Maybe the performance of Iran (and the Resistance generally) on the public relations front as opposed to the USA has encouraged some to step forward.
I think, Russia has two problems. They have no brand name for their concept of society (other than China or Iran), which is essentialy to be just and loyal. And they are too modest, rather understating their achievements than boasting. The exact opposite of anglosaxon attitude of all shine with no substance.
This needs to be amended to gain attractivity for their neighbours.
Perhaps the WW2 is a source of great official proudness for a part of Russia but I think that for the russian citizen, it's also a great source of painful and disgusting memories.
Like the WW1 in France. They're was those who suffered and died and those who took advantage in drinking vodka, eating caviar and shaging pretty girls in silk while sending others to death or in keeping the safe places far on rear.
That probably let a great silent disillusion. Officially, everybody say, "yes, we won, we sacrificed and suffered but we won, hurrah!"
But in the secret of family and talks between friends it's rather: " yes we know what it cost and who paid the price and who took advantage".
It's very hard to make revival the patriotic flame after such a trauma.
Russians probably wished forcefully to think that all that was over and behind and such a horror never come back. They wished forcefully that in giving up communism, West would have welcomed them with open arms.
But reality is harsh. West don't wants equal Russians, West wants Russians submitted as dogs, or dead.
This cruel understanding of situation is very recent. Less than 10 years.
But remember, Russians as slow to get in the saddle. But once on it....
The ability to listen to constructive criticism without taking offense and then putting that criticism to good use is such a rare quality in people that it is probably one of the biggest factors holding back the progress of mankind…
If you allows me, you must show more empathy for the actio-men the decision-makers.
You are the boss of a big company or the head of a country, you are surrounded by a legion of advisers. All those advisers have glittering degrees of prestigious university and often a past of successful advice. The problem is that those numerous very good advisers don't agree each other.
And when you choose the bad, and the shit hit the fan, you are covered of it but the adviser remains perfectly clean and tells with a grin to everybody that you probably get him wrong or that your realisation of his brillant theory was disastrous.
How do you know who is a good adviser?
Concerning former sovietic republics, and former imperial colonies, I really think that Russians are blinded by a true racist complexe. Their condescendance for Caucasus, South Asian states and east Europeans will destroy them. West has understood this weak point and play it forcefully.
The second half of my comment is perhaps the most important. You have to put the criticism to good use. Sometimes that good use might be to reject the criticism but you shouldn’t do it out of hand without first considering its possible merits…
Here is some constructive criticism for you, Darras. You need to write more concise and coherent comments and proofread before you hit send…
Trenin's reversal from a champion of Euro-Atlantic integration to a fierce critic of the West and increasingly fierce constructive critic of the MFA is one of the biggest domestic surprises of the SMO for me. I could never have imagined him of all people talking like this.
Either he was in mission of infiltration and control when he was at the top of occidentalists( nice word to say "traitors") and his mission finished in 22/2/22.
There is a third explanation. His mission is not finished. He is still working for the West. He just changed the official uniform to conform with the new majority.
By definition Putin does not know. The trajectory of Mr Trenin is shared by significant number of individuals. I do not know Mr Trenin, I do not think he is a traitor, or that he was a traitor, and I would trust Korybko's opinion.
I just wanted to point out that there are three possible explanations for the intellectual trajectory he showed.
At least Russians admit they have to rake a second look at their foreign policies. You do not see the same attitude in the USA. Remember the West is puting presure on Russia. Russia is not puting pressure on the West. The West, EU & Ameriica. America has not won a war in the past 75 years, that is why they started and financed a war in Ukraine. EU countries have invaded Russia and have been defeated. Tjhe EU countries are "has beens" their empires GONE. Russia is a Nuclear Super Power as is the USA. Russia continues to stretch 6,000 miles and nobody dare try to change that. SIMPLE. the West is JEALOUS of RUSSIA & is green in envy.
