BRICS
Learn #MMT
Warren Mosler
(http://www.collectedworksofwarrenmosler.com/)
Randall Wray
Randall Wray: Dirua hasiberrientzat
Randall Wray: Egin al dezakegu diruak guretzat lan egin dezan?
Randall Wray:
Jadanik aipatuak:
Randall Wray: dirua hasiberrientzat (elkarrizketa)
“Whaever is doable is financially affordable”, alegia, “Egingarria den edozer eskuragarria da finantzen aldetik.”
Randall Wray: nola MTM-k mundua salba dezakeen (elkarrizketa)
“Whar matters is resoursez, not money”, alegia, “Axola duena baliabideak dira, ez dirua.”
Hona hemen informazio pixka bat gehiago:
a) Randall Wray: Nola MTM-k mundua salbatu dezakeen
b) Randall Wray: MTM hasiberrientzat. Politikari baten gida
Segida MTMz:
Warren Mosler, 1996
Comments on the Current U.S. Budget Debate
(https://www.epicoalition.org/docs/comm.html)
The assumptions underlying the current budget debate are erroneous….
It is only after the deficit begins to expand again that the economy recovers. The historical correlation is 100%….
Contrary to general perception, fiat money is driven by the fact that taxpayers need the government’s money to pay their taxes. … so it can obtain the real goods and services it desires via the spending of its currency.
…. Treasury spending is a reserve add. Selling securities, by the Fed or Treasury, is simply a reserve drain, a monetary operation. This underlies the empirical evidence that nations can run any debt ratios they want, in their own fiat currencies, and still “fund the debt.”
How large a deficit is prudent? …., the government could offer a job to anyone who wanted one, at some minimum rate of pay deemed appropriate, and let the deficit float. This would end unemployment and unemployment compensation, eliminate the need for minimum wage laws, and promote price stability,…
The Federal debt is all the money spent but not taxed. …
The current budget debate is based on erroneous assumptions. Washington does not understand fiat money. Until it does, efforts to reduce the deficit will continue, and the economy will continue to underperform.
Segida:
V. Putin: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K7YDYbIAuko
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BRICS leaders deal with real issues while Western politicians and reporters tend to mostly wag their tongues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in remarks for a Rossiya-1 television program:
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TRUMP’S JAILHOUSE ROCK | MOATS with George Galloway Ep 268
Follow me on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1586692 05:30 Introduction #Trump #Mugshot #TuckerCarlson #Putin 07:22 MOATS Monologue #Trump #Georgia #Prigozhin…
Bideoa: https://youtu.be/dVYMmxe3e6o
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pocalypsis pocalypseos 
?@apocalypseos
De-Dollarization — “As countries abandon the use of the dollar, we see America’s financing problems become real for the first time. Living standards will fall because inflation and import prices will rise. This is a gradual process. It will pick up momentum.” — Paul Craig Roberts
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695969651359191380
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Seyed Mohammad Marandi@s_m_marandi
The International North-South Transport Corridor betweet Iran and Russia is growing fast.
Aipamena
IRNA News Agency@IrnaEnglish
abu. 27
#Russia-Saudi Arabia railway transit via #Iran corridor https://en.irna.ir/news/85211701/
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A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia said on Saturday that maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is the common aspiration and interest of countries in the region, including China and Indonesia. China opposes the efforts of some countries outside the region to sow discord.
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All the time western mainstream media is telling us how evil Vladimir Putin is.
But then every time I see him talk, he’s more learned, sensible, straightforward, and honest than any US politician….. 
#UkraineRussianWar #Ukraine #Russia
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695860224152797359
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IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Fukushima was a nuclear disaster, suffering three nuclear meltdowns. The water they are releasing has become contaminated and radioactive after coming into contact with the nuclear core. No other nuclear plant in the world is doing that.
Nuclear plants around the world release tritium in normal operations, with France releasing 10x the amount of Chinese plants. But the tritium argument is designed to throw you off.
Greenpeace Japan lists other isotopes in Fukushima nuclear contaminated waste water — including but not limited to strontium-90, which causes bone cancer — as much greater dangers.
Aipamena
Jeffrey J. Hall 
@mrjeffu
11 h
@AndyBxxx erabiltzaileari erantzuten
My apologies. The level of radioactive contamination in Chinese nuclear plant wastewater is actually higher, according to internationally credible sources that are not PRC shills. https://twitter.com/mrjeffu/status
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Sen. @MittRomney (R – Raytheon) proclaims, “We’re losing no lives in Ukraine!
”Like the rest of the proxy war’s Satanic architects, he regards Ukrainians as bullet stoppers whose lives have no value beyond ending those of Russians
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China will hold the third China-Africa Peace and Security Forum from August 28 to September 2, the country’s defense ministry said on Sunday.
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Fascist regimes always dispense with elections.
Aipamena
What the media hides.@narrative_hole
abu. 27
The head of Zelensky’s ruling party said there will be no elections until Russia is defeated.
Is democracy dead in Ukraine?
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Wow, this is big! Foxconn founder Terry Gou runs for president of the ROC (Taiwan). He says he does so because “it’s time to pull independence-leaning DPP ‘off the shelf’” and because they’re “corrupt and unable to offer a bright future for the island”.
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What is the main difference between Western institutions (#G7,#NATO ,#EU etc.)on the one hand and #BRICS on the other? There is no boss in BRICS, internal or external. All members of this group are equal. Can you say the same about Western institutions?
