Post: #51

WATCH: Putin bursts into laughter after ‘pork exports to Indonesia’ gaffe

Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin burst into laughter during a cabinet meeting after Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev mentioned exporting pork to Indonesia.

In details, according to local media outlets, Tkachev was proposing a plan to boost the export of meats and gave Germany as an example in terms of exporting pork to some countries like Japan, China and Indonesia.

Putin then smiled and clarified to Tkachev that Indonesia is a Muslim country hence its people do not eat pork, to which the minister replied “they will.” Putin then said: “No, they will not.” Putin then burst into laughter and Tkachev then smiled and clarified that he meant South Korea and not Indonesia.

Post: #52

Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.





Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

Post: #53

(10-18-2017 07:07 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.





Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

The muslims in Tatarstan, & Chechnya were part of the Russian empire and Soviet Union. They were always part of that vast space. it's not like they have immigrated there in the past 17 years. One could argue, if Chechnya & Dagestan didn't have such important logistical and geographical locations and resources, Russia would let them have their own independent country after fall of USSR.

In regards to Central Asia, I inquired about this from Kazakhs and Kyrgyzs I interacted with during my Central Asia trip in May.

One comment that stuck to my head was:
"Russia needs to give this leeway to our countries, in order to keep a sphere of control over the region and its politics. If Russia can't have the central asians under its sphere of influence, who will they have? Europe? Ukraine? USA? Africa? you know the answer. This visa-free policy and work opportunity in Russia for central asians gives Russian gov't access to our politics and influence. Right now, Kyrgyz' working in Russia and sending money back are among biggest drivers of our economy here. In return, Russia runs all the media here and is involved in a lot of gas and energy projects with Kazakhstan for example"

One other thing is, due to 70 years of communism, majority of the muslims in Central Asia don't take their religion as seriously as Arabs. They are "Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Tajik" first, Muslim second. In Arab countries, it's religion first. Granted, you have some extremist (like how Myanmar had to cancel their Asian Cup qualifier in Bishkek after the whole muslim fiasco for safety reasons)....You'll see more women in niqabs and burka in one day in Paris of London than 3 months in Astana/Almaty/Bishkek. Hell, even a token hijab in Kazakhstan, It was 5-10% of women at best.

Post: #54

(10-18-2017 07:07 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.





Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

AManLikePutin has covered Russia's strategic concerns regarding Central Asia.

As for the video itself, what Putin is saying here, in rather convoluted words, is that he thinks Russia and the west generally needs to make some effort to preserve the shared cultural and religious sphere that used to exist in Europe.

By "minor" issues he means that things like Ukraine and Syria are causing needless—and fatal—division between European countries (incl. Russia) to the detriment of their broader relationship with Asia and the US.

Putin is actually touching on matters of national survival: Russia's last three decades of relations with the US and virtually all of Europe have been bad. Its economy relies on resource extraction and fails at innovation. Brain drain, widespread drug use, and other problems are destroying society. The Chinese are happy to do business, but it's obvious Beijing's eventual goal is to make Russia into a subservient state. Russia has no friends, only pride, and even that can only last so long when the nation doesn't grow richer or more powerful.

Post: #55

(10-18-2017 07:07 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.

Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

This nothing new.
Putin has been saying these things for years.


As for Chechnya he bombed the shit out of them in the 2nd Chechen war round 1999-2000.
Barely a single big building in Grozny was left intact.
Any money being sent certainly aint to help muslims.

Post: #56

Post: #57

'Yes, I will': Vladimir Putin announces run for re-election in 2018

Quote: Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he will seek another term in office in next year’s presidential election.

“Yes, I will run as a candidate for the Russian presidency,” Putin said. He was meeting with workers at the country’s historic manufacturer, GAZ (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod), in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday.

"Our country is its people, people like you," the Russian leader said, addressing workers and veterans of the plant. "It's workers, scientists, engineers, designers, teachers and doctors," Putin said, adding that with the "active involvement" of its people, Russia "can deal with any, even the most complex challenges it faces."

"Russia will go only forward and no one will ever stop it," he added.

Earlier in the day, the president attended the Russian Volunteer 2017 award ceremony in Moscow, where he asked the audience whether they would support his decision to run. The answer was seemingly a unanimous "Yes."

