4 ms·

You’re probably right, but it’s possible that the environment is such in Russia right now that this could be impactful. From what I’ve been reading and seeing,

You’re probably right, but it’s possible that the environment is such in Russia right now that this could be impactful. From what I’ve been reading and seeing, the Russian people are more willing now than ever to protest and question their government. Those who are on the fence may actually be swayed by a random call like this, but only if they are already suspicious of the information the Russian government is showing them.

KennyBlanken 5y ago
Is this a joke? Putin is wildly popular because he 'stands up to the west' and had presided over economic prosperity. He got away with blowing up four apartment buildings, with plain-as-day evidence showing the bombings were conducted by the FSB. The population didn't care. They didn't care when he went around assassinating people outside the country. Didn't care when he invaded Crimea. Chicken in the pot, car in the driveway. There wasn't any "anti-war" sentiment until the sanctions started kicking in. Now that the ruble is worth less than toilet paper and they can't watch Netflix, they're willing to stand up to him? Welcome to the cost of your country shitting all over the rest of the world for two decades. Hope y'all enjoy being sanctioned into the stone ages.
- utrack 5y ago
  > There wasn't any "anti-war" sentiment until the sanctions started kicking in. LMAO, sorry, but you have absolutely no effing clue what you're talking about. Russia and Ukraine are very interconnected, almost everyone has friends and relatives on the other side. Anti war sentiment was there long before 24th of February. If you're speaking about news coverage in the US, well, that's another story. Even in western EU, there was a lot of commotion since January.
throwaway290 5y ago
There is a major element of shaming and condescension here. The very act of this implies "hey, I know more than you do! what you know is less, and also false. because your government tells you wrong things, but my government tells me the truth! so let me educate you". How do you think you and the rest of the West would come across? Unless you have a personal connection with the person and managed to find common political ground beforehand, this may actually sway them in the other direction, especially so if the person has any national pride. So, talk to existing Russian friends, network with Russians more, build rapport. Be subtle and open-minded, rather than robotically delivering fixed agenda. The opposite of random calling, basically.
- pcthrowaway 5y ago
  It's entirely possible that those calling Russia from abroad would learn something from the conversation as well, but I think it's that absurd to suggest that Russians (who have heavily restricted Internet and media) would be completely resistant to the idea that people calling from places without such restrictions would have information that hasn't been made available to them
  - throwaway290 5y ago
    You think it's absurd to suggest people react badly to condescension? There are different ways to discuss political questions and hopefully get a thinking person to adopt your viewpoint. "Educating" them is not one.

KennyBlanken 5y ago

Is this a joke? Putin is wildly popular because he 'stands up to the west' and had presided over economic prosperity. He got away with blowing up four apartment buildings, with plain-as-day evidence showing the bombings were conducted by the FSB. The population didn't care. They didn't care when he went around assassinating people outside the country. Didn't care when he invaded Crimea. Chicken in the pot, car in the driveway. There wasn't any "anti-war" sentiment until the sanctions started kicking in. Now that the ruble is worth less than toilet paper and they can't watch Netflix, they're willing to stand up to him? Welcome to the cost of your country shitting all over the rest of the world for two decades. Hope y'all enjoy being sanctioned into the stone ages.

utrack 5y ago
> There wasn't any "anti-war" sentiment until the sanctions started kicking in. LMAO, sorry, but you have absolutely no effing clue what you're talking about. Russia and Ukraine are very interconnected, almost everyone has friends and relatives on the other side. Anti war sentiment was there long before 24th of February. If you're speaking about news coverage in the US, well, that's another story. Even in western EU, there was a lot of commotion since January.

throwaway290 5y ago

There is a major element of shaming and condescension here. The very act of this implies "hey, I know more than you do! what you know is less, and also false. because your government tells you wrong things, but my government tells me the truth! so let me educate you". How do you think you and the rest of the West would come across? Unless you have a personal connection with the person and managed to find common political ground beforehand, this may actually sway them in the other direction, especially so if the person has any national pride. So, talk to existing Russian friends, network with Russians more, build rapport. Be subtle and open-minded, rather than robotically delivering fixed agenda. The opposite of random calling, basically.

pcthrowaway 5y ago
It's entirely possible that those calling Russia from abroad would learn something from the conversation as well, but I think it's that absurd to suggest that Russians (who have heavily restricted Internet and media) would be completely resistant to the idea that people calling from places without such restrictions would have information that hasn't been made available to them
- throwaway290 5y ago
  You think it's absurd to suggest people react badly to condescension? There are different ways to discuss political questions and hopefully get a thinking person to adopt your viewpoint. "Educating" them is not one.