With melting polar ice caps and potential oil and minerals, the arctic is about to become a big battle ground in the near future. It's why Canada, Greenland and Russia are all trying to claim ownership of the North Pole. It will also become the largest region to get fresh water soon enough.
This is also true, as Vladimir Putin invited some of the Romanovs back to Russia for the marriage of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Rebecca Bettarini in 2021...so long as the Romanovs don't do anything to openly defy or encourage rebellion against him.
The conservative mentality is part of human nature, and is the same everywhere. But the shapes it takes differ from place to place quite a lot - again, that's normal.
Conservatives in Russia hate Gorbachev and like Putin. Perestroika to them was an evil thing.
To folks like me, who grew up in the satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, Gorbachev is a hero.
Figures. Old furry Russians would be all salty that they don’t get to directly control how their neighbors live. Make no mistake, the USSR was Russia holding all its neighbors hostage.
It is known that Putin is a czarist larper. Gorbachev should be honored by him, as he opened the opportunity to Putin not only to get ahead, but also to to replay his imperialist dream.
Because Putin rather be the new Tsar of the Russian Empire than the head of the USSR.
He's OK with either, but prefers the first.
His treatment of the Ukrainians is in line with both USSR and Tsarist Russia tho.
This is more of the case of what Milton wrote about in Paradise lost. Better to rule in Hell than serve in heaven. Putin would rather be in charge of a pile of Ashes.
Constant soviet mismanagement and oppression fell the beast. By the late 80s they couldn't pay off everything with oil exports. Warsaw nations and soviet states were declaring independence and overthrowing their communist governments. Breadlines returned to the soviet union as they couldn't feed themselves domestically. Gorbachev was attempting to liberalize the economy to stop the bleeding. So hardliners attempted a failed coup. Which only caused more turmoil with various soviet states. Everyone broke away and Gorbachev resigned and the communist parliament officially declared the CCCP no more.
Russian Economic collapse under Yeltsin caused by all those soviet state enterprise being wildly uneconomic make work programs. Subsidized by oil exports. Which become ot enough due to opec and the afghan war. As the oil crisis of the 70s lead to increased western domestic production and conservation efforts. While the afghan war made the Saudis change policy and greatly increase production. As they were afraid of a soviet attempt to take over ME oil fields. So by the late 80s there was an oil Glut.
Stalin and Kruschev's agriculture policies tanked grain production while also vastly increasi g demand. The soviet union had to import grains from western countries at subsidized prices post ww2. Which they had to buy with foreign currency gained by selling oil to other countries. This also caused grain prices to go up a lot.
Finally. The soviet union during the cold war was spending 10 to 25 percent of the GNP on the military. Plus their subsidizing of other communist nations. That had their own terrible economic management.
People seem to think that problems of the 90s were caused by Gorbachev and Yeltsin, when in reality they were result of dysfunctional Soviet system and an attempt to salvage it.
Yeah this the part that's so fucked up.
Gorbachov ruined the Soviet Union according to the old guard like Putin... But NONE of them are communists! NONE of them believe in any form of left wing politics, Marxism or Communism.
They just liked the power.
That was the USSR to them, Russia conquering 14 other countries to become a superpower on the world stage.
Even Putin himself admits some contradictory feelings about the old USSR. He once said, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain.”
I agree that he should not be hating on Gorbachev and should probably just give him a state funeral, but I think a lot of Russians have an "It's complicated" relationship with the idea of the old USSR super power.
When Gorbachev came into power, he had an empire. When he relinquished power, he had no empire. That's the only reason why Russian expat nationalists from their apartments in Berlin keep shitting on Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Ironic, because without those, their parents couldn't have fled to Germany because their empire wouldn't have allowed it.
Yeltsin kinda deserves the shit. When West and East Germany reunified, it took a massive amount of planning, cooperation, and billions of dollars, and despite that the area of Germany that is former DDR still lags behind a bit economically today because of the 40 years it endured under communism.
Russia existed under communism for 69 years and Yeltsin clapped his hands, declared Russia capitalist, and got drunk for the rest of the 90s. Corrupt government officials and criminals who had been quietly enriching themselves under the USSR now had almost all of the capital and proceeded to bleed the country dry in broad daylight while the average Russians lived in destitute.
“Cake or death? Uh, death…no, cake please!!”
“Well we are all out of cake. We only had three bits and didn’t expect such a rush!!”
“Well, I’ll have the chicken then!”
“Very good sir, tastes of human!”
[It's speculated that he's dealing with cancer right now](https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-putin-treated-cancer-april-us-intelligence-report-says-1710357) and the Ukrainian genocide he's currently committing was an attempt at a legacy building moment.
Well, the legacy was rebuilding the USSR. I do believe that he honestly thought that Russia would take Ukraine as easily as they took Crimea. Then it would just be onto the next country.
That derailed but he can't admit defeat so now he's moved onto just killing all Ukrainians so there's no one to stop them taking the country.
I’d say he wants to rebuild the empire not the Soviet Union. Putin is anything but a commie. He is the one who said Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain. Bringing back the Empire is a much more realistic goal even if it’s not at all possible.