One of the reasons that China and Russian societies have advanced so far is their histories of internal and external struggles that have forced them to constantly reinvent them and their economies and priorities. Their survival depended on adjusting to new threats, both internal and external. They were able to go from purely Communist economics to ones based on state controlled capitalism. Because they could not compete with the U.S. levels of defense spending they developed much deadlier and far more cost effective defenses. The U.S. , on the other hand hasn’t faced any serious threats since the Great Depression and the threat of a strong Socialist movement. Even worse it has allowed the reins of power to be seized by a greedy, sociopathic, billionaire class whose only goal is global strategic domination, at any cost, including cannabalizing its own society.
Russia, China and Iran shared a delusional hope of being accepted by the west that is unbelievably hard to brake and this type of criticism is more than welcomed by anybody wanting to live in a better and more stable world.
If Russia and China had a foreign policy adequate for our times and treated their allies in a proper manner they would have way more leverage to negotiate and block the Ukraine war, Iran war, the Taiwan situation and all major geopolitical conflicts.
Even Dugin is recognizing that Russia is cowardly abandoning Latin American allies and publicly apologizing on Twitter. Hopefully this war will change China, Russia and Iran strategies radically.
most "latin american allies" were imposed by the cananite (sefardi plus kazar) mafia. there is genuine socialism in latin america, but there also is hypochritical one, using russia for its resources.
Socialism by itself aint a panaceum. It has its shortcomings ignoring fundamental biological laws. It's always those with a better start that will get bigger than the rest and this isnt a bad thing in itself because strong individuals can provide services to the community weaker individuals cant. It's just one has to see it doesnt overgrow everything. I got a background in forestry, this is our modus operandi.
With respect to mankind, this particularly concerns wealth. If you dont constantly redistribute in a manner to support promising candidates that just started at a financial disadvantage, discrepancies will finally get out of hand. There is a mathematical model proving this theory. Its called affine wealth, if some want to know more about it.
Countries trying to counter any wealth disadvantages of their youth by providing good basic education early (kindergarden) and free of charge, in later stages only depending on performance, have shown this to work to the benefit of all. Giving this up is the best path to destruction. Democracy without knowledge and honest information cant work and a modern society depends on the best use of its citizens talents and abilities.
Michael Hudson has also been telling us a lot about the mechanisms former societies practised to achieve redistribution to avoid fatal unjustice. An important aspect in this is to realize that one's achievements arent exclusively due to one's work but also depend a lot on chance and favourable circumstances. The modesty most religions preach applies here in particular. Its easy to forget this to the detriment of one's soul.
so, if you have a criminal that robs someone at gun point, the description of the crime makes you hate the victim instead of wanting justice? then you might have a satanist mind yourself, or be a romanian that imitates my name to seed confusion (that's why i wrote back, to remove the confusion). as for the mafia i described, they are not zionists, in fact they are its biggest enemies, sometimes profiteers and in the end liquidators of zionism, and the true jews are the solution to this, not the problem. zionism is legit, jews deserve a country; unfortunately they are too weak to resist the internal subversion and having a country in the current territory will destroy not only them, but the whole middle east and much of the muslim world, but there are bigger, richer and safer solutions. the things they did as a country, outside the security area that was always imposed to them, are respectable. while other stateless minorities liquidate other populations or terraform the whole society in their image, the jews (the real ones, meaning mizrahi, ashkenazi and a big part of sefardi if cleaned of sectarianism and bad influence) tolerated muslims in their own country which are now almost overwhelming them, so if the internal subversion won't destroy them, other factors like demography surely will. but in maturity, they are ahead 90% of the populations who have a country or more. just that in the place they are now, satanists will scapegoat, then destroy them, knowing they totally control the game. that's why i don't blame neither russia or israel; the evil, including the internal one, is just too big to resist it. but you can do some things, and for israel, moving to a better place is something they just can do.
I don't consider Russia to be a "train wreck", but I've been constructively critical of aspects of state policy for several years already, including the obviously broken feedback loops that contribute to poor policy formulation and inadequate policy implementation.
