4 ms·

Russian nationalism/imperialism is a powerful drug that is hard for Russians to unchain their minds from. So even if the intellectuals don't like Putin, Russia

by yks 2y ago

Russian nationalism/imperialism is a powerful drug that is hard for Russians to unchain their minds from. So even if the intellectuals don't like Putin, Russia becoming a client state of China or wars as such, most of them dislike independent Ukraine even more. Solzhenitsyn, Brodsky, Navalny etc etc. Besides, Russia is "winning" Western elections, and who doesn't like to be on the winning team.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> Russia is "winning" Western elections, and who doesn't like to be on the winning team Finland and Sweden voted to join NATO; Europe re-arms. Trump may not be pro-Ukraine, but his energy policy will wreck Russia's oil-dependent pocketbook while his China and Iran strategies will also hurt Moscow. Russia's other potential pillar, arms sales, is having its reputation trashed as the world watches 90s-era Western kit take out its "cutting edge" hardware. Add to that the declining population and it's difficult to see the Russian nation continuing in its present form for more than a few generations. Maybe we'll see an independent Chechnya or even Siberia [1] in our lifetimes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Republic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Republic
- api 2y ago
  If Russia is winning I'd hate to see what losing looks like. Even if they manage to finally take Ukraine it's going to be a Pyrrhic victory in the extreme given the losses they've sustained and how the war has expanded NATO and solidified their opposition. They seem to be pretty successful in sowing discord overseas with their propaganda but it's not getting them much in the long run. Their domestic problems are the biggest thing killing them and hosing the rest of the world down with bullshit won't help them there.
  - yks 2y ago
    Neither Russian elites nor masses care about “Russia doing better”, the fall of the West is the end in itself, presumably it will assert the greatness of Russia and their version of the end of history will ensue, while wealth of the masses or the bleak demographic prospects won’t change a bit.
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > the fall of the West is the end in itself Russia's elites don't care about this either. They want to be rich and will support anyone in charge who lets them be.
      - yks 2y ago
        I thought so too until the invasion of Ukraine, but it's been increasingly hard to apply this narrow motivation to the world events of late. At least with regards to Putin and his inner circle — the outer oligarchy of Russia is of course just taken for the ride and they would rather it all stopped, but they won't speak up.

by yks 2y ago

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> Russia is "winning" Western elections, and who doesn't like to be on the winning team Finland and Sweden voted to join NATO; Europe re-arms. Trump may not be pro-Ukraine, but his energy policy will wreck Russia's oil-dependent pocketbook while his China and Iran strategies will also hurt Moscow. Russia's other potential pillar, arms sales, is having its reputation trashed as the world watches 90s-era Western kit take out its "cutting edge" hardware. Add to that the declining population and it's difficult to see the Russian nation continuing in its present form for more than a few generations. Maybe we'll see an independent Chechnya or even Siberia [1] in our lifetimes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Republic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Republic

api 2y ago
If Russia is winning I'd hate to see what losing looks like. Even if they manage to finally take Ukraine it's going to be a Pyrrhic victory in the extreme given the losses they've sustained and how the war has expanded NATO and solidified their opposition. They seem to be pretty successful in sowing discord overseas with their propaganda but it's not getting them much in the long run. Their domestic problems are the biggest thing killing them and hosing the rest of the world down with bullshit won't help them there.
- yks 2y ago
  Neither Russian elites nor masses care about “Russia doing better”, the fall of the West is the end in itself, presumably it will assert the greatness of Russia and their version of the end of history will ensue, while wealth of the masses or the bleak demographic prospects won’t change a bit.
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > the fall of the West is the end in itself Russia's elites don't care about this either. They want to be rich and will support anyone in charge who lets them be.
    - yks 2y ago
      I thought so too until the invasion of Ukraine, but it's been increasingly hard to apply this narrow motivation to the world events of late. At least with regards to Putin and his inner circle — the outer oligarchy of Russia is of course just taken for the ride and they would rather it all stopped, but they won't speak up.