The Newsletter

Russia - Ukraine - Crimea - Part One

What is written here about Russia, Ukraine and Crimea is factual history, from current information sources within Russia and my own, albeit dated, experiences traveling to and doing business in Russia (1991-93).

I will insert my thoughts and observations. Some would agree and some might not but they are my honest thoughts and real observations. Why am I writing about this? Not to advocate any action or solution other than PEACE! In 2022 war between nations is longer an acceptable solution. The death toll on all sides makes war the very worst of all options. Don't be mistaken, I am certainly not offering excuses or support for the gangster, ex-KGB murderer Vladimir Putin who should be rotting in prison or worse!

I am going to attempt to have you "Know" and "Understand" what is an overall view. Keep in mind, there is no real friendship or love without understanding and you need to know to understand. You could understand without expressing friendship or love. To have knowledge and to be educated on a subject creates understanding.

What you will read here is not being told, shown or explained in American mainstream media, any government programs or Presidential Oval Office address explaining things clearly and in detail to the American people. How Americans get information via the mainstream media is an entire dysfunctional system that leaves more than a lot to be desired. About Russia, the people of Europe have more practical information and "Understanding" since their proximity and overview of Russia is more acutely related directly to them - important things like heating their homes and not freezing to death in the winter.

An important point you are better served knowing is that since the end of World War II and more so after Christmas Day in 1991, the day the Communist Party's iron grip on the throats of the Russian people ended, the President of the United States has led the free European community. Those European nations always felt comfortable following America's leadership and living under the warm blanket of safety and assurance that the United States provided, until now! There is a sea of change going on in a very dangerous fluid ocean!

An Historical Understanding - Getting To Really Know You Better!

Some history. As you all know, old Europe was ruled by Royalty - the Royal Families of Europe - the Kings and Queens and all their royal bloodlines. It was the practice at the time for the European Royal families to maintain the Royal elite class. To do that, they would marry into each other's families to preserve the elite Royal bloodline of European Royalty. Actually, the current Queen of England's blood contains more German DNA than British DNA.

It was also the practice of the royals to exert their power beyond the castle's moat. It was also about building empires. Without going into great details, the Dutch, German, British, French, Spanish. Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Polish and on and on, including Russia, conquered and added territories to their realm from every corner of the globe - including our own homeland. For example: we purchased Alaska from Russia two years after our Civil War on March 30, 1867 from Russian Czar Alexander II for 7.2 million dollars. The Russian Czar thought he made a great deal since Alaska was a useless woodland inhabited by five tribes of indigenous Indians.

In 1819, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams negotiated the purchase of Florida from Spain. The U.S. agreed to pay five million dollars to U.S. citizens who had a legal claim against Spain for unpaid debts.

The Territory of Louisiana was part of the French Empire since 1699. This is an interesting story in that Napoleonic France was ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 1700's and early 1800's. He was not at all of royal blood but totally and insanely obsessed with following in the royal tradition of building a bigger and better French Empire. He became the greatest "Warmonger" of his time. He went to war against the present-day nations of Italy, Austria, Poland, German States, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, and Norway. They were all conquered by Napoleon and his men. He waged a total of over seventy wars, losing only eight of them towards the end. He created the largest European Empire since that of the Romans. France's only major enemy left undefeated was the great naval power, Britain.

Napoleon declared war on Russia and actually attempted a military conquest of Russia hoping to add to the French Empire. A major mistake and a lesson lost 129 years later on a guy named Hitler. Napoleon attacked Russia on June 24, 1812. After Napoleon's surrender at Moscow, he and what was left of his vast army were allowed to leave Russian territory, the long famous freezing retreat from Moscow in December 1812. The dying of French troops along the way, starvation, freezing to death, the historic "Long lines of blood in the snow."

