Art of the Deal: Trump is Allegedly Offering Russia's Oligarchs Much-Needed Sanctions Relief

Offering sanctions relief in exchange for ... what though?

The real deals are being negotiated behind the scenes. The military realities seem to be a very distant second or even third factor in deciding the course of the Washington-Moscow conflict. Worryingly, there is reason to believe that Trump might offer the Kremlin’s chosen oligarchs a way to wriggle out of their predicament in exchange for capitulating in Ukraine. We have to play connect the dots here and to sift through rumors and gossip to make our thesis though.

I do think we can make a more-or-less coherent general analysis though even though the details are scant.

Let’s start with this. The former Defense Minister Serdukov’s family was removed from the sanctions list. Here:

Serdukov looted the Russian army very thoroughly over his time in office and hid it under the names of his family members. From what we know, his money was kept in Russia, at least. Dugin calls this “patriotic corruption”, remember? But, maybe his daughter and by extension him getting the sanctions lifted off of him implies that he does indeed have significant foreign holdings. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a way to sanction him now would there?

Here is an old story explaining how much he stole within Russia and where he stashed it.

«Dacha Serdyukova » on the shores of the Sea of Azov. Elite apartments in his sister’s name in the center of Moscow. The business empire of his son-in-law in St. Petersburg. The history of the former Minister of Defense clearly shows how to get rich while in the civil service.

Immediately after the minister’s resignation, investigators rushed into the Temrük district of Kuban. The case of the «Defense Services » led them to 3 hectares of land on the banks of Tamani, near the village of Peresyp. In the course of the career of Anatoly Serdyukov, this area went from being federal to becoming private – first, local officials handed it over to the Ministry of Defense, and in 2010 the land was sold cheaply to a certain LLC, which is now called «“TAG1” in the Federal Property Management Agency ».

Over the years, an elite project has been built here: on the papers it is a boarding house «Ellada », but the locals call it nothing more than «the cottage of Serdyukov». Last October, President Medvedev came to rest here at the Minister’s company. Serdyukov himself was here several times a year.

– He personally controlled the construction work, – says a local resident Nikolai Yeskov. – They built it with Tajiks, Uzbeks, recently they just finished the helipad. Otherwise, everything was ready – recreation center for 24 rooms. And another separate VIP house where Medvedev rested. There is a pool right inside, there is a sauna, a cinema, on the roof – a terrace with sea views.

Behind a 3-meter fence, such details cannot be distinguished, but Nikolai Fedorovich was a guest in the closed territory – he himself was sitting with Serdyukov on a bench behind a business conversation. The fact is that Yeskov is run by a fish farm, the head of a large estuary next to the site.

– And when Serdyukov arrived, they discussed contracts, selling fish to them, – Yeskov tells me. – I asked him who this project is for. He said: «My friends will rest here ». That is, people with money.

But a month later, Yeskov continues, something «was changed », and instead of cooperation, the estuary was simply appropriated away from him.

– The military began to come at me, they called me to appear at the administration, Rosrybolovstvo, they say, give up the estuary, – says Nikolai Fedorovich. – Then they began to press fines on me – for six months they wrote me up 500 thousand. I say: well, how can you do this? Liman is in my use, but in general it is all federal waters, they cannot be given over to private hands. But it was clear: I agree – or they are ready to come down on me.

(…)

In the native land

The loudest of these stories was the transfer of 93 acres of the Utrish Reserve to the Ministry of Defense in 2009.

– Even earlier, the site was viewed with interest by comrades from the regional administration, – says former director of the reserve Stanislav Ermolaev. – They were the first to cut down old growth relict forests there and paved the road. But the ecologists rebelled, made some noise, and «the comrades » decided that it was easier to abandon their intentions.

But the militant ecologists were not afraid.

– And by the decision of the City Council of Deputies of Anapa, the site was transferred, – continues Ermolaev. – The decision was made in funny circumstances. At first everyone was «against the transfer », and a few hours later they re-voted – and all suddenly became «for ».

The site was surrounded by a fence, and construction began. Allegedly of a radar station for the needs of the Black Sea Fleet.

– We were there a year ago, it doesn’t look like a radar, it’s just a luxurious palace, – the leader «Apple » Sergey Mitrokhin told us. – Yachts are rumored to be chained in the bay, one of them is – Gref, the other is – Serdyukov. They say that the highest ranks love to vacation in these places, so they needed apartments.

And that’s not all. According to unconfirmed reports, Serdyukov is related to another boarding house – «South Palmyra », also in the Temryuk district. To the elite camp site behind the farm of Sadka, Primorsko-Akhtar district, where the Minister of Defense, they say, visited with the governor Tkachev.

