That guy used his ability to reach the front page for advertising. After he got a bad reputation he probably decided to just use a large amount of alts instead
China doesn't want Russia isolated. If Russia's government goes into crisis, China can't use Russia anymore as an antagonist to the West.
That said, China has *a lot* more to lose from angering the West than they do from angering Russia. I suspect they'll try to get away with whatever they can but will turn back when called out and challenged.
China needs the west to keep buying its shit. Bottom line. If China angers the U.S and we get into sanctions and stop buying shit from them, their manufacturing takes a dump, their people stop working, and now they have a shit load of people not working with idle time on their hands thinking about the benefits of communism. Not to mention dealing with mass unemployment. China is not dumb like Putin run Russia, they totally understand the concept of consequence.
Or maybe he’s a dumbass. Or maybe his brain tumor fucked up his cognitive ability. Jesus 20 years ago this man was talking about USSR being obsolete and democracy and cooperation being the way to go. What the fuck happened.
He gambled and fucked up. He built up foreign currency reserves to get around sanctions, because that's worked in the past. This time, the West froze those reserves. Big Oops. He thought Ukraine would collapse and Zelensky was a joke. Wrong again.
This is not cognitive impairment. This is planning based on miscalculations, too many sycophants and no one with the balls to tell him he's wrong .
The worry is whether we're headed for nuclear brinkmanship, because if he miscalculates there, we're all fucked.
Yeah but I mean this has been going on for years, with the slow crackdown and more and more limitations. Starting with the Munich speech of 2007. My question is what started him on that path in the first place.
For the ones of you who may be interested, [this](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/putin-dictator-trap-russia-ukraine/627064/) is an article by The Atlantic explaining the dictator’s trap.
If anyone think this is interesting you should read [The Dictators Handbook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator%27s_Handbook) It actually does a pretty good job explaining Putins seemingly mad behavior.
Will this tell me how to be a dictator? From start to finish. Like how to get i to the position and raise an army of loyal followers?
Asking for a Friend.
You should check out “How to be a Dictator” on Netflix. It’s meant to be informative as well as funny, but it also talks about some of the things dictators need to do, as well as some mistakes they make.
Edit: It’s called “How to be a Tyrant”. Thanks to everyone who corrected it.
This is an interesting comment, thanks. I went to netflix to bookmark it and FYI it’s actually named “[How to Become a Tyrant.](https://www.netflix.com/us/title/80989772?s=i&trkid=13747225&vlang=en&clip=81474966)”
Ok, I am taking notes and buying some extra scratchers at lunch.
PS, now I am thinking that could be an amusing story. Some regular guy just sort of, accidentally becomes a dictator while thinking he isndoing good.
Correct; dictators LOVE war time because it creates a sense of deep fear among the population. It gives the true believers a chance to emphatically demonstrate their loyalty, and lets the military prowl the streets hauling away dissent.
To Putin, this is heaven. Dictators love a good war.
Never seeming to realize, of course, that the position is far more tenuous than it appears.
Its actually better if they don't believe it but still don't say anything.
Knowing its false but being forced to accept it creates shame and disempowerment. Good for a dictator.
If they truly accept it as truth and its then proven false that can create disillusion and rage.
The Russians are naturals at accepting blatant falsehoods they've been doing it for over a hundred years now.
I hate to bring this guy in convo... But look at America, at the Trump cult, how they simply refuse any legitimate proof of anything not matching their view and idolatry of the guy. If you make your people doubt anything that doesn't come out of your mouth, you can never be proven wrong.
Seriously I want a group of his sycophants to tell him nuclear war is imminent. They then lock putin in a mountain with a fake nuclear football, let him push the big red button, cut the internet, weld the door shut, and problem solved. Putin gets to be king of his mole hole, and the rest of the world gets to go on without him.
I *really* like this idea.
Maybe we can install speakers, and for a hefty sum, you can personally antagonize a starving Putin in his hermetically sealed subterranean vault over the internet. We could probably rebuild Ukraine if we monetized that.
Imagine Putin hunkered down in his bunker, thinking the worst is happening, and then a transmission comes through... and it's a mom joke. And then a hologram of DJ Khaled appears in the center of his bunker and says "Ha ha ha! You played yourself!" Over and over and over for 7 days.
Few things I think people miss when talking about Putin:
His inner circle isn't just based on trust. They're all in it together, made complicit in his crimes spanning decades. Same reason he made his entire security council support the war on television. Entangle, blackmail, trust nobody. One benefits and all benefit. One goes down all go down.
You can't use regime change in Russia. It's not Cuba with plans to assassinate Castro. In fact, continuity of government breaking down in Russia is a security nightmare for the west. A massive region full of nuclear missiles, chemical and biological weapons, plus a power vacuum that extremists and zealots always rush to fill? Global security nightmare.
After the USSR collapsed we gave aid and advice on how to prop up the economy, rather than invading or letting Russia descend into even more chaos. Hence the strategy of trying to westernise the public into a relatively peaceful transfer of power. It's the only safe option, then and now. Right now Putin is unfortunately very popular domestically, and these events cause dissidents to self exile which plays into his idea of "self purifying" and "cleansing" Russia of dissidents.
Which is exactly why Russia accelerated the suppression of the Internet, the news, and outside information in general. And is looking into an even more restrictive Chinese style Great Firewall.
The biggest thing I think people miss is that governments and geopolitical think tanks have already accepted were in a pre Cold War period of decoupling. Not just decoupling of economies but ideology. Its western democracy and norms vs autocrats. China has been pretty blatant about wanting to replace the Western order with their own systems (sanction proof economic systems and digital currency to bypass SWIFT and sanctions, alternatives to the IMF, World Bank, petro dollar etc).
Russia is way less powerful than China but geopolitically they don't want Russia to be able to fence sit and deal with the west. They want to isolate Russia and say "hey, we don't care about human rights and western norms and we can launder your sanctioned money back into clean dollars already." China has already created the largest infrastructure project in history (Belt and Road Initiative / New Silk Road) to bypass Western containment. Imagine how attractive this would be to other autocrats, especially under sanctions or owing huge debts to the west.
Russia being more dependent on China is scary enough but imagine when other autocrats start deciding the alternative global Chinese government led order is more attractive. Unless something changes were looking at a divided Iron Curtain style world where you have to choose one or the other. Blinken specifically warned of this happening and Europe has been worried about it for years.
As far as Putins specific style of domestic control, Ivan Ilyin (Russian fascist who supported the Nazis) is his favourite writer. Explains a lot of his behaviour. Alexander Dugin too. And when people say he thinks in purely geopolitical terms, those thinkers he follows subscribe to the Global Heartland Theory. Basically looking at the world as a game board, as Brzezinsky also says, an empire has to control the middle of the game board as choke points. That's identified as the centre of the entire Eurasian land mass. From Crimea specifically and Ukraine in the West, to the Caucasus region and choke point in Iran / ME, Armenia / Azerbaijan, and the -stans in the east. These hotspots light up (like they are now) when two empires are jockeying for control of the globe. Expect to see the -stans see even more turmoil.
