STRIKE THE TRUTH

Since the recent alleged "coup" attempt in Russia, there has been significant curiosity surrounding the influential individuals within Kremlin circles. Many are questioning who holds sway over Putin and whether there are any potential future threats of a putsch against him. In this discussion, let's delve into Putin's inner circle, comprising of the "siloviki" and the "oligarchs". These individuals possess the levers of political power in present-day Russia. Who are they, and what roles do they play in relation to Putin? Could one of them potentially succeed Putin as the President of Russia when he is no longer considered indispensable? President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin WHO ARE THE "SILOVIKI"? The "siloviki" also known as "seurocrats" in political science, are individuals who have a background in security and military services (such as the former KGB, or current FSB) and have secured positions within ...

Victims of the war in Ukraine suffer trauma from the various horrid experiences they have inflicted on them by the Russian invaders. Death and pain is everywhere that Russia has touched with their indiscriminate bombing and atrocious war crimes. Unfortunately, for these people, even fleeing war-torn zones, such as Mariupol, is a slow and agonizing experience. One main reason is that Ukrainians are forcibly being taken by Russian troops to "filtration camps" where they are made to endure hours of torture, beatings, and interrogations. Often, the living conditions are inadequate, and the quarters are cramped and overfilled with people. Those that need medical attention are neglected. Families are split, never to see each other again.  Russia's Bezimenne filtration camp, housing refugees from Mauripol (Picture: Maxar Technologies) WHAT IS A FILTRATION CAMP AND WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE? Filtration camps are locations where the Russian troops take Ukrainian people to be able to ...

In this series, we have covered the poisonings of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal. We explored the events that led up to the pair comatose on a park bench and fighting for their lives. In Part 3 , we looked at how two individuals, Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, where responsible for the attack. Eventually, investigative journalists found that Ruslan Boshirov was GRU Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga, and Alexander Petrov was, in fact, Alexander Mishkin. He is a doctor in the GRU.  In the final instalment of this series, we will have a look at the devastating death of Dawn Sturgess. A British national that thought she got some nice perfume as a present, but instead it was a death sentence. We will also check what the international and British reaction was to these tragic events.  DAWN STURGESS  On June 30th, Charlie Rowley found a bottle of perfume called Premier Jour by Nina Ricci. It was wrapped up in plastic, so he thought he scored a goo...

In Part 2 of the series, we had a look at the family moving to England and finished with Sergei and Yulia lying on a park bench, foaming at the mouth and comatose. They have been exposed to the deadly nerve agent, Novichok. In this post, we will take an in-depth look at Novichok and also at the two perpetrators of this crime, and the events that transpired.  NOVICHOK AGENTS  Novichok agents are a group of deadly nerve agents that have been developed in the Soviet Union, under their poisons program. ( We covered this in THIS post.) They were developed under a programme with the codename FOLIANT.  Examples of structures of Novichok agents  The Novichok agents first came to media awareness when a Russian chemist, Dr Vil Mirzayanov reported on their existence to Russia media in the 1990s. He wrote about it in his book, State Secrets, and even published the chemical formula. He moved to the USA around the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the s...

"A person gives over his whole life for his homeland and then some bastard comes along and betrays such people. How will he be able to look into the eyes of his children, the pig. Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. Believe me!”  Mr. Putin, practically snarling, said when asked to comment about the swap on live television.  Mr Vladimir Putin, President of Russia  In Part 1 , we left off with Mr Sergey Skripal being taken to USA on a private plane after being exchanged in a swap, together with 3 other people. OPERATION GHOST STORIES After years of observation and gathering intelligence, the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigations) led a sting against 10 Russia sleeper agents on June 27, 2010. Instead of putting them in jail, the US government decided that it was worth it to swap these 10 spies back to Russia for 4 people that the US was interested in. The idea was to do this swap and then this whole epi...

When the President of Russia calls you a traitor and a scumbag, you know you are in trouble! This trouble rang true for Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in 2018 when they were poisoned with Novichok. It is a deadly nerve agent, so lethal that a miniscule amount is enough to kill a human! So what did Sergei Skripal do that was so awful that the President of Russia ordered his assassination? "He is just a scumbag. He is just a spy, a traitor to the homeland." Vladimir Putin  EARLY LIFE Sergei Victorovich Skripal was born on 23 June, 1951 in Kaliningrad Oblast. He grew up in Ozyorsk and his parents were working people. His dad was a land improvement contractor and his mother worked with the local council.  Sergei Skripal in his military uniform He worked his whole life in the military and intelligence, with his career starting in 1972 when he studied military engineering at Zhdanov school in Kaliningrad. He qualified as a sapper-paratrooper. He then moved to Moscow to study at t...