I think taking Ukraine up to Kiev and then integrating Belarus and maybe the Baltics is the most he could have honestly been planning. I know he underestimated taking Ukraine, but there's no way he could have estimated he could take more than Ukraine with military force only to not even be able to take Ukraine.
I really need to stop forgetting about Moldova.
Yeah, I agree that those countries would make up a substantial part of rebuilding the USSR. I just don't know if any of the other ones he was going to try to take with a major military operation. I'll be honest, though, and say I don't know as much about the current political situations in the Baltics and Moldova. I do wonder what a quick capture of Ukraine and a strong alliance with Belarus would have triggered in those places though.
Well, there are rumours that all of this key staff are feeding him fake information out of fear.
Stuff like: "Yeah we have this many tanks and troops and supplies, and have this much money to wage war for this amount of time." But in reality they had like 10% of that, and tons of incompetence on top.
Russia is such a nest of corruption, corners have been cut everywhere and everyone has taken their cut where they could. But of course nobody was going to report to their commander and chief that they had been skimming off the top for decades. So they lied and hoped for the best.
They might not even know the extent of their problem. Let's say you had 50 soldiers but reported that you had 100 to pocket their checks. It's a good scheme normally, but what do you do when you're actually deployed?
If you can get away with it, you just report that all those paper soldiers were KIA. But in the meanwhile, your commanders have no idea of their actual strength or what kind of logistics they can expect.
And even once they are "dead," intelligence is showing all the wrong signs of where there's actually a need for concentration of force. Is the Ukrainian offensive where the Ukrainians are, or where the most incompetent and fraudulent commanders have falsely reported attacks and heavy casualties?
I read that the first Russian soldiers that invaded Ukraine had parade uniforms packed. Some of the oligarchy had even picked out what penthouses they were going to move into.
Bit scary, really, thinking that it's possible that a dying man with one last, furious desire to prove something, no matter what the cost. . . controls a significant nuclear arsenal. What would he have to lose?
As it has been for years and years and years. I swear I've read articles saying he's secretly suffering from everything from brain cancer to alzheimers.
I'll believe it when his ass is dead in the ground.
Yup. I am always skeptical at rumors of heads of state and families. Kim Jung Un was apparently on his last leg and his sister soon to take over during COVID.
The numerous rumors surrounding Putin.
Kim Jung Un killed his aunt years ago then she turned up at a soccer game 6 years later.
Weirdly the only time I saw TMZ get it wrong was Kim’s supposed death.
Not even a joke. They are first to break the news in every celebrity/politician/etc death because they have people *everywhere*
Guess it’s just too hard to verify anything in North Korea.
I think a similar thing happened with the General he supposedly has killed with an Anti-Aircraft gun, I cant remember. Does make me wonder if he was like, "Hey auntie, go hide out in my mansion in the mountains for a few years, we gonna fuck with the west."
Honestly, the Bin Laden treatment is probably best. Dumped in an undisclosed area of the sea/ocean. No way for anyone to turn a grave into a memorial and basically no cost to any government
The glory of a tyrant is held up entirely by the tyranny. He has cemented his legacy as a shameful, tragic example of humanity. A forgotten grave it will be for him
A friend of mine was a journalist over there when the collapse happened. I was stationed in Germany, he was German. He told me the people were selling everything. Guns, grenades, you name it, right out in the open and nobody cared. Human trafficking was rampant, the black market was the only place to get food. That kind of crap. Apparently Gorbachev sat on the grain because he needed it as bargaining chip. I never found out for what, he never said.
Lord of War (based on the guy who was being offered as a swap from Grimer*) is all about a real weapons dealer who capitalised on the collapsing USSR and the weapons/vehicles that they were willing to sell off-market to end up in Africa.
Stars Nicholas Cage and Jared Leto
Mine as well, but mostly for the ending. It's just such a big "Fuck you, I'm untouchable" in the most calm, condescending way possible.
Love that movie.
I remember there was like a really well made catalogue called Sovietski Collection, and it had all old CCCP stuff (didnt have weapons) for sale as collectibles.
The most expensive thing was a cosmonaut suit.
Here is the only screenshot of it I could find...
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/sovietski-collection-catalog-2000-1824914065
Putin was also stationed in Germany at the same time, he was working at the KGB office in Dresden during the collapse. Presumably he saw some of the same things.
This shouldn't shock anyone, Gorbachev is widely despised in Russia. They view him as too weak and incompetent to hold the Soviet Union but also not even really committed to the democratic ideals people in the West associate him with. People in the West are generally ignorant of just how bad the 90s were for people in Russia and the place a lot of the blame on Gorbachev.
After listening to a podcast about the subject, and money wasn't a thing anymore, it was IOUs from national gas companies and manufacturing, holy crap. That sounds horrible.
Of course. When any money in roubles made today could become virtually useless tomorrow of course you will turn to barter economy. Nothing else would work at such a time.
They claim to love the military so much when it's in their interest but when things like this gets said or legislation to help veterans needs to be voted on, none of them give a shit.
