#Mikhail Bogdanov

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

Ahmad Khalifa is a journalist for Al-Jazeera Arabic

[olivia2010kroth]

Jeune Afrique: Egypte - Russie / Young Africa: Egypt - Russia

Jeune Afrique: Egypte – Russie / Young Africa: Egypt – Russia Jeune Afrique: L’Égypte et la Russie réaffirment leur proximité – Young Africa: Egypt and Russia reaffirm their closeness Le représentant spécial au Moyen-Orient de Vladimir Poutine a échangé avec le président égyptien Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. Moscou et Le Caire désirent encore renforcer leurs relations. Vladimir Putin’s special…

[good-old-gossip]

Israel has killed 60 family members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before assassinating him in Tehran on July 31.

Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, has accused Israel of targeting the Palestinian negotiating team for a ceasefire, raising concerns about the viability of peace talks.

“The approach of political assassinations and intentional escalation against civilians in Gaza at every stage of the negotiation prompts the question: How can negotiations take place in which one party kills its negotiator at the same time?” said Al Thani in a post on X.

“Regional and international peace needs serious partners and an international stance against escalation and disregard for the lives of the peoples of the region,” he added.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry labelled the killing of Haniyeh on Wednesday as a “heinous crime, a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the assassination of Hamas’ political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday, describing it as a “heinous act” aimed at undermining peace efforts in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“It is patently clear that this could only have been carried out in an environment of utter impunity,” he said in a video statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Only the heedless and unconscionable will not see the need to intensify pressure on Israel to stop their murderous rampage,” Ibrahim added. Ibrahim went on to mourn the loss of Haniyeh, who he described as a “friend” and a “valiant advocate” for the Palestinian people.

The Malaysian prime minister joins several state leaders that have condemned the killing of Haniyeh.

Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has released a statement calling the killing a “dangerous event” with “major repercussions across the entire region."

Here is a portion of the statement, as provided by Al Jazeera:

“With the highest expressions of pride and honour, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announce to our struggling Palestinian people, our Arab and Islamic nations, and the free people of the world, the martyrdom of the leader Ismail Abdul Salam Haniyeh, commander of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas. He was martyred following a cowardly Zionist assassination operation targeting his residence in Tehran."

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement, vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

Here is his full statement:

“The brave and prominent Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh passed away at dawn last night, and the great resistance front is in mourning. The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime killed our esteemed guest in our home and has made us mournful, but it has also set the stage for its own severe retribution.

Martyr Haniyeh devoted many years to honourable struggle, ready for martyrdom, and he sacrificed his children and people for this cause. He faced the possibility of martyrdom with courage, and it is now our duty to avenge his blood for this grievous act that occurred on the soil of the Islamic Republic.

I extend my condolences to the Islamic ummah, the resistance front, the brave and proud nation of Palestine, and especially to the family and loved ones of Martyr Haniyeh and his companion who was martyred with him. I pray to God Almighty to elevate their ranks."

The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh as completely unacceptable political murder.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions,” RIA cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.

Last week the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Israel’s war objective to destroy Hamas in Gaza as a precondition for a ceasefire is unachievable.

“In my opinion, and many of my colleagues share this point of view, it is an unrealistic task to eradicate the organisation which exists, which has enough capabilities and enough support, including in the Muslim world,” said Lavrov.

He also expressed support for the Palestinian cause and promised to “continue to help restore the Palestinian unity”

[girlactionfigure]

JUST IN: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov is demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza in telephone calls with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. - JPost 

Jewish Breaking News

[unhonestlymirror]

Oriental Express:

"China told Iran that it is time to rein in the Houthis, and if piracy in the Red Sea harms Chinese interests, then Beijing's relations with Tehran would have to be reconsidered.

This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing Iranian sources aware of these negotiations. At the same time, it is unknown what exactly China threatened Iran with. Several years ago, the countries entered into a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement, so Beijing has leverage over Tehran.

