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This is going to be a really out-there take on this, but what if, instead of pride and posturing, the Russian government changed their course because they reali

by bydo 5y ago

This is going to be a really out-there take on this, but what if, instead of pride and posturing, the Russian government changed their course because they realized what an awful thing this is for the Russian civilians they purportedly represent?

anonporridge 5y ago
Replace Russia with North Korea and ask the same question. Autocrats can hold power for a very long time with the asymmetric tools of oppression and control we have that are only getting more advanced with each passing version upgrade. And the more we cut a country and its people off from the rest of the world, the easier it is for the autocrat to maintain control.
- number6 5y ago
  North Korea only exists because the Chinese government wills it. Maybe we are trading Russia for Taiwan to the Chinese with the option on an uprising as best case.
nrvn 5y ago
71% support the war. 71% have never traveled abroad. They watch government tv, trust Putin and trust propaganda. Most of them are on a very low wage, have got next to zero savings, financially illiterate, don’t know any foreign languages. 71% welcomes all sorts of isolation, sanctions. They don’t care if tomorrow all western companies shut down business in Russia. “Iran has coped, so do we”. All currently imposed sanctions hurt neither Putin nor his “electoral base”. Around 20% of the population in Russia are intelligent and educated people who don’t support that shit. Just because it is absolute bonkers to invade another country. Those 20-25% are badly beaten by sanctions. And they are fleeing Russia, or trying to restructure their businesses and lives in the new distopian reality. The majority of what is being imposed on Russia right now affects the vulnerable middle class in Russia. And they have two options: immigrate or (if immigration is not an option) shut their mouth and deal with the orwellian reality.
- rosndo 5y ago
  > 71% welcomes all sorts of isolation, sanctions. They don’t care if tomorrow all western companies shut down business in Russia. “Iran has coped, so do we”. Yeah, this is strictly not true.

by bydo 5y ago

anonporridge 5y ago

Replace Russia with North Korea and ask the same question. Autocrats can hold power for a very long time with the asymmetric tools of oppression and control we have that are only getting more advanced with each passing version upgrade. And the more we cut a country and its people off from the rest of the world, the easier it is for the autocrat to maintain control.

number6 5y ago
North Korea only exists because the Chinese government wills it. Maybe we are trading Russia for Taiwan to the Chinese with the option on an uprising as best case.

nrvn 5y ago

71% support the war. 71% have never traveled abroad. They watch government tv, trust Putin and trust propaganda. Most of them are on a very low wage, have got next to zero savings, financially illiterate, don’t know any foreign languages. 71% welcomes all sorts of isolation, sanctions. They don’t care if tomorrow all western companies shut down business in Russia. “Iran has coped, so do we”. All currently imposed sanctions hurt neither Putin nor his “electoral base”. Around 20% of the population in Russia are intelligent and educated people who don’t support that shit. Just because it is absolute bonkers to invade another country. Those 20-25% are badly beaten by sanctions. And they are fleeing Russia, or trying to restructure their businesses and lives in the new distopian reality. The majority of what is being imposed on Russia right now affects the vulnerable middle class in Russia. And they have two options: immigrate or (if immigration is not an option) shut their mouth and deal with the orwellian reality.

rosndo 5y ago
> 71% welcomes all sorts of isolation, sanctions. They don’t care if tomorrow all western companies shut down business in Russia. “Iran has coped, so do we”. Yeah, this is strictly not true.