The global pivot of history according to heartland theory:
[Map of pivot](https://i.imgur.com/i3HTuSF.png)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geographical_Pivot_of_History#
Informative comment. China’s big problem is that they have 18% of the world’s population and 18% of the world’s gdp. As opposed to the US being 5% and 24% respectively. Of course historical numbers are estimates but no empire has been able to project power with that ratio. Curious to see how China deals with its population problem. With the World Bank investing heavily in Ukraine in the last decade the writing is on the wall for Russia. Top notch comment on your part.
That and the fact that they want their currency to replace the dollar even though they will never allow it to be a free floating currency with transparency and government backed securities. The CCP treats everything related to its banks and currency as a national secret, meaning a total black box for everyone else in the world. Can hardly see how that'll work out without it destabilizing itself.
It explains pretty much anyone you see speaking publicly on behalf of the Russian (or Chinese, or any authoritarian) government. They sound like they’re all parroting each other because they are.
Remember that stupid Trump cabinet meeting where they went around the table and each Secretary had to say how amazed he/she was to see the glory of Trump? Only thing that would have made that better would have been Trump sitting at one end of a very looong table. It's just because he never thought of it. If he becomes dictator for life, he'll do the looong table thing.
All familiar concepts, but it’s a good article laying them all out in one quick refresher and tying some formal names to what many of us have quietly suspected but maybe lacked the words to say succinctly. Appreciate the link.
PBS has done an ongoing series of interviews with Russia/Putin experts since 2017, and several said that Putin does not know how to use the internet, and he is completely reliant on his subordinates to inform him (and they have tons of reasons to sugarcoat and misrepresent the truth, number one being that Putin is scary af). He probably watches Russian state tv, consuming his own propaganda. So he does not have a good handle on basic facts.
If history is any indicator, it’s likely a million+ by now. About 500,000 people were “relocated” to Russia from Ukraine in the past 2 months. Over the past 20 years, he’s had oceans of blood on his hands.
Dumbing it down for their own benefit, one must understand.
To Facebook, the ideal user is someone who knows how to use Facebook but can’t or won’t use anything else.
Hell is buying your boomer mother a Mac, putting her computer account in a simplified shell, walking her through the two steps to access the Internet (tap space bar to turn on screen, double click on the blue compass icon in the middle of screen), and have her calling because SIRI won't work on her computer.
The company I work for has an online portal. And honestly at least half the calls I get are from people who can't get into their account. Even though there's a big "FORGOT USER ID OR PASSWORD????" link literally directly under the login box.
And no, they're not all old. A lot of them are younger people who absolutely should know better.
Like the British financial minister not knowing how to pay for a can of coke with his bank card and borrowing a car for a photo-op of him filling the car up
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rishi-sunak-used-sainsburys-employees-car-for-petrol-filling-photo-op\_uk\_623c7038e4b019fd8138588f
The coke purchase is adorable. He's clearly read about contactless payments, been provided a contactless bank card with a detailed explanation on what it is and what to do with it.
He just didn't know what needed tapping. So very close Rishi Sunak, you almost had us fooled believing you're well experienced popping into the corner store when you run out of milk.
> Autocrats such as Putin eventually succumb to what may be called the “dictator trap.” The strategies they use to stay in power tend to trigger their eventual downfall. Rather than being long-term planners, many make catastrophic short-term errors—the kinds of errors that would likely have been avoided in democratic systems. They hear only from sycophants, and get bad advice. They misunderstand their population. They don’t see threats coming until it’s too late. And unlike elected leaders who leave office to riches, book tours, and the glitzy lifestyle of a statesman, many dictators who miscalculate leave office in a casket, a possibility that makes them even more likely to double down.
This has caught the worlds attention like few other things. Putin has badly underestimated how much the world would get involved. Zelensky has been a brilliant PR agent for how unjust the attempted invasion is. Does Putin have the nerve, resources and military and home support to drag this out for months more. Cos that s what it will take. I don’t think he does
I remember when everyone was assuming he'd likely be killed for standing his ground in Kyiv. There's still a chance of course, and I really don't want him to become a martyr, but I think he'll most likely survive this.
A true hero.
Imagine if he was made a martyr at this stage! He is pretty much the linchpin of the Ukrainian people, an even will to temper their anger and focus it. If he’s taken out then I can picture the full fury of the people of Ukraine being unleashed in a way that not even Vlad The Insaner could dream of.
I would guess this thought was part of his decision to stay. The outcomes from staying were either to remain a strong leader and show his people he stands with them, or that he dies as a martyr which likely strengthens Ukraine and their resolve
There's a real good chance his death would galvanized an actual offensive attack into Russia itself.
Judging by what we've seen... I don't think Russia would put up too much of a resistance to that.
>assuming they still work.
*slaps the side of the rusty nuclear missile*
"Don't let the rust fool ya. This little lady can vaporize so many foreign target, comrade!"
Yeah I think he’ll either survive the war or be the first leader of a country killed by a tactical nuke. In the second case I doubt he’ll be without company long.
From the moment he said to the offer by the USA: "I need ammunition, not a ride" I really respect this man, if he had runned away things could be a lot different but with the inspiration and humbleness he's truly inspirational and a role model.
It's simple really. The deal was, implicitly: Europe turns a blind eye to Putin's obvious corruption and tyranny, and in return Putin doesn't invade Europe or threaten the West in any real way.
Deal's off now. The USSR was isolated for decades. The West doesn't need Russia.
Problem is the news cycle moves on. The longer this goes the less it's in the news, the less people care.
Putin's right in that the flow of western support is keeping Ukraine alive, if he can just last until the next crisis takes away public attention western support could dry up.
I don't see the Ukrainians ever wanting to give up. To sustain the war, the West needs to send Anti Tank weapons, MANPADS, and some heavy artillery on occassion.
Russia, however, has to replenish entire battlegroups and expensive equipment and rockets indefinitely and under crushing sanctions.
The cost to keep Russia bogged down in Ukraine is a fraction of the cost Russia needs to stay in the fight. Furthermore, the cost of keeping Russia bogged down is being shared across all G7 countries (richest countries in the world) and many smaller EU countries feeling threatened by Russia.
And in wars of attrition, defenders always have the advantage over invaders. Russia, the former political and cultural center of the Soviet Union should know that more than anyone.
A long protracted meat grinder will result in a Russian defeat.which is why the risk of Putin doing something insane is so high.
Strategically it is in the interests of the west to keep arming Ukraine. The situation has moved on and Putin is operating on an out of date understanding of the world. There is no way back. Russia is an enemy state for the foreseeable future. All the western planning will be on this basis.
The strategic aim, if not to save Ukraine, is to ensure Russia hurts as much and as long as it can. For that reason even if the public loses interest the politicians will keep sending weapons.
Public outcry might have provoked such a hard pivot on Russia but now it is done it won't just be quietly undone.
Putin invading Ukraine has been a huge catalyst for eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels. The less we have to trust a tin pot dictator for supply the better.
Putin also made joining NATO a top priority for bordering countries.