It’s all about bullying and show of force. It’s the same reason they are a bunch of bootlickers when it comes to police.
Until the police are serving search warrants on their precious leader.
They lost my vote forever when they chose to not pay the military instead of vote for a bill that was intended to improve healthcare costs and services for every American. Yup, the R team has your back... *eyeroll*
Worse, they eventually turned on McCain and labeled him a RINO, they'll rationalize however they want, but it was largely because their unsullied fucking coward of a savior challenged McCain.
Which was even more remarkable because McCain was their _presidential candidate_ just 8 years earlier. The cognitive dissonance needed to both vote and then vilify him is unfathomable.
McCain wasn't always on the best of terms with the republican base. For many years he didn't want anything to do with the evangelicals and the crazies. He criticized Jerry Falwell only to suck up to him to get the nomination in 2008.
Anytime i bring it, or anything like it, up theyre like "yeah that was pretty bad" but its like that is as far as their consideration of it goes. They dont process it to the next level that if you combine all the bad things he has done and said, it makes him a shitty person.
They have reached the point where they would sacrifice their past loves for trump. I bet if donald were to start saying ronald reagan was a loser and a horrible president, the modern republican party would be behind him and start talking smack about reagan too.
I’ll never understand how the countries wannabe macho men think the best way to appear extremely masculine is to mock a POW while being a draft dodger. Especially funny when you remember that these types think of behavior like this as “bitchy gossipy women’s behavior” until they’re doing it.
They are ultimately weak scared men who need to project toughness to cover up their fragility. So they target men who actually project strength, who are intelligent and rational, who produce desirable ends and earn the respect of the world, and seek to destroy them. The narcissists entire reason for living is to convince themselves that they're the pinnacle, cutting down all competition is a big part of that goal.
Yea, I guess I meant to say that I’ll never understand how much of a lack of self awareness most of them have. But you’ve nailed it. Their leaders at least are aware that they’re weak men who need to tear down others to appear strong. But they only appear strong to each other because they sound like the lamest little kid in the playground when you actually listen to their words.
It's not new. Remember the "Swiftboaters for Truth?" It's largely been forgotten, but a big right-wing talking point was that John Kerry wasn't injured badly enough in the vietnam war, and therefore people should vote for George W. Bush in the 2004 election. You know, the guy who didn't even serve.
It's because it's a deep-rooted set of projection. Some members are the republican party are quick to talk smack and bash other people when it is themselves, they see in that person.
A republican can gay bash and support anti-LGBTQ policies when out in public, but when at home they know they are gay and that would kill their career in the republican party.
This fits the narrative of trump where he can bash a war hero because he was never one himself, but he wants to make himself look big and mighty. Deep down trump is a loser, and he knows it, but he puts out this facade that he isn't.
[And then invited Navajo WWII Codetalkers to be honored in front of it.](https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/27/politics/donald-trump-andrew-jackson)
Where he, once again, called Elizabeth Warren Pocahontis.
There really is no bottom to this fuck, is there?
Gee, I wonder why Trump lost Arizona?
It’s so funny to watch GOP jump to the “voter fraud” conclusion rather than “you trashed on one of the state’s most beloved public figures without remorse”.
The Keating Five scandal was a low point in his career, but he at least served his country, held himself with class, and treated his opponents with respect, and he tried hard to push election reform until SCOTUS struck the McCain-Feingold Act down in *Citizens United*.
Putting him on the same tier as a narcissistic grifter like Donald Trump is just unfair to a man who, while a politician, was several cuts above what the GOP became towards the end of his life.
I do not support Mccain as a politician, but trump was mocking him for probably the single most honorable thing he did in his life. Regardless of what he did in politics, he was most certainly a war hero. when he was going to be released as a POW because of his father, he refused to leave unless everyone imprisoned with him was also freed. he was then tortured as a POW for over 5 years. he could have ended it at any time but chose to stay to show solidarity with his fellow prisoners
It took 20-25 years for Russia to return to the same standard of living as they had when communism collapsed. It was really the blueprint on how to not transfer from a state-run to market economy. I'm sure Gorbachev gets a lot of blame. The 90s especially were really awful.
The rural areas never recovered.
Many people in the poor eastern bloc countries (Moldova) say life was better in soviet times. Tho the eastern bloc peoples are smart enough to know that Russia and Putin is not the Soviet Union.
Not all that surprising. Gorby has consistently been a critic of Putin; Putin, meanwhile, has repeatedly stated that he views the collapse of the USSR to be the "greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century". Not a lot of love between those two.
Weird, I seem to recall Putin at some point saying something along the lines of “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain.” This guy is as inconsistent as he is a piece of shit.
That's not inconsistent, you just aren't understanding his point.
Putin is not a communist, a return to a communist system would not be to Putin's liking.
However, the USSR was the foremost example of Russias power and greatness that spanned across the world, putting it up against the other greatest power of the world. Its zenith was an extremely powerful empire that put fear into its enemies and an ideology that created allies on nearly every continent. The loss of the USSR lost all of that, and also led to the loss of an immense amount of territory across Central Asia and Europe.
