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"Russia lost pretty much everything" It's worth looking at the map, the Russian Federation as it is today is huge. A lot of the territory and it's peoples are

"Russia lost pretty much everything" It's worth looking at the map, the Russian Federation as it is today is huge. A lot of the territory and it's peoples are underdeveloped and economically depressed. So much could be done there. I spent a few hours watching Girkin's (aka Strelkov) channel on VK. The man is the unofficial mouthpiece of the hawks faction in the government. It is pure nationalistic empire building.

Georgelemental 4y ago
> "Russia lost pretty much everything" This is not just about territorial loss. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's fall, during the transition to a market economy, the oligarchs basically looted all of Russia's wealth by taking control of the old Soviet SOEs. It was a truly terrible time for a lot of ordinary people. And Putin is the one who brought the oligarchs under control. So it's natural that he and much of the Russian people see him as the strong man who can pull Russia out of the 90s disaster and restore Russia to the glory it deserves. That's part of the mindset driving the present war, I think
- sorokod 4y ago
  They are still looting and I'd say it's not so clear cut who is controlling whom nowdays. Glory is off course in the eye of beholder and the desire to be glorious is definitely at the root of this war.
  - Georgelemental 4y ago
    Nah, Putin's hold over the oligarchs is stronger than ever, now that they can't invest abroad anymore due to sanctions. Putin loves to bring this up in his speeches, arguing that getting burned by sanctions was the predictable consequense of engaging with those traitorous Westerners and that clearly the oligarchs should have invested in the Glorious Fatherland instead
    - sorokod 4y ago
      That is just PR. The thing with oligarchs is that the loot and power they hold is considered to be some sort of escrow to be used by the power structure as it sees fit. Those who forget it, die or go to prison.
      - Georgelemental 4y ago
        Exactly. Putin and his power structure are the ones with all the power, if they can kill or imprison any oligarch who steps out of line. They control the relationship
inglor_cz 4y ago
You are sort-of both half right, both half wrong. Russia kept a lot of territory, including important sites where natural resources are mined. But they lost a lot of industrial capability. Not just in the former USSR, but in the former client states east of the Iron Curtain when they went their own way. Places like the GDR and Czechoslovakia punched well above their weight when it came to economic functionality of the Soviet sphere. So did the Baltic states and Ukraine in USSR proper. For example, the only dock suitable for building really big warships like aircraft carriers is located in Mikolayiv, Ukraine. Needless to say that it won't be accepting Russian orders anytime soon.
- sorokod 4y ago
  They had 30 years to compensate, apparently that was not a priority.

Georgelemental 4y ago

> "Russia lost pretty much everything" This is not just about territorial loss. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's fall, during the transition to a market economy, the oligarchs basically looted all of Russia's wealth by taking control of the old Soviet SOEs. It was a truly terrible time for a lot of ordinary people. And Putin is the one who brought the oligarchs under control. So it's natural that he and much of the Russian people see him as the strong man who can pull Russia out of the 90s disaster and restore Russia to the glory it deserves. That's part of the mindset driving the present war, I think

sorokod 4y ago
They are still looting and I'd say it's not so clear cut who is controlling whom nowdays. Glory is off course in the eye of beholder and the desire to be glorious is definitely at the root of this war.
- Georgelemental 4y ago
  Nah, Putin's hold over the oligarchs is stronger than ever, now that they can't invest abroad anymore due to sanctions. Putin loves to bring this up in his speeches, arguing that getting burned by sanctions was the predictable consequense of engaging with those traitorous Westerners and that clearly the oligarchs should have invested in the Glorious Fatherland instead
  - sorokod 4y ago
    That is just PR. The thing with oligarchs is that the loot and power they hold is considered to be some sort of escrow to be used by the power structure as it sees fit. Those who forget it, die or go to prison.
    - Georgelemental 4y ago
      Exactly. Putin and his power structure are the ones with all the power, if they can kill or imprison any oligarch who steps out of line. They control the relationship

inglor_cz 4y ago

You are sort-of both half right, both half wrong. Russia kept a lot of territory, including important sites where natural resources are mined. But they lost a lot of industrial capability. Not just in the former USSR, but in the former client states east of the Iron Curtain when they went their own way. Places like the GDR and Czechoslovakia punched well above their weight when it came to economic functionality of the Soviet sphere. So did the Baltic states and Ukraine in USSR proper. For example, the only dock suitable for building really big warships like aircraft carriers is located in Mikolayiv, Ukraine. Needless to say that it won't be accepting Russian orders anytime soon.

sorokod 4y ago
They had 30 years to compensate, apparently that was not a priority.