Russia Update

Version 1: Fri, July 25, 2025

By JamesSmith.HSE - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

One of the HSE University main buidings, located in Moscow on Myasnitskaya Street - Wikimedia

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Newly read articles that will be added to our File: Russia https://metagora.blogspot.com/2024/03/file-russia.html page in due time.

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Sergei Karaganov

Professor Sergei Karaganov gave three interviews with Tariq Marzbaan and Nora Hoppe at Al Mayadeen http://english.almayadeen.net discussing the developments in Russia and the world:

• Geopolitical paradigm shifts and coping with psychopaths: An Interview with Professor Sergei A. Karaganov https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/features/geopolitical-paradigm-shifts-and-coping-with-psychopaths 9 May 2024 - Archive https://archive.ph/V1Goz
• Navigating the Fog: An Interview with Professor Sergei A. Karaganov https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/features/navigating-the-fog--an-interview-with-professor-sergei-a--ka - 9 Dec 2024 - Archive https://archive.ph/fojY0
• Siberianisation and the pursuit of a new civilisational platform https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/siberianisation-and-the-pursuit-of-a-new-civilisational-plat - 8 Jun 2025 - Archive https://archive.ph/kxR7S

Recent commentary:

Sergey Karaganov: Russia must not fall into Trump’s ‘honey trap’ - Western Europe might be led by ‘pygmies,’ but the Americans are smarter operators, the political scientist believes http://rt.com/russia/614051-sergey-karaganov-russia-trump - RT - 11 Mar, 2025 - Archive https://archive.ph/xgfxY

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Dmitri Trenin

From Restraining To Deterring: Nuclear Weapons, Geopolitics, Coalition Strategy https://karaganov.ru/en/from-restraining-to-deterring/ by Dmitri V. Trenin, Sergei I. Avakyants and Sergei A. Karaganov - PDF 96 pages - Archive https://archive.ph/R0UpC

Why 2025 is going to be more dangerous than you think https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/comments/why-2025-is-going-to-be-more-dangerous-than-you-think/ by Dmitri Trenin - RIAC - Jan 20, 2025- Archive https://archive.ph/wo3aD

World War III has already begun https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/comments/world-war-iii-has-already-begun/ by Dmitry Trenin - RIAC - July 16, 2025 - Archive https://archive.ph/FIxfC

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Gennady Gatilov

Statement by Ambassador Gennady Gatilov at the Conference on Disarmament (Escalation of the Israel-Iran Conflict) https://geneva.mid.ru/en/activities/news/statement_by_ambassador_gennady_gatilov_at_the_conference_on_disarmament_escalation_of_the_israel_ir/ - June 17, 2025, Geneva - Archive https://archive.ph/XiOMF

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Timofey Bordachev

Enslaved: Here’s how the US made Western Europe its puppet - From powerhouse to pawn, the region has slowly descended under American rule https://www.rt.com/news/612715-us-made-europe-its-puppet/ By Timofey Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Club - Archive https://archive.ph/bYdi7

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Andrey Kortunov

US-Russia Grand Bargain Without Europe - Andrey Kortunov, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGr5PyYdKoI ~65 min - Kortunov is the former Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC)

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Olga Butorina

Dr. of Science (Economics), Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director for scientific work, RAS Institute of Europe, RIAC Member

The Draghi report interrupts the EU silent “family dinner” https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/comments/the-draghi-report-interrupts-the-eu-silent-family-dinner/ by Olga Butorina - RIAC - Oct 11, 2024 - Archive https://archive.ph/C74YO

(Great follow up reading: The European Green Deal Has Failed https://compactmag.com/article/the-european-green-deal-has-failed/ by Thomas Fazi - Compact Magazine - Jul 07, 2025 - (@battleforeurope @compactmag_) - Archive https://archive.ph/MGbVU)

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Anastasia Tolstukhina

Head of the Tech Policy Program at the Russian International Affairs Council

US Semiconductor Reindustrialization: Implications for the World https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/us-semiconductor-reindustrialization-implications-for-the-world/ by Anastasia Tolstukhina - RIAC - Jul 9, 2025 - (@Russian_Council) - Archive https://archive.ph/7MChW

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Started: Fri, July 25, 2025

About Metagora

Israel's nuclear weapons

Version 2: Sat, Jul 12, 2025

By Ali kazak 9 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Mordechai Vanunu, Israel whistleblower and activist - Wikimedia.

Avid listener and all that, but I do not remember ever the Greek radio mentioning the Israeli nuclear weapons program until a few days ago. It went something like this on ΕΡΤ (Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση)

Journo: What else can Israel do?

Expert: Of course they have nuclear weapons…

And that was that, and he continued with cyberwar etc. On July 2 (or 3) another expert appeared on the same station

Journo 2: Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz

Military Expert: Israel can use the Samson Option and attack everybody

Again nothing followed in terns of context. When did the got the nukes? how did they get the nukes?

The point is the moment we realize Israel is the one holding the ultimate weapon the Iranian afforts should be seen in a different light. The claims made by numerous Greek commentators that with Israel we have a strategic alliance should be rejected because how can we trust our supposedly allies when they have lied to so many others? Time to reorient Greek foreign policy away from Israel.

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For those puzzled about the Israeli nuclear weapons capabilities, here are a few links:

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation - https://armscontrolcenter.org/ (@nukes_of_hazard)

• Fact Sheet: Israel’s Nuclear Inventory https://armscontrolcenter.org/fact-sheet-israels-nuclear-arsenal/ - PDF 2 pages
• Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though the country neither acknowledges nor denies the existence of a nuclear arsenal. Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has not accepted IAEA safeguards on some of its principle nuclear activities. Their policy of nuclear opacity has been generally tolerated by both allies and adversaries.

Hidden history: How ‘Israel’ acquired nukes: Kit Klarenberg exposes the Zionist entity’s nuclear weapons program and its dark, concealed history, one that continues to fuel global instability while escaping scrutiny https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/hidden-history--how--israel--acquired-nukes by Kit Klarenberg - 13 Jun 2025 - (@MayadeenEnglish)

The war game: David Hirst’s account of the Arab-Israeli conflict, The Gun and the Olive Branch, caused a storm 25 years ago. In this edited extract from his new and updated edition he offers a personal and highly controversial view of the current crisis in the Middle East https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/21/israelandthepalestinians.bookextracts - 21 Sep 2003

Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: “Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.” I consider it all hopeless at this point. We shall have to try to prevent things from coming to that, if at all possible. Our armed forces, however, are not the thirtieth strongest in the world, but rather the second or third. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.’

The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy - by Seymour M. Hersh (Random House 1991) https://ia800205.us.archive.org/32/items/Sampson_Option/Sampson_Option_text.pdf PDF 366 pages

The Unspoken Kennedy Truth https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unspoken-kennedy-truth-laurent-guy-not/1145962497?ean=9782957170418 by Laurent Guyénot (2021)

Israel And The Assassinations Of The Kennedy Brothers https://archive.org/details/israel-and-the-assassinations-of-the-kennedy-brothers_202404 Documentary by Laurent Guyénot - 86 minutes.

A Warning From History https://amazon.com/Warning-History-Cory-Hughes/dp/B0CL14VQY6 by Cory Hughes (Draft2Digital 2023)

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Started: Sat, Jul 28, 2025

About Metagora