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FSB tactics, on the other hand, involve doing almost everything they can to signal that they were the perpetrators while at the same time denying responsibility

FSB tactics, on the other hand, involve doing almost everything they can to signal that they were the perpetrators while at the same time denying responsibility. It’s a weird way to flex, братан, but the diplomatic and psychological impact of the attack is far more effective than the attack itself. Example: Russian poisoning suspects say they were only visiting cathedral https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/russian-television-channel-rt-says-it-is-to-air-interview-with-skripal-salisbury-attack-suspects https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/russian-tele...

FearNotDaniel 6y ago
> братан I'm always curious about new slang or jargon but can't place this sense of 'Bratan' in the context of espionage/geopolitics. Flexing brotherhood? Flexing manliness?
- gorgoiler 6y ago
  It’s the the “bro” in ”weird flex, bro”, which is US English slang meaning “that’s an impressive display of strength which I also find to be bizarrely convoluted”.
  - derefr 6y ago
    “Flex” in that slang term isn’t precisely a “display of strength” but rather “a display of one-upmanship[1]” in any form. A weird flex is specifically one-upmanship in a form where nobody else was really competing over it in the first place. It’s “weird” because you’re trying so hard to out-compete others in a category where nobody else is trying to compete at all, and where, therefore, a category where it’s very easy to “win.” Most Guinness World Records are weird flexes: not hard-fought limits of discovered human ability, but rather something one person decided to prove they could do that nobody else has really even cared to challenge them about since. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-upmanship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-upmanship
  - FearNotDaniel 6y ago
    Ah, makes sense now, thanks for the explanation. I must have missed the comma first time round, and thus thought that "bro" was the thing being flexed.
- throwaway8463 6y ago
  Prison/criminal slang. “Bratán” is a member of “bratvá” (gang).
hnarn 6y ago
It's really just political gaslighting and has been going on since the Soviet era. Frida Ghitis used just that term to describe the ridiculous denials from Russia when presented with evidence of Russian operatives active in Crimea. What's worrying to me is that it's by no means unique to Russia, even if they have perfected it. The current president of the United States does not consider himself above using the exact same rhetorical strategy.
- atomi 6y ago
  The gaslighting is so intellectually lazy too. It's a national shame that it works.

FearNotDaniel 6y ago

> братан I'm always curious about new slang or jargon but can't place this sense of 'Bratan' in the context of espionage/geopolitics. Flexing brotherhood? Flexing manliness?

gorgoiler 6y ago
It’s the the “bro” in ”weird flex, bro”, which is US English slang meaning “that’s an impressive display of strength which I also find to be bizarrely convoluted”.
- derefr 6y ago
  “Flex” in that slang term isn’t precisely a “display of strength” but rather “a display of one-upmanship[1]” in any form. A weird flex is specifically one-upmanship in a form where nobody else was really competing over it in the first place. It’s “weird” because you’re trying so hard to out-compete others in a category where nobody else is trying to compete at all, and where, therefore, a category where it’s very easy to “win.” Most Guinness World Records are weird flexes: not hard-fought limits of discovered human ability, but rather something one person decided to prove they could do that nobody else has really even cared to challenge them about since. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-upmanship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-upmanship
- FearNotDaniel 6y ago
  Ah, makes sense now, thanks for the explanation. I must have missed the comma first time round, and thus thought that "bro" was the thing being flexed.
throwaway8463 6y ago
Prison/criminal slang. “Bratán” is a member of “bratvá” (gang).

hnarn 6y ago

It's really just political gaslighting and has been going on since the Soviet era. Frida Ghitis used just that term to describe the ridiculous denials from Russia when presented with evidence of Russian operatives active in Crimea. What's worrying to me is that it's by no means unique to Russia, even if they have perfected it. The current president of the United States does not consider himself above using the exact same rhetorical strategy.

atomi 6y ago
The gaslighting is so intellectually lazy too. It's a national shame that it works.