Seumas Milne: The external struggle to dominate Ukraine has put fascists in power and brought the country to the brink of conflict. Diplomatic pronouncements are renowned for hypocrisy and double standards. But western denunciations of Russian intervention in Crimea have reached new depths of self parody. [...]

According to an early March poll the Russian President's rating remains at its highest in the last two years and researchers list the Sochi Olympics and moves for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis as possible reasons. [...]

The Crimean parliament has voted for the region to join Russia. The decision will only come in force if approved by the Crimeans at a referendum which will be held in 10 days. Crimean MPs voted on Thursday for the region to “to become part of the Russian Federation as its constituent territory,” says the text of the regional parliament’s statement. [...]

Ukrainian and Western refusal to answer Moscow'€™s hard questions explains Russia'€™s tough stance on the crisis in Kiev. Ignoring Russian concerns is a western habit adopted after the Soviet Union’s collapse; when NATO bombed Yugoslavia; during the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, and the US push to install an anti-missile shield over Europe that can target Russia. [...]

Ukraine'€™s statement at the UN that "€˜16,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed"€™ across Crimea sparked a MSM feeding frenzy that steadfastly ignored any hard facts that got in their way. Especially unwelcome is the fact that the so-called ‘invasion force’ has been there for 15 years already. [...]

Russia will not go to war with the people of Ukraine, but will use its troops to protect citizens, if radicals with clout in Kiev now try to use violence against Ukrainian civilians, particularly ethnic Russians, Putin told the media. [...]

Russia may also dump the dollar if sanctions move forward. A Kremlin economist, Sergei Glazyev, told RIA Novosti the Russian government may not repay loans owed to the financial cartel if the United States imposes sanctions on the country in response to the Crimea intervention. [...]

Gas Wars: The untold story driving the crisis. The untold story behind the crisis is that this is an energy tug of war being fought between Russia and the west, with Ukraine caught in the middle. [...]

Thousands gathered in the Russian cities of Novocherkassk, Bryansk, and Belgorod to support the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. "We don'€™t abandon our people," said banners held by those who sympathized with residents of the crisis-torn country. [...]

Call for military assistance to the coup government in Kyiv. On Sunday Republicans mounted attacks against President Obama over what they consider his inappropriate response to the crisis in Ukraine. Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russians have “been running circles around us.” [...]

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin says ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has sent a letter to Putin asking him to use military force in Ukraine to restore law and order. [...]

As President Putin weighs using military forces in a Ukraine plunging deeper into political turmoil, Alexander Mercouris, international law expert, tells RT that the presence Russia’s forces could be a restraining factor for all the parties involved. [...]

The US Secretary of State spoke today of the unacceptability of invading a sovereign country on phony pretexts in order to assert one’s own interests in the 21st century. But no, he was not speaking about the United States, as one might have thought. [...]

Kurt Nimmo | Russian general urges his government to wise up to the threat on its borders. On February 5 a Russian news website, KM.ru, posted an interview with Gen. Leonid Ivashov, the former foreign relations head of the Russian Ministry of Defense and current president of the Academy of Geopolitical Studies. [...]

Russia continues its gold buying spree, adding 0.3 tonnes to its 996.4 tonne stockpile, marking a nine month increase, according to the IMF’s June statistics report. [...]

Russia does not seek the role of a regional or global hegemony, but will defend its core values and interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. All attempts to impose on other nations have failed, he added. [...]

There is more to the Russian economy besides oil and mineral exports, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday. He also promised productivity will grow 50 percent in the next five years, which followed a severe bout of stagnation in industrial output. [...]

President JFK (R.I.P.) revealed the presence of a certain "ruthless monolithic secret society" with a worldwide presence. Unfortunately, for this truth, he paid with his life, and until today is still widely considered by the mass public as a "conspiracy theory." Thanks to mainstream media manipulation and predictive programming.  SOLDIERS Expose Martial Law Agenda Plans 2013 JFK Related [...]

The first videos of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have surfaced since he received asylum in Russia. The footage, provided by WikiLeaks, was taken during the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence awards ceremony. [...]

In an interview with Channel One and the Associated Press, the Russian president talks about Syria, Obama, Snowden and the LGBT community. Before the G20 Summit, in an interview with Channel One and the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about his attitude toward the conflict in Syria and the former CIA officer Edward Snowden. [...]

Eleven people who were aboard Greenpeace’s ship Arctic Sunrise will spend two months in pre-trial detention, a Murmansk court ruled. The ship's crew faces charges of piracy for boarding an Arctic oil rig. In addition, five activists are to be held for three days ahead of a new hearing. The 30 defendants in the dock include four Russians and foreigners from 19 countries, including the US and [...]