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President of Burundi Évariste Ndayishimiye: “Our relationship is not one of unequal power dynamics, with a developed country dictating terms to an underdeveloped one. Rather, China is committed to walking alongside us.”
youtube.com
Exclusive with Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye
For more:https://www.cgtn.com/videoA landlocked mountainous country in Central Africa strives for the
Bideoa: https://youtu.be/GkrCYfoUAKc
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By not expanding NATO, as George Kennan warned in 1993.
Aipamena
Dorian Hawkmoon.@noomie525257
21 h
@ClarkeMicah erabiltzaileari erantzuten
How would the war have been avoidable?
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One of the most beautiful exchanges I’ve ever seen in my life. Reporter completely shuts down this professional liar in real time over Russia, Ukraine and NATO, every lie dismantled in under two minutes. 
#UkraineRussianWar #ukraine #russia #Zelensky #putin #nato #BRICS #china #india #africa
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The Baltic states gained independence from the USSR in 1991.
. if NATO membership was so crucial to their freedom, how come they remained free during those 13 years? See https://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2017/02/lemmings-nato-the-russian-threat-and-the-merchants-of-death-.html
Aipamena
Philip Martin@PhilipM44524433
22 h
@ClarkeMicah erabiltzaileari erantzuten
Had NATO not been expanded, would Putin have been emboldened to invade and take over one or all of the Baltic states, in the manner of his taking Crimea?
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“France has allegedly been behind the most number of coups carried out on the continent of AFRICA. None of those coup regimes was denied recognition…But when the coup isn’t there to serve France’s interest, it becomes “illegitimate.” “ bases still squat on Niger.
Aipamena
J. C. Okechukwu@jcokechukwu
14 h
REMEMBER that on Friday, August the 25th, the Nigerien junta said it had ordered French ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the west African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further?
Well, the ultimatum expired Sunday, August 27 and the French Ambassador still didn’t leave. He along with the new US Ambassador do not recognize the new regime in Niger, saying it’s illegitimate.
Well, earlier on Sunday, the military government in Niger reportedly threatened to force him out by any means possible, if he didn’t immediately get out of the country as ordered
. “Who are you to refuse to leave?” military government spokesman said, addressing the ambassador.
Me: Interesting how France now refuses to recognize a coup government when the same France has allegedly been behind the most number of coups carried out on the continent of AFRICA. None of those coup regimes was denied recognition by France. In fact, some of them are still in power today and are in France’s good books. But when the coup isn’t there to serve France’s interest, it becomes “illegitimate.”
I mean, even if you don’t think they’re legitimate, the truth is power is on their shoulders right now – they have the instruments of power in the palm of their hands. That’s why they’re the ones everyone is meeting for negotiations and not Bazoum. That’s why they have appointed officials and life is moving on regardless. Until something changes, respect that! This level of colonial arrogance and parochial sense of entitlement has got to stop. It won’t happen on any other continent and these are some of the reasons Africans are just beyond Fed Up!
If this French Ambassador is sitting tight and hoping to become the trigger that allows France step in, I think he’s taking the resolve of these Africans for granted. Best advice: Get out of the country and then wait till a government you can recognized and respect is brought to power. Isn’t that as simple as it gets?
May AFRICA Win!
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China to build nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia
This was stated today by the King of Saudi Arabia after the end of the bilateral meeting.
Last week the country joined the BRICS
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Ursula von der Leyen is another WAR CRIMINAL for organizing hostile acts of war against Russia using Ukrainian territory as the battlefield and Ukrainian troops as cannon fodder. Trump and Biden are WAR CRIMINALS for exactly the same reason.
Aipamena
Richard@ricwe123
abu. 26
Ursula von der Leyen, the master of transparency and democracy. Her private Pfizer chats are still top secret, but she’s all about vaccinations for EU residents. Who elected Ursula, anyway?
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695372847890198562
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Australia isn’t a country, it’s just one massive American base.
Aipamena
The Economist@TheEconomist
abu. 27
Should war break out with China, Australia seems the most willing to fight at America’s side. Australian land, sea and air bases are expanding to receive more American forces https://econ.st/3QXdQEq
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Hungary was the first country to aid people who lost their homes in Maui, Hawaii. The American government has yet to respond and send aid to its people. 
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695822091948372038
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The price of vassalage: “The German economy is not getting back on its feet: The Ifo Business Climate Index fell for the fourth time in a row in August. The assessment of the current business situation fell to its lowest level since August 2020. As the Ifo Institute announced on Friday, companies are even more pessimistic about the coming months. The lean period of the German economy is prolonged… .
..all sectors in Germany are affected by the poor situation”.
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China processes 85% of rare earth minerals, without which there can be no smartphones, computers, missiles, or fighter jets.
Be glad that the Chinese government is not imposing sanctions on US/EU.
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The US and NATO will leave Ukraine. And the sooner they leave, the less shame there will be for them. Such protests will soon turn the entire West upside down. People will not want to suffer and die for the Ukrainian Nazis and the interests of the Deep State.
A demonstration with Russian flags took place in Amsterdam: “Stop fascism and Nazism in Ukraine” – hundreds of people gathered in the center of Amsterdam with such demands. Many of them were holding posters calling for peace talks. The protesters accused NATO and Western countries of fueling the conflict in Ukraine and provocations, and declared their unwillingness to pay for Zelensky’s ambitions”
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696017243115512299
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Jens Stoltenberg is one of the worst WAR CRIMINALS alive today. NATO must be disbanded ASAP. At the very least, the US and Canada need to be kicked out of NATO.
