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[10ebbor10]

Point it, this is not the international community demanding Russia to relinquish control of it's terretories because of ecological damage, but the international community pointing out that Russia doesn't have an internationally accepted claim, and should wait with the ecological damage till the pawerwork is done.

[Loud Whispers]

Anyone else see the reveal of the new Tanaris unmanned drone?

For those that don't want to sit through a video, I'll summarise: there's a new unmanned drone. War as a video game. Killing at safe distance. New instrument of death from above appears on stage, smoke machines puffing, with triumphant music and ecstatic spotlights. Ruddy faced establishment man enthuses about how it how it meets all the 'mission system requirements'. That is to say, it has the desired range of tools to efficiently kill other human beings.

Complaining and protesting about drones is pretty worthless at this point. They are just too useful for any military that has their hands on them to think of getting rid of them, they are hopelessly woven into the future of armed conflict. Trying to stop them becoming the standard is like trying to stop the 19th century militaries from adopting gunpowder. Prepare the triumphant music...

[10ebbor10]

Just as interesting information, the network that controls these drones is called Skynet.

[Duuvian]

This is fairly old news, dates back to December 2013, but I realised we've never really discussed this: 

If I go to Russia and try to convince people that Chechen/Tyvan/Buryat etc independence and other such independence is actually a good idea I can be put in prison for 5 years. I would be because I wouldn't pay the fine, anyway.

Foreingers "calling for action aimed against Russia’s territorial integrity" sounds like some serious business
Don't other countries have some similar laws?

But then Russia can't be considered the empire of evil! *semijoking*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_state_petitions_for_secession

[Comrade P.]

Previous time a couple of states tried to secede bad things happened.

[Duuvian]

Previous time a couple of states tried to secede bad things happened.

That's true and is one of the major reasons why it is so unlikely to happen, but it doesn't mean people get arrested for speaking about it in public.

[LordSlowpoke]

Previous time a couple of states tried to secede bad things happened.

That's true and is one of the major reasons why it is so unlikely to happen, but it doesn't mean people get arrested for speaking about it in public.

consider if you will that the main reason bad things happened was because the union really insisted on keeping the seceding states in the country

the whole precedent is not even a precedent, but bullshit instead

[Comrade P.]

Previous time a couple of states tried to secede bad things happened.

That's true and is one of the major reasons why it is so unlikely to happen, but it doesn't mean people get arrested for speaking about it in public.

Shit always happens suddenly. I'm not actually living in US, but still I believe so. Whatever.

[Kicior]

Foreingers "calling for action aimed against Russia’s territorial integrity" sounds like some serious business
Don't other countries have some similar laws?

But it doesn't explicitly target foreigners. It targets everyone, even people in the areas that should have the right to national self determination.

If I go to Russia and try to convince people that Chechen/Tyvan/Buryat etc

That's why I wrote about foreigners I wasn't even serious, that's why I  put in pretty much every post.
On a more serious note: what gives people (in general) the right to national self determination?

We are OK with homosexuality as a normal part of our society

Oh yes, yes we are

[Sheb]

Actually nothing give them the right to solf-determination right now. But they should definitely have that right, along with all the others human rights.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

Authoritarian Russia has no other choice but suppress all separatism else it will disintegrate FAST. Lightning fast, there are no ideology to keep it as one piece but raw force of repressions. The only reason why they are one country is Russian military might.

Just imagine, Japans sends offer to guys from Sakhalin. "Hey, guys, we suggest you to become independent. Oh, by the way if you do so, we will invest billions in your economy" Local referendum will give 90% for independence

Or EU will say "Hey, guys from Kaliningrad, do  you want to be independent? BTW EU membership will be nearly automatic"
Again 90%+ will vote aye

Or some Siberian oil\gas rich region will decide - "Guys why shouldn't we become independent and have more oil per capita than Saudi Arabia?"

Or all that national republics "Guys, maybe it's time to stop being second class citizens on the lands of our ancestors?"

[Owlbread]

I think as soon as Putin goes, whether he dies or loses an election (as will happen eventually), Russia will experience a lot of changes. The opposition in Russia is, in some respects, more nationalistic than Putin and would quite gladly separate away from the whole of the North Caucasus because to them it's more trouble than it's worth.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

So, what you're saying is Russia is a time bomb that may either explode or just fall apart at some point in the future if it's not disarmed by the government? And they may or may not be doing a good job of that?

Democratic Russia can stay in one piece* but it requires radical reforms and real federalization with a large chunk of power going into regions.

*North Caucasus is exception

Just understand, for an average guy in Vladivostok Moscow is - "some place far-far away that decides how should be my money spent and what laws should I have."  They are not very happy paying for SOCHI 2014 and other stuff like that.
Sure they have no groups that may actually start separatism and the ones that emerge  are suppressed as soon as they appear. 

It's Geography. The distance between Vladivostok and Moscow is almost the same as between Moscow and New York

[Comrade P.]

So, we come up to "This obnoxious state controlling half-a-cotinent should fall apart already".

[MetalSlimeHunt]

So, we come up to "This obnoxious state controlling half-a-cotinent should fall apart already".

Ok, seriously, not every criticism of Russia is an attack on its existence. The point is that Russia as it exists today does not do a lot to represent all of its people, and that should change. As Ukrainian Ranger said, Russia will have no problem staying together if it fairly represents its people (Again, with the exception being the North Caucaus. Those wounds may simply be too deep to overcome.).