– And not far from the base, in the northern part of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, a plot of land was illegally sold two years ago, – district deputy Alexander Biryukov told me. – Allegedly neighboring camp site «Lotos » was bought for nothing – 24 million rubles when at market value it is worth 2 billion. I then began to write to the prosecutor's office, but they told me in the local administration: do not make any sudden movements because Serdyukov is behind the deal.

In the Abinsky district, in the village of Kholm, where the minister was born, the palace has also grown in recent years. To the minister’s home on the street Tamanskaya, 14 they connected two neighboring hut and built a family estate. A pool and a decorative pond were dug in the gardens.

– This is the very outskirts of the village, but the road here was paved, gas was supplied, lanterns were installed every half meter, – says environmentalist Dmitry Shevchenko. – The inhabitants of the street are satisfied: Serdyukov is not often there, but they have fallen for the benefits that few had in the village [before the project].

Family deals

Checks of property are carried out not only in the small homeland of the ex-minister, but also in Moscow. The long-suffering house on Dairy Lane turned out to have apartments not only for Serdyukov and his subordinate Vasilyeva. The sister of ex-Minister Galina Puzikova owns three 4-room apartments, two garages and an uninhabited premises – according to experts, all together this is worth 700 million rubles. The apartments were searched.

According to the tax return, Puzikova also owns three elite apartments in St. Petersburg (where Galina lives), plots and cottages in the Moscow and Leningrad regions. And this despite the fact that in 2011 Puzikova indicated an income of 240 thousand rubles. Not enough – for the purchase of luxury housing, and for the scope of its business. She, for example, is listed as the founder of «Klinline » LLC. The «cleaning and cleaning office » received orders, including from the Ministry of Defense and the St. Petersburg tax, which was previously headed by Serdyukov. According to expert estimates, in 2006 – 2010 «Klinline » earned about 13 million $ on state contracts.

The head of the Puzik family, which has kinship with Serdukov, also benefited. After the transfer of Serdyukov to Moscow, Valery Puzikov was appointed head of the FSUE «Engineering and Technical Center of the Ministry of Defense ». The office received profitable contracts from the structures of the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Tax Service. True, in 2010, Puzikov resigned from the ITC.

Until 2007, Serdyukova’s son-in-law also owned 1/3 of the development company «AutoKBalt », whose demolition of the historic building «Literary House » on Nevsky caused a public scandal a year ago.

– Demolition was absolutely illegal, they were going to build a complex of elite rented apartments, – says activist of the organization «Living city » Dmitry Litvinov. – Without administrative resources, no developer would have been able to do such operations. According to rumors, this company acted with the support of Serdyukov.

The owners of «AutoComBalt » at that time were people who at different times acted as partners in the business of Puzikov and Serdyukov himself.

Valery Puzikov is still the owner and co-founder of many companies. His income for 2011 – 81.3 million rubles. The businessman – owns 10 apartments in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Territory, 12 plots, 4 houses, 18 cars, a boat, etc. According to rumors, he also owns one of the cottages in 800 square meters. m, built on the territory of «cottages of Serdyukov » in the Utrish reserve. According to some reports, this object is now also being checked.

After all, as the eco-activists of the Kuban tell, investigators admitted to them that they received the «go-ahead to finish the project to the end».

By the way

(…)

Both wives of the ex-minister also conduct business in St. Petersburg. The first, Tatyana Serdyukova, owns LLC «Furniture market store №11 ». The present, daughter of Viktor Zubkov Julia, heads the fitness club and spa in the house on Robespierre, 4. In total, 3 firms associated with the second wife of Serdyukov are registered at this address.

I am as shocked as you are to find out that one of Putin’s ministers was corrupt, by the way. I mean, just look at his face, doesn’t it just scream honesty to you?

If we can’t trust a man who looks like Serdykov, who can we trust???

And poor Putin! The guy just can’t catch a break! All the defense ministers that he appoints seem to turn out corrupt. Of course, Putin himself had nothing to do with it and is simply trying his best. He is the only honest man in the Kremlin, a true Orthodox patriot, beset by his bad ministers who advise him poorly. If only he knew what they got up to in his name! Alas, he is simply too moral and Christian to distrust anybody. That his government is this corrupt is actually proof of how saintly Putin himself is, actually. Just think about it — it makes total sense from a Christian perspective.