Aipamena
Richard@ricwe123
abu. 27
NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, admitting that the war did start in 2014. And from that same year, 2014, NATO has been busy training and arming the Ukraine armed forces. “Defending western values” 
#UkraineRussianWar #Ukraine #Russia
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Under a ‘dual mandate’, why is a rigid inflation target more important than a rigid full employment target to central banks? If NAIRU, why not NAURI? Non-Accelerating Unemployment Rate of Inflation (or the like)
Aipamena
Jeanna Smialek@jeannasmialek
abu. 27
@jeannasmialek erabiltzaileari erantzuten
2. No higher inflation targets. Both Fed Chair Powell and Christine Lagarde, the ECB head, batted back the idea of tweaking what inflation rate officials aim for. “We are playing a game, there are rules; don’t change the rules of the game halfway through,” Lagarde said.
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Learn #MMT
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Look at the Nazi Trump supporters!
No, just kidding. These are little Nazis in Ukraine at a special camp for grooming Nazi children.
All funded by the USA, EU and NATO. Keep living in delusion, Americans.
You ain’t spreading freedom & democracy.
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695933372378521617
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Putin prepared Russia a long time ago for everything that is happening now. He explains why the USA was not a trustworthy partner in this regard:
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695879194742264171
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Why western bankers and media owned by the rich dislike the Chinese economic system in one picture. It’s also why Chinese people trust their government at about 90% and Americans trust our government at about 39%. #power #China
Aipamena
S.L. Kanthan@Kanthan2030
mai. 23
Why does the USA attack China so much? This one chart explains it all.
In the US, banks and corporations control the government. In China, it’s the other way around.
A successful Chinese system threatens the corporatism in the West. Rulers of America don’t want their citizens to get the “wrong idea.”
Understand the power structure of the two systems and you understand the conflict.
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Iran no longer has funds blocked abroad due to sanctions – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Iran is the first country to force the US to release all of its frozen money.
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#环球时报Editorial: We urge the British government to cooperate in the legal and other procedures to facilitate the process, which will be a test and verification of Britain’s sincerity in clearing the colonial stain and making amends for its historical sins.
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In the relatively not to distant future the phrase Bitcoin is digital gold will disappear. It is beyond utter nonsense and is nothing more than another marketing tool to try to suck people into buying it. Rather like all the other marketing tools that have been deployed over the
years.
As ever it remains nothing more than a vehicle to seek to generate massive FIAT profits.
When people delight in saying, you just don’t understand it, I would counter by saying its precisely because I do understand it that I make such assertions.
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Bitcoin something for spekulation!
Learn #MMT
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Angelo Giuliano
/ living in @Angelo4justice3
Let me introduce you to the best paid actor in world history
Aipamena
Angelo Giuliano / living in @Angelo4justice3
2022 mai. 27
Zelensky a cocaine addict? Here’s what experts have to say. Credit : Global thinker
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1530051387014275072
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pocalypsis pocalypseos ?@apocalypseos
El Salvador has received 100 tonnes of fertilizers from Morocco that will contribute to agricultural production and food security in the country.
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Coming up after the break …
@RealScottRitter will join me on The Mother of All Talk Shows on #Ukraine #Russia #UkraineRussiaWar 
#MOATS LIVE 
7pm BST LONDON 11am PDT | 2pm EDT #MOATS LIVE
Rumble https://rumble.com/v3cc25i-trumps-jailhouse-rock-moats-with-george-galloway-ep-268.html
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Going Underground@GUnderground_TV
WATCH:
@AfshinRattansi and the US Army’s Former Commanding General in Europe & NATO’s Senior Mentor for Logistics Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges clash over the so-called ‘rules-based international order’
Watch the must-see full interview here: https://rumble.com/v3cfylo-ex-us-
Bideoa: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696103780750623084
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Going Underground@GUnderground_TV
Mitt Romney: ‘This is the best national defence spending we have ever done, we’re losing no
lives’
Mitt Romney de-facto admits Ukrainians are dying by the thousands as cannon fodder to serve the US’ interests to weaken Russia
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696105733354356817
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Robert Cauneau
(https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1517213528964452353.html)
L’analyse #MMT montre que la dette publique n’est pas un problème, jamais. Cette analyse s’applique également aux États-membres de l’Eurozone. Les craintes que la dette publique suscite sont le fruit d’une profonde méconnaissance des mécanismes sous-jacents.Thread⬇️
1. Avec une devise nationale à taux fixe/convertible, la «base monétaire» n’inclut pas les titres d’État, car il s’agit de créances sur les réserves de l’État (or, devise étrangère, etc.), qui font partie de ce qu’on appelle l’«épargne nationale».
2. Avec la devise fiat (taux de change flottant/non convertible), les titres d’État (détenus en dehors de l’État) sont des augmentations de la “base monétaire”, car la notion de réduction des réserves de l’État (or, devise étrangère, etc.) est inapplicable à la monnaie fiat.
3. La devise nationale ne peut être créée que par la dépense publique. Elle correspond aux «Actifs Financiers Nets», c’est-à-dire ce que le secteur privé reçoit lorsqu’il bénéficie d’un paiement de l’État, qui n’a pas à être remboursé.
4. La dette publique équivaut à la devise nationale créée par la dépense publique qui n’a pas encore été utilisée par le secteur privé pour payer les impôts. Elle représente le cumul (stock) des déficits publics passés (flux).
