4 ms·

Apologies for the unrelated comment, but as someone with origins in Belarus, I find it absolutely gutting and disheartening when people see the country’s name (

Apologies for the unrelated comment, but as someone with origins in Belarus, I find it absolutely gutting and disheartening when people see the country’s name (in this case, on a chart), overlook it, and lump it together with some generalized notion of “Ukraine and Russia.” These are three distinct cultures, three separate nations. Sorry, I have no intention of sparking a debate or political argument, just expressing the exasperation.

jeanlucas 2y ago
The geography data seems very amateur, to be polite.
BoxFour 2y ago
Slovakia and Estonia too get lumped in with Ukraine and Russia. I assume they meant "Ukraine and Russia" as a synonym for "eastern Europe" as a whole, but it is a bit dismissive.
- askonomm 2y ago
  As an Estonian, I especially don't like being called eastern europe(ean). We're not, we're northern, according to UN geoscheme classification, according to EuroVoc, and I mean you can also just read the wikipedia page of a place to know where it is at. Furthermore, socially, culturally, and tech advancements wise, we're as far as you could possibly be from Russia association at this point.
  - SiempreViernes 2y ago
    Keep it up, if you wave your EuroVoc "NT1 Baltic States" designation harder maybe Pohjoismaiden neuvosto will give up and let you in. Or maybe not: https://satwcomic.com/party-crasher https://satwcomic.com/party-crasher
    - askonomm 2y ago
      So, what magic thing would convince you if not the UN, and if you do not respect the people who live in Estonia? I may be off base here, but you sound like a specific someone our people call vatnik. Maybe you'll only be happy if we all just call ourselves Russia.
      - SiempreViernes 2y ago
        Finland can into Nordic because it was part of Sweden for 600 years, all the rest all share a tight language family. You on the other hand can't point to common language, have a paltry 70 years as part of a nordic country, and are literally across a sea. Nothing for it, you need to engineer a breakup of the continental plate and ship your bit across the sea my dude.
        askonomm 2y ago
        Nordic !== Northern. Educate yourself on the terms you use.
        SiempreViernes 2y ago
        Dude, anyone can go and look at who are members of the Nordic council, you should try it.
- rsanek 2y ago
  Estonia maybe but I have never seen this for Slovakia
lm28469 2y ago
I think you're all reading way too much into it. Russia and Ukraine are both in the top of both charts, the others aren't. Belarus people are fine, the Belarus government has been horrible for a long time, it's not that surprising that people have a bad opinion of the country. And it doesn't look like it's going to get any better: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russias-quiet-conquest-belarus https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russias-quiet-... All the people from Belarus I know fled and will never go back, they have parents and friends who've been jailed for facebook likes, family members tortured, &c.
- milkshakes 2y ago
  > Belarus people are fine, the Belarus government has been horrible for a long time, it's not that surprising that people have a bad opinion of the country. I would say the same could be argued for "Russia people" as well. They didn't select their dictator either, and have no way to remove him.
  - Hasu 2y ago
    > They didn't select their dictator either, and have no way to remove him. Political power comes from the consent of the ruled. All polities have a way to remove dictators. It's not pretty and causes a lot of harm, but then so do dictators.
  - halfmatthalfcat 2y ago
    I mean, they do, but it involves risking your livelihood and/or life.
    - SiempreViernes 2y ago
      There's no "or" there, serious challenge to the state is a life threatening endeavour in Russia.
  - atq2119 2y ago
    That's a bit of revisionist history. Russians definitely chose Putin. Not all of them did, of course, but too many to ignore. Just like many Italians chose Berlusconi and many Germans chose Hitler. I feel sorry for the Russians who didn't choose this, but we shouldn't let the ones who did off the hook.

jeanlucas 2y ago

The geography data seems very amateur, to be polite.

BoxFour 2y ago

Slovakia and Estonia too get lumped in with Ukraine and Russia. I assume they meant "Ukraine and Russia" as a synonym for "eastern Europe" as a whole, but it is a bit dismissive.

askonomm 2y ago
As an Estonian, I especially don't like being called eastern europe(ean). We're not, we're northern, according to UN geoscheme classification, according to EuroVoc, and I mean you can also just read the wikipedia page of a place to know where it is at. Furthermore, socially, culturally, and tech advancements wise, we're as far as you could possibly be from Russia association at this point.
- SiempreViernes 2y ago
  Keep it up, if you wave your EuroVoc "NT1 Baltic States" designation harder maybe Pohjoismaiden neuvosto will give up and let you in. Or maybe not: https://satwcomic.com/party-crasher https://satwcomic.com/party-crasher
  - askonomm 2y ago
    So, what magic thing would convince you if not the UN, and if you do not respect the people who live in Estonia? I may be off base here, but you sound like a specific someone our people call vatnik. Maybe you'll only be happy if we all just call ourselves Russia.
    - SiempreViernes 2y ago
      Finland can into Nordic because it was part of Sweden for 600 years, all the rest all share a tight language family. You on the other hand can't point to common language, have a paltry 70 years as part of a nordic country, and are literally across a sea. Nothing for it, you need to engineer a breakup of the continental plate and ship your bit across the sea my dude.
      - askonomm 2y ago
        Nordic !== Northern. Educate yourself on the terms you use.
        SiempreViernes 2y ago
        Dude, anyone can go and look at who are members of the Nordic council, you should try it.
rsanek 2y ago
Estonia maybe but I have never seen this for Slovakia

lm28469 2y ago

I think you're all reading way too much into it. Russia and Ukraine are both in the top of both charts, the others aren't. Belarus people are fine, the Belarus government has been horrible for a long time, it's not that surprising that people have a bad opinion of the country. And it doesn't look like it's going to get any better: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russias-quiet-conquest-belarus https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russias-quiet-... All the people from Belarus I know fled and will never go back, they have parents and friends who've been jailed for facebook likes, family members tortured, &c.

milkshakes 2y ago
> Belarus people are fine, the Belarus government has been horrible for a long time, it's not that surprising that people have a bad opinion of the country. I would say the same could be argued for "Russia people" as well. They didn't select their dictator either, and have no way to remove him.
- Hasu 2y ago
  > They didn't select their dictator either, and have no way to remove him. Political power comes from the consent of the ruled. All polities have a way to remove dictators. It's not pretty and causes a lot of harm, but then so do dictators.
- halfmatthalfcat 2y ago
  I mean, they do, but it involves risking your livelihood and/or life.
  - SiempreViernes 2y ago
    There's no "or" there, serious challenge to the state is a life threatening endeavour in Russia.
- atq2119 2y ago
  That's a bit of revisionist history. Russians definitely chose Putin. Not all of them did, of course, but too many to ignore. Just like many Italians chose Berlusconi and many Germans chose Hitler. I feel sorry for the Russians who didn't choose this, but we shouldn't let the ones who did off the hook.