World War 3 Threats Loom As Putin Orders All Russian Officials To Bring Family Members Living Abroad Back Home

As threats of a global war rise, Russia is apparently ordering all its officials to bring their family members living abroad back home. According to local media in Russia, Several high-ranking officials and politicians have received a warning message from Vladimir Putin, urging them to bring their family members back to the “Fatherland.”

This news comes after Putin cancelled his previously planned visit to France following disagreements over Russia’s involvement in Syria.

And according to local media, all high ranking officials are now being told that it would be wise to bring their family members living abroad back home. The “recommendation” has been imposed upon officials of every level, including administration staff, regional administrators, lawmakers and even employees of public corporations. It has also been said that those that ignore this recommendation may lose their chance of being promoted in the public sector.

“Non-compliance may be complicating factor in the furtherance of their public sector career.”

This decision has met with mixed reactions. Political scientist Vitaly Ivanov believes that this is a “long overdue” decision targeting those officials who on one hand speak of patriotism but on the other hand send their own children abroad to study.

“People note the hypocrisy of having a centralized state and cultivating patriotism and anti-Western sentiment, while children of government workers study abroad. You can not serve two gods, one must choose.”

Others such as political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky believe that decisions such as these will result in more officials leaving the country rather than producing the desired result. He says that the decision could eventually backfire against Putin.

“On the one hand, this is all part of a package of measures to prepare the elites for some ‘big war’ even if it is rather conditional, on the other hand – this is another blow to the unity of President Putin with his own elite”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had warned earlier this month that the U.S. was “on the verge” of ceasing talks with Russia following weeks of severe air strikes by the Russian military on Aleppo. The United States Government released an official statement last Monday, delivered by U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby, saying that they had officially suspended all talks with Russia.

“The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the cessation of hostilities.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly.”

Only hours before the U.S. government confirmed that they had ceased talks with Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree to suspend Russia’s agreements with the U.S. over the disposition of weapons-grade plutonium. The decree had cited “unfriendly acts” by the United States Government.

Severe tensions have been developing between the United States and Russia over the Russian military’s intervention in Syria. Putin’s officials had previously announced that they had foreseen an attack by the U.S. right after the two nations break off their faltering talks over the Syrian conflict. After the talks were officially suspended last week, Russia has been involved in a series of high-level military drills including a nuclear warfare preparation drill for its citizens. Furthermore it has also been reported that Russia has moved nuclear-capable missiles near its Polish border.

Former Soviet statesman Mikhail Gorbachev has also spoken about the rising tensions between the two superpowers of the world. The eighty five year old spoke to the Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti, saying that the world is currently at a “dangerous point.”

“I think the world has reached a dangerous point. I don’t want to give any concrete prescriptions but I do want to say that this needs to stop. We need to renew dialogue. Stopping it was the biggest mistake.”

“It is necessary to return to the main priorities. These are nuclear disarmament, the fight against terrorism, the prevention of an environmental disaster. Compared to these challenges, all the rest slips into the background.”

[Featured Image by Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images]