After failing in Russia he turned his attention to the Louisiana Territory of North America to conquer the United States. Along with the vast Louisiana Territory, it would be the crowning achievement for himself and the grandest addition to the French Empire. Yes, he was insane! France possessed an island in the Caribbean Sea called Hispaniola that it acquired in a deal with Spain. Today it's known as two different countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The French and the Spanish before them used the island for their slave trade. Napoleon sent an armada of troop ships to the island to start building up a military force to be used in the attack on the United States. His goal was to get 50,000 French troops staged on the island. But, the brutality of these troops was such that it triggered an island native revolt and an open civil war. Slaves were freed by the natives and joined in the revolt. It was very violent and French troops were taking terrible losses of nearly 50%. A ship was dispatched to France asking Napoleon to send more troops. He did and another 5,000 were sent. They were quickly terminated by the island natives and slaves. Napoleon lost the war of conquest with the United States before he could start it. Thanks to the unspeakable sacrifices made by the Dominican and Haitian people for which many thousands were killed and tortured to death by the French. In essence, they saved the lives of many thousands of Americans had Napoleon been able to land all his troops in his Louisiana Territory. This is fact and sadly is not taught in schools when it comes to American history. U.S. President Thomas Jefferson was aware of Napoleon's plan and was very distraught and dreaded the possibility of a war with France on American soil. He also knew Napoleon was running out of money to finance his Empire building. Jefferson made an offer to Napoleon that was too good to refuse and the U.S. purchased the Territory of Louisiana for three million dollars in pure gold along with an IOU Bond valued at about 10 million dollars. This instantly more than doubled the size of the United States adding Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, the area of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, part of Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas.

The insanity of Napoleon Bonaparte lives on today as a psychiatric condition known as a "Napoleon Complex." This is a serious mental illness that results in a person having a powerful domineering or very aggressive attitude to rise above all others. It becomes an uncontrollable compulsion to control all that is in reach including people and land. Experts in the field of psychiatry believe it's a form of overcompensation for being inferior. Some believe it's related to being physically short in stature. That is totally untrue. Napoleon's height measured upon his death was 5' 6.5" which was very average for men of his time. People of any height can suffer from this mental illness, even people like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Xi Jinping, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Caesar Augustus, Vladimir Putin, Genghis Khan and many others.

The Mexican-American War of 1846 ended with a treaty whereby Mexico was to cede 55 percent of its territory to the United States. This includes parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Mexico relinquished all claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States. Keep in mind that Mexico's territory was acquired from Spain in a war of independence concluded on August 24, 1821.

If you include the 13 original colonies taken from the British in the American War of Independence, every inch of the continental United States was at one time part of the European royal families' Empires! You might ask, what about Hawaii? Well, Hawaii was a Spanish possession. The natives of Hawaii were very suppressed, treated poorly and exploited by the Spanish. With the defeat of Spain by America in the Spanish American War, a highly patriotic and motivated Hawaiian population revolted and expelled the Spanish. They very much embraced American aid to secure the Island's safety. So a Resolution passed by both Houses of Congress and signed by President McKinley made Hawaii a U.S. Territory on July 7, 1898. And the Hawaiian Islands became the 50th State in 1959. So truly every single inch of the U.S.A. was once part of the European Collective Royal Empires. With this background and understanding, let's get back to Russia, Ukraine and Crimea.

First, you must know that Ukraine was always a part of Russia. The city of Kiev in the heart of Ukraine was the first capital of Russia. At that time, it was known as Kiev Russ. The city is still considered a very sacred place for all Orthodox Christians in Russia.

Continuing with Catherine II, Empress of Russia, one of the most capable rulers of her time. She was born a German princess and at 14 years old a marriage was arranged to a feeble-minded Russian Grand Duke who soon became Russian Emperor Peter III. There was no real love and less understanding between the married couple. Peter III's Emperorship lasted just six months and at the age of 32, Catherine had him quietly strangled on July 17, 1862. She then proclaimed herself Catherine II, Empress of Russia, later to become known as "Catherine the Great." She followed the Royal tradition and started to acquire all the territory bordering Russia. She soon turned her attention to the southern border.

In 1772 the most western part of Ukraine was controlled by the Austrians, while the eastern part including the Crimea remained a part of the Russian Empire. Crimea harbored mostly a population of Tartar people who were Muslim and had lived there since 1441. In the south she made some aggressive moves against Turkey with the intention of making the Black Sea a Russian-owned lake and attacking and capturing Constantinople which started the first Russian-Turkish war. That ended in a stalemate in 1774. Part of that war settlement was that the Crimea was turned over to Tartar Khan and the Tartar Muslim community who lived there.

