.
March 18, 2022, Russians celebrate the 8th anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia....Crimea Timeline, 1954 to present…Ukraine is a “U.S.-controlled aboriginal regime,” 1/6/2017
Above, 3/18/22, “Putin’s full speech March 18, 2022 on the 8th anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia”
Above, May 2018, Crimea Bridge grand opening, EuroNews
Crimea bridge grand opening May 2018, parallel train tracks open 2019….Al Jazeera video
**********************
"Soros’ NRC [National Reform Council] in effect is the vehicle to allow the President to override parliamentary debate to push through “reforms,” with the declared first priority being privatization of Naftogaz and raising gas prices drastically to Ukrainian industry and households, something the bankrupt country can hardly afford."...6/12/2015
********************
Added:
3/8/22, “Timeline: The Crimean Referendum Brutal act of military conquest, or peaceful (and popular) transition of power? Here are the facts to help you decide.” Off Guardian
[Image: “Red, white and blue: People wave Russian flags and cheer in the center of Simferopol on Friday night after voting to [re-]join Russia,” AFP/Getty]
“In part one of our recap on the recent history of Ukraine, we looked at the chain of events that lead to the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych from power. You can read that here.
In this second part, we will be focusing on Crimea, how the peninsula came to be a part of the nation of Ukraine, whether or not this was ever popular with the public,
and how the transition back to being a part of Russia was handled.
1954
Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev signs a decree transferring Crimea from the Russian SSR to the Ukrainian SSR. His motivation for doing so is a matter of historical debate, as is the constitutionality of the decision. However, as they were all one nation at that time, the administrative decision is more of a “symbolic gesture” than anything else.
Prior to this, Crimea had been a part of Russia since 1783 when the Russian Empire took control of the Crimean Khanate following the decline in power of the Ottoman Empire.
1965
Sevastopol, Crimea’s major port city, is officially named a “Hero City” of the USSR, an honour given to 12 cities across the countryto mark the 20th Victory Day. Sevastopol held against major assaults from the Axis powers in October and December of 1941, before holding out for a six month siege and
finally falling to the Nazis in June of 1942.
1990
As the USSR begins to crumble, Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, beginning the process of leaving the union and taking Crimea with it.
1991
January:The Crimean government hold a referendum asking if Crimea should declare its independence from Ukraine,reform itself as the Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic (as it had been prior to 1945), and rejoin the USSR. The vote passes with 94% support, and Crimea declares independence.
February: The Ukrainian parliament recognises this independence, passing the “Law On Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic as part of USSR”.
September: Ukrainian parliament reverses their February decision and declares Crimea a part of Ukraine once again. There is historical debate over the legality of this decision.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and official Ukrainian independence, Crimea is no longer politically unified with Russia for the first time in over 200 years.
1992
Crimean parliament again declares itself independent as “The Republic of Crimea”, they draft their own constitution and plan a referendum on secession from Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament refuses to acknowledge the declaration and forces the cancellation of the referendum.
As a compromise, Crimea is granted special status as an “Autonomous Republic”, and given control over its own budget and other devolved powers, as long as they add a line to their constitution designating Crimea a part of Ukraine.
1994
Newly-elected President Yuriy Meshkov of Crimea holds a referendum, asking the population of Crimea three questions, most notably:
- Do you support a return to the May 1992 constitution that didn’t guarantee Crimea was part of Ukraine?
- Do you support establishing that all Crimean citizens were entitled to dual citizenship with Russia?
All three parts of the referendum pass with at least 77% of the vote, and President Meshkov restores the old constitution. The Ukrainian government declares the referendum illegal and refuses to recognise either the results or the new constitution.
1995
Ukrainian government abolishes the post of President of Crimea, and cuts the powers of their parliament. For the rest of the year the President of Ukraine governs the peninsula by decree.
2001
The 2001 Ukrainian census records that over 60% of the population of Crimea describe themselves as ethnically Russian. In total 77% of Crimeans, and over 94% of the people of Sevastopol, reported being native Russian speakers.
2004
Following the “Orange Revolution”, and over-turning of Viktor Yanukovych’s victory in the Presidential election, leaders of Eastern Ukrainian oblasts – including Crimea – raise the issue of increased autonomy and even secession from the country. A conference of politicians from the Donbas region
call for a referendum on federalization, but are ignored.
