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[nenjin]

I've been seeing a lot lately about how this whole thing is sort of a short-sighted and rather desperate point of opportunism for Putin, personally. He's provoking confrontations, setting himself up against the West as an enemy not because he wants conflict or more territory or even cares about the West, but because he's increasingly unpopular at home and fears unrest or replacement, and is trying to direct the Russian gaze outward at foreign enemies. This is why his government has been pushing against homosexuality (represents the West), pro-Nazi western-supporting groups (same), etc.

But that on the world stage, he fears China far more than he does the West. He's taken a stand against the West because he feels comfortable the wilingness of the West to push back is minimal. But He's running out of options, because it's becoming increasingly clear that he can't take any more active engagement with China as it would put Russia as the weaker partner and his credibility won't survive it - and with the fact that much of eastern Russia is now "ethnically Chinese", he's desperately afraid they might do the same to him that he's doing to Crimea and there's basically nothing he could do to stop them if he wanted to.

Don't know how much that holds, but it DOES seem like Russia is starting conflicts it believes it "can't really lose" even if the actual gains are minimal, and it seems like a decent explanation of why - using it as a unifying excuse to maintain power back home, and as a "safe" display of power when dealing with the rest of Asia.

Putin Saves The World From Gay Nazis. Coming to a theater not in the decadent Imperial West, 2015.

[olemars]

Live stream of protests in the Donbass region (I assume in the city of Donetsk?) Apparently one pro-russian and one pro-kiev protest at the same time and place, which sounds like a bad idea.

[10ebbor10]

Look, the EU is doing something.

Does the EU know?

Also, can you copy+paste that shit? It has a paywall...

Wut? Anyway, this tends to happen quite often. I look for something on google news. Find an interesting article, post a link, and suddenly a registration wall springs up behind me.

I'll look for another source.

NY-times
Reuters

Anyway, the deal only goes through if Ukraine gets an IMF partnership, which will come with some grave economic changes.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

That is a terrible idea. The IMF only gives one kind of bargain, and it's the Faustian kind.

[Descan]

Imperial West?

... So not America, Liberia, and Burma?

Metric, wooo~

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Imperial West?

... So not America, Liberia, and Burma?

Metric, wooo~

>Implying Canada consistently uses the metric system
>2014

Oh ho ho ho.

[XXSockXX]

A lengthy, but interesting summary of the revolution and why it's not "fascist".

Another fun piece of Russian media: the lady with multiple personalities.

Considering that Putin wants to fight Nazis in Ukraine, it's funny what Duma member / Olympic torch bearer Irina Rodnina thinks of Obama:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[10ebbor10]

That is a terrible idea. The IMF only gives one kind of bargain, and it's the Faustian kind.

The EU got criticized by the IMF for attaching to much conditions to their (internal) loans. So, just an IMF agreement might be the best you can get.

[Knit tie]

Yup, I thought that this whole scene was Putin powertripping, but now I am convinced that he's just desperate. Which is a good thing for russians, if not for poor ukrainians - his reign should've ended a long time ago.

Also, amazing scenes of Ukraine uniting against a common enemy in a heartwarming display of solidarity. It's such a shame that the enemy is us.

[Sergarr]

Don't be ashamed -  it's the natural role of Russia - to be the enemy of the whole world.

And it's fun~

[kaian-a-coel]

Don't be ashamed -  it's the natural role of Russia - to be the enemy of the whole world.

And it's fun~

Does that mean that video games with russian villains will be "in" again?

[Ukrainian Ranger]

It's such a shame that the enemy is us.

Wrong. Putin and his ideology is our enemy. Even if a lot Russians do support him.

[nenjin]

Don't be ashamed -  it's the natural role of Russia - to be the enemy of the whole world.

And it's fun~

Does that mean that video games with russian villains will be "in" again?

When were they ever "out?" Russia has been the primary antagonist of the last two Battlefield games and plenty of CoD games.

[XXSockXX]

When were they ever "out?" Russia has been the primary antagonist of the last two Battlefield games and plenty of CoD games.

Right.

I think the current conflict just shows how we never managed to get over the block thinking of the Cold War. While Europeans might have been more optimistic about that in the last decades than Americans, many Russians still seem to think along that line too.

[Knit tie]

When were they ever "out?" Russia has been the primary antagonist of the last two Battlefield games and plenty of CoD games.

Right.

I think the current conflict just shows how we never managed to get over the block thinking of the Cold War. While Europeans might have been more optimistic about that in the last decades than Americans, many Russians still seem to think along that line too.

Boy, you'd be fucking amazed how many perfectly normal and well-educated russians are still convinced that the West is out to get them. And that everything bad that happens is caused by the machinations of evil americans. Or jews. Or chinese. Or even english (my dad loves this one). The "us vs. them" mentality is alive and well, stronger even that in the USSR, mostly due to the wounded national pride after the Union fell. Of course, many other people, particularly the liberal opposition, think the opposite: all russians except us are horrible evil nazi commie faschist rapist thieving incompetent fat ugly murderous barbarians and we, the chosen ones, should all escape to the promised land of the Blessed Democracy in Europe or America. Russians, unfortunately, are ill-capable of moderation, that's our problem.