6 May, 2023 14:47

Who is Zakhar Prilepin, the Russian ‘nationalist’ writer injured in a car bombing?

The prolific novelist and pundit is in critical condition after the blast

Novelist and political activist Zakhar Prilepin, who has participated in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, was rushed to a hospital after being injured in a car bombing on Saturday. The news agency Interfax cited emergency services as saying thathe remains in critical condition.

The blast took place on a road 70km from the city of Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia. Prilepin’s personal assistant, who was behind the wheel at the time of the incident, was killed.

Zakhar Prilepin was born as Evgeny Lavlinsky in 1975 in the village of Ilyinka in western Russia. After completing mandatory military service, he worked as a police officer in the 1990s and was deployed to Chechnya during the separatist and Islamist insurgency there.

He later became a journalist and built a career as a critically acclaimed novelist. Opinion polls have often shown him ranked as among the country’s top contemporary writers, and he was named the most popular author of 2022, according to a survey by pollster VCIOM. In the Western media, Prilepin has been commonly described as a “Russian nationalist.”

His crime thriller ‘Break Loose’, set in a small Russian town, was made into a film in 2013. His historical novel ‘Abode’, centered on a remote Soviet prison camp in the 1920s, was adapted into a TV series in 2021.

Prilepin gained additional fame as a prolific political pundit, frequently appearing on TV and radio, as well as hosting his own show on the Russian channel NTV. He was first involved with Eduard Limonov’s now-banned National Bolshevik Party until founding his own small conservative party, ‘For Truth’, in 2019.

Prilepin is known for his hawkish stance on foreign policyand has suggested that the whole of Ukraine should be incorporated into Russia. In 2014, he supported the revolt in the Donbass region, which rejected the Western-back coup in Kiev that year and declared independence from Ukraine, creating the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR).

After an armed conflict broke out between Ukrainian troops and Donbass forces, Prilepin visited the war zone many times, eventually becoming deputy commander of a DPR military unit with the rank of major. He quit the post in 2018, citing the desire to focus more on writing. Both Donbass republics joined Russia after holding referendums in September 2022.

In January, Prilepin enlisted in the Russian National Guard and went back to the frontline. “I have returned to the same war, to the same place where I first arrived in 2014, traveling down the same roads as nine years ago,” he told RT last week. “This is my story, the story of my life.”

Ukraine banned Prilepin’s books in 2018. Last year, he was blacklisted by the EU as part of the sanctions imposed on Russia over its military operation launched in the neighboring state more than a year ago.

The attempt on Prilepin’s life comes after a string of similar bombings. Last August, Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, died in a car blast outside Moscow.

In early April, a bomb went off inside a St. Petersburg cafe, killing popular military blogger and Donbass native Vladlen Tatarsky. Moscow attributed both killings to Ukrainian special services.

https://www.rt.com/russia/575890-prilepin-injured-car-blast/

6 May, 2023 16:17

Russian pilots return from Ukrainian captivity – Moscow

The release of the service members was secured through complex negotiations, the Defense Ministry has said

Three Russian Air Force members that were taken prisoner by Ukraine have been returned home, the Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday. Kiev has said thatnearly 50 of its combatants were returned, all of whom are members of the National Guard.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that the release was achieved through a “complicated negotiation process,” and that theRussian pilots “were in mortal danger while in captivity.” It added that the former POWs are now receiving all necessary medical and psychological help and will be taken to medical institutions by transport military planes.

Minutes later, Andrey Ermak, the chief of staff to President Vladimir Zelensky, said that Ukraine had secured the release of 45 service members, three of whom were women.

“All of them are members of the National Guard from the unit created 9 years ago on the shores of the Azov Sea,” Ermak wrote on Telegram without elaborating. He added that the group includes 35 privates and sergeants, and ten officers.

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, Moscow and Kiev have conducted numerous POW swaps – one of the few remaining paths of diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

The previous exchange took place on April 26, when a total of 40 Russian soldiers returned home, according to the Defense Ministry. Kiev said it had repatriated 42 Ukrainian service members and two civilians.