2006
A US Navy ship docks at the Crimean port of Feodosiya, leading to mass protests on the peninsula and a peaceful blockade of the port. Then-leader of the opposition Viktor Yanukovych claims that allowing foreign military units onto Crimea’s soil without consulting the regional parliament is a violation of both the Ukrainian and Crimean constitutions.A contemporary Radio Free Europe article notes that 55-60% of all Ukrainians oppose joining NATO.
2008
Following the Russo-Georgian war, and on the back of increased calls for Ukraine to join NATO, the BBC sends a reporter to Crimea. Their article details the strong pro-Russian feeling on the peninsula, the key part Sevastopol has played in Russia’s history, and warnings from Crimeans that “nationalists in Kiev” are trying to “force Russians out”.
A 2008 poll by the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies found 64% of Crimeans favored secession from from Ukraine to rejoin Russia, and 55% favored increased autonomy from Kiev.
2009-2011
Between 2009 and 2011 the United Nations Development Program conducts a series of polls in Crimea on the question of Russian reunification. Every single poll returns 65-70% positive response, with another 16-25% undecided and only 9-14% favoring staying with Ukraine.
2013
A poll done by the US-based Gallup agency finds 82% of Crimeans speak only Russsian at home, and further 6% speak Russian and one other language. Only 2% report speaking only Ukrainian.
The pro-EU/pro-NATO Maidan protests begin, violence erupts in Kiev.
2014
JANUARY
27/1 – As protests intensify in Kiev and Ukraine becomes increasingly unstable, local officials in Simferopol and Sevastopol propose Crimea become a federal state, and prepare legal groundwork:
“to use its right to self-determination and to exit Ukraine’s legal space in the event of a state coup, or seizure of power by force.”
28/1 –An open letter from the Sevastopol city council calls on President Yanukovych to outlaw the “extremist group” Svoboda, and invites the people of the city to form “People’s Squads” as described under Ukrainian law, and defend the border of Crimea:
“It is impossible to allow specially trained and armed militants of the “Right Sector [Sektor]” and other pro-fascist and extremist organizations to penetrate our city and dictate their terms. We will provide reliable defense of Sevastopol. Extremism, lawlessness, banditry will not pass in the hero city.”
FEBRUARY
14/2 – Yahoo News reports“Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region leans towards Moscow “. The article notes that the Crimean parliament amended the constitution to describe Russia as a “guarantor of Crimea’s safety”, and that elected officials have asked Russia for help if the Maidan protesters should attempt to move into Crimea.
18/2 – Radio Free Europe reports on the “rise of pro-Russian separatism in Crimea”. They interview Crimean MP Sergei Shuvainikov, who claims the Ukrainian nationalists want to ban the Russian language and kill Russian culture in Ukraine.
20/2 – Crimean MP and Speaker of Parliament tells an international meeting in Moscow that Crimea “may secede form Ukraine, if the country splits”.
22/2 – Less than 24 hours after [Ukraine government] signing a peace deal, Maidan protesters storm government buildings in Kiev and take control of the country. President Yanukovych flees to Kharkiv.
In a vote that violates the constitution of Ukraine, the Rada removes Yanukovych from office for being “unable to carry out his duties”.
The same day, The Washington Post publishes this article:
“The battle for Kiev is over, is the battle for Crimea about to begin?”
23/2 – One of the first bills passed by the new government repeals the law making Russian an official state language. Neo-Naziprit leaders Oleh Tyanobohk and Dimitri Yarosh proposegoing further and banning both the Party of the Regions and the Ukrainian Communist Party, both traditionally political parties representing Eastern Ukraine, including Crimea.
The same day, thousands of Crimeans attend a protest in Sevastopol, chanting about re-uniting with Russia. The Guardian headlines “Ukraine crisis fuels secession calls in pro-Russian south”, reporting that when the Crimean Prime Minister ruled out secession in his speech he was booed by the crowd.
26/2 – Crimean parliament meets in a special session to discuss the crisis and situation in Kiev. Thousands rally outside the building as the meeting is taking place, chanting “Russia! Russia! Russia!” and “Crimea Rise Up!”