It is interesting that the Chinese warning came against the backdrop of a conflict with Iran over oil. Iranian suppliers suddenly decided to raise oil prices for China, which forced Chinese importers to buy more and more oil from the russian federation. In this case, we are talking about private Chinese refineries that purchase oil from sanctioned countries, primarily Iran and Venezuela, as well as russia. But due to the unexpected “greed” of Iranian suppliers, oil trade between the two countries has practically ceased.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Houthi terrorists visited moscow. The Houthi leaders were greeted by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. They jointly condemned the actions of the United States and Great Britain, which carried out a series of attacks on Houthi targets and called for negotiations to begin to restore national unity in Yemen. According to moscow, the aggressive provocations of the Houthis threaten the stability of the region less than the actions of the Western coalition."

.

Lmao, everyone knows that Iran is being financed by russia, they're like Gaston and LeFou. Basically, whatever russia tells Iran to do, Iran does. Iran gives russia the shaheds that kill Ukrainians, russia gives Iran money to finance the Iranian regime, Hamas, Houthis and other shit.

If Iran "suddenly" raised the prices on oil, it's 99% possibility it was ordered by russia. "Besties" with China, huh? XD

[pwlanier]

Vogman M.S. "Family" 1948. AL23 Canvas on cardboard, oil.

Vogman Mikhail Solomonovich (1896-1964) Painter, graphic artist. He studied at the Kiev Art School (1915-1918) with V.K. Menka; Vkhutemase - Vkhutein in Moscow (1921-1928) at R.R. Falka. In the late 1920s and 1930s, he worked in Central Asia. As part of the creative team (V.N. Rudakov, M.S. Vogman, N.S. Stenshinskaya, I.S. Stenshinsky, G.L. Sretensky, S.A. Bogdanov) undertook several creative business trips to Kazakhstan. He performed landscapes, portraits, thematic paintings. Worked in the technique of linocut. Since 1916, he has been a participant in exhibitions. He taught at the Samarkand Art School (1918-1921, 1943-1944). Creativity is presented in a number of museum collections, among them the State Museum of Arts of Kazakhstan named after A. Kasteeva in Alma-Ata.

Art Molotov

[kneedeepincynade]

The work of true diplomats in the search of peace and political solution for the conflict in palestine is as relentless as the one of the comrades on the battlefield, and we can but wish succes to both of them

The post is machine translated

Translation is at the bottom

The collective is on telegram

🥰 中俄之间的协调 | IL LAVORO DIPLOMATICO CONGIUNTO DI CINA E RUSSIA PER PORRE FINE AL CONFLITTO ISRAELO-PALESTINESE 🕊

🇨🇳 Il 19 ottobre, il Compagno Zhai Jun - Inviato Speciale della Cina per gli Affari del Medio Oriente, ha incontrato, in Qatar, Mikhail Bogdanov - Rappresentante Speciale del Presidente Russo per il Medio Oriente e i Paesi Africani 🇷🇺

💬 I due Diplomatici hanno tenuto un Colloquio sulla Situazione del Conflitto Israelo-Palestinese, constatando che la Posizione dei due Paesi sulla Questione Palestinese è la medesima:

💬 «La ragione principale dell'attuale Situazione del Conflitto è che non sono stati garantiti i legittimi Diritti Nazionali del Popolo Palestinese», ha dichiarato Zhai Jun durante l'Incontro ⭐️

🇨🇳 La Cina è pronta a rafforzare la Comunicazione e il Coordinamento con la Russia per promuovere una Soluzione Politica al Conflitto Israelo-Palestinese, costruita su Negoziati, Colloqui di Pace e l'Istituzione di uno Stato di Palestina, che sia indipendente e sovrano 🇵🇸

🇷🇺 Il Rappresentante Bogdanov ha dichiarato che la Federazione Russa è seriamente preoccupata per l'attuale situazione in Palestina e Israele, e che la Comunità Internazionale dovrebbe collaborare per evitare un'ulteriore escalation della Crisi 🤝

