Russia - threadbanned users in OP

But surely the Russian administration can see that too?

Yet they're not making any attempts at a diplomatic resolution? Rather they just seem to be ploughing ahead as if things are fine domestically.

So either things are going to be fine or they know they'll be rescued by a 3rd party when things become crippling.

Oh dear, he's confirmed it.

It seems they’re in favour of being in the EU for the money, the funds (of which they are usually one of the largest benefactors), the access to the market and the freedom of movement but that’s where the enthusiasm ends. They’ve little interest in adopting or accepting EU values - notably democratic ones, which are a fundamental part of what and why the EU and the European institutions were created and they hugely support a political party that seeks to basically destroy the EU, and it would seem, sides with Russia, who are quite literally threatening to nuke EU member states.

It doesn’t work like that! They’re more than welcome to leave! They can sort out their domestic politics themselves. It’s not an EU problem.

It’s basically colonialism and imperialism in a modern context. This is exactly how 19th and early 20th century European powers behaved.

You’re looking at a country that’s effectively in a time warp. It might have electricity, nuclear power and access to the internet but politically it’s in about 1875.

It’s barely even been a democracy for very long and seems to think it’s normal to jail, poison and kill anyone who disagrees or challenges the autocracy. That’s what they’ve always done. It’s just been rebranded - tzars and their courts were just replaced with communist era equivalents, then with an autocratic presidency and a court of oligarchs … it’s not political system anyone who’s grown up in a democracy would recognise. It has institutions that have titles that look vaguely familiar, but that’s where the similarity ends.

They see Ukraine (and other places) as theirs and think they’re just going to take them. I don’t really see how you can deal with that other than to contain them. It’s basically just going to morph into another phase of the Cold War.

I think the broader west has been naive about the notion that all countries naturally tend towards democracy and open, liberal societies. They simply don’t. That’s a largely a product of the European enlightenment era thinking and it doesn’t apply everywhere. Some countries will continue to tend towards king like leadership systems and you can see that clearly in Russia and quite a few other places where that’s always been the political culture. They seek a “good king” or a “powerful king” not a representative democracy.

The real problems between Russia and Ukraine began when the Ukrainian parliament overwhelmingly voted on a deal that would allow greater economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, but which was then kiboshed by the Ukrainian president of the time. I don't think it's venturing too far into crazy conspiracy land to think the then-president was pressured into the U-turn by mother Russia.

It's boneheaded, short-term thinking by Russia, the way they're trying to assert influence in the world. Long-term, it will lead to the loss of all CIS states and the country will become ever more of a Chinese vassal.

Rural Russia may well survive self sufficiency ( after all, they have plenty of experience) without any of the frills, but in the Cities? Remember, Communism was to be the beginning and end of self sufficiency and independence from the outside world, and see how that went. The fact is that we live in an interdependent global world, and that very inter- dependance is what gives us the most f the benefits we enjoy today. ( and of course, it also means that when we become over dependent on other Country's ( China, and currently Russian Oil and Gaz) it needs to be addressed.

I think the trigger event was the Maidan revoultion in 2014 and the chasing out of Putin's glove puppet.

I'm sure they can see it. One thing to bear in mind though is that everyone near the apex of the Russian power vertical (i.e. Putin and his cronies) are multi-billionaires and are thus somewhat insulated from the impacts of sanctions. And, as can be seen from the deployment of troops, they don't care what happens to the average Russian.

There is no third party who will resolve this in Russia's favour, including China. China will do what is in China's long-term interest.

Even if Russia win militarily (still very much a prospect when you consider the relative strength of the two sides, despite the much-needed Western aid), they will lose in every other way. Sanctions remain, pariah status remains, isolation and decline is their future.

Even if there is a negotiated settlement, Russia loses. They lose power of all flavours.

The only possible scenario I can see that is not long-term awful for Russia is if Putin somehow gets removed and a new, somewhat democratic and Western-friendly, regime takes over. I'm not holding my breath waiting for that and would make it a less than 1% chance.

There are some tweets on how Renault sold the Factory, lock stock and barrel for the princely sum of 1 Ruble, and they were making the point that what was a major financial loss for Renault , was a major financial gain for Russia, but what they are forgetting is that it has long being standard Russian business model to invite foreign businesses into Russia and to get their businesses up and running, once that's done, the Russians take over the business completely, and kick out the original Company. When they don't do this, it means that they are too dependent on the parent company. Watch what will happen the Renault production lines now, when the parts stop arriving and they start shutting down, one after another as the supply lines dry up.

This surgery post May 9th is growing traction. If he does go under the knife he will be very vulnerable. A lot of people are loosing a lot of money because of putins war.

“#Israeli mercenaries are fighting together with #Azov Nazis in #Ukraine,” #Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman #Zakharova

so the nazis and the jews are fighting russia together now

Our over indulgence and reliance on others wasn't going to end well. Look at all the industry we had during the 80's and 90's especially the Shannon free zone.

Apparently a factory that was producing Russian language text books for schools that were in occupied Ukraine Burned down down last night in Russia 🔥

Does the pope ever wonder,as I have done, why his boss,God, doesn't put an end to all this war and human suffering. I don't need to hear about this free will horse ****, I just wonder why he doesn't make an appearance and stop it. Same goes for Allah and all the other supreme powers.

I wouldn't say the West has been naive at all. It's quite normal to expect other countries to want to live with freedom in liberal societies where the endeavours of your efforts can reap rewards, and your freedom of speech is not punished by half a lifetime in prison or death. It's hardly a product of the "European enlightenment era thinking" as you put it. It's what all citizens of the world would aspire to want... but the rulers/governments of certain countries prevent them from having it.

That fact is purely down to money, and not a continuation of tradition and political culture as you infer. Putin is a billionaire. All of his inner circle and hundreds of oligarchs are either billionaires or close to it. Then you have the next level down... all wealthy and living in luxury in Moscow and other major cities. These are the people who keep Putin in power, simply because almost all their wealth is from corrupt means. All Russian public utilities have been bled dry. Huge sums in the hundreds of billions have mysteriously vanished into the pockets of the elite.

Then you have the other 140 million or so of the Russian population. Recent figures showed that over 20 million Russian people lived in poverty. The figure is likely much, much higher than that. All of these 140 million people have no say in anything. I am sure they would welcome the living standards of the West and the freedoms that go with it. Instead they eke out an existence that's more akin to medieval times.

They can't vote for change as elections are corrupt, opposition candidates are either imprisoned or assassinated, and Putin has manipulated everything that's ensured he's stayed in power for over 20 years. If you protest then you risk 15 years in prison for holding up even a blank piece of paper, or even worse you just disappear for good.

Nonsense.

They seek a fair life. It's something they don't get in Putin's Russia because Russia is a country you dare not complain in. All these figures about most of Russia supporting the war are nonsense. People are too damn scared to say anything different because they'd be immediately arrested.

If an open election overseen by outside officials were to be conducted in Russia, with no fear of reprisals to voters, then Putin would be out on his ass tomorrow, and within a decade Russia would be most of the way along the road to becoming a true democratic nation - with the right leadership of course. Putin and his cronies prevent this. And money is the reason.

Ordinary Russians don't seek a "good or powerful king". They're no different to you or I. They seek freedom from oppression and fear.