Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RedKing]

I've had Russians tell me that Russians themselves aren't happy unless there's a strongman in charge. Democracy is one of those "western" luxuries.

Better bread in the belly and a guard outside the door than freedom and no bread. Or something like that.

[mainiac]

I've had Russians tell me that Russians themselves aren't happy unless there's a strongman in charge. Democracy is one of those "western" luxuries.

Better bread in the belly and a guard outside the door than freedom and no bread. Or something like that.

It's interesting how people always reflexively accept this false dichotomy.  Plenty of nations have managed to economically develop with freedom being no barrier.  In fact going back several centuries at least, the richest nations in the world have been among the most liberal.  Yet people are apparently hardwired to accept the premise that a dictator is needed to strengthen a nations economy.  This despite no end of dictators who have run economies into the ground.

[RedKing]

I think it's more an inherent Slavic pessimism than anything. And just to clarifiy, I'm repeating what Russians have told me the Russian POV is, not stating that *I* think Russians are hardwired for dictatorships.

Now the Chinese on the other hand....

[MonkeyHead]

Would you rather have butter or guns...

Personally I find the idea of "tenous progress" a hard justification to swallow for corruption, electoral fraud and opression, should such allegations have substance that can be shown to be true beyond reasonable doubt. Gorbachev and Yeltzin were hardly "evil" men after all.

I dont think his (as in Putin) KGB (FSB?) background helps much.

[zombat]

Guns

With guns I could take your butter and you couldn't stop me. Ha!

[MonkeyHead]

Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat. Hermann Göring.

Still no argument for corruption mind you.

[Stas]

Malloc and RedKing have it pretty much right.
Russians (and any other Eastern-European, really) see the world differently and have a very different mentality. (Being Russian I can guarantee you that)
The biggest issue in Russia is corruption, so it's better to have Putin firmly holding the leash, than going back to the 90s.

[Skyrunner]

At least in South Korea (Republic Of), the nation's economy grew very fast when Dictator Park was in power. Problem being the ways he used are the sprouts of half of the problems right now domestically...  according to some people, that is.

One company set up then and backed by the gov't: Samsung. (They're so arrogant stock wise- each share is worth 100000 dollars or so, no splits at all. Not that this comment is related at all to the topic...)

[YetAnotherStupidDorf]

Wasn't Putin the most popular guy anyways?

According to Putin? Yeeeahhh sure. Guess what, every fucking ruler claims he is most popular, loved et ce tera. What a surprise, eh. One down, a lot more to go!

I agree that years ago he was sufficiently popular to win elections without miracles over votebox, and that he even now have a lot of supporters. But now his time is gone long ago. He now is nothing more than yet another el presidento of country ridden with corruption and serious financial, economical and military problems (sounds familiar...).

"It's better to keep one guy in power, because he's already stolen his share, than keep introducing new ones, who'll just keep siphoning".

This saying have dumb logic. What exactly will prevent this guy to not steal more while he is at it? Greed of some people is endless.

Soo, in a way, since Putin already (unofficially) owns half of the countries oil, he is probably more interested in bettering the country than stealing from it.

*insert sarcastic laugh here*

He even started to fight some of the corruption that have plagued Russia since always.

The biggest issue in Russia is corruption, so it's better to have Putin firmly holding the leash

Yeah, I can see Putin having great incentive to fight corruption. He would just have to start with aresst of one certain former KGB agent. Piece of cake, riiight?

Back to topic, there are a lot of protests before, durning and after elections - and right now. I think Russia will do roughly same thing as USA with Wallstreet Occupiers: wait it out.

Look China and learn, how in pseudodemocracies like Russia or USA undesirables are dealt with. Scream all you want, no one will give a shit anyway.

[mainiac]

At least in South Korea (Republic Of), the nation's economy grew very fast when Dictator Park was in power. Problem being the ways he used are the sprouts of half of the problems right now domestically...  according to some people, that is.

Sure, it's easy to have economic growth in the "turning sustenance farmers into factory workers" phase of development.  And plenty of nations have done so while dictatorships.  But plenty of nations have done so while not dictatorships as well.

Even at the height of the Soviet golden age or the current Chinese breakneck growth period (China is about to run out of farmers to turn into factory workers, btw.), they never had living standards approaching the first world.  I doubt there are many people in the 3rd world who would chose to emigrate to China if they could emigrate to somewhere like Canada or even supposedly economically mismanaged places like Greece or Portugal instead.  Yet we still take it practically as an axiom that dictatorships can run economies well.

[Loud Whispers]

Is anyone surprised?

I mean, the choice was between Putin, Putin and Putin. I hear the dead voted in record numbers too.

[Svarte Troner]

In Putin's Russia, President vote for you! As in, so you don't have to vote...

[zombat]

How many people damning Putin in this thread are actually Russian?

[Bouchart]

I don't know how this actually changes anything.  Wasn't Putin basically pulling the strings all along?

[Zrk2]

Yeah. He's the Big Brother of Russia. There's a reaosn they call him Big Bad Vlad.