Azerbaijan
Thursday 25 April 2019
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![Sputnik's press service]()
Sputnik's press service
Russian state-funded news agency
"The decision is clearly political in its nature and, as a matter of fact, is practically censorship — seven [Facebook] pages belonging to our news hubs in neighboring countries have been blocked.”
Read more...Sputnik cried “censorship” after Facebook removed 364 Facebook pages and accounts for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” But while Sputnik charged the pages were removed for their politically-motivated content, Facebook says it was a matter of “misrepresentations of their identities.” -
![Sergei Nosov]()
Sergei Nosov
Governor of Russia's Magadan region
“I note that we’ve never, even in the days of tsarist Russia, killed people for dissent. This, by the way, is the great strength of our people.”
Read more...Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union have persecuted dissidents, sometimes using capital punishment. Modern Russia has abolished the death penalty, although a number of dissidents and journalists have been murdered, their cases remaining unsolved. -
![Talal Naji]()
Talal Naji
Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
“We love and are proud of President Vladimir Putin, because he is a friend of Palestine and not only Palestine, but all the people who are seeking freedom. President Putin succeeded in restoring Russia’s authority in the international arena and forced all to respect Russia.”
Read more...Independent polls show trust and respect for Russia and its president has significantly decreased globally. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has suppressed insurgencies in Chechnya and in Syria. Moscow has lost its membership or voting privileges in multiple international organizations. -
![Interfax]()
Interfax
Russian news agency
“The U.S. president’s National Security Adviser John Bolton stated on Wednesday at a press conference in Baku that the United States currently has no plans to impose additional sanctions against Russia.”
Read more...Despite what Russian media reported, John Bolton said the U.S. is still considering what it may be obliged to do in terms of additional sanctions under a statute related to chemical weapons attacks. -
![Semyon Slepakov]()
Semyon Slepakov
Russian TV Comedy host and singer
“Russia is ready to host the World Cup. The stadiums are open. The cops are polyglots. That is a quick recap of many years of work.We're not going to lose face in front of the planet. It’s not for nothing we terrified [the planet] with a missile. In general, all is well. But there is only one “but”: Our team, frankly, is sh-t.”
Read more...The International Federation of Football Association, the world soccer authority better known as FIFA, ranked Russia’s national team #70 and labeled it a “worst mover.” -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President, Russia
“That is an unprecedented thing. They are attempting to bring high treason charges against a person for what he did publicly and for performing his professional duties. I haven’t seen anything like this in a long time.”
Read more...Many nations, including Russia, have charged journalists with high treason. Despite Putin’s claim that he has not seen anything like this in a long time, he actually has – the case against Russian journalist Grigory Pasko, who was imprisoned on high treason charges -
![Leonid Ivashov]()
Leonid Ivashov
a former top Russian defense ministry official
“It indicates that they, the Americans in the first place, are preparing to start a war in Europe, and you can wage a war in Europe against Russia only.”
Read more...NATO’s recent deployments in Eastern Europe are minuscule compared to Russia’s capabilities on its western flank and would be insufficient for a successful attack on -- or a war with -- Russia. Rather, the U.S. and NATO are enhancing the deterrence posture and collective defense of NATO members. -
![Bryan MacDonald]()
Bryan MacDonald
Russia-based journalist
“[A] U.S. State Department claim that Russia’s military strength eclipses that of European Union states is especially ludicrous... [I]t [Russia] is not stronger than the European Union, by any measure, and the State Department’s [Brian] Hook [senior policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State] is spreading clear disinformation. All to serve an agenda that has nothing to do with Europe’s security.”
Read more...The EU does not have a military, and the U.S. and NATO have some military disadvantages in Europe, while Russia’s rapid military modernization and actions in Georgia, Crimea, and eastern Ukraine make it a conventional military threat to the region. -
![Yuri Podoliaka]()
Yuri Podoliaka
Contributor to Voyennoye Obozreniye
“Today, Washington is losing allies even faster than the USSR did during its period of decline. Old and experienced [U.S.] partners are turning in the direction of Russia and China, and many are simply waiting for the right moment to escape the sinking ship of American ‘democracy’."
Read more...The U.S. continues to retain and support its allies while enjoying their backing and cultivating new partners, including those that have or are turning away from Russia. -
![Stanislav Govorukhin]()
Stanislav Govorukhin
Russian lawmaker and film director
"[Russia has] the only constitution in the word stating that any kind of censorship is forbidden."
Read more...This is not even close to true, and Govorukhin need look no further than other nations of the former Soviet Union for constitutions expression banning censorship. The OSCE noted in 2010 that only Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia were the only former Soviet republics not to have censorship bans.
