Commentary of DNR Head of State A V Zakharchenko on His Recent Telephone Chat with President of the Russian Federation V V Putin

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On 15 November 2017, DNR Head of State A V Zakharchenko discussed the exchange of prisoners with President of the Russian Federation V V Putin. He said:

As regards prisoner exchanges, I agree with President Putin’s position… simple humanity must guide us here. The exchange of prisoners shouldn’t be a matter of war and trade. Let me remind you that back in 2014 when Ukrainian troops surrendered to us in the hundreds, I let them go back to their parents and wives in exchange for a promise not to return to the war-zone. Even then, we realised that in a civil war, it isn’t the stronger side on the battlefield that’ll win… we proved that here, even though we won many victories over the Ukrainian regular forces.

In a civil war, the side guided by moral principles will win, that is, those who preserve their humanity. The fact that we respect POWs shows that we adhere to moral principles. Moreover, the fact that the Ukrainian authorities and the aggressor battalions controlled by them tortured our comrades in captivity (many to the point of death) proves that they’ve lost all semblance of humanity. During previous exchanges… dozens of journalists witnessed them… we returned Kiev its POWs in good health (we treated many at our expense), well-fed, and dressed decently, whilst Kiev passed our comrades to us in poor health and on the verge of death. Therefore, of course, I supported the initiative of President Putin, for the simple reason that it isn’t inconsistent with our principles and it’s how we acted towards POWs in the past.

16 November 2017

DAN Donetsk News Agency

https://dan-news.info/official/kommentarij-glavy-dnr-po-itogam-peregovorov-s-prezidentom-rf.html

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Aleksei Ilyich on Idols… Orthodox Style

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Once I asked an audience of believers:

How does one pray to help someone struggling with drunkenness?

Everyone answered in unison:

Before the icon of the “Inexhaustible Chalice”.

I answered:

That’s right. Don’t even try to pray before the Vladimir, Iveron, or Kazan icons… it won’t help you.

Everyone was ashamed. This is what it can become. The Mother of God is no longer our hope; the icon becomes an idol for us. It’s so easy to reduce Orthodoxy to paganism. Read about the religions of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. There was a god in charge of each aspect of human life. People worshipped them; they sacrificed to them. They forgot the One God; they didn’t need Him. We can fall into this rut in the veneration of the saints. Already, unfortunately, many believers don’t seek God, but saints; they ask for help, not in healing from passions, not for salvation, but for signs and wonders. Moreover, this false faith is one of the main reasons for the infertility of our prayers and of our many services. Here you are right, with such a faith, the saints can indeed become a palisade behind which you can lose Christ.

Aleksei Ilyich Osipov

Honoured Professor of the Moscow Spiritual Academy  

BREAKING NEWS Lugansk Military “Lockdown”… Day Three

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What I know after spending 24 hours in Lugansk:

• LNR Head of State I V Plotnitsky ordered dismissal of Minister of Internal Affairs I А Kornet
• Kornet took responsibility for a large deployment of soldiers to secure the city centre
• Kornet said that saboteur groups infiltrated the LNR government and gave false information to Plotnitsky… ergo, Plotnitsky isn’t at fault
• There was no bloodshed
• The city is functioning normally, people are on the streets, and shops are open
• Plotnitsky has left the LNR
• Kornet said that this operation should be over by week’s end

What seems very likely (not confirmed):

• Kornet is/will be the new LNR Head of State

23 November 2017

Patrick Lancaster

Facebook

Editor:

My local sources corroborated what Mr Lancaster posted. It appears the LNR MVD identified pro-Ukrop elements close to I V Plotnitsky (probably, on the Langley payroll). If so, it appears that the local gaybisty* unmasked pro-American elements and are in the process of eliminating them. It may also mean that the Yanks overreached themselves and were trying to destabilise the LNR. Mind you… this is all tentative… it may change yet again in the next 24 hours (the Amerikantsy aren’t known for giving up easily). However, it’s what appears plausible at this time. This is a “work in progress”… things could and may very well change. The shortage of crystal balls vexes me (and all other commentators, too)…

• Gaybist: Russian slang for security officers/forces. It comes from the Russian pronunciation of “GB”, the first two letters of “State Security” in Russian.

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23 November 2017. A Light Goes Out in Our Musical Firmament… D A Khvorostovsky Passes at 55 From Brain Cancer

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Last year, Dmitri Aleksandrovich gave a moving performance of Журавли (Zhuravli: The White Cranes)… I find this the most appropriate piece to mark his passing. There’s also the gutsy original rendition by the late great M N Bernes (People’s Artist of the RSFSR).  Mark Naumovich’s version is much more stark and raw… listen to him… it’s à propos for such a day (he also died relatively young of cancer, at age 57). This was the last recording that Bernes made… many thought it his musing on his approaching death. That may be the same with the above performance, as it occurred one year after the diagnosis of a brain tumour.

D A Khvorostovsky was a People’s Artist of Russia. I D Kobzon (People’s Artist of the USSR) reported that his funeral will be 27 November at the Chaikovsky Zal of the Moscow Conservatoire. Dmitri Aleksandrovich wasn’t a believer… his ashes will lie in Novodevichy and in his Siberian home. However, we stand in respect before the mystery of death and wish the best for his family and friends, and express sincere and honest condolences at his passing (as did President Putin). Secular people simply aren’t religious believers (for a multitude of reasons, many grounded in actuality); we should respect them and their beliefs, without reserve. I bow before all of Dmitri Aleksandrovich’s loved ones and express my solidarity with their pain and my community with their grief.

ВЕЧНАЯ ЕМУ ПАМЯТЬ!

A light went out in our musical firmament… the whole world mourns…

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