Is Russia the worst country on the planet

vapor trails · 15-06-2016 10:13AM #1

Detaining people for holding a vigil for the dead in Orlando:

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-14/russian-police-detains-gay-couple-orlando-tribute

Systematic and centrally controlled doping of its athletes:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/14/athletes-letter-doping-wada-ioc-russia-decision

Russian Sports official claiming nothing was happening in the stands at Marseille:

http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/russian-sports-minister-bizarrely-claims-8171534

Harry Palmr · 15-06-2016 10:17AM

No, its far from the worst but it's getting a worse place to be and it's malign influence is spreading. Putin is turning Russia into a proto-fascist authoritarian state.

biko · 15-06-2016 10:17AM

Worse than North Korea?

Tabnabs · 15-06-2016 10:18AM

Worse than Syria?

Edgarfrndly · 15-06-2016 10:22AM

No, but it's a complete kip where racists, xenophobes and bigots can come together and party like it's 1699.

kilns · 15-06-2016 10:23AM

Its a propaganda war, its exactly what countries like the US and UK want you to think

cdeb · 15-06-2016 10:29AM

Spent three weeks in Russia a couple of years ago and loved the place. Very friendly people, very welcoming, never once felt threatened (even when I went into the away end in a top flight football game by mistake, and ended up in a group of 4000 Dagestani ultras at an Anzhi game)

Don't think I'd say that about, say, three weeks in Syria or North Korea.

Russia has its problems for sure. But to say it's the worst place in the world is nonsense.

fryup · 15-06-2016 10:33AM

there's a macho culture and thats for sure, they're one hard race

Gatling · 15-06-2016 10:36AM

They didn't annex Crimea from Ukraine or shoot down flight MH17 either they aren't occupying parts of east Ukraine either .

That's according to the Russians anyway

buried · 15-06-2016 10:38AM

Saudi Arabia. Where they behead people for crimes of "sorcery" after mass. Nearly up on 100 beheadings this year. The ultimate fascist-$hithole

wes · 15-06-2016 10:39AM

I reckon North Korea is probably the worst place to live. Russia has sadly gone backwards in terms of Human Rights etc lately, due to Putin pandering to various extremists in his country.

Mint Sauce · 15-06-2016 10:45AM

I'm nearly fearing a WC there more than Qatar.

gramar · 15-06-2016 11:13AM

Admit it OP, you hadn't even heard of Russia before the Euro's.

suicide_circus · 15-06-2016 11:16AM

buried wrote: »

Saudi Arabia. Where they behead people for crimes of "sorcery" after mass. Nearly up on 100 beheadings this year. The ultimate fascist-$hithole

This place needs to be replaced by a big smoking crater in the ground.

Superhorse · 15-06-2016 11:18AM

It has it's issues like most nations. What we are witnessing is a propaganda war that people with low levels of intelligence are falling for just like back in the 60's 70's 80's etc.. A lot of this stems from the west's insistence in circling Russia with pro America friendly nations and long term having missiles minutes from major Russian cities yet people think Russia are just going to take it. Can you imagine if Moscow had nukes based in Cuba what would happen... oh wait a minute

lawlolawl · 15-06-2016 11:19AM

Russia is what the rest of the world would be like if political correctness and being perpetually offended hadn't caught on.

Also, Putin is one of my personal heroes because he straight up does really objectionable things and just says he didn't and gets away with it every. single. time.

He's Hank Scorpio from that Simpsons episode.

Superhorse · 15-06-2016 11:21AM

suicide_circus wrote: »

This place needs to be replaced by a big smoking crater in the ground.

And yet despite Saudi being one of America's close allies America still feels entitled to be critical of Russia.

buried · 15-06-2016 11:24AM

suicide_circus wrote: »

This place needs to be replaced by a big smoking crater in the ground.

The headhunting "Royal Family" regime is what should be blasted to the moon. The majority of people not in the regime have to live in squalor and filth, plenty of democracy campaigners there but many of them get marched out for their heads to be chopped off too. Not that you'll see any of this on the likes of 'Sky News', only time The Mafia House of Saud gets mentioned on there is when the gangster headhunters get the red carpet B&B up in Buckingham palace

lawlolawl · 15-06-2016 11:26AM

buried wrote: »

The headhunting "Royal Family" regime is what should be blasted to the moon. The majority of people not in the regime have to live in squalor and filth, plenty of democracy campaigners there but many of them get marched out for their heads to be chopped off too. Not that you'll see any of this on the likes of 'Sky News', only time The Mafia House of Saud gets mentioned on there is when the gangster headhunters get the red carpet B&B up in Buckingham palace

They are pretty much the Lannisters from GoT except with oil instead of gold.