🇷🇺 La Russia, ha sottolineato il Rappresentante, è pronta a collaborare con la Cina per promuovere un "Cessate il Fuoco" e per creare le condizioni per un rapido ritorno sulla retta via della Questione Palestinese 🇵🇸

🔍 Approfondimenti:

🇨🇳 Wang Yi: «Il comportamento di Israele è andato ben oltre l'autodifesa, il Governo Israeliano dovrebbe ascoltare gli appelli della Comunità Internazionale» ⭐️

🇨🇳 Wang Yi: «La Cina sostiene il rafforzamento della Solidarietà e del Coordinamento tra Paesi Islamici sulla Questione della Palestina, affinché parlino con una sola voce» 💕

🕊 La Cina vota a favore della Risoluzione della Russia sul Conflitto tra Israele e Palestina, mentre gli USA votano contro ❌

🤔 Che cos'è la "Two-State Solution", e qual è l'opinione di HAMAS e PLO su di essa? 🤔

🤝 La Cina ha sempre sostenuto, sostiene e sosterrà l'Istituzione di uno Stato di Palestina 🇵🇸

🇨🇳 Zhang Jun: «Fermare la Crisi Umanitaria, promuovere l'Istituzione di uno Stato di Palestina che sia indipendente e sovrano» 🇵🇸

🤔 Cosa significa 和平共处 - Coesistenza Pacifica? 🕊

🌸 Iscriviti 👉 @collettivoshaoshan 😘

🥰 中俄之间的协调 | THE JOINT DIPLOMATIC WORK OF CHINA AND RUSSIA TO END THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT 🕊

🇨🇳 On October 19, Comrade Zhai Jun - Special Envoy of China for Middle East Affairs, met in Qatar with Mikhail Bogdanov - Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African Countries 🇷🇺

💬 The two diplomats held a conversation on the situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, noting that the position of the two countries on the Palestinian issue is the same:

💬 «The main reason for the current conflict situation is that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed», declared Zhai Jun during the meeting ⭐️

🇨🇳 China is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Russia to promote a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, built on negotiations, peace talks and the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine

🇷🇺 Representative Bogdanov stated that the Russian Federation is seriously concerned about the current situation in Palestine and Israel, and that the International Community should work together to avoid further escalation of the Crisis 🤝

🇷🇺 Russia, underlined the Representative, is ready to collaborate with China to promote a "Ceasefire" and to create the conditions for a rapid return to the right path of the Palestinian question 🇵🇸

🔍 Further information:

🇨🇳 Wang Yi: «Israel's behavior went far beyond self-defense, the Israeli Government should listen to the appeals of the International Community» ⭐️

🇨🇳 Wang Yi: «China supports the strengthening of solidarity and coordination between Islamic countries on the issue of Palestine, so that they speak with one voice» 💕

🕊 China votes in favor of Russia's Resolution on the Israel-Palestine Conflict, while the USA votes against ❌

🤔 What is the "Two-State Solution", and what is the opinion of HAMAS and PLO on it? 🤔

🤝 China has always supported, supports and will support the establishment of a State of Palestine 🇵🇸

🇨🇳 Zhang Jun: «Stop the Humanitarian Crisis, promote the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine» 🇵🇸

🤔 What does 和平共处 - Peaceful Coexistence mean? 🕊

🌸 Subscribe 👉 @collectivoshaoshan 😘

[mariacallous]

As Hamas launched its blitz attack against Israel on Oct. 7, some observers were quick to suspect the Moscow-Tehran axis at work.

Russia, so the argument went, was deliberately and directly fueling conflict in the Holy Land to broaden its battlefield with the West. Others drew direct comparisons between Hamas’s vicious onslaught and Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that one was “a terrorist organization that attacked Israel” and the other “a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine.” (Many Palestinians have taken issue with this characterization.)

