Russia cuts off European gas supplies and starts selling dollars!

MOSCOW, Russia (PNN) - January 15, 2015 - Vladimir Putin has been silent lately, but if anyone thought he had been shamed into defeat or marginalized, then think again.

In the last few hours, Russia has announced two key strategic decisions that show it is not going to stand idly by while its economy and way of life are destroyed by Western forces.

First, presumably in response to stiff sanctions leveled by the Fascist Police States of Amerika and European Union after the annexation of Crimea last year, Russia has cut off 60% of Europe’s gas supplies right in the middle of winter. This has caused an almost immediate crisis in six European nations that have seen a complete cut-off to their supplies - Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey - with more to follow. According to reports, the effect has been almost instantaneous.

Without Russian gas, residents across Europe have no way of staying warm.

Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian state energy giant Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine amid accusations that its neighbor has been siphoning off and stealing Russian gas.

Gazprom cut gas exports to Europe by 60%, plunging the continent into an energy crisis within hours. Perhaps explaining the explosion higher in NatGas prices (and oil) today, gas companies in Ukraine confirmed that Russia had cut off supply; and six countries reported a complete shut-off of Russian gas. The EU raged that the sudden cut-off to some of its member countries was “completely unacceptable,” but Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller later added that Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey.

Russia has taken similar steps in the past because of non-payment but turned the gas supplies back on once deals were reached.

However, this time there won’t be a deal.

Russia says it will deliver the gas through Turkey, and then it’s up to the European Union to build the infrastructure that will transport it to the rest of the continent.

Europe, of course, does not have the necessary infrastructure in place for this, and Vladimir Putin most certainly knew this before he shut off the spigots.

Second, and perhaps even more significant, Putin took a direct shot at the Fascist Police States of Amerika.

Russia may unseal its $88 billion Reserve Fund and convert some of its foreign-currency holdings into rubles, in the latest government effort to prop up an economy veering into its worst slump since 2009.

These are dollars that Russia would have otherwise recycled into FPSA denominated assets. Instead, Russia will purchase even more rubles and use the proceeds for FX and economic stabilization purposes.

“Together with the central bank, we are selling a part of our foreign-currency reserves,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in Moscow today. “We’ll get rubles and place them in deposits for banks, giving liquidity to the economy.”

Call it less than amicable divorce, call it what you will: Russia is leaving the ranks of countries that exchange crude for FPSA paper.

What we are seeing are the strategic moves that will eventually catalyze the next great war; and make no mistake, that is exactly what’s in store for the world should these escalations continue.