3 ms·

Interesting article but I'm not sure it really makes the point the headline says. Maybe I don't understand the dynamics involved. The article claims Putin has u

Interesting article but I'm not sure it really makes the point the headline says. Maybe I don't understand the dynamics involved. The article claims Putin has used the war to strengthen his own position, and impose a surveillance state on Russia. Once you've done that your position is unassailable. The unnamed sources quoted all appear to be rivals or others in a position to take control. Not sure if their testimony is true.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago
Your comment reminds me of Ahmed Chalabi who the Washington establishment was so keen on propping up as having keen insight into what the people of Iraq were really thinking. Turns out he had keen insight into his ambitions and what Washington wanted to hear. That was a completely different thing that what the people of Iraq really thought.
- junofan 4y ago
  I’m pretty disappointed in the reporting on this war. Something doesn’t quite add up, so I can’t shake the feeling that somebody is lying to me, so I don’t follow it and remain ignorant.
  - Oxidation 4y ago
    I know exactly what you mean. I can't put my finger on it, but it feels a bit "always been at war with Eurasia".
rasz 4y ago
A good insight into putlers precarious position from successfully brainwashed people living in ru: Disconnection | A film by Andrey Loshak (Разрыв связи | Фильм Андрея Лошака) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qmQs2LbnaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qmQs2LbnaE [english subs] >But since the war started your support of Putin only grew, right? >>No, I’m still unhappy with him, with his rule. The number of oligarchs grew tremendously, right? Money keeps going somewhere abroad. So now they’ve been arrested there, and we’re happy. Thank God, we don’t get their money but neither will they. We became malicious. When they could’ve developed the country in all these years, right? 20 years they could’ve made a piece of cake out of the country. First 10 years we admired him. He’s giving interviews, we rush to listen, we’re all ears. But these last years we didn’t even want to listen anymore. We think, here we go, he’s going to tell bulls**t again, lie again. >>Of course, people are unhappy, but the country is in danger, it’s not about thriving, it’s about surviving. We’re gonna support him so that he wins. But we can’t back out anymore, I think, they’ll peck us to death right away. >We have to fight till victory? >>Yes, sure.
- TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
  They'd be loyal to whoever is tsar. Russia is a profoundly authoritarian paranoid country. Hierarchy is more important than the individuals who make it up. Removing Putin would mix things up for a while, and rearrange some of the players while removing others. But the social dynamics are unlikely to be transformed. Kamil Galeev on Twitter has said some interesting things about this. https://twitter.com/kamilkazani https://twitter.com/kamilkazani

RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago

Your comment reminds me of Ahmed Chalabi who the Washington establishment was so keen on propping up as having keen insight into what the people of Iraq were really thinking. Turns out he had keen insight into his ambitions and what Washington wanted to hear. That was a completely different thing that what the people of Iraq really thought.

junofan 4y ago
I’m pretty disappointed in the reporting on this war. Something doesn’t quite add up, so I can’t shake the feeling that somebody is lying to me, so I don’t follow it and remain ignorant.
- Oxidation 4y ago
  I know exactly what you mean. I can't put my finger on it, but it feels a bit "always been at war with Eurasia".

rasz 4y ago

A good insight into putlers precarious position from successfully brainwashed people living in ru: Disconnection | A film by Andrey Loshak (Разрыв связи | Фильм Андрея Лошака) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qmQs2LbnaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qmQs2LbnaE [english subs] >But since the war started your support of Putin only grew, right? >>No, I’m still unhappy with him, with his rule. The number of oligarchs grew tremendously, right? Money keeps going somewhere abroad. So now they’ve been arrested there, and we’re happy. Thank God, we don’t get their money but neither will they. We became malicious. When they could’ve developed the country in all these years, right? 20 years they could’ve made a piece of cake out of the country. First 10 years we admired him. He’s giving interviews, we rush to listen, we’re all ears. But these last years we didn’t even want to listen anymore. We think, here we go, he’s going to tell bulls**t again, lie again. >>Of course, people are unhappy, but the country is in danger, it’s not about thriving, it’s about surviving. We’re gonna support him so that he wins. But we can’t back out anymore, I think, they’ll peck us to death right away. >We have to fight till victory? >>Yes, sure.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
They'd be loyal to whoever is tsar. Russia is a profoundly authoritarian paranoid country. Hierarchy is more important than the individuals who make it up. Removing Putin would mix things up for a while, and rearrange some of the players while removing others. But the social dynamics are unlikely to be transformed. Kamil Galeev on Twitter has said some interesting things about this. https://twitter.com/kamilkazani https://twitter.com/kamilkazani