The Parliamentary speaker emerges from the session to address the crowd, saying:
“I share your alarm and worry over Crimea’s fate…We will fight for our autonomous republic to the end…Today Kiev doesn’t want to solve our problems, therefore we must unite and act decisively. The people of Crimea have enough strength. Neo-Nazism will not work in Crimea. We will not betray Crimea.”
The Irish Times reports “Many Russian-speakers worry that Ukraine’s new government will be pulled to the right by ultra-nationalist groups that played a major role in the protests”.
28/2 – In the early hours of Friday 28th February, men in fatigues bearing no insignia take control of every airport, seaport, train station and border crossing on the Crimean peninsula.They also secure all government buildings in Simferopol. These men are later revealed to be Russian troops from the bases at Sevastopol.
Kiev and their NATO backers call the troops’ presence an invasion, but Russia defends their deployment, claiming the troops are there at the invitation of both the local Crimean authorities
and Viktor Yanukovych, whom they still recognise
as the legitimate President of Ukraine.
Further, the Russians claim their lease agreement allowed up to 25,000 Russian military personnel to be stationed in Crimea, and they did not exceed that number.
With the peninsula effectively cut off from mainland Ukraine, a second special session of Parliament is held, during which they vote to terminate the current government and choose a new Prime Minister. They also established plans for an independence referendum to be held in May [2014].
March
11/3 – Crimean parliament, along with the Sevastopol city council, issue a decree declaring Crimea independent.
The new Autonomous Republic of Crimea brings forward the planned referendum from May to March 16th, changing the question from one of independence to
a choice between re-joining Russia or re-joining Ukraine.
12/3 – The Crimean government formally invite members from the OSCE to observe the referendum and make sure its fair. The OSCE describes the vote as “illegal”,
16/3 – The referendum goes ahead, with the ballot papers asking:
- Do you support the reunification of Crimea with Russia with all the rights of the federal subject of the Russian Federation?
- Do you support the restoration of the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea in 1992 and the status of the Crimea as part of Ukraine?
Though official observers from both the OSCE and UN refused to take part, the Crimean authorities claimed to have invited 190 independent observers from 23 different countries, including the majority of the nations of th EU.
Kiev, along with most western governments, claim the vote is illegitimate because it took place “at the barrel of a gun”.
The reported results are massively in favour of joining Russia, 97% vs 3% against, on an estimated turnout of 83%.
21/3 – President Vladimir Putin of Russia officially signs the law recognising Crimea as part of the Russian Federation.
Street parties are held in Sevastopol and Simferopol, and all across Russia.
April
Claiming they are owed money, the Ukrainian government closes dam on North Crimea Canal, reducing flow of fresh water to the peninsula. Access to water is protected by article 29 of the Geneva convention, and its use to punish a civilian population could be a war crime.
2015
Forbes publishes this article, headlined “One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow”, it details all the polling done by Western polling agencies since the referendum:
*A Gallup study from June 2014 found 83% Crimeans agreed with the result of the referendum, including 94% of ethnic Russians. 74% said being part of Russia would make life better for them and their families.
*In January 2015, a joint German-Canadian study done by GfK for “Free Crimea”, found 82% of Crimeans fully supported the referendum and thought Crimea had made the right choice, with another 11% partially supporting it and only 4% opposing it.
*A Pew Research study from 2014 found 91% of Crimeans thought the vote was free and fair, and 88% thought Kiev should recognise the results.
*A US government-funded study published on the Soros-backed OpenDemocracy website found 84% of Crimeans “absolutely” supported the Crimean referendum, and 88% thought Crimea was moving in the right direction.
So, there it is, a timeline of the key events leading to Crimea’s separation from, and eventual reunification with, Russia. Military occupation and annexation, or a referendum supported by the majority of the population? You decide.
We previously catalogued Ukraine’s Maidan revolution and eventual fall of Viktor Yanukovych in part 1 of this series here. In part three we will be going into Kiev’s “anti-terror” operations in Donetsk and Luhansk and the collapse into chaos and civil war.”
May 2018, Grand Opening of Crimea Bridge, parallel train tracks open 2019…..Al Jazeera video
………………………………………..
Added:
Sep 15, 2016, “War in Donbass: 3,600 Civilians Killed by Ukrainian Forces and Neo-Nazi Militia since Minsk II Agreement,” Theo Russell, from Global Research
“According to figures obtained from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) authorities, since the February 2015 Minsk II agreement over 3,600 civilians have died in the republic due to shelling, sniper and other attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The DPR, along with the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), broke away from Ukraine in May 2014 following ‘status referendums’,and on 24 May the two separatist republics signed an agreement creating a confederation, Novorossiya, but the region is more widely known as the Donbass.