It is true that Moscow has long maintained close relations with Hamas, an Islamist group that controls Gaza and enjoys Iranian backing. The militant movement won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and took over Gaza during the ensuing Palestinian civil war. Hamas has both political and military wings, and some Western states, such as Australia and New Zealand, have only declared the military wing—the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades—to be a terrorist organization. Others, such as the United States, have not made this distinction.

The Kremlin, for its part, has never declared either wing of Hamas to be a terrorist group. Rather, eager to carve out a niche in the Middle East peace process, Russian diplomats have tried to unify different Palestinian factions, including Hamas, into a single political force in order to restart the peace process and promote a two-state solution.

Hamas delegations have frequented Moscow, meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who holds the Middle Eastern file at the foreign ministry. Russia consulted with Palestinian factions in Doha, Qatar, and Ramallah, in the West Bank, and hosted talks between them at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, which I used to frequent as a visiting scholar. Those talks showed that Hamas is far from a Russian puppet: In one round of negotiations, held in Moscow in February 2019, the group’s leadership refused to sign a final statement brokered by the Russian hosts.

Over the years, some Russian-made weapons—such as anti-tank and shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles— have made their way into Gaza, likely via Iran. But so far, there is no clear evidence that Russia supported Hamas in planning or executing its surprise attack on Israel.

But that does not mean that Russia is a nonentity in this latest Israel-Hamas conflict. Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has dramatically deepened its cooperation with Iran. In return for Iranian combat drones and other military gear, Russia has stepped up its defense support for Tehran, including—as the United States fears—with assistance for its missile and space-launched vehicle programs. There has been a flurry of Iranian-Russian military engagement, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s tour of an arms exhibition in Tehran last month.

Once an eager mediator in the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, Russia has also lost enthusiasm for seeing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action restored. After its invasion of Ukraine, Russia ceased to push for meaningful and timely progress in the nuclear talks, creating a de facto shield for Iran’s near-nuclear status.

In Syria, Russia and Iran have found common cause in harassing U.S. forces stationed in the northeast. Those troops—numbering about 900 at any given time—remain in Syria to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, support U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, and thwart Iranian and Russian ambitions in the country. According to classified documents leaked earlier this year, Russia, Iran, and Syria have established a “coordination center” to direct a concerted effort to drive the U.S. military out.

Russia has taken some steps to compensate for Iran’s empowerment, eagerly supporting normalization between Syria and several Arab states. On balance, however, Russia is enabling rather than constraining Tehran in the region. Even though there is no evidence to support the idea that Iran was intimately involved in planning Hamas’s attack, it has long provided logistical and military support to the militant movement, as well as to other proxy groups in its increasingly decentralized “axis of resistance.”

A new war in the Middle East suits Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow hopes to deflect Western attention and resources away from Ukraine by cultivating global pressure points and distractions.

In walking away from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (which had ensured the wartime export of Ukrainian grain) in July, Russia has caused disruptions to global grain supplies, creating concern around the globe and especially among African states. Moscow is also regularly stoking fears of nuclear escalation over the war in Ukraine, most recently insinuating that it might de-ratify the multilateral Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Lamenting that the United States (among a few other countries, such as China, Iran, and Israel) never ratified the treaty, Russia has signaled its desire to establish parity with Washington.

Renewed instability in the Middle East would likely distract Western states, chiefly the United States, from NATO’s eastern flank and could impose resource constraints on the provision of arms and ammunition to Ukraine. Should Israel-Saudi normalization—which Washington has worked toward tirelessly over recent months—become a casualty of the latest Israel-Hamas war, Moscow would score an additional win. Russia has regarded all regional diplomacy arising from the Abraham Accords as a U.S. project that sidelines Russia.