5. En d’autres termes, la dette publique correspond à la devise créée par la dépense publique mais que l’État n’a pas encore retirée avec la taxation. Elle représente donc la richesse financière nette des agents du secteur privé.
6. Ainsi, lorsque qu’un Etat cherche à diminuer son déficit en augmentant les taxes et/ou en diminuant ses dépenses, l’épargne du secteur privé se réduit. Le fait que l’État retire plus de devise nationale par les taxes qu’il n’en crée par la dépense crée de l’austérité.
7. La dette publique est donc assimilable à tout ce qui représente le passif de l’État : à savoir la somme du cash + les réserves bancaires + les titres d’État. Cette définition rejoint celle des banques centrales, ainsi que celle de la BCE selon le traité de Maastricht.
8. Lorsque l’État émet des titres, il n’y a pas “création monétaire”, mais seulement un changement de forme de la devise, de “réserves” à “titres d’Etat”, tel un simple transfert d’un compte de dépôt qui ne rapporte pas d’intérêt, à un compte d’épargne, qui, lui, rapporte intérêt
9. Et, lorsque les titres d’État arrivent à échéance, il n’y a pas un “remboursement”, au sens utilisé pour la dette privée, mais un changement inverse de la forme de la devise, de « titres d’Etat » à « réserves », donc sans diminution de la quantité de devise.
10. L’analyse qui précède s’applique également aux États-membres de l’Eurozone, étant précisé que les limites financières qui contraignent ces Etats ne sont pas techniques. Elles sont fondamentalement politiques, donc en réalité auto-imposées.
11. MMT analyse les intérêts non sous l’angle des seuls comptes publics, mais sous celui de l’économie. Sous cet angle, ils sont vus comme participant au déficit public, certes d’une façon socialement régressive, car profitant aux seuls rentiers.
12. Si les intérêts doivent être considérés comme une charge, cela doit être non sous l’angle financier, mais sous celui d’une charge au niveau de la société (justice sociale), car ils ne profitent qu’à ceux qui ont déjà de l’argent.
13. Il est important de bien comprendre que, si les intérêts augmentent, c’est parce que la BCE décide de les laisser augmenter. Les taux d’intérêt sont complètement sous le contrôle de la BCE. Il s’agit de choix politiques.
14. Le Whatever it takes de Draghi en 2012, ainsi que la situation qui prévaut depuis le début de la crise covid sont suffisamment éloquents quant au fait que le niveau des taux d’intérêt est fondamentalement une variable politique.
15. Ni le niveau de la dette publique, ni celui des intérêts ne contraint l’espace budgétaire des États. En effet, la BCE peut décider, quand elle le veut, quel que soit le niveau d‘endettement d’un pays, que ce pays puisse continuer à dépenser, ou bien doive faire défaut.
16. S’agissant de la Grèce :
2010 : Problème de dette publique avec un ratio/PIB de 130%
Aujourd’hui : aucun problème de dette publique avec un ratio de + de 200%
La soutenabilité de la dette publique n’est pas une question économique, mais politique, entre les mains de la BCE.
17. Les marchés financiers ne sont à l’œuvre que si la BCE en décide ainsi, les laissant faire. Ainsi, tous les discours selon lesquels la capacité de dépenser des États-membres de l’Eurozone dépendraient de l’humeur des marchés financiers sont infondés.
18. Aucune publication scientifique n’a jamais pu démontrer un lien de causalité entre niveau de dette publique d’un pays dans sa devise et espace budgétaire. Ce n’est qu’une vue de l’esprit, sans aucune base concrète, et/ou l’expression d’une idéologie en faveur de l’austérité.
19. Certains économistes s’y sont essayés, notamment Reinhart et Rogoff, avec le ridicule que l’on sait, en raison d’une erreur dans leur feuille de calcul, découverte par la suite par un doctorant…
20. Il n’y a donc pas de « carcan », ni de « mur ». La dette publique n’est pas synonyme de « cancer », mais de richesse financière nette du secteur privé. L’utilisation de cette sémantique n’est que le reflet d’une profonde méconnaissance du système.
21. Le déficit public et la dette publique ne devraient pas être perçus comme des « maux », car en réalité ils sont les instruments absolument indispensables pour atteindre les objectifs de l’économie réelle, notamment celui du plein emploi.
22. La dette publique n’est pas un problème, jamais, sauf si on décide qu’elle le soit… Et toute tentative de sa réduction, qu’elle soit détenue par les agents privés ou bien par la BCE, est une erreur logique, car on ne détruit pas quelque chose qui ne pose pas problème.
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Trump’s former adviser, US Army Colonel Douglas McGregor: The worst thing is that there is evidence that the Poles and Lithuanians are interested in intervention and claim that they would have done it on their own, bypassing NATO. But this is absurd! Because they are in NATO. And if they enter the territory of Western Ukraine, they will be regarded as NATO troops. And then Poland, Lithuania, and everyone else there who can participate in this madness, will be attacked by the Russians. A friend of mine, who holds a position that allows you to watch all this from space, says that the battlefield is simply littered with the corpses of Ukrainians. They can’t even pick them up. Or they don’t bother with it anymore.
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696069139037630740
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DEDOLLARIZATION CONTINUES For the first time, India bought oil from the UAE in Rupees.
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Onyinyechi Okwu@Okwu_Onyinyechi
The US is in Haiti for Iridium, oil and copper
Officially, the #US and it western allies says it’s in #Haiti to maintain peace and order in a country whose instability could “threaten peace” in the region.