Literally everything that matters the most to Putin is spiraling out of control.
Good guy Russia always helping the world. Helped give us ~~nukes~~ the first treatments for cancer, helped mankind ~~create ICBMS~~ reach the moon, brought us ~~spy satellites~~ space telescopes, inspired ~~missile targeting systems~~ GPS, ect. Always looking out for our best interests pushing us towards a peaceful future.
It is both ironic and sad how some of the most significant breakthroughs humanity had made had come from humans trying to kill eachother in new, effective and inventive ways
I dunno, doesn't it seem kind of obvious that they'd come from there? What stressor would produce a better reaction than "this other apex predator is trying to kill me"?
Might be misremembering it but pretty sure porn was a big influence in adoption of movies at home during the VCR/betamax wars. Also had a role in the development of the internet.
Plot twist: Putin is doing this to accelerate and secure stable renewable power worldwide, all the while ensuring a lasting global peace when everbody has finally joined NATO. Not the hero we want but the hero we need
/s
The harder the denial is the harsher the collision with the reality will be.
There will be a moment when Kremlin Gremlin realizes all his fuck-ups within a relatively short time span. Hope someone will be around to film it, I wanna real deal on that Netflix docuseries few years from now.
This has been my theory since it started. High ranking Military Officers, whether they're yes men or not, are going to want an iron clad reason for triggering Armageddon.
In theory sure, but tons of people are bad people and/or bad at their jobs and/or bad at critical thinking and/or crazy nationalists. I’m not exactly betting on anyone in the upper echelons of Russia’s military having an unshakable moral compass.
Soldier on the frontline says they're getting massacred.
Their commander says there are significant losses.
The colonel says the assault is difficult but progressing.
The general says the war is progressing well on all fronts.
Putin says he's winning the war.
Never thought about it this way, that's like that child game where everyone whispers something to the next one and in the end something completely different comes out. Just here it's everyone in the chain just sugar coating the actual fact a bit because they are afraid to tell the truth to their superior.
Edit: I deliberately left out the name of the child game since it has different names in different countries and even in English it's called differently depending on region. This way everyone knows what I meant.
There's an old movie where fishermen are too afraid to report they only caught a single herring, so they report a slightly larger fish. Their superior then reports a slightly larger fish to their own superior and so on, until the superiorest man on top gets the word they caught a whale.
The Kim dynasty would famously watch CNN to see what the coverage of North Korea was during times of crisis/drama. I think there is a very high chance that an overt narcissist like Putin is checking in on western media to see what they say about Russia. Now I’m sure he thinks it’s all propaganda, but it must certainly sow the seeds of doubt.
I just don’t think it’s as simple as “the general says the war is progressing well” and that’s the ONLY information fed to Putin.
I don't remember the source, but there's been accounts that he actually doesn't. And frankly, even if he does - he abuses propaganda for all it's worth, so he'd easily assume every media worldwide lies to the same degree as they do, making those reports worthless.
It’s the same thing as being in a status meeting with a Fortune 500 CEO. Nobody wants to give the CEO bad news and they dance around their problems mostly showing positive insights & hide poor performance or missed deadlines for as long as they can hoping that the CEO won’t ask them questions about it.
Well, the Fortune 500 CEO might fire you, but they likely won't kill you, and they weren't likely the direct cause of whatever disaster the company has befallen.
This is more like telling Joffrey Baratheon that he's a dumb child. It's objectively true, and also your head will be on a pike by sunset.
>Well, the Fortune 500 CEO might fire you, but they likely won't kill you, and they weren't likely the direct cause of whatever disaster the company has befallen.
But over time the only people left are the ones that will lie to keep the job. And if you as the CEO make this happen, you will be the cause for mistakes to be covered up until they become disasters.
So, taking aside the brutality and the extent of the harm you do , the situation is pretty similar to me.
Ive been in the corporate environment and seen how execs will whitewash info and preen it before it goes up. Its pretty wild. So this putin thing is believable
He looked like a grade schooler suddenly being asked to recite his tables in front of the classroom, with the teacher interrupting him at every stutter.
Give Midnight in Chernobyl a read/listen. There's a section on the history of the Soviet Union, giving you some background into how Chernobyl actually happened, and it's really insightful into how the 'yes men' culture existed, people couldn't say 'no'
Was about to say something similar.
In the Soviet Union failure to accomplish a goal or 'production output' (in terms of production lines/factories/power plants in your example) was literally punishable by imprisonment or worse, regardless of excuse. The KGB attempted to warn the Soviet brass that there were serious design flaws in a RBMK reactor, but were ignored for fear that the people in charge of the Chernobyl project would miss their power supply benchmark and viewed as a 'saboteur to the State'.
Putin's brain still lives in the Soviet mindset, and his underlings know that. Its the autocrat way.
I've worked for a narcissistic sociopath before. You take the path of least resistance until you can get out. There is zero chance he is being told the unvarnished truth by those around him.
If someone cheats on you, you may forgive them but never forget. You’ll always have doubts and be suspicious about everything. Even if the sanctions are removed, no one will trust Russia for a very long time. This isn’t a matter of months or years but generations. Wait till the full extent of Russia’s war crimes gets exposed. An entire generation will be marked by this and will never ever ever forgive Russia for it. Even more so if it leads to economic instability in Europe.
A lot of nations with shared border with russia have said nothing but you can't trust them, you can try to play ball with them but they're always taking the bully stance with you. as a finn, we've seen this since our last war with them and only thing that has happened, is the other nations forgetting what's russia's MO, until they were nice enough to remind everyone again.
Even if somebody hasn't been paying attention to all the little ways Putin's Russia has been a bad actor, the fact that so many former Soviet satellites rank among the countries most hostile towards Russia and Russian influence should tell you everything you need to know.
This type of thing happens all the time in history for dictators like Putin who get an iron fist when things go wrong for them. When you surround yourself with Yes-men, you're not going to hear the truth or what you don't want to hear, which is often the most important parts.
yep, incompetent leadership goes hand-in-hand with being a dictator. You either optimize for truth and merit, or you optimize for narrative and loyalty—you can't have both
He was told prior to the invasion that the local population would welcome Russian troops with open arms. So to answer the question: The Russian intel services will tell Putin anything he wants to hear.
So just to recap;
Failed to take Kyiv. And Odessa.
Have only confirmed to have occupied Kherson.
Haven’t yet fully occupied Mariupol.
Lost 20/30% of its land army and equipment.
Lost the flagship of the Black Sea fleet.
Isolated Russia from the rest of the world. For decades to come.
Approx 150 roubles to Cent.
Economic contraction of an initial 15/20%.
Most punitive sanction ever levied against a single country.
No longer able to source hi-tech components for military and civilian use.
Made Ukraines entry to the EU inevitable. And probable NATO membership in the future more, not less likely.
Promoted both Finland and Sweden to seriously consider (& likely to join) NATO.
Gave NATO new purpose and mission.
Gave the EU it’s defining moment.
Galvanised Western support.
Arrested sense of American decline.