I also object to downplaying the resultant setbacks, let alone spinning them as part of a "5D chess master plan", including for "psyching out Russia's opponents" like many influencers instinctively resort to every time a setback backs the news.
What I sincerely believe needs to happen are far-reaching reforms in the Foreign Ministry that correct the misperceptions that Trenin touched upon, repair broken feedback loops, and reshape Russia's strategic culture to finally allow for constructive critiques.
The soft power tactic that I've taken to calling "Potemkinism" -- the creation of alternative realities for strategic purposes, particularly those about Russian policy itself -- must end since related narratives have been recycled into these broken feedback loops since 2023:
"Potemkinism" is "state-tolerated" at minimum and "state-orchestrated" or at least "state-encouraged" most, and its narratives should never have been recycled into these loops by promoting the foreigners who spew them among Russian experts, officials, and diplomats.
Externally directed narratives shouldn't ever be redirected domestically, let alone towards such elite audiences of people who can actually be influenced by them, and it's my honest assessment that recent setbacks owe their origin in part to that pivotal moment in 2023.
It was around the one-year anniversary of the SMO that Russia began flying these folks out and parading them around Russian experts, officials, and diplomats, which was very bizarre since it's widely known to be extremely counterproductive.
As a saying back home in the US goes, "don't get high on your own supply" in reference to advising drug dealers not to use the same drugs that they sell, which can be remixed in this case as "don't believe your own propaganda".
Experts, officials, and diplomats are all part of the policy formulation and policy implementation processes, yet here they were being told by dishonestly described "independent experts" that "everything is indeed going according to plan".
Even if they themselves weren't so sure of that, they knew that influential people here flew these "independent experts" into Russia, rolled out the red carpet, and want them to listen to what these people were saying and ideally internalize it.
Out here, it's taboo to question one's superiors, including sharing constructive critiques that challenge policy on factual bases. While experts privately grumble, few are willing to risk "insulting the intelligence" of their superiors or those above them as it's seen.
Therefore, when they observe that influential folks are parading these "friendly foreigners" around who insist that "everything is going according to plan", the signal is to go with the flow and not be the proverbial nail that stands up and thus gets hammered down first.
I accordingly concluded that influential folks here, whether for innocent reasons because they too are QAnon-like adherents who 'trust the plan" no matter what or malicious ones to keep Russia going down the wrong path, allowed that for precisely this reason.
That deeply concerns, but I wasn't born and raised here so it's not "my country" no matter how much I love it nor how many stakes I have in its success (I have a family here, I own property, my life savings is entirely in rubles, etc.).
If I, an American-Polish dual citizen with "Old Rus" ("Ukrainian") ancestry (my surname's double -ko's are a dead giveaway), started really trying to change things, I'd open myself up to possible persecution from these powerful people for "meddling", God forbid.
That's why I keep my activities limited to writing and don't go around trying to assemble a group of like-minded experts, officials, diplomats, etc. (I have a vast network of contacts here after living in Moscow for 12.5 years), but I still hope that someone is doing this.
They're Russians, it's their country, and there are some folks who agree with me that things aren't going as well as portrayed so far-reaching reforms are in order, but their strategic culture fiercely resists reforms, even feedback as I said, so it's an uphill battle.
Nevertheless, Trenin's election and now his interview are most definitely positive signs that folks much more influential than those like-minded ones in my network of contacts agree that some changes are finally in order, I just hope he'll succeed in implementing them.
Of course, I've been writing about it for years, literally! Here are two of my pieces from 2022 that I frequently hyperlink into my analyses whenever I first mention the words "special operation" therein:
It's precisely because I refuse to lie to my audience by parroting low-IQ talking points about how "Russia is always winning" and "you're all too dumb to understand that this setback is part of a 5D chess master plan" that I'm not invited to major events here like my so-called "peers" are.
That's the price of admission: you need to unquestionably repeat the most basic rhetoric that presents Russia as always winning, the West and Ukraine as always losing, and multipolarity as inevitable. I won't do that so I'll never be part of the club but I don't mind because I still have my integrity.
