4 ms·

This just digs Russia deeper into Lord of the Rings meme territory, particularly considering that their troops are already popularly referred to as 'orcs', and

This just digs Russia deeper into Lord of the Rings meme territory, particularly considering that their troops are already popularly referred to as 'orcs', and Russia itself as 'Mordor'. So now we have nine rings of power, and one ring to rule them all...

yreg 4y ago
Putin so far forged only 8 Rings of Power + the Ruling Ring.
- fractallyte 4y ago
  Yes, you're right - I meant nine rings altogether, with one of being the ruling ring.
anigbrowl 4y ago
Being feared isn't as nice as being loved, but its a lot more reliable if your goal is power.
- colechristensen 4y ago
  Eh, for a while, but clearly long term it seems to tend to not work out.
  - sbuttgereit 4y ago
    Working pretty good in North Korea.
    - colechristensen 4y ago
      Not really, fear of the ruler has little to do with the longevity of dprk. Support and protection by China are the only reason that government still exists. “Be useful to / shameful if you fail” to a much more powerful entity is more like it when it comes to “ways to power”.
- 082349872349872 4y ago
  > If I have been a little too punctual in describing these monsters in all their lineaments and colours, I hope mankind will know them, the better to avoid them, my treatise being both a satire against them, and a true character of them... — N Machiavelli (at least according to the frontispiece of Burnham's "The Managerial Revolution")
pjdkoch 4y ago
> particularly considering that their troops are already popularly referred to as 'orcs', and Russia itself as 'Mordor'. The first source I found: https://archive.vn/q3VVx https://archive.vn/q3VVx
epistasis 4y ago
Based on the title alone, I was shocked that a parody article made our to the HN front page, and that a .ru domain was hosting comedy at the expense of Putin. The truth was even stranger...
paganel 4y ago
Putin doesn't care one iota about the Lord of the Rings Western non-sense. In fact, most of the people around these parts of the continent (Eastern Europe) don't care about the novels themselves, apart from a very thin layer of the Westernised middle-class (I'm part of that Westernised middle-class layer and I don't care for the books, the movies were interesting for an one-time viewing 20 years ago). But, yes, people from the West will always make everything be about them. Later edit: If anything, it is Tolkien who has borrowed "the giving of expensive jewellery as an act of power" from Tsarist Russia, see articles like this one [1] about how 19th century Russian emperors were delighted in making such gifts. If anything, Putin wants to be a 19th century Russian emperor, again, he doesn't care at all about Western-created stupid memes. [1] https://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/article/as-the-jeweller-du-jour-in-imperial-russia-the-tradition-of-giving-faberge-as-a-gift-dates-back-more-than-130-years/ https://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/article/as-the-...
- yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
  > most of the people around these parts of the continent (Eastern Europe) don't care about the novels themselves [Citation needed]
  - paganel 4y ago
    This is not reddit, but I can invite you to some of the most frequented old books stores in Bucharest where almost no-one purchases the Ring books. Yes, I do go there religiously two days out of three.
    - yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
      Fascinating. You have an anecdote. Which is about as convincing as any anecdote of my own. I know plenty of people in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia who all love Tolkien’s work. Does my anecdote trump yours, do you think?
- sidlls 4y ago
  You think tributes and gifts of this sort are an invention of Tsarist Russia?
glass3 4y ago
Calling Russians orcs makes me uncomfortable. That echos a world view that should be avoided to the greatest extend possible.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  I don't see the problem. They really are acting like orcs, maybe worse even.
  - glass3 4y ago
    Please try to figure out on your own why it is a dangerous idea. If I would try to argue my point, you would just argue me back. All I will tell you is that there were 4 upvotes for my comment so you can be confident that the idea is not entirely unreasonable.
    - midoridensha 4y ago
      I see a bunch of evil people murdering, raping, and pillaging (all extremely well-documented). And you're defending them, complaining about other people comparing them with fictional villains. I don't see how calling war criminals names is somehow dangerous. Maybe they should try not raping and murdering civilians and invading a sovereign country.
      - glass3 4y ago
        I am not defending them. I also don't mind calling them names in general. You don't have to figure it out right now.
  - bdowling 4y ago
    If you dehumanize an enemy, you can do anything to them without any moral consequences. Even genocide may be permissible if the enemy isn't human. It could even be virtuous.
    - 4y ago

yreg 4y ago

Putin so far forged only 8 Rings of Power + the Ruling Ring.