"When I make [the decision], I will certainly keep in mind our conversation today and your reaction," Putin said. He added that "the motive behind [this very responsible decision] can be only the desire to make people's lives in our country better and make the country itself more powerful and protected."

The upcoming election on March 18 will be the fourth in Putin’s political career. He held the office of president for two terms from 2000 to 2008, and served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. Putin then won a third term as president in 2012.

Earlier, Russian media reported that he may run as an independent candidate. The Russian president enjoys a high approval rating, with over 82 percent of Russians supporting him according to a poll conducted by state-run VTSIOM in late September.

Several other people, including an unprecedented number of women, have announced their candidacy. Liberal-Democratic Party head Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the Communist Party’s Gennady Zyuganov, the liberal Yabloko party’s Grigory Yavlinsky, journalist and singer-songwriter Ekaterina Gordon, celebrity and activist Ksenia Sobchak, and business ombudsman Boris Titov have all announced their plans to run.

Post: #58

(10-19-2017 12:11 PM)Mercenary Wrote:  

(10-18-2017 07:07 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.

Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

This nothing new.
Putin has been saying these things for years.


As for Chechnya he bombed the shit out of them in the 2nd Chechen war round 1999-2000.
Barely a single big building in Grozny was left intact.
Any money being sent certainly aint to help muslims.

Grozny has received ridiculous amount of money from Moscow. And Saudi Arabia although that is a different story altogether.

Post: #59

Good news. It would have been bad timing for a risky transition.

Post: #60

Has anyone else here heard of Alexei Navalny and his ongoing campaign? If so, what is your opinion of him?

Personally, as a Russian, I am conflicted. It is true that Putin has many great geopolitical achievements, but at the same time the government is still pretty corrupt and filled with oligarchs.

Post: #61

Putin is a joke. The economy is in ruins and no innovation to help it navigate the next century especially when solar wipes out oil. Corruption is rife, inflation is high and the only thing he can do it try and talk tough at the UN.

They've also accepted being China's little bitch now. The worship is hilariously unfounded

Post: #62

(10-18-2017 10:16 PM)AManLikePutin Wrote:  

(10-18-2017 07:07 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Putin: USA not a white Christian country anymore, Europeans need to preserve their culture.





Why is he pretending to give a shit all of a sudden? He's let tens of millions of muslims / chechans / central Asians into Russia now all of a sudden he seems to care?

Russia is subsidizing muslim birthrates via aid to Chechnya and various other muslim regions they control.

Maybe he's aware of it he just doesn't give a shit.

The muslims in Tatarstan, & Chechnya were part of the Russian empire and Soviet Union. They were always part of that vast space. it's not like they have immigrated there in the past 17 years. One could argue, if Chechnya & Dagestan didn't have such important logistical and geographical locations and resources, Russia would let them have their own independent country after fall of USSR.

In regards to Central Asia, I inquired about this from Kazakhs and Kyrgyzs I interacted with during my Central Asia trip in May.

One comment that stuck to my head was:
"Russia needs to give this leeway to our countries, in order to keep a sphere of control over the region and its politics. If Russia can't have the central asians under its sphere of influence, who will they have? Europe? Ukraine? USA? Africa? you know the answer. This visa-free policy and work opportunity in Russia for central asians gives Russian gov't access to our politics and influence. Right now, Kyrgyz' working in Russia and sending money back are among biggest drivers of our economy here. In return, Russia runs all the media here and is involved in a lot of gas and energy projects with Kazakhstan for example"

One other thing is, due to 70 years of communism, majority of the muslims in Central Asia don't take their religion as seriously as Arabs. They are "Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Tajik" first, Muslim second. In Arab countries, it's religion first. Granted, you have some extremist (like how Myanmar had to cancel their Asian Cup qualifier in Bishkek after the whole muslim fiasco for safety reasons)....You'll see more women in niqabs and burka in one day in Paris of London than 3 months in Astana/Almaty/Bishkek. Hell, even a token hijab in Kazakhstan, It was 5-10% of women at best.

Yes would be absolute suicide for Russia to let go of its influence on surrounding muslim nations.

The west has already backed the jihadists against Russia and its allies in Afghanistan, Serbia, Chechnya, Syria, etc...

