By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - General Discussion - What do you think of Russia ?

konnichiwa said:
hunter_alien said:
stof said:
youjiro said:
are we gonna do this for every country in thw world now???


but on topic, i don't have an opinion, dnt follow what happens in russia really, and don't know any russian people to formulate an opinion... really i shouldn't even be in this thread... sorry

Nope. We skipped a whole bunch by lumping them together as "Africa"

 


lol good one :P Lets do one for Asia , Europe , South America and a couple of others and then we can start on cityes :P

 

Its funny what people think of modern days Russia ... actually its the biggest energy suplier of Europe and its one of the fastest evolving countryes in the world . It amazes me how much they have acomplished in 17 years :)


It is not hard to accomplish that.

Especially if you are the biggest energy supplier of Europe ;).


 You do forget one important thing : they where financlially at ground 0 when the Soviet - Union was disolved . And thats why I look up to the country . Actually just looking at the last 5 years , I would say that Putin was the best leader Russia could have got . He is pretty liberal , and focuses a lot on energy export ( the big plus the country has ) but in the same time he managed to keep Russia as a world power , rather than transforming it into a whore country , like many ex-communist ones ( yes , unfortuntaly Romania is one of them ) . 

 

  Also , its sad to see how some poor qulity US movies can brainwash an entire generation of kids . Dont forget , the USA was the one whom first started the nuclear arming project , and they where the first ones to threaten Stalin back at the end of the 40s , that they can and will launch a nuclear attack over Russia if they need to do it . The arms race was a 2 party game , and the USA was one of them , so again , its not only Russia the one to blame for the thousands of nuclear waste there is in this world .

 

PS : almost the entire East Europe gained their factoryes that are still used today during the comunist era , so was it really that bad ? ( not that I would want it to happen again ) .



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!

Around the Network

Communism
Cold War
Vodka
Neo-Nazis (I saw a documentary on Neo-Nazis in Russia (Ross Kemp on Gangs, if you're interested).



Some things off the top of my head:

- Russians know what they want, since their government tells them what they can want. (look up "Guided Democracy")
- Journalists and thinkers with different opinions tend to die or disappear there. ie. Anna Politkovskaya and dozens of others.
- Russian politicians seem to consider a policy that irritates and angers everyone else successful. In fact, they always seem to be somewhat insecure and needy in terms of attention.
- Chechnya is a lovely place to live in, unless you're a Chechen.
- Russia has some lovely youth movements. This one is otherwise known as Putin-Youth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashi_%28youth_movement%29
- Finland is right next to it, and for a long time was a part of it.

- Despite everything, Russian PC games tend to be good.
- Battleship Potemkin is an interesting piece of film history.
- Vodka's good.



Warning: The preceding message may or may not have included sarcasm, cynicism, irony, full stops, commas, slashes, words, letters, sentences, lines, quotes,  flaeed  gramar, cryptic metaphors or other means of annoying communication. Viewer discretion is/was strongly advised.

Mise said:
Some things off the top of my head:

- Russians know what they want, since their government tells them what they can want. (look up "Guided Democracy")
- Journalists and thinkers with different opinions tend to die or disappear there. ie. Anna Politkovskaya and dozens of others.
- Russian politicians seem to consider a policy that irritates and angers everyone else successful. In fact, they always seem to be somewhat insecure and needy in terms of attention.
- Chechnya is a lovely place to live in, unless you're a Chechen.
- Russia has some lovely youth movements. This one is otherwise known as Putin-Youth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashi_%28youth_movement%29
- Finland is right next to it, and for a long time was a part of it.

- Despite everything, Russian PC games tend to be good.
- Battleship Potemkin is an interesting piece of film history.
- Vodka's good.


 lol , I love your pros ... actually it beats every con you could get . Oh , and con number 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 is not even something concrete ( OK , maybe the Chechnyan one is , but who would do things in a different way anyways ? Especially when we are talking about the countryes integrity ) . 6 on the other hand is a complete nonsense , and its only based on historycal prejudice ... ( OK , Il admit that I wanted to use a fancy word :P But I probably screwed it with my horrible english ) .



