Julia Davis

A wave of protests accompanied Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko and conductor Valery Gergiev throughout the string of their North American performances. Both of them earned the ire of Western audiences for openly endorsing Vladimir Putin’s forcible annexation of Crimea and covert invasion of Ukraine. Gergiev signed the controversial “letter of support” for Putin’s aggression, while Netrebko fraternized with terrorist leader Oleg Tsarov, who was sanctioned by both the U.S. and the EU. Tsarov was sanctioned by the United States as a person who poses a threat to national security. Executive order signed by President Barack Obama with respect to the sanctions stated that “the actions and policies of persons including persons who have asserted governmental authority in the Crimean region without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial i...

While Putin’s Russia runs roughshod over the sovereignty of its neighbors, his cultural emissaries are legitimizing his imperialistic aspirations in the West. Conductor Valery Gergiev is a personal friend of Vladimir Putin, having known Russia’s President since his notorious St. Petersburg days. Gergiev’s protégé, Anna Netrebko, is another loyal Putinista. Gergiev and Netrebko openly support the most loathsome policies of their favorite dictator: from oppressive anti-gay policies and invasions of neighboring countries to the annexation of Crimea and Russia-funded terrorist activities in Ukraine. Valery Gergiev and Anna Netrebko are now touring the United States, with a series of performances sponsored by sanctioned Russian banks, Sberbank and VTB. Perhaps the financial incentives take precedence over the perceived artistic value of such productions. Scruffy Gergiev, who doesn’t seem to own a comb and rarely uses a razor, seems to be just as sloppy in his interpretation of timele...

This week’s abhorrent terror attacks in France outraged people around the world, prompting them to rally in defiance against those behind this attack on free speech. Twitter was ablaze with more than 5 million Tweets bearing #JeSuisCharlie hashtag, with some glaring exceptions. Chief among them is Russia, where the hashtag clearly didn’t catch on. The issue, however, goes much deeper. Russian politicians, religious organizations and public figures largely blamed the victims of the attack for having brought these acts upon themselves. Today, Russian police detained activists for holding up signs that said “Je Suis Charlie,” clearly demonstrating the official position against Charlie Hebdo. The controversial newspaper published irreverent cartoons poking fun at Russia’s lies and hypocrisy with respect to its unlawful annexation of Crimea and covert activities in Ukraine. Continue reading:  http://www.juliadavisnews.com/articles-about-russia/russia-takes-the-wrong-side-in-th...

As of December 26, 2014, Ukraine cut off electricity to Russian-annexed Crimea. Ukraine also discontinued train and bus service to the beleaguered peninsula. Ukrainian security services issued a statement, stating that travel to Crimea is being halted to protect passengers, citing threats of “armed groups, extremist parties and the military aggression of the Russian Federation.” Crimea’s only mainland link is with Ukraine, which maintained its control over the recently-annexed peninsula for over 60 years. Crimea is dependent on Ukraine for most of its supplies, including food, electricity and water. Ukraine’s decision to halt train and bus service to Crimea comes shortly after Russia decided to halt its train services to Ukraine on Dec. 14, 2014. Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/article/black-friday-annexed-crimea

On November 2, 2014, residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Eastern Ukraine held illegitimate elections , under the watchful eye of Russia-funded militants. The proceedings had all the earmarks of the Putin chapiteau that led up to the annexation of Crimea. Diehard fans of the USSR lined up to receive free cabbage and other cheap vegetables on their way to the polls. Free cabbage got the participants so worked up, they managed to produce 100.1% of votes for the candidates. Afterwards, they gathered to celebrate pseudo-elections in classic Soviet fashion, with music, free food and burly gunmen. Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/list/cabbage-republic-of-donbass-crimea-part-deux

NATO detected and monitored four groups of Russian military aircraft, conducting significant military maneuvers in European airspace on October 28 and 29, 2014. These sizable Russian flights took place over the Baltic Sea, North Sea/Atlantic Ocean and Black Sea. These activities represent an unusual level of air activity over European airspace. Fighter aircraft from Norway, Britain, Portugal, Germany and Turkey were scrambled in response. Tensions between Russia and NATO countries have soared over the Ukraine crisis. Russia initially denied that its military played a part in the unlawful annexation of Crimea. Putin later admitted that the Russian military did indeed participate in the incursion. Similar denials are now being uttered with respect to Russia’s Hamas-like activities in Ukraine, while the deaths of Russian soldiers are being willfully concealed . As the West continues to press on with sanctions against Russia, the wounded bear is attempting to assert its might with milita...

According to the exit poll data and the first results unveiled by Ukraine’s Central Electoral Commission , as of October 27, 2014, the Communist party has been expelled from the Ukrainian Parliament. The outcome of the elections is in line with the democratic values, for which Ukrainians fought and died during the popular revolution on the Maidan . The nation’s heroes did not die in vain. Ukrainians have voted for a Parliament that significantly limits President Poroshenko’s block in its influence and includes previously underrepresented groups into the Verkhovna Rada. Pro-European parties are likely to take up to two-thirds of seats in Parliament. Poroshenko’s Bloc, People’s Front and Self-Help are newly-established pro-reformist parties, headed by young leaders (Klytchko, Yatseniuk and Sadovy respectively). They include civil-society activists, military men and volunteers. These are the people brought into the fold of Ukrainian politics by the Maidan and the conflict stirred up b...

Russia’s aggressive information war, waged through its vast propaganda machine, continues to produce disinformation to justify its involvement in Ukraine. Deliberately false information and deceptive imagery is being disseminated in every available venue: from leading politicians and Russia’s infamous mainstream media, down to bloggers, useful idiots and hordes of paid trolls, who plague comment sections of articles about Ukraine , spreading vitriol, hatred and blatant lies. Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/list/russia-s-top-60-lies-about-ukraine?cid=db_articles

Russia’s aggressive propaganda machine keeps churning out falsehoods, provocations and outright lies about the situation in Ukraine. In spite of being repeatedly exposed, it shows no signs of slowing down. Disinformation is being laid on thick and poured out in a variety of forums: streaming down from the Kremlin, to Russia’s mainstream media, on to bloggers, down to useful idiots and hordes of paid trolls, who plague comment sections of articles about Ukraine and spread vitriol, hatred and blatant lies all over the social media . In addition to Russia’s top 20 lies about Ukraine , here is a collection of the next 20 fabrications and intentional misrepresentations: Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/list/russia-s-top-40-lies-about-ukraine

In the recent years, the West has been largely oblivious to Russia’s propaganda machine, which managed to use its reach to create a league of clueless Putinistas the world over. The Ukrainian popular revolution shone the spotlight on the outright fabrications and despicable lies by Kremlin-controlled media, which strives to create an alternate reality for its audiences. This includes not only Russian mainstream media, but also hordes of paid trolls, who plague comment sections of articles about Ukraine and spread vitriol, hatred and blatant lies all over the social media . Here are top 20 of the most outrageous fabrications about Ukraine , which have been recently debunked: Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/list/russia-s-top-20-lies-about-ukraine