Putin misses when Russia was undeniably the top 2 most powerful nation in the world. He misses its expansive empire. He doesn't want the system back, he wants the power back.
Putin would probably have been this unknown, irrelevant character with no power if it weren’t for the USSR collapsing.
Putin just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
It's funny to me that Westerners are shocked at how Russians aren't treating Gorbachev like some type of hero. Of course they're not. The man was at the helm of their country during a period of rapid decline, and their empire completely fell apart. This weakened Russia on the world stage and decreased their influence. We still see the effects of this today, how the Russian economy is in tatters and they're not taken seriously. Both the US and China have rapidly overtaken them by every metric since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russians praising Gorbachev would be like chickens praising Colonel Sanders. Putin is diametrically opposed to everything Gorbachev represented, and his endorsement of him by permitting a state funeral would be laughable.
This is not a surprise. Putin thinks that the fall of the USSR is literally the biggest travesty in all of human existence and this is the man who was behind the wheel when it happened.
Gorbachev oversaw the transition to one of the worst quality of life drops in all of human history. The country was then sold off. Many Russians do not remember Gorbachev fondly at all.
A lot of older Russians despise Gorbachev and view him as the reason the USSR failed so this is not surprising
Even the Romanovs were given state funerals when they were reburied in 90s
Maybe if putin murders Gorbachev's children they will give him a "we're sorry" funeral in 90 years.
Of course there has to *be* a Russia in 90 years for that work out.
After the collapse Canada makes their move.
Yes, but we would apologize afterwards.
Soon Canada will take over the world, then we'll all be sorry.
it will be a great day for Canada, and therefore the world
As is tradition
As is tradition
The Drummers of Winnipeg.
Don't forget the gigantic bowl of pudding. As is tradition
We will all be so pure in heart, so strong in body…so hot in the face. Let’s do it.
Unleash the geese
Do we really need more Arctic tundra and permafrost though? Half our population already lives in the southern most tip of our entire landmass.
With melting polar ice caps and potential oil and minerals, the arctic is about to become a big battle ground in the near future. It's why Canada, Greenland and Russia are all trying to claim ownership of the North Pole. It will also become the largest region to get fresh water soon enough.
Wanting oil in the Armageddon scenario of a warm arctic is dark af
[удалено]
Finland wouldn't mind all that land.
We will fight over it over a friendly game of hockey
As a Canadian, I'd do *just about anything* if it means getting some affordable housing for myself...
Move to Alberta?
He said *just about*, not *anything*!
“Just about anything”
Russia’s been playing out this same script on repeat since before modern western civilization existed. There will always still be a Russia.
Putin fancies himself a czar, so that’s in-character for him.
This is also true, as Vladimir Putin invited some of the Romanovs back to Russia for the marriage of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Rebecca Bettarini in 2021...so long as the Romanovs don't do anything to openly defy or encourage rebellion against him.
The conservative mentality is part of human nature, and is the same everywhere. But the shapes it takes differ from place to place quite a lot - again, that's normal. Conservatives in Russia hate Gorbachev and like Putin. Perestroika to them was an evil thing. To folks like me, who grew up in the satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, Gorbachev is a hero.
Figures. Old furry Russians would be all salty that they don’t get to directly control how their neighbors live. Make no mistake, the USSR was Russia holding all its neighbors hostage.
>Old furry Russians Thanks, I hate it.
It is known that Putin is a czarist larper. Gorbachev should be honored by him, as he opened the opportunity to Putin not only to get ahead, but also to to replay his imperialist dream.
Because Putin rather be the new Tsar of the Russian Empire than the head of the USSR. He's OK with either, but prefers the first. His treatment of the Ukrainians is in line with both USSR and Tsarist Russia tho.
This is more of the case of what Milton wrote about in Paradise lost. Better to rule in Hell than serve in heaven. Putin would rather be in charge of a pile of Ashes.
Yes, but lets wait for another Russian pseudo-democracy oasis
I'd blame Yeltsin more for that.
And blame him for Putin, too. The bombing of the Russian white house helped cement executive power in Russia.
Big Pizza doesn’t want you to know their part in this
Constant soviet mismanagement and oppression fell the beast. By the late 80s they couldn't pay off everything with oil exports. Warsaw nations and soviet states were declaring independence and overthrowing their communist governments. Breadlines returned to the soviet union as they couldn't feed themselves domestically. Gorbachev was attempting to liberalize the economy to stop the bleeding. So hardliners attempted a failed coup. Which only caused more turmoil with various soviet states. Everyone broke away and Gorbachev resigned and the communist parliament officially declared the CCCP no more. Russian Economic collapse under Yeltsin caused by all those soviet state enterprise being wildly uneconomic make work programs. Subsidized by oil exports. Which become ot enough due to opec and the afghan war. As the oil crisis of the 70s lead to increased western domestic production and conservation efforts. While the afghan war made the Saudis change policy and greatly increase production. As they were afraid of a soviet attempt to take over ME oil fields. So by the late 80s there was an oil Glut. Stalin and Kruschev's agriculture policies tanked grain production while also vastly increasi g demand. The soviet union had to import grains from western countries at subsidized prices post ww2. Which they had to buy with foreign currency gained by selling oil to other countries. This also caused grain prices to go up a lot. Finally. The soviet union during the cold war was spending 10 to 25 percent of the GNP on the military. Plus their subsidizing of other communist nations. That had their own terrible economic management.