On Friday,Ukraine also announced that they had retrieved the bodies of 80 service membersfrom Russia-controlled territories.

https://www.rt.com/russia/575894-pilots-return-ukraine-captivity/

6 May, 2023 17:38

Western politicians advise Kiev not to attack Crimea – Ukrainian official

Vladimir Zelensky’s representative claims some of the country’s backers fear a nuclear war could break out

Some Western politicians have warned Ukraine against attempting to retake Crimea by force, President Vladimir Zelensky’s representative claims.

Tamila Tasheva, who is tasked with Crimea-related issues, says their reservations stem from fears that if faced with losing the region,Russia might respond with tactical nuclear weapons.

Speaking to Poland’s PAP news agency on Friday, Tasheva said Kiev’s preparations for a major counteroffensive have sparked discussions among Western elites regarding the potential repercussions.

“Some Western politicians – not states – are warning Ukraine.They claim that the recapture of Crimea could lead to a nuclear war,”she said.

According to Tasheva, these politicians argue that while an operation like this is feasible, the fallout could be severe.

Other voices have called into question whether Crimea has ever really been a part of Ukraine, she said. “In their opinion, we should completely give up trying to regain it.”

Zelensky’s representative dismissed concerns over a potential nuclear response by Russia as unlikely. She went on to insist that there has long been a bond between Crimea and Ukraine, adding thatpro-Kiev saboteurs are active on the peninsula.

Multiple drone attacks have taken place in Crimea in recent weeks, targeting Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and an oil storage facility. The Russian authorities say they believe Ukraine was behind the strike on the storage facility, which led to a massive blaze last Saturday.

The Ukrainian military, while stopping short of claiming responsibility, hinted that the attack was part of preparations ahead of Kiev’s much-hyped counteroffensive.

Speaking to Scandinavian media outlets last Friday, President Zelensky expressed hope that Ukraine’s forces will be able to “de-occupy” Crimea, as well as Russia’s newly-incorporated territories – the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions.

The predominantly-Russian speaking Crimea joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum that was held after the Maidan coup in Kiev that same year.

(This is how stupid Kiev is, they think the West will support them. Their arrogance is retarded)

https://www.rt.com/russia/575896-ukrainian-official-western-politicians-crimea/

6 May, 2023 17:41

Tucker Carlson gagged by Fox contract – NYT

The former primetime host cannot appear on TV before 2025 under his employment terms

Recently-fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson may be sidelined from television news entirely until after the 2024 electionunless he can extricate himself from his previous employment contract, according to multiple sources who spoke to the New York Times on Friday.

The anchorman is restrained by a common clause known as ‘pay or play’ that restricts him from working for a competitor until the contract expires, an inside source told the outlet. Carlson’s contract is valid through January 2025, meaning he has no choice but to stay off the airwaves until after the 2024 election unless he is able to negotiate an exit.

Carlson has reportedly retained entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman to work out a settlement with his former employer. Numerous outlets, both traditional and internet-based, are said to be courting the conservative pundit, including Rumble, the Daily Wire, Newsmax, and One America News.

Carlson was let go last month hours before he was scheduled to go on the air, supposedly at the request of Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, according to a source who spoke to the Times.

Media outlets including the Times have suggested his ouster was due to a text message discovered while the network was preparing for Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit to go to trial in which Carlson acknowledged the humanity of an Antifa protester. He had enjoyed watching the “creep” get beaten up, he admitted, even though “it’s not how white men fight.”

Other leaked texts from Carlson show him calling Trump lawyer Sidney Powell “cruel and reckless” for pushing the theory that Dominion was flipping votes for then-candidate Joe Biden. The network ultimately did not allow the Dominion suit to go to trial, settling with the voting machine manufacturer for $787 million.

