My translation of the 7th #FSBletters from #WindofChange inside the FSB to Vladimir Osechkin. Written March 14th EU time(~2 days ago). Covers #WindofChange’s assessment of the Operation “Gordian Knot” that is being cooked up by the Kremlin. The text is barely 1100 words.
Vladimir Osechkin is a Russian human-rights activist exiled in France since 2015. His years-long fight against systemic torture in Russian prisons sanctioned & overseen by the Russian government began when he was still in Russia and continues to this day.
There are some in the Russian intelligence services, such as the FSB, that sympathize with his crusade to expose & end the horrible tortures in Russian prisons. The 1st #FSBletters I translated is only the 1st since the invasion of Ukraine. There are more that preceded it.
My comments for clarification of context, tone, and also nuance that can be missed from translating from RU to EN are in parenthesis (). Author’s original parenthesis are in brackets []. So, let's roll:
“Vladimir, good [REDACTED]!
I now have an opportunity (time) to briefly explain the previous letter (6th #FSBletters)
The Iranians made some noise, but it turned out to be IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard) saber-rattling: they were aiming at Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) facilities, apparently based on intel that Mossad fed them (IRGC didn’t know the info was coming from Mossad), but Mossad set them up them up to hit US facilities instead. (MY COMMENT: Before people start freaking out – 1) Mossad likely fed bad coordinates to IRGC so there’s minimal damage & 2) Mossad warned the US of the attack before it happened. No, Mossad did not betray/setup US. It would’ve been done in coordination between Israel/US.)
Turns out, everything worked out, and our guys canceled the champagne: all prerequisites are satisfied for concluding a nuclear deal (by the US) with Iran, after which Iranian oil will start flowing (to the West), replacing Russian oil.
About the “Gordian Knot”
While sometimes share my own assessment as I see the situation, here (in the prior #6 #FSBletters) I conveyed our (Russian government – Kremlin & FSB bosses) vision and plans in the current situation. Such plans also have one more important goal, beside the implementation, which can turn out like the “Ukrainian Blitzkrieg”: internal psychological reassurance in the form of the semblance of a solution. A sort of self-motivation or even self-sustainment.
Moreover, I can’t criticize the plan too strongly either: at least it has more [technically speaking] objective factors than in previous bravura marches. (He is describing the previous delusional plans as if they are military parade marches – everyone just starts marching without thinking)
Europe, and most importantly France will start pressuring Zelensky (President of Ukraine) to get him to capitulate: Their elections are just around the corner, they think in terms of rather simple mercantile categories, and by and large, assess the situation as impressively (sarcasm) as in the 30s of the last century, when an ordinary Austrian artist actively involved himself in geopolitics.
The attack of the Yavoriv facility by Lvov is just part of this general plan: The attack was not on an ordinary Ukrainian military facility, but on a facility of international importance, where there could very well have been active NATO advisors.
The attack was intentionally carried out so that the trajectory of the missile flight went through European (NATO) air. And the West’s reaction is playing right into Russian plans: West is convinced that it can completely strangle Russia without ever unsheathing its sword.
My personal conclusion – a large-scale international conflict is unfolding at a rapid pace. (Domestically) Russia has aggressively mobilized the power resources (riot police, etc.) and in classical terms we have entered the stage of fascisization. (Russia is now a fascist country structurally) If the West is hoping that we (Russia as a country) we will self-immolate in this mode, then we (Russia as a whole) have blossoming panic-calls for large-scale external aggression. The inevitability of the collapse of the nation (Russia) with the systematic execution of the West’s strategy (in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) is obvious to many of us (author probably means FSB analysts, or maybe Russian people in general). Therefore, many such people that were placing blame squarely on Putin for his adventurism, albeit without vocalizing it, now consider the option of external aggression as the only one left to survive: “What else can we do?” (The nuance in Russian is critical to convey - he does not place himself into the category people who think this way)
The attempt to force a rat into the corner to methodically crush it may not turn out to have such a methodical result.
This of course is only my view, a subjective view, but that we have moved from the stage of denying reality to working on addressing the question of resistance is fact.
Yes, we no longer have an economy, nor do we have a capable army, but the psychological readiness of the West for war is also assessed as even lower.
That Kiev would last 3 whole days was barely believed by anyone here on the first day (of the invasion). That Ukraine would hold for 10 days – they didn’t believe it in the Pentagon, nor in our Defense Ministry, nor anywhere else.
A new reality has arrived. There are no hopes for a “Victory in Ukraine” – even the taking of Kiev would yield nothing, and even the taking of the entire Ukraine would not lead to victory.
And the prospect of such a “capture” (of Kiyv or of Ukraine) do not appear very realistic. To put it mildly.
And Russia has turned into a different nation: The war has affected everyone psychologically.