Russia - threadbanned users in OP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181145#Comment_118181145

And if Texans wanted to be separate from the Union, do you think their desires would be respected? Come on, honestly, do you really think the Federal government would allow the loss of Texas regardless of the reasons?

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181503#Comment_118181503

So in Russia's case if Germany went and took Kaliningrad back would russia kick up stink because they only took post ww2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181485#Comment_118181485

Which is easy to say when you're on the outside looking in... and how would it have been sorted when the USSR collapsed? It's just convenient for the West that Russia was weakened by what happened. To Russians themselves, and to many people in those former states, they consider Ukraine (and others) to be part of Russia. It's not sorted in their minds, and I doubt it will be sorted any time soon.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181574#Comment_118181574

Absolutely not ,

In Crimea from the threads back then russians only had a small percentage of a majority not a massive majority , something like 10 % in the difference at the time , but in many cases 110% of the population voted to rejoin Russia , despite blocking the Ukrainians and others from voting ,and bus loads of Russian troops and various Militias they sent were allowed to vote ,

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181369#Comment_118181369

Both St. Petersburg and Moscow are wonderful cities. Highly recommended, although St. Petersburg is the real jewel. I've loved each of my visits to Russia.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181593#Comment_118181593

Absolutely not... so.. you believe that the US wouldn't allow Texas independence?

Oh, and as for Russian behavior, they'll do anything to get what they want. I'm not trying to defend or justify their behavior. I'm merely pointing to what I consider to be double standards being applied.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181577#Comment_118181577

I have no idea. I am still shocked that place exists on a map. Never looked into its history as I'm not big on newish history in general.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181599#Comment_118181599

My girlfriend is ethnically part Chinese and is fascinated with that part of her history and speaks Mandarin. Her grandfather raised her with all of the Chinese history and mythology. It will be good to go there with her as a guide of some sort even though she hasn't been yet.

We're both interested in Russia as well and if my friend is still there, it would be great to see him and see some of the sites.

Bucket list item is to sip tea on the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg like some Dostoyevsky character of old. A wet Tuesday winter night would be perfect. Gopnik beating a dog in the background. Steam rising from me samovar. Civil servants arguing in upstairs apartments. Everything in its place.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181586#Comment_118181586

The Russians lost their chance when they mismanaged the USSR until it crashed into the rocks and broke to pieces. The people who were in charge of those countries then are now in their old age or probably even dead. There is barely a collective memory in Ukraine or Russia of the old Soviet Union. An entire generation of adults weren't even born at the time. E.g. a 30 year old now did not spend a day under Soviet Russian rule. It's quite clear that Ukraine are quite happy to be independent from Russia. That should be respected by Russia. End of story.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181622#Comment_118181622

It's a Weird one it was German but its not in Germany it's actually sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania ,so not in Russia either it's also home to a lot of nuclear warheads and other weapons

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181880#Comment_118181880

Complicated politics and a millennia long history can't just be solved with an "End of story." haha

Russia and Ukraine literally started out together as part of Kievan Rus in the 9th century. Novgorod (Russia) was its first capital followed immediately by Kiev. Kiev was the capital for nearly 400 years until the Mongol invasion.

Richard Hillman

Vlad is doing a tremendous job. He made Russia relevant again and keeps the country together, in a very very diverse ethnic landscape. He has ran the show in where all of the leaders of the Republics can only function under his approval.

People in our part of the world don't understand it. It is the way Russia has to be governed and the people know this.

The way they interfering in Western public discourse is quite genius too. It is the likes of Russia that are amplifying the crazy's (left and right) and the crazy's don't even realize it. They create division to weaken rivals. Now Vlad is a Big Dog again.

Xi Jingping is the alpha male of the world. Vlad is the Sigma Male. Doing his own thing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181880#Comment_118181880

Drop the "end of story" routine.

It's obviously not the end of the story, since Russia remains a realistic threat to them, along with the strong possibility that neither Nato or the US would intervene. As for your reasoning, grand.. although on a personal front, I know Ukrainians who consider themselves to be Russians. So, I wouldn't consider it to be a closed book. Nations don't like giving up on territories that was once theirs... We've had 5/6 decades of peace in Europe, but that's a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of warfare that went before it. I wouldn't be so quick to assume Europeans (and others) have all become so enlightened and have moved beyond such considerations. (although I guess it's easy to be enlightened when you're from a neutral country on the edge of Europe protected on all sides by other nations)

Podge_irl

Russia can think whatever it wants. It doesn't detract from its behaviour and actions with regard to Ukraine. It is essentially the equivalent of the UK invading Drogheda.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118182707#Comment_118182707

Seriously? You think Drogheda has the amount of natural resources that Ukraine has?

And Russia will do whatever Russia wants to do. Putin has been extremely good at judging the attitudes of the Western nations so far, and that's likely to continue. In any case, it's unlikely that anyone will intervene to stop Russia from taking over Ukraine, except for some roaring speeches, and possibly some economic sanctions after the fact. The US will want to keep Russia neutral and uninvolved if they have to tackle China later..

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118183714#Comment_118183714

Not sure of the relevance. Russia's self-interest does not excuse their actions, which is what you appear to be trying to do.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118183714#Comment_118183714

Where does it stop ,if we all stand back and allow Russia to take all of Ukraine , Ukrainians certainly don't want that ,but let's say they do go all out and take Ukraine by force , where next , Georgia, Moldova , Lithuania , Latvia , Poland ,he will then Have to take back half of Europe ,

Why? The usual reply on boards has always been he has nuclear weapons , what are we supposed to do ,

He's never going to go nuclear ,he's backer are too rich and powerful to allow one man to burn it all down ,and I've said it a few times when putin falls or dies it's all going to go to **** pretty fast ,

We need not just NATO but a strong EU army that doesn't have the limitations of NATO let's not support Ukraine or elsewhere because Putin wont like it ,

He's a bully ,all staged managed Q&A sessions where it's all your our hero standing up to NATO and preventing the invasion of Russia,

You need his permission to run against him and only if your one of his supporters ,he's as bad as some of those who went before him only difference is he is more shrewd how he goes about things.