If the central asian muslims fall under NATO influence then goodbye Russia.

Also another reason for Putin to back Assad and Iran against ISIS. A radical sunni base in the middle east was sure to be used against Russia ultimately.

Post: #63

^Very true.

Not Putin-related, but saw this short, 20-minute documentary on Chechnya's notoriously controversial leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Good watch...learnt a few things. He talks about himself, homosexuality, terrorists, islam, human rights violations, and polygamy among other things.

Post: #64

Anyone seen the Oliver Stone interviews of Putin yet? The reviews make them sound intriguing.

Post: #65

(12-16-2017 10:41 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  Anyone seen the Oliver Stone interviews of Putin yet? The reviews make them sound intriguing.

You obviously didnt read this thread.
We discussed them many months ago already.
Go to the previous 2 pages of this thread.

Post: #66

Probably read those posts months ago but forgot about them.

Post: #67

Putin is "running" for re-election like Stalin was running for re-election.

Good luck to any legitimate opponent getting any kind of traction in that country.

Here is Ksenia Sobchak asking Putin some very frank questions to which he provides zero direct answers.

Post: #68

(12-20-2017 12:34 PM)VincentVinturi Wrote:  Putin is "running" for re-election like Stalin was running for re-election.

Good luck to any legitimate opponent getting any kind of traction in that country.

Here is Ksenia Sobchak asking Putin some very frank questions to which he provides zero direct answers.

Yes, that's true to an extent. However, the fact is that most of these opposition candidates seem to have no understanding of geopolitics and have a very naive view of foreign policy--at least based on what they say publicly. They can point out domestic problems but seem to be willing to bow down to pressure from the globalist banker regimes of the West, for example, as Sobchak said on Vladimir Solovyov's political talk show not too long ago that she wants to give Crimea to Ukraine. She also claimed that people want a "world without borders". With this kind of rhetoric they do a good job discrediting themselves, and in addition to that there are numerous other instances of extreme blackpilling and self-hatred from the anti-Putin liberals that's too long to list here, and so supporting them would be tantamount to voting for a typical social democrat or "conservative" in an EU country.

I try to listen to these liberals and understand their point of view. I really do. And in some ways I sympathize to the legitimate criticisms of the current government that they point out. But whenever I try to listen to them for an extended period of time, I can't help but start getting frustrated and eventually angry with their obvious, easily-refutable willful ignorance of geopolitics and self-hating, anti-Russian rhetoric.

Listen to some of these prominent liberals speaking at the "Free Russia" forum that occurs in Vilnuis annually, for example. One guy there brought up how a recent BBC poll across different countries found that, as opposed to Western Europe where the majority of people list things like their record of human rights, their democracy, or their social welfare systems as the biggest source of pride in their country, Russian respondents said that our history, the Russian army, and military achievements are what makes them feel proud. The liberal went on to say this is a bad thing and that Russian people are too proud. Hearing things like that gets tiring really quickly.

Oh, and this is a minor point but considering that these opposition leaders claim to be free speech, human rights-supporting democrats, it is not good optics for them to ban state media from broadcasting their forum on Russian television or to disable the likes/dislikes and comment sections on their YouTube videos.

I could go on with more examples but I think I made my point. So to be fair to Putin, the liberal opposition does a very good job of shooting itself in the foot without him needing to do anything.

Post: #69

Putin is certainly more legitimate as a head of his country than Macron, or even Trudeau. Or the current color-revolutioned Ukrainian regime for that matter.

Post: #70

Ksenia Sobchak is a joke and is considered by most Russians to be their Paris Hilton. She only has a political career due to the fact her father was the mayor of St. Petersberg and is quite wealthy. Putin is loved by the common man there, I know this because my wife is Russian and comes from a rural area, the lefty politicians have next to 0 support outside the major cities. But the politician I like is Zhirinovsky now that guy is hilarious.

Post: #71

I also like Zhirinovsky, but if there is a good example of controlled oposition it's him.

Post: #72

Vladimir Eidelstein.

Post: #73

Couldn't confirm if the picture is related to the news/reports...

But there are confirmed news/reports that Russia 's FSB security service and other law enforcement agencies took out five militants with allegiance to ISIS.