After the February 2014 coup in Kiev, an ‘Anti-Maidan’ movement rapidly grew in the largely Russian-speaking Donbass, Odessa and Crimea regions, which sought to prevent the far-right groups which hijacked in the ‘Euromaidan’ protests entering their towns and cities.
Their fears were confirmed by the Odessa Trade Union House fire on 2 May 2014, in which at least
50 Anti-Maidan supporters died when the building was surrounded
by a far-right mob and petrol-bombed.
There are reports of civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian strikes on the rebel republics on an almost daily basis.On 28 August [2016], according to residents of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk city, a Ukrainian sniper shot two women dead.
It was hoped that Minsk II, which followed the September 2014 Minsk Protocol and was signed by Vladimir Putin,
Angela Merkel, Francois Holland and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko,
would bring the war in eastern Ukraine to an end, paving the way for elections and separate status for the two Donbass ‘people’s republics’.
However low-level clashes have continued unabated for the past 18 months, with increasing warnings of escalation and a build-up of forces and equipment by the Ukrainian side in recent months. Tensions were heightened three weeks ago by allegations of armed incursions by Ukrainian forces into Crimea.”…
…………………………………………
Added:
2/24/22, “Timeline: Euromaidan, the original “Ukraine Crisis” Genuine grassroots revolution or NATO backed coup? Here are the facts to help you decide.,” Kit Knightly
“The historical, political and ethnic divisions in Ukraine go back decades, if not centuries, but we don’t have the space for that kind of deep-dive. For now, we’ll be keeping it to three simple parts:
The fall of Viktor Yanukovych,
the Crimean referendum, and
the ensuing civil war which puts the region in a direct path to the events of today.
Much like our 30 Facts on Covid, this piece is intended as a quick reference guide to help get friends and family up to speed on the recent history of Ukraine, a handy index of contemporary sources, or a refresher course for those who’ve forgotten the details.”…
********************
Added: "Soros’ NRC [National Reform Council] in effect is the vehicle to allow the President to override parliamentary debate to push through “reforms,” with the declared first priority being privatization of Naftogaz and raising gas prices drastically to Ukrainian industry and households, something the bankrupt country can hardly afford."...In Soros' March 2015 memo he offers to "help" Ukraine's financial situation by calling his pal at the US Treasury [home of US taxpayer dollars]: “I am ready to call Jack Lew of the US Treasury to sound him out about the swap agreement.”
12/06/2015,
"Rarely does the world get a true look inside the corrupt world of Western oligarchs and the
brazen manipulations they use to enhance their fortunes
at the expense of the public good.
The following comes from correspondence of the Hungarian-born billionaire, now naturalized American speculator, George Soros. The hacker group CyberBerkut has published online letters allegedly written by Soros that reveal him not only as puppet master of the US-backed Ukraine regime. They also reveal his machinations with the US Government and the officials of the European Union in a scheme where, if he succeeds, he could win
billions in the plunder of Ukraine assets.
All, of course, would be at the expense of Ukrainian citizens and of EU taxpayers.
What the three hacked documents reveal is a degree of behind-the-scene manipulation of the most minute details of the Kiev regime by the New York billionaire.
In the longest memo, dated March 15, 2015 and marked “Confidential” Soros outlines a detailed map of actions for the Ukraine regime. Titled, “A short and medium term comprehensive strategy for the new Ukraine,” the memo from Soros calls for steps to “restore the fighting capacity of Ukraine without violating the Minsk agreement.” To do the restoring, Soros blithely notes that “General Wesley Clark, Polish General Skrzypczak and a few specialists under the auspices of the Atlantic Council [emphasis added—f.w.e.] will advise President Poroshenko how to restore the fighting capacity of Ukraine without violating the Minsk agreement.”
Soros also calls for supplying lethal arms to Ukraine and secretly training Ukrainian army personnel in Romania to avoid direct NATO presence in Ukraine. The Atlantic Council is a leading Washington pro-NATO think tank.
Notably, Wesley Clark is also a business associate of Soros in BNK Petroleum which does business in Poland.
