Comments by Kotakis

"..They still often misconstrue directions...."

Not surprisingly Russian trolls like Sydney never misconstrue directives in Russian coming from the Kremlin !
Silly obedience is one of fundamental training requirement for all Russian trolls and all Russian puppies.

Regrettably, your advice will never be implemented because of diversity of media interests. The same factor, diversity of interests and politics, confronts the Council of Europe that suspended Russia's voting rights in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are now some voices calling for a reversal of that decision , in fact letting the Council of Europe become "Russia’s Trophy". Undoubtedly Kremlin propaganda, including bribery, had some effect.
But the opposing side has made its position laud and clear:

" We, thinkers of contemporary Europe, call upon the Member States of the Council of Europe not to fall prey to Russia’s blackmailing and not to lift sanctions (including suspension of the voting rights in PACE) on Russia, introduced after the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and military aggression in Donbas Not a single measure, required from Russia by the PACE resolutions 1990 (2014),2028 (2015), 2034 (2015), 2063 (2015), 2067 (2015), 2112 (2016), 2132 (2016)and 2133 (2016) have been implemented. Instead, Russia has turned to blackmail, having suspended two thirds of its membership fees to the Council of Europe and boycotting all formal contacts and participation in the Assembly. Now, despite its 2016 resolution stating that the dialogue can only be restored after “significant and measurable progress towards the implementation of previous resolutions
the PACE may reconsider its own commitments and invite Russia back to the table,..."

Don't give in to Russian blackmail.

Sydney, you need to read the latest article on the early stages of Russian penal system, published just day ago by Daniel Beer, a historian of modern Russia and author of "The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile Under the Tsars" , which won a 2017 History Prize.
Beer's article "How Russia wields prisons as a weapon against its political opponents" can be found here:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/how-russia-wields-prisons-as-a-w...
Here is a brief quote: " But historians and non-governmental organizations dedicated to documenting the individual fates of those imprisoned, tortured and executed as "enemies of the people," and the identities of those individuals who staffed the interrogation rooms, firing squads and forced-labour camps, are harassed by the authorities. The human-rights organization Memorial has been branded a "foreign agent" while pioneering researcher of the Stalinist Terror Yuri Dmitriev is currently standing trial on charges (widely believed to be fabricated) of possession of child pornography."

Fascinating book on the Gulag. The latest article on the early stage of Russian penal system was published just day ago by Daniel Beer, a historian of modern Russia and author of "The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile Under the Tsars" , which won the 2017 Cundill History Prize.
Beer's article "How Russia wields prisons as a weapon against its political opponents" can be found here:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/how-russia-wields-prisons-as-a-w...

Here is a brief quote: " But historians and non-governmental organizations dedicated to documenting the individual fates of those imprisoned, tortured and executed as "enemies of the people," and the identities of those individuals who staffed the interrogation rooms, firing squads and forced-labour camps, are harassed by the authorities. The human-rights organization Memorial has been branded a "foreign agent" while pioneering researcher of the Stalinist Terror Yuri Dmitriev is currently standing trial on charges (widely believed to be fabricated) of possession of child pornography.

"The ideology of "Soviet labour camps" is embedded in Ukraine stronger than anywhere else in the former USSR"

Sputnik Propaganda Manual, 2017 Edition, ( provide Chapter and page, please !)

Try reading "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn , who described it well back in the 1970's . And the present successor to the likes of Yezhov, to Beria and Andropov, the former KGB Director himself, who currently resides in the Kremlin, has just last week glorified the "patriotism" of the KGB executioners.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Gulag-Archipelago

Here is a political solution: Trump should call Putin to convince him that, in the spirit of restoring US-Russia relations and saving US aerospace sector, Putin should arrange to place immediate orders for at least 100 Boeing passenger jets and start negotiations to have Russia buying hundreds of Boeing fighter jets all to be delivered within Putin's new term of presidency 2018 - 2024. Putin will be offered US long term credit with maturity in 2099 !

Of course Putin will be re-elected. He would not allow any other results. But what's important is Bloomberg’s “Pessimist’s Guide to 2018” which forecasts that Putin will appoint Russian Central Bank Head Elvira Nabiullina as his successor after he retires in 2024.
Putin faces plummeting demand for Russian oil, its main export revenue earner , in part caused by a global electric car popularity and by continuing crude oil surplus worldwide. Russian oil is too expensive to develop and to produce in the face of Arab and off-shore competition. .
Bloomberg forecasts for 2021 : “Riots break out outside Russian factories."
In the mid-term " Russia faces an existential crisis as Putin disappears from the scene."
And competing oligarchs struggle for political supremacy in Russia.
Some want to carve up the Federation's territory for their own fiefdoms. The end will come sooner or later.

sikko has something in common with Kremlin propagandists.
Both peddle Moscow propaganda and elementary BB""BSS .

"Why celebrate only December 25th when you can do January 7th, too?"