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!

MrBubbles said:
Digital,
monarchies are autocratic forms of governments. Meaning Supreme, uncontrolled, unlimited authority, in a single person. Not necessary for fascism(although certainly helpful). It could just be an Ultra Socialist government though. Autocracies can be fascist, but fascim is not always autocratic.
Cuba, for example, is fascist. One of the better running ones.

You have confused Nazism with fascism. Fascism is simply about a governmental struture. Our countries fought Nazis.

Probably You are right I have confused value of these two words.
But... 
The integral property of fascism considers extreme anticommunism.
???


Around the Network
hunter_alien said:
 

lol , I love your pros ... actually it beats every con you could get . Oh , and con number 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 is not even something concrete ( OK , maybe the Chechnyan one is , but who would do things in a different way anyways ? Especially when we are talking about the countryes integrity ) . 6 on the other hand is a complete nonsense , and its only based on historycal prejudice ... ( OK , Il admit that I wanted to use a fancy word :P But I probably screwed it with my horrible english ) .

  

 You know, it's funny that you considered the first piece valid without argument.

And as I said, most of that stuff was off the top of my head based on my prior knowledge of the issues, so it's not like I was going to write a seven-page essay discussing those points :P

I've watched some documentaries featuring the Nashi movement, and some of their antics border on fanaticism so much it's scary. Ie. attacking foreign ambassadors, practically everything they said and did during Estonia's Bronze Soldier incident etc. There's a reason why some people liken it to Hitler-Jugend.

As for Chechnya - how about giving them a reasonable degree of autonomy and withdrawing the troops? If the Russian Federation is so unstable that the entire system might collapse because of a single country's wish to govern its own people, then it deserves to collapse. At least the civil war has stopped for now, even though Chechnya's current "president" can't exactly be called a great democrat.

As for part no.6 - that's not a con. That's a historical fact. Had I said something like "Finland was once a part of Russia and Russians will eventually try to conquer us again", you would've been somewhat correct. 



Warning: The preceding message may or may not have included sarcasm, cynicism, irony, full stops, commas, slashes, words, letters, sentences, lines, quotes,  flaeed  gramar, cryptic metaphors or other means of annoying communication. Viewer discretion is/was strongly advised.

бля, о чем можно с ними говорить... все живут на стереотипах... жаль конечно но ничего не изменишь... так что брат успокойся... мы ведь знаем как на самом деле...

I live in Russia, in the south ... near the black sea ...
and absolutely no understanding of what a cold you say ... russia did not know small, and there are warm and cold ... teach geography ...
for example, our people, Russians!

http://msk.geometria.ru/index.php?show=video_file&video=170
http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26866

http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26771
http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26312/p0 - ну тут не только наши, но наших больше всех ))
http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26056
http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26786

http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26427

http://msk.geometria.ru/gallery/26846/p1

http://msk.geometria.ru/index.php?show=video_file&video=170

 



Mise said:
hunter_alien said:
 

lol , I love your pros ... actually it beats every con you could get . Oh , and con number 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 is not even something concrete ( OK , maybe the Chechnyan one is , but who would do things in a different way anyways ? Especially when we are talking about the countryes integrity ) . 6 on the other hand is a complete nonsense , and its only based on historycal prejudice ... ( OK , Il admit that I wanted to use a fancy word :P But I probably screwed it with my horrible english ) .


You know, it's funny that you considered the first piece valid without argument.

And as I said, most of that stuff was off the top of my head based on my prior knowledge of the issues, so it's not like I was going to write a seven-page essay discussing those points :P

I've watched some documentaries featuring the Nashi movement, and some of their antics border on fanaticism so much it's scary. Ie. attacking foreign ambassadors, practically everything they said and did during Estonia's Bronze Soldier incident etc. There's a reason why some people liken it to Hitler-Jugend.

