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Neo-Stalinist Russia

A Russian woman carries a portrait of Soviet leader Josef Stalin in a Victory Day celebration in Moscow Getty Images

…while critics accuse Putin of presiding over the creeping rehabilitation of Stalin – preferring to downplay the human cost of his rule to focus on the Soviet Union’s successes – an independent poll conducted in Russia in March last year revealed that 45 per cent of those questioned said they thought that the sacrifices made under Stalin were justified given the speed of the Soviet Union’s A placard depicting Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin, in Independence Square, Kiev, in 2014 (Getty)economic growth during his rule. more…

(Independent,  Stalin rises again over Vladimir Putin’s Russia, six decades after his death, Nadia Beard, 4 February 2016)

A placard depicting Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin, in Independence Square, Kiev, in 2014 (Getty)
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NATO Actions to Deter Russia in Eastern Europe

U.S. troops arrive in Poland in 2014. NATO is hardly in the position to stop a Russian offensive in the event that war breaks out, especially if that offensive begins in the Baltics. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Washington grabbed international headlines Wednesday when it announced plans to deploy another armored brigade to Eastern Europe. This is the latest step in Operation Atlantic Resolve, the United States’ effort to show its commitment to NATO’s collective security in the face of Russia’s growing assertiveness in Ukraine. The plans include the nine-month deployment of 4,500 troops beginning in February as well as the withdrawal and refurbishment of some of the United States’ pre-positioned equipment on the Continent. Despite the attention the combat rotation is getting, however, the U.S. military is making other moves in the region that are just as important, if not more so, in signaling its intentions for Russia. more…

(SRATFOR, A New U.S. Brigade Won’t Change the Status Quo in Eastern Europe,  Geopolitical Diary, 

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Increase in NATO Defense Posture vs. Putin’s Russia

Marines with Combined Arms Company, step back as an M777 Howitzer fires a round during a live-fire shoot in Rena, Norway, Feb. 23, 2016. U.S. Marine Corps Photo

There have been a number of recent articles regarding increased posture by NATO to counter an aggressive Russia in Europe.

General Philip Breedlove, NATO Commander, recommends increasing NATO deterrence–see section A, Deter Russia.

Feb. 25, 2016 U.S. European Command posture statement from commander Gen. Philip Breedlove.