But what you probably don’t know is the island brims with a sought-after metal called Iridium. Its extreme corrosion-resistance makes it valuable in a huge range of fields, including building spacecraft.
Add to that Haiti’s huge oil and copper reserves and you’ll understand why America may also like to have boots on the ground. Not to mention its strategic location between Cuba and Venezuela.
Here, human rights attorney and Haiti expert Ezili Danto outlines the island’s riches and why they’re a target for the US.
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1695725115906953343
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Switzerland participates and enforces sanctions … they’re not neutral anyway 
Aipamena
Visegrád 24@visegrad24
abu. 27
These 100 Leopard 1 tanks are now stored out in the open in Italy after the Swiss government decided to block their transfer to Ukraine via Germany, claiming it would go against their neutrality.
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Russia in South Africa @EmbassyofRussia
We already live in a post-American and a post-Western world. We are in a world where the #BRICS countries are larger than the G7 countries… The US is a quarter of a century out of date.
– American economist and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs. #TheyAboutUs
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696087261299736943
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FM #Lavrov: The position of the already enlarged #BRICS in the G20 will be strengthened. <…> We will coordinate our approaches with the new members at the #UN, the #G20 & other international platforms. 
https://is.gd/0ARDVq
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Russians With Attitude@RWApodcast
The Investigative Committee of Russia has confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in the plane crash. “The results of the examination confirmed the death of all 10 people who were registered for the flight, including Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin.”
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Sen. Mitt Romney proclaims: “We’re losing no lives in #Ukraine!”
Like the rest of the Western proxy war’s architects, the american politician regards Ukrainians as bullet stoppers whose lives have no value beyond destroying Russia.
Bideoa, hemen: https://twitter.com/i/status/1696099177317437846
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“Disinformation” and “misinformation” are the go-to words for those who are afraid of free speech, differing opinions, and inconvenient facts. I give you the same opportunity as all those who seek to label my analysis with such terms: an open debate. If you disagree with me, be, willing to defend your point of view in a public manner.
The gauntlet has been thrown. Are you a hero for your convictions, or just another keyboard coward?
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Best in Hell: Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Quintessentially Modern Russian Hero
28 Aug 2023
(https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/best-in-hell-yevgeny-prigozhin-a)
Yevgeny Prigozhin visiting a cemetery containing Wagner fighters.
In the interests of full disclosure, I cannot say that I am an impartial observer when it comes to Wagner. I have met with Wagner fighters and leaders, and I have been deeply impressed with the organization’s professionalism, especially when it comes to military matters. I never met with Prigozhin, and as such, cannot comment on him from a personal perspective. I’m sure my words will touch a nerve with many in the Wagner organization. But my assessments are honestly held and derived from the same foundation of integrity that put me on their radar in the first place.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the volatile yet personable director of the Wagner Group, a private military company which has a history of collusion with the Russian government on matters of extreme geopolitical importance, is dead. Prigozhin, along with six other members of Wagner and three non-Wagner affiliated flight crew, perished when the Embraer Legacy 600 business jet they were on crashed under mysterious circumstances near the western Russian city of Tver. Russian investigators have matched the DNA found on remains recovered at the crash scene with Prigozhin, bringing an end to speculation regarding his fate. While rumors are rife about the potential cause of the crash, and who or what might be responsible, at this juncture there is insufficient evidence to place specific responsibility.
Don’t tell that to Joe Biden, however. The US President, vacationing in Lake Tahoe, was asked by reporters to comment on news of Prigozhin’s passing. “I don’t know for a fact what happened,” Biden said, “but I’m not surprised. There’s not much that happens in Russia that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.”
The White House continued this pattern of back-hand blaming. “We have seen the reports,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. “If confirmed, no one should be surprised. The disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now—it would seem—to this.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quick to point out the undiplomatic nature of the Biden comments, noting that “it is not for the US president, in my opinion, to talk about such tragic events of this kind.”
Scott Ritter will discuss this article and answer audience questions on Ep. 93 of Ask the Inspector.
I agree with Ryabkov—Biden has no business publicly commenting on the events surrounding the demise of Prigozhin—especially when he himself admits, “I don’t know for a fact what happened.”
At this juncture, no one does. The Russian investigation into the incident has just begun, and has yet to publicly report on any conclusions, interim or otherwise.
Biden’s comments, however, along with those of his National Security Council, provide interesting yet disturbing insight into the tendency on the part of the Biden administration to jump to conclusions based upon a dearth of data and preponderance of prejudice. “I don’t know” combined with “there’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind” represents a disturbing pairing of ignorance—the first derived from the lack of fact-based information, the second from the absence of intellectually-driven analysis. Biden simply drew a conclusion based upon the same Russophobic foundation of belief that prompted him to declare during a March 2021 interview that he believed Putin to be a “killer.”
No evidence.
No analysis.
Pure Russophobia.
Let’s look at what we know about the August 24 plane crash that took the life of Prigozhin. A great deal has been made about Prigozhin’s role in the abortive Wagner insurrection that took place two months ago, which saw Prigozhin and his senior military deputy (and the founder of what became the Wagner Group), Dmitry Utkhin, lead thousands of Wagner fighters on what they called the “March of Justice,” a bold gambit to oust the Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, and the Chief of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, on grounds of corruption and incompetence.
This gambit collapsed when it became clear that the vast majority of Russian officials, including important military, political, and business leaders Prigozhin was hoping would rally to his cause, viewed the “March of Justice” for what it was—an illegal armed insurrection intended to interfere with the constitutionally-mandated government of Russia, a reality reflected in the fact that Prigozhin and the insurrection participants were charged under Article 279 of the Russian Criminal Code regarding armed rebellion.
