Change in Russia is possible in Putin's lifetime. His popularity is already down to 30%. He can be removed (like Yelzin ended up), by his own people, sent to his billion dollar mansion, with a guarantee of security and material security. This will be conditional on mass demonstrations by a disaffected Russian population. It will also be a hope for Russia, Europe and the world. Already 40% of young Russians are considering emigration. Millions of its inhabitants have left Russia in recent years. J.Š.
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"The SVR and GRU carry out political murders, recruit informants and agents, and are, by definition, 100-percent hostile to Nato and the EU," the diplomat said.
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A lieutenant colonel with top-level Kremlin links, a spy-catcher, and a Big Data specialist - the identities of eight Russians recently expelled by Nato from Brussels give clues to why Moscow reacted so harshly and what its operatives were doing.
The eight people who Russia said were "diplomats" at its embassy to the Nato HQ in Brussels were in fact "undeclared intelligence officers" conducting "activities not in line with their accreditation", Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said while announcing the expulsions last October. Read more>
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