Obviously, we take all reports from Russian media through the prism of Suspicious Cat.  Complicating matters, we take any/all reports from Western Media through the folded and mirrored prism of multiple Suspicious Cats.  So don’t look for CTH to provide definitive analysis on this multi-geopolitical storyline; instead, look for me to share a series of possibilities that might not be discussed elsewhere.

As long-time readers know, I have a strong and reliable network in Peter (that’s the abbreviated name used in familiar Russian discussion with those who live in the Saint Petersburg region of Russia).  I have previously discussed my opinion of the western media reporting on Yevgeny Prigozhin {Go Deep}, I will not repeat.

Dubya, Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin the caterer. 

Today, Russian media are stating that Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash after a series of meetings in Moscow, upon a return flight to Peter.  Perhaps, or perhaps not. Given the nature of a very specific background in/around the issue(s) of Wagner and Prigozhin, and with both the Russian and USA geopolitical overlays as context, here are some possible considerations:

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and was heading home to Peter when an unfortunate accident led to his plane crashing.

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and was heading home to Peter when the Russian military leaders decided to kill him.

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and was detained by Putin allies, then the return flight destroyed to disappear him.

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and was returning to Peter when a successful retaliatory CIA operation killed him.

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and organizing a defensive Wagner operation against NATO under the auspices of his death.

♦ Prigozhin completed his meetings in Moscow and is now very much alive and retired with no one looking for him.

♦ Prigozhin was never in Moscow and is very much alive and retired with no one looking for him. √

I’m sure the funeral will be quite superb.

(more…)

Tucker Carlson sits down for a sobering discussion with Col Douglas Macgregor about the war in Ukraine and the current status of the conflict. {Direct Rumble Link}

As Carlson outlines the looming possibility that NATO is going to have to enter the war because the Ukraine military is slowing being degraded, Macgregor outlines the technical and strategic issues the U.S/NATO forces would have with a war in eastern Europe.

After outlining the strategic flaws and problems the U.S. would face in a direct confrontation with Russia, the discussion then shifts to ask the obvious question: What comes now? What are the goals and objectives for Russia, now? WATCH:

(more…)

I swear this guy has people looking over my research shoulder.  Tucker Carlson travels to Hungary, home of PM Viktor Orban, for an interview with the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.  Carlson then shares a preview of the upcoming conversation {Direct Rumble Link}.

We have discussed Hungary quite a bit, because Viktor Orban has been a very public thorn in the side of Joe Biden, the CIA and USAID (same/same), along with the US State Dept. It makes sense that Orban, via Budapest, would be a safe host for a discussion between Tucker Carlson and Aleksandar Vucic. WATCH:

.

(more…)

I wouldn’t normally write a post like this, but WE ARE NOT going to find this level of ground reporting anywhere in U.S. media.   As you might be aware, I have been doing extensive research on the Russian economy specifically with the outcome of western sanctions.

In his video a Youtuber I follow visited a local supermarket, similar to a WalMart Super Center to share information for his USA followers.

Dima Dear, a remarkably nice young man, lives in St Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad), and he shares various experiences with his audience at their request.  There is a lot of U.S interest as people following his story are starting to realize life in Russia is not what western media portray.

If you are familiar with USA grocery prices, what Dima shares in this ground report is stunning from a U.S. perspective.  If you watch this livestream, keep in mind that 100 rubles equals $1.00.  350 rubles is $3.50.  Additionally for weighted products 1kg equals 2.2 lbs.   So generally speaking, if something is 100 rubles/kg it is $1 for two pounds.

Example from the video:

•Lean ground beef at 329 rubles/kg is less than $1.65/lb.
•Bacon at 250 rubles/kg is less than $1.25/lb.
•20 eggs are 139 rubles or $1.39.
•Boneless skinless chicken breast $4 for 4lbs.
•Typical Bagged salad mixes .79¢ each. etc.

The wild part is that in Russia they are getting worried these prices are too high.  👀

The average rent for a nicely furnished 2-bedroom modern apartment in St Pete Russia is around $500/month.  Something akin to downtown Manhattan. Including rent, utilities, food, transportation, personal items and purchases, a Russian citizen can live very comfortably, remarkably comfortably, on an income of around $1,200 to $1,500/month.  In downtown St Pete which is considered a more expensive place to live.

Put that into a USA middle-class perspective and evaluate the impact of western sanctions against the average Russian cost of living.

(more…)

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has released details of the banking transfers from foreign businesses into the Biden family while Joe Biden was in office.  [House Oversight Link] – Bank Detail Link HERE.

The payments flowed into companies set up by Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, the witness who testified to congress.  Those companies then distributed the money (laundered) into subsidiary companies of Rosemont Seneca, and then the money was distributed to the Biden group.  One of the transactions, traced through bank records by the House investigators, was the payment of $3.5 million from Yelena Baturina, wife of the Mayor of Moscow.

[Source Link]

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today released a third bank records memorandum detailing new information obtained in the Committee’s investigation into the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes. The memorandum outlines how the Bidens and their business associates received millions from oligarchs in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine during Joe Biden’s vice presidency.

After Hunter Biden received millions of dollars in payments, then-Vice President Joe Biden dined with his son’s foreign associates in Washington, D.C. Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, recently testified that then-Vice President Joe Biden was “the brand” sold to enrich the Biden family and was used to send “signals” of access, power, and influence.

(more…)

I have been researching the MACRO economic dynamic in Russia quite deeply for the past six months.  Essentially looking to discover not only what impact the western imposed sanctions might be having, but more broadly looking to see what happens to self-sustainability when essentially locked out from the world of commercial imports.