While Prigozhin and a detachment of Wagner fighters occupied the headquarters of the Southern Military District, responsible for overseeing combat operations against Ukraine that were ongoing at the time (Ukraine had launched its long-awaited counteroffensive in early June), Utkhin led a column of between 4-5,000 heavily armed Wagner forces north along the M4 Highway toward Moscow. The Wagner column was engaged by Russian military helicopters, killing and wounding several Wagner fighters. Wagner’s mobile air defense systems, in particular the Pantsir (ironically leased to Wagner by the Russian Ministry of Defense), responded by shooting down several unarmed Russian military helicopters and an Il-22 command and control aircraft, killing 13 Russian servicemen.
Wagner troops occupy Rostov-on-Don, June 23, 2023.
Russian authorities have treated the deaths of these Russian military personnel as murder.
These homicides, when combined with the treason that was manifested in the so-called “March of Justice,” made Yevgeny Prigozhin a marked man. The list of people, countries, agencies, governments, and institutions that wanted him dead became even longer.
And he just lost the protection of Russia’s most powerful and influential person, Vladimir Putin.
This makes the notion of Putin, or a Putin loyalist acting on his own accord, avenging the stain on Russian honor that Prigozhin had perpetrated, appear to be a logical cause of the Wagner chief’s demise.
Putin’s well-known aversion to those who betray him or Russia, however, does not automatically translate into Putin being involved in any aspect of Prigozhin’s death—far from it. Anyone who has studied the words and deeds of the man who has, in one form or another, been at the helm of Russia for nearly 23 years, knows that Valdimir Putin is not someone prone to precipitous action. Every word he utters, every action he directs, is the byproduct of a process involving structured consultation and deliberation.
Moreover, the decisions taken by the Russian President are never about shaping perception for personal political gain, but rather exclusively about furthering the best interests of the Russian nation and its people. This last point is particularly important, given the tendency in the United States and elsewhere in the collective West to project onto the Russian leader the motivations and ambitions of our own political leaders, who are often willing and able to manipulate events in a way that accrues political favor and advantage, even at the expense of their respective constituencies.
Speaking about Prigozhin following the news of the plane crash, Putin said he’d known the head of Wagner “for a very long time,” and that he was “a talented man, a talented businessman.” The next comment from the Russian President, however, underscored the tension that existed between the two men. “He was a man of difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life, and he achieved the results needed both for himself and when I asked him about it—for a common cause, as in these last months.”
Prigozhin also ran a multi-billion-dollar enterprise linked to the security work of Wagner in the Middle East and Africa, where in exchange for services provided, Wagner (Prigozhin) received concessions involving oil, gas, mineral wealth, and agricultural products. If Prigozhin had yielded to Ministry of Defense demands to subordinate Wagner’s Ukraine operation to Russian governmental authority, these Middle Eastern and African concessions would have likely been allowed to continue without interference from Russian authorities. However, in the aftermath of the June 23-24 insurrection, the Russian government moved to separate Prigozhin from these concessions, taking control of the multitude of companies and front-companies used by Wagner to manage and oversee these operations.
President Putin made every effort to effectuate a businesslike divorce between Wagner and Prigozhin. On June 29—a mere five days after Prigozhin’s act of betrayal—Putin met with the Wagner chief and 35 of his top commanders in the Kremlin, where the future of Wagner was discussed. Putin made it clear that Wagner should select a new leader (Putin’s choice was Prigozhin’s Chief of Staff, Andrei Troshev, callsign “Grey Head,” a highly-decorated former special forces officer in the Russian Ministry of the Interior who was awarded the title “Hero of Russia” for his service with Wagner in Syria), and that it was his preference for Wagner to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense which allowed it to preserve its unique identity and capabilities. While most of the assembled Wagner commanders were inclined to accept Putin’s proposal, Prigozhin and Utkhin (founder of the organization) rejected it, and the Wagner commanders, fiercely loyal to the company, did not contradict their boss.
Prigozhin and Utkhin were exiled to Belarus, and Wagner’s military operations on Russian soil were shut down. The 25,000 Wagner troops billeted in Lugansk turned in their weapons to the Russian Army, and dispersed, either driving to their new home in Osipovichi, Belarus, where a massive tent city had been constructed, or heading home, on leave. Very few Wagner fighters signed contracts with the Russian Army. The Wagner training facility in Mol’kino, in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, has been closed, as has its recruitment centers throughout Russia. Wagner’s shiny new headquarters in Saint Petersburg, Wagner Center, remains open and operating, an indication that Wagner’s non-Ukrainian operations in Syria, Africa, and elsewhere are still functioning.
In late July, President Putin convened the Russian-African Summit, welcoming heads of state and their designated representatives to Saint Petersburg. One of the goals of this summit was to facilitate Russian diplomatic, economic, and security entrée into the African continent. Africa has emerged on the Russian geopolitical radar as a continent where the past sins of European colonialists and American unilateralists combine to provide an entrée for Russia by exploiting the history of goodwill that exists among African nationalists regarding the support provided by the former Soviet Union to their respective independence movements. The Russian president, together with his foreign and defense ministries, crafted a balanced policy built upon improved economic opportunity and increased security assistance. Wagner’s past independence of operation on the African continent was no longer compatible with the new Russian approach, which was geared more towards comprehensive, mutually supportive and carefully coordinated actions than the ad hoc approach which was the trademark of Wagner’s operational model.
