Putin condemns Nazi-Soviet pact

"It is possible to condemn - and with good reason - the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact concluded in August 1939," wrote Mr Putin, referring to the two foreign ministers who signed the pact at the Kremlin.

It was clear today, he said, that any form of agreement with the Nazi regime was "unacceptable from the moral point of view and had no chance of being realised".

Click here to view complete story.

Source: BBC

The war? Nothing to do with Stalin, says Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev

Historians are unimpressed. "This is a very stupid argument," Vladimir Ryzhkov, a historian and former Russian opposition MP said. "You are saying that Poland was bad for allowing the division of Czechoslovakia, but that Stalin was good when he agreed to divide eastern Europe with Hitler."

He added: "The Kremlin wants to create a new identity for the Russian nation. It advocates the Stalin regime, and promotes the idea that Stalin's actions were right and necessary at all times, including when Stalin signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact."

According to Ryzhkov, Russia's contemporary leadership is seeking to rehabilitate Stalin in order to justify its own "authoritarian" model.

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Source: The Gaurdian

Democratic Ukraine, autocratic Russia: Why?

Developments in the former Soviet Union in recent years were fascinating for the specialist and might have puzzled the layman: Why have Europe’s two largest countries developed in such different ways? Russia has returned to authoritarianism while Ukraine seems to be maturing towards a real democracy. How did this happen – in spite of these nations’ similar Eastern Slavic Orthodox cultures and intertwined histories?
Click here to read full article by Andreas Umland and Ingmar Bredies, in special to Kyiv Post.

Source: Kyiv Post

Medvedev says better ties with Kyiv unlikely in future

SO looks like they (Medvedev / Putin and all those mixed up wanna be leaders) are not even willing to give it a try. Like they say, you will never know until you try it. Too bad for those sick dogs............ See what Russian propaganda is telling their people below.

"I cannot see any prospects for restoring normal relations with [Ukraine's] incumbent authorities... I will be happy [if the situation changes]," Medvedev said commenting on his decision to delay sending a new Russian ambassador to Kiev.

Presidential polls in Ukraine are slated for January 17. The popularity of Ukraine's incumbent leader, Viktor Yushchenko, is currently in single digits.

"I hope that a new Ukrainian leadership will have significantly more opportunities to improve relations. Russia wants this, and it is a top priority for our foreign policy," Medvedev said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko earlier on Friday said, commenting on relations with Moscow, "I have always built and will build relations with Russia as an equal, taking into account national interests, mutual advantage, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity."

However, she warned that "Ukraine will choose its foreign and domestic policy itself."

Source: Ria Novosti

Yushchenko says Russia's charges "unfriendly"

KYIV, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday rejected accusations of anti-Russian policies made by Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev in an open letter on Tuesday.

Medvedev's comments, in which he also said he wanted to see a leader in Ukraine who was easier to deal with, marked a new downturn in relations between the countries and was seen as an attempt to influence Ukraine's presidential election.

"I will be frank, I am very disappointed with its unfriendly character," Yushchenko said of Medvedev's letter.

"I cannot disagree that there are serious problems in relations between our countries, but it is surprising that the Russian president completely shrugs off Russia's responsibility for this," Yushchenko said in a statement.

Yushchenko, propelled to power by the 2004 pro-Western "Orange Revolution" has irritated Moscow with his bid for Ukraine's NATO membership and insistence that Russia vacates the Black Sea Fleet based in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

His aide said on Wednesday Russia was stuck in its imperial past and seemed to relish bullying and insulting its neighbours.

Source: Reuteurs

Dima, please. If you want to get our attention, you at least have to take your shirt off.

Here is a little slapstick humor, something the people in charge back in the old USSR lack. Check this out ....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2EbIX_Gemo

Also check out the topless hunk putinflabo
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/08/05/vladimir_putins_muscly_vacation

These comment issued by gutless Medvedev is exactly why when it gets cold outside in Ukraine in Januaury, Russia decides to close that taps on gaz going to them as well as to the neigbouring EU countries, this really shows Russia's warmth and respect.

"The way our Russian president, our country are treating the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian state, has been exceptionally respectful, warm and fraternal," he said.

I wouldn't call this being very fraternal, but outright intimidation and return to their old aims of being a totalitarian state. Booohooohooo!!!!
And the war of words continue… What will the Kremlim come up with next?

Ukrainian official accuses Russia of 'imperialist complex'

What can you expect from a government (Russian) that wants to go back in time? Instead of building strong relations with its neighbors, they go on rampages of accusing Ukraine of rewriting its true history, creating problems for the Black Sea Fleet, and concerns of delivery of our Russian gas.
A top Ukrainian official on Wednesday accused Russia of continuing to push imperialist ambitions, in a furious response to an attack the previous day by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, AFP reported.
"Sadly, the young Russian leadership is hostage to an old imperialist complex," Vira Ulyanchenko, chief of the presidential administration who also holds a top post in President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Party, said.
"That makes it cherish the notion of a foreign enemy and replace a dialogue of equals with the language of insults and threats," Ulyanchenko said in a statement posted on the party's website.