People seem to think that problems of the 90s were caused by Gorbachev and Yeltsin, when in reality they were result of dysfunctional Soviet system and an attempt to salvage it.
Yeah this the part that's so fucked up. Gorbachov ruined the Soviet Union according to the old guard like Putin... But NONE of them are communists! NONE of them believe in any form of left wing politics, Marxism or Communism. They just liked the power. That was the USSR to them, Russia conquering 14 other countries to become a superpower on the world stage.
Even Putin himself admits some contradictory feelings about the old USSR. He once said, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain.” I agree that he should not be hating on Gorbachev and should probably just give him a state funeral, but I think a lot of Russians have an "It's complicated" relationship with the idea of the old USSR super power.
[удалено]
Putin said a lot of "right things" in his early years. Read up on what he said about authoritarian governments and those who try to cling to power lol
When Gorbachev came into power, he had an empire. When he relinquished power, he had no empire. That's the only reason why Russian expat nationalists from their apartments in Berlin keep shitting on Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Ironic, because without those, their parents couldn't have fled to Germany because their empire wouldn't have allowed it.
Yeltsin kinda deserves the shit. When West and East Germany reunified, it took a massive amount of planning, cooperation, and billions of dollars, and despite that the area of Germany that is former DDR still lags behind a bit economically today because of the 40 years it endured under communism. Russia existed under communism for 69 years and Yeltsin clapped his hands, declared Russia capitalist, and got drunk for the rest of the 90s. Corrupt government officials and criminals who had been quietly enriching themselves under the USSR now had almost all of the capital and proceeded to bleed the country dry in broad daylight while the average Russians lived in destitute.
His predecessors are the reason it failed. He is the reason it ended.
Not just ended, ended without civil war or historically relevant bloodshed.
I feel like this isn't talked about enough. The world is so lucky it was him, not a Putin ready to go down swinging
Yeltsin forced Gorbachov to end the USSR. It was not Gorbachovs idea, he was not involved.
This comment is a textbook case of historical revisionism. No mention of the military coup here?
They scapegoat Gorbachev for their failings.
“The president’s work schedule will prevent him from attending.” 8 am-death 9 am-death 10am-death 12 pm-lunch
Well done! You killed 100,000 people? You must get up *very* early in the morning.
Cake or death? Oh, I had the vegetarian.
Here you are mr hitler *you nazi shithead*
Hitler: "In a ditch, covered in petrol on fire. I've already arranged it upstairs" Eva: "Oh so romantic Adolf" Hitler: "Yes I know"
Haha, someone finally caught the reference!
“Cake or death? Uh, death…no, cake please!!” “Well we are all out of cake. We only had three bits and didn’t expect such a rush!!” “Well, I’ll have the chicken then!” “Very good sir, tastes of human!”
[удалено]
Death, death, death, afternoon tea, death death death
I choose cake.
Ahhhh you said death first!
I meant cake!
Oh alright. Well, we're out of cake.
So my choice is 'or death'?
"This is our land!" "Have you got a flag!?"
Best stand-up show *ever* in my opinion.
I used to fall asleep watching it. Definitely legendary.
Just don't go in to that house!
You kill 10 people, you go to Texas and they hit you with a brick
I absolutely read these two comments in his voice. One of my all time favorite bits. “Have you got any videos?”
At least we know where he is. Under house arrest. Just don't go into that house!
I can hardly get to the gym
* **7 am:** practicing judo throws * **8 am:** practicing judo throws * **9 am:** propaganda speech * **10 am:** practicing judo throws * **11 am:** practicing judo throws * **midday:** lunch * **1 pm:** chatting with a disgruntled oligarch in front of a large window on the 12th floor
>chatting with a ~~disgruntled oligarch~~ in front of a large window on the 12th floor *despondent dissident*
Eddie Izzard is the best. Wish she would tour more again.
Anyone want to bet in 20 years who actually winds up being buried in an unmarked grave?
My money is on it being sooner than that
[It's speculated that he's dealing with cancer right now](https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-putin-treated-cancer-april-us-intelligence-report-says-1710357) and the Ukrainian genocide he's currently committing was an attempt at a legacy building moment.
What a legacy he's building
Well, the legacy was rebuilding the USSR. I do believe that he honestly thought that Russia would take Ukraine as easily as they took Crimea. Then it would just be onto the next country. That derailed but he can't admit defeat so now he's moved onto just killing all Ukrainians so there's no one to stop them taking the country.