Prigozhin, whose African businesses, according to some sources, were being dismantled around him, was advised to stay clear of the Russian-African Summit. Instead, Prigozhin set up camp in Saint Petersburg, conducting what amounted to a shadow summit, meeting African leaders with whom he had good relations to rebuild his economic empire. This act of insubordination prompted the Russian government to accelerate its takeover of Wagner’s African operations, with the Ministry of Defense aggressively pressuring Wagner commanders to sign contracts binding them to Russia.
Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkhin, back in mid-July, had met with and addressed thousands of Wagner fighters who had assembled in their new base outside of Osipovichi, Belarus. There Prigozhin continued his verbal attack on the Russian military command. “What is happening now at the front,” Prigozhin said, “is a disgrace,” later adding that Wagner might return to the Ukrainian theater of operations “at the moment when we are sure that we will not be forced to put ourselves to shame.” Instead, Prigozhin said, Wagner would be “going on a new path to Africa.” Prigozhin was joined by Utkhin, who told the Wagner troops that their deployment in Belarus was “the beginning of the greatest work in the world, which will continue very soon.”
One of Prigozhin’s first major tasks, post-coup, was to affect the rotation of hundreds of Wagner fighters who had signed six-month contracts for service in Africa, only to see their service extended another six months because of the demands placed on Wagner by the Ukraine conflict. But even as this rotation was being carried out, the terms and conditions of the work that would be done by Wagner in Africa was undergoing a transition.
At the time Prigozhin’s plane crashed, he had just returned from a whirlwind trip to Africa, where he flew to the Central African Republic and met with government officials as well as contacts from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary organization currently involved in a Civil War with the Sudanese government. Wagner had a long history with both the CAR government and the RSF, and it is believed that Prigozhin was seeking to nail down new contractual agreements in the face of the concerted efforts of the Russian government to bring the Wagner operations in Africa under the umbrella of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Prigozhin then flew to Mali, where he conducted similar negotiations with the Mali government as well as representatives from Niger who had expressed an interest in Wagner coming to the assistance of the newly installed Junta of military officers who had seized power in a coup back in July. It was in Mali that Prigozhin published a video on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel showing him clad in desert camouflage and sporting an automatic rifle and other accoutrements of combat. In the video, Prigozhin declared that he was once again recruiting “heroic warriors.” Wagner, Prigozhin declared in the video, “makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa—even more free,” concluding that Wagner forces in Africa were “making life a nightmare for ISIS and al Qaeda and other bandits.”
Bideoa, hemen: https://youtu.be/-DGjzmFbbag
On the surface, there was no logical reason for Prigozhin to produce and publish this odd video—Wagner recruiting centers had been closed in Russia, and Wagner had thousands of fighters who had been put on extended vacations due to a lack of work. As had been the case with previous videos produced by Prigozhin during the fighting in and around Bakhmut earlier this year, the purpose of the Mali video appeared to be part of a public relations campaign that Prigozhin was running against the Ministry of Defense, an effort to win over public support for the Wagner brand as a private military company before it was swallowed up by the Russian military.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic and a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a statement following Prigozhin’s death. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” Kadyrov said, before adding that recently Prigozhin “either did not see or did not want to see the full picture of what was happening in the country.”
Kadyrov stated that he “asked him [Prigozhin] to leave his personal ambitions behind in favor of matters of paramount national importance. Everything else,” Kadyrov said, “could be dealt with later. But that’s just the way he was, Prigozhin, with his iron character and his desire to get what he wanted right here and now.”
When one reflects on Prigozhin’s last days, Kadyrov’s words resonate strongly. Prigozhin, it seemed , could not “leave his personal ambition behind,” but rather sought to “get what he wanted right here and now.”
On the airplane with Prigozhin and Utkhin was Valery Chekalov, a long-time associate of Prigozhin who helped run the business side of Wagner’s vast empire. It was Chekalov who helped manage the network of companies, some real, some fake, involved in Wagner’s foreign economic ventures, including the profitable oil, gas, and mineral businesses Wagner operated in Syria and Africa. Chekalov would have played a critical role in negotiating any new deals with the CAR, RSF, Mali, and Niger. Together, Prigozhin, Utkhin, and Chekalov represented the brain trust of Wagner’s last desperate effort to salvage its independence of operations in Africa.
The four other Wagner personnel onboard the aircraft—Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin, Sergei Propustin, and Nikolai Matuseiev—were all long-time veterans of the organization with extensive combat experience in Syria and Africa. None of them were senior enough, however, to warrant a seat on Prigozhin’s plane in their own right—there were far more senior Wagner fighters who were apparently flying on a second Embraer 600 jet flying with Prigozhin’s plane when it went down. In all likelihood these men comprised the personal protection detail assigned to Prigozhin, Utkhin, and Chekalov.
It is this last detail—the existence of a dedicated personal protection detail composed of long-serving, combat-tested Wagner veterans—which mitigates against theories about a bomb being placed onboard Prigozhin’s aircraft. Given the fact that Prigozhin would have delayed finalizing a specific manifest for each aircraft until the last moment—out of an abundance of precaution—it would be virtually impossible for any would-be assassin to have known far enough in advance on which aircraft any such device would need to be placed. Moreover, Prigozhin’s security detail would have not only physically secured the aircraft from any unauthorized access, but also conducted a security sweep of the aircraft prior to Prigozhin boarding the aircraft.
