Russia doomed itself for decades. Brain drain plus loss of young men. I don't know how they can rebuild from this, especially when they will have trouble integrating into a western economy. They are going to be like Iran, or China (pre economic boom). Boggles the mind how a country chooses to destroy itself like this. Anyways, I say we help them do it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

@MataVatnik @MrMakabar Russia will become a 'Slavic' version of North Korea. I see no other possible future for them.

[–] Buffalox 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Imagine if they had embraced democracy and EU, they could have been the new Germany in industrial and economic power.
Such a lost opportunity because of Putins vanity and delusions of greatness.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@Buffalox Yes, but there is the entire KGB apparatus to consider. They do still call themselves KGB behind closed doors, rather than SBU.

[–] Buffalox 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Yes they or Putin chose the opposite path already in 1991, and Putin is KGB himself, I thought the new name was GRU?
It's very clear Putin thought he was clever and thought he could pave the way for his empire building, using old KGB tactics to create divisions in EU and USA and NATO. Unfortunately too many Americans are buying into it, but I imagine it will eventually fail anyway. And Russia will become marginalized for decades. Luckily EU is generally not buying it, apart from Hungary and Slovakia.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

@Buffalox
I agree with what you say about the future of Russia. I don't see how it could go any other way.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

For that Russia has to at least freeze the war in Ukraine. With a war going on Russia is always going to be unstable. Loosing a thousand men a day and blowing up money is really not sustainable. At the very least when Putin dies, we will see some intressting events in Russia.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@MrMakabar No you won't. Russia has always been exactly as it is. It will always be this way. There is no prospect of positive change, whatsoever. The Russians have always been willing to march to their death en masse. It is a fundamental part of what it means to be Russian. They died for the Tsar, for Lenin, for Stalin. Now they die for Putin. No change.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Lenin, Stalin and Putin are not Romanov's. The Russian Empire collapsed and after a long civil war the Soviet Union was born. Then the Soviet Union collapsed and after some time Putin gained power and turned Russia into the current fascists government it is today.

The problem Russia has is that it is unpopular. So it always has to fight wars. As soon as it is too weak to do so, we see problems occur as countries try to take from Russia, what Russia has stolen. The losses Russia is having are too high for them to ignore. It is only a matter of time, that Belarus starts revolting again, Georgia and Moldova take back their land and Russia will be too weak to do something about that.