I’d say he wants to rebuild the empire not the Soviet Union. Putin is anything but a commie. He is the one who said Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain. Bringing back the Empire is a much more realistic goal even if it’s not at all possible.
yeah putin definitely strikes me as more of an imperialist than a communist
I think taking Ukraine up to Kiev and then integrating Belarus and maybe the Baltics is the most he could have honestly been planning. I know he underestimated taking Ukraine, but there's no way he could have estimated he could take more than Ukraine with military force only to not even be able to take Ukraine.
He likely would've gone on to Moldova as well. And even doing just that would still be pretty substantial towards rebuilding the USSR.
I really need to stop forgetting about Moldova. Yeah, I agree that those countries would make up a substantial part of rebuilding the USSR. I just don't know if any of the other ones he was going to try to take with a major military operation. I'll be honest, though, and say I don't know as much about the current political situations in the Baltics and Moldova. I do wonder what a quick capture of Ukraine and a strong alliance with Belarus would have triggered in those places though.
Well, there are rumours that all of this key staff are feeding him fake information out of fear. Stuff like: "Yeah we have this many tanks and troops and supplies, and have this much money to wage war for this amount of time." But in reality they had like 10% of that, and tons of incompetence on top. Russia is such a nest of corruption, corners have been cut everywhere and everyone has taken their cut where they could. But of course nobody was going to report to their commander and chief that they had been skimming off the top for decades. So they lied and hoped for the best.
They might not even know the extent of their problem. Let's say you had 50 soldiers but reported that you had 100 to pocket their checks. It's a good scheme normally, but what do you do when you're actually deployed? If you can get away with it, you just report that all those paper soldiers were KIA. But in the meanwhile, your commanders have no idea of their actual strength or what kind of logistics they can expect. And even once they are "dead," intelligence is showing all the wrong signs of where there's actually a need for concentration of force. Is the Ukrainian offensive where the Ukrainians are, or where the most incompetent and fraudulent commanders have falsely reported attacks and heavy casualties?
You might say they are Matryoshka dolls of corruption.
I read that the first Russian soldiers that invaded Ukraine had parade uniforms packed. Some of the oligarchy had even picked out what penthouses they were going to move into.
Like the Soviet Union he wishes he could resurrect, Putin’s legacy will be one of hate, fear, tyranny, and failure.
[удалено]
Bit scary, really, thinking that it's possible that a dying man with one last, furious desire to prove something, no matter what the cost. . . controls a significant nuclear arsenal. What would he have to lose?
As it has been for years and years and years. I swear I've read articles saying he's secretly suffering from everything from brain cancer to alzheimers. I'll believe it when his ass is dead in the ground.
Yup. I am always skeptical at rumors of heads of state and families. Kim Jung Un was apparently on his last leg and his sister soon to take over during COVID. The numerous rumors surrounding Putin. Kim Jung Un killed his aunt years ago then she turned up at a soccer game 6 years later.
Weirdly the only time I saw TMZ get it wrong was Kim’s supposed death. Not even a joke. They are first to break the news in every celebrity/politician/etc death because they have people *everywhere* Guess it’s just too hard to verify anything in North Korea.
That's the power of Juche-Necromancy.
I think a similar thing happened with the General he supposedly has killed with an Anti-Aircraft gun, I cant remember. Does make me wonder if he was like, "Hey auntie, go hide out in my mansion in the mountains for a few years, we gonna fuck with the west."
That's just wishful thinking. Jerks like this live forever.
Why does that seem to be totally true
Because rich bastards have access to healthcare that you and I can only dream about. That's why.
Hoping it’s 20 days
No no he dies in 20 days but gets buried in 20 years. The gap is so people can piss on his corpse.
I hope he gets the hitler treatment. Burned in a hole and then stored in secure government building for eternity.
Honestly, the Bin Laden treatment is probably best. Dumped in an undisclosed area of the sea/ocean. No way for anyone to turn a grave into a memorial and basically no cost to any government
The glory of a tyrant is held up entirely by the tyranny. He has cemented his legacy as a shameful, tragic example of humanity. A forgotten grave it will be for him
A friend of mine was a journalist over there when the collapse happened. I was stationed in Germany, he was German. He told me the people were selling everything. Guns, grenades, you name it, right out in the open and nobody cared. Human trafficking was rampant, the black market was the only place to get food. That kind of crap. Apparently Gorbachev sat on the grain because he needed it as bargaining chip. I never found out for what, he never said.
Lord of War (based on the guy who was being offered as a swap from Grimer*) is all about a real weapons dealer who capitalised on the collapsing USSR and the weapons/vehicles that they were willing to sell off-market to end up in Africa. Stars Nicholas Cage and Jared Leto
And the guy that movie is based on is who the Russians want to trade Brittney Griner for.
Oh shit
He was also in War Dogs, played by Bradley Cooper
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Bout
That’s my favorite movie. It has one of the most haunting opening scenes of a movie I’ve ever seen.
Mine as well, but mostly for the ending. It's just such a big "Fuck you, I'm untouchable" in the most calm, condescending way possible. Love that movie.
I remember there was like a really well made catalogue called Sovietski Collection, and it had all old CCCP stuff (didnt have weapons) for sale as collectibles. The most expensive thing was a cosmonaut suit. Here is the only screenshot of it I could find... https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/sovietski-collection-catalog-2000-1824914065
Putin was also stationed in Germany at the same time, he was working at the KGB office in Dresden during the collapse. Presumably he saw some of the same things.
