Free Republic

“Down with autocracy” and “Down with war” read the banners of the March 8 (Feb. 17 in the Julian calendar) Women’s Day march in St. Petersberg, Russia that began the 1917 Revolution… Leon Trotsky would later reflect, “The February revolution was begun from below… the initiative being taken by the women textile workers of their own accord, demanding bread for the children.” Besides the desperation of the times, Russia had strong currents of feminism, going back to Catherine the Great who ruled the empire from 1762 to 1796… The Russian Revolution was the first in history to seek women’s emancipation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday afternoon, an article titled, “White House to meet clergy with ties to pro-war Russian Orthodox Church” was published by Laura Kelly of The Hill. This article was written about meetings between Orthodox laypeople, priests, and bishops with members of the Trump administration that are set to take place Tuesday on Capitol Hill. The topic of discussion is the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). In that article, it was reported that Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) had written a draft letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to investigate “whether the Russian Federation...

President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war between Ukraine and Russia would give the Russians parts of eastern Ukraine they don’t occupy, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official. As part of the deal, Ukraine will receive a security guarantee from the U.S. and Europe against future Russian aggression, the official said. While Ukraine would view the deal as a major surrender to Russia, the White House believes Ukraine would likely lose the territory anyway and the country could receive assurances Russia wouldn’t just resume the war, Axios reported. The deal would call for Russia to control the Donbas region,...

When Europe goes to war with Russia, they will not require the military to fill out customs declarations as they cross borders within the EU.Tanks, missiles, artillery and most combat weapons could be exempt from EU customs declarations if the plan by Brussels moves forward.Additionally, under the proposal most drivers of military equipment may even be permitted to exceed the limits on driving times and rest periods, should the fight against Russia require extended physical effort.The newly proposed objective is to empower European soldiers to make independent decisions without having to fill out the customary paperwork, requiring prior approval from...

Prominent Ukrainian activist and volunteer Serhii Sternenko criticized his country's military and political leadership on Nov. 17, warning that "we are headed toward a disaster of strategic magnitude, which could lead to the loss of statehood." In an X post accompanied by screenshots of a critical Facebook post by a Ukrainian journalist, Sternenko stressed that remaining silent about the issues with Ukraine's military and political approach to the country's defense "is a crime." "Our defense is falling apart," Sternenko, who works closely with various military units to supply their immediate needs, such as drones, said. "Under a stunning silence about...

"I'm Senator Elissa Slotkin."

This address was delivered to the European Parliament in Brussels on November 11, 2025. Europe is in deep trouble today, mainly because of the Ukraine war, which has played a key role in undermining what had been a largely peaceful region. Unfortunately, the situation is not likely to improve in the years ahead. In fact, Europe is likely to be less stable moving forward than it is today. The present situation in Europe stands in marked contrast to the unprecedented stability that Europe enjoyed during the unipolar moment, which ran from roughly 1992, after the Soviet Union collapsed, until 2017,...

Justin Raimondo: An American Neo-Fascist By Stephen Schwartz FrontPageMagazine.com | March 15, 2005 Dennis “Justin” Raimondo is a minor celebrity in the U.S., thanks to a 10-year career as an amateur demagogue in the libertarian milieu of the San Francisco Bay Area, a political environment where anything goes and nothing matters. He has the familiar personality traits of the type: “sentimental formlessness, absence of disciplined thought, ignorance combined with gaudy erudition.”  He poses as a conservative but maintains a website at antiwar.com, that features anti-American cranks like Noam Chomsky and is hugely popular with the left – not surprisingly since it...

Video A humanoid robot’s highly anticipated debut quickly went awry when it stumbled onstage at a technology showcase in Moscow on Tuesday. Backed by the theme song of “Rocky,” the robot, accompanied by two people, waddled onto the stage before a room full of journalists ready to catch a glimpse of what the developers called “Russia’s first anthropomorphic robot with artificial intelligence.” But in a scene resembling the end of a messy night at the bar, as the robot attempted to wave its right hand, it stumbled around before falling flat, face-first. The two men accompanying the robot scrambled to...

A humanoid robot’s highly anticipated debut quickly went awry when it stumbled onstage at a technology showcase in Moscow on Tuesday. Backed by the theme song of “Rocky,” the robot, accompanied by two people, waddled onto the stage before a room full of journalists ready to catch a glimpse of what the developers called “Russia’s first anthropomorphic robot with artificial intelligence.” But in a scene resembling the end of a messy night at the bar, as the robot attempted to wave its right hand, it stumbled around before falling flat, face-first. The two men accompanying the robot scrambled to drag...