Now, Catherine The Great had a private life that included a lover named Grigori Potemkin. She promoted him to Field Marshal, bestowed upon him the royal title of Prince de Tauride and made him the Vice-Emperor for southern Russia. Catherine took a cruise south down the Dnieper River to meet up with her lover in the Ukraine. To her surprise and shock she was blocked at the Dnieper estuary by a Turkish warship and prevented from entering the Black Sea. This would be like the President of the United States cruising down the Mississippi to find a foreign warship preventing his entrance into New Orleans. She ordered two Russian Naval bases to be built. One in Sevastopol at the tip of the Crimea (keep this Naval base in mind, it has a lot of bearing on the current situation in the Ukraine) and a naval arsenal in Kherson on the Ukrainian shore. She had an Army supply depot built in Dnepropetrovsk. The second Turkish-Russian war started in August 1787. The Turkish navy still held the Bay of Odessa and had a large number of warships present in the Black Sea. Russian war shipbuilding was at a frantic pace. The Russian navy was a collection of vessels manned by impressed serfs, Cossacks, Volga boatmen and Levantine pirates. The officers were made up in part by questionable adventurers from six or seven nations. They were no match against the Turkish navy.

Now this gets interesting! Meanwhile, back in the U.S.A., the American army was mostly disbanded. The citizen soldiers of the Revolutionary War went back home. The U.S. Navy was also totally disbanded. There no longer was a U.S. Navy. Perhaps the greatest Naval warfare strategist in the world, U.S. Navy Captain John Paul Jones was unemployed. He struggled during his time in the U.S. Navy to reach a command rank. Lacking any powerful political supporters or family connections, promotion was near impossible. He constantly saw less capable officers promoted over him. Being the greatest U.S. Navy Captain during the Revolutionary War, with not one single other U.S. Navy warship Captain even coming close to the incredibly remarkable success of Captain John Paul Jones, he was never promoted and honored with the rank of Admiral while other less qualified were. The dissolving of the U.S. Navy ended his hope to achieve Admiral rank. The disappointment, heartbreak and frustration was difficult for him to bear.

While the American Revolutionary war raged on, due to an ill Captain unable to serve, junior officer John Paul Jones was given temporary command of a small U.S. Navy warship with the assignment to bring the ship from one place to the other. By chance or bad luck he was intercepted by two large British warships. With his smaller vessel and with fewer guns he out maneuvered both British ships, sinking one and capturing the other. This single event, an unheard of young junior officer's astonishing Naval battle success drew the attention of Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson. Their interest and inquiries helped propel John Paul Jones to the rank of Captain. He successfully argued a plan, thought to be a "death wish." It called for him to sail across the Atlantic and enter the English Channel to do battle with the British Navy. With Franklin's support he got the go ahead - many including George Washington considered it a "Mad Cruise." He reached the English Channel and flying the American Colonial Flag did raise havoc upon the British Navy, raining cannon fire down on British Navy ports along the British coast, sinking and capturing many British Naval ships and commercial merchant ships. Captured ships were sailed to French ports as prizes. Some thought he sailed a ghost ship since nearly a dozen British warships in the English Channel could not stop him. Using currents, winds and fog, navigating at night, using hidden coves along Ireland's coast, he masterfully stayed out of reach of the British warships that were hunting him. His fame spread quickly far and wide and his ability to bring the American Revolutionary War to British shores was, to say the least, stunning to the British people. From time to time, he led landing parties in the darkness of night and destroyed British Naval supplies and set British warships on fire at their docks. The British were willing to exchange prisoners of war if they were Americans captured on land by the British during battles on American soil. However, American seamen captured at sea were treated by the British as Pirates and imprisoned under the worst conditions and the King refused to exchange them as P.O.W.'s. John Paul Jones devised a plan to sneak ashore under the cover of darkness at St. Mary’s Isle, raid the castle and kidnap Lord Selkirk. He then would hold him in exchange for captured American seamen. The mission was a complete success except "Me Lord" wasn't home! This raid, although not fully successful, terrorized all of British royalty and sent the King into a mad rage and total fit of anger many had never seen. King George III declared John Paul Jones the worst of all Pirates and ordered that if he was taken alive, he should have a public hanging in the center of London. In spite of his gallantry and brilliant success upon the high seas and as the war with England came to an end, Jones was still refused the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. The battle cry he uttered still echoes in American Naval history. When asked if he was ready to surrender, his "I have not yet begun to fight" is legendary.