Quote:Published on Dec 18, 2017

Five militants linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) were neutralised by Federal Security Services and the Russian National Guard in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic on Monday, while the suspects were in the midst of 'planning to commit terrorist outrages in densely populated areas'.

The National Counter-Terrorism Committee's gathered information of an imminent attack, before security forces were deployed and engaged the suspects at a dilapidated building in Stanitsya Zelenchukskaya with weapons, taking out the gang's leader in the process.

Post: #74

(12-20-2017 04:09 PM)Royalist and Legitimist Wrote:  Sobchak said on Vladimir Solovyov's political talk show not too long ago that she wants to give Crimea to Ukraine.

And she's perfectly right.

However, it's not a question of giving but rather returning.

Crimea belongs to Ukraine, period. And it has since before Ukraine left the USSR.

Quote:She also claimed that people want a "world without borders".

Got a video link? I'd like to see this.

Also I should clarify that I'm not saying Ksenia Sobchak is a viable or desirable candidate.

I'm saying she made some excellent points and raised an uncomfortable question which Putin evaded under the same pretext of why he invaded Ukraine ("coup d'etat blah blah, Maidan, blah blah, do you really want that HERE?" bullshit).

Quote:I could go on with more examples but I think I made my point. So to be fair to Putin, the liberal opposition does a very good job of shooting itself in the foot without him needing to do anything.

Agreed on that point, the opposition doesn't need to be "liberal". I mean Putin is no conservative his shtick to the contrary. Classical conservatism (and classical liberalism for that matter) is about minimizing the role of the government in your life so you're free to go about your business. And Putin's high horse and constant whining about the West's policies while he's practicing the same interventionism he decries is laughable.

A true libertarian candidate is what Russia needs, and America for that matter, because the key issues facing both countires are essentially issues of freedom.

Economic freedom, freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom to go about your business without fear that a KGB goon (or a US police offer) will make things difficult for you.

The two countries couldn't be more different yet the principles that underpin these issues are immutable.

(12-20-2017 05:04 PM)hewey Wrote:  Ksenia Sobchak is a joke and is considered by most Russians to be their Paris Hilton. She only has a political career due to the fact her father was the mayor of St. Petersberg and is quite wealthy. Putin is loved by the common man there, I know this because my wife is Russian and comes from a rural area, the lefty politicians have next to 0 support outside the major cities. But the politician I like is Zhirinovsky now that guy is hilarious.

I know, I know, she's the Russian Paris Hilton.

I read the same YouTube title on the Russia Today video that you did, it must be true.

Except that she's exceptionally bright, educated and well spoken while Paris Hilton is n airhead with some serious BJ skills.

And that same father that gave her the political kickstart also had quite a hand in Putin's rise, were you aware of that?

I don't know what "common man" you're referring to.

The men I know in Russia, several of whom are entrepreneurs, face endless obstacles, deal daily with mafia and government thugs, send their kids to get educated in China because that's a better option now, take vacations to southeast asia at every opportunity, and almost cry when their time is up and they have to return to that hellhole.

BUT let's put aside whether or not Sobchak is a legitimate candidate and instead address the fact that she asked Putin great questions and brought up great points which he didn't address at all.

He just evaded them and said do you want another Maidan? In other words, his approach is to attempt to frighten people into keeping him in power under the guise that Oceania is at war with Eurasia; (therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia.)

- Putin doesn't participate in debates: true or false?
- Putin has been in power for a long time (the immovability of power to which she referred). Most every democratic country has checks and balances in the form of term limits to prevent abuse and complacency.
- People are terrified to even rent a speaking space to an opposition candidate
- Government criticism and opposition is met with murder, imprisonment, threats, etc. Candidates to the presidency are character assassinated by the Novosti Press Agency (I mean, Russia Today) and allegations are fabricated agains them
- Press secretary Peskov claiming that the opposition is unripe and Putin claiming that they've no positive platform to run on. Excuse me, but is that for them to decide or for the people of the country?

I think given the unobstructed, and perhaps anonymous opportunity to get rid of Putler, a huge percentage of the Russian people would elect to do so.

Post: #75

Someone please give Vlad some poutine??