They have been very good at keeping the finer details secret til well after the fact.
Where has Ukraine breached the line, do we think? Is it here?
Humanitarian, and yes it was dangerous, but Chechnya was worse, and so was Libya. maybe Ukraine is in my future, but I don't know at the moment. But I have a Guardian Angel on my shoulder. And that's the only reason we are having this conversation, and that's for sure!!!
Actually you're the one who constantly attacks me. I was having a discussion with someone else about why dictators like Putin are not assassinated more often and then you jump in out of nowhere and say that I'm sympathising with "poor Russians". My post had absolutely nothing to do with that topic and you were just looking to stir an argument again. I've no interest in attacking you personally but I will respond when you totally twist the sense of my posts and write nonsense about a "thesis" that I don't remotely promote. Check your own behaviour before calling for other people to be banned
And even that was diminishing before the war; god knows what COVID, those who fled mobilisation, and those now fertiliser in Ukraine, will do for that shrinking population. Sure as heck won't make for a baby boom - not unless the government slips something in the water, or demands Babies for the Motherland. Russia is in deep shít with just the basic necessities for civilisation, nevermind a 21st century nation.
I'm pretty sure that half the population live in the western most eight of Russia.
Russia sort of underwent that process during the fall of the USSR. The thing about its remaining empire is that much of it is empty. Siberia is just a vast tract of wilderness with the odd little town or city here or there and only really existing due to some local mineral concern. The indigenous populations are basically just natives on the reservation with numbers too small to have ever exerted the political will needed to break away.
Imagine if Russia had undergone a process of decolonisation similar to the Western European nations. How big would it be now? Would Russia even exist East of the Ural Mountains?
One reason that Russia has never been been able to move towards democracy is its inability to admit it was a colonial power which had invaded and brutally oppressed many countries. Even now it clings to "victimhood" status, a country which heroically had fought off invasions and is a force for good in the world. It's all pretty effed up - they cannot admit all the bad stuff the Russian Empire and Soviet Union was responsible for.
Thing about North Korea, they committed to being a walled in, utterly insular nation state from their genesis. These is nowhere else even comparable for the kind of mass suppression at every possible strata of society, top to bottom and codified through a positively archaic power structure. People in there just don't know anything else, because they're very much medieval serfs;
If a little digression is permitted, what had you in Syria for 3 years? That must have been quite the experience and incredibly dangerous
Overly simplistic or not, it works. How many people have managed to defect from N Korea? And as for many N Koreans knowing what's going on, that's simply not true, at least amongst the majority of the population. Keeping his people in " Permanent darkness" is what ensures the Jong Un dynasty stays in power. And as for the ones who would be in the know Kim is so paranoid that he killed the man who guided him to power, his own uncle. Jang Song. And then had the headless body displayed to senior N Korean officials. Or in other words, the ones who would be in the know. There are pictures of the Jong Un's literally everywhere in N Korea, and failure to show the proper respect can have dire consequences for any such unfortunate's caught not showing the proper "respect". He also keeps his people in a semi-starved state, which of course makes them more amenable and easier to control. Compared to S Korea's border guards who are all fit and healthy looking, Jong's are all undersized and undernourished. And that's only what happens on the surface. A colleague of mine spent two years there, and you would not believe some of the stories that I've heard about N Korea. Suffice it to say, Russians live in a comparative paradise. And that's saying something.
As for Syria, I spent nearly 3 years there myself, at a time when the war was raging full blast. Shooting and shelling was an every day / night occurrence. In the street I lived in, the lift hoist on the roof was demolished, 5 doors down, a mortar landed on the street causing massive destruction to both sides, and a few hundred metre's further on, a building was completely levelled. All this was in one direction, the opposite direction was just as bad, but further away from where I lived. But anyway, I digress. You are right when you say that loyalty to dictators can depend on said dictator rewarding these people financially for their loyalty, but that loyalty is not absolute. Loyalty to the highest bidder, in effect. But there's another kind of loyalty, like in Syria where the minorities lives actually depends on Assad's protection from Al Quaida, ISIS etc And this is not depending on cash payments or favoritism or threats from the regime. Assad is known as the Protector of the minorities. And these people will protect him and his family, and as time has proved, they're doing an extremely good job of it.
What the hell are you talking about? Where in my post do I say anything about 'poor Russians'? Are you that desperate for attention that you just invent things for the sake of starting an argument?
And I love that it's others must suffer for THEIR buffer
yeah but since WW2 the British dont have any material "mainland" border concerns, anything they do foreign policy-wise is just down to general costs and benefits or whether there is a buck in it.