Perhaps, but admit that between Staline and Poutine, there have been several industrial accidents: Afghanistan war, Tchernobyl, Perestroika, split of USSR and the very bottom of the 350 last years of Russian history were reached with Elstine.
If you look at Russia of 1996 and that of today and you say to me that it's a collapse, sure I can't agree.
But speaking about Staline as the strong guy, I allow myself to remind you that, due to his paranoia , he depravedRed Army of 80% of his officers, and due to his Potemkinism, Germans arrived at 40 km of Moscow.
Say whatever you will, but war proved that Russia has one ally, North Korea. Russia should do all humanly possible to improve economic, scientific, technological, military ties with North Korea.
Substantiating my naive impression of Russia as the free’r country vis a vis the U.S.; free’r in its momentum. We are slipping into a deep control influence whether ‘right or left’, and The Russ’s perhaps the obverse. Thank you for exposing us to this significant opening perhaps it will positively affect The West’s view of Russia with its potential for healing.
Russia's foregin policy is guided by realistic international relations concepts. This means, as Russia grows stronger , it will be more assertive and accept less and less space of maneuveur from its near abroad and enemies. It is a very classic case of a rising power. Russia will demand a lot from Ukraine, even if at the start of the war it was very reasonable. After victory in Ukraine , Cuacasus and Central Asia will be aggresively reminded who is in charge of security, even if a SMO is needed(it won't be). The Europeans are also in, for a very difficult 25 year timespan. The americans will also suffer revenge in proxy wars and military adventures.
What is worrying in what said Trenin and I'm surprised you don't speak about it, is when he says that the relations with "allies" are becoming more and more transactionnel and less and less formal.
"Trenin’s election as President of RIAC might therefore lead to the long-overdue and likely painful repair of Russia’s broken feedback loops that have caused it so much trouble."
----
You can't fix a broken feedback loop when broken feedback is what is required to hold the country together. Let's see how long Trenin remains prison free.
Russia is a broken country and in all likelihood, will, in the not distant future, be broken up into smaller independent entities.
*****
As Putin takes Russia off the grid, there are growing signs of discontent
Yuliya Talmazan
March 31, 2026
Russians might be getting fed up with the Kremlin making their lives harder and more isolated in the name of security.
A rare call for protests over the weekend followed mounting signs of anger and ridicule aimed at authorities, with pro-Kremlin influencers and newspapers joining a growing wave of public frustration at the government’s approach.
A major mobile internet blackout in Moscow and the throttling of the popular messaging app Telegram, both justified by ambiguous security considerations, helped fuel the rare public criticism over this erosion of digital freedoms and connectivity. It comes against the backdrop of soaring prices and an ailing wartime economy, with little sign of major battlefield progress in Ukraine.
Memes on TikTok and Instagram ridiculed Russians resorting to paper maps and pagers in the absence of mobile internet, or walking around the capital with satellite antennas strapped to their laptops.
Maybe the performance of Iran (and the Resistance generally) on the public relations front as opposed to the USA has encouraged some to step forward.
I think, Russia has two problems. They have no brand name for their concept of society (other than China or Iran), which is essentialy to be just and loyal. And they are too modest, rather understating their achievements than boasting. The exact opposite of anglosaxon attitude of all shine with no substance.
This needs to be amended to gain attractivity for their neighbours.
Perhaps the WW2 is a source of great official proudness for a part of Russia but I think that for the russian citizen, it's also a great source of painful and disgusting memories.
Like the WW1 in France. They're was those who suffered and died and those who took advantage in drinking vodka, eating caviar and shaging pretty girls in silk while sending others to death or in keeping the safe places far on rear.
That probably let a great silent disillusion. Officially, everybody say, "yes, we won, we sacrificed and suffered but we won, hurrah!"
But in the secret of family and talks between friends it's rather: " yes we know what it cost and who paid the price and who took advantage".
It's very hard to make revival the patriotic flame after such a trauma.
Russians probably wished forcefully to think that all that was over and behind and such a horror never come back. They wished forcefully that in giving up communism, West would have welcomed them with open arms.