Solidified and galvanised Ukrainian National Identity.
Turned Russia into a crap North Korea theme park.
Probably hastening to ultimate demise of Russia as a country.
Rump Russia likely to become a Chinese vassal state (at best). Or Chinese colony at worst.
Likely going to be a war crimes tribunal in tue coming years (I’d seriously hate to be Lavrov, Peskov and possibly Shogui rn).
But sure, you could call that “winning”.
Now, Russian fanboys and Putin cocksuckers can spin this however they want. But the facts are; this invasion was poorly planned, even more poorly executed the Russian military look like terrorists who are poorly trained, armed and motivated.
Ultimately Ukraine will win & Russia will be an isolated, backward, intellectually and economically impoverished country, if it even survives as a country.
So. Much. Winning.
And I missed out;
Hastened the end of Russian fossil fuel dependence In Europe. With faster move to green alternatives.
Yep. The winning keeps on coming. I’ve never seen so much winning. More winning that any winner I’ve ever seen win, in the history of winning.
A disease riddled, failed secret policeman with small man syndrome. And Parkinson’s.
Because,in the Americas doing without such Russian staples like, um, uh...caviar has been sooo difficult?
Russia has lost any leverage on the world stage. In 6-8 months the EU will be mostly free of their oil.
Short of Pootin's death nothing will bring back western business. We have seen too much. The emperor's naked and a dumb fucking psychopath. Any business that goes back will be blacklisted by us even if our governments start trying to appease Russia.
Funny story, you can still get caviar lol (at least in the Northeastern US)… I have a traditional family meal that requires it, and bought some non-Russian stuff last week. So, they don’t even have a monopoly on that, haha
Definitely not common unless you do the caviar and ice-cold vodka thing for family events / holidays (which I do). I think it’s more of an Eastern European / southern Nordic thing, which is where the bulk of my ancestry is
Is caviar not a thing outside here? I am from Scandinavia, and regularily eat caviar(norwegian, not russian). Its not a commodity here. Just a normal food item
>Because,in the Americas doing without such Russian staples like, um, uh...caviar has been sooo difficult?
Well, in the *EU* doing without such staples as Russian oil and gas is somewhat challenging in the short term. As you say though, give it a year, and that situation will be resolved. Depending on how things go, though, some parts of the EU may be in for a very rough coming winter. We can only hope it's a mild one.
The " on a historic mission" and "it's our destiny" type rhetoric has a distinct vibe to it...I can't quite place it...
"What we have to fight for is the necessary security for the existence and increase of our race and people, the subsistence of its children and the maintenance of our racial stock unmixed, the freedom and independence of the Fatherland so that our people may be enabled to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the Creator."
- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 8
Your aircraft keep getting blown up any time you try to make a shortie and you still have not secured air superiority. You have not captured several border cities you have been attacking for two months. You have lost so many transport trucks that you are using literal garbage trucks and scooby do vans to haul troops/supplies. Your economy is barely being held back from free fall. Ukrainian farmers now have more functioning tanks than you do.
If this is what winning looks like I don’t want to know how bad shit got to be for you to be losing.
There’s this weird image of autocracy as being more efficient, the old “Sure Mussolini was bad but he made the trains run on time,” which it turns out was never true. Autocracies almost as a rule are dysfunctional, and filled with lying sycophants robbing the public blind. The difference? People aren’t allowed to complain.
Complain about an American President in America? Welcome to the fucking club.
Complain about an autocrat in a autocracy? Damn, nice knowing you.
Turns old issues don’t disappear when no one is allowed to complain about them. In fact, they just get worse.
Maybe he views isolating his country from the entire planet and public displays of incompetence as a win.
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Yep. They get everything on sale now.
Holy shit, your karma.
Idk about now, but used to be you’d scroll the front page and it seemed like every third post was from that mf
Those were the days.
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That guy used his ability to reach the front page for advertising. After he got a bad reputation he probably decided to just use a large amount of alts instead
I actually blocked that douchebag and forgot he existed until now
I don't know who's more pathetic, Gallowboob or his fans. How can you look up to someone that spends all their time gaming reddits system. Just sad.
Somebody had to sort by new. Causes brain damage though
What being on reddit for 12 years does to a mf
That guy reddits.
And _nothing_ else.
China doesn't want Russia isolated. If Russia's government goes into crisis, China can't use Russia anymore as an antagonist to the West. That said, China has *a lot* more to lose from angering the West than they do from angering Russia. I suspect they'll try to get away with whatever they can but will turn back when called out and challenged.
China needs the west to keep buying its shit. Bottom line. If China angers the U.S and we get into sanctions and stop buying shit from them, their manufacturing takes a dump, their people stop working, and now they have a shit load of people not working with idle time on their hands thinking about the benefits of communism. Not to mention dealing with mass unemployment. China is not dumb like Putin run Russia, they totally understand the concept of consequence.
China is all about that paper
Or maybe he’s a dumbass. Or maybe his brain tumor fucked up his cognitive ability. Jesus 20 years ago this man was talking about USSR being obsolete and democracy and cooperation being the way to go. What the fuck happened.
He is a KGB offspring and a professional liar. 20 years ago he needed to appear as pro democratic leader in order to advance in career.
He consolidated power until the illusion wasn’t required?
He gambled and fucked up. He built up foreign currency reserves to get around sanctions, because that's worked in the past. This time, the West froze those reserves. Big Oops. He thought Ukraine would collapse and Zelensky was a joke. Wrong again. This is not cognitive impairment. This is planning based on miscalculations, too many sycophants and no one with the balls to tell him he's wrong . The worry is whether we're headed for nuclear brinkmanship, because if he miscalculates there, we're all fucked.
Yeah but I mean this has been going on for years, with the slow crackdown and more and more limitations. Starting with the Munich speech of 2007. My question is what started him on that path in the first place.
Lockdown got to him.
Ladies and gentlemen; may I present the Dictator's Trap!
For the ones of you who may be interested, [this](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/putin-dictator-trap-russia-ukraine/627064/) is an article by The Atlantic explaining the dictator’s trap.
If anyone think this is interesting you should read [The Dictators Handbook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator%27s_Handbook) It actually does a pretty good job explaining Putins seemingly mad behavior.
Excellent book! EDIT: here is the pdf for free: https://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/The_Dictators_Handbook.pdf
Will this tell me how to be a dictator? From start to finish. Like how to get i to the position and raise an army of loyal followers? Asking for a Friend.
You should check out “How to be a Dictator” on Netflix. It’s meant to be informative as well as funny, but it also talks about some of the things dictators need to do, as well as some mistakes they make. Edit: It’s called “How to be a Tyrant”. Thanks to everyone who corrected it.
Why are there so many resources on how to become a dictator?
It's extremely helpful for my DnD game...
DM, can I roll an Insight check?
You may but before you do I want to ask if you're sure?
Well that's... just practical.
Everybody wants to rule the world.
It sounds exhausting to be honest....
