Post: #101

Big win for Putin.

Russian people firmly rejecting the Western provocateurs.

Many very bitter people in media.

Post: #102

I really want to like Navalny, and watch his stuff quiet often. He makes many good points and does a lot of good work...however, the fact that he's heavily promoted by Neoliberal MSM and often mentioned by likes of McCain, follows Rachel Maddow and a large number of US senators on twitter, etc makes me doubt his deeds. He also follows some shitlords like Imam of Peace and Nassim Taleb, and even Tinderfessions which is pretty neat. He's still very young and barring a change to the constitution, Putin can't run again in 2024, so maybe one day Navalny gets his chance, who knows.

Watched this live today.

Nalavny-Sobchak spat in the beginning of the video.





Re: reelection, I'm curious to see if Putin keeps Medvedev as PM. He's by far the weakest link in Kremlin and has the lowest approval rating.

Post: #103

I would never trust Putin any further than I could throw him (nor any other politician for that matter).
Plus Putin being a Sambo champ, I doubt I could throw him very far.

Yet, that's not to say that an enemy cannot be rather frank & somewhat honest from time to time...

Post: #104

...


Full, uncut, unedited Interview of Putin with NBC's Megan Kelly


With Putin speaking Russian (no english voiceover) and no NBC interuptions or useless "analysis" by other dumb commentators.

Turn on subtitles if they don't appear automatically.

Length:

Almost 1 hour and half

Post: #105

I know that here are a lot of Putin fans.
I have a question for You -have You ever met any real criminals in Your life?
If You have so-You already know, that You can't trust a word of them.
Not only in Russia,but in whole eastern Europe are a lot of people like him- some kinda legalized criminals,ex KGB agents, they are still close to governments here a lot. Corrupted as fuck.
No- thanks. I will NEVER be their supporter.
They are playing a show in front of dumb auditory.
I know- you have problems in west ,but please- don't fall in this ex soviet trap.

Post: #106

Although Navalny certainly says some things that are true, and I sympathize with him to an extent, I also do not like him for the reasons stated above. He is constantly promoted by the Western MSM and seems to have no understanding of geopolitics.

It's true that he based his campaign mostly around domestic politics but given the current tense geopolitical situation we cannot afford a leader who would fold to the West and not be a good player on The Grand Chessboard the way Putin is. For example he wants to withdraw troops from Syria and cancel the visa regime with Central Asian countries (which AManLikePutin I believe mentioned the geopolitical reasons for before). Also wants to hold a second referendum in Crimea to appease the West, which is ridiculous considering that there never was any referendum in Kosovo and before the Gulf War the US even basically gave Saddam the green light to annex Kuwait. It would be pointless, and NGOs and Western governments would probably be trying to influence the referendum heavily.

And also there are individual stances of his that are globalist, such as his statements in favor of gay marriage. Many of his supporters are self-loathing liberals that seem to hate their own nation, which you can tell by reading the comments of his videos, and I despise them, but they go on about how the "civilized West" is all good compared to "Rashka" and are completely ignorant to the real political situation of the West, basically taking globalist MSM talking points at face value.

Post: #107

Post: #108

Congratulations Mr. President))) wish you many more years of health, wealth and power. Keep Russia great again.

   

Post: #109

(03-18-2018 06:40 PM)just a human Wrote:  I know that here are a lot of Putin fans.
I have a question for You -have You ever met any real criminals in Your life?
If You have so-You already know, that You can't trust a word of them.
Not only in Russia,but in whole eastern Europe are a lot of people like him- some kinda legalized criminals,ex KGB agents, they are still close to governments here a lot. Corrupted as fuck.
No- thanks. I will NEVER be their supporter.
They are playing a show in front of dumb auditory.
I know- you have problems in west ,but please- don't fall in this ex soviet trap.

You're wasting your breath explaining what is probably not so obvious to anybody who has not actually lived through the Soviet era, who doesn't have any relatives who have managed to survive that nightmare; or, who hasn't lived in contemporary Eastern Europe as an Eastern European themselves.

The only way to accomplish anything in business or government in EE is through bribery, favors, and other corrupt means that prevent the proliferation of some semblance of honest capitalism, which if instituted would pretty quickly lift a lot of the country out of the muck and render Putin, his ilk, and their empty promises of future prosperity largely unnecessary.

