RUSSIA IS TRAPPING ITSELF IN A DOOM SPIRAL On November 7th Russian police isolated the main nightclub area in Central Moscow, sealing off roads and walkways around a sizable area late in the evening. They then sent in their goons to arrest every male they could find. Things got tense, men were carted off to police stations and special holding buildings prepared for the event. Minors caught up in the haul were kept for over 5 hours. Adult men were beaten, forced to sign contracts with the MoD - even if their deferments were valid, they are no longer. A rash of these large scale round ups happened across Russia, in at least 7 areas from Perm to Bashkortistan. Wives and girlfriends were not happy, there were several small protests. As complaints reached increasing levels the government response is that there is no mobilization and they don't even foresee one ever being needed. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned how the MoD planned on not paying its staff until January. And now it's not just clerical staff, it's the entire army. The last pay they received was October usually between the 10th-20th. They won't be paid again until January, then likely only 1 month in arrears. Add to this that regional governors have slashed incentives from as much as 3.5m rubles to as little as 400,000 ($4,809), several have cut them completely. Death in service benefits are also heavily reduced - if they're even being issued. Disability benefit from severe injury is mostly non-existent and you probably don't need me to tell you that forced conscription, no incentives and no pay - because we know thats going to be a rolling issue now - makes for even more disgruntled and demotivated troops. Not only are they being starved, have no water, badly treated, killed in huge numbers, their own government holds them in such low esteem it can't be bothered to pay them, and that affects their families and friends. How long does the battering the Ukrainians are giving them, the starvation, the poverty and the disregard for their lives have to go on?They will crack eventually, its certain.