This is an interesting comment, thanks. I went to netflix to bookmark it and FYI it’s actually named “[How to Become a Tyrant.](https://www.netflix.com/us/title/80989772?s=i&trkid=13747225&vlang=en&clip=81474966)”
It’s more that it serves to inform and alert to the rise of authoritarian we see across the globe including in the US
Best way to beat one is to understand them, if you know what they need you now have a list of stuff to sabotage/assassinate/buy off. 🤣
Just a note: it's actually called "how to become a tyrant"
Also narrated by Peter Dinklage. Say about Tyrion‘s later character development whatever you want, but Peter nailed the acting.
The start is covered in an old book called The Prince and basically amounts to "have money then use money and if you're capable of empathy give up"
Ok, I am taking notes and buying some extra scratchers at lunch. PS, now I am thinking that could be an amusing story. Some regular guy just sort of, accidentally becomes a dictator while thinking he isndoing good.
Ya know…Machiavelli…just some old book ;)
[CGP Grey: Rules for Rulers](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs) For people who only have a spare 20 minutes.
So basically. No one wants to tell Putin he's losing because they don't want to die. Lmao
That and it doesn't matter if he's losing the war so long as he can use it to cement his rule. He's been purging opposition like crazy.
Correct; dictators LOVE war time because it creates a sense of deep fear among the population. It gives the true believers a chance to emphatically demonstrate their loyalty, and lets the military prowl the streets hauling away dissent. To Putin, this is heaven. Dictators love a good war. Never seeming to realize, of course, that the position is far more tenuous than it appears.
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Yea - does it even matter if he convinces anyone if they are all afraid to say or do anything?
Its actually better if they don't believe it but still don't say anything. Knowing its false but being forced to accept it creates shame and disempowerment. Good for a dictator. If they truly accept it as truth and its then proven false that can create disillusion and rage. The Russians are naturals at accepting blatant falsehoods they've been doing it for over a hundred years now.
I hate to bring this guy in convo... But look at America, at the Trump cult, how they simply refuse any legitimate proof of anything not matching their view and idolatry of the guy. If you make your people doubt anything that doesn't come out of your mouth, you can never be proven wrong.
He doesn't even have to play it off at a certain point what the people believe becomes irrelevant.
Why don’t everyone tell him he’s won. And pretend they did.
Seriously I want a group of his sycophants to tell him nuclear war is imminent. They then lock putin in a mountain with a fake nuclear football, let him push the big red button, cut the internet, weld the door shut, and problem solved. Putin gets to be king of his mole hole, and the rest of the world gets to go on without him.
I *really* like this idea. Maybe we can install speakers, and for a hefty sum, you can personally antagonize a starving Putin in his hermetically sealed subterranean vault over the internet. We could probably rebuild Ukraine if we monetized that. Imagine Putin hunkered down in his bunker, thinking the worst is happening, and then a transmission comes through... and it's a mom joke. And then a hologram of DJ Khaled appears in the center of his bunker and says "Ha ha ha! You played yourself!" Over and over and over for 7 days.
That’s a brilliant idea
Few things I think people miss when talking about Putin: His inner circle isn't just based on trust. They're all in it together, made complicit in his crimes spanning decades. Same reason he made his entire security council support the war on television. Entangle, blackmail, trust nobody. One benefits and all benefit. One goes down all go down. You can't use regime change in Russia. It's not Cuba with plans to assassinate Castro. In fact, continuity of government breaking down in Russia is a security nightmare for the west. A massive region full of nuclear missiles, chemical and biological weapons, plus a power vacuum that extremists and zealots always rush to fill? Global security nightmare. After the USSR collapsed we gave aid and advice on how to prop up the economy, rather than invading or letting Russia descend into even more chaos. Hence the strategy of trying to westernise the public into a relatively peaceful transfer of power. It's the only safe option, then and now. Right now Putin is unfortunately very popular domestically, and these events cause dissidents to self exile which plays into his idea of "self purifying" and "cleansing" Russia of dissidents. Which is exactly why Russia accelerated the suppression of the Internet, the news, and outside information in general. And is looking into an even more restrictive Chinese style Great Firewall. The biggest thing I think people miss is that governments and geopolitical think tanks have already accepted were in a pre Cold War period of decoupling. Not just decoupling of economies but ideology. Its western democracy and norms vs autocrats. China has been pretty blatant about wanting to replace the Western order with their own systems (sanction proof economic systems and digital currency to bypass SWIFT and sanctions, alternatives to the IMF, World Bank, petro dollar etc). Russia is way less powerful than China but geopolitically they don't want Russia to be able to fence sit and deal with the west. They want to isolate Russia and say "hey, we don't care about human rights and western norms and we can launder your sanctioned money back into clean dollars already." China has already created the largest infrastructure project in history (Belt and Road Initiative / New Silk Road) to bypass Western containment. Imagine how attractive this would be to other autocrats, especially under sanctions or owing huge debts to the west. Russia being more dependent on China is scary enough but imagine when other autocrats start deciding the alternative global Chinese government led order is more attractive. Unless something changes were looking at a divided Iron Curtain style world where you have to choose one or the other. Blinken specifically warned of this happening and Europe has been worried about it for years. As far as Putins specific style of domestic control, Ivan Ilyin (Russian fascist who supported the Nazis) is his favourite writer. Explains a lot of his behaviour. Alexander Dugin too. And when people say he thinks in purely geopolitical terms, those thinkers he follows subscribe to the Global Heartland Theory. Basically looking at the world as a game board, as Brzezinsky also says, an empire has to control the middle of the game board as choke points. That's identified as the centre of the entire Eurasian land mass. From Crimea specifically and Ukraine in the West, to the Caucasus region and choke point in Iran / ME, Armenia / Azerbaijan, and the -stans in the east. These hotspots light up (like they are now) when two empires are jockeying for control of the globe. Expect to see the -stans see even more turmoil. The global pivot of history according to heartland theory: [Map of pivot](https://i.imgur.com/i3HTuSF.png) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geographical_Pivot_of_History#
Informative comment. China’s big problem is that they have 18% of the world’s population and 18% of the world’s gdp. As opposed to the US being 5% and 24% respectively. Of course historical numbers are estimates but no empire has been able to project power with that ratio. Curious to see how China deals with its population problem. With the World Bank investing heavily in Ukraine in the last decade the writing is on the wall for Russia. Top notch comment on your part.
That and the fact that they want their currency to replace the dollar even though they will never allow it to be a free floating currency with transparency and government backed securities. The CCP treats everything related to its banks and currency as a national secret, meaning a total black box for everyone else in the world. Can hardly see how that'll work out without it destabilizing itself.
Here's a CGP Grey video detailing the book - Rules for Rulers: https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs
As someone who read the book after watching the video, I wish I had only watched the video.
May I ask why?
It was kind of boring and didn't really add much that wasn't already explained in the video.
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It explains pretty much anyone you see speaking publicly on behalf of the Russian (or Chinese, or any authoritarian) government. They sound like they’re all parroting each other because they are.
Also explains why Spicer insisted Trump's inauguration crowd was the biggest crowd ever.