While Russia could extract benefits from an uptick in violence between Israel and Hamas, there is no evidence that it did play a role in directly instigating Hamas’s actions. Israel has not provided Kyiv with lethal weapons, reluctant to antagonize Russia—and Putin would like to keep it that way. Despite experiencing rough patches over the past year and a half, especially under Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid (who was in office briefly from July to December 2022), Russian-Israeli relations remain rich and robust. The two countries trade, coordinate their air forces’ activities in Syria, and enjoy extensive diaspora ties. Current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Putin have personal chemistry. Directly aiding and abetting Hamas’s vicious attack would threaten to undo all that.

Russia also needs to be careful what it wishes for. While it might temporarily profit from a renewed Western focus on the Middle East and the scuttling of Arab-Israeli normalization, Moscow most likely does not want to see Iran and Israel drift into full-scale war. Broader conflict would surely engulf not just Lebanon but also Syria, where Russian-controlled air and naval bases underpin Moscow’s power projection into the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. With most of its active-duty military and hardware committed to Ukraine, Russia would not have the bandwidth to get involved in a bigger Middle Eastern conflagration.

Most importantly, Russia still values its ties with Israel and the Arab states, notwithstanding its growing alignment with Iran. Since Oct. 7, Moscow has been keen to pose as peace broker while blaming this latest Middle Eastern war on past mistakes made by the West. In an act of diplomatic showmanship, Russian officials have also busily liaised with and hosted Arab counterparts. Russia also presented a draft resolution on the war in the U.N. Security Council earlier this week. Backed by Palestine as well as several Arab and non-Western states, the text—which did not mention Hamas by name—failed to elicit majority support.

Russia has maneuvered itself into a difficult balancing act. It took Putin nearly 10 days to call Netanyahu to express condolences for the Oct. 7 attack. Russia has refrained from referring to the massacre as terrorism, breaking with past precedent, and Russian media coverage of the unfolding war has adopted a clear pro-Palestinian slant. By emphasizing the suffering of Palestinian civilians and distancing itself from Washington’s unequivocal support for Israel, Moscow is tapping into powerful grievances about Palestine across the Middle East and global south. Here, the Kremlin hopes for backing in its broader confrontation with the West.

Yet, for all its catering to pro-Palestinian sentiments, Russia does not want a break with Israel. And for all its professed common cause with Iran in challenging U.S. primacy, Russia does not seek to go all in with Tehran, either. Russian diplomacy under Putin has always tried—and continues to try—to balance between mutually antagonistic players in the Middle East, since this maximizes Russian gains. Navigating small fires, rather than a big regional war, while dealing with all sides is the playbook that suits Moscow best.

But Putin won’t be the one to set the future course of events. The United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean and vowed unequivocal support for Israel. Should the fighting escalate and expand, with Washington coming down hard on Israel’s side, Russia would likely drift yet further into Iran’s orbit given the broader geopolitical backdrop of this new Middle Eastern war.

[byneddiedingo]

War and Peace (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1966)