Carlson has remained largely silent about the circumstances of his departure, save for a two-minute clip he posted to Twitter decrying how “unbelievably stupid” most TV news content was and lamenting the absence of “undeniably big topics” on the airwaves. The clip has garnered over 24 million views in just two weeks, while Fox’s own ratings have plummeted, with the network losing half its audience in the coveted 25 to 54 demographic

(NYTs is always wrong and spreads gossip)

https://www.rt.com/news/575899-tucker-carlson-contract-silenced-election/

6 May, 2023 17:46

Wagner to cede to Chechens in key Donbass city – Prigozhin

The PMC group will be replaced by an elite special forces unit as the battle for Artyomovsk continues

The Wagner Group private military company will withdraw from the key Donbass city of Artyomovsk (known in Ukraine as Bakhmut) on May 10, the group’s chief, Evgeny Prigozhin, has announced. The PMC’s positions will be taken over by the Chechen Special Forces Unit ‘Akhmat’, he said.

Prigozhin claimed to have been in contact with Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, to perform the maneuver. The Wagner leader expressed confidence that the Chechen units will capture Artyomovsk completely, of which just a few blocks in the city's western part remain under the control of Ukrainian forces.

“I am already in contact with [Kadyrov’s] representatives in order to start transferring positions immediately, so that on May 10, at 00:00, exactly at the moment when, according to our calculations, we will completely exhaust our combat potential, our comrades will take our places and continue the assault on the city of Bakhmut,” Prigozhin said in a statement on Saturday.

Later in the day, Kadyrov released a short video address stating that he has already raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, notifying him of his willingness to replace the Wagner fighters in the city. The Akhmat fighters are already on standby and ready to be redeployed to Artyomovsk, he added.

“The soldiers are on high alert, we are only waiting for orders. Several units have already set off towards the special military operation zone,” Kadyrov stated.

Prigozhin announced the looming withdrawal of his forces from the city earlier this week, citing heavy losses and a shortage of artillery munitions. The group will be redeployed from the frontlines to rear camps to “lick their wounds,” he said.

Artyomovsk has seen intense fighting in recent months, with the raging battle commonly referred to as the “Bakhmut meat grinder.” The city is a key road and rail junction in Donbass, with both sides reportedly suffering significant casualties during the struggle for control over it. Kiev has continuously poured reserves into the city, which remains partially surrounded by Wagner and other Russian troops.

(Chechens are brutal fighters, they are not humane)

https://www.rt.com/russia/575887-wagner-bakhmut-prigozhin-kadyrov/

6 May, 2023 15:08

British Conservatives decimated in local elections

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party lost more than 1,000 council seats across England

Britain’s Conservative Party lost more than 1,000 council seats in local elections on Friday, with the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats dividing the spoils.

With 229 of 230 councils reporting on Saturday afternoon, Sunak’s party had secured 2,299 of just over 8,000 seats, losing 1,058. The Labour Party took 2,674, a gain of 536, while the Liberal Democrats took 1,626, a gain of 405. Independent councillors secured 874 seats, a loss of 80, while the Greens took 481, doubling their presence on local authorities.

The Conservative Party lost control of more than 40 councils, including Medway in southeast England, which it has run since the late 1990s. Labour leader Keir Starmer celebrated his party’s success in Medway, telling supporters that “we are on course for a Labour majority at the next general election.”

In the UK, local elections are often viewed as referendums on the party in power. The Tories have been in power since 2010, although the last year of Conservative rule has been a tumultuous one. Boris Johnson resigned as prime minister in disgrace amid the ‘partygate’ scandal last summer, only to be replaced by Liz Truss, who managed in her six weeks in office to crash the value of the British pound with a budget that included billions of pounds worth of tax cuts.

Sunak, a former banker, was touted by the party as a steady hand who could restore economic stability. However, food and energy costs have continued to rise under his leadership, and theUK is set to have the worst-performing large economy in the world this year, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund.

However, local elections are also decided on local issues, such as potholes, parking fees, and garbage collection. The Conservatives lost 1,330 seats in the 2019 local elections, before winning a landslide majority in a general election less than six months later.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sunak called the results “disappointing,” but said that he was “not detecting any massive groundswell of movement toward the Labour Party or excitement for their agenda.”

https://www.rt.com/news/575893-conservatives-lose-local-elections/

6 May, 2023 11:11

Suspect in Prilepin car bombing arrested

Russian police claim to have detained a man who may have been involved in the assassination attempt on the writer

Russian police have announced having arrested a man who could be connected to the bomb blast that injured prominent Russian writer and political activist Zakhar Prilepin.