Clark, some might recall, was the mentally-unstable NATO General in charge of the 1999 bombing of Serbia who
ordered NATO soldiers to fire on Russian soldiers guarding the Pristina International Airport.
The Russians were there as a part of an agreed joint NATO–Russia peacekeeping operation supposed to police Kosovo.
The British Commander, General Mike Jackson refused Clark, retorting, “I’m not going to start the Third World War for you.” Now Clark
apparently decided to come out of retirement
for the chance to go at Russia directly.
Naked asset grab
In his March 2015 memo Soros further writes that Ukrainian President Poroshenko’s “first priority must be to regain control of financial markets,”
which he assures Poroshenko that Soros would be ready to assist in:
“I am ready to call Jack Lew of the US Treasury to sound him out
about the swap agreement.”
He also calls on the EU to give Ukraine an annual aid sum of
€11 billion via a special EU borrowing facility.
Soros proposes in effect using the EU’s “AAA” top credit rating
to provide a risk insurance for investment into Ukraine.
Whose risk would the EU insure?
Soros details, “I am prepared to invest up to €1 billion in Ukrainian businesses. This is likely to attract the interest of the investment community. As stated above, Ukraine must become an attractive investment destination.” Not to leave any doubt, Soros continues,
“The investments will be for-profit but I will pledge to contribute the profits to my foundations.
This should allay suspicions that I am advocating policies in search of personal gain. “
For anyone familiar with the history of the Soros Open Society Foundations in Eastern Europe and around the world since the late 1980’s, will know that his supposedly philanthropic “democracy-building” projects in Poland, Russia, or Ukraine in the 1990’s
allowed Soros the businessman
to literally plunder the former communist countries
using Harvard University’s “shock therapy” messiah, and
Soros associate, Jeffrey Sachs,
to convince the post-Soviet governments
to privatize and open to a “free market” at once,
rather than gradually.
The example of Soros in Liberia is instructive for understanding the seemingly seamless interplay between Soros the shrewd businessman and
Soros the philanthropist.
In West Africa George Soros backed a former Open Society employee of his,
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
giving her international publicity and through his influence,
even arranging a Nobel Peace Prize for her in 2011,
insuring her election as president.
Before her presidency she had been well-indoctrinated into the Western free market game, studying economics at Harvard and working
for the US-controlled World Bank in Washington and the Rockefeller Citibank in Nairobi.
Before becoming Liberia’s President, she worked for Soros directly as chair of his Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
Once in office, President Sirleaf opened the doors for Soros
to take over major Liberian gold and base metals assets
along with his partner, Nathaniel Rothschild.
One of her first acts as President was to also invite
the Pentagon’s new Africa Command, AFRICOM, into Liberia whose purpose as a Liberian investigation revealed, was
to “protect George Soros and Rothschild mining operations in West Africa
rather than champion stability and human rights.”
Naftogaz the target
The Soros memo makes clear he has his eyes on the Ukrainian state gas and energy monopoly, Naftogaz.
He writes, “The centerpiece of economic reforms will be the reorganization of Naftogaz
and the introduction of market pricing
for all forms of energy, replacing hidden subsidies…”
In an earlier letter Soros wrote in December 2014 to both President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk,
Soros openly called for his Shock Therapy:
“I want to appeal to you to unite behind the reformers in your government and give your wholehearted support to a radical, ‘big bang’ type of approach. That is to say, administrative controls would be removed and the economy would move to market prices rapidly rather than gradually…
Naftogaz needs to be reorganized with a big bang replacing the hidden subsidies…”
Splitting Naftogaz into separate companies could allow Soros to take control of one of the new branches and essentially
He already suggested that he indirectly brought in US consulting company,
McKinsey, to advise Naftogaz on the privatization “big bang.”
The Puppet-Master?
The totality of what is revealed in the three hacked documents show that Soros is effectively the puppet-master pulling most of the strings in Kiev.
Soros Foundation’s Ukraine branch, International Renaissance Foundation (IRF)
has been involved in Ukraine since 1989.
His IRF doled out more than $100 million to Ukrainian NGOs two years before the fall of the Soviet Union, creating the preconditions for Ukraine’s independence from Russia in 1991.
Soros also admitted to financing the 2013-2014 Maidan Square protests that brought the current government into power.
