The reaction of so-called Russian “lawmakers” to the abrupt resignation of Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn may have gotten a little out of control. Speechifying from assorted rubberstampskaya commenced immediately upon the story’s breaking, with each Russian oligarchian tool expressing his outrage and indignation.
First out of the box was a guy named (I kid you not) Leonid Slutskiy:
“Under these circumstances, my conclusion is that the real target in this scheme is Russian-American relations and the general trust in the new administration,” Slutskiy said. “It is obvious that Flynn had to submit his resignation under certain pressure. But President Trump accepted it. The chosen pretext was Flynn’s contact with the Russian ambassador, even though this is normal diplomatic practice,” he noted.
Not to be outdone, Konstantin Kosachev, who according to the intelligence dossier on Trump released by Buzzfeed news purportedly met with representatives of the Trump campaign in Prague (something he adamantly denies), weighed in with dark Orwellian imagery:
“Hawks in Washington see even simple willingness for dialogue with the Russians as a thought crime (in the words of the immortal G. Orwell). To drive a national security adviser into resignation for his contacts with the Russian ambassador (a common diplomatic practice) is more than paranoia, it is something immeasurably worse,” Kosachev wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Got that? It’s "immeasurably worse than paranoia!” Immeasurably! And by the way (searching initial talking points), it’s just common diplomatic practice!
Senator Aleksei Pushkov expressed a similar opinion. “Flynn is leaving but Russian problem stays in Trump’s White House. The purging of Flynn was just the first act, now Trump himself becomes the target,” Pushkov wrote on Twitter.
It’s gratifying to see how much the Russian oligarchy cares about the success of our new President, isn’t it? They’re so protective! Or could it be that was just the sound of 500 billion dollars in oil contracts slipping through their fingers?
Well my, what a difference a couple hours makes. From US News and World Report: it appears that cooler heads have prevailed in the Kremlin:
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Flynn's resignation, saying it's an internal matter for Trump's administration and "none of our business." Asked if Moscow still hopes for its relations with the U.S. to improve, he said it is "too early to say" since "Trump's team has not been shaped yet."
“Orwellian” to "none of our business" in a matter of hours.
And lo and behold, here’s Slutskiy again, singing a very different tune:
By early afternoon, some lawmakers began to retract their original indignant comments, in line with the restrained tone taken by the Kremlin.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the State Duma, first described Flynn's departure as a "negative signal" for Russia-U.S. relations, but two hours later switched to more moderate language, stressing that it "cannot fundamentally influence Russia-U.S. ties."
Whatever could be the reason for this change in attitude?
The Kremlin and Russian lawmakers are playing down the resignation of U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a sign that Russia is already looking ahead to talks with the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to improve the nations' strained ties.
As ThinkProgress notes, Trump and the Republican-dominated U.S. Senate have given Putin the guy he really wanted. Tillerson holds the keys to lifting the sanctions on the Exxon-Rosneft oil exploration deal in the Arctic that will enable Putin and his cronies to become multibillionaires. Compared to that, Flynn is a nobody.
[A] half trillion dollars to line their pockets and prop up the Russian economy offers a much more tangible motivation for team Putin to get Trump elected. And it was Tillerson who had made the $500 billion oil deal with Putin that got blocked by sanctions.
Relax, comrades. Putin’s got this.