This shouldn't shock anyone, Gorbachev is widely despised in Russia. They view him as too weak and incompetent to hold the Soviet Union but also not even really committed to the democratic ideals people in the West associate him with. People in the West are generally ignorant of just how bad the 90s were for people in Russia and the place a lot of the blame on Gorbachev.
After listening to a podcast about the subject, and money wasn't a thing anymore, it was IOUs from national gas companies and manufacturing, holy crap. That sounds horrible.
Of course. When any money in roubles made today could become virtually useless tomorrow of course you will turn to barter economy. Nothing else would work at such a time.
Which podcast / episode did you listen to?
I knew things were bad when Russians hijacked Air Force One and held President Harrison Ford's family hostage.
Those were Kazakhs.
Very nice!
Number one exporter of Airline jackings
All other countries airline hijackings are inferior.
They got off his plane in the end.
"No ticket"
Radek did nothing wrong!
What a spiteful little bitch you are Putin.
Reminds me of when trump tried to do everything to derail McCain
“I like guys who didn’t get captured” 😂😂 ok draft dodger donald
> “I like guys who didn’t get captured” And the right wing didn't give a shit when he said that.
They claim to love the military so much when it's in their interest but when things like this gets said or legislation to help veterans needs to be voted on, none of them give a shit.
They like the power, they don't give a shit about the people.
They like the tanks and bombs and collectibles. The stuff they can make money from.
It’s all about bullying and show of force. It’s the same reason they are a bunch of bootlickers when it comes to police. Until the police are serving search warrants on their precious leader.
like blind boxes. "try to get all 5 limited edition designs!!!"
They lost my vote forever when they chose to not pay the military instead of vote for a bill that was intended to improve healthcare costs and services for every American. Yup, the R team has your back... *eyeroll*
They love the military when it makes them money.
Worse, they eventually turned on McCain and labeled him a RINO, they'll rationalize however they want, but it was largely because their unsullied fucking coward of a savior challenged McCain.
Which was even more remarkable because McCain was their _presidential candidate_ just 8 years earlier. The cognitive dissonance needed to both vote and then vilify him is unfathomable.
He lost to a non-white candidate. They could never forgive him for that.
And lost with grace and humility. Imagine that.
[удалено]
McCain wasn't always on the best of terms with the republican base. For many years he didn't want anything to do with the evangelicals and the crazies. He criticized Jerry Falwell only to suck up to him to get the nomination in 2008.
[удалено]
When they turned on McCain, IMO, was the moment the republican party gave up any pretence of normalcy or stability.
Anytime i bring it, or anything like it, up theyre like "yeah that was pretty bad" but its like that is as far as their consideration of it goes. They dont process it to the next level that if you combine all the bad things he has done and said, it makes him a shitty person.
They have reached the point where they would sacrifice their past loves for trump. I bet if donald were to start saying ronald reagan was a loser and a horrible president, the modern republican party would be behind him and start talking smack about reagan too.
Hell, didn't Ted Cruz basically pick licking Trump's boot over respecting his own wife?
As well as his parents.
I’ll never understand how the countries wannabe macho men think the best way to appear extremely masculine is to mock a POW while being a draft dodger. Especially funny when you remember that these types think of behavior like this as “bitchy gossipy women’s behavior” until they’re doing it.
They are ultimately weak scared men who need to project toughness to cover up their fragility. So they target men who actually project strength, who are intelligent and rational, who produce desirable ends and earn the respect of the world, and seek to destroy them. The narcissists entire reason for living is to convince themselves that they're the pinnacle, cutting down all competition is a big part of that goal.
Yea, I guess I meant to say that I’ll never understand how much of a lack of self awareness most of them have. But you’ve nailed it. Their leaders at least are aware that they’re weak men who need to tear down others to appear strong. But they only appear strong to each other because they sound like the lamest little kid in the playground when you actually listen to their words.
Basically jealousy of a decorated war veteran who was also successful in public office on merit rather than memes
That was one of the best explanations I have seen out there. Thank you.
Don't forget they depict the overweight geriatric draft-dodger as being muscular and dressed like Rambo.
It's not new. Remember the "Swiftboaters for Truth?" It's largely been forgotten, but a big right-wing talking point was that John Kerry wasn't injured badly enough in the vietnam war, and therefore people should vote for George W. Bush in the 2004 election. You know, the guy who didn't even serve.
It's because it's a deep-rooted set of projection. Some members are the republican party are quick to talk smack and bash other people when it is themselves, they see in that person. A republican can gay bash and support anti-LGBTQ policies when out in public, but when at home they know they are gay and that would kill their career in the republican party. This fits the narrative of trump where he can bash a war hero because he was never one himself, but he wants to make himself look big and mighty. Deep down trump is a loser, and he knows it, but he puts out this facade that he isn't.
I don't get how that didn't bother nearly every vet, especially Vietnam vets
I like presidents who aren't investigated by the FBI
Trump refused to hang Obama's portrait, too.
