5 ms·
How do you figure? Russia is flush with cash, and while their economy may contract, they're not exactly doing badly... Further, what makes you think Putin and
by Mikeb85 13y ago
How do you figure?
Russia is flush with cash, and while their economy may contract, they're not exactly doing badly...
Further, what makes you think Putin and his government is unpopular at home? (hint: they aren't)
- vitno 13y agonot true at all. I JUST spent several weeks in Russia, people will go out of their way to bring up Putin and be unhappy about him (at least to foreigners).
- Mikeb85 13y agoCompare this to the universal love and admiration for Obama in the US, and say, Stephen Harper in Canada... Because no one in the west is ever dissatisfied with anything politicians do.
- icebraining 13y agoYes, politicians in the West are often unpopular too. So what? How does that disprove the claim?
- Mikeb85 13y agoAnecdotes are not data. And unhappy people are more likely to say anything than happy people.
- bayesianhorse 13y ago"Flush with cash" isn't the way that russian civilians are feeling currently...
- Mikeb85 13y agoThere's poor in every country. Russians are certainly better off than they have been historically, and better off than neighbours like Ukraine (certainly before their 'revolution', and especially after). Regardless, this is about sending things into space which isn't the realm of ordinary citizens, but governments. The Russian government certainly is flush with cash.
- bayesianhorse 13y agoThe financial markets certainly disagree with this assessment. The government's credit rating is dropping in free fall, and capital is fleeing the country. The Russian "government" per se won't run out of money, since there is no clear border between public governance and corporate governance anyway. Essentially the state does what the oligarchs tell it to do, and everyone else does what the government tells them to do. If it weren't for the legendary corruption, this might actually be a powerful system... In Russia there's not only "some poor". Health services are reported to be almost inaccessible without bribes, and people do behave as if a war or catastrophic inflation is coming. I also think that Russia had a little something to do with the problems the Ukraine was having over the last few years. In a region renowned for corruption it is hard to tell if Janukowitsch and his friends robbed the country blind with or without outside help...