As @Gopnik rightly pointed out, there's a tendency to conflate criticism against, or opposition to Putin as being categorically globalist, pro-LGBT, culturally marxist and whatever other characteristics that have nothing to do with the objective situation and which we ALL agree are undesirable.

This is lazy, un-nuanced thinking. Putin is, by all OBJECTIVE measures, a criminal of the highest (or, lowest) order. Russians are climbing over themselves to GTFO. Even the Russians who have family and genuinely love their country - because there's a lot to love about this ancient land - even they are forced to send their children to get educated in China or elsewhere because good luck accomplishing anything through honesty and diligence in a place like Russia.

Putin's public image is also a complete fabrication. Most Russians see right through the KGB veneer but to Westerners who don't have experience with this particular species of snake, his presentation can easily seduce you. He's a smart, well-spoken, but ultimately evil man.

Of course, in addition to all of the clandestine murdering and corruption, there's also the fact that the KGB operated (and operates) chiefly through overt, visible to the naked eye means ("active measures").

See: Yuri Bezmenov, former KGB defector with instructive videos on YouTube that detail exactly the kinds of people you're dealing with; people who are not at all what they seem, unless you know what they are. (In the latter case, they are exactly what they seem.)

There was no doubt that Putin would win because there was no doubt that any legitimate opposition had been sabotaged at every step.

@Rocha What is your infatuation with this thug? Can you not see the evidence before your very eyes that the people he claims to uphold are still stuck in post Soviet morass largely due to him and his cronies? If you love Russian and Russians, how can you support a dictator who has demonstrated his disdain for their well being time and again?

Post: #110

(03-19-2018 05:23 AM)VincentVinturi Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 06:40 PM)just a human Wrote:  I know that here are a lot of Putin fans.
I have a question for You -have You ever met any real criminals in Your life?
If You have so-You already know, that You can't trust a word of them.
Not only in Russia,but in whole eastern Europe are a lot of people like him- some kinda legalized criminals,ex KGB agents, they are still close to governments here a lot. Corrupted as fuck.
No- thanks. I will NEVER be their supporter.
They are playing a show in front of dumb auditory.
I know- you have problems in west ,but please- don't fall in this ex soviet trap.

You're wasting your breath explaining what is probably not so obvious to anybody who has not actually lived through the Soviet era, who doesn't have any relatives who have managed to survive that nightmare; or, who hasn't lived in contemporary Eastern Europe as an Eastern European themselves.

The only way to accomplish anything in business or government in EE is through bribery, favors, and other corrupt means that prevent the proliferation of some semblance of honest capitalism, which if instituted would pretty quickly lift a lot of the country out of the muck and render Putin, his ilk, and their empty promises of future prosperity largely unnecessary.

As @Gopnik rightly pointed out, there's a tendency to conflate criticism against, or opposition to Putin as being categorically globalist, pro-LGBT, culturally marxist and whatever other characteristics that have nothing to do with the objective situation and which we ALL agree are undesirable.

This is lazy, un-nuanced thinking. Putin is, by all OBJECTIVE measures, a criminal of the highest (or, lowest) order. Russians are climbing over themselves to GTFO. Even the Russians who have family and genuinely love their country - because there's a lot to love about this ancient land - even they are forced to send their children to get educated in China or elsewhere because good luck accomplishing anything through honesty and diligence in a place like Russia.

Putin's public image is also a complete fabrication. Most Russians see right through the KGB veneer but to Westerners who don't have experience with this particular species of snake, his presentation can easily seduce you. He's a smart, well-spoken, but ultimately evil man.

Of course, in addition to all of the clandestine murdering and corruption, there's also the fact that the KGB operated (and operates) chiefly through overt, visible to the naked eye means ("active measures").

See: Yuri Bezmenov, former KGB defector with instructive videos on YouTube that detail exactly the kinds of people you're dealing with; people who are not at all what they seem, unless you know what they are. (In the latter case, they are exactly what they seem.)

There was no doubt that Putin would win because there was no doubt that any legitimate opposition had been sabotaged at every step.

@Rocha What is your infatuation with this thug? Can you not see the evidence before your very eyes that the people he claims to uphold are still stuck in post Soviet morass largely due to him and his cronies? If you love Russian and Russians, how can you support a dictator who has demonstrated his disdain for their well being time and again?

