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[Frumple]

... that's just kinda' saddening, serg.

Though I guess it'll be interesting a few decades from now to find out what was going on elsewhere. Y'all apparently have a helluva' media smokescreen going, which usually means there's gods-know-what happening where folks aren't looking.

[Sergarr]

... that's just kinda' saddening, serg.

Though I guess it'll be interesting a few decades from now to find out what was going on elsewhere. Y'all apparently have a helluva' media smokescreen going, which usually means there's gods-know-what happening where folks aren't looking.

Oh, I also have a lot of news about the Russian military. So I'm not too worried in that regard.

[Knit tie]

... that's just kinda' saddening, serg.

Though I guess it'll be interesting a few decades from now to find out what was going on elsewhere. Y'all apparently have a helluva' media smokescreen going, which usually means there's gods-know-what happening where folks aren't looking.

Frumple, there really is nothing happening in Russia right now. Even the Western sources confirm that - you can't find an article about Russia that doesn't revolve around either Ukraine, Crimea or sanctions.

[Frumple]

... you've got my condolences, then. Stagnation on that scale is a pretty terrible thing to live through, from what I understand.

[Knit tie]

... you've got my condolences, then. Stagnation on that scale is a pretty terrible thing to live through, from what I understand.

Not stagnation, just lack of anything as remarkable as the current war, really. I could, with due effort, dig up a lot of news on how some random celebrity did this or that or how a new shop or a theatre was opened somewhere, but you'll agree, hopefully, that those things are nowhere near as captivating to the general public as the suspense of the current battle of the Debaltsevo bulge. Hence why most Russian news outlets are dominated by the mentions of it - it's the best story they have right now, why shouldn't they squeeze it as hard as they possibly can for views and ratings?

[MonkeyHead]

It is probably worth mentioning that here in the UK (and presumably elsewhere in the EU, save for nations bordering Russia/Ukraine), there is little to no mention of said battle nor wider war. To find the most recent reference of it on the BBC news website, I have to dig to the EU section, and it is a minor sideline story.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

If you called to give purposefully false information, you wouldn't be a traitor, you would be making a very dangerous and inappropriate prank call.

I find this ironic, considering all the putin puppets are the ones spreading misinformation daily.

[Darvi]

... that's just kinda' saddening, serg.

Though I guess it'll be interesting a few decades from now to find out what was going on elsewhere. Y'all apparently have a helluva' media smokescreen going, which usually means there's gods-know-what happening where folks aren't looking.

Frumple, there really is nothing happening in Russia right now. Even the Western sources confirm that - you can't find an article about Russia that doesn't revolve around either Ukraine, Crimea or sanctions.

That's hardly surprising, news rarely report on the internal affairs of other countries unless it's really notable. When was the last time you heard news about Iraq that wasn't about war, terrorism, and related stuff?

[alway]

Pretty much what Frumple said. Personally, I suspected when this all started that its primary purpose was to whip up popular support to push through potentially harsh economic reforms. And in general, it worked pretty well for a while, with Europe and the US content to sending Strongly Worded Letters about how they disapproved. Then, thanks to incompetence on all sides, they accidentally shot down a craft carrying mostly Europeans, and got slapped with sanctions. Then, even more critically, oil prices collapsed due to a supply glut from recent non-OPEC oil and gas booms resulting from new tech combined with high prices making it viable. I suspect at this point the real reason for the Ukraine war has been thoroughly derailed, especially if it was some sort of economic reform.

[Knit tie]

I, myself, think that the Crimean reunification/annexation's purpose was to permanently attach the vital military port of Sevastopol to Russia and to show off on the geopolitical arena in the process, while the Ukrainian civil war was simply a poorly planned attempt to stop the spread of NATO, which didn't work as intended at all. And increased domestic support, I believe, was at most a nice bonus to all those geopolitical machinations - as we can see here, Putin's approval rating was still high even at it's lowest point in the middle of the economic stagnation, and quite stable to boot, so it doesn't appear to me that Putin was overly concerned about his popularity there.

[Sergarr]

From the end of the article: "The minister added that the percentage of those wishing to go to the front is 20%". And this mobilization wave supposedly prioritized mobilizing volunteers. Seems like the Ukraine is running out of patriots.

[Helgoland]

vital military port of Sevastopol

I still don't get why Sevastopol is so vital to Russia's interests - there's a Russian part of the Black Sea cost right next to it.

[Sergarr]

vital military port of Sevastopol

I still don't get why Sevastopol is so vital to Russia's interests - there's a Russian part of the Black Sea cost right next to it.

Big port city. A naval base. Repair facilities.

[Frumple]

You know how people get with geography, helg. Maybe folks didn't realize there was a "build own sea port, with better blackjack and more hookers" option available.

[Helgoland]

Not worth waging a war over. For the same money they could've built a new port with new facilities, and given their economy a boost as well, all without harming Russia's standing in the world.
E: What Frumple said, basically.