I remember a Russian girl I know telling me a few years back that she didn't like Putin that much but in her view he represented strength which we(men) in the west lack. I always found it funny and I internalised her comment from the POV that she was right in a way, that Russians had different values and Putin personified them. It's sad how catastrophic this caricature of masculinity turned out to be.
Yes I agree, but my point was and is sending Russians home isn't ethnic cleansing.
Putin must be trembling with rage staring at the walls.
The Russian army has been shown up as a joke, not just on the ground but as a cohesive force and at the very top at every level.
Their economy is going to be crippled.
The entire western world is united again them and they've become a pariah state.
He's like Mussolini invading Greece or Africa, but he doesn't have a Hitler to ride in and save him.
Honestly, what does he do now. He doesn't strike me as the "humble pie" sort of man.
Someone said earlier he's simply sticking with the sunken cost fallacy at this stage and that appears to be exactly it.
But lukashenka can't, thats why
I sincerely hope that that you are right!!!!
I hope that his inner circle is not like a cult, who have been brainwashed to believe the them versus us narrative at all costs (à la Jonestown)
The Chechen thug army hit early and reported some are returning back over the border.
Don't be terrified. Putrid and his buddies may well realise the game is up but( apart from him being killed from within, which I would love to see happen) they know it will take years if ever to get them into a court room in de Hague.
Do youn know for sure that applies to Russia?
In a crisis, it would be very much up to Putin how to react and whether to escalate. Like a US president, he has access to a nuclear briefcase, the Chegets, with nuclear launch code. According to an analysis by the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey, the defence minister and chief of staff of the armed forces are also supposed to be involved, but in Putin’s Kremlin it is unclear whether they would act as any kind of brake on his actions.
If the military took Putin out rather than execute a nuclear war; they'd be widely celebrated for doing so.
A few weeks ago a full scale invasion of Ukraine was unimaginable. But here we are.
It might seem unimaginable for nukes to be used but in a few weeks time we could be all snorting iodine tablets.
I join with everyone in recognising the Independent Republic of Kaliningrad 😀
Would they tho? It depends. I say it's 50/50. If one doesn't you can replace them for someone who will do it. If enough don't agree then I say would have to be a military coup and remove Putin and his cronies. Problem with Russia is a lot more cronies seem to get into power right after the last ones are gone.
To be honest, Putin and his seniors have absolutely nothing to lose now. Once this is over, they will all lose everything. That is the part that truly terrifies me…
I really think they would. That’s the problem with basing your dictatorship solely on a small number of super rich, I think the military would arrest him if he ordered a nuclear strike. He’s already publicly humiliated them and sent them unprepared on his personal adventure into Ukraine.
Christ, sounds more like a rock concert.
Is there a possibility of hyperinflation happening would you say?
The nuclear " button " in all countries isn't like it's ant & Dec's gameshow red button that some madman or politician drunk on vodka can press. There are a whole lot of procedures to go through with several individuals before anything can happen.
Crowds in Prague
Putin has suggested his nuclear option. His generals would never allow for that. They would dispose of him first.
We can now add Spain to that so basically all closed off.
Er nope. Covid-19 is a virus, ultimately spread about randomly by all humans.
Nothing natural whatsoever about chosen wars of aggression and Russia (also a human invention) has begun one at the border of the EU.
Unfortunately for them Russians, are, well Russians. The Russian state and Mr. Putin does have some claim over them and they are going to (and should) catch some nasty consequences for what he/Russian leadership is doing.
I see argument that they can "tell the Russian people what is really happening", well, they can equally support or be beholden to Putin and be asked to help the regime on his behalf or be pressured to do it (esp. if their ties here are very weak and they are only in the West temp. on visa). If we are entering a new Cold war type phase of relations with Russia, which seems inevitable now given events unless invasion effort fails and/or Putin's regime collapses best they go home, enjoy the Great Leader's Empire + fruits of his efforts, & no more visas should be issued.
You announce it to say: don't f*ck with us or this could get a lot worse for everyone. Yes, it is just to scare people, but as others are saying, if you're a 69 year old with zero empathy and hellbent on a historical mission and it starts to go wrong, there comes a point where you don't have much to lose....
You would think in a situation like this, whatever is said inside the room would be extremely damaging to both sides. Too risky to have evidence of what was offered or refused going around on TikTok.
He won't be going, just officials.
Actually I think probably about 50% of Russians are quite happily along for the ride, but that's no reason to demonise the other 50%. The Americans were no better with Iraq, etc. Same with the peak of Islamic terrorism: you can't demonise a whole group on the basis of the actions of a vicious minority. Some people in the West seem to think Russians can just take to the streets like in BLM protests and nothing will happen to them. It takes a lot of courage to protest when the result can be violence, imprisonment, being sacked from a job, etc.
Yeah surely everyone knows how to operate Zoom at this stage. Even these old duffers could manage it
And as an addendum, the Putinistas were waxing lyrical about how great it was that Russia has such a small deficit. Wonderful, but that made the West's decision to flex and completely cripple Russia via the financial system all the easier. A strategic mistake.
Even the petrostates of the Middle East are smart enough to borrow on Western markets even though they don't have to. It's a geopolitical insurance policy in a worst-case scenario.
Fridman is Ukrainian born, from Lviv and has Israeli citizenship and Chubais is very much a liberal.
Well it’s time for them to rise up so.
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