In communications through a number of European contacts, word reached John Paul Jones while visiting his brother in Virginia, that Catherine II, Empress of Russia, wished to offer him a position of High Command in the Russia Navy. He inquired about the rank he would have. The Empress offered "Captain of the Fleet with the rank of Major General" with a pay of 150 Rubles which was about $145.00 per month, twice the pay of a U.S. Navy Captain. John Paul Jones replied that the pay was satisfactory but the rank was not. The Empress offered "Rear Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and full Command of all Naval Operations in the South of Russia." She even gave him an official Russian title, "Kontradmiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones." He accepted! In short, John Paul Jones whipped the Russian Navy into a completely different Navy with training as well as his name attracting some of the best seamen and Naval officers from different parts of Europe (except England, of course). The Empress, aware of the British hate for John Paul Jones, transferred every British officer and seaman in the southern fleet to the north. On July 18, 1788 he took Command of all Russian Naval forces in the south. Many naval battles were fought on the waters of the Black Sea. The amazing John Paul Jones using skill, experience, bold leadership and courageous tactics was able to brilliantly out maneuver the Turkish Navy constantly. By the end of 1789, Rear Admiral Ushakov reported to Kontradmiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones that the Turkish Navy had been decisively defeated and had pulled back all their warships to Turkish waters. The Ukraine, Russia and Crimea were saved by John Paul Jones, the declared father of the U.S. Navy. Russian ships have sailed the Black Sea in peace ever since. John Paul Jones is considered a great hero in Russia. Again, the Sevastopol Naval base built by Empress Catherine II in 1788 where John Paul Jones' maintained his headquarters and from where he constantly sailed off into battle is still in operation. It's the major and only Russian naval base in southern Russia. It has served the Russian Navy for 234 years. Today, it's as important to Russia as our San Diego or Norfolk naval bases.

The Russian People!

They say, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer"! If you think of the Russian people as your enemy, you are wise to get closer and know who they really are. The people of a nation are shaped a great deal by their collective history in many ways. It's what is taught by their parents, the history taught in its schools passed on from generation to generation. It all has a very tremendous impact on the culture, thinking, emotions and disposition of its people. With each generation the lessons are updated as new history evolves and it's all embedded in its youth. We will journey back into the history of the Russian people for understanding of their culture and history which was built upon great suffering, pain, hardship, deprivation, poverty, starvation, bloody wars, political upheaval, religious persecution, murderous purges, genocidal massacres and on and on. And, from out of this great pain and suffering some of the greatest accomplishments known to mankind have emerged, especially in the great arts including music, literature, painting, sculpture, dance and poetry. Russians in their long history have suffered to the point that most Americans would find very difficult and I should say impossible to comprehend. The depth of this torment is such that I could not include it all here. To do so would require writing a history book. Be patient in your reading; there is a vital message to realize yet!

Let's start by going back to 1533 and Ivan Vasilyevich, who was the very first Czar of Russia. After being crowned Emperor he took the name Ivan IV but became better known as "Ivan the Terrible." He was fanatically paranoid and a mentally unstable man. He created the title "Czar" or in Russian "Tsar" which in Latin means Caesar. He created a Christian based State of Justice, run by the church which was very violent in it's punishments including torture of those accused and punishment by death was carried out very often. He built an Army where promotion was no longer by noble birth (he didn't trust his own family) but loyalty to him and military merit. Like all the Czars that followed, he started out on conquests attacking the Tartar (Muslims) and securing the Volga River all the way to the Caspian Sea. He then attacked Livonia (present-day Latvia and Estonia). Lithuania, which had become a part of Poland, joined with Livonia to battle Russia. Simultaneously, the Tartar from Crimea attacked Russia from the south and reached Moscow. They burned the city to the ground only leaving the Kremlin intact. Poland and Sweden joined the battle against Russia in the north and retook Livonia. Ivan the Terrible finally appealed to Pope Gregory XIII to intervene, which he did. The peace agreement that was reached left Russia with no gain whatsoever except thousands upon thousands of Russian soldiers and civilians dead. Russia was exhausted by the war and with no wealth left in its treasury. Ivan the Terrible terror and insanity didn't end though. He now went about eliminating the members of his own noble family and those of aristocratic standing in Russia. His favorite method was to hold public beheading along the Wall of the Kremlin. He had built a special turret on top of the wall where he could sit with his immediate trusted family, feasted upon good food and drink while enjoying the beheading of other family members, friends he thought had betrayed him and criminals that the Church Justice condemned to death for whatever reasons. On my visit to Moscow in 1992 I took these photos (seen below) of Ivan's Turret and the large stone block that the beheading took place upon and the blood stains are still visible. His insanity and violence knew no bounds. His son, named Tsarevich, the sole heir to his throne, had married and for some minor reason the new daughter-in-law displeased Ivan. He ordered her sent to a Convent for life and ordered the Church to annul the marriage. Tsarevich married for the second time and this wife was also sent away to a Convent for life and the marriage was annulled. The third wife, Yelena, was now pregnant with Ivan the Terrible's grandchild. She displeased him because she was wearing clothes that he considered inappropriate during her pregnancy. So, in a fit of rage and anger he struck her in the womb. This caused a miscarriage. Tsarevich confronted his father saying, "You sent my first wife to a convent for no reason, you did the same with my second, and now you strike the third, causing the death of my son she held in her womb." The elder Ivan accused his son of inciting rebellion, which the younger Tsarevich vehemently denied. Ivan the Terrible then struck his son on the head with his Scepter. A witness to the scene named Boris Godunov tried to intervene but received several blows himself. The young Tsarevich fell, barely conscious, with a bleeding wound on his temple. Ivan immediately threw himself at his son, kissing his face and trying to stop the bleeding, whilst repeatedly crying, "May I be damned! I've killed my son! I've killed my son!" Tsarevich briefly regained consciousness and was reputed to have said "I die as a devoted son and most humble servant." For the next few days, the elder Ivan prayed incessantly for a miracle, but to no avail. Tsarevich died on November 19, 1581.