Wanderer78 · 15-06-2016 11:30AM

I'd class America as one the worst countries in the world but that depends on the criteria it's based on

wes · 15-06-2016 11:32AM

Superhorse wrote: »

It has it's issues like most nations. What we are witnessing is a propaganda war that people with low levels of intelligence are falling for just like back in the 60's 70's 80's etc..

I must have imagined Russia annexing the Crimea...........

Honestly, I am pretty critical of the US, but the amount of BS people will come out to defend Russia invading another country is truly breath taking.

TerrorFirmer · 15-06-2016 11:32AM

Superhorse wrote: »

It has it's issues like most nations. What we are witnessing is a propaganda war that people with low levels of intelligence are falling for just like back in the 60's 70's 80's etc.. A lot of this stems from the west's insistence in circling Russia with pro America friendly nations and long term having missiles minutes from major Russian cities yet people think Russia are just going to take it. Can you imagine if Moscow had nukes based in Cuba what would happen... oh wait a minute

I like how you try to replace 'common sense' with 'low intelligence'.

Russia is a backwards, right wing, xenophobic, closed nation.

No amount of waffling about NATO politics or anecdotal evidence about 'that one time I went on holidays and the people were lovely' changes Russia's internal social situation.

Walter H Price · 15-06-2016 11:34AM

It's not the most liberal and tolerant regime on the planet but definitely not the worst. Like didn't a Dutch woman get a fine and a suspended sentence for being raped in the UAE during the week ? Honduras has the highest murder rate on the planet , Zimbabwe wins hands down in the government corruption stakes, Thi Land has unbelievable levels of child sexual exploitation and places like Haiti have over 85% of their population living in dire poverty. No to mention the state of most of the middle east and north Africa in general since the arab spring , Gay people being thrown from buildings executed tortured , sex slaves , people burned alive etc The stable middle eastern states are all pretty totalitarian too look at Saudi and Iran and their war mongering and human rights abuses.

So all in all Russia not very tolerant and not very PC , bad by western standards but overall much better then allot of the kips out there.

The Highwayman · 15-06-2016 11:38AM

No. Israel is.

Winterlong · 15-06-2016 11:39AM

North Korea, Afganisthan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, DR Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Zimbabwe, India, Somalia, Burma, Iran, Bangaledesh and Egypt would be much worse than Russia IMO.

ancapailldorcha · 15-06-2016 11:40AM

Wanderer78 wrote: »

I'd class America as one the worst countries in the world but that depends on the criteria it's based on

This has to be one of the daftest things I've ever read.

REXER · 15-06-2016 11:41AM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I like how you try to replace 'common sense' with 'low intelligence'.

Russia is a backwards, right wing, xenophobic, closed nation.

No amount of waffling about NATO politics or anecdotal evidence about 'that one time I went on holidays and the people were lovely' changes Russia's internal social situation.

Praveen Halappanavar would probably say the same thing about Ireland!

RobertKK · 15-06-2016 11:42AM

Give me Russia any day over certain other alternatives.

TerrorFirmer · 15-06-2016 11:43AM

REXER wrote: »

Praveen Halappanavar would probably say the same thing about Ireland!

I'm sure he would. Doesn't mean it has any basis in reality. People tend to confuse opinion and anedcotal evidence with actual fact all the time.

12Phase · 15-06-2016 11:43AM

It's not the worst country in the world but it's a bloody awful place to wake up and discover you're gay, amongst many other things.

I think Putin and co are doing a lot of damage to what should be a thriving place.

I mean think about it : it has vast mineral resources, oil, gas etc and had developed some of the most refined technologies in areas like aerospace, martials science, nuclear, etc etc etc

Instead of building on its huge potential, it's turned in on itself and is wasting its energy on crazy anti gay stuff, saber rattling exercises and various other things that are leading nowhere.

The EU wasn't hostile towards Russian and had been all about trying to build bridges and work with them until Ukraine happened.

All this stuff has also caused a brain drain and a capital flight. Everyone's money is off shore, the brilliant scientists and engineers all seem to be attracted to better lifestyles in Europe and North America etc.

I'm not critical of Russians, it's just they've managed to allow the place to be hijacked by some very odd politics in recent years.

That being said, so has the USA when you look at the rise of the evangelical far right, the dire recent foreign policy under GW in particular and now a dangerous populist like Trump spouting all sorts of crazy.

Skylinehead · 15-06-2016 11:44AM

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

This has to be one of the daftest things I've ever read.

Not if he's reading "worst country" as having the worst influence on the world, and not just the conditions inside that country...

Is Russia the worst country on the planet

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