The research is fascinating, not simply because it is a unique opportunity, but also because national economic issues play a big role in the overall social dynamic.  That said, I can say the social aspect is stunningly more interesting than the data driven outcomes.  When you really dig deep into actual life of the ordinary people in Russia, far away from the geopolitical contexts, you get an entirely different perspective.  My worldview of the average Russian person/family has completely changed.

There is a really good thread on how the western sanctions against Russia are having a much lesser impact than initially thought [SEE HERE].  On the economic side, one thing I would point to is how the economy is essentially an outcome of two facets: (1) the internal production strength, and (2) the service side of the ledger.

[READ HERE]

The author makes the accurate point that from a production side perspective, Russia actually has a larger economy now than Germany, the largest EU nation.  The cause for this is “autarchy” or self-sufficiency.  Indeed, as the timeline of the sanctions closes in on the second year completing, the Russian production economy is even stronger than when the sanctions began.  Quite simply, they are making even more of their own goods now.

The sanctions hit what would typically fall into the service side of the economy, as well as financial and economic roadblocks.  However, that aspect of the Russian economy was much smaller than most suspected and there were sanctions going back to 2014 which made the outcome of the 2022 western imposed restrictions less impactful.

I will be finishing my review of the economic data once Q3 is over, that will give me an entire year of data to share.  However, the social stuff is even more fascinating.

I have a new understanding of why former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was so comfortable using Russia as the place to hide after his release of classified intelligence showing how the U.S. government was spying on Americans via social media and metadata collection.

(more…)

Da comrade citizens, the Biden regime is intent on breaking the global hypocrisy meter and winning the 2023 UN charter challenge for geopolitical laughter amid con-dem-nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to release the snark filled retort in 3…. 2….

[Tweet Link]

As Klaus Schwab would say, “velcome Amerikans to ze new vorld order!”

Here the entire planet laughs at the condemnations from the foreign secretary of Dear Leader.

(more…)

President Donald J Trump has distilled the issues, events and consequences into an op-ed published in Newsweek [Article Here].  As President Trump notes toward the end of his discussion, “there must be a reckoning.”

“The report by Special Counsel John Durham makes clear beyond a shred of doubt that the Russia Hoax was the most atrocious weaponization of our government in American history. It was a crime like no other.

Seven years ago, I ran for office taking on all the most corrupt forces and entrenched interests in our nation’s capital. My agenda was an existential threat to a Washington establishment that got rich and powerful bleeding America dry.

I vowed to stop mass illegal immigration, terminate globalist trade deals, end the sellout of our country to Communist China, stand up to the permanent bureaucracy and the corporate media, and break the neocon addiction to endless foreign wars.

In response, an unelected cabal in the senior ranks of our government, in concert with their chosen candidate, Hillary Clinton, and their allies in the media, launched the de-facto coup attempt known as the Russia Hoax.

Their goal was to prevent my election, and failing that, to throw me out of office or sabotage my presidency, undercut my agenda in Congress, block my domestic reforms, and interfere with my foreign policy.

(more…)

Sometimes things speak for themselves:

♦ September 2015 – Billionaire Paul Singer contracts with Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS for opposition research on candidate Donald Trump during 2016 GOP presidential primary.  Simpson prior work during time at Wall Street journal serves as reference.

♦ November 2015 – Simpson hires Nellie Ohr to assist on Trump project.  Ohr was CIA open-source analyst.  Revelations by NSA compliance officer in April 2016 point to November 2015 as origin of multiple unauthorized searches of NSA database.

♦ December 2015 – Mrs. Ohr contacts Christopher Steele, submitting data for cross-reference with sources and seeking collaboration on Trump project. Ohr using ham radio license as independent operator.

♦ January – March 2016 – GOP Presidential primary ongoing.  Candidate Donald Trump wins majority of primary delegates from all early state contests.  Momentum for Donald Trump becomes significant.  Cruz, Kasich, Rubio final group along with Trump.  Late March, Paul Singer contacts Glenn Simpson to cancel opposition research. NSA compliance officer notifies NSA Director Mike Rogers about unauthorized use of database by “contractors.”  Rogers asks for full review.

(more…)

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan represents the UniParty outlook from Washington DC.

From the position of influence and affluence, both Republican and Democrat policy makers are aligned in a unified outlook toward foreign policy and geopolitical affairs. Washington DC does not have two competing political parties on these issues; there is complete alignment and unidirectional focus.  Never forget that.

Before getting to the Sullivan points, I’m going to shift the discussion slightly, back to the core and explain something that might help provide context for issues from China to Russia and beyond.

Everyone in Washington DC agrees with the agencies and institutions that create the national security state.  The intelligence apparatus and the national security agencies frame the “interests of the U.S. government.” The politicians never push back against those agencies and the strategic policies they present as a solution.  This is important to accept as you contemplate the continued push only in one interventionist direction, regardless of American public opinion.

The only countervailing force that has ever entered the modern system against this dynamic was President Donald Trump. That is why the “system”, consisting of both Republicans and Democrats, together with every institution the system controls, was/is/are unified to repel Trump.

This hive mindset is critical to understand, because the central conflict, the perspective that Trump represents a threat, originates from whether the combined institutional administrative state is correct in their assessments or not.

The “system,” an assembly of career ideologues who define themselves by their sense of self-importance, never believe they are wrong about anything; therefore, every means is justified in their mind.  Any person who opposes their worldview is a threat.  Every threat then becomes a target.

(more…)