Putin seems to be doing pretty well for himself.

[Weekend Warrior]

Including with some of his more adversarial relationships.

Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw Friday's joining of a major pipeline that's set to provide Turkey with over 556 billion cubic feet of gas each year, an event that came shortly after the two countries reached a deal to allow foreign troops into areas previously designated as safe zones in Syria.

Russia and Turkey, which support opposing factions in Syria's more than six-year civil war, have had a tumultuous relationship in recent years. Turkey's geographic and political position as a bridge between East and West has given it strategic leverage with both the Western military alliance NATO, of which it is a member, and Russia, an important economic partner. With Turkish-backed Syrian rebels facing major defeats by both the Russia-backed Syrian military and the U.S.-backed Kurdish militants, Thursday's announcement that Turkey and Russia agreed to allow international forces into areas of respective influence in Syria comes as Ankara attempts to retain its stake in the conflict.

http://www.newsweek.com/russia-turkey-send-troops-syria-gas-pipeline-628649

Interesting piece from the article:

"and a mechanism involving the Americans and Jordan in the south in the Daraa region is being worked on"

Daraa is in Syria.

Gazprom is also expected to be delivering gas to China by the end of 2019. The EU has also backed off some sanctions against Russia giving Gazprom the ability to deliver more gas to European clients.

http://www.intellinews.com/eu-allows-gazprom-to-use-an-additional-40-of-opal-gas-pipeline-s-capacity-125925/

Interesting side-note: Head of Gazproms chartering and shipping operations, and experienced diver, just died in a diving accident less than a football field from his home.

http://www.tradewindsnews.com/tankers/1318478/gazprom-chartering-chief-dies

Some of our allies are doing big business with Russia. Some of our German friends are none too happy about our most recent sanctions against Russia.

http://www.dw.com/en/germany-calls-for-eu-countermeasures-against-us-following-russian-sanctions/a-39911686

As Trump slowly moves us away from the world-stage, as was done with his horrific proclamation about the Paris Agreement, that vacuum is being filled. Russia is more than happy to step up to the plate. Putin seems to have a limited moral compass and doesn't seem to care where his money comes from. He is making deals at a feverish pace and supplying his government with money that is truly pumped out of the ground. We cannot back away from our obligations and responsibilities across the globe. If we continue to do so, we are going to like the world around us even less.

[Igel]

1. There used to be talk about how fragile his rule was.

The government there's not got the highest approval ratings, but that's not uncommon. Putin's are through the roof, and the more crap we throw at him, the thicker the Teflon coating he has seems to be and it turns out he's developed anti-inertia.

Russia's still got too many believers in the current system for it to collapse. The USSR collapsed because nobody cared and because those who were brightest and most committed to the government as fiduciary for the country were carefully screened out of top positions--mostly the dull-witted and self-concerned in narrow ways were in charge, and who among them's going to risk much for the common good when they had little public support or even in just fighting over the rotting horse carcass that was the moribund USSR? Putin still has people around him who believe in the country and who are willing to engage in serious risk-taking. (Maduro's in between: He has dull-witted people around him, but they're still willing to take serious risks because they still have supporters trusting the government to give them stuff--food, shelter, or humiliation for those they envy and hate.)