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The economy of the DDR was a basket case. It was the USSR that did them in when the Soviets stopped selling them oil and gas for cheap in the 1970s. Moscow was

The economy of the DDR was a basket case. It was the USSR that did them in when the Soviets stopped selling them oil and gas for cheap in the 1970s. Moscow was surprisingly capitalist. They noticed they could sell their resources to the West for dollars or give them away to their communist "allies".

flohofwoe 18d ago
Might have to do with the fact that East Germany's Uranium deposits dried up sometime between the late 60s and early 70s (but of course there was also the global oil crisis around that time). In the early days the GDR provided most of the Uranium for the Soviet nukes, and there was constant haggling about who pays what (usually the GDR) and how much profit the GDR was allowed to take (usually not much). Cheap oil and gas might have been a part of the deal, until West Germany also discovered that the Soviets were willing to sell cheap to the "class enemy" during the 1970s (e.g. that problem of (the whole of) Germany becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas started much earlier than most people realize today. Also related fun fact: the GDR started to refurbish and use old steam locomotives again as a result of the oil crisis. I remembered seeing those regularly as a child, and then later wondered what caused this anachronism.
- Lumich 17d ago
  « that problem of (the whole of) Germany becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas » — For whom was it a “problem”, and why?
  - flohofwoe 17d ago
    It wasn't much of a problem until Russia decided to go all-in on its "imperial ambitions" again which made it an unreliable trade partner for Germany. Remember: it was Russia which tried to blackmail Germany by shutting down the pipelines, and that was before the Ukrainians settled the matter once and for all by blowing up Nordstream (Russia had been shutting down the gas flow indefinitely by end of August 2022 after three months of back-and-forth, and the dry pipeline was finally blown up end of September 2022).
    - Lumich 17d ago
      [flagged]
      - flohofwoe 17d ago
        > And while I don't know whether there was blackmail involved I do know that there was terrorism involved (the GermanWings crash on 3/24/15, ridiculously blamed on "pilot suicide"). Lol, ok wacko... whatever you say.
        Lumich 16d ago
        What his parents and friends say. And what has been been technologically feasible for decades. Ever heard of drone technology? Ever heard of an analogous "bus driver suicide", of which statistically there should be hundreds or thousands for every alleged "airliner pilot suicide"? To return the "compliment", consider whether it rather applies here … 49386949. And remember to "flag".
maharajatever 18d ago
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flohofwoe 18d ago

Might have to do with the fact that East Germany's Uranium deposits dried up sometime between the late 60s and early 70s (but of course there was also the global oil crisis around that time). In the early days the GDR provided most of the Uranium for the Soviet nukes, and there was constant haggling about who pays what (usually the GDR) and how much profit the GDR was allowed to take (usually not much). Cheap oil and gas might have been a part of the deal, until West Germany also discovered that the Soviets were willing to sell cheap to the "class enemy" during the 1970s (e.g. that problem of (the whole of) Germany becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas started much earlier than most people realize today. Also related fun fact: the GDR started to refurbish and use old steam locomotives again as a result of the oil crisis. I remembered seeing those regularly as a child, and then later wondered what caused this anachronism.

Lumich 17d ago
« that problem of (the whole of) Germany becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas » — For whom was it a “problem”, and why?
- flohofwoe 17d ago
  It wasn't much of a problem until Russia decided to go all-in on its "imperial ambitions" again which made it an unreliable trade partner for Germany. Remember: it was Russia which tried to blackmail Germany by shutting down the pipelines, and that was before the Ukrainians settled the matter once and for all by blowing up Nordstream (Russia had been shutting down the gas flow indefinitely by end of August 2022 after three months of back-and-forth, and the dry pipeline was finally blown up end of September 2022).
  - Lumich 17d ago
    [flagged]
    - flohofwoe 17d ago
      > And while I don't know whether there was blackmail involved I do know that there was terrorism involved (the GermanWings crash on 3/24/15, ridiculously blamed on "pilot suicide"). Lol, ok wacko... whatever you say.
      - Lumich 16d ago
        What his parents and friends say. And what has been been technologically feasible for decades. Ever heard of drone technology? Ever heard of an analogous "bus driver suicide", of which statistically there should be hundreds or thousands for every alleged "airliner pilot suicide"? To return the "compliment", consider whether it rather applies here … 49386949. And remember to "flag".

maharajatever 18d ago

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