians, giving up any territory means that you're giving people over to a regime of terror. …”
https://www.persuasion.community/p/applebaum?s=r
“Interview: exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.” - DW
“Kyiv and Putin: a story of a certain hatred.” - New Eastern Europe
“Mariupolist põgenenu: Ukrainas süüakse kasse ja koeri ning joogiks tuleb lund sulatada.” - Postimees
“‘Scum and traitors’: Hostile environs for Russia’s anti-war activists.” - CSM
“Why Do So Many Russians Say They Support the War in Ukraine?” - The New Yorker
“Experts outline five ways Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine might end.” - Foreign Policy
“Can Putin be trusted to honour a ceasefire?” - CBC
"If Putin Does Back Off, It's Always Just a Pause.” - Spiegel
“What if Putin Didn’t Miscalculate?” - New York Times
Putin Doesn’t Realize How Much Warfare Has Changed
By Military Historian Antony Beevor, The Atlantic
“The Russian president’s distorted obsession with history, especially with the “Great Patriotic War” against Germany, has skewed his political rhetoric with bizarre self-contradictions. It has clearly affected his military approach. Tanks were a great symbol of strength during the Second World War. That Putin can still see them that way defies belief. The vehicles have proved to be profoundly vulnerable to drones and anti-tank weapons in recent conflicts in Libya and elsewhere . … Putin’s army is clearly not the Red Army, just as Putin’s Russia is not the Soviet Union. …”
“Donbassis saavad olema selle sõja suurimad lahingud.” - Estonian World Review
“NATO should establish a humanitarian no-conflict zone in Ukraine.” - Atlantic Council
“NATO May Provide Anti-Ship Missiles to Ukraine.” - Maritime Executive
“Russian generals are getting killed at an extraordinary rate.” - Washington Post
“Russian State TV Pulls Out The Stops To Sell Kremlin's Narrative.” - RFERL
“Russia walks back Russia's war aims in the Ukraine conflict.” - Lawfare
“Ukrainian Fighter Pilots Describe Their Desperate Air War Against Russia.” - The Drive, 22. March
“Putin’s purge of ‘traitors’ scoops up pensioners, foodies and peaceniks.” - Washington Post, 26. March
Putin Is Just Following the Manual
(The Atlantic)
“No one can read Vladimir Putin’s mind. But we can read the book that foretells the Russian leader’s imperialist foreign policy. Mikhail Yuriev’s 2006 utopian novel, The Third Empire: Russia as It Ought to Be, anticipates—with astonishing precision—Russia’s strategy of hybrid war and its recent military campaigns: the 2008 war with Georgia, the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the incursion into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions the same year, and Russia’s current assault on Ukraine.”
—
“Yuriev’s book, like Putin’s war with Ukraine, is an expression of post-Soviet neo-medievalism, a far-right, anti-Western, and antidemocratic ideology that assigns “Russian Orthodox civilization” a dominant role over Europe and America … The Third Empire is rumored to be popular and highly influential in the Russian leader’s circle; one Russian publication described it as “the Kremlin’s favorite book.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/putin-kremlin-foreign-policy-strategy/629388/
“The Third Empire" is an ethno-nationalist nightmare and the Kremlin loves it.” - Natalia Antonova, 9. March
“Fantasy novel predicted Russian invasion.” - The Times, 28. March
“Fictional prophecy: Map of Russia’s Third Empire (2053).” - Big Think
__________
And Finally: Polesia
__________
“Polesia is Europe’s largest wilderness, a network of swamps and wetlands that stretch across Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, coving an area equivalent to more than two-thirds the size of the UK.”
Russian tanks are devastating an idyllic
Ukrainian wetland wilderness
(New Scientist, 23. March)
“The invasion of Ukraine is first and foremost a humanitarian catastrophe, but the environmental consequences of Putin's war will also be dire.”
—
“Putin’s assault on Kyiv cut through Belarus to Ukraine’s north, with much of the shelling occurring in and around the capital Kyiv and cities to the east. The Russian military also destroyed part of the conservation zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant while attempting to take control of the facility.”
“If Putin’s War Doesn’t Destroy The Amazon Of Europe, A New Waterway Could.” - The Rainforest Blog
“Military action in radioactive Chernobyl could be dangerous.” - The Conversation, 3. March
“Polesia: Belarus’s largest wildlife NGO shut down.” - The Guardian
“The race to save Polesia, Europe's secret Amazon.” - Guardian
“Polesia straddles the borders of Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.” - Save Polesia Org.
__________
_______
____