But reality is harsh. West don't wants equal Russians, West wants Russians submitted as dogs, or dead.
This cruel understanding of situation is very recent. Less than 10 years.
But remember, Russians as slow to get in the saddle. But once on it....
russia should prove this oldfashioned eurocentric view is wrong.
putin, my friend, should take odessa and start discussing a solid
peace architecture.
The ability to listen to constructive criticism without taking offense and then putting that criticism to good use is such a rare quality in people that it is probably one of the biggest factors holding back the progress of mankind…
I couldn't agree more!
If you allows me, you must show more empathy for the actio-men the decision-makers.
You are the boss of a big company or the head of a country, you are surrounded by a legion of advisers. All those advisers have glittering degrees of prestigious university and often a past of successful advice. The problem is that those numerous very good advisers don't agree each other.
And when you choose the bad, and the shit hit the fan, you are covered of it but the adviser remains perfectly clean and tells with a grin to everybody that you probably get him wrong or that your realisation of his brillant theory was disastrous.
How do you know who is a good adviser?
Concerning former sovietic republics, and former imperial colonies, I really think that Russians are blinded by a true racist complexe. Their condescendance for Caucasus, South Asian states and east Europeans will destroy them. West has understood this weak point and play it forcefully.
Russians better open their eyes.
The second half of my comment is perhaps the most important. You have to put the criticism to good use. Sometimes that good use might be to reject the criticism but you shouldn’t do it out of hand without first considering its possible merits…
Here is some constructive criticism for you, Darras. You need to write more concise and coherent comments and proofread before you hit send…
I do that, and I don't know were I'm not coherent.
Seemingly, you don't like constructive criticism?? ;)
ransom, lets assume he lives in the past and just uses this forum to blow steam.
Boss of Carnegie center in Moscow 1994-2022
Member of Internation Institute for Strategic Studies ( London)
Until 2022, member of Royal Academy of Sweden
Resolute promoter during 25 ans of integration of Russia in UE and NATO.
Churchill was right about that topic: Russia is really mysterious and complicated.
Trenin's reversal from a champion of Euro-Atlantic integration to a fierce critic of the West and increasingly fierce constructive critic of the MFA is one of the biggest domestic surprises of the SMO for me. I could never have imagined him of all people talking like this.
There is probably only two explanation.
Either he was in mission of infiltration and control when he was at the top of occidentalists( nice word to say "traitors") and his mission finished in 22/2/22.
Or he is an opportunist without guts.
There is a third explanation. His mission is not finished. He is still working for the West. He just changed the official uniform to conform with the new majority.
Yes, and Poutine let him do?
By definition Putin does not know. The trajectory of Mr Trenin is shared by significant number of individuals. I do not know Mr Trenin, I do not think he is a traitor, or that he was a traitor, and I would trust Korybko's opinion.
I just wanted to point out that there are three possible explanations for the intellectual trajectory he showed.
Perhaps, but do not shoot the messenger. Listen to his message.
Sure, but the meaning of a message is as important as where does it come.
some are more boring than funny.
still, better language would be better.
At least Russians admit they have to rake a second look at their foreign policies. You do not see the same attitude in the USA. Remember the West is puting presure on Russia. Russia is not puting pressure on the West. The West, EU & Ameriica. America has not won a war in the past 75 years, that is why they started and financed a war in Ukraine. EU countries have invaded Russia and have been defeated. Tjhe EU countries are "has beens" their empires GONE. Russia is a Nuclear Super Power as is the USA. Russia continues to stretch 6,000 miles and nobody dare try to change that. SIMPLE. the West is JEALOUS of RUSSIA & is green in envy.
a good psychologist from wallstreet could polish that image of russia.
