Russia and Ukraine

[Ivan Denisovich]

Some weird shit is happening in russia:

At the same time, a culling of cattle is underway in Siberia. It began in the Novosibirsk Oblast, where veterinary officials simply showed up at farmers’ premises and began euthanizing the cattle, which were then burned. They cited a disease, though no one mentioned its name.

According to the farmers, their cows were healthy and showed no signs of illness, so protests began. Veterinary officials started arriving under police escort. The practice spread to neighboring regions, but no one was providing an explanation of what was going on. In Novosibirsk, local authorities mentioned pasteurellosis, but epidemiologists were scratching their heads because this bacterial infection can be effectively treated with antibiotics, and such a large-scale response is unnecessary in this case.

Videos have appeared online showing people trying to find out anything about the situation at local government offices. They ask what kind of disease is being fought so radically, and in response they hear only that it is “very dangerous.” At the same time, no one mentions anything about compensation or any other safety measures, such as removing beef from the market.

One of the first theories to emerge is that the food market is being divided up, and large agricultural conglomerates, such as Miratorg (which is allegedly linked to Dmitry Medvedev and his family), want to squeeze out individual farmers. Calls have therefore emerged to boycott Miratorg’s products, but logically it’s hard to see the connection here, since the company operates in central Russia, several thousand kilometers away from the farms that are currently being destroyed.

So theories of a larger scale are emerging: what if a dangerous strain of bacteria, a “lab virus,” escaped from a laboratory? It just so happens that Vektor, the Russian State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology, is headquartered near Novosibirsk, and there is a widespread belief that it has been working on biological weapons since its founding in the 1970s.

[...]

As if that weren’t enough, one of Putin’s most ardent defenders, Ilya Remeslo, came out with scathing criticism of the war, Putin, and the entire Russian power structure. The day after this inexplicable outburst, he found himself in a psychiatric hospital. Russians have never come to terms with Stalinist terror or the subsequent Soviet repressions. But even in a place where selective amnesia reigns, all these events—the war, censorship, the forcible confiscation of livestock, and so-called punitive psychiatry—are causing unease.

So if they shut down the internet in Moscow without any explanation, if they’re openly blocking Telegram, if they’re killing cows for no reason, if Putin’s supporters are calling Putin a war criminal, what lies ahead for us? This question isn’t just on Buzova’s mind; more and more Russians are asking it of themselves. Will they cut off the power? Will food disappear? What’s going on here? What will happen?*

Part about cows is strange but I suppose even russia might act somewhat rational and not killing it for funsies. putler being criticized by his allegedly most loyal though? Now that's interesting and putting dude in psychiatric hospital is a cherry on the top and continuation of "best" Brezhnev tradition.

*Link to original article in Polish: https://krytykapolityczna.pl/swiat/rosja...tu-teorie/