fractallyte 4y ago
Yes, you're right - I meant nine rings altogether, with one of being the ruling ring.

anigbrowl 4y ago

Being feared isn't as nice as being loved, but its a lot more reliable if your goal is power.

colechristensen 4y ago
Eh, for a while, but clearly long term it seems to tend to not work out.
- sbuttgereit 4y ago
  Working pretty good in North Korea.
  - colechristensen 4y ago
    Not really, fear of the ruler has little to do with the longevity of dprk. Support and protection by China are the only reason that government still exists. “Be useful to / shameful if you fail” to a much more powerful entity is more like it when it comes to “ways to power”.
082349872349872 4y ago
> If I have been a little too punctual in describing these monsters in all their lineaments and colours, I hope mankind will know them, the better to avoid them, my treatise being both a satire against them, and a true character of them... — N Machiavelli (at least according to the frontispiece of Burnham's "The Managerial Revolution")

pjdkoch 4y ago

> particularly considering that their troops are already popularly referred to as 'orcs', and Russia itself as 'Mordor'. The first source I found: https://archive.vn/q3VVx https://archive.vn/q3VVx

epistasis 4y ago

Based on the title alone, I was shocked that a parody article made our to the HN front page, and that a .ru domain was hosting comedy at the expense of Putin. The truth was even stranger...

paganel 4y ago

Putin doesn't care one iota about the Lord of the Rings Western non-sense. In fact, most of the people around these parts of the continent (Eastern Europe) don't care about the novels themselves, apart from a very thin layer of the Westernised middle-class (I'm part of that Westernised middle-class layer and I don't care for the books, the movies were interesting for an one-time viewing 20 years ago). But, yes, people from the West will always make everything be about them. Later edit: If anything, it is Tolkien who has borrowed "the giving of expensive jewellery as an act of power" from Tsarist Russia, see articles like this one [1] about how 19th century Russian emperors were delighted in making such gifts. If anything, Putin wants to be a 19th century Russian emperor, again, he doesn't care at all about Western-created stupid memes. [1] https://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/article/as-the-jeweller-du-jour-in-imperial-russia-the-tradition-of-giving-faberge-as-a-gift-dates-back-more-than-130-years/ https://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/article/as-the-...

yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
> most of the people around these parts of the continent (Eastern Europe) don't care about the novels themselves [Citation needed]
- paganel 4y ago
  This is not reddit, but I can invite you to some of the most frequented old books stores in Bucharest where almost no-one purchases the Ring books. Yes, I do go there religiously two days out of three.
  - yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
    Fascinating. You have an anecdote. Which is about as convincing as any anecdote of my own. I know plenty of people in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia who all love Tolkien’s work. Does my anecdote trump yours, do you think?
sidlls 4y ago
You think tributes and gifts of this sort are an invention of Tsarist Russia?

glass3 4y ago

Calling Russians orcs makes me uncomfortable. That echos a world view that should be avoided to the greatest extend possible.

midoridensha 4y ago
I don't see the problem. They really are acting like orcs, maybe worse even.
- glass3 4y ago
  Please try to figure out on your own why it is a dangerous idea. If I would try to argue my point, you would just argue me back. All I will tell you is that there were 4 upvotes for my comment so you can be confident that the idea is not entirely unreasonable.
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    I see a bunch of evil people murdering, raping, and pillaging (all extremely well-documented). And you're defending them, complaining about other people comparing them with fictional villains. I don't see how calling war criminals names is somehow dangerous. Maybe they should try not raping and murdering civilians and invading a sovereign country.
    - glass3 4y ago
      I am not defending them. I also don't mind calling them names in general. You don't have to figure it out right now.
- bdowling 4y ago
  If you dehumanize an enemy, you can do anything to them without any moral consequences. Even genocide may be permissible if the enemy isn't human. It could even be virtuous.
  - 4y ago