Damn, never thought this would happenā¦
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well he did finally become a pokemon master by becoming a pokemon champion, there was also something with the vaās in multiple countries.
Trying to shift blame away from Putin?
Well, Iām still cranky about Europe financing Russian government with billions of dollars allowing them to build up their police state, their army, donāt worry about actually doing something good with their country. Even though Europe saw whatās going on. But didnāt care as long as the suffering is within Russia. Doesnāt work that way. And now itās Ivanās fault whose wage is like 200 dollars a month. And not the people who gave billions of dollars.
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I finally found the link to Carlsen vs Niemann court. Looks like a lot of hassle.
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In hindsight itās clear the EU made a huge mistake by increasing its reliance on cheap fossil fuels from Russia (oligarchs) for decades.
It was perhaps understandable in the early 2000s, when there was still hope that by increasing economical interdependence between the EU and Russia, Russia would gradually evolve into a more prosperous, democratic country that upholds human rights and rule of law. This relationship had the potential to benefit both the EU and Russia greatly. In line with this, many EU countries kept their military expenditures below the 2% of GDP to which they obligated themselves by being in NATO. This was much to the dissatisfaction of the US ofcourse. Perhaps some of this EU policy was motivated by a wish to free up money to combat climate change, rather than spending it on weapons to follow the adagium āif you want peace, prepare for warā.
Since about a decade ago however, it became increasingly clear that this hope was wishful thinking by the EU. But despite all the red flags, the EU still kept on increasing its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, right up to the invasion of Ukraine. An example being the Nordstream 2 pipeline.
The EU had been naieve, as the US had been warning the EU for a long time.
I think that other developments in 2016 also contributed to the EU stance towards Putin before the war: Brexit and Trump weakened ties within the West and NATO, causing a trend of the EU reducing dependence on the US, which implied increasing dependence on Russia.
I suppose that because of this, Putin saw an opportunity to topple Zelensky. But this was also a huge mistake. Perhaps he already had this plan in 2020 when it might have succeeded, but he delayed it because of covid, of which he seemed to be particularly fearful.
Iām sorry to say, but Iāve never really understood what āIvanā actually wants. More money, obviously (which is something that Putin seemed to be taking care of, somewhat at least). But other than that?
Does Ivan actually want democracy and rule of law in Russia? I suppose a progressive minority in Russia does, but arenāt they despised by āIvanā?
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It also looks like a very well organised website! This seems very interesting and it is good to see that the case is ongoing. At the very least it will drive home the point that going online and saying stuff without proof, might land you in court filling for dreary paperwork day after day.
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Some say it was change of constitution ā swift bloodless Ukraine operation ā triumphant reelection. Which is why although the vote on constitution was delayed it was carried out in a hurry shortly after.
Well, living comfortable life with meaningful job, ability to work hard and realize your ambitions, having family, maybe kids and knowing that the future is bright. Something like that.
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That sounds very similar to the American Dream. Iāve said before that Americans and Russians are more alike than either of them is willing to admit.
As for my own country, I donāt know for sure, but I think itās more like āliving a safe, comfortable life with a good work/life balance, having family, maybe kids, knowing that you have inalienatable rights in private life and work environment, in sickness and in health, in childhood and in old age, and a government that is committed by law to contribute to all of that, not just for you, but also for all the other citizens.ā.
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On Quora, Iām following a popular (maybe mostly in the West, I donāt know) Russian poster Misha Firer.
A recent post of him, on the (lack of) rule of law in Russia:
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Right, but notice that your long description starts with the āsafe, comfortable liveā. It is not Ivanās life.
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Just be careful not to end up with false perception of Russia following him.
I donāt think he has a significant amount of followers in Russia. I suppose many Russians would consider him to be a troll, if not an outright traitor.
He seems to be an educated middle-class Moskovit, which is already not your average āIvanā.
But for me he seems to offer a rare but genuine insight in what itās like to be a middle-class Russian.
You see his angle, right, gather all the bad and terrible and make an amalgamation to flaunt this brutalist crappy Russian life. In broad strokes with more emotions and less facts. Selecting and exaggerating with colorful language what fits or just making up some nonsense āas a jokeā. Itās kinda what TV propaganda does but in a different direction. Maybe thatās why itās so hard to read. Because you immediately see this propaganda style.
I donāt think genuine is a right word at all here.
Imagine reading a US anti-SJW blogger who only ever talks about cancel culture, woke mobs, leftists taking over the government and so on. That isnāt a genuine insight into being American. Is it?
The more I scroll the less genuine insight I see there.
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Youāre right. I should not have used the word āgenuineā. His posts are mostly sarcastic. But when reading through/past all the sarcasm, would you still say heās telling nonsense?
Thereās a lot of reading through to do with so much āsarcasmā. It seems whatās left is sometimes dubious, sometimes based on facts, some posts even look like genuine answers. But itās often political, and always the bad stuff, isnāt it. So even if you correctly identify the core there you still end up with a distorted picture.
Which is why one might end up building a false perception of Russia reading that.
But Russia - bad is popular especially now so heās doing well leaning into it. Donāt hate the player hate the game.
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I know so few on Russia honestly. What i know from travelers forum is many stories.about being fined on the road by hard to understand police officers. And difficulty.to get visas (costs, invitation letter).
That article reported by gennan is giving me some lights but you say thatās too political to be trustable?
I also still watch the 1420 Youtube channel, which seems to paint a more realistic, less negatively biased picture. But they focus very much on the here and now only, providing little context.
Thatās what I like about Misha Firer. His posts are filled with exaggeration, sarcasm and mockery, but besides all of that, he does provide a Russian perspective and context in his stories that I wouldnāt get otherwise. And it looks like he knows quite well which context he needs to provide to a Western audience to better understand Russian society.
I donāt hate Russians. I think āpityā better describes how I feel about average Russians.
Just be careful out there. How about a lighter topic.
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This is at the same time lighter and much more serious ā¦ what an odd mix.
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