So the best retort/argument you can come with is "whatabout"? 🤣
One of the reasons that China and Russian societies have advanced so far is their histories of internal and external struggles that have forced them to constantly reinvent them and their economies and priorities. Their survival depended on adjusting to new threats, both internal and external. They were able to go from purely Communist economics to ones based on state controlled capitalism. Because they could not compete with the U.S. levels of defense spending they developed much deadlier and far more cost effective defenses. The U.S. , on the other hand hasn’t faced any serious threats since the Great Depression and the threat of a strong Socialist movement. Even worse it has allowed the reins of power to be seized by a greedy, sociopathic, billionaire class whose only goal is global strategic domination, at any cost, including cannabalizing its own society.
a happy chaos creates something good for the clever, especially for the epstein class.
Russia, China and Iran shared a delusional hope of being accepted by the west that is unbelievably hard to brake and this type of criticism is more than welcomed by anybody wanting to live in a better and more stable world.
If Russia and China had a foreign policy adequate for our times and treated their allies in a proper manner they would have way more leverage to negotiate and block the Ukraine war, Iran war, the Taiwan situation and all major geopolitical conflicts.
Even Dugin is recognizing that Russia is cowardly abandoning Latin American allies and publicly apologizing on Twitter. Hopefully this war will change China, Russia and Iran strategies radically.
you have to show the sweet carrot and the big stick at the same time, said moses
when he came to jerusalem.
most "latin american allies" were imposed by the cananite (sefardi plus kazar) mafia. there is genuine socialism in latin america, but there also is hypochritical one, using russia for its resources.
Socialism by itself aint a panaceum. It has its shortcomings ignoring fundamental biological laws. It's always those with a better start that will get bigger than the rest and this isnt a bad thing in itself because strong individuals can provide services to the community weaker individuals cant. It's just one has to see it doesnt overgrow everything. I got a background in forestry, this is our modus operandi.
With respect to mankind, this particularly concerns wealth. If you dont constantly redistribute in a manner to support promising candidates that just started at a financial disadvantage, discrepancies will finally get out of hand. There is a mathematical model proving this theory. Its called affine wealth, if some want to know more about it.
Countries trying to counter any wealth disadvantages of their youth by providing good basic education early (kindergarden) and free of charge, in later stages only depending on performance, have shown this to work to the benefit of all. Giving this up is the best path to destruction. Democracy without knowledge and honest information cant work and a modern society depends on the best use of its citizens talents and abilities.
Michael Hudson has also been telling us a lot about the mechanisms former societies practised to achieve redistribution to avoid fatal unjustice. An important aspect in this is to realize that one's achievements arent exclusively due to one's work but also depend a lot on chance and favourable circumstances. The modesty most religions preach applies here in particular. Its easy to forget this to the detriment of one's soul.
Comments like this make me hate Russia and see them only as another zionist country, disgusting
so, if you have a criminal that robs someone at gun point, the description of the crime makes you hate the victim instead of wanting justice? then you might have a satanist mind yourself, or be a romanian that imitates my name to seed confusion (that's why i wrote back, to remove the confusion). as for the mafia i described, they are not zionists, in fact they are its biggest enemies, sometimes profiteers and in the end liquidators of zionism, and the true jews are the solution to this, not the problem. zionism is legit, jews deserve a country; unfortunately they are too weak to resist the internal subversion and having a country in the current territory will destroy not only them, but the whole middle east and much of the muslim world, but there are bigger, richer and safer solutions. the things they did as a country, outside the security area that was always imposed to them, are respectable. while other stateless minorities liquidate other populations or terraform the whole society in their image, the jews (the real ones, meaning mizrahi, ashkenazi and a big part of sefardi if cleaned of sectarianism and bad influence) tolerated muslims in their own country which are now almost overwhelming them, so if the internal subversion won't destroy them, other factors like demography surely will. but in maturity, they are ahead 90% of the populations who have a country or more. just that in the place they are now, satanists will scapegoat, then destroy them, knowing they totally control the game. that's why i don't blame neither russia or israel; the evil, including the internal one, is just too big to resist it. but you can do some things, and for israel, moving to a better place is something they just can do.
Sounds like the slow-motion trainwreck that is Russia continues to unfold apace.