Ivan the Terrible's insane rages were not limited to Kremlin beheading. During his rule over 30,000 Russians were killed directly on orders of Ivan or by Church Justice. Many thousands were tortured mercilessly. In September–October 1552, Ivan's military forces killed every resident of the city of Kazan which was made up of Tartar Muslims. The population was over 50,000. Then in 1570, Ivan's forces following the direction of Church Justice attacked the city of Novgorod killing upwards of 60,000 Russians. A year later, in May of 1571 The Tartar and Turkish forces took over the city of Moscow, burnt it to the ground and killed nearly 200,000 Russians. It was called the "Fire of Moscow." Tens of Thousands or maybe more of Russia's soldiers serving in Ivan's armies also lost their lives. Some historians believe these figures are modest.

The Era Of The Czars - Starvation!

Under the rule of the Czars between 1533 and 1918 over four million Russians died of starvation. In the 17th century, Russia experienced the famine of 1601 -1603 which might have been the very worst, killing two million people.  Fascinatingly, in 2008 geologists linked this famine to the worldwide crop destruction caused by the massive eruption of the Huaynaputinain volcano located on a high plateau in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Another of the worst included the Russian famine of 1891–1892. That famine caused 500,000 deaths under Czar Nicholas II. There were continuous seasonal famines of short duration resulting from poor crop output, mostly caused by the death of the "Peasant" farmers and the destruction of farmland resulting from wars and political upheaval. Locust and drought was the least of a Russian farmer's worries.

The Bolshevik Revolution

Volumes upon volumes have been written in the western world and dozens of documentary films have been produced about the 1917 Russian Bolshevik Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin.  The murder of Czar Nicholas II and his entire family by Bolshevik troops ended the Romanov family's Imperial Dynasty and Czar rule over Russia.  But, very, very little is written about the very bloody three year long Russian Civil War that followed.  The Civil War pitted an Army loyal to the Czar and a Capitalist form of government were known as the White Army who went to battle the Communist forces known as the Bolsheviks Red Army.  The Red Army eventually emerged victorious.  But the price in Russian lives was very heavy.  As many as 10 million Russian civilian lives were lost as a result of the Russian Civil War. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Russians perceived as opponents of the Bolshevik Communists were murdered by the Cheka.  The Cheka was created on December 20, 1917 and stands for the "All Russian Emergency Commission Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage."  Anyone thought to be or even suspected of being supportive of the White Army or being anti-Communist was executed on the spot, no evidence, no trial, just a bullet to the head and that also included the accursed family members.  The Russian Civil War ended on July 16, 1918.  The White Army killed an estimated 300,000 members of the Red Army.  This was known as the "White Terror."  The Red Army killed an estimated 1.3 million members of the White Army.  This was known as the "Red Terror."  In Crimea alone 50,000 White Army POWs and civilians were executed with Lenin's approval in 1920.  This included 800,000 Red Army deserters who were arrested and many were killed with their families.

A young Socialist Communist named Joseph Stalin, a fanatic student of the writings of Karl Marx, a loyal follower of Valimir Lenin 's who was a representative of the Central Committee, the leading arm of the Bolshevik Party emerged as a hero of the Russian Civil War. He organized the defense of the city of Petrograd. He uncovered a plot on the western front and had the plotters executed. Stalin had no scruples about punishing deserters or slackers. He was awarded the "Leon Trotsky Commissar of Defense" and was the first to be honored with the "Order of the Red Banner." He had a reputation for being blunt and uncompromising. He characteristically ordered vigorous counterattacks no matter what the cost in lives and urged the Central Committee to eliminate those who hesitated and was known for his ruthlessness.