According to the prosecutor's office of Nizhny Novgorod Region, the explosion took place in the village of Pionersky, some 70km from the eponymous city, located some 400km to the east of Moscow.

In a statement, Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said that “during a hot pursuit in Nizhny Novgorod Region, police officers apprehended a man who may have been involved in blowing up the car with Zakhar Prilepin inside.”

Volk said that the man “had been spotted near the village of Pionersky, according to witnesses.”

The Interior Ministry said that the 30-year-old suspect, who has a prior criminal record, was arrested as police officers were implementing a dragnet. A Ren TV channel source had earlier identifiedthe man as a local resident who recently received Russian citizenship, adding that he was being interrogated by law enforcement.

The Baza Telegram channel noted, citing sources, that the police are carrying out a raid in Nizhny Novgorod to make another arrest related to the attack, describing the second suspect asa 33-year-old man who had rented an apartment on the city outskirts a day before the blast. The man is said to have drawn the police’s attention because he is registered in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.

The Tass news agency reported, citing sources, that individuals believed to be involved in the attack were also being sought in Moscow Region and thatthe addresses of these additional suspects are already known. The police have also reportedly managed to pinpoint the apartment where the explosive device that blew up Prilepin’s car was assembled.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s Investigative Committee said that it had opened a criminal investigation into the attack and that forensic scientists had been dispatched to the scene. It also described the blast as a “terrorist act.”

According to the Interior Ministry, while Prilepin was injured, the blast killed a man that accompanied him, whom Russia media outlets had previously identified as the writer’s driver. Commenting on Prilepin's health status, Gleb Nikitin, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, said that he “suffered from minor fractures, but his life is under no threat.” The governor added that he was in the care of local medical personnel.

Nikitin described the deceased man as “Prilepin’s assistant and comrade” while expressing condolences to his family and loved ones.

Russia’s Investigative Committee also published a picture of Prilepin’s severely damaged car in the countryside. The vehicle appears to have been flipped over by the blast, with its front part completely destroyed and front wheels missing. The car is seen lying on its roof near a crater that was apparently caused by the explosion.

Other videos and pictures on social media appear to show emergency services and law enforcement officers having arrived at the scene.

(Later article says he’s in critical condition)

https://www.rt.com/russia/575884-suspect-prilepin-car-bombing-arrested/

6 May, 2023 14:16

Russia planning strict new alcohol laws – RIA

The Health Ministry is reportedly considering raising the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21 for hard liquor

Russia’s Health Ministry is mulling new measures to curb the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages in the country, RIA Novosti has reported. Among the steps reportedly under consideration are restrictions on the hours when spirits can be sold and raising the legal drinking age.

In an article on Saturday, the media outlet said that officials are considering making beverages with alcohol content of more than 17.5% off limits for those under 21. Currently the legal drinking age for all alcohol in Russia is 18.

Another measure proposed in the ministry’s report, which RIA claims to have seen, is to grant local authorities the right to restrict the sale of liquor on weekends and public holidays. Additionally, they would be able to impose a ban on alcohol sales from 8pm until 11am.

The sale of alcohol is currently not permitted between 11pm and 8am in Moscow and from 10pm to 11am in St. Petersburg. Several other regions, including Chukotka and Dagestan, have established their own hours.

The ministry also seeks tooutlaw any form of advertising of hard liquor, as well as prohibit it from being featured in newly produced musical clips, television series, movies and music, RIA reported.

According to the article, the need for tougher regulations is being discussed in light of recently released statistics from 2022 showingretail sales of alcohol having exceeded the forecast level.

This trend, as the ministry’s document reportedly noted, calls for more vigorous efforts at promoting a healthy lifestyle.

https://www.rt.com/russia/575888-russia-alcohol-drinking-age-increase/

Whats a great action movie I can watch this afternoon, that good guys win in the end?