I don't consider Russia to be a "train wreck", but I've been constructively critical of aspects of state policy for several years already, including the obviously broken feedback loops that contribute to poor policy formulation and inadequate policy implementation.
I also object to downplaying the resultant setbacks, let alone spinning them as part of a "5D chess master plan", including for "psyching out Russia's opponents" like many influencers instinctively resort to every time a setback backs the news.
What I sincerely believe needs to happen are far-reaching reforms in the Foreign Ministry that correct the misperceptions that Trenin touched upon, repair broken feedback loops, and reshape Russia's strategic culture to finally allow for constructive critiques.
The soft power tactic that I've taken to calling "Potemkinism" -- the creation of alternative realities for strategic purposes, particularly those about Russian policy itself -- must end since related narratives have been recycled into these broken feedback loops since 2023:
https://korybko.substack.com/p/potemkinism-is-responsible-for-false
"Potemkinism" is "state-tolerated" at minimum and "state-orchestrated" or at least "state-encouraged" most, and its narratives should never have been recycled into these loops by promoting the foreigners who spew them among Russian experts, officials, and diplomats.
Externally directed narratives shouldn't ever be redirected domestically, let alone towards such elite audiences of people who can actually be influenced by them, and it's my honest assessment that recent setbacks owe their origin in part to that pivotal moment in 2023.
It was around the one-year anniversary of the SMO that Russia began flying these folks out and parading them around Russian experts, officials, and diplomats, which was very bizarre since it's widely known to be extremely counterproductive.
As a saying back home in the US goes, "don't get high on your own supply" in reference to advising drug dealers not to use the same drugs that they sell, which can be remixed in this case as "don't believe your own propaganda".
Experts, officials, and diplomats are all part of the policy formulation and policy implementation processes, yet here they were being told by dishonestly described "independent experts" that "everything is indeed going according to plan".
Even if they themselves weren't so sure of that, they knew that influential people here flew these "independent experts" into Russia, rolled out the red carpet, and want them to listen to what these people were saying and ideally internalize it.
Out here, it's taboo to question one's superiors, including sharing constructive critiques that challenge policy on factual bases. While experts privately grumble, few are willing to risk "insulting the intelligence" of their superiors or those above them as it's seen.
Therefore, when they observe that influential folks are parading these "friendly foreigners" around who insist that "everything is going according to plan", the signal is to go with the flow and not be the proverbial nail that stands up and thus gets hammered down first.
I accordingly concluded that influential folks here, whether for innocent reasons because they too are QAnon-like adherents who 'trust the plan" no matter what or malicious ones to keep Russia going down the wrong path, allowed that for precisely this reason.
That deeply concerns, but I wasn't born and raised here so it's not "my country" no matter how much I love it nor how many stakes I have in its success (I have a family here, I own property, my life savings is entirely in rubles, etc.).
If I, an American-Polish dual citizen with "Old Rus" ("Ukrainian") ancestry (my surname's double -ko's are a dead giveaway), started really trying to change things, I'd open myself up to possible persecution from these powerful people for "meddling", God forbid.
That's why I keep my activities limited to writing and don't go around trying to assemble a group of like-minded experts, officials, diplomats, etc. (I have a vast network of contacts here after living in Moscow for 12.5 years), but I still hope that someone is doing this.
They're Russians, it's their country, and there are some folks who agree with me that things aren't going as well as portrayed so far-reaching reforms are in order, but their strategic culture fiercely resists reforms, even feedback as I said, so it's an uphill battle.
Nevertheless, Trenin's election and now his interview are most definitely positive signs that folks much more influential than those like-minded ones in my network of contacts agree that some changes are finally in order, I just hope he'll succeed in implementing them.
Perhaps, but surely you must admit that the inexorable Russian advance more than once has been slowed before the Great Gates of Kiev!
Of course, I've been writing about it for years, literally! Here are two of my pieces from 2022 that I frequently hyperlink into my analyses whenever I first mention the words "special operation" therein:
https://korybko.substack.com/p/korybko-to-azerbaijani-media-all
https://korybko.substack.com/p/20-constructive-critiques-about-russias
It's precisely because I refuse to lie to my audience by parroting low-IQ talking points about how "Russia is always winning" and "you're all too dumb to understand that this setback is part of a 5D chess master plan" that I'm not invited to major events here like my so-called "peers" are.
