Catherine Fitzpatrick

Nothing seems to say "coup" like helicopters, but that may be nothing as they have helicopters and the leaders ride around in them. The question is whether there are more sightings like this around the new Defense Ministry comms center to see if there is heightened activity.

Chad Nagle

Here's a fairly convincing analysis – from a Ukrainian, apparently:

http://newhetmanate.net/2015/03/14/analysis-is-a-palace-coup-under-way-in-moscow/

Catherine Fitzpatrick

I'm puzzled b/c I saw this exact same blog post from someone else and translated and posted it yesterday: http://www.interpretermag.com/russia-update-march-14-2015/#7468 Now, people steal from others on LiveJournal all the time b/c they encourage reposting but usually there's a link. Maybe the Ukrainian was the first but maybe it was the Russian blogger, don't have time to research now. Again, you don't need helicopters to stage a coup.

Chad Nagle

I don't understand what you mean. The post was written by Pavlo Praviy, and his name is there in the LiveJournal post after the bit of poetry at the end. The LiveJournal post took from Nova Ukraina post without crediting it, evidently, because the LiveJournal post is dated the 14th. It was published in Nova Ukraina on the 13th. I translated it and posted it yesterday, with links to both the Nova Ukraina where it appeared and the home page of that web journal. I also kept the link that appeared within the piece, so I'm not sure what you mean by "usually there's a link," unless you mean that LiveJournal didn't bother to link to Nova Ukraina. My translation is full of links.

You don't need helicopters to stage a coup, no. But when a lot of helicopters appear over the Kremlin, it usually means something is up. It seems likely now that the Supreme Leader is receiving treatment for a bad back, so the cloak and dagger stuff looks like a false alarm.

Catherine Fitzpatrick

Once again, I''ll explain what I already said because somehow you're not hearing it because you evidently aren't going to the link I posted above to read what it says: ANOTHER blogger named KatrinSha on Twitter and v_nz_b on LiveJournal published the EXACT same text on March 13 too, on LiveJournal, too and I translated their text on Saturday the 14th. That's just it. Two people have appeared on LiveJournal with the same exact text on the same day. Reposting on LiveJournal is very common. But usually when there are re-posts people post with a LINK to the REAL author. In the case of v_nz_b, there is NO LINK. That's why it seemed as if it is her original work. Since she also has a post about rumors of the death of Gen. Zolotov, it seemed that it was her work. Now you come forward with this other guy. Since he uses his real name and she has a pseudonym, I'm inclined to believe he's the real author and she has copied him. But I don't know that until I spend time seeing if in fact he was first, because looking in Google,I see tons of people copying this text, in fact. It takes time and work to figure this out and I don't have it now. At this point I can only put in an update to my post yesterday and say that it appears this is the work of another author.

There aren't "a lot" of helicopters. Helicopters do fly in Moscow as a matter of course. Medvedev started riding in one some years ago. There is one video of one helicopter. I received a report of three helicopters but it was hearsay without pictures or videos. I haven't seen any reports of "lots" of helicopters but if you have, that's fine, it still doesn't get us anywhere.

I don't know why you seem inclined to believe the story in an Austrian paper about a doctor treating Putin. This isn't any more verified than a single other story we've had about anything, including his girlfriend having a baby.

There aren't any false alarms here. There is definitely something going on, but it will likely take some time to figure out unless Putin doesn't show up again tomorrow after being promised, Alimbekov arrived in St. Petersburg but now we have not to see if VVP gets there.

Chad Nagle

The hyperlink attached to the words "The first post" in your Interpreter link takes you to a LiveJournal article in Russian. That article is written by Pavlo Praviy, the same guy who wrote the piece in Nova Ukraina, and it says so at the bottom, in Russian. I still don't get what you mean. I don't see another LiveJournal blog post with this text. Sorry.

Anyway, good luck.

Chad Nagle

Furthermore, at the bottom of the LiveJournal piece, the name of the author is hyperlinked to his blog: http://v-n-zb.livejournal.com/8084262.html

Admittedly it's rather small. Maybe you didn't notice it.

Catherine Fitzpatrick

Once again — I don't know why this is so hard for you to see — the blog that I linked to (duh) doesn't say AT THE TOP (which is where most blogs even on LJ) put the CREDITS DUE – it just posts it. And given that what I FIRST read from that author was ANOTHER post that really does seem to be her work, I just figured this one was, too. I had to go back and take a close look again to see AT THE BOTTOM, yes, there is a link to someone else. But it just didn't stand out, and no, I didn't see it.

There are two posts I used in my blog — which I think you still haven't looked at so you are not getting this — one on Zolotov, one about Primakov. The first is from the other blogger v_t_nb; the second is in fact from Praviy.

So — this being the Internet and it be eminently easy to do — I just made all the corrections and re-posted it to Twitter.

Again, you might want to read my blog post which not only translates some of it but explicates it. For example, the claim that letting doctors see Savchenko is very mixed — they didn't get in the first day and nearly left — it wasn't until the second day they got in, etc.

Chad Nagle

I'll thank you not to "duh" me. This isn't grade school, and no, you did not say there was no link at the top of the LiveJournal piece. You said there was NO LINK. Now you're trying to deflect attention from that by painting others as stupid. You can bloody well mind your manners unless someone attacks you. I haven't done anything of the kind.

Catherine Fitzpatrick

@Chad Nagle aren't you a nasty piece of work! This has been pure heckling and I can't figure out what's driving it. That I don't believe in your "helicopters" story? That I happened to translate the same piece as you did?@ But I did this independently on Saturday, and I didn't even see yours until you raised it. Your continued harassment of this is completely out of place. When I said there is NO LINK it's because NO LINK was visible — and "duh" again. If you think there is no link when someone posts a blog — you say there's "no link". You're pretending that if you didn't see a link, then you should "just know" it's there. AND you're pretending this is a very visible link, and that's it's okay to re-post pieces that way. Well, it's not. I never quote anybody's blog that way, and in fact, most LiveJournal blogs actually do let you know they are re-posting or excerpting. If it's in tiny print at the bottom of a long piece that has no reference at the top to being someone else's, then that is indeed like NO LINK if you can't see it.

The main thing is to give Pavlo Praviy credit since he had these insights — and I've done that. Meanwhile, I'm blocking you, I don't need aggressive hecklers online.