If you don’t believe me, ask this priest, who recently came out with an impassioned sermon in defense of mega-yachts and the moral supermen who own them. Here:

The Orthodox clergy has the right to a rich life. This was announced on the air of the TV channel «Union » by the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) Alexander Sakhnenko.

According to Sakhnenko, the assumption that Russians have in the form of expensive property of priests that they acquired property for church money, — is false. «There is a feeling: well, he’s a father, he can’t have that kind of money. Wait, how can't it? » — he said. The priest added that the property of the priests can be inherited through purchase on credit, or thanks to parishioners who gave the priest a present.

In particular, he remembered the story of the yacht, which was attributed to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. Defending the right of priests to wealth, he said that this yacht as a concept can be correlated with any Russian priest. «Every time people start screaming about the patriarch’s yacht and indignant why they ride it, I say: "Get away from my yacht! This is my yacht too, and the yacht of Metropolitan Nicodemus, and the yacht of Father Vasily from the village "», — he defended the right of clergy to live in comfort.

He noted that the fact of the yacht belonging to the patriarch still needs to be proved, and in addition, even if it really belongs to Cyril, Sakhnenko does not see anything wrong with this.

Earlier, the Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Andrei Tkachev called for allowing children to work from 7-8 years old, since a protracted childhood prevents the construction of family life in the future.

People don’t like to hear this, but the higher-ups in the Orthodox Church in every country have from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth. How is this possible? Well, when normies get old, they start worrying about death and address the problem in the only way that they know how: by groveling to people with power and trying to buy themselves a ticket into heaven. It is very profitable to be running a ticket office to salvation, as it were, and has been so for centuries. That, and the massive government subsidies for the thousands of empty churches that no one attends, but who insist on having a full staff regardless, lines their coffers nicely.

This isn’t particular to Russia, mind you.

In the West, the churchmen all live extremely comfortable lives of luxury and indolence. There is literally nothing difficult about being a priest by the way. You punch in on Sunday to do your service, gossip with the church-ladies during the week, and collect your check while feeling morally superior to the plebs. It is a great grift, and I can respect it on the same level as I can respect the hustle of Indian call center scammers who defraud pensioners of their life savings. It may not be the most glamorous line of work, but someone’s gotta do it!

And the most important work of all is to beat down the natives with ideological guilt-tripping. This aforementioned yacht-priest came out recently and blamed Ukraine’s HIMARS bombings on the Russian peoples’ moral failings. He said that Russians deserved it for not being Christian enough (i.e., not giving him more money). Here:

The Russian Orthodox Church declared the fault of the Russians in the attacks of the HIMARS of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU) on Russian cities — so God punishes abortion, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev believes. The priest posted the video from the sermon on his YouTube channel.

Protoirei cited statistics according to which «abortions take people an order of magnitude more in peacetime and in wartime ».

«It is because of debauchery that wars occur (...). The Lord punishes us with these "Haymars" or "drones" that fly around our cities. They fly to Voronezh, and to Kazan, and to Taganrog, and to St. Petersburg. And they will not rest until we repent », — said Tkachev.

The priest emphasized that «the only place where the male seed should be poured, — is the bosom of his wife », and if «the seed pours anywhere », then «the country will bleed, war [starts] ».

Every time you have a wank in the shower, a Ukrainian drone blows up on Russian territory. Yahweh, the god of the Orthodox Church, is punishing you. A vapid whore gets an abortion and this god decides to punish some soldier in a trench half the world away by blowing off his legs. This is what true love looks like. This is proof of just how much the Yahweh god loves Russia.

The Orthodox Church always blames Russians for everything, so this is not some major theological deviation, mind you.

The overthrow of the Tsar is blamed on Russian peasants for not praying hard enough. Even though the Church itself overthrew Tsar Nicholas II because they wanted to gain more power and to institute socialism. But that detail gets left out for some reason.

The Bolshevik death camps are considered to have been therapeutic for the Russian peoples’ soul. No really, they are considered just punishment meted out by a loving god for abandoning Orthodoxy … in a country in which the religion had literally been made illegal and a death sentence. Doesn’t matter though! When Putin eventually disintegrates the Russian Federation from within, the Church will blame Ivan on the street or at the factory for this as well.

If only they had bought Father Tkachev another yacht this could have all been avoided!

Conclusion: Christianity is an evil, psychotic, victim-blaming, occupation ideology every bit as extreme as Bolshevism. It has to be stamped out, root and stem. And the priests need to be sent to … therapy centers in Siberia where they can learn to serve their god from the comfort of a barracks instead of on the decks on their yachts.

**

Sorry, I got off topic grinding my favorite ax.

