Ian Kummer

I'm a former US Marine fire support specialist, and also worked for about 10 years as a public affairs specialist in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. For that reason I will mostly opine about the "information operations" aspect of current events. Please see my "about" page for more information. If you would like to reach out, you can email me at ian.michael@readingjunkie.com

The Fourth Phase of Russia’s Special Military Operation Has Begun

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Western media outlets claimed that the third phase of the war began with the Ukrainian offensives in the first half of September. I strongly disagree. Rather, these offensives marked the end of the third phase, and they failed to achieve their intended goals. The upcoming referendum in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions to join the Russian Federation, this is the beginning of the fourth phase. It also appears that back in August I correctly predicted the objectives of Ukraine’s offensives, and it seems they utterly failed.

The Great Class War of Ukraine, Through the Eyes of a Liberal

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Stonetoos I support the working class

Today I came across a well-written article in the New York Times, The ‘Wild Field’ Where Putin Sowed the Seeds of War. A well-written propaganda piece masquerading as a news story. Journalist Jeffrey Gettleman uses compelling descriptions and well-placed dog whistles to convey a clear message to America’s liberals, and antagonize their deepest trigger, irrational hysterical fear, disgust, and hatred of working class people.

My Observations of the Russian “Brain Drain”

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One of the explicitly stated goals of anti-Russian sanctions was to trigger a “brain drain,” the country’s best educated skilled labor leaving for greener pastures. This tactic worked before on Russia, but is it working now? Well, let’s think about it. I write this on my phone as we leave Moscow by train for the … Read more

A Sneak Peak of Russian Suburbia

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In a previous post, I described the aesthetics and practical implications of Russia’s apartment communities. This time I’m going to talk about single family housing, and since a lot of people are probably going to accuse of “spreading Russian disinformation” or whatever, here are some photos to prove what I’m saying.

The Ukraine September Offensives, an After Action Review

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It’s been a crazy month. On 31 August I very cautiously suggested that the Ukrainian attacks are meant to disrupt and destabilize Russian operations. Some readers thought I was nuts for saying this, and let me know in the comments. Looking back, I was right, but also wrong. We need to remember that the battles happening in Ukraine right now are one small piece of the big picture, and not even the most important piece.