That's the price of admission: you need to unquestionably repeat the most basic rhetoric that presents Russia as always winning, the West and Ukraine as always losing, and multipolarity as inevitable. I won't do that so I'll never be part of the club but I don't mind because I still have my integrity.
I do admire your integrity... and writings! Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
Andrew,
appreciate the explanation. I do admire your consistency and integrity.
Thank you, I sincerely try my best!
Sure Sir, Russia is in the more horrible form than under Elstine 30 years ago. Joker.
Compared to Stalin, it's a mere rump state finding it difficult to subdue a neighbor.
Perhaps, but admit that between Staline and Poutine, there have been several industrial accidents: Afghanistan war, Tchernobyl, Perestroika, split of USSR and the very bottom of the 350 last years of Russian history were reached with Elstine.
If you look at Russia of 1996 and that of today and you say to me that it's a collapse, sure I can't agree.
But speaking about Staline as the strong guy, I allow myself to remind you that, due to his paranoia , he depravedRed Army of 80% of his officers, and due to his Potemkinism, Germans arrived at 40 km of Moscow.
Thanks for this, Andrew. This is THE major challenge for Russia.
Say whatever you will, but war proved that Russia has one ally, North Korea. Russia should do all humanly possible to improve economic, scientific, technological, military ties with North Korea.
Substantiating my naive impression of Russia as the free’r country vis a vis the U.S.; free’r in its momentum. We are slipping into a deep control influence whether ‘right or left’, and The Russ’s perhaps the obverse. Thank you for exposing us to this significant opening perhaps it will positively affect The West’s view of Russia with its potential for healing.
Russia's foregin policy is guided by realistic international relations concepts. This means, as Russia grows stronger , it will be more assertive and accept less and less space of maneuveur from its near abroad and enemies. It is a very classic case of a rising power. Russia will demand a lot from Ukraine, even if at the start of the war it was very reasonable. After victory in Ukraine , Cuacasus and Central Asia will be aggresively reminded who is in charge of security, even if a SMO is needed(it won't be). The Europeans are also in, for a very difficult 25 year timespan. The americans will also suffer revenge in proxy wars and military adventures.
What is worrying in what said Trenin and I'm surprised you don't speak about it, is when he says that the relations with "allies" are becoming more and more transactionnel and less and less formal.
What do you understand by transactionell?
What do you understand by transactionell?
Uniquely based on immediate interest and transaction and not submitted at the discipline of a long term alliance
"Trenin’s election as President of RIAC might therefore lead to the long-overdue and likely painful repair of Russia’s broken feedback loops that have caused it so much trouble."
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You can't fix a broken feedback loop when broken feedback is what is required to hold the country together. Let's see how long Trenin remains prison free.
Russia is a broken country and in all likelihood, will, in the not distant future, be broken up into smaller independent entities.
*****
As Putin takes Russia off the grid, there are growing signs of discontent
Yuliya Talmazan
March 31, 2026
Russians might be getting fed up with the Kremlin making their lives harder and more isolated in the name of security.
A rare call for protests over the weekend followed mounting signs of anger and ridicule aimed at authorities, with pro-Kremlin influencers and newspapers joining a growing wave of public frustration at the government’s approach.
A major mobile internet blackout in Moscow and the throttling of the popular messaging app Telegram, both justified by ambiguous security considerations, helped fuel the rare public criticism over this erosion of digital freedoms and connectivity. It comes against the backdrop of soaring prices and an ailing wartime economy, with little sign of major battlefield progress in Ukraine.
Memes on TikTok and Instagram ridiculed Russians resorting to paper maps and pagers in the absence of mobile internet, or walking around the capital with satellite antennas strapped to their laptops.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/putin-telegram-internet-blackouts-russia-moscow-protests-rcna265067
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