Putin certainly miscalculated and I dont think he understood what he was getting into. I'd be more positive with your last comments. This war has shown that smaller countries can stop larger ones dead. Drone tech means any small neighbour with a potentially aggressive larger neighbour can turn their country into a poison pill , it will create a whole new asymmetry , making land wars painfully expensive for the aggressor.
Ireland should take note here too, not that we have an aggressive neighbour (anymore) , but the Irish defence forces could get a lot of bang for their buck by investing in surveillance drones and armed drones and kill the argument that we dont care to defend ourselves.
True in the past but nobody absolutely nobody wanted to invade Russia in the present. This idea of needing to have a geographical buffer is pure horsesht.
If they are going for Ocheretuvate and Tokmak would it suggest they are trying to make the coast from 2 directions ?
The British/English counterexample is not great. They are not surrounded by an ocean and invaded both France I think and of course ourselves on occasion with a (or one) justification being this sort of ensuring security from "enemies" mustering against them in one or the other.
We had long detailed posts at start of the thread about the Russian leadership's need to feel "safe" from invasions manifesting in understandable conquering and crushing of neighbours. A kind of fatalistic attitude to it - You might not like it but Russia is powerful and that is how it is so Ukraine should bow down and accept Putin's demands and stop dreaming.
It is not 1700 any more. It is just not "acceptable" any longer IMO, if it ever was. Even if you don't want to bring morality and the idea of self determination of peoples into it and see yourself as a kind of hard nosed realist, weapons are too powerful and destructive now for this behaviour. There's many large and powerful countries in the world quite unhappy with their more or less settled 21st C borders and either jealous or fearful of their neighbours (not just Russia, they are not special) and several of them have nukes too.
no doubt but still a big difference between Russia compared to the psychology of Britain and the US sitting pretty having ocean borders. I'd say the same for counties like Poland having to deal with bullsh1t coming from both directions
That's an overly simplistic explanation. Both of them have plenty of enemies and there are plenty of people even in North Korea who see through all the bullsh*t. More likely these people, and Putin too, make sure their inner circle are both handsomely rewarded for loyalty and implicated if things go wrong, so that they all know: if the leader falls, they fall. Ideology alone is not enough,not even in NK (hence defectors).
Maybe Putin's next chef will take the more discreet option of poisoning his food, that would be nice
Still waiting to see any confirmation. But there's a geo-confirmed strike on Ukrainian soldiers at the location here which is fairly close.
Pavel here recalling how the Putin mafia moved into Crimea.
Little fat boy in N Korea, is easy. From birth onwards, the North Koreans are psychologically molded ( brainwashed ) into believing that everything they have, even Life itself, has come from the Great Leader. Plus, the chances of anyone from anywhere, getting close enough to kill him are beyond remote.
Assad on the other hand, has a different kind of protection., but just as effective. He's a member of a minority sect, the Alawites, and as such he's strongly supported by the other minorities, including the Christians. Pretty difficult to get near him as well. That's why both of them have survived. They are surrounded by by people whose lives not only depend on their leaders, but who actually believe in and support them 100%.
Actually yes I was going to add: it's amazing how often these people do get lucky all the time. For example baffling how the North Korean fat boy leaders never get killed, or Assad etc....they all either have very loyal circles or are indeed very lucky...
At this point in time, all help great fully received! Primary target is the removal of Putin and his cronies, what happens after that's achieved, is a matter for another day.
Interesting reading about the second jet. I don't believe for a minute it is not linked to Wagner Group. It flew back from Azerbaijan to Moscow today.
From the article....
Earlier on Wednesday, another jet also set off from Moscow and appeared to be following the same route, completing its journey and returning the same day. The Wagner-linked social media channel Grey Zone said that jet was connected to the mercenary group. But the plane’s operator, Jetica LLC, denied this, telling Reuters on Friday that “neither the plane itself nor its passengers are related to Wagner and have never been”.
That combination could work OK as its Russian-Russian. and what's more, they could do serious damage. You'll never know, if the march goes ahead, they could pick up like minded followers. If that happens, they will not be for turning..they'll have to be physically stopped,
Russians are very respectful of the law ( when its to their benefit ) especially concerning contracts if they might be contested in EU or other Courts. So all the "T"s will be crossed, and all the "I"s dotted. Hence the "sale price of €1", all perfectly legal and above board. Of course the reality is that the whole business was stolen, same as all the Aircraft that Putin grabbed and re registered as Russian. Russia is a terrorist state in every sense of the world.
Any further news on the rumoured hill 166 push?
She died of natural causes years later though. Not a very good comparison.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e050b53be62f0ae2404c620976170938.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w8.vanillicon.com/v2/82d003fd2122b93acc890998f11fd913.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/ee3bbaed7151f7c3b682bc3fc04ae67e.svg)