Stalin would thrive and grow within the Communist party. Over the next few decades Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) a/k/a the Soviet Union. It encompassed the following Republics: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Latvia. It became the largest landmass nation on earth spanning 10 time zones. On April 3, 1922 Joseph Stalin was appointed to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party and the leader of the Soviet Union. He personally "slowly" shaped the government into a system that had the people of the Soviet Union's freedoms choked out of them with an iron grip about their throats. The Socialist Communist Party controlled every aspect of their lives imaginable and I do mean every single thing. The Party owned literally everything and the people owned nothing except their own souls! Every single freedom that Americans enjoyed did not exist under Socialist Communist rule. All churches and synagogues were shut down, every business was owned by the government and everyone was employed by the government. These freedoms were not all taken away at once. It was a clever and slow but steady removal from season to season, year to year - taking small bites one at a time. It was paramount to first control ALL the news media and convert it into an instrument of propaganda controlling what the people think, making every removal of freedom seem that it was something "Great" for all the people. It is brainwashing over time and the ultimate method of controlling the people. That's the Karl Marx method, known as Marxism. That's how Socialists and Communists take control in time right before your eyes. This is currently happening all over the western world including Canada and the United States. It's the slow, methodical removal of freedoms. The "canceling" of "a government by the people, for the people" which was not supposed to perish from the face of the earth, but it actually is! America and the western world needs to be awakened, not "WOKE."

The only serious resistance to Socialist Communist rule occurred in an area of Russia known as Tambov. The "Tambov Rebellion" of August 19, 1920 to June of 1921 resulted in the Communist forces executing over 15,000 people of Tambov and then going on a rampage killing a total of over 240,000 rebels and civilians. This was the ultimate and permanent "Canceling" of people!

I could go on and on! There were massacres that killed thousands upon thousands and more disease and starvation going into the 20th Century. Then on June 22, 1941 Nazi Germany invaded Russia. Again, volumes and volumes have been written about this event in world history as well as numerous documentary films produced. But, again the toll in Russian lives is mind boggling. Russian sources list 7.420 million civilians killed during WWII. Roughly 8.6 million Russian soldiers died in the course of World War II including millions of POWs. By far, no nation of Europe or for that matter nearly no other nation on earth has suffered the degree of death and misery that the Russia people have.

My Thoughts!

Keep this in mind; they are a people with a history of great culture and greater suffering. They have learned to endure great pain both physically and emotionally. They are a very strong minded, an extremely bright people with a history that has known very little happiness! Yet, because of this "history" they have a great deal of humanity, sympathy, sensitivity, resolve and an amazing uniquely clever sense of humor.

During my numerous visits to Russia after the downfall of the Communist government, I had many opportunities to speak with the Russian people. There were no hotels or motels at that time in Russia except several in three or so major cities. These were run by the government and used only by government officials and visiting officials from other countries. I traveled with a Russian-American associate. We always stayed as guests in Russian homes and a good deal of time was spent talking about Russia and America and what life was like in each country. I recall speaking about something I noticed. If you closely observe American or even western European women, they seem to always smile when speaking to other women or in general. When in conversation, you will always get a smile as part of the expression of a friendly conversation with an American woman. But, I noticed that was not the case in Russia. I asked about that. A Russian woman in her late 30's replied that "smiles and laughter are for young Russian girls not Russian women." Further, "Our mothers teach us that being a Russian woman you need to be very strong, be prepared for a very painful life, bearing children will not be your most painful experience. You might have a drunk husband who will beat you. You might face starvation. You need to be ready to suffer the infant death of your children through illness. Hope you can get enough wood to heat your home and not freeze to death. Hope you have enough food to keep you from starving. Be ready to see your son, daughter and husband march off to a war and never see them again. You will never have much to smile about in your miserable life as a Russian woman. That is what we are taught by our mothers and to expect in our Russian life"!

In 1993 I had a Russian friend from Moscow who stayed with me and my family for about a week in my New York home. It was a great visit and I recall so much but I will never forget his impression of Manhattan during a weekday lunch time. The sidewalks were packed with people pouring out of office buildings heading to places to have their lunch. My guest was stunned into silent sadness at the sight of so many people, smiling, chatting, laughing, being so happy and Free! When I noticed his sudden change of mood, I asked if he was alright? He replied, "I feel so sorry for my country, we are a sad people. Seeing New York City sights is not what I will remember the most, it's seeing the happiness on the faces of the American people that I will never forget." I knew exactly what he meant as I recall my visits to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Volgograd and how the people walk the street with such serious expressions and mostly with heads facing downward looking at the sidewalk below their feet.