Great! Thanks for explaining in detail, for those who don't know. As I said- guys from West -please read this post. IT IS A TRUTH! Please don't fall in this ex soviet trap! You just have to take some power back in the West , for balance.

Post: #111

The West is the new Sovjet state.

Who is suppressing christianity today?

Russia or the West?

Who is having a Sovjet style feminism?

Russia or the West?

Who is moving people around like Stalin did?

Russia or the West?

Post: #112

(03-19-2018 05:23 AM)VincentVinturi Wrote:  The only way to accomplish anything in business in EE is through bribery, favors, and other corrupt means that prevent the proliferation of some semblance of honest capitalism

This is definitely not true for Georgia, a country ranked 9th out of 190 economies in the 2017 World Bank Ease of Doing Business report:

http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings

Furthermore according to the Index of Economic Freedom, Georgia ranked 16th out of 180 in 2017 (better than the US, ranked 18th), and for Transparency International, was just below Spain and better than Italy, ranking 44th of 190 countries surveyed.

One can say a lot of things about Saakashvili (that he was obsessed by his hatred for Russia, a puppet in the hands of the US, ect), but one thing is certain: he has put his country on the right track.

Post: #113

(03-19-2018 05:23 AM)VincentVinturi Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 06:40 PM)just a human Wrote:  I know that here are a lot of Putin fans.
I have a question for You -have You ever met any real criminals in Your life?
If You have so-You already know, that You can't trust a word of them.
Not only in Russia,but in whole eastern Europe are a lot of people like him- some kinda legalized criminals,ex KGB agents, they are still close to governments here a lot. Corrupted as fuck.
No- thanks. I will NEVER be their supporter.
They are playing a show in front of dumb auditory.
I know- you have problems in west ,but please- don't fall in this ex soviet trap.

You're wasting your breath explaining what is probably not so obvious to anybody who has not actually lived through the Soviet era, who doesn't have any relatives who have managed to survive that nightmare; or, who hasn't lived in contemporary Eastern Europe as an Eastern European themselves.

The only way to accomplish anything in business or government in EE is through bribery, favors, and other corrupt means that prevent the proliferation of some semblance of honest capitalism, which if instituted would pretty quickly lift a lot of the country out of the muck and render Putin, his ilk, and their empty promises of future prosperity largely unnecessary.

As @Gopnik rightly pointed out, there's a tendency to conflate criticism against, or opposition to Putin as being categorically globalist, pro-LGBT, culturally marxist and whatever other characteristics that have nothing to do with the objective situation and which we ALL agree are undesirable.

This is lazy, un-nuanced thinking. Putin is, by all OBJECTIVE measures, a criminal of the highest (or, lowest) order. Russians are climbing over themselves to GTFO. Even the Russians who have family and genuinely love their country - because there's a lot to love about this ancient land - even they are forced to send their children to get educated in China or elsewhere because good luck accomplishing anything through honesty and diligence in a place like Russia.

Putin's public image is also a complete fabrication. Most Russians see right through the KGB veneer but to Westerners who don't have experience with this particular species of snake, his presentation can easily seduce you. He's a smart, well-spoken, but ultimately evil man.

Of course, in addition to all of the clandestine murdering and corruption, there's also the fact that the KGB operated (and operates) chiefly through overt, visible to the naked eye means ("active measures").

See: Yuri Bezmenov, former KGB defector with instructive videos on YouTube that detail exactly the kinds of people you're dealing with; people who are not at all what they seem, unless you know what they are. (In the latter case, they are exactly what they seem.)

There was no doubt that Putin would win because there was no doubt that any legitimate opposition had been sabotaged at every step.

@Rocha What is your infatuation with this thug? Can you not see the evidence before your very eyes that the people he claims to uphold are still stuck in post Soviet morass largely due to him and his cronies? If you love Russian and Russians, how can you support a dictator who has demonstrated his disdain for their well being time and again?

With that Avatar how do you want to be taken seriously regarding the subject Vladimir Putin?

Its the same as turning Ukrainian tv on and listen to Poroshenko, Lyashko, Tianyhbok, Yatsenuk, Parubiy...

Post: #114

(03-19-2018 08:36 AM)Rocha Wrote:  Its the same as turning Ukrainian tv on and listen to Poroshenko, Lyashko, Tianyhbok, Yatsenuk, Parubiy...

Most ukrainians abhor Putin, and not just crooked politicians. No need to answer that it's because "they are all being brainwhashed" please (even if in some way, it's bit true).

