Dave Hodges
“The Russian president ordered nearly 40,000 troops in northern and western Russia to be put on full alert early Monday as part of snap-readiness exercise”.
Putin has not offered an explanation. The account of his resurfacing seem genuine. However, where is the explanation for the missing 10 days? How did the Israeli media have foreknowledge of his reappearance (see original article below)?
Let me offer my best guess as to what is going on. My sense is that Putin faced a coup, and is now answering to unseen powers. My fear was that when this coup was ended, one way or the other, the whoever controlled Russia, would come out swinging and with Putin’s latest mobilization, my gut tells me that fear is beginning to be realized.
I have asked this question of several people this morning: Where was he for 10 days? And, can you name a time in recent world history when we have seen anything this bizarre?
I firmly believe we are on a path to WW III. Don’t look for truthful revelations to leak out. We are going to have to dig this out for ourselves.
Further, if one believes that civil war is off the table, then one has some explaining to do. The assassination of opposition leader, Nemtsov, still points out that there are still very serious internal divisions in Russia.
Civil War, World III or Kiss and Makeup with America?
Putin has not been seen March 5th, meaning that the world is in its eleventh day of the Putin watch. The Russian people, their military and the whole world now has grave concerns about Putin’s fate and what it could mean for the world.
I will say this upfront, if Putin was violently deposed, which is increasingly looking like the case, there are elements of the Russian military that will not accept an “orderly” transition of power.
Details are beginning to leak with regard to Putin’s possible fate. Here is what we presently know.
A Former Israeli Ambassador Weighs In On Putin’s Disappearance
Israel’s former ambassador to Russia, Zvi Magen, stated quite clearly “There are signs of a coup (in Russia).” Magen’s concerns emanate from the fact that Putin was last seen in public on March 5th, and in Russia there are increased fears that he is the victim of an attempted coup by security organizations and the Russian army.
Former Ambassador Magen believes that army factions and/or wealthy businessmen could be behind President Vladimir Putin’s disappearance. Why would wealthy businessman be in league with the removal of Putin from office? Take a close look at the following map and realize what the war in Ukraine must be doing to the Russian energy business. This is the kind of event which could get wealthy businessman to support a coup against Putin.
The War in Ukraine is wreaking havoc on the Russian energy business.
Remember, that Russia ships about 60% of its gas through Ukraine. In the state of war that exists in Ukraine, the gas shipments have been impacted. This has led Putin to move to a backup plan as he recently signed an energy deal with Turkey. The deal does not favor Russia because the Turks took advantage of Russia’s desperation.
Interestingly, Ukraine’s media is beginning to report that not only is Putin’s chief bodyguard is dead, but so is Putin. And the notion that wealthy businessmen would support a coup over an impaired energy empire, due to Putin’s policies, is supported by the following Ukranian media accounts.
Out of Ukranian newspapers, there are persistent reports that Putin’s chief body guard was killed several days ago. Both Nina Khruschev, the granddaughter of former Soviet Premier, Nikita Khruschev and the head of the Center for Sociological and Political Studies “Sotsiovymir” Sergey Taran, reported from Press Ukraine, that Putin is also dead. In fact, both sources went on to say that Putin’s replacement will be tasked with the important job of “ending the war in Ukraine“. Therefore, at least some of the media in Ukraine is reporting that Putin’s death is a foregone conclusion and the implication is that disrupted energy shipments are at the heart of the deposing of Putin. This media account would support former Israeli Ambassador, Zvi Magen, contention that Putin was deposed by military factions and wealth business interests.
A Naval War College Professor Weighs In
U.S. Naval War College professor, Tom Nichols.
If Putin doesn’t show in the next day or so or if all we get are some press stills, then that will suggest something is seriously wrong and the Russian people may take to the streets. If the people are having this reaction, then so will some of the military forces who are loyal to Putin. We could possibly be days away from a Russian civil war in which Russian units with various loyalties could be facing off against each other. This is a view held, at least partially, by Dr. Tom Nichols. Nichols is a professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.
It is my belief that Putin could have been removed by Russians by more hard-line than Putin, for reasons I discussed in yesterday’s article. Similarly, Nichols believes that if Putin was removed by people who are actually more hard-line than Putin, we all have a lot to worry about. To this Naval War college professor, “more hard-line” that Putin means that these people would be synonymous with the term “psychopath.”
For the moment, Nichols states that he cautiously leans toward believing that Putin is incapacitated from a health standpoint. However, he admits that he has nothing to go on except for the fact that the Kremlin is clearly in a coverup mode and are being secretive to the point of exhibiting bizarre behavior.
What If Putin Is Really Dead?
If Putin is indeed dead. or so seriously incapacitated that he cannot continue, I do not look for an orderly transition of power. Yes, the Russians do have a Constitution that calls for such a transition. However, that is not their tradition. Since the advent of the Red Revolution a century ago, only two Russian leaders have ever left office with their life.
There are strong rival factions in Russia, all competing for control. To a large extent, Putin has managed these factions through intimidation. However, it appears that his opposition has become more brazen. This belief is bolstered by the brutal assassination of Boris Nemtsov on February 27th. The crisis in Ukraine crisis has intensified since the assassination. I do not see anyway that Putin is not responsible for Nemstov’s death and if so, this would speak to the desperation of Putin’s position. Clearly, back on February 27, he felt his hold on political was threatened enough to engage in this kind of heinous act. Is this the event that caused the enemies of Putin to move against him? Regardless, the various Russian factions of power each have resources loyal to separate factions and that includes the Russian military.
Russia is at its most precarious position, internally, since the Bolshevik revolution. If Russia goes into civil war, the spin off events could be very dangerous for the entire world.
There are rumors that the Israeli media is going to announce that Putin will appear in public in the next couple of days. I would caution about taking these reports seriously. Since when does a leader have to announce they are going to appear? They just simply appear. Further, Putin has an array of doubles and the public must be suspicious of any appearance as we all were when Bloomberg’s publication tried to falsely show a video from last October with Putin and Supreme Court judge and pass it off as a recent event.
Conclusion
When Naval War College professor,Tom Nichols stated that anyone more hard-line than Putin is psychopath, he is not joking. Putin was part of a team that endorsed the use of something called the “Dead Hand”.
Many deep background intelligence sources state that Putin issued a “Dead Hand” nuclear order initiated 29 July 2014 to The Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF). This lead to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) declaring that the Federation is now in a “state of war” thus bringing into full activation a permanent state of “dead hand” alert. Researching the doomsday weapon, the Dead Hand, has many twists and is filled with disinformation. Who will gain control of the Dead Hand? Doves or Hawks? If we go to war with Russia, this automated doomsday weapons system is something that our military planners will have to contend with. A future report will be forthcoming on this very real, but elusive Russian threat.
If Russia goes into civil war and if the hard-liners (i.e. psychopaths) win, the welfare of the entire planet will be seriously threatened. If Putin was assassinated, and it cannot be covered up, I would look for Russia to fall into civil war.