Sanctions: What Are They? Do They Work?
Who Do They Hurt? What Do They Change?

The use of economic sanctions has become the "go to" tool when talks, meetings, arm twisting and threats have failed the United States in its efforts to achieve foreign policy goals. Why? Could it be a lack of American diplomatic talent to negotiated and skillfully compromise in making arrangements where goals are reached and a settlement satisfactory to all is obtained? For sure, sanctions are way more desirable and more politically and physically a safer place to go than war. Do our universities train and arm our students of Political Science, our future diplomats and political leaders with this kinds of skill sets needed to accomplish peacefully solutions to international problem. Keeping in mind what was written earlier, the free world looks for America to lead, they will follow. Without America the free world has no leader! They are not trained or armed diplomatically. They had no need to be, America was always there for them! Are the universities more focused the last 40 years teaching world Globalization and the benefits of Socialism and producing a new world order of command and control of the world's population? Perhaps would a successful business person gifted in negotiating business deals be better suited to creating fair and long lasting arrangement for "peaceful" co-existence with our worldwide neighbors? In recent history, very often sanctions fail to achieve anything worthwhile. And, they can make a difficult issue worse. At its best it's an act that can create an illusion that American leadership is doing something - short of going to war and to a great extent not going to war is the very best of things - war kills people! But, do sanctions achieve the ends it's thought and hoped to? Let's look at that. What are sanctions?

The most powerful sanctions can only be leveled by the most powerful nation on earth which is currently the United States. But in the next decade or two it could very well be China. The world economy runs on the U.S.D. That's the U.S. dollar and as we go further into debt and keep printing trillions of dollars, at every turn of the monthly calendar the U.S.D. weakens a little bit more. But, let's get back to sanctions. They come in the form of arms embargoes, the limits on export, loss of foreign aid, withdrawal of diplomatic relations, tariff increases, general loss of all forms of foreign assistance, freezing bank assets, revocation of most favored nation trade, eliminating vote and participation in international financial institutions (forget wiring money anywhere!) visa denials, cancellation of air links, revoking ability to get credit, financing or investment. Now, realize America is so powerful, the majority of the nations of the free capitalist world will follow the United States and also impose these sanctions on that nation. Or will they? Well, it seems fewer and fewer nations are looking to jump on the U.S. bandwagon these days. I'll leave it at that!

After President Kennedy OK'ed the CIA operation known as the Bay of Pigs in 1961, with the objective to land a group of supposedly Cuban freedom fighters with a number of CIA agents embedded.  The idea was to attack a Cuban military outpost in the hope that it would encourage a massive uprising of the Cuban people.  The operation had a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier standing off Cuban waters ready to add air to ground support to the operation.  After the first 24 hours, there was no popular uprising of the Cuban people.  As the Operational forces started to face strong Cuban military resistance, they requested air support to help them either hold their position, advance their position or cover them for a withdrawal.  To this day, most details of that information is locked away in the U.S. archives not to be available until 2061.  Kennedy felt that he was immediately deceived and lied to by the U.S. intelligence community and refused to OK any air strikes in support of the operation.  For this reason, several CIA agents were killed and captured by the Cubans.  Ummm, more to add to the Kennedy assassination mystery.  Next up, the first real high profile U.S. sanctions occurred in February 1962 when President John F. Kennedy imposed an economic embargo on Cuba.  The entire free world joined in the embargo.  The thinking was the financial hardship felt by the Cuban people would stir them to revolt against the self-declared Communist leader Fidel Castro.  How did that turn out?  Well, nothing happened except that one of Cuba's friends Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR, thought a good way to protect his friend Fidel was to stage a number of nuclear tipped missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from the U.S.  This created what is remembered as the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 where the world stood at the brink of a nuclear war.  All the Communist and Socialist nations of the world helped Cuba with aid and trade! While the U.S.A. agreed to NEVER militarily invade Cuba and made a secret agreement to six months later remove it's nuclear missiles pointed at Russia from Turkish soil. The Russians agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba. No the people of Cuba didn't revolt!

Anyway, Fidel just kept filling his prisons with political adversaries and when the prisons were overflowing, he just executed the rest of them. Well, Fidel Castro stayed in power until his death on April 25, 2016 at the age of 90. Now, his brother Raul has taken over the role of President for life which is a very popular job in the Socialist-Communist world. Did the Cuban people suffer - yes and no. Those who were willing to risk their lives to live in freedom tried to flee, some got out and some didn't. Here it is nearly 65 years later and with sanctions still in place! The people of Cuba have not had a major uprising! They survive and not much has really changed at all.