Soros’ foundations were also deeply involved in the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought the corrupt but pro-NATO Viktor Yushchenko into power with his American wife who had been in the US State Department. In 2004 just weeks after Soros’ International Renaissance Foundation had succeeded in getting Viktor Yushchenko as President of Ukraine, Michael McFaul wrote an OpEd for the Washington Post [12/21/2004]. McFaul, a specialist in organizing color revolutions, who later became US Ambassador to Russia, revealed:
"Did Americans meddle in the internal affairs of Ukraine? Yes. The American agents of influence would prefer different language to describe their activities —
democratic assistance,
democracy promotion,
civil society support, etc. —
but their work, however labeled, seeks to influence political change in Ukraine.
The U.S. Agency for International Development,
the National Endowment for Democracy
and a few other foundations sponsored certain U.S. organizations, including
Freedom House,
the International Republican Institute,
the National Democratic Institute,
the Solidarity Center,
the Eurasia Foundation,
Internews
and several others to provide small grants and technical assistance to Ukrainian civil society.
The European Union,
individual European countries and the
Soros-funded International Renaissance Foundation
did the same....[Does this kind of intervention violate international norms? Not anymore.]"
Soros shapes ‘New Ukraine’
Today the CyberBerkut hacked papers show that Soros’ IRF money is behind creation of a National Reform Council, a body organized by presidential decree from Poroshenko which allows the Ukrainian president to push bills through Ukraine’s legislature. Soros writes, “The framework for bringing the various branches of government together has also emerged. The National Reform Council (NRC) brings together the presidential administration, the cabinet of ministers, the Rada and its committees and civil society. The International Renaissance Foundation which is the Ukrainian branch of the Soros Foundations was the sole financial supporter of the NRC until now..."
Soros’ NRC in effect is the vehicle to allow the President to
override parliamentary debate to push through “reforms,” with the declared
first priority being privatization of Naftogaz
and raising gas prices drastically
to Ukrainian industry and households,
something the bankrupt country can hardly afford.
In his letter to Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, Soros hints that he played a key role in selection of three key non-Ukrainian ministers—Natalia Jaresko, an American ex- State Department official as Finance Minister; Aivras Abromavicius of Lithuania as Economics Minister, and a health minister from Georgia. Soros in his December 2014 letter, referring to his proposal for a “big bank” privatization of Naftogaz and price rise, states, “You are fortunate to have appointed three ‘new Ukrainian’ ministers and several natives (sic) who are committed to this approach.”
Elsewhere Soros speaks about de facto creating the impression within the EU that the current government of Yatsenyuk is finally cleaning out the notorious corruption that has dominated every Kiev regime since 1991. Creating that temporary reform illusion, he remarks, will convince the EU to cough up the €11 billion annual investment insurance fund. His March 2015 paper says that, “It is essential for the government to produce a visible demonstration (sic) during the next three months in order to change the widely prevailing image of Ukraine as an utterly corrupt country.” That he states will open the EU to make the €11 billion insurance guarantee investment fund.
While saying that it is important to show Ukraine as a country that is not corrupt, Soros reveals he has little concern when transparency and proper procedures block his agenda. Talking about his proposals to reform Ukraine’s constitution to enable privatizations and other Soros-friendly moves, he complains, “The process has been slowed down by the insistence of the newly elected Rada on proper procedures and total transparency.”
Soros suggests that he intends to create this “visible demonstration” through his initiatives, such as
using the Soros-funded National Reform Council,
a body organized by presidential decree
which allows the Ukrainian president to push bills through Ukraine’s legislature.
George Soros is also using his new European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank to lobby his Ukraine strategy, with his council members such as Alexander Graf Lambsdorff or Joschka Fischer or Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, not to mention former ECB head, Jean-Claude Trichet no doubt laying a subtle role.
George Soros, now 84, was born in Hungary as a Jew, George Sorosz. Soros once boasted in a TV interview that he posed during the war as a gentile with forged papers, assisting the Horthy government to seize property of other Hungarian Jews who were being shipped to the Nazi death camps. Soros told the TV moderator, “There was no sense that I shouldn’t be there, because that was–well, actually, in a funny way, it’s just like in markets–that if I weren’t there–of course, I wasn’t doing it, but somebody else would.”