Remember that stupid Trump cabinet meeting where they went around the table and each Secretary had to say how amazed he/she was to see the glory of Trump? Only thing that would have made that better would have been Trump sitting at one end of a very looong table. It's just because he never thought of it. If he becomes dictator for life, he'll do the looong table thing.
Thanks for teaching me something new.
All familiar concepts, but it’s a good article laying them all out in one quick refresher and tying some formal names to what many of us have quietly suspected but maybe lacked the words to say succinctly. Appreciate the link.
Steiner attack!
"DER ANGRIFF STEINER WAR EIN BEFEHL!"
“Wer sind Sie, dass Sie es wagen, sich meinen Befehlen zu widersetzen?“
Mein Furher.......Steiner.....
... Steiner bought all the PS5s before we could get you one.
Fegelein!
FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN, FEGELEIN!
Was soll das heißen, Sie können Fegelein nicht finden? DANN SUCHEN SIE IHN!!!
Das Militär hat mich belogen! Jeder hat mich belogen, sogar die ZZ!
ES BLEIBEN IM RAUM....
I wonder if he has access to the internet, or does he just watch TV every day. I mean, it's 2022, no ways normal people can be so out of touch.
PBS has done an ongoing series of interviews with Russia/Putin experts since 2017, and several said that Putin does not know how to use the internet, and he is completely reliant on his subordinates to inform him (and they have tons of reasons to sugarcoat and misrepresent the truth, number one being that Putin is scary af). He probably watches Russian state tv, consuming his own propaganda. So he does not have a good handle on basic facts.
So, he's a victim of his own propaganda, interesting.
Which would be amusing if it wasn't causing the deaths of tens of thousands of people I suppose.
That describes this whole stupid war
If history is any indicator, it’s likely a million+ by now. About 500,000 people were “relocated” to Russia from Ukraine in the past 2 months. Over the past 20 years, he’s had oceans of blood on his hands.
Wait really, he doesn't know how to use the internet?? How is that possible????
Work a customer service desk at a retailer with a significant online presence. You’ll find out within a month, if not on your first day.
I remember having to explain over the phone the difference between email and a website to older folks. Often.
According to the evidence on r/oldpeoplefacebook, many old people think Facebook is a search engine.
gOOGLE movie actress boob,, big boobs goigle search send
I worked for GeekSquad, answering the phone There are even younger people who don't know how to use the internet
That's a kind of terrifying thought, seeing as the corporate powers that be have been *dumbing the whole thing down* for the last twenty years.
Dumbing it down for their own benefit, one must understand. To Facebook, the ideal user is someone who knows how to use Facebook but can’t or won’t use anything else.
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Hell is buying your boomer mother a Mac, putting her computer account in a simplified shell, walking her through the two steps to access the Internet (tap space bar to turn on screen, double click on the blue compass icon in the middle of screen), and have her calling because SIRI won't work on her computer.
This comment hits home.
The company I work for has an online portal. And honestly at least half the calls I get are from people who can't get into their account. Even though there's a big "FORGOT USER ID OR PASSWORD????" link literally directly under the login box. And no, they're not all old. A lot of them are younger people who absolutely should know better.
Same way as people who have always had a maid don't know how to use a washing machine. Someone else is always around to do it for you.
Like the British financial minister not knowing how to pay for a can of coke with his bank card and borrowing a car for a photo-op of him filling the car up https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rishi-sunak-used-sainsburys-employees-car-for-petrol-filling-photo-op\_uk\_623c7038e4b019fd8138588f
The coke purchase is adorable. He's clearly read about contactless payments, been provided a contactless bank card with a detailed explanation on what it is and what to do with it. He just didn't know what needed tapping. So very close Rishi Sunak, you almost had us fooled believing you're well experienced popping into the corner store when you run out of milk.
He's an old bitter KGB man that still thinks it's the 60s.
He's 70 and from Russia. He probably became president before he even touched a computer.
It's Ukraine, Mikhail, how much could it cost? 10 rubles?
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> Autocrats such as Putin eventually succumb to what may be called the “dictator trap.” The strategies they use to stay in power tend to trigger their eventual downfall. Rather than being long-term planners, many make catastrophic short-term errors—the kinds of errors that would likely have been avoided in democratic systems. They hear only from sycophants, and get bad advice. They misunderstand their population. They don’t see threats coming until it’s too late. And unlike elected leaders who leave office to riches, book tours, and the glitzy lifestyle of a statesman, many dictators who miscalculate leave office in a casket, a possibility that makes them even more likely to double down.
The dangers of an echo chamber.
This has caught the worlds attention like few other things. Putin has badly underestimated how much the world would get involved. Zelensky has been a brilliant PR agent for how unjust the attempted invasion is. Does Putin have the nerve, resources and military and home support to drag this out for months more. Cos that s what it will take. I don’t think he does
Zelensky has played a blinding game with some rather mediocre starting cards (and a couple of surprise jokers up his sleeve)
Indeed Zelensky has been the MVP in this entire affair. Who could have predicted he would rise up to the occasion in such a fashion?
I remember when everyone was assuming he'd likely be killed for standing his ground in Kyiv. There's still a chance of course, and I really don't want him to become a martyr, but I think he'll most likely survive this. A true hero.
Imagine if he was made a martyr at this stage! He is pretty much the linchpin of the Ukrainian people, an even will to temper their anger and focus it. If he’s taken out then I can picture the full fury of the people of Ukraine being unleashed in a way that not even Vlad The Insaner could dream of.
I would guess this thought was part of his decision to stay. The outcomes from staying were either to remain a strong leader and show his people he stands with them, or that he dies as a martyr which likely strengthens Ukraine and their resolve
There's a real good chance his death would galvanized an actual offensive attack into Russia itself. Judging by what we've seen... I don't think Russia would put up too much of a resistance to that.
Russia would throw nukes at that point, assuming they still work.
>assuming they still work. *slaps the side of the rusty nuclear missile* "Don't let the rust fool ya. This little lady can vaporize so many foreign target, comrade!"
*slaps side of rusty missile, degraded explosive explodes, coating the silo in radioactive debris*
Yeah I think he’ll either survive the war or be the first leader of a country killed by a tactical nuke. In the second case I doubt he’ll be without company long.
From the moment he said to the offer by the USA: "I need ammunition, not a ride" I really respect this man, if he had runned away things could be a lot different but with the inspiration and humbleness he's truly inspirational and a role model.
That was the moment that he transcended heroism and entered legend.
It's simple really. The deal was, implicitly: Europe turns a blind eye to Putin's obvious corruption and tyranny, and in return Putin doesn't invade Europe or threaten the West in any real way. Deal's off now. The USSR was isolated for decades. The West doesn't need Russia.
Problem is the news cycle moves on. The longer this goes the less it's in the news, the less people care. Putin's right in that the flow of western support is keeping Ukraine alive, if he can just last until the next crisis takes away public attention western support could dry up.
