Yes, I've already mentioned that the whole rotten construction has to be demolished completely, and rebuilt from the ground up. There's simply no other way. On a brighter note, the "cracks" that are starting to appear in the regime, the forthcoming offensive, the attacks by Russians ( real or not) on Russian territory etc. could well be the catalyst for change, hopefully!! The next 3-6 months will be critical.
Well, I have no argument with what you've said. In other situations, I've known people say and/or do one thing even though they vehemently believe the opposite, but the consequences of going against the Official Opinion are so severe that they choose not to act in accordance with their beliefs.
In the context of the internal Russian conflict, as you have described so well, there has been no real alternative for the majority ... up to now. It'll be interesting to see if the Free Russia movement and spreads beyond these recent border incursions, because that then might give people the chance to express a dissenting opinion with less fear of being hauled off for ... re-education.
OK. Point taken. And the validity of the change of mind and the reasons for it?
What about Russians that don’t support putin?
what happens to them?
Really!!!!!!!!
In the world of ideas, a 360 turn will still bring you full circle. I’m sure jmreire will happily accept the point, and the mods will treat your report appropriately.
let’s get back on topic
Good luck
You are mixing up the material world and the world of ideas.
Have reported you to the moderation team.
Good luck!
Minor point : that's twice in two days you've refered to a "360°" change of mind. I think you mean 180° - because 360° takes you back to exactly where you started. ;-)
To all those “peace loving” Russian sympathisers on this thread just remember that the UN have had 4 resolution votes on ending the Russian/Ukraine war and each one of those times Russia has voted against it. And China and India have abstained. So clearly Russia are against ending the war and China and India don’t give a sh1t.
So much for “peace”
where is the “PEACE”
Argue this point why don’t ya. This is a discussion forum. Let’s Argue these points.
The majority of UN countries have voted to end this war. Discuss. I’m just an average joe soap of average intelligence and I can see it. Tell me why. Set me straight.
As for so called NATO expansion, Explain to me why two stable democracies in Finland and Sweden clearly APPLIED as in sent in an application to join in the last year. Where is the expansion? How is that expansion?? They weren’t invaded. They weren’t forced. They APPLIED APPLIED APPLIED like all the other former-eastern bloc countries . Do ye ever stop to ask why that is ???? Does that brain connection ever connect ????? How is application = to expansion. How ?????
why don’t some of ye come on here and directly argue these points right now????
why the silence on these issues???
why the silence on this reality ????
As I said I’m an average joe of average intelligence. Blow me out of the water.
I’d say I’ll be waiting .
Sure, and that's exactly what it will take to bring change to Russia. The whole rotten set up has to be brought down and destroyed completely. But until that happens, Putin's thugs will continue to force Russians to fight in his war. And BTW stating the facts surrounding the compliance is not making excuses for Russians complying with Putin's vile acts. And that's the reality, no matter what way anyone chooses to look at it. Edmund Bourke's quote not withstanding.
What would you do if the gun was put to your head, and you were given the choice " Obey or die?" All very fine sitting in the safety and comfort of your own home, and pontificating on the high moral ground, but I can assure you, if the knock ever came to your front door, your mind might change 360○ and in the blink of an eye at that. Because that's how its done in Putin's Russia. I know of people who have been picked up off the street on a Monday, and were in uniform the next day. And for sure, 100% they were not acquiescing and complying, or even going along with it, they knew only too well what the situation was, and wanted no part of it. If they supported Putin and his war, they would have enlisted.
"The trouble with these people is that their cities have never been bombed and their mothers have never been told to shut up."
Quote from Trouble by Charles Bukowski
Calls to remove Vladimir Putin air on Russian state TV in first since Ukraine invasion | ITV News
They would need to wait a year to make it a nice round anniversary, though!
June 6th would be a very symbolic date allright...
Shebekino having a bad day. I get the feeling these incursions will get more visceral for the Russian population as time goes on.
Blinken also said what I have been saying all along: the ceasefire deal is Russia Leaves.
Blinken is straight up trolling Russia now
...
Quite and there should be no excuses for the citizens of the Russian state, either living there or residing outside the state. None of this, 'but it's not their fault'.
Another reason for ‘apparent the difference of opinion ‘ is that it can be held up as a good example of ‘freedom of speech’. The Westis always going on about the Russian media is totally controlled by Putin
Horrific stuff.