Cast: Sergey Bondarchuk, Lyudmila Saveleva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Boris Zakhava, Anatoli Ktorov, Antonina Shuranova, Viktor Stanitsyn, Kira Golovko, Oleg Tabakov, Sergei Yermilov, Irina Skobtseva, Vasili Lanovoy, Vladislav Strzhelchik. Screenplay: Sergey Bondarchuk, Vasiliy Solovyov, based on a novel by Leo Tolstoy. Cinematography: Yu-Lan Chen, Anatoliy Petritskiy, Alexsandr Shelenkov. Production design: Mikhail Bogdanov, Aleksandr Dikhtyar, Said Menyalshchikov, Gennady Myasnikov. Film editing: Tatyana Likachyova. Music: Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. No film adaptation of a great novel is going to satisfy admirers of that novel. The best we can hope for is a work that stands on its own, that supplies cinematic equivalents for some of the achievements of the prose work. But War and Peace, with its epic battles and accounts of the social lives and romantic entanglements of 19th-century Russians, cries out for filming on the grand and glamorous scale. And few films have assumed a grander scale than Sergey Bondarchuk's seven-hour-long version of Tolstoy's novel, particularly those moments when the camera soars away from the heat of the battle into what seems like the high heavens, or when it sails above the dancers at Natasha's first ball. But I've read the novel several times, and the best I can say, watching Bondarchuk's film again, is that his version is a magnificent failure. We get great gulps of the source material, sometimes in voiceover narration, and the performers are apt embodiments of the characters I see in my mind's eye as I read the book. But no film can capture the interiority of the novel, the psychological insights that make Prince Andrei, Natasha, and especially Pierre into people we feel like we know. Bondarchuk tries to supply some of this with voiceovers in which the characters speak their inner thoughts, but only succeeds in blurring the focus: The voiceovers are distractions from the drama that should be unfolding through action and dialogue. That said, watching the film over four successive nights is a unique experience. Part I: Andrei Bolkonsky The longest of the four parts of War and Peace, Andrei Bolkonsky is the expository vehicle, introducing the three major characters, though it gives the lion's share of exposition to the two men, Andrei ( Vyacheslav Tikhonov) and Pierre (Sergey Bondarchuk). Natasha (Lyudmila Saveleva), still a little girl, virtually bursts into the film when she flings open a door in a brilliant flash of light, but the narrative concentration is on the youthful indecision of Pierre and on Andrei's unhappy marriage. Why he's so unhappy with the pretty, pregnant Lise (Anastasiya Vertinskaya) is never made clear in the film -- and not much clearer in the book, other than that he's a man who hasn't found a direction in his life. Neither has Pierre, to be sure. He's still spending his time with boisterous companions. Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Bondarchuk are too old to be playing these characters -- Tikhonov was in his late 30s and Bondarchuk in his mid-40s -- but the war and the death of Andrei's wife allow Tikhonov to assume maturity swiftly, whereas Bondarchuk is stuck playing the naïf, railroaded into marriage with Hélène (Irina Skobtseva) and later into a foolish duel with Dolokhov (Oleg Efremov). Part II: Natasha Rostova Lyudmila Saveleva is an exquisite Natasha, but I think Bondarchuk does the character a disservice by not allowing her more time to fall into the clutches of Kuragin (Vasili Lanovoy). Tolstoy's novel delineates the gradual stages of Kuragin's seduction and Natasha's yielding to him. It also makes more clear that Kuragin really does fall in love with her -- as who wouldn't? The ball is the spectacular set piece of the installment, and the camera dances along with the people. Andrei's father (Anatoli Ktorov) is the real villain of the story, and I wish we had more of the torture he inflicts on his daughter, Maria (Antonina Shuranova), and on her retreat into religion to bolster the depiction of the old man's cruelty. But as Bondarchuk has chosen to eliminate the very interesting (but not essential) story of Nikolai Rostov's (Oleg Tabakov) throwing over his cousin Sonya (Irina Gubanova) for Maria, there doesn't really need to be much development of the character. Too bad, because Shuranova does a fine job with what's left of Maria in the film -- like Tolstoy's Maria, she really does have beautiful eyes, but unlike her, she could never be considered "ugly." Bondarchuk has also cut, perhaps wisely, Pierre's involvement with the Freemasons, which takes up many of the less interesting pages of Tolstoy's book. Part III: The Year 1812 There are no more spectacular battle scenes than the ones in this film, and probably never will be, even now that we have CGI to supplant the thousands of extras and borrowed Soviet soldiers that Bondarchuk employed for the film. I think the thunder and carnage of war is made more impressive by the presence of Pierre, immaculately garbed, with a white top hat, absurdly stumbling around as the soldiers go about their terrible business. As the narrator puts it, "On June 12, the forces of Western Europe crossed the frontiers of Russia and war began. In other words, an event took place that was contrary to all human reason and human nature." Bondarchuk pulls out all stops in proclaiming the love of Mother Russia that animates the soldiers, but when the icon of the Holy Mother of Smolensk is brought out for mass adoration, I was ironically reminded of the scene in Sergei Eisenstein's The Old and the New (1929) in which a procession of Orthodox clergy comes out to pray for rain and is mocked by cuts to images of bleating sheep. Clearly, much had changed in the treatment of religion in the Soviet Union by the time Bondarchuk made War and Peace. This part does end on a rather heavy-handed patriotic sermon, which I suspect may have been inserted to placate the censors. Part IV: Pierre Bezukhov There is something rushed and jumbled about the concluding part of Bondarchuk's epic, which is forced to wind up the stories of Andrei and Natasha as well as concentrate on the burning of Moscow, the retreat of the French, and Pierre's imprisonment and release. This leaves little time for Tolstoy's epilogue, in which Pierre and Natasha wed and start a family, as do the mostly absent Nikolai and Maria. The coincidence of Pierre's rescue and Petya's (Sergei Yermilov) death feels particularly rushed: I wonder if anyone who hasn't read the book recently will even be able to follow the action. But we are also spared much of the interaction of Pierre and Platon Karataev (Mikhail Khrabrov), one of Tolstoy's founts of peasant wisdom, which even on the page tends toward mawkish sentimentality. There are still some enormously effective scenes. The burning of Moscow puts the burning of Atlanta in Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) to shame -- which may have been Bondarchuk's intent. The execution of prisoners by the French is movingly staged, as is the fate of the retreating French soldiers, summed up on one last spectacular overhead shot as the ragged and freezing French stream toward a huge circle around the fire.