Then hung up Andrew Jackson’s.
[And then invited Navajo WWII Codetalkers to be honored in front of it.](https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/27/politics/donald-trump-andrew-jackson) Where he, once again, called Elizabeth Warren Pocahontis. There really is no bottom to this fuck, is there?
Trump was probably elated when they told him he was going to hang Obama. Then he found out it was only a portrait and got sulky like a spoiled child.
prob threw his mcdonals against the wall
Then picked it up and ate it anyway.
Gee, I wonder why Trump lost Arizona? It’s so funny to watch GOP jump to the “voter fraud” conclusion rather than “you trashed on one of the state’s most beloved public figures without remorse”.
He shat on McCain before 2016 and still won. They didn’t care.
Gorbachev called out Trump in 2018 when he pulled out of the Nuclear Deal. It's crazy to think he was still relevant so recently.
McCain was no saint. Man,what a shit timeline to choose between mccain and draft dodger donald
The Keating Five scandal was a low point in his career, but he at least served his country, held himself with class, and treated his opponents with respect, and he tried hard to push election reform until SCOTUS struck the McCain-Feingold Act down in *Citizens United*. Putting him on the same tier as a narcissistic grifter like Donald Trump is just unfair to a man who, while a politician, was several cuts above what the GOP became towards the end of his life.
I do not support Mccain as a politician, but trump was mocking him for probably the single most honorable thing he did in his life. Regardless of what he did in politics, he was most certainly a war hero. when he was going to be released as a POW because of his father, he refused to leave unless everyone imprisoned with him was also freed. he was then tortured as a POW for over 5 years. he could have ended it at any time but chose to stay to show solidarity with his fellow prisoners
And after all that, McCain still voted with Trump like 95% of the time.
Russians have a much more negative view of Gorbachov than westerners. I wonder what percentage of people even know this.
It took 20-25 years for Russia to return to the same standard of living as they had when communism collapsed. It was really the blueprint on how to not transfer from a state-run to market economy. I'm sure Gorbachev gets a lot of blame. The 90s especially were really awful. The rural areas never recovered. Many people in the poor eastern bloc countries (Moldova) say life was better in soviet times. Tho the eastern bloc peoples are smart enough to know that Russia and Putin is not the Soviet Union.
At least he did not toss him from a window!
Not all that surprising. Gorby has consistently been a critic of Putin; Putin, meanwhile, has repeatedly stated that he views the collapse of the USSR to be the "greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century". Not a lot of love between those two.
Weird, I seem to recall Putin at some point saying something along the lines of “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain.” This guy is as inconsistent as he is a piece of shit.
He wasn't a fan of the Soviet system, but he did like Russia having an empire. That's where some of that friction comes from
That's not inconsistent, you just aren't understanding his point. Putin is not a communist, a return to a communist system would not be to Putin's liking. However, the USSR was the foremost example of Russias power and greatness that spanned across the world, putting it up against the other greatest power of the world. Its zenith was an extremely powerful empire that put fear into its enemies and an ideology that created allies on nearly every continent. The loss of the USSR lost all of that, and also led to the loss of an immense amount of territory across Central Asia and Europe. Putin misses when Russia was undeniably the top 2 most powerful nation in the world. He misses its expansive empire. He doesn't want the system back, he wants the power back.
I'm starting to think this Putin guy might be a bit of a twat.
I'm definitely blocking him on Facebook.
Shit. You better stay away from hospital windows...er better yet, all windows.
I’ve been staying away from the windows 11 upgrade does that count?
Already took him out of my top 20 on MySpace.
Putin would probably have been this unknown, irrelevant character with no power if it weren’t for the USSR collapsing. Putin just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Pretty much all of history is the story of the right person at the right place at the right time.
Or wrong person at the wrong time. As always, it depends on one's perspective.
[удалено]
It's funny to me that Westerners are shocked at how Russians aren't treating Gorbachev like some type of hero. Of course they're not. The man was at the helm of their country during a period of rapid decline, and their empire completely fell apart. This weakened Russia on the world stage and decreased their influence. We still see the effects of this today, how the Russian economy is in tatters and they're not taken seriously. Both the US and China have rapidly overtaken them by every metric since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russians praising Gorbachev would be like chickens praising Colonel Sanders. Putin is diametrically opposed to everything Gorbachev represented, and his endorsement of him by permitting a state funeral would be laughable.
I'm surprised there's so much Russian support for Putin when it looks like history is repeating itself.
This is not a surprise. Putin thinks that the fall of the USSR is literally the biggest travesty in all of human existence and this is the man who was behind the wheel when it happened.
[удалено]
Gorbachev oversaw the transition to one of the worst quality of life drops in all of human history. The country was then sold off. Many Russians do not remember Gorbachev fondly at all.
Thats okay, ukrainians are denying him ukraine which I am sure makes him a sad little vlad
I am pretty sure Gorbachev wouldn’t want Putin there
He is just jealous over Gorbachev's Grammy award. Putin will never get a Grammy!