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☆ Trump said Putin told him he was the most 'vicious' president ever but they still got along
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump boasted about his relationship with Vladimir Putin at a South Carolina rally. Trump said Putin described him as "vicious," but they still got along. "As Putin said, 'You are the most vicious president ever.' President Donald Trump (R) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk as they make their way to take the "family photo" during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on November 11, 2017. Fiona Hill, who served as the top Russia advisor on the National Security Council under Trump, previously said that Putin often became frustrated with Trump over his lack of knowledge on big issues.

Persons: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump, Putin, —, There's, MAGA, JORGE SILVA, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Trump's, Fiona Hill Organizations: Service, Putin, Economic Cooperation, Getty, North, Washington, National Security Council, Trump Locations: South Carolina, Pickens, Russia, Ukraine, Asia, Danang

☆ West Must Brace for Fallout of Insurrection in Russia, Analysts Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

West Must Brace for Fallout of Insurrection in Russia, Analysts SayA poster reading 'Join us at Wagner' being removed near St. Petersburg on Saturday. (Associated Press)A former White House adviser on Russia said that Wagner’s decision to turn its troops on Moscow was the result of the Kremlin’s military failures and the private army’s exasperation with its troops becoming cannon fodder. Fiona Hill said Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was “now telling the truth about the military failure and the official pretext for the invasion.”

Persons: Wagner, Fiona Hill, Yevgeny Prigozhin, “, ” Organizations: Associated Press, White Locations: Russia, St . Petersburg, Moscow

☆ Eyeball to eyeball: Estonia stares down Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It sits high on the western bank of the Narva River, its 13th-century castle proudly flying the blue, black and white flag of Estonia. We think we know roughly what makes them tick.”Like parts of Ukraine, Estonia was illegally annexed and occupied by the Soviet Union. Estonians at the conference were adamant: Unless Russia is utterly defeated in Ukraine, there is no reason to expect Putin will change his strategic objective. Jill Dougherty/CNNSeveral Russians at the conference said they feel personally responsible for the horrors Russia is unleashing on Ukraine. What’s more, Vladimir Putin is winning support for the war from so-called “swing states” and nations in the Global South.

☆ Putin's KGB past is key to grasping what he might do next in his failing Ukraine war, ex-spies say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Putin's time in the KGB helps explain his worldview and brutal approach to warfare, ex-spies say. As Western intelligence agencies vie to stay two steps ahead of the Russian leader and get inside his head, peering into Putin's KGB past may offer clues on what he's thinking. "Putin's KGB background tells us a lot about how he thinks and how he sees the war. He is a creation of the KGB, and the KGB was a terrorist organization," John Sipher, a former CIA officer who served in Russia, told Insider. The Ukraine war has seen Putin and his propagandists make a series of assertions — ranging from plausible to preposterous — to justify Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Putin is 'still convinced he can prevail' in Ukraine, and other nearby countries 'could be at risk of attack' if he wins, top Russia experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The outcome of the Ukraine war will determine the safety of the wider region, Angela Stent and Fiona Hill warn. Putin's "appetite for expansion would not stop at the Ukrainian border" if Russia wins, they said in a new op-ed. They warned that nearby countries like Poland and Finland could face attack if Russia prevails. "Even now, after a year of carnage, Putin is still convinced he can prevail," Stent and Hill wrote in a new op-ed for Foreign Affairs. Putin has often pointed to Russia's imperial past when offering justifications for the war in Ukraine, at one point likening himself to Peter the Great.

☆ Despite GOP criticism of the prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner, Fiona Hill said Trump was 'not particularly interested' in freeing Paul Whelan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Critics, including Trump, asked why Brittney Griner was freed while Paul Whelan remains jailed. Hill said Trump wasn't "particularly interested in Paul [Whelan]'s case" while in office. "If I made that deal the Dems would chant, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!" "I also have to say here that President Trump wasn't especially interested in engaging in that swap for Paul Whelan," Hill said. However, she added, Whelan, Griner, and Reed were all caught up in what she called "political games" while doing things that "seemed completely ordinary."