The real hidden news we are discussing today is that Trump is dangling sanction relief in front of Russia’s oligarchs. This is what they want addressed the most because their stolen money and their children are in the West. Furthermore, the sanctions make it harder to make money selling raw resources to the West, which is the basis of the Russian Federation’s economy, thanks to Yeltsin and Putin’s neoliberal austerity economic reforms.

They’re talking about oil and gas sanction relief. That is, they’re speculating over whether or not Trump will use the latest round of harsh Biden sanctions as a bargaining cheap. Here:

The outgoing Biden administration on Friday imposed the most disruptive sanctions on Russia’s oil trade by any Western power to date. The move created an open question about how Trump views the measures, given his commitment to quickly ending the war in Ukraine.

There are two main approaches under consideration by the Trump team. One set of policy recommendations — if the incoming administration believes a resolution to the Ukraine war is in sight — involves some good-faith measures to benefit sanctioned Russian oil producers that could help seal a peace deal, said the people, requesting anonymity as the deliberations are private. A second option would build on the sanctions, ramping up pressure even further to increase leverage, they said.

(…)

The Trump team’s plans are in the early stages and ultimately depend on the president-elect himself, the people said. Last week, Trump said a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was being set up, raising the prospect of potential near-term negotiations to end the war.

The strategy discussions include some of Trump’s cabinet nominees as well as former sanctions officials in his first administration, the people said. Several conservative-leaning think tanks are also being sounded out. The transition team has yet to announce Trump’s picks for some key roles involved in economic statecraft.

(…)

An early barometer of how the Trump team tackles sanctions on Russia will come in mid-March when a general license permitting a wind-down in purchases of Russian energy products is set to expire. If the Treasury Department allows the exemption on some transactions to lapse, it could ratchet up pressure on the Kremlin.

On Wednesday, officials introduced measures to make it harder for Trump to lift some of the sanctions on Russia unilaterally. They re-designated several entities, requiring the president to notify Congress if he plans to lift restrictions on them, potentially triggering a vote of disapproval if members object.

(…)

For the Trump team, a more-aggressive Russian policy mix could entail greater enforcement of secondary sanctions on oil trading, penalizing European shippers as well as Asian buyers, including major entities in China and India, the people said. Another possible approach: Pushing for more assertive interventions on tankers moving Russia’s oil through the vital Danish and Turkish chokepoints.

Trump probably will offer sanctions relief to Moscow.

But what will Moscow have to give up to get those sanctions lifted? Territory swaps? Agreeing to limit the Russian army? Appointing more Western stooges to the Kremlin? Or helping Washington wage war on Iran soon?

More sanctions news:

It is premature, but some are saying that Trump will send over an official to observe the May 9th parade in Moscow. I thought those were banned because of COVID or something, but I guess they actually just banned the “Immortal Brigade” which was a citizen-led march in which Russians walked with portraits of their WWII-era family members that served or died in that war. Either that or they banned the marches because of this Special Friendly Neighbourly Socialist Policing Operation in Territorially Sovereign Ukraine.

I’ve participated three times with my grandpa and my father.

But the occupation government has always been very weary of this movement and has sought to shut it down. They are supported by the priests in this effort, naturally, who have accused the march of being a form of paganism and gentile idolatry. They believe that it encourages “ancestor worship” and the state fears the latent nationalism of the marches.

Once again: I can’t stress this enough — Orthodoxy is anti-Russian.

I do agree with them that the Immortal Brigade is a fundamentally pagan, anti-Christian manifestation. It felt like a religious experience in its own right to participate in the march. I felt connected to other Russians, and felt our latent power. No wonder they want to stamp it out, these priest-spooks.

**

A Strelkov letter fragment was released from prison. He believes that this peace deal being dangled in front of Moscow’s nose will be a Minsk III. Here:

IGOR STRELKOV /letter fragment/:

- Regarding "a respite for us too" - There won't be one for us at all. You'll see for yourself if something like a "truce" is concluded. The enemy won't observe it "at all", but we - "in the traditions of the Minsk ceasefire" - will. That is - they'll shoot at us, they'll build fortifications before our eyes, concentrate troops (and then NATO troops will be brought in), and we (i.e. "Moscow") will respond with dismal protests. And then someone will start telling us again with an offended voice how he was "led by the nose again".

- Medvedchuk DOES NOT HAVE ANY ELECTORAL BASE in the so-called Ukraine. It existed and exists only in the official papers of our, God forgive me, "intelligence services", which (as has long been the custom with us) "reported not what is in fact, but what the authorities want to hear".