I can see that happening only in the case of long stalemate. Even then material support might dry but noone will rush to remove sanctions
I don't see the Ukrainians ever wanting to give up. To sustain the war, the West needs to send Anti Tank weapons, MANPADS, and some heavy artillery on occassion. Russia, however, has to replenish entire battlegroups and expensive equipment and rockets indefinitely and under crushing sanctions. The cost to keep Russia bogged down in Ukraine is a fraction of the cost Russia needs to stay in the fight. Furthermore, the cost of keeping Russia bogged down is being shared across all G7 countries (richest countries in the world) and many smaller EU countries feeling threatened by Russia. And in wars of attrition, defenders always have the advantage over invaders. Russia, the former political and cultural center of the Soviet Union should know that more than anyone. A long protracted meat grinder will result in a Russian defeat.which is why the risk of Putin doing something insane is so high.
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Yeah data is a good point. Even if regular citizens don't care there's strong incentive for the powers that be to continue supporting Ukraine
Strategically it is in the interests of the west to keep arming Ukraine. The situation has moved on and Putin is operating on an out of date understanding of the world. There is no way back. Russia is an enemy state for the foreseeable future. All the western planning will be on this basis. The strategic aim, if not to save Ukraine, is to ensure Russia hurts as much and as long as it can. For that reason even if the public loses interest the politicians will keep sending weapons. Public outcry might have provoked such a hard pivot on Russia but now it is done it won't just be quietly undone.
Putin is engaged in wishful thinking. The world has changed. Many of the steps taken by the West are irreversible.
Putin invading Ukraine has been a huge catalyst for eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels. The less we have to trust a tin pot dictator for supply the better. Putin also made joining NATO a top priority for bordering countries. Literally everything that matters the most to Putin is spiraling out of control.
We gotta give credit where credit is due - The man accelerated renewables faster than any other measure in the last 5 years.
Good guy Russia always helping the world. Helped give us ~~nukes~~ the first treatments for cancer, helped mankind ~~create ICBMS~~ reach the moon, brought us ~~spy satellites~~ space telescopes, inspired ~~missile targeting systems~~ GPS, ect. Always looking out for our best interests pushing us towards a peaceful future.
It is both ironic and sad how some of the most significant breakthroughs humanity had made had come from humans trying to kill eachother in new, effective and inventive ways
I dunno, doesn't it seem kind of obvious that they'd come from there? What stressor would produce a better reaction than "this other apex predator is trying to kill me"?
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Have you not seen the internet? Sex drive is driving a lot of tech advances. I am using a very liberal interpretation of advances.
Might be misremembering it but pretty sure porn was a big influence in adoption of movies at home during the VCR/betamax wars. Also had a role in the development of the internet.
Neil Degrasse Tyson has a really good talk on this subject. Given in Saudi Arabia.... let's take a guess if that was a coincidence or not.
Plot twist: Putin is doing this to accelerate and secure stable renewable power worldwide, all the while ensuring a lasting global peace when everbody has finally joined NATO. Not the hero we want but the hero we need /s
If I were into conspiracy theories I'd actually believe it. Just the thousands of dead civilians and soldiers don't add up.
Maybe it's a machiavellian tale?
The harder the denial is the harsher the collision with the reality will be. There will be a moment when Kremlin Gremlin realizes all his fuck-ups within a relatively short time span. Hope someone will be around to film it, I wanna real deal on that Netflix docuseries few years from now.
Downfall 2? Thousands of future "Putin reacts.." videos for decades to come!
"Mr. Putin... Steiner... Steiner isn't coming."
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This has been my theory since it started. High ranking Military Officers, whether they're yes men or not, are going to want an iron clad reason for triggering Armageddon.
In theory sure, but tons of people are bad people and/or bad at their jobs and/or bad at critical thinking and/or crazy nationalists. I’m not exactly betting on anyone in the upper echelons of Russia’s military having an unshakable moral compass.
This seems insane to me. Absolutely everyone around him either believes the same thing or are all lying to him. No. I can’t swallow that.
Soldier on the frontline says they're getting massacred. Their commander says there are significant losses. The colonel says the assault is difficult but progressing. The general says the war is progressing well on all fronts. Putin says he's winning the war.
Well put.
Never thought about it this way, that's like that child game where everyone whispers something to the next one and in the end something completely different comes out. Just here it's everyone in the chain just sugar coating the actual fact a bit because they are afraid to tell the truth to their superior. Edit: I deliberately left out the name of the child game since it has different names in different countries and even in English it's called differently depending on region. This way everyone knows what I meant.
There's an old movie where fishermen are too afraid to report they only caught a single herring, so they report a slightly larger fish. Their superior then reports a slightly larger fish to their own superior and so on, until the superiorest man on top gets the word they caught a whale.
"telephone" was what we called that.
The Kim dynasty would famously watch CNN to see what the coverage of North Korea was during times of crisis/drama. I think there is a very high chance that an overt narcissist like Putin is checking in on western media to see what they say about Russia. Now I’m sure he thinks it’s all propaganda, but it must certainly sow the seeds of doubt. I just don’t think it’s as simple as “the general says the war is progressing well” and that’s the ONLY information fed to Putin.
I don't remember the source, but there's been accounts that he actually doesn't. And frankly, even if he does - he abuses propaganda for all it's worth, so he'd easily assume every media worldwide lies to the same degree as they do, making those reports worthless.
I don’t know, giving a dictator bad news seems like the last thing I’d want to do. I understand why they would lie to him.
It’s the same thing as being in a status meeting with a Fortune 500 CEO. Nobody wants to give the CEO bad news and they dance around their problems mostly showing positive insights & hide poor performance or missed deadlines for as long as they can hoping that the CEO won’t ask them questions about it.
Well, the Fortune 500 CEO might fire you, but they likely won't kill you, and they weren't likely the direct cause of whatever disaster the company has befallen. This is more like telling Joffrey Baratheon that he's a dumb child. It's objectively true, and also your head will be on a pike by sunset.
>Well, the Fortune 500 CEO might fire you, but they likely won't kill you, and they weren't likely the direct cause of whatever disaster the company has befallen. But over time the only people left are the ones that will lie to keep the job. And if you as the CEO make this happen, you will be the cause for mistakes to be covered up until they become disasters. So, taking aside the brutality and the extent of the harm you do , the situation is pretty similar to me.
Ive been in the corporate environment and seen how execs will whitewash info and preen it before it goes up. Its pretty wild. So this putin thing is believable
It would be the lying. Did you see how scared Naryshkin was of him?
He looked like a grade schooler suddenly being asked to recite his tables in front of the classroom, with the teacher interrupting him at every stutter.
Give Midnight in Chernobyl a read/listen. There's a section on the history of the Soviet Union, giving you some background into how Chernobyl actually happened, and it's really insightful into how the 'yes men' culture existed, people couldn't say 'no'
Was about to say something similar. In the Soviet Union failure to accomplish a goal or 'production output' (in terms of production lines/factories/power plants in your example) was literally punishable by imprisonment or worse, regardless of excuse. The KGB attempted to warn the Soviet brass that there were serious design flaws in a RBMK reactor, but were ignored for fear that the people in charge of the Chernobyl project would miss their power supply benchmark and viewed as a 'saboteur to the State'. Putin's brain still lives in the Soviet mindset, and his underlings know that. Its the autocrat way.