Post: #115

(03-19-2018 05:23 AM)VincentVinturi Wrote:  There was no doubt that Putin would win because there was no doubt that any legitimate opposition had been sabotaged at every step.

If this was entirely true, the voter turnout wouldn't have been so high (around 70%, which is a record in Russia), people would have boycotted the election.

Whether you like it or not the pure fact is that Putin is genuinely popular in Russia - owing largely his perceived success in restoring Russia's standing and prestige in the world, but also because russians consider that good things have been done regarding domestic policies during his last term, they want more and think that he is still the man for the job.

And as a side note .....he got only 46% in Moscow in 2012 (electorate in Moscow is traditionally more "informed" and critical towards Putin than in the provinces, where many people get their info from Rossiya State TV only), and today about 71%. Which is revealing of his popularity.

Post: #116

(03-19-2018 08:49 AM)Count Pierre Wrote:  

(03-19-2018 08:36 AM)Rocha Wrote:  Its the same as turning Ukrainian tv on and listen to Poroshenko, Lyashko, Tianyhbok, Yatsenuk, Parubiy...

Most ukrainians abhor Putin, and not just crooked politicians. No need to answer that it's because "they are all being brainwhashed" please (even if in some way, it's bit true).

I know plenty of Ukrainians who like Putin. Ukraine is not just Kiev and Lviv.

Post: #117

(03-19-2018 10:09 AM)Rocha Wrote:  Ukraine is not just Kiev and Lviv.

That's a bit contemptuous remark ....and what exactly makes you think that other people's experience is necessarily limited to Kiev and Lviv ?

And again ....... with a number of ukrainian military casualties estimated to about 4 000 since 2014 (which, as I said, intrinsically exacerbates patriotism, national pride, and hate of the perceived "enemy"), your statement about "plenty of ukrainians who like Putin" can't be serious. I'm not doing some "Putin bashing" here (see my post above about his genuine popularity in Russia), just trying to be objective.

Post: #118

I kind of agree with VV (although he sounds like this is very personal to him for whatever reason). Putin probably has ulterior motives/has done insidious things etc. I'm lukewarm about him, at best.

......BUT, and this is a big BUT, right now Russia is being targeted for destruction by the West, whether its economic, militarily, culturally etc. Russians aren't that dumb, they see the whipped up Russophobia and feel like they're being cornered. And whether you like it or not, Putin is the BEST MAN for the job of protecting Russia and its interests at this time. Every other contender is a joke. Putin has the necessary wits, however "evil" he may be, to push back and keep Russia running somewhat smoothly. This is much bigger than local corruption, bribery, and mafia shit. Big picture wise, he's the best they can do right now.

Post: #119

(03-18-2018 05:53 PM)CynicalContrarian Wrote:  

That reminds me of this interview with James Woolsey who said the same thing. It is towards the end of the interview where he says we meddle in elections but it is for the "right" reasons.

Post: #120

@vincent

I think there is a misunderstanding that supporting Putin or wanting Putin/Russia to succeed in specific geopolitical theaters in the world makes the people in this forum thinking he is a swell guy and honest as they get. The vast majority of the men in this forum are not Russian and largely fall into American/British/Canadian/Australia and other Europeans(who many have lived in those countries at some point). This is an English speaking forum. When we view events like elections in Russia, we don't actually view it as - what would be best for stomping corruption in Russia or how would the average Russian benefit? We view it as -- who will pose a very much needed challenge to the new western/globalist socialist/feminist/multicultural/fascist alliance that has been fermented in past decade and shows very little sign of slowing down. This alliance which seems to involve the banks, western governments, Hollywood, tech conglomerates and the US militiary industrial complex absolutely despises men like us, they have made this perfectly clear. Men like us pose a threat and must be exterminated.

When you view things in this context, you can understand the opinion of the average RVFer.

Post: #121

This video made me make up my mind about Navalny:

(03-18-2018 11:01 AM)Gopnik Wrote:  

Navalny knows full well that a typical Russian person despises homosexuality and liberal values of the west. If his true goal were only to fight against corruption and bad economics then he could have gone with the sentiment of the most Russian people and denounced gay rights. But he didn't do it and answered as evasive as he could - let the referendum decide. Why did he do that - because he knows his sponsors from the west see gays as sacred cows and they would not support him if he said something bad about them. He had to play under their music this time and revealed himself. If he were a genuine fighter for justice and well being of people he would have not bent under the gay marriage question.