It seems now turkey is moving to support Ukraine , after Azerbaijan this could cause more problems , Turkish drones proved very effective against the Armenians recently erdokan seems more than happy to play putin at his own games

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Caspian Report's videos on the Russian perspective yet. These are absolutely fascinating and provide an outstanding interpretation / explanation of the Russian posture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE6rSljTwdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwzliJF0-SI&t=0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nosu9L8eFHE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJZbS3hwGuU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQT4unko248

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGafVj-wrmw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118183743#Comment_118183743

okay... point to me where I excuse their actions.

Just because I disagree with you, doesn't mean that I'm defending Russia.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118183819#Comment_118183819

Where does it stop ,if we all stand back and allow Russia to take all of Ukraine , Ukrainians certainly don't want that ,but let's say they do go all out and take Ukraine by force , where next , Georgia, Moldova , Lithuania , Latvia , Poland ,he will then Have to take back half of Europe ,

Taking back most of Eastern Europe. Not "Europe". But yes, I agree, that if nobody stands up to Russia with the commitment to a serious military response they will continue to take everything that was related to the USSR... and anything else that is weak and up for grabs.

Why? The usual reply on boards has always been he has nuclear weapons , what are we supposed to do 

It's not my kind of reply. Nuclear weapons are a weapon of last resort.. or possibly in a tactical sense against specific military targets. I don't believe they would be used by Russia. It would be a conventional war, one that NATO could handle quite well, if they got their heads out of their asses.

I don't hold this fear that many seem to have about Russia. They're not a superpower anymore, and their military has had a range of problems both with tech and the combat effectiveness of their troops. NATO could manage the situation without the US even being involved.

However, I don't believe there is the will in Europe for such a war, and I don't think most people really care all that much what happens in Eastern Europe. As I said before, roaring speeches, and possibly economic sanctions.

and I've said it a few times when putin falls or dies it's all going to go to **** pretty fast ,

Probably.. although I wouldn't be quite so sure. Russia is really ruled by the oligarchs, and they're smart enough to have prepared for what happens after Putin.

SupplyandDemandZone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118181599#Comment_118181599

Spent 3 days in St.Petersburg on my round the world motorbike trip years ago. In general i found Russian's to be a fantastic hospitable people but St.Petersburg was exceptional.

AbusesToilets

Some serious drivel in this thread. I'll never not laugh at Russian claims of NATO encirclement and encroachment. I wonder why all those Eastern European countries are eager to join NATO. Mayhaps because of the decades to centuries of Russian oppression.

Putin is a great man alright, what with his rampant corruption and funneling of public monies to his personal accounts, the rampant anti-lgbt attitudes that have proliferated under his leadership, or the hundreds of journalists murdered and jailed.

Christ. Absolute state of some of you.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118185168#Comment_118185168

Christ. Absolute state of some of you.

Right back at you.

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118185228#Comment_118185228

Do you dispute that assessment of Putin? Or of Russia's historical agression towards countries on its borders?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118186853#Comment_118186853

I dispute your assessment of the posters on this thread.

As for the rest, not really. I'd say that Putin is a great man, which you would appreciate if you were Russian. But you're not.. and you've already shown you have no interest looking at the topic from any direction other than as a westerner.

Gatling

I'm not sure russians actually like the man ,yes he tops all the polls every time ,his q&a sessions are purely stage managed propaganda pieces ,he's never been challenged with any difficult questions ,he's had to hide military loses in Ukraine and Syria by making all russian military loses on foreign soil top secret classified ,they were using freezer trucks to pickup dead soldiers killed in Ukraine before being driven to undisclosed locations for secret burial's ,then telling loved ones their sons and fathers were away on multi year deployments defending Russia,

This idea he's refreshing and doesn't do woke ,if you challenge putin your found guilty of corruption in court usually involving gasprom ,or you have a heart attack or fall off a building because they felt sad ,

He's a total headcase and nobody seems to have oversight or control over ,

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118188421#Comment_118188421

Dunno about liking him, but they certainly seem to respect him.. and the fact that he's gotten results. I've met a lot of Russians either in Russia, or in Asia, and most of them were full of praise of what he's done for their country. They don't particularly like his personal history, but then, who would? However, as a president, yeah.. round of applause.

As for the whole refreshing paragraph... I doubt anyone is expecting any leader of Russia to be, in any way, similar to that of a western politician. This is Russia ffs. They've never really embraced democracy except as the most superficial of gestures. They've always been hip deep in corruption, and links to either the criminal groups or the oligarchs. Any movement towards equality, woke or whatever is only ever going to be on the surface, with everything remaining as it was before, where it matters.

I don't think he's a headcase. If he was one, we'd have seen far more aggression in the Baltic. He's a shrewd politician, and very intelligent. He has a talent for playing opposing groups against each other, while he does his thing (when they're distracted).

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118185168#Comment_118185168

By anti-lgbt attitudes are you talking about it being illegal to indoctrinate children with lgbt propaganda? How dare they not want sexuality politics rammed down thier children's throats!

lenny palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118188560#Comment_118188560

Or maybe they ment that any lgbt person has to hide who they are because being 'outed' could be very dangerous for them