This is the same morality apparently behind Soros’ activities in Ukraine today. It seems again to matter not to him that the Ukrainian government
he helped bring to power in February 2014 US coup d’etat
George Soros is clearly a devotee of “public-private-partnership.”
Only here
the public gets fleeced to enrich private investors like Mr. Soros and friends.
Cynically, Soros signs his Ukraine strategy memo, “George Soros–A self-appointed advocate of the new Ukraine, March 12, 2015.”"
...................
"F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”."
************************
Added: "Soros provided finances, logistics, and other support to the Ukrainian coup plotters in 2012, two years before the Euromaidan uprising....OSF and its affiliates provided entire buildings, office space, computers, software, broadband Internet, videoconferencing equipment, vehicles, travel to the United States, and other material for the Euromaidan uprising. This was all done with the cooperation of the US and Swedish embassies in Kiev, USAID, the Carnegie Endowment, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), and the Central Intelligence Agency-linked National Endowment for Democracy (NED)."
8/30/2016, "Soros Ran US Foreign Policy on Post-Coup Ukraine," Wayne Madsen
"A tranche of some 2500 Internal documents, mostly Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point files, as well as pdf files, from George Soros’s Open Society Foundation (OSF) network of non-governmental organizations, which were obtained from the group «DC Leaks», shows that Soros and his advisers lorded over US policy toward Ukraine after the 2014 coup supported by Soros and the Obama administration ousted the democratically-elected Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his government. The leaked Soros documents describe how the OSF and Soros’s International Renaissance Foundation (IRF), based at 46 Artema Street in Kiev, worked with the US State Department after the 2014 so-called «Euromaidan» themed revolution to ensure that a federalized Ukraine was not in the picture.
In addition to George Soros (identified as «GS» in the leaked OSF documents, others involved in the Ukrainian coup planning included US ambassador to Kiev Geoffrey Pyatt; David Meale (Economic Counselor to Pyatt); Lenny Benardo (OSF); Yevhen Bystrytsky (Executive Director, IRF); Oleksandr Sushko (Board Chair, IRF); Ivan Krastev (Chairman, Centre for Liberal Studies, a Soros- and US government-influenced operation in Sofia, Bulgaria); Sabine Freizer (OSF); and Deff Barton (Director, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Ukraine). USAID is a conduit for the Central Intelligence Agency. Soros was present at a post-coup meeting on March 21, 2014 that involved US support for the «New Ukraine». One document describes the
«New Ukraine» as a key measure to «reshapes the European map
by offering the opportunity to go back to the original essence of European integration».
and rejected a federalized Ukraine
that would grant self-government to the Russian-speaking eastern Donbass region.
In effect, Soros vetoed a proposal by Pyatt to negotiate a proposal made by Russian Foreign Minister that would grant autonomy to eastern Ukraine within a federalized Ukraine. Soros rejected the proposal because he believed it would grant Russia too much influence in Ukraine. Although
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria
Nuland did not attend the March 21 meeting, she remained close to Pyatt
and Yatsenyuk, who she affectionately called «Yats». In the end, the Obama administration rejected a federalized Ukraine and gave its full support to the unilateralism of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and his puppet master Soros.
It should be of no surprise that earlier this year [2016], Pyatt was moved from Kiev as ambassador to Athens. One Soros document calls for the need to combat «Russlandversteher», German for «Russia understanding», throughout Europe, particularly in Greece with its history of close cultural and religious relations with Russia. The Soros OSF document calls for a concerted effort in Greece to influence public opinion against Russia and for the Ukrainian coup government. Proposed is an anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda operation directed against newspapers, ten «audiovisual outlets» (TV and radio), six Internet sites in Greece, and «about 50 opinion leaders» present on Greek social networks. Greek newspapers targeted for participation in the Soros anti-Russia campaign included «Kathimerini, Avgi, Ta Nea, Vima, Efymerida Syntakton, Eleutherotypia, Proto Thema, and Rizospastis». The Greek-Russian Chamber of Commerce in Athens was also targeted for inclusion in the Soros propaganda operation. Similar anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian coup government media influence operations were proposed for Italy, Spain, and France. The reasoning was to counter any movement to support the status quo ante in Ukraine by the SYRIZA, Podemos, and Five Star Movement parties in Greece, Spain, and Italy, respectively. This Soros strategy was referred to as «debate mapping».
