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Pessimism Sweeps Russia

Rogue Valley

Lead or get out of the way
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Pessimism Sweeps Russia | The Moscow Times

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1/15/19
In recent months, few topics have got as much attention from Russia analysts as popular disenchantment with the ruling elite. As many experts claim today, Russian society is beginning to show signs of discontent that the authorities should not ignore. Yet, the situation is somewhat more complicated than the ruled losing faith in their rulers. On the one hand, the authorities have started to “spill the beans”. This refers to phrases now in currency such as: “it’s not that the prices are high, it’s that you don’t earn enough;” “the state does not owe you anything, as nobody asked you to be born;” or “there is no money, but you need to hold on.” More important: there is another formula, which has not been criticized as outrageous, even by a significant proportion of apparently reasonable and even liberal people. Naturally, what I have in mind is the phrase “people are the second (or new) kind of oil.” This phrase is being repeated quite often today, in different variations. However, now the authorities are admitting that they will have to mine something not only from oil wells, but also from their subjects. This gets the elites into a state of stupor. They are beginning to realize that the much-desired transition from rent-giving “first oil” to the “second oil” may turn out to be impracticable under today’s conditions.

Meanwhile, negative expectations are manifested in the fact that the elites are getting ever more costly for the country. The historical optimism of the authorities exploiting the country is best reflected in its relative moderation, which implies a belief that a stable situation will not change. Officials increasingly act as if they perceived the opportunity to steal or provide themselves with some benefits as “a last-minute opportunity.” Society cannot live with a pessimism permeating all the social strata for a long time. This is why the situation must be changed as soon as possible, especially in economic terms since people are no longer influenced by political rhetoric and promises when assessing their own prospects. How realistic would it be to put such a turnaround into practice? How can one force officials to limit themselves to the revenues from the “first” oil and stop stealing from the people in small things and stop blocking the opportunities for people to earn money? This is the main question of our time, and the answer will determine the prospects of survival of the system. I believe that change is unlikely. Mostly because the Russian ruling elites have no ideology that could join them and force them to act in a forward-looking way. Today, ordinary people survive on their own and bureaucrats also act on their own, enriching themselves as much as they can. Neither the lower social strata nor the elites have any vision of the future. The absence of such a vision generates a deficit of historical optimism, pushing the system towards a debacle.

A huge country, with vast natural resources, a powerful military, and an educated populace. Such possibilities.

Yet today it is a pariah state. A giant gas station armed with nuclear weapons and overseen by a corrupt mafia elite.

The state, with its 340,000 personnel National Guard, is prepared for the internal violence that will someday explode from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.
 
Ultraconservatives who have developed a hard-on for Russia (with fantasies of being its bitch, of course) might want to consider just how rough life can be for the average Russian and how few freedoms they have!
 
Ultraconservatives who have developed a hard-on for Russia (with fantasies of being its bitch, of course) might want to consider just how rough life can be for the average Russian and how few freedoms they have!

All they see is the glitz of metro Moscow and metro St. Petersburg. Other than that, Russia is 11 time-zones of poverty.
 
:roll:

Take a look at your own house of cards first my American friends ............
 
Pessimism Sweeps Russia | The Moscow Times

main-qimg-e7c0c561c243b11296743cdf78f7c4c2




A huge country, with vast natural resources, a powerful military, and an educated populace. Such possibilities.

Yet today it is a pariah state. A giant gas station armed with nuclear weapons and overseen by a corrupt mafia elite.

The state, with its 340,000 personnel National Guard, is prepared for the internal violence that will someday explode from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.

The Oil Curse

 
All they see is the glitz of metro Moscow and metro St. Petersburg. Other than that, Russia is 11 time-zones of poverty.

And even those cities are filled with problems. Corruption, the mafia, domestic violence... they sound like great places to live if you like the apocalypse!
 
All they see is the glitz of metro Moscow and metro St. Petersburg. Other than that, Russia is 11 time-zones of poverty.

"Boris was supposed to be the most advanced robot ever created in Russia, and yet no had ever heard of it. How had scientists managed to perfect it without ever releasing any information about their work. Boston Dynamics, the famous US developing advanced robots had gradually released footage of its creations at various stages, but no one could even find any mention of an advanced robot being developed in Russia.

People also noticed that during its dance routine, Boris was making these unnecessary movements with different parts of its body. The whole routine looked more like the awkward movements of a man struggling :lamo to appear robotic than the programmed motions of an actual robot." "Russia’s Most Advanced Robot" Turns Out to Be Man in Robot Suit


Boris-the-robot.jpg
 
And even those cities are filled with problems. Corruption, the mafia, domestic violence... they sound like great places to live if you like the apocalypse!

"
"Russian" "Doctors " amputated the ‘wrong leg’ of a Nazi concentration camp survivor during an operation, her son claimed today. Maria Dronova, 89, had severe gangrene on her right leg but medics in the Russian city of Voronezh instead cut off her left limb up to the hip. Three days later they amputated the pensioner’s infected right leg as well – then reportedly acted to cover up their mistake.
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All they see is the glitz of metro Moscow and metro St. Petersburg. Other than that, Russia is 11 time-zones of poverty.

Shimon Peres to Putin: "The rest of Russia is like Nigeria covered with snow"

I am very good friends with Putin. And I shall give you, in brief, the content of one of our recent discussions.
I told him, “You’re 63 years old, I’m 93 years old. Tell me, what do you want to achieve in the coming 30 years? What are you fighting for? Are you hoping to **** off America?”
He says, “No.”
“America wants a piece of Russia? No. You have trouble discussing things with Obama?”
He says, “Why do you ask?
I said, “Look, I am not a spy, whatever, tell me.”
He says, “What do you think?”
And I said, “America will win no matter what you do.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because they are lucky, and you are not.”
I told him more. “When an American wakes up in the morning, what does he see? Mexico in the south, and they accept Mexicans in their country. Canada in the north, they are the best friends in the world. And on the right and on the left, there are fish in the water.
“What does Obama have to worry about? You, you wake up in the morning, whom do you have? Japan, China, Afghanistan? My God! They know that you have plenty of land, and you don’t give them a penny. You have 20 percent of the sweet water, and you give nothing. So when the snow in Siberia melts, the first thing you will see there are Chinese. Because there are plenty of Chinese in the east, and not so many Russians.”
The second thing I told him was: “America has the best proportion between the size of the land and the size of the people. You here have the worst. Twenty million square kilometers. My God. But what you don’t have are people. Your people are dying. Don’t be impressed by the applause and what people are saying. They won’t forgive you. Why do Russians live for only 62 years, while Americans will live 82 years?”
And then I told him: “You behave like a czar.”
I am very open.
I said, “What did the czars do? They developed two cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow, as a showcase. Whatever you want, you will find there. The rest of Russia is like Nigeria covered with snow. Your people are dying. You don’t give them life. You think they’ll forgive you?”
 
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