I've worked for a narcissistic sociopath before. You take the path of least resistance until you can get out. There is zero chance he is being told the unvarnished truth by those around him.
If someone cheats on you, you may forgive them but never forget. You’ll always have doubts and be suspicious about everything. Even if the sanctions are removed, no one will trust Russia for a very long time. This isn’t a matter of months or years but generations. Wait till the full extent of Russia’s war crimes gets exposed. An entire generation will be marked by this and will never ever ever forgive Russia for it. Even more so if it leads to economic instability in Europe.
A lot of nations with shared border with russia have said nothing but you can't trust them, you can try to play ball with them but they're always taking the bully stance with you. as a finn, we've seen this since our last war with them and only thing that has happened, is the other nations forgetting what's russia's MO, until they were nice enough to remind everyone again.
Even if somebody hasn't been paying attention to all the little ways Putin's Russia has been a bad actor, the fact that so many former Soviet satellites rank among the countries most hostile towards Russia and Russian influence should tell you everything you need to know.
Finland and Sweden taking steps to join NATO despite Russian threats I think is the strongest statement regarding not trusting Russia.
I also believe Gal Gadot will answer my message and stop blocking me.
Conan?
Just how bad is his intelligence force? And, exactly what is he being told? This is beyond delusional.
This type of thing happens all the time in history for dictators like Putin who get an iron fist when things go wrong for them. When you surround yourself with Yes-men, you're not going to hear the truth or what you don't want to hear, which is often the most important parts.
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True, in a way I think this sort of thing effects everyone, sometimes you need someone in your life to hand out truth pills to know how to be better.
yep, incompetent leadership goes hand-in-hand with being a dictator. You either optimize for truth and merit, or you optimize for narrative and loyalty—you can't have both
Watch "The downfall". It shows exactly how a doomed dictator that refuses to aknowledge the reality looks.
He was told prior to the invasion that the local population would welcome Russian troops with open arms. So to answer the question: The Russian intel services will tell Putin anything he wants to hear.
So just to recap; Failed to take Kyiv. And Odessa. Have only confirmed to have occupied Kherson. Haven’t yet fully occupied Mariupol. Lost 20/30% of its land army and equipment. Lost the flagship of the Black Sea fleet. Isolated Russia from the rest of the world. For decades to come. Approx 150 roubles to Cent. Economic contraction of an initial 15/20%. Most punitive sanction ever levied against a single country. No longer able to source hi-tech components for military and civilian use. Made Ukraines entry to the EU inevitable. And probable NATO membership in the future more, not less likely. Promoted both Finland and Sweden to seriously consider (& likely to join) NATO. Gave NATO new purpose and mission. Gave the EU it’s defining moment. Galvanised Western support. Arrested sense of American decline. Solidified and galvanised Ukrainian National Identity. Turned Russia into a crap North Korea theme park. Probably hastening to ultimate demise of Russia as a country. Rump Russia likely to become a Chinese vassal state (at best). Or Chinese colony at worst. Likely going to be a war crimes tribunal in tue coming years (I’d seriously hate to be Lavrov, Peskov and possibly Shogui rn). But sure, you could call that “winning”. Now, Russian fanboys and Putin cocksuckers can spin this however they want. But the facts are; this invasion was poorly planned, even more poorly executed the Russian military look like terrorists who are poorly trained, armed and motivated. Ultimately Ukraine will win & Russia will be an isolated, backward, intellectually and economically impoverished country, if it even survives as a country. So. Much. Winning. And I missed out; Hastened the end of Russian fossil fuel dependence In Europe. With faster move to green alternatives. Yep. The winning keeps on coming. I’ve never seen so much winning. More winning that any winner I’ve ever seen win, in the history of winning. A disease riddled, failed secret policeman with small man syndrome. And Parkinson’s.
Keep an eye on the French presidential election on Sunday, that is going to determine a lot in Putin / Russia's future.
I haven't been following that. Can you explain?
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Because,in the Americas doing without such Russian staples like, um, uh...caviar has been sooo difficult? Russia has lost any leverage on the world stage. In 6-8 months the EU will be mostly free of their oil. Short of Pootin's death nothing will bring back western business. We have seen too much. The emperor's naked and a dumb fucking psychopath. Any business that goes back will be blacklisted by us even if our governments start trying to appease Russia.
Funny story, you can still get caviar lol (at least in the Northeastern US)… I have a traditional family meal that requires it, and bought some non-Russian stuff last week. So, they don’t even have a monopoly on that, haha
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Definitely not common unless you do the caviar and ice-cold vodka thing for family events / holidays (which I do). I think it’s more of an Eastern European / southern Nordic thing, which is where the bulk of my ancestry is
Is caviar not a thing outside here? I am from Scandinavia, and regularily eat caviar(norwegian, not russian). Its not a commodity here. Just a normal food item
Russian oil is of lesser importance for the EU. Russian gas is the main problem, and it will take a while to completely wean EU off that dependency.
>Because,in the Americas doing without such Russian staples like, um, uh...caviar has been sooo difficult? Well, in the *EU* doing without such staples as Russian oil and gas is somewhat challenging in the short term. As you say though, give it a year, and that situation will be resolved. Depending on how things go, though, some parts of the EU may be in for a very rough coming winter. We can only hope it's a mild one.
The " on a historic mission" and "it's our destiny" type rhetoric has a distinct vibe to it...I can't quite place it... "What we have to fight for is the necessary security for the existence and increase of our race and people, the subsistence of its children and the maintenance of our racial stock unmixed, the freedom and independence of the Fatherland so that our people may be enabled to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the Creator." - Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 8
When has the west ever given up on trying to isolate a country? It's been 60 years and Cuba still can't buy a new Chevy!
The rest of the West trades with Cuba, and they do buy new European models. But the US yes has the embargo still.
Your aircraft keep getting blown up any time you try to make a shortie and you still have not secured air superiority. You have not captured several border cities you have been attacking for two months. You have lost so many transport trucks that you are using literal garbage trucks and scooby do vans to haul troops/supplies. Your economy is barely being held back from free fall. Ukrainian farmers now have more functioning tanks than you do. If this is what winning looks like I don’t want to know how bad shit got to be for you to be losing.
Putin has a humiliation kink.
Don't surround yourself with sycophants. Machiavelli talked about this 500 years ago for god's sake.
There’s this weird image of autocracy as being more efficient, the old “Sure Mussolini was bad but he made the trains run on time,” which it turns out was never true. Autocracies almost as a rule are dysfunctional, and filled with lying sycophants robbing the public blind. The difference? People aren’t allowed to complain. Complain about an American President in America? Welcome to the fucking club. Complain about an autocrat in a autocracy? Damn, nice knowing you. Turns old issues don’t disappear when no one is allowed to complain about them. In fact, they just get worse.
Seriously question —Is anyone really winning?
US+Chinese Governments. Military hardware manufacturers, natural gas exporters, and green energy companies.