This does not preclude any foul play—mistakes are made, and when one has assembled the list of enemies that Prigozhin, Utkhin, and Chekalov had, any mistake becomes a potential window of opportunity to be exploited by those whose intent is to bring harm to the targeted person(s).
For those who believe Prigozhin was targeted by the Russian government, the timing of the action needs to be addressed. Given the broad monopoly that the Russian government has on violence, the fact is Prigozhin could have been killed at any time, and anywhere. As such, why would a Russian government-affiliated entity decide to kill Prigozhin when Russia had achieved a major diplomatic victory at the BRICS summit in South Africa, where the economic forum that helps empower Russia’s main foreign policy objective of promoting a multi-polar world that challenges American global hegemony had just agreed to expand its membership by six new members? Prigozhin’s death sucked the oxygen out of the news cycle, killing every other story. Such a result could be easily anticipated, and as such avoided simply by carrying out the act at a time that did not disrupt Russian national interests in such a manner.
Which clearly did not happen.
Some have speculated that Prigozhin’s plane was brought down by a foreign intelligence service. Putting aside the issue of competency (the CIA has shown a particular inability to engage in successful human intelligence operations inside Russia over the past decade), the fact is that such a high-profile assassination on Russian soil constitutes a clear act of war, and more than likely would be viewed by the Russian government as such. No matter how hated Prigozhin was in the ranks of the CIA, MI-6, or French intelligence, the risk-benefit analysis that would accompany any decision for such a major undertaking would overwhelmingly fall into the “do not attempt” category.
This leaves unofficial Russia as the last remaining culprit—competing oligarchs, organized crime, and other shadowy organizations and individuals with whom Prigozhin would have interacted with over the years. Prigozhin was actively seeking investors in his many businesses, and some of the money he attracted may have been sourced to entities which might take violent umbrage at the idea of losing their money, something which, given the Russian government’s dismantling of the Wagner economic empire that was ongoing at the time of Prigozhin’s death, was a distinct probability. Likewise, Prigozhin’s personal ambition may have put him in conflict with power structures inside Wagner who may have resented Prigozhin’s insurrection and the loss of face that followed.
All the above scenarios require a certain amount of conspiracy, some of which is less believable than others. Occam’s razor holds that the solution to a problem that has the smallest possible set of elements is more likely than not the likely solution. Getting a bomb implanted on a highly secured aircraft at the last second requires many elements to come together. However, in the case of Prigozhin’s security detail, the “bomb” could have been placed on the aircraft void of any conspiracy—one need only consider the arms, munitions, and pyrotechnics/explosives such a detail would carry with them. The possibility of an error being made while loading these weapons, and as such creating the possibility of an accidental explosion while the aircraft was airborne, cannot be discounted.
In any event, the competent authorities within the Russian government are investigating the cause of the accident which caused Prigozhin’s plane to crash, killing him, six senior Wagner members, and the three-person flight crew. Once the findings of this investigation are released for public scrutiny, a more fact-based discussion can ensue.
Anton Yelizarov, the new head of Wagner.
As for the future of Wagner, it appears than the Council of Commanders which oversees the military aspects of the organization’s work has implemented a succession plan which has put Anton Yelizarov (call sign “Lotus”), a former paratrooper and special forces officer who was made a “Hero of Russia” by Putin for his service with Wagner in Syria, and who has extensive additional combat experience with Wagner service in Africa and against Ukraine, in command. Velizarov will be leading an organization whose ranks are filled with legendary fighters possessing colorful call signs, like “Ratibor,” Zombie,” and “Mexhan,” men who have been decorated for courage on the field of battle and who have proven their loyalty to Russia time and time again.
The founding document of Wagner dated May 1, 2014, and signed by Prigozhin and many of Wagner’s top military commanders, holds that the organization remain loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and never harm the interests of Russia. While such an oath, when set against the insurrection of June 23-24, 2023, appears to be empty, the hardcore Wagner members would counter, as did Prigozhin, that Wagner was staying true to its mission by opposing what it viewed as corruption and incompetence in the Russian Ministry of Defense. Such a conclusion, however, must be balanced by the reality that Wagner was a business which, once the Donbas had been incorporated into Russia, that had lost its legal foundation. Prigozhin’s actions in rallying Wagner to move on Moscow were self-serving and did much to smear the solid reputation of the commanders who had sacrificed so much building the stellar reputation Wagner had accrued as a combat organization.
Wagner will never be what it once was—a private military organization capable of acting independently of the Russian government regarding both business deals and military operations. Going forward, Wagner, under its new leadership, will find its business activities truncated, and its military missions under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The key to Wagner’s future success or failure will be the extent to which Wagner and the Russian government can retain the unique character of the fighting forces, both in terms of attitude and capability. There is no guarantee of success, and many question whether Wagner can continue to function as it once did without the charisma and talents of Prigozhin, Utkhin, and Chekalov.
My assessment is that Wagner will be a major player in Russia’s growing involvement in Africa, and that under the leadership of “Lotus,” “Ratibor,” “Zombie,” “Mexhan,” and others, the Wagner fighters will continue to build upon the tradition of military excellence in the service of Russia that had been established while Prigozhin was at the helm. “We will all go to hell,” Prigozhin was fond of saying. “But in hell, we will be the best.”
Wagner was, is, and will be “the best in hell,” a eulogy that Prigozhin would have wanted, and which he deserves.
A patch given to me by Wagner. “Лучшее в Aду”—“Best in Hell,” is written across the top.