[possibly-god]

Patrick O’Bannon – the Shield

(1975 – 16/2000 – 41)

It was love at first sight for Mary O’Bannon when Mikhail Bogdanov flew in to stop her being mugged. Learning that her big, strong savior was fresh off the boat, she invited him to stay in her Vinegar Hill apartment until he got on his feet.

When Misha found work out west, Mary insisted on making their last night together special. For her, it was a dream come true that gave her her precious boy. For him, it was a final favor to a friend, and a final confirmation that he didn’t like women that way.

Little Patrick always told his mama that they didn’t need his disappeared dad, that he’d protect her now. When the policeman told him about the car crash, it wasn’t just a loss to him – it was a failure.

With no relatives willing to take him in, Patrick spent the next 9 years being shuffled around foster families and group homes. He learned quickly to make himself a target, a punching bag for feral fosters or problem parents, taking the hits so the other kids didn’t have to.

It helps that he’s a giant for his age – he was 6 feet tall by the time he was 12, and his underfed frame is all muscle.

This kid is a born and bred New Yorker – blunt as hell in every language (he’s got the basics down in Spanish, French Creole, and Mandarin), can slip through a crowd like a fish through water, and keeps a ranked list of bodega bacon-egg-n-cheese sandwiches.

Things actually seemed to be looking up for him as ’75 began – he’d been in the same home for almost three months, he had time to focus on his homework (he actually wasn’t terrible at history), he’d joined the wrestling team – and then he got kidnapped while taking out the trash.

That wrestling training did pay off – he managed to get Scout into a submission hold before realizing these RED weirdos were here to rescue them.

It destroys Heavy, finding out he has family he wasn’t there to protect (his already complicated feelings about that time of his life don’t help) – he’s immediately doing everything he can to reach out, which just puts Patrick off even more than he already is.

Arriving on RED base, he becomes a guard dog for the younger kids around all these strange men. It takes him a while to stop reflexively hiding them in closets when an adult shows up, but he does eventually relax, and being less worried about their safety lets him be softer with them.

It takes plenty of time and conversations with Zhanna and Medic, but it eventually gets through to him that Heavy really wants to know him, to care for him.

Heavy and Zhanna take to calling him “Pasha” – he’s not a fan at first (he thinks it sounds girly), but it grows on him as they do.

One person who doesn’t grow on him is Soldier, no matter how much his “uncle” tries.