A short 2 min video by Australian public journalist reporting in Kozacha Lopan on systematic torture by Russian soldiers on village locals.
Mr Zadorenko says that Russian soldiers also came looking for him. He claims they wanted to set up a sham referendum process to try and legitimise their occupation.
When they knocked on his door early one morning, he wasn't at home. He had left the village with his wife and children. So, they grabbed his mother Natalia instead.
"They took her outside. They kept her in the snow for about an hour in her underwear while the house was searched," he says.
"After that, they took my mother to the basement, where they assaulted her with electric currents and psychologically pressured her.
"Then they threw her out into the street from the basement."
His mother was one of the lucky ones who made it out relatively unscathed.
Investigators are gathering a lot of evidence on war crimes.
The Kharkiv police believes torture practices were not the twisted whims of rogue recruits. Instead they allegedly came from directions from the top.
As countless similar reports before on this thread, its clear that this is not a case of rogue soldiers acting terribly in the fog of war, these are authorised sanctioned acts of crimes against humanity by Orcs.
Yes so they are acquiescing and complying, going along with it - even though there must be widespread knowledge that not all is at it seems.
Sorry, doesn't excuse them. And the stains of this sorry episode will all across ordinary Russians for many years to come.
That's his role on these shows. These shows are not scripted but each of the guests is given a certain lane that they occupy and certain talking points. For most of them it is tub-thumping nationalism but this guy and another older softly spoken guy get to question things. They could very well be their true opinions and they may have been chosen for their role based on those in the first place. They'll be fully aware of the invisible lanes that they are not to cross though. If they are giving an opinion that contravenes the official Kremlin line you can be damn sure they have been green-lighted to do so.
The whole point of having views like this aired is twofold. One is that the other guests (and often the actual hosts) can shout them down and attack their arguments. This will reinforce in the viewers the notion that these are stupid or unpatriotic opinions. The other is that the Kremlin will monitor the reaction of the viewers to try and understand where their audience are at. This feedback allows them to get a feel for what kinds of future policies they will stomach.
It's the same in the Duma although I'm not sure if any of the members of that body get to question anything anymore.
Its hard, if not impossible to explain to anyone from the civilized parts of the world, what its like to live in a totalitarian state, that is ruthlessly ruled by a merciless dictator. Putin's Russia is fast turning into a 2nd North Korea or Hitlers Nazi Germany. Where your very neighbours will report you for the slightest anti war-anti Putin comment. Having some visitors, with different republic plates on their car? Expect a visit from the police, especially if its from one of the "restive republics", In these places, people are faced with a choice: Do as we order, or die, Simple. No one asks why there's no revolution in Nth Korea, because everyone knows why not. Russia is the very same. I seem to remember when the Germans occupied France, the workers in a factory made that stance, refused to work. A detachment of German soldiers turned up at the factory with a portable gallows. Picked some random strikers and hung them. End of strike. Putin would probably not only kill the workers , but their families too.
Yes, agreed 100%. If there was a real opposition, the invasion would not have taken place. Of course, from square one a real opposition and democracy would mean Putin would have been jailed many times over. But even before Putins latest crazy escapade, Just any kind of civil protest was ruthlessly stamped out. I remember one escapade long before the war, while having a meal in street cafe watching the world go by. Then a couple of kids came driving down the street, windows open loud music blaring for all and sundry to hear. Harmless fun, a couple of kids blowing off steam. Then out steps two policemen and stops the car. The kids got out, and started horsing around the police, making a joke out of the whole thing. Police started to get annoyed and turn nasty ( as they do) and passer-bys started to take an interest, and gather. One policeman makes a call for back-up, and within minutes, the street is swarming with heavily armed police. The kids are arrested, and taken away, and the police face the crowd with a defiant " Anyone else want trouble" attitude. The crowd dispersed. As my Russian friend remarked " Even the kids cannot have a bit of Fun here".
So... they are willingly or unwillingly supporting the regime that has brought them to this state of affairs.
A civilian revolt and refusal to work, to strike would bring down hardship on some/ many even but it would wreck this Russian military initiative in a matter of days. A people can only be bullied and obliged to go along with matters so long as they acquiesce to it. So as things stand, they are complicit in the actions of their state. Explanations can be given but no excuses can be made.
The numbers are going up
To be fair, this Victor character has called out before that Russia made a mistake in it's choices. I'm kinda amazed he's still around and kicking. Guy must live in a bungalow.
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