☆ Putin's time in the KGB taught him 'how to lie' and to think like a terrorist, ex-spies say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Putin's time in the KGB helps explain his worldview and brutal approach to warfare, ex-spies say. A former KGB agent told Insider the biggest thing Putin learned from the Soviet spy agency was "how to lie." But ex-spies and Russia experts told Insider that Putin's time in the KGB — the Soviet Union's primary and much-feared security agency — played an instrumental role in shaping his mindset. "Putin's KGB background tells us a lot about how he thinks and how he sees the war. He is a creation of the KGB, and the KGB was a terrorist organization," John Sipher, a former CIA officer who served in Russia, told Insider.

☆ Russia stole from a Ukrainian crypt the bones of Catherine the Great's lover, the conqueror who annexed Crimea and inspired Putin
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The bones of Potemkin were removed from Kherson and taken deeper into Russian-occupied territory. Potemkin was Catherine the Great's lover and played a key role in the annexation of Crimea in 1783. Potemkin's remains were removed from St. Catherine's Cathedral and taken deeper into Russian-occupied territory as Ukrainian forces move to retake Kherson. Sebag Montefiore, a historian and author of "Catherine the Great and Potemkin," said in tweets that Potemkin would've "loathed" Putin's "primitive" and "cruel nationalism." An attempt to quickly seize the Ukrainian capital fell apart, forcing Russia to concentrate its efforts on the east, where grinding artillery battles took their toll on both sides.

☆ Russian billionaire behind mercenary army in Ukraine confronted Putin about botching the war, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian tycoon Yevgeniy Prigozhin met with Putin in private this month, The Washington Post said. It said Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, criticized the handling of the Ukraine war. In a statement to The Post, Prigozhin denied that he spoke to Putin and said he has no right to criticize Russia's army. "I did not criticize the management of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the conflict in Ukraine. Prighozin is not the only Putin loyalist to voice criticism of the Russian military amid the ongoing conflict.

☆ Elon Musk complimented a top Putin official for trolling Liz Truss, and got invited to Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk praised a Putin ally for trolling the UK's prime minister over her resignation. On Thursday, Dmitry Medvedev trolled UK Prime Minister Liz Truss for resigning after only 44 days in office, and alluded to a running joke in UK tabloid The Daily Star about whether she'd last longer than a lettuce. Musk was criticised for the jokey interaction with Medvedev, who has previously served as prime minister and president of Russia, and now leads its security council. Musk, the world's richest man, has recently made a series of outspoken pronouncements on the Ukraine war and tensions between Taiwan and China. Fiona Hill, a former White House Russia expert, said Putin was likely manipulating Musk.

☆ Trump boasted of getting on with strongmen like Putin and Erdogan better 'the tougher and meaner they are' in new audio
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In one clip, Trump said he likes leaders better "the tougher and meaner they are." In one excerpt, Trump described his admiration for authoritarian strongmen including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Erdoğan, and North Korean President Kim Jong Un. I campaigned on getting along with Russia, China and everyone else," Trump said in a January 2020 interview. Trump noted in the interviews that he had better relationships with leaders "the tougher and meaner they are." "It's funny, the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them.

☆ Elon Musk's pro-Russian peace deal is 'classic Putin,' and there's a clue of the Russian leader's role, Fiona Hill argues
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's foray into the Russia-Ukraine war is being guided by Putin, according to Fiona Hill. The Russia expert told Politico that Putin frequently uses prominent people as intermediaries. "Putin plays the egos of big men, gives them a sense that they can play a role," Hill said. But in reality, they're just direct transmitters of messages from Vladimir Putin," Hill told Politico this week, noting that the Tesla billionaire has tipped his hand in an obvious display of Putin's influence. Musk's sudden emergence as an apparent player in foreign affairs may seem curious, but it's actually a "classic Putin play," Hill said.

☆ Old men helped cause the Soviet Union's collapse. Historians say it's a warning sign for the United States.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The Soviet Union became a gerontocracy in its final years, contributing to its collapse. And Reagan was right: Soviet leaders had consistently died on the job. "It doesn't matter whether it's the Soviet Union or the United States — there's always a clash" between older and younger generations, Grunewald said. They were afraid to let it go," said Zubok, the author of "Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union." And that did become a central factor in the demise of the Soviet Union."

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