Let's look at how other U.S. Sanctions have worked to change government behavior.

Very heavy sanctions were placed on Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. How did that work? It didn't. It took a war, Operation Desert Storm.

The Iranian regime continues to support terrorism, oppose any kind of Middle East peace process, and presses ahead full steam with its nuclear weapons program. They are about there and some say they are there! The world awaits their first nuke test anytime now! They hate the USA and Israel, even after President Obama gave them 150 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars to play nice!

India and Pakistan were not deterred from testing nuclear weapons by the threat of major U.S. and international economic and political sanctions. Sanctions were never placed, both countries have nukes pointed at each other.

After imposing very heavy sanctions on Libya, they refused to produce the two individuals accused of the destruction of Pan Am 103 with a bomb planted on the plane, it exploded over Scotland. How did that turn out? Libyan President Muammer Gaddafi said, "What bombers, we don't have any bombers!" On October 20, 2011 Mr. Gaddafi was kidnapped by the Misrata-based militias and immediately stabbed and beaten to death on the spot. The current leader of Libyan is "His Excellency Fayez al-Sarraj." When asked about turning over the Flight 103 bombers he said, "What bombers, we don't have any bombers!" Here it is, over 36 years since the bombing of Flight 103. President Trump's Attorney General William Barr announced that Abu Agila Mohammad Masud is being charged with terrorism-related crimes involving Pan Am Flight 103. His Excellency said, "Oh, that guy! We'll take care of him." Latest reports he is in the custody of the Libyan government but no one seems to know for sure if he is a prisoner somewhere or a house guest. To date he has not been turned over to the U.S. or Scottish authorities. In Henry Kissinger's memoirs he writes about how war is just an extension of diplomacy. So, much for Libyan Sanctions.

Sanctions could not persuade Haiti’s military junta to honor the results of a free election.

Sanctions could not dissuade Serbia to call off their military aggression

China continues to export sensitive technologies to selected countries, flies its military aircraft over Taiwan in preparation of a future military invasion, and remains a society where human rights are seriously violated against minorities. Those who are not conforming to the Communist lifestyle are imprisoned. Their economy is so strong, not an equal to the U.S. but catching up quickly and the U.S. sanctions are pointless. There are only a few nations following our lead when it comes to China. President Trump used tariffs on trade issues to try and achieve a balance in trade between the U.S. and China. That seems to have been very effective and led to several new trade deals that favored the U.S. economy. There were several other deals in the works that would have further helped the U.S. and create a more fair and even trade relationship. These tariffs on China were the most successful sanctions ever used to bring about a positive result favoring the U.S. The Chinese Communist Party Virus and Trump's election loss changed everything. I'll leave it at that.

But there have been Sanctions that occasionally worked and impacted American foreign policy in a positive way. But not many!

Sanctions introduced in the aftermath of the Gulf War increased Iraqi compliance with resolutions calling for the complete elimination of its weapons of mass destruction and diminished Iraq’s ability to import weapons.

In the former Yugoslavia, sanctions were one factor contributing to Serbia’s decision to accept the Dayton Agreement of peace in August 1995.

For a while China appeared to have shown some restraint in exporting nuclear and ballistic missile parts or technologies. Today, those sanctions don't exist and China exports what it wants and when it wants to who it wants! After all, who is going to stop them?

So, What's Next?

First, hope and pray there is no war in the Ukraine, but those prospects are dimming each day! The honest untold story about how U.S. Sanctions, U.S. policy impacted the people of the Russian Federation and it's emotionally unstable dangerous dictatorial President for life, Vladimir Putin. Understand and learn the truth and get honest information that you will NEVER hear, see or learn about in the U.S. propagandized mainstream media. The how and why the Ukraine after 31 years as an independent nation living in peace with Russia and with President Putin ruling Russia for 23 of those years, suddenly seemingly overnight is on the brink of war. Why? What the hell happened to change things! The truth and understanding of the complex mix of Putin, western businesses, sanctions, U.S. policy, the Russian Trump hoax, U.S. anti-Russian policy, the never mentioned "Balance of Power" between the three most nuclear armed nations, Russian oil, Russian lumber and the tricky Russian / China relationship. All to be written about in Part Two and I assure you, it will all really surprise you!

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