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In fact Putin is completely correct in his attempt to retrieve Ukraine for Mother Russia and it is the West that is the aggressor. Now, if you just had a visc

In fact Putin is completely correct in his attempt to retrieve Ukraine for Mother Russia and it is the West that is the aggressor. Now, if you just had a visceral (negative) response to this, I am with you. The point I am trying to make is that the Russian people seem to be equally incredulous to the idea that Russia itself is the aggressor. How is it that the Russian media has such a hold over them - in this day of the internet and other forms of communication? And if Russia can have such a hold, why couldn't OUR government have such an equal hold over US. I want the war to end as much as anyone but I believe that only by informing the Russian people of this can there be real hope for peace and resolution. (And please forgive my naivety.)

cjblomqvist 4y ago
Easy to forget, but an objective and great educational system (which doesn't optimize only for getting people to be able to do certain jobs, but to truly educate people about life), along with free speech is equally important as free elections in order for democracy to work.
ninjagoo 4y ago
> The point I am trying to make is that the Russian people seem to be equally incredulous to the idea that Russia itself is the aggressor. You may want to point this crowd to some sources about that incredulity being widespread in Russia. > How is it that the Russian media has such a hold over them - in this day of the internet and other forms of communication? There is a language barrier at play here - Russian natives may not be able to avail English-media content, and I do wonder about how much russian language counter-programming is widely available to the average Russian. > And if Russia can have such a hold, why couldn't OUR government have such an equal hold over US. Russia is practically a dictatorship, while the US is a functioning democracy. That said, within the last 2 decades we have seen the US invade Iraq for no good reason, with significant support from the population resulting in Bush's re-election. Granted, the US people finally threw those responsible out of power for a couple of cycles (albeit for a mix of reasons, including poor economic performance). Meanwhile the Russian people do not appear to have that luxury of being able to peacefully remove Putin from power for any reason.
lnsru 4y ago
The brainwash level of russians is indeed incredible. The whole propaganda is just sick shit: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medvedev-says-russia-is-fighting-sacred-battle-against-satan-2022-11-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medvedev-says-russia-is... I am really curious how it is achieved. Everybody there had/has some relatives that fled to USA or Europe after Cold War and the information should circulate. At least in my theory. But no, satan, drug addicts and NATO forces.

cjblomqvist 4y ago

Easy to forget, but an objective and great educational system (which doesn't optimize only for getting people to be able to do certain jobs, but to truly educate people about life), along with free speech is equally important as free elections in order for democracy to work.

ninjagoo 4y ago

> The point I am trying to make is that the Russian people seem to be equally incredulous to the idea that Russia itself is the aggressor. You may want to point this crowd to some sources about that incredulity being widespread in Russia. > How is it that the Russian media has such a hold over them - in this day of the internet and other forms of communication? There is a language barrier at play here - Russian natives may not be able to avail English-media content, and I do wonder about how much russian language counter-programming is widely available to the average Russian. > And if Russia can have such a hold, why couldn't OUR government have such an equal hold over US. Russia is practically a dictatorship, while the US is a functioning democracy. That said, within the last 2 decades we have seen the US invade Iraq for no good reason, with significant support from the population resulting in Bush's re-election. Granted, the US people finally threw those responsible out of power for a couple of cycles (albeit for a mix of reasons, including poor economic performance). Meanwhile the Russian people do not appear to have that luxury of being able to peacefully remove Putin from power for any reason.

lnsru 4y ago

The brainwash level of russians is indeed incredible. The whole propaganda is just sick shit: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medvedev-says-russia-is-fighting-sacred-battle-against-satan-2022-11-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/medvedev-says-russia-is... I am really curious how it is achieved. Everybody there had/has some relatives that fled to USA or Europe after Cold War and the information should circulate. At least in my theory. But no, satan, drug addicts and NATO forces.