Once OHM is defeated, as the kids prepare to leave, Heavy makes a few calls. A week later, Patrick has a new foster placement with his babushka Grusha in Brighton Beach (it doesn’t take him long to start picking up Russian).

Heavy and his sisters call frequently and visit whenever they can – Patrick begrudgingly lets them drag him through all the Big Apple tourist spots before showing them the city’s real treasures.

After high school, Patrick joins the fire department while attending community college on the side (Pauling has to talk Pyro out of jump-starting his career with “a few light arsons.”) Every year he sends each of his aunts a copy of the firemen’s calendar (to ogle his coworkers) and a marker (to draw a shirt on him).

Come the new millenium, it takes a fair bit of convincing to get Patrick out of his quiet (ish) life, but he’s not letting his friends take on the world without backup (or missing out on the action) and joins Team Fortress International as the Shield.

Next up – Kevin McCallister if he slayed…

TF2K Master Post

[cyberbenb]

Russia hosts key talks with Yemen's Houthi delegation amid rising tensions in the Middle East

A meeting was held in Moscow between Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian President’s Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa, and a delegation from Yemen’s Houthi movement “Ansar Allah” led by Source : www.uawire.org/russia-ho…

[good-old-gossip]

The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been killed in Iran!!

That’s according to statements from Hamas and Iran’s revolutionary guard. Iran's state TV is also reporting he has been 'assassinated' in Tehran.

According to Iran's revolutionary guard, Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed in a strike on the building in Tehran where they were staying.

The executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Sarah Leah Whitson, took to X in the aftermath of Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran commenting that “the most important takeaway from Israel’s attack on Iran” is that it “desperately wants war with Iran”.

In a follow-up post, Whitson said: “Assassinations like the one reported tonight by Israel against Haniyeh is totally illegal.”

Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, according to an official Hamas statement released on Wednesday morning which reported that he “died as a result of a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran"

The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh as completely unacceptable political murder.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions,” RIA cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.

Last week the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Israel’s war objective to destroy Hamas in Gaza as a precondition for a ceasefire is unachievable.

“In my opinion, and many of my colleagues share this point of view, it is an unrealistic task to eradicate the organisation which exists, which has enough capabilities and enough support, including in the Muslim world,” said Lavrov.

He also expressed support for the Palestinian cause and promised to “continue to help restore the Palestinian unity”

In response to the assassination of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said the attack “is a cowardly act and will not be in vain,” he also added that “Hamas is an institution and an ideology that will not be affected by the assassination of any of its leaders"

The Israeli military has declined to comment on foreign media reports regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, according to the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amichay Eliyahu, praised Haniyeh’s assassination, stating it “makes the world a little better.”

In a post on X, he declared, “This is the right way to clean the world from this filth. No more imaginary “peace”/surrender agreements, no more mercy for these mortals.”

Eliyahu added that the forceful action taken against them would bring peace, provide some comfort, and enhance the ability to “live in peace with those who desire peace”.

[arrahmahcom]

Fatah dan Hamas akan bertemu di Moskow untuk membahas pemerintahan persatuan Palestina

MOSKOW (Arrahmah.id) – Perwakilan Hamas dan Fatah akan bertemu di Moskow pada 29 Februari untuk membahas pembentukan pemerintah persatuan Palestina dan pembangunan kembali Gaza, kantor berita pemerintah Rusia RIA Novosti melaporkan pada Rabu (28/2/2024), mengutip duta besar Palestina untuk Rusia. Wakil Menteri Luar Negeri Rusia Mikhail Bogdanov juga mengonfirmasi kepada RIA Novosti bahwa…

[vikartaa]

Hamas in Moscow: What is Russia's role as Mideast mediator? - Times of India

This week, delegates from various Palestinian factions will travel to Moscow for talks on the Israel-Hamas war and other Middle Eastern topics at an “inter-Palestinian dialogue.”Russia‘s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian state news agency TASS that between 12 and 14 organizations will attend the conference, which begins on February 29 and will run for two or three days. This…