He is referring to Putin’s oligarch close friend, who was arrested by Zelensky several months prior to the SMO, thereby precipitating the SMO in the first place. That is a key thesis of this blog and I think I came out with it even before Strelkov: the SMO was an operation to get Medvedchuk out of prison and to restore his political mafia to power.

It appears that Moscow’s great plan for “victory” is to basically try and get the Donbass mafia back into power in Kiev. If this is true, then it makes sense that they’re more than willing to give back Donbass to Kiev. They’d want these people voting in the elections at least. I don’t know if this is still the plan though. But it was certainly the intention behind Istanbul, which may as well be Minsk III (and this next deal would be the Minsk IV). And Putin does insist that he wants to have Istanbul honored and to go back to Istanbul.

So …

- In this war, "achieving a compromise" is impossible (this war is essentially a civil one). Therefore, someone will win (sooner or later) a complete and decisive victory. And if it is not us, then...

Naturally, I am for our victory - I was, am and will remain, no matter what.

- When you ask questions (often of a rhetorical nature), you proceed from the current state of affairs and public sentiment. So: this year, so much will probably change that all the current "realities" will seem wild and a "mirage". Or - "a legend of deep antiquity". However, "clinging to the ghost of a happy past" is characteristic of aging and decrepit states and civilizations. We are in for a very cruel "sobering up" after a quarter of a century of "mindlessly devouring" the legacy of our ancestors. Soon, people will probably have to fight en masse and work hard not for "ideas", but simply for a piece of bread and a little heat and electricity during the long winter.

I wish that at least these gloomy predictions of mine would not come true...

Yeah, I too think that the war might be concluded, but that the massacres will continue and they will spread into an internal conflict within the borders of the Russian Federation.

…

Also, other analysts are starting to sound the same alarm about Trump that Strelkov (and I) have been sounding.

Here is what one of the once top pro-Western Libertarian CIA assets in Russia (Dmitriy Trenin) warns about the coming of Trump in a RT analysis:

The fighting will continue. In response to the rejection of his plan, a frustrated Trump will impose additional sanctions on Moscow. However, he will avoid any serious escalation that might provoke Russia into attacking NATO forces. Despite strong anti-Russian rhetoric, US aid to Ukraine will decrease, shifting much of the burden onto Western European nations. While the EU is prepared to step in, the quality and scale of Western material support for Ukraine will likely decline.

On the battlefield, the tide will continue to shift in Russia’s favor. Russian forces are expected to push Ukraine out of key regions such as Donbass, Zaporozhye, and parts of Kursk Region. Ukraine will mobilize younger, inexperienced recruits to slow Russia’s advances, but this strategy will lead to limited success. Kiev will rely increasingly on surprise operations, such as border incursions or symbolic strikes deep into Russian territory, in attempts to demoralize the Russian population.

Domestically, the US and its allies may push for elections in Ukraine, hoping to replace Vladimir Zelensky – whose term expired in the middle of last year – with General Valery Zaluzhny. While this political reshuffling might temporarily strengthen Kiev’s leadership, it will not address the underlying challenges of economic collapse and deteriorating living conditions for ordinary Ukrainians.

(…)

After significant military victories in 2024, Israel, with US backing, will attempt to consolidate its gains against Iran. The US-Israeli strategy will involve combined pressure, including military actions, against Iranian proxies like the Yemeni Houthis and efforts to deepen ties with Gulf Arab monarchies under the Abraham Accords.

While Russia signed a treaty with Iran in January 2025, it does not obligate Moscow to intervene militarily if Tehran is attacked. Thus, a full-scale Middle Eastern war involving Russia and the US remains unlikely. Domestically, Iran faces uncertainty as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, now 86, nears the end of his leadership.

Russia’s influence in the Middle East will wane as its military presence diminishes. However, logistical routes connecting Russia to Africa will remain a strategic priority.

To summarize his points and to sift out the propaganda:

• EU will be saddled with Ukraine more, thereby driving the vassal states down while also weakening the Slavlands — win win for Washington!

• The UAF will continue retreating from blown out towns and hamlets in Donetsk oblast'. However, I SERIOUSLY doubt that any actual strongholds will ever be handed over or warred over like Sloviansk or Kramatorsk.

• More strikes into Russia, more territory grabs along the border.

• Trump’s people want Zelensky out and he is trying to prove that he’s still useful.

• Trump will pivot to Iran and Moscow has NOT signed any defense alliance with Tehran like ZAnon MORONS claim.

Yeah, that all checks out with me.