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When I watched the Alexei Navalny documentary about Putins' massive villa I kept on having somewhat similar thoughts - he's so loaded already, has way more than he can spend on anything, pretty much even toilet brushes are made of gold in that villa - why can't he just keep status quo and enjoy it?
These wars are to boost his ratings, I get it, but it doesn't feel like he's losing grip on power anytime soon. All the oligarchs would probably be interested in keeping the status quo.
As of dictators retiring - not sure but it struck me a little bit that Gorbachev and Yeltsin who were prominent figures of the Soviet Union were (edit - sorry, Yeltsin is no longer alive) still alive and just casually chill somewhere in Russia. They probably were not as evil as their predecessors but they were still strongly involved with the whole evil empire.
Yeltsin practically handed power to Putin and everyone supported him back then because they thought it's finally a leader that will lead them to bright future.
P.S. this is the documentary by Alexei Navalny about Putins' villa for the ones who haven't seen it and got time. English subtitles and dubbed versions are also available https://youtu.be/ipAnwilMncI
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He has lost already. I believe now it's just about saving face and going back to his palace. He is loaded. He will be rich until the end of his days, doesn't matter what the west do.
As of nuclear stuff - I don't believe it. It's just a desperate flex, nothing more. Kyiv is so close to their own borders - both Russian and Belarus. And again - they're brotherly nations, 95% of Ukrainians speak Russian.
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We'll definitely pay the price as well. Resources will be more expensive, fuel will be more expensive.
But you can't put a price on freedom and democracy and that's what it's all about.
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More and more clueless young soldiers captured: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cag1pblAA-A/
They were heading for training to Belgorod (Russia) . They woke them
all up in the middle of the night and told them to get in the cars and
follow the convoy. When they got to the border they questioned their
sergeant and were told to follow orders and keep following the convoy.
When they got to the city (he said the first city after crossing the
border) convoy was lost. He was asked about their mission and object
to what he said he had no idea what they were doing. -
Nice summary of the situation: https://www.instagram.com/p/CabD_EFj4D2/
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Can we rename the thread so something more appropriate?
Conflict is my girlfriend yelling at me, stuff that's happening there is much more than conflict.
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Sure it wasn't this coin?
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Some more propaganda...
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Which part exactly? Portraying people who have reputation for cruelty and human right abuses in the battlefield as superstars like "Player Kadyrov enters the game"? Absolutely.
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Crazy how people, who have reputation for crimes against humanity are portrayed like VIP super stars with this private jet and stuff.
But then again this war is happening on the front of information as well - seeing all the positive news and updates about destroyed tanks and whole columns boost their morality.
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Russian tv host and anti-europe propagandist at risk of losing two villas in Italy just down the road from George Clooney.
“I was told that Europe is a citadel of rights, that everything is permitted, that’s what they said… I know from personal experience about the so-called ‘sacred property rights.’ With every transaction I was bringing paperwork demonstrating my official salary, income, I did it all. I bought it, paid crazy amount of taxes, I did everything. And suddenly someone makes a decision that this journalist is now on the list of sanctions. And right away it affects your real estate. Wait a minute. But you told us that Europe has sacred property rights!”
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Still not as nice as Nice or Monaco or Amalfi Coast or whatever.
Oligarchs will go to Turkey just like the simple folk, ooooph. -
Went to a protest near Russian embassy, Russians and Ukrainians were so angry in comparison to Lithuanians! Very chaotic energy. Was also surprised to see some provocateurs coming to oppose the protest. Probably hourly rate from Russian embassy is doubled on weekends?
Went to donate a couple of bags of clothing and shoes - they announced Ukrainian refugees will need 40 tons of clothing.
Amazing emotions, such a feeling of unity. It feels like reliving something like a collapse of soviet union, version 2.
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That's a long queue at atm.
Also this: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2022/02/27/eto-budet-venesuela-s-iadernymi-raketami - google translate does a good job
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Yes, that's the biggest threat to Putin - seeing nearby democracies prosper.
Also a lot of Ukrainians work in EU already and they tasted a bit of that good life western democracies and capitalism might bring. But as far as I remember they were always leaning towards the west.
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I know russians outnumber Ukraine in pretty much everything but with every tank destroyed I wanna go on google and check how many remain
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It's logical assumption that more complex artillery is operated by more experienced people but at the same time my significant other's cousin's boyfriend is operating a rocket launcher 4 months after joining Lithuanian army here.
Of course rocket launcher might not be heavy-heavy artillery but I'd assume war equipment has a quite gentle learning curve and is easy to use.
My mom still knows how to assemble ak-47 in some seconds because it was part of what they teached in schools in Soviet Union.
Also:
A friend of mine who follows more of russian media outlets said their "experts" still are saying sanctions won't impact them but at the same time for some products consumer prices grew for 30% in just those couple of days.
In electronic shops there are signs saying "prices might not be correct, check with supplier" or something and when you check the actual price it's + 30%
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Another captured russian: https://www.instagram.com/p/CadVRf1AuwE/
-Why a communication personnel in tech service?
-Not enough people, sending only contract servicemen.There's an opinion Putin started with young inexperienced kids before sending more seasoned troops. I hope not.
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I'd say it's a mix of facts and assumptions / personal opinions. Which is the worst kind of fake news.
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Feels like we are blind to propaganda
There are levels to this game. Movies like "Rambo" for example can also considered US propaganda but in places like Belarus or Russia it's so severe they distort reality.
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For the fashionistas among us...
https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1497479675463049221?s=21
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Why were there no sanctions when Russia enter Crimea?
There were, actually.
On 19 December 2014, US President Obama imposed sanctions on
Russian-occupied Crimea by executive order prohibiting exports of US
goods and services to the region. On 16 February 2015, the EU
increased its sanction list to cover 151 individuals and 37 entities. -
Propaganda is strong
I was thinking about the delusion of Putin - maybe all the news he consumes also come from their own outlets? Just like with this chief guy that was trembling while talking to him and saying what Putin wanted to hear.
I always imagined even the most ruthless dictators would be quite educated and aware of how the world actually looks outside their fenced kingdom but maybe it's not the case here?
I saw RT showing a "live" video of Kiev where nothing happened and life went on as usual. I wonder what goes in their head when they see this on official outlets and all those videos of explosions and dead soldiers in all other outlets.
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TOS-1 being deployed
Reading about these weapons made my whole body shiver. I hope somebody from close circle puts a bullet in Putin's head before those are getting used. Even if it means sacrifice. It's brotherly nation after all.
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Ahh, indeed. Sorry for misinformation, edited my post.