The corruption of former KGB influence mechanism he is fighting against is necessary for Russian sovereignty from the Yeltsin type of corruption by a foreign money doled out by rich globalists who would buy all Russian resources as cheap materials and labor for the benefit of entities outside Russia. There is no way Russia can be truly democratic and liberal, ever. It has too many natural resources coveted by too many people. This is a bane of all countries cursed with resources, like Africa. Every outside party is interested in Africa being poor well of cheap resources of cheap labor. Russia is the same, but Russia has ability to be more unified and self-dependant and resist these attempts of covert colonization. The majority of Russian people understand that corruption and dictatorship of some sorts is required to escape being bought out like clueless aboriginal people. "domestic" system of corruption over the "foreign" system of corruption that would no doubt come to power if Russia tried to be open to West and accept it's values.

I wonder about the naivete in people thinking that if they support a candidate like Navalny he can put an end to corruption, Look you have plenty of corruption in USA with the corrupt Clinton funds and all the Swamp Trump tries to drain. You think some guy can bring order in Russia when it hasn't been achieved in USA and Western Europe - countries with much stronger traditions of democracy and personal freedom?

Corruption is not going anywhere people, it will exist in all countries and all societies as long as human brains don't evolve out of the instincts behind it, which will take a few thousand years as minimum. All the choice is who will benefit from some understandable level of corruption, someone close to you who may share that benefit with you, if you share a drink or have common relatives or have some common agenda and worldview or some oversees master who doesn't care about you one bit, who fears and despises you?

Post: #122

I get why Putin is popular among anti-establishment discussion groups like this one, but I don't see what's so great about having him drain the nation's wealth instead of a pro western puppet.

He might be the right man for protecting Russia from US influence but in the meantime his buddies are milking the country's budget while entire areas of Moscow look like Tajik ghettos and the provincial regions are basically lagging behind the rest of the first world.

@Mage when I saw the video, I actually thought it could be proof that Navalny is a Kremlin puppet. Supporting something like that is political suicide in Russia. Otherwise, I have no idea why he would openly say that.

On an unrelated note, here's a picture of a fit russian milf voting last night:

   

Post: #123

(03-19-2018 12:40 PM)Gopnik Wrote:  I get why Putin is popular among anti-establishment discussion groups like this one, but I don't see what's so great about having him drain the nation's wealth instead of a pro western puppet.

Even absent any objective reasoning it is preference from someone from your own ethnic group.

But I think there is plenty of objective reasons too, at least the money stays in your country and as I said before you can get benefits yourself the closer you are to the center of the money flow. No matter how greedy a dictator you are - you must share some wealth with those supporting the pillars of your might. It's obviously better if the Tsar lives in your country and your city and you can get contracts to build his villa, get to know some guy from his stuff by having a drink with him or from going to the same church as him. A Tsar who lives oversees and you don't know anyone influential from his pyramid of power is no good. This is why Russians always seem to like their dictators, past and present, and despise the oversees global hegemony of USA.

(03-19-2018 12:40 PM)Gopnik Wrote:  @Mage when I saw the video, I actually thought it could be proof that Navalny is a Kremlin puppet. Supporting something like that is political suicide in Russia. Otherwise, I have no idea why he would openly say that.

That might also be the case, anyway there is no reason to support him, especially if you hold cultural values higher then economic values like most members of this forum probably do.

I think still that Navalny is Western puppet, not Russian puppet, because thinking it is a Russian puppet is like believing Russia influenced USA elections. You think Russians run all the covert operations on this planet? No, USA is much wealthier and their covert operations must be more grander then Russian ones. Since Navalny is the Nr.1 opposition leader, then he is most likely a western guy. A Russian controlled opposition is most likely one of those other guys who got 1-2% of votes in this election. I't is most likely Russians don't waste resources on controlled opposition if they can be smarter and use the opposition provided by the west for this purpose. And as we know by this point - USA has admitted it meddles in foreign elections and thinks it is in the right to do so.

Post: #124

Has Russia ever had a better leader than Putin?

Never.

Post: #125

(03-19-2018 02:05 PM)Rocha Wrote:  Has Russia ever had a better leader than Putin?

Never.

Peter I? Catherine II? Alexander II?