As for Chechnya - how about giving them a reasonable degree of autonomy and withdrawing the troops? If the Russian Federation is so unstable that the entire system might collapse because of a single country's wish to govern its own people, then it deserves to collapse. At least the civil war has stopped for now, even though Chechnya's current "president" can't exactly be called a great democrat.

As for part no.6 - that's not a con. That's a historical fact. Had I said something like "Finland was once a part of Russia and Russians will eventually try to conquer us again", you would've been somewhat correct.


 Oh , than its my bad :P ( 6 ) And for 1 the truth is that their polytical " methods " are not the same as in lets say the US or some EU countryes , but IMO to much liberty can sometimes mean trouble ( note : Im not a comunist or dont bealive that a dictator based regim is good in any way ) , and for a country as instable as Russia was for the past 17 years , a state that has a bit more power than the people wasnt a bad idea . Still It is far from beeing a dictatoric country , and democracy is preasent more then ever in that state .

 

Also , the Hitler Youth is arguably bigger than this ( in nomber of " members " ) and I would still call it a pathetic attempt to get some media attention , and nothing more . Can it become violent sometimes , yes , but then look at whats actually happening on a daily basis in the world , and compared to that all this small-time , wanabe groups ( yes , Im actually only calling them wanabes ) are nothing . 

 

Also , by giving more authority for Chechnya what will come next . They will want sooner or later a separate country , and then again boom , just like the Kosovo incident ( that was again a politycally incorrect move IMO ) we will see again discussions about teritory needs for small ethnic groups , and IMO Europe had seen more than enough of their share in authority structuring ...



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!

hunter_alien said:


 

 



Oh , than its my bad :P ( 6 ) And for 1 the truth is that their polytical " methods " are not the same as in lets say the US or some EU countryes , but IMO to much liberty can sometimes mean trouble ( note : Im not a comunist or dont bealive that a dictator based regim is good in any way ) , and for a country as instable as Russia was for the past 17 years , a state that has a bit more power than the people wasnt a bad idea . Still It is far from beeing a dictatoric country , and democracy is preasent more then ever in that state .

 

Also , the Hitler Youth is arguably bigger than this ( in nomber of " members " ) and I would still call it a pathetic attempt to get some media attention , and nothing more . Can it become violent sometimes , yes , but then look at whats actually happening on a daily basis in the world , and compared to that all this small-time , wanabe groups ( yes , Im actually only calling them wanabes ) are nothing .

 

Also , by giving more authority for Chechnya what will come next . They will want sooner or later a separate country , and then again boom , just like the Kosovo incident ( that was again a politycally incorrect move IMO ) we will see again discussions about teritory needs for small ethnic groups , and IMO Europe had seen more than enough of their share in authority structuring ...


 A strong government isn't necessarily a bad thing, and things are not nearly as bleak in modern Russia as they were during the existence of the Soviet Union, but Russia's consistent slide towards public oligarchy (or dictatorship at worst) worries me. There are some signs I personally find disturbing: Cults of Personality (I'd argue that most Nashi members worship Putin), increasing checks and restrictions on public liberties, ie. the handling of the political opposition, Russia's recent attempts to rewrite history in a new light ("So, Stalin was the biggest mass-murderer of the 20th century. So what? He had to be strong for the sake of the country"), etc.

Nashi isn't nearly as strong as Hitler-Jugend was (at least not yet), but a movement populated by a bunch of airheaded youths, based on extreme nationalism and a cult of personality could always evolve into something far more dangerous, IMO. Especially when the movement in question is sponsored by the Russian government.

I'll add something more about Kosovo and Chechnya when I have the energy for it.



Warning: The preceding message may or may not have included sarcasm, cynicism, irony, full stops, commas, slashes, words, letters, sentences, lines, quotes,  flaeed  gramar, cryptic metaphors or other means of annoying communication. Viewer discretion is/was strongly advised.