Jeffrey Epstein seemingly offered to provide Russia with information about President Donald Trump during the celebrity businessman's first term in office, according to a new batch of emails released by House Republicans. In old messages released on Wednesday, Nov. 12, Epstein — who died in prison in 2019 — implied that he had discussed Trump with Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, before Churkin's 2017 death. “Churkin was great,” Epstein wrote, per Politico. “He understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple.” The outlet also reported that...

In early January 2017, the Clinton campaign’s “Steele dossier”—a secretly funded collection of made-up stories and gossip alleging that Russia had dirt on Trump and that Trump was colluding with Russia against the United States—was published. The investigations it spurred would bankrupt Trump associates, destroy lives, and hamstring Trump’s ability to govern. It led to draconian censorship campaigns against conservatives. It hurt Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 general election. But no evidence was found that a single American, much less Trump himself, conspired with Russia.One document Ratcliffe released is a “tradecraft review” of the January 2017...

In May 2025, the authorities in Moscow unveiled a life-size bas‑relief sculpture of Josef Stalin in the Taganskaya metro station. The next month, a statue of Lenin was pulled down in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Between these two symbolic acts lies Kazakhstan, caught in a tug-of-war over the memory of Soviet-era repression. Tensions have sharpened since the war in Ukraine. In the background, Putin has accelerated the rehabilitation of Stalin, architect of the gulag archipelago. His busts are reappearing across Russia. Volgograd’s airport has been renamed “Stalingrad.” In occupied Melitopol, a new statue of the dictator was erected. “We’re witnessing a broad...

This important historical commentary takes a deep dive into the atrocities committed by the Soviet Union and the Russian people. From the invasion of Poland and the Katyn Forest Massacre to the millions of Eastern Europeans who never returned from the inhuman conditions of the Gulag system the narrator discusses in detail the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Eastern Europeans.

Oil prices jumped and energy companies helped the FTSE 100 to a record high after Donald Trump announced new sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil producers.Brent crude increased by 5.2% to $65.83 a barrel – a two-week high – after the news of the fresh restrictions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as the US president ramps up pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.The jump in oil price also boosted shares in the energy companies Shell and BP by about 3%, which in turn helped to drive the FTSE 100 to a record high of 9,594.82.

A former CIA analyst pleaded guilty today to retaining and transmitting Top Secret National Defense Information to people who were not entitled to receive it, information which was publicly posted on a social media platform in October 2024.According to court documents, Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, was an employee of the CIA since 2016 and had a Top-Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s...

An ex-CIA analyst was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday for leaking top secret documents about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran last year. Asif William Rahman, 34, had pleaded guilty in January to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information after he was arrested for absconding with records from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency last October that indicated Israel was planning to launch airstrikes in response to a massive Iranian missile attack. Rahman, who had been a CIA employee since 2016 and had access to top secret documents, leaked the stolen information on social...

CIA official Asif W. Rahman was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia on Tuesday and charged with disclosing classified documents allegedly showing Israel's retaliation plans against Iran, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. He was brought to a federal court in Guam to face charges. Rahman was indicted by a US federal court in Virginia with charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, the report said. According to the New York Times, the documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes US spy satellite information and photos. CIA official had top-secret security clearance Rahman...

Harrowing video footage shows the moment a Russian helicopter smashed into a pier and bashed its tail off — with the pilot then bizarrely choosing to fly out to sea before losing control and crashing. Five senior members of a Russian defense manufacturer were killed in the crash. The dramatic clip reveals a badly botched landing in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan region on Nov. 7 After clipping off its tail, the helicopter then drifts along the Caspian Sea — possibly searching for somewhere else to land. Separate CCTV footage reportedly shows the Ka-226 utility copper smashing into a residential building...

The SR-71 Blackbird was a “fantastic” aircraft, but its origins lie in the even faster, single-seat CIA A-12 “Oxcart.” Developed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works to fly at Mach 3.2+ and 90,000 feet, the A-12 required a 90% titanium airframe to survive the 800°F heat. In a “stunning” Cold War irony, the CIA had to secretly buy the titanium from its main adversary, the Soviet Union, using “shell companies” and a “pizza oven” cover story.