Bunch of paid trolls pushing propaganda on this thread. I’m stepping off.
‘bonjour imbécile’
Instantly picturing Vinnie Jones’s face 
Sorry, I got a bit emotional, I just hate trolls.
You’re mistaking me for someone else. I’ve always had the same flag. My account dates back to 2017. And you’ll notice that I’ve been most active in learning Russian during my time here.
Ironically, you’re just the opposite: while you fly the Russian flag, you promote only the anti-Russian points.
1375 words since 2017. Most active he was, indeed.
I clearly promote the distinction between Putin and Russia, which you choose to ignore stubbornly.
You’ve had the GB flag, I trust my memory.
S.L,
Since you are living in Russia so you are well aware of Russian government workings. Whatever we foreigners heard about it - it is always in negative light like dictatorship and all and this mostly comes from western media. My question is, was it ethically okay for western countries to import gas from such a regime until a short while and now it is declared as evil since their self-interests are not served.
Second question, even if Putin is not there in the helm of affairs, there is some democratically chosen Russian government, do you think will they accept the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and allowing military bases right on Russian national borders?
a la Cuban missile crisis?
Thanks
@asad,
-
Because it’s inconsistency with the course of all the other sanctions. What the purpose of a pressure on common people, while Putin and Co are getting money anyway, especially now when the price of gas and oil have skyrocketed in Europe? They’ll continue supporting their ‘operations’, funding the police and troll farms and fucking with neighbours.
Adobe stops their subscriptions in Russia, Upwork stops registrations and is even going to delete russian accounts, a lot of things like that are happening right now. What the purpose? Well, if the West decided to go hard, so go hard - withdraw of gas and oil.
And untill a short while in Russia wee plenty of opposition media. Last two victims of the regime were “Echo of Moscow” and “Dozhd’”, both were closed right after they’ve called the war a war. Not only western media calls the Putin’s regime “dictatorship”. -
I don’t know, I even don’t care. I tell you what, if you live in Russia, especially right now, you would pray for NATO to take this insane country as soon as possible
It’s not that NATO inflates on its own, it doesn’t work that way. It’s Russia who acts agressively and madly and makes the idea of joining NATO not so bad for the neighbours. The last three who ask for membership were Sweden, Finland and Georgia, right after the beginning of the current Ukranian crisis, as I remember it right.
I doubt they are paid trolls. They have probably just believed too much of what paid trolls have told them.
It’s impossible to talk to people in Russia, at least most of them. Of course I do believe in importance of communication, nobody (really) wants the war, even if so many (about 70% of russians) support it. They are blind and they believe they are defending russian world, when in reality they are destroying it and Ukraine with it. TV is completely in state control and they will not even try to look for other people’s opinions. They don’t care that so many countries condemned this invasion, for them it’s all US’s influence and that European countries are just puppets. Sanctions won’t work on them, their hate for west will only increase for that. It doesn’t mean that it’s all fruitless, but I just know that common sense does not work for people that believe in Putin and in “russian world”
There’s no need in such generalization.
First, I hope you don’t trust this 70% stat blindly? Stat is highly manipulative in Russia, you wouldn’t believe 
Proverbial 146%.
Second thing I want to tell you, that even if so, the support of Russian people isn’t the same thing as the support, let’s say, of British people for their Government’s decisions. And doesn’t work that way. At all.
By this point, Russian people has developed learned helplessness, because in dictatorships your opinion doesn’t count and blatantly ignored. You can get in jail with the slogan “No War” and “Go War”, or even with " ", if your performance isn’t directed by the “Ministry of Truth”.
For those who developed this syndrome stonger than others did, it’s an outlet. You can do nothing, you can change nothing, you have nothing, besides debts. Why don’t believe in the Russian Greatness at least, for a change. As a substitute for control over their own lives… But I can assure you, those people won’t volunteer for the army, they even won’t volunteer to opress oposition inside (unless will paid, which gets harder under the sanctions now). They just sit in their couches and opress the thoughts about their broken lives.
BTW, if you’re interested in how Putin has come to power, there are two films explaining his way in details. In short, Russian people have done less for it, than, say, Schröder and Matthias Warnig have. Europe buying Russian gas was supporting the Putin’s regime more, than Russians. Though the key point was made by Sobchak and Gaidar. And Putin just bought Russia and became a dictator before anyone had realized what just happened.
Let me know, if you want to check those films out, I’ll post them privately on your wall. I’d say it’s the “must watch” for anyone interested in what’s happening in Russia and why it is as it is.
Also, what I wanna make everyone realize, including my countrymen, that the impression you could develop about the attitudes in Russian society, probably formed by the activity of troll farms. Ordinary people who’re trying to survive most of the time, have not enough time to comment that much that trolls are able to do on a daily basis. One paid troll with 200 accounts can post the whole day, he can get help for concocting historical facts and myths together, effective ideologiсal speculations from his superiors and co-workers, and also make fakes and fake-debunking of facts, or exaggerating something and liking other trolls to fake the support by the crowd. Well, 3000 of such trolls would be able to flood the Internet in half by the end of the year.
Putin takes the information warfare seriously. So much that sometimes I would see someone from the West who believes that it’s all the will of Russian people and that Putin and Co represents this will.
Putin doesn’t represent the interests of Russian people, he doesn’t give a damn*. He represents the interests of his own and of his friends’.
*Though, the propaganda imposes the artificial ones (greatness instead of control over life).
Hi, S.I!
“if you want to check those films out, I’ll post them privately on your wall.”
If you have any links, I´d be interested in those films, too.
Thinking about what you wrote, maybe we have to modify Orwell´s famous phrase a little bit:
The dictator’s credo: “The only good citizen is a (brain)dead one.”
Thanks S.I, I’d be glad to know about those films too!
Hey S.I., I’d be really interested in those films too!
Interestingly, Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting deserved praise for his video Granted, he didn’t deliver his comments in Russian, and his video will barely trickle through Russian censors, but it was still a well-crafted message designed to reach across national cultures.
https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1504426844199669762?s=20&t=ZPnC9BydEhgMTHFLGuW2lA
Great. Does he support Palestine as well? And what about all of the other peoples that are experiencing humanitarian crises?
Thank you for a very thoughtful post. What is very sad for me is the demonization of Russia and the Russian people. I myself have not found it impossible to talk to Russian people. Perhaps if those of us in the USA did a little more talking to Russian people, we would realize they are just that. People like us.
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The refugees were eight years ago, when everything was just beginning. Part moved to Ukraine unaffected by the war, and part left the country and went to Russia.
In Ukraine, there are still state programs for the accommodation of migrants from certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
But you are right about one thing, the Russians do not hesitate to create any meanness and lies, it is simply impossible to believe their words.
I understand your anger and frustration, but I dont think it is helpful to generalize about “all Russians” or any other group. Plenty of mean people all over. I can say that if it were not for the patience and kindness of our local Russian community, I would not speak Russian as well as I do.
But clearly when Russia put missiles in Cuba the USA had plenty to say about it. I’m old enough to remember being afraid if a war. I am not supporting Putin, but there is a marked similarity between where we are now and the Cuban missile crisis.