The State of Affairs in Russia

[Grey Fox]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

No, really not.  A rightwing state doesn't jail entrepreneurs to take their business.

It does when the bigger business owner is the president/prime minister.

That's just good old-fashioned corruption.  Nothing particularly either lefty or righty about it.

True but viper started this on Facebook hinting that it was a Lefty thing.

[DGuller]

Many idiots have drawn that connection.  The fact that Russia is far more fascist than anything else at this point is an idea that's too complex for them to comprehend.

[Berkut]

Russia doesn't seem to be close enough to the Western political model to try to cast them in any kind of "left/right" division.

They are just fucked up.

[DGuller]

This thread reminds me of the arguments I had with webbrave on Paradox OT 10 years ago.  I claimed that Putin was turning Russia into an authoritarian state, webbrave laughed and recited some bullshit about bears walking in the streets of Moscow and other myths from the "Things Russians believe Americans believe about Russia" book.  I wonder where webbrave is now?  Hopefully somewhere in the basement of Lubyanka.

[Eddie Teach]

This thread reminds me of the arguments I had with webbrave on Paradox OT 10 years ago.  I claimed that Putin was turning Russia into an authoritarian state, webbrave laughed and recited some bullshit about bears walking in the streets of Moscow and other myths from the "Things Russians believe Americans believe about Russia" book.  I wonder where webbrave is now?  Hopefully somewhere in the basement of Lubyanka.

I'd say "letting Russia revert" is more accurate than "turning Russia into". Their experiment with limited government was incredibly brief.

[DGuller]

This thread reminds me of the arguments I had with webbrave on Paradox OT 10 years ago.  I claimed that Putin was turning Russia into an authoritarian state, webbrave laughed and recited some bullshit about bears walking in the streets of Moscow and other myths from the "Things Russians believe Americans believe about Russia" book.  I wonder where webbrave is now?  Hopefully somewhere in the basement of Lubyanka.

I'd say "letting Russia revert" is more accurate than "turning Russia into". Their experiment with limited government was incredibly brief.

Fair point.  Even Yeltsin's era would be more accurately described as impotent autocracy rather than an aborted attempt at democracy.

[PRC]

One of these girls has a Canadian passport.

[The Brain]

It was amusing 20 years ago when some Americans seemed to believe that Russia was changing into a real country.

[Razgovory]

Russia doesn't seem to be close enough to the Western political model to try to cast them in any kind of "left/right" division.

They are just fucked up.

Well, Putin's party considers itself conservative and centrist.

[MadImmortalMan]

Russia doesn't seem to be close enough to the Western political model to try to cast them in any kind of "left/right" division.

They are just fucked up.

Well, Putin's party considers itself conservative and centrist.

Because things are exactly as he wants them, and that's the very definition of "no change".

[Neil]

One of these girls has a Canadian passport.

Well then we better cancel it.  Fucking busybodies.

[Razgovory]

Russia doesn't seem to be close enough to the Western political model to try to cast them in any kind of "left/right" division.

They are just fucked up.

Well, Putin's party considers itself conservative and centrist.

Because things are exactly as he wants them, and that's the very definition of "no change".

I had no idea that Centrist meant "no change".

[Neil]

They're centrist by Russian standards, in that they're not going to nationalize everything and murder kulaks, nor are they going to invade Eastern Europe, China and all the various parts of the former Soviet Union.

[DGuller]

I think that an autocratic government that relies on the church to keep the masses obedient is about as rightist as you can get.  There is no waffling around the fact that Putin's Russia is a rightist dictatorship, and not either leftist or unclassifiable.

[Valmy]

Are we really debating about whether leftists or rightists should feel ashamed about Russia?