Mise said:
hunter_alien said:


 

 



Oh , than its my bad :P ( 6 ) And for 1 the truth is that their polytical " methods " are not the same as in lets say the US or some EU countryes , but IMO to much liberty can sometimes mean trouble ( note : Im not a comunist or dont bealive that a dictator based regim is good in any way ) , and for a country as instable as Russia was for the past 17 years , a state that has a bit more power than the people wasnt a bad idea . Still It is far from beeing a dictatoric country , and democracy is preasent more then ever in that state .

 

Also , the Hitler Youth is arguably bigger than this ( in nomber of " members " ) and I would still call it a pathetic attempt to get some media attention , and nothing more . Can it become violent sometimes , yes , but then look at whats actually happening on a daily basis in the world , and compared to that all this small-time , wanabe groups ( yes , Im actually only calling them wanabes ) are nothing .

 

Also , by giving more authority for Chechnya what will come next . They will want sooner or later a separate country , and then again boom , just like the Kosovo incident ( that was again a politycally incorrect move IMO ) we will see again discussions about teritory needs for small ethnic groups , and IMO Europe had seen more than enough of their share in authority structuring ...


A strong government isn't necessarily a bad thing, and things are not nearly as bleak in modern Russia as they were during the existence of the Soviet Union, but Russia's consistent slide towards public oligarchy (or dictatorship at worst) worries me. There are some signs I personally find disturbing: Cults of Personality (I'd argue that most Nashi members worship Putin), increasing checks and restrictions on public liberties, ie. the handling of the political opposition, Russia's recent attempts to rewrite history in a new light ("So, Stalin was the biggest mass-murderer of the 20th century. So what? He had to be strong for the sake of the country"), etc.

Nashi isn't nearly as strong as Hitler-Jugend was (at least not yet), but a movement populated by a bunch of airheaded youths, based on extreme nationalism and a cult of personality could always evolve into something far more dangerous, IMO. Especially when the movement in question is sponsored by the Russian government.

I'll add something more about Kosovo and Chechnya when I have the energy for it.


 Dont get me wrong but are the Russians the only ones that try to rewrite the history of their country ? What about the US . They try and put on every one of their post WW2 wars the WIN logo , and declare that it was a war for humanitys sake , and they where the good guys . The truth is that almost every single one of them was a failure , and a poor trial to get even more " allied " teritories . The Korean war , Vietnam , the balcan war and the second middle east war ( OK , I have to say that the first was actually a legitime attack , because of the extreem ammount of mass murder that was going on , though lets be honest , they knew why they are going there ) where are dubious ones at best . 

 

Yes , Russia has a much higher tendence to go towards more extreme government forms , but again they just leaped out from an er that lasted over generations and what was based on total population control . Isnt it possible that all these Nashi people are the last remains of a fallen era , and the young ones are non others than just some manipulated teens ? Yes the Russian government sponsores them , but thats in the same time just the small picture . Did you know that Russia had increased their military expenses over 3x last year , and the same movement was made by the US ? ( I dont know with how much the US had growned theirs , but the still did ) . Thats what disturbes me more , than this small , extremist organizations .

 

Also what about the last Nato sumit , that was held here ? Dont get me wrong but the USs anti-rocket shield is clearly a politically offensive move against Russia , no matter how they put it . The monster ( Russia )was sleeping untill now , and all they want is for other countryes to take them as a world power ( and lets be honest , its still is even with the major downfall wich started in '88 ) , but no , they had to do this . Who forget that the Cold War was over , president Bush ?  Did you also knew that in Ukraine less then 12% of the population wants to be part of the NATO , and the US is till pushing and striving for it , so the question is which is the state that we actually have to fear of , so it wont go into a conquer all situation ? ( If we are not in it allready ) .

 

PS : Im not an american hater , Im just an amercan expansion hater :P 



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!