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Vlad's avatar

Thanks for inviting our Slavic brother Nikola, he is awesome. You made my day. I had just woken up and seen this treat.

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The seventh collumn's avatar

Someone told me Rolo exchanged Marko with Nikola.

Not very nice move...

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The seventh collumn's avatar

Marko Marjanović was way better.

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Vlad's avatar

Marco and Nikola are both great guys.

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The seventh collumn's avatar

I don't mean do denigrate Nikola or anyone, but Marko's IQ was way higher than all of ours (including myself, Rolo and Riley's)...

An exceptional analyst, the best I've ever read/listen, and WAY ahead the time in his analysis...

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The seventh collumn's avatar

For your information Sergey Kiriyenko was Russian prime minister during Russia's default in 1998.

So he is a Yeltsin guy and his career was made independent from Putin's favours.

So he is way more important than Yury Kovalchuk.

That explains Progozhins independent behavour towards Putin's pals (and indirectly to Putin)...

Sergey Kiriyenko owns Putin no favours...

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The seventh collumn's avatar

Now it starts to make sense why most of 5Dyers Putinistas live peacefully in the West.

In reality I begin to suspect they are really assets from the " Alphabet" agencies whose job is protecting their most precious asset in Russia, Putin.

Just think how The Saker misteriously/ suddenly "disappeared" after supposely devoting his life to his blog. It makes no sense unless it was a job for the "Agencies".

A father doesn't abandon a child in his mid life...

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Frantic's avatar

There is constant noise in the background like of someone whistling, it's probably some fancy smoking by Rolo but it is annoying. Also Rolo you chew bubblegum while you speak which is unprofessional, but I think it is something you do on a subliminal level to self-sabotage any aura of importance or formality that a serious conversation on highbrow topics like international politics may lend you. It's like a strand of immature thinking: 'I talk about being reactionary and nationalist but deep down I am a goofy bohemian because we know that ultimately that's what's cool'. It's the Post-Modern "Forever Young" sloganeering.

The bit about "Finland joins NATO, then why doesn't Russia attack Finland too as they did Ukraine as soon as it threatened to join NATO" is interesting and a valid point. My guess is Finland and Russia share a mostly impassable border, except near Vyborg/ St. Petersbourg where there is a corridor created by lake Ladoga or Onega which is easy to control, so it's less of a threat than with respect to the border with Ukraine. Yes atomic bombs travel on missiles, but the Kremlin is as distant from Helsinki as it is from Warsaw, so... This thing with Finland will probably be fixed after Ukraine, which by the way is seen as entirely inside the Russian sphere of influence, while Finland has been contested territory since the 1920s.

Other point raised, "it's not true that Ukraine wanted to attack first, but the start of the SMO prevented them to do so. The proof of this lies in that they only mobilised once attacked, after the SMO started, so they weren't particularly ready to manoeuvre as an imminent offensive of theirs would imply". Easily countered by considering that before the SMO the Donbas republics were defended by militiamen only, so the AFU - which managed to successfully resist the Russian invasion - wouldn't have faced a peer adversary in their theoretical offensive.

In the end, the Russian Army advanced while it could using massive artillery barrage tactics up until they started running short of shells and the troops got spread too thin, in Summer 2022. Cannot use other tactics because of Western satellite apparatus monitoring everything that moves inside the Donbas. Sure there are oligarchs' interests that prevent full force being applied, as in the bridges on the Dnepr being left there to favour Russian exports... there is probably more than some truth to that, however implying that Putin would harbour some other intentions that run contrary to winning this war, only based on the fact that "the Russians are not attacking, and there are 'situations' at the political level" sounds indeed quite esoteric.

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Sim1776's avatar

Another excellent podcast, Rolo. My only criticism may be that Nikola seems a bit passive in the conversation.

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Imi's avatar

Nikola doesn't like talking about lawyers.

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The seventh collumn's avatar

Mr Rolo, hearing you both talking about Peskov, vindicates my comment made to you in the article about Simonyan from RT, I'll remember you:

"Rolo, do you have something against women? At least Margarita doesn't look so silly as Peskov, a lying dog of a Man"

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The seventh collumn's avatar

This analysis/chat just proves my point that I have been saying/proclaiming for a long time. Putin is the worst russian leader ever.

The emperor has no clothes.

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Rurik Skywalker's avatar

I’m limiting you to three comments per post. Use them wisely.

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The seventh collumn's avatar

It's an honor.

Sometimes you remind me Andrei Revsky ( The Saket)

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Jack Heart's avatar

Frankley Rollo I am shocked that coming from the background you seemingly come from you've managed to grab the brass ring, you're a smart man but please don't say Satanist. If it was that simple it would have been cleaned up long ago. I've been asked to wait four weeks, so wait I will but I suspect in four weeks you will be proved even more right then. I won't ask that you read anything I've written I don't do self-promotion but if you haven't read it already you might read The Gods of Eden by William Bramley, another smart man.

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Rurik Skywalker's avatar

Satanist is what is politically acceptable language in Russia now.

I prefer the euphemism "ethnic neocon" to describe the people in charge.

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Vanusha's avatar

Great, great interview. Yes, someone led Russia into a trap. Maybe this someone is called Kissinger

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