While looking to influence Greek policy on Ukraine, Soros and his NGO gang pushed for European Union enlargement to include Ukraine and Turkey, neither country’s accession to the EU being in the interests of any of the EU’s member states. High priority was also given to integrating Moldova into EU structures. The overall theme of many of the Soros documents is that lying at the heart of «Russlandversteher» is «anti-American» feelings in Europe. European trade unions are singled out by the Soros gang as being at the heart of «anti-American» opinions in Europe. Certain political parties are also singled out, including the National Front of France, Jobbik of Hungary, the Netherlands Party of Freedom (PVV), and the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and are referred to by Soros as the «PRR», or «populist radical right». Pro-Russian German politicians are named in the Soros documents and they include former Chancellors Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl, and Helmut Schmidt; Brandenburg Minister-President Matthias Platzeck; Die Linke leaders Gregor Gysi, Sahra Wagenknecht, and Katja Kipping, and former Hamburg mayor Klaus von Dohnanyi. Soros, who cut his teeth as a teen in Hungary cooperating with the Nazi Gestapo and Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross, prefers to maintain «hit lists» containing the names of his opponents.
It is the degree to which Soros provided finances, logistics, and other support to the Ukrainian coup plotters in 2012,
two years before the Euromaidan uprising, that is noteworthy.
OSF and its affiliates provided entire buildings, office space, computers, software, broadband Internet, videoconferencing equipment, vehicles, travel to the United States, and other material for the Euromaidan uprising.
This was all done with the cooperation of the US and Swedish embassies in Kiev, USAID, the Carnegie Endowment, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), and the Central Intelligence Agency-linked National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Investigative journalists were also sought by the Soros gang to travel to Ukraine and submit articles that had to be approved by Soros operatives before publication. One major collaborator of Soros and the United States in pushing Ukrainian propaganda was identified as the Hromadske Television, which was singled out for its work to counter «Russian propaganda».
One Soros document contains the following recommendation:
«Select journalists from the 5 target countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece) and offer them long stay reporting trips in Ukraine. Rather than specify what they should write about they should make suggestions for articles; we retain a veto on stories we think are counterproductive. Suggestion that we liaise directly with journalists to determine interest».
The Soros document even concedes that such as approach is not «proper independent journalism and we may damage our credibility with journalists».
Soros’s people proposed a «firewall» between Soros and journalists reporting on Ukraine. Soros’s organization proposed that
«a third party would receive the grant and act as the intermediary, editor, quality control etc. IRF [International Renaissance Foundation] should play a more lead role in this initiative to emphasize its Ukraine origins».
The Soros organization decided to pursue «PIJ», or «public interest journalism» outlets for a cooperative propaganda dissemination relationship regarding Ukraine.
There are a number of journalists around the world who have sold their journalistic professional credentials and credibility to the devil and have willingly accepted paychecks from Soros in order to disseminate his and the CIA’s propaganda. One such outlet that is cited as carrying Soros’s water is Huffington Post-Germany, which is identified as a collaborator of Burda, a center-right publishing house in Germany. Other German publications that Soros favorably viewed as pushing the anti-Russian line on Ukraine included
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Welt, Süddeutche Zeitung, Tageszeitung, Spiegel, and Junge Welt.
Coming in for criticism by Soros was Neues Deutschland and Freitag, cited as being too friendly to Russia and anti-Ukraine.
The Soros documents identify a columnist for the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung as receiving Soros money to hire a «research assistant» to promulgate pro-Ukraine propaganda. Others on Soros’s anti-Russia payroll and who authored Ukraine propaganda articles included researchers with the Barcelona Institute of International Studies, Chatham House in London, and the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Italy.
Propaganda memes cited by Soros’s gang included
expelling Russia from the G8, NATO military support and NATO membership for Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia.
A Confidential March 12, 2015, Soros document reveals that the anti-Russian former NATO military commander and close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Wesley Clark, in addition to Polish General Waldemar Skrzypczak, advised Poroshenko on military matters regarding Russia. The document cites Soros as the «self-appointed advocate of the New Ukraine».
Soros is one of the closest advisers and financiers of Hillary Clinton. The leaked Soros documents describe how the Clinton Global Initiative and Soros Foundation cooperates on undermining the sovereignty of nations around the world, including those in Europe. And that relationship should weigh heavily on every American on November 8 [2016]."
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