A rather simplistic commentary for The Economist that usually takes pride in being objective and authoritative. Ukraine's religious traditions of celebrating Christmas on January 7th date back over 1,000 years following adoption of the Orthodox Christianity from Constantinople by the Grand Duke of Kyiv Volodymyr the Great. While the civic authorities recognise Dec. 25th as the civic holiday widely celebrated as Christmas by citizens of many Christian denominations, that has no bearing on religious traditions that have been enriched with folk customs rooted in Ukraine's folklore. Far from being limited to Christmas, these unique religious traditions continue through the year.

"....people will start to see more peace and harmony - and be able to make THEIR OWN decisions "

Own decisions as defined and approved by Vladimir PUTLER who aspires to become the Master of Intrigue, and the Supreme Authority to define the future of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Some Russian Tsars had similar agenda that led them to a disaster , an inglorious defeat in the Crimean war !

TE author wrote what amounts to a piece of opinionated speculations, unworthy of a serious journal:
Where was TE to assess and quote the following:
"Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, spoke with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko on December 7. Following the call, Lagarde stated, "I had a constructive and open discussion with President Poroshenko on Ukraine's efforts to fight corruption, which is expected by the Ukrainian society and is critical to improve transparency and accountability and create the conditions for sustainable growth.

I emphasized that investigating and promptly adjudicating incidences of corruption is critical to advance these objectives and maintain public trust. In this regard, we agreed on the need to maintain the independence and enhance the operational capacity of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

We also agreed that the prompt establishment of the anti-corruption court is an essential complement of these efforts. In this regard, I supported the President's agenda for the submission of a draft law to Parliament in the coming days consistent with the Venice Commission's recommendations and past agreements under the IMF-supported program. It will be important that all members of Parliament unite behind the bill and approve it as a matter of priority.

I assured the President that the IMF stands ready to continue to support Ukraine, along with other international partners, in the fight against corruption ...."

"I am from the Eastern part...." Many Russkis partocrats and technocrats, as well as Red army military were assigned to Ukrainian centers. Many Russkis families had children and many families preferred life close to the Black Sea coast rather than on the White Sea coast. So, you may claim to be by birth from Kharkiv, or Dnipropetrovsk or Luhansk , so what ? Others were born in Norilsk, or Vladivostok, or where their family happened to live.

" Only from about 2005 ...." at which time you were most likely 15 years old ? Or lets say 20 ? Your naïve comment reveals the truth.

You obviously don't know the realities in the Soviet Ukraine. The difference between the Communist Party elite ( rather very small relative to the total country population) and the "average" republican technocrat or aspiring academics, or lets say professionals in the steel plant management. Most likely you were much too young to understand the situations.

I wonder if anyone knows the present "employment" level at the St. Petersburg Trolls Farm ? That may signal if Putler plans to de-escalate his war-like activities or to open new aggressive propaganda offensives just prior to running for reelection.

Real sanctions that really bite Putler's superrich "elite" is what is urgently needed in the face of the real costs of Putin's aggression.
Learn the facts:
"A total of 1.494,806 Ukrainian citizens or 1.219,467 families, who had been forced to move from Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, have been registered.
"According to the data of the social protection departments of regional and Kyiv city state administrations, 1.494,806 internally displaced persons or 1.219,467 families from Donbas and Crimea were registered as of November 27, 2017," the press service of the Social Policy Ministry of Ukraine informs.

And write it down in blood on your forehead: "no Russian soldier. or a Russian hired terrorist. or Putin's KGB=FSB operative has any business being outside Russia's borders. Absolutely none, whatever your false justification."

From the November 28th statement by the, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson:

"....Russia chose to violate the sovereignty of the largest country in Europe. The United States and Europe have stood shoulder-to-shoulder since 2014 in confronting this Russian aggression with a coordinated sanctions policy. Our transatlantic unity is meant to convey to the Russian Government that we will not stand for this flagrant violation of international norms.

We hope Russia will take steps to restore Ukraine's full sovereignty and territorial integrity and fully implement its Minsk commitments, allowing us to begin then the process of restoring normal relations. But let me be clear, Minsk-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia reverses the actions that triggered them. We are committed to the success of an independent and whole Ukraine. ..."

Will Putler get the message and take appropriate actions ? Before the New Year !

With all your stale and twisted "arguments' against everybody you have avoided admitting that there was no internationally recognised STATE known as RUSSIA from 1922 to 1991 and that your admiration for the Lenin-Stalin oppressive regime, - one that replaced the Russian Orthodox Church with the Communist Manifesto, and the Russian tricolor with the RED banner and the RED star and the one that murdered millions under such "Russian heroes" as Yezhov, Beria etc. - that that 'historic' admiration is but a carefully crafted long term Kremlin propaganda aimed at solidifying and extending the autocratic PUTLER regime. Is there another Yezhov or Beria waiting and ready to take over from Putler ?