Red Terror File: Russia’s “ex”-communist dictator vows “total annihilation” of terrorists behind Volgograd blasts, suicide bombers targeted bus, railway station, killed 34, injured 100; attacks occurred as Kremlin ramps up for Sochi Olympics, FSB promises “near-total” surveillance of athletes, spectators; KGB likely orchestrated 1999 apartment bombings, 2002 Moscow theatre hostage taking, 2004 N. Ossetia school massacre

If they’re in the airport, we’ll kill them there. And excuse me, but if we find them in the toilet, we’ll exterminate them in their outhouses.
— Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, September 1999

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Flashbacks:

Ten Years On, Troubling Questions Linger Over Russian Apartment Bombings (2009 article)

Moscow Theatre Siege: Questions Remain Unanswered 10 Years Later (2012 article)

Beslan’s Unanswered Questions (2006 article)

USSR2 File: Putin’s Christmas gifts to West ahead of Sochi Olympics: Russia releases Khodorkovsky after 10-year jail term, oil tycoon seeks asylum in Germany; Kremlin frees 28 Greenpeace activists arrested at Arctic Ocean oil rig protest; Obama to shun international event over Russia’s policies on Syria, Snowden, homosexuality; Moscow repays Soviet-era debt to Prague, Czech president to gladly attend Olympics

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Historical Flashback: USA Penalizes Soviet Union over Afghanistan Invasion, Leads Boycott against 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow (source)

USSR2 File: No new management in Moscow: “Ex”-KGB/communist dictator Putin refuses to name successor at annual press conference, presents Communist Party boss as Russia’s second-most important politician, agrees with Zyuganov on social issues, foreign policy; neo-fascist Zhirinovsky “provocative,” but possesses “sound proposals”

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Final Phase Backgrounder: Communism alive and well 22 years after collapse of Soviet Union: Portuguese reds welcome comrades from around the world at Lisbon conclave, plot demise of capitalism, freedom; Ecuador’s socialist president attends international communist youth congress in Quito; former Soviet front org, UN NGO World Federation of Democratic Youth still based in Budapest

Merry Christmas to all you commies.

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Latin America File: Venezuela’s ruling Socialists survive local elections, embattled President Maduro scurries to Havana for pep talk with mentor R. Castro; Bachelet returns to Chile’s presidency after 4-year hiatus, Communists in ruling coalition first time since 1973 coup, young Michelle sent to GDR after Allende ouster; Brazil’s ex-urban guerrilla president bolsters governing partner, Rousseff addresses Communist Party congress

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There’s a nice shot of Brazilian president under Lenin pic at following link. No commentary needed.

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Historical Flashback: Chilean Military Ousts Communist-Backed Popular Unity Government in 1973 (source)

Mexican Narco-State File: Past/current ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, PAN allies reverse socialist legacy of President Cárdenas (1934-1940), end 75-year state monopoly in O&G sector, open industry to private firms; Mexican leftists barricade Chamber of Deputies prior to vote, denounce bill as “treason,” sell-out to US companies; army occupies Pacific port, ousts Knights Templar drug cartel

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Historical Flashback: Mexico’s Incomplete Socialist Revolution: 1934 Constitution Promotes “Socialist Education,” Article Later Removed (source)

USSR2 File: “Ex”-KGB/communist dictator Putin further consolidates control over Russian media, liquidates semi-independent RIA Novosti, Voice of Russia, rolls operations into new Russia Today agency; Rossiya Segodnya to be headed up by Putin loyalist Kiselyov, distinct from state-run, English-language RT; Gazprom-Media buys out Profmedia from billionaire Potanin

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USSR2 File: European foreign policy chief Ashton in Kiev, meets embattled Ukrainian president, Yanukovich open to association with both EU and Russia; heavily armed SBU/KDB officers raid party office of jailed ex-PM Tymoshenko, climb through windows, confiscate computers; Ukraine communists demand prosecution of protesters who demolished Lenin statue

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USSR2 File: 500,000 Ukrainians ramp up anti-regime protests, topple Lenin statue, denounce communist legacy, Interior Ministry crackdown, president’s alignment of Kiev with Moscow; Yanukovich swings by Sochi after PRC trip, meets Putin, denies secret deal to rope Ukraine into Russia-led Customs Union in exchange for aid, natural gas discount; Beijing offers US$8 billion package for Kiev, Nicaragua Canal’s HK developer to refurbish Crimea port for US$3 billion

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Blast from the Past File: World mourns passing of South Africa’s first post-apartheid president, Mandela dead at 95 years; Nelson admitted sabotage in 1962-64 Rivonia trial, denied insurgency, Communist Party membership; South African Communist Party settles decades-old controversy in statement: Mandela member of SACP Central Committee at time of arrest

At his arrest in August 1962, Nelson Mandela was not only a member of the then underground South African Communist Party, but was also a member of our Party’s Central Committee. To us as South African communists, Cde Mandela shall forever symbolise the monumental contribution of the SACP in our liberation struggle. The contribution of communists in the struggle to achieve the South African freedom has very few parallels in the history of our country. After his release from prison in 1990, Cde Madiba [Mandela’s nickname] became a great and close friend of the communists till his last days.

— Statement issued by South African Communist Party, December 6, 2013

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Latin America File: Twice-defeated presidential candidate Obrador leads massive rally in Mexico City, leftists pull out of congressional group for reform, protest President Nieto’s plan to privatize energy sector (i.e., Pemex); Mexicans in Russia to promote bilateral relations; Honduras’ Cuban-backed LIBRE party continues demos, accuses president-elect’s ruling party of murdering activist, coffin paraded in Tegucigalpa

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