Sanctions on Russia

Take Rocco, for example. They used to operate seven different plants over there before eventually handing the whole operation over to the Russians.

Besides, those Chinese conglomerates have so much surplus inventory they can practically give it away. Sanctions like these just seem completely absurd.

Every single detail counts when you're looking at how much Russia can actually churn out across different sectors. They've banned exports on things like textiles, leather, paper, and high-end watches—you know, the luxury stuff—but tabloids love to cherry-pick items like WCove toilets from a massive list just to give the public something to gossip about.

Melissa Peterson19 said:I assume you're a young man, so listen closely: don't let yourself get sucked into fanatical assumptions and prejudices. During the most intense periods of the Cold War, the USSR was capable of producing nuclear bombs, nuclear icebreakers, and submarines; they conquered space and even downed a US spy U2 from 19 miles altitude and captured the pilot... yet here you are asking about tractors and other trivialities. Are you aware that their heavy machinery in Alaska starts up perfectly fine at -40°C? Do some research and try to grasp the sheer scale of that nation. They can survive a nuclear war, whereas others likely cannot; their resources are inexhaustible. This is a country with deep roots, tradition, and a culture that has contributed to civilization just as much as powerful European nations like Italians, Germans, Frenchmen, or Englishmen.

And don't worry, the collapse of Russia as a state is impossible. There will always emerge a leader strong enough to hold it together, whether through diplomacy or force, regardless of the cost. The West won't allow a collapse either, because letting the world's largest nuclear arsenal fall into unstable hands would create a situation that is impossible to control.

Don't fall for the pipe dreams of Putinophobes.

Sure, they're such a "global superpower," yet there isn't a single serious product in the entire world that we can't live without unless it comes from them. China produces everything under the sun, and the world would be in serious trouble if Chinese goods vanished. India might not be on that scale, but they certainly have plenty to offer, especially in services and industrial support. As for Russia? Aside from fossil fuels, what have they actually exported? Middle Eastern countries have that too, so they aren't exactly unique powers.
Until now, I thought the issue back in the USSR was just incompetent communists and bad central planning—that modern Russia had modernized into a better version of itself. But damn, it turns out the USSR was actually more capable, organized, and both militarily and economically sound (especially the sectors supporting the military).
The real problem with the USSR was having a powerhouse military industry and nuclear tech paired with a weak economy; they tried to match the USA militarily and neglected everything else. Right now, Russia is pouring all its strength into supporting the war and the military, and that’s going to drain them. It might not be in a month or two, but it'll set them back fifty years.

It’s honestly pretty wild when you think about it—how the USSR actually managed to fall apart, especially since, by almost any metric you look at, it was sitting several rungs higher on the ladder than today's Russia.
And man, that comment about how the West won't let it happen? That is just brilliant. It’s almost funny, really, because it’s as if Americans weren't already doing everything in their power to make sure the collapse of the USSR actually happened.

They really ought to slap sanctions on everything they touch. Russia isn't exactly some massive, wealthy powerhouse, and if they actually follow through with comprehensive sanctions... let's be honest, Russians are total status-seekers. They’ll keep buying whatever luxury goods they crave, sure, but they’re going to end up paying an absolutely ridiculous premium for them.
Lp

analogbear5 said:Then it's a total mystery why they were importing them from Germany in the first place.

Maybe they were just diverting limited production capacity toward more "useful" things. Or maybe—just maybe—the workers who haven't been mobilized yet will suddenly become super-productive, cranking out ten times the toilets while somehow building a tank or a helicopter on the side.

You haven't checked the site. That company specializes in high-end gold Polish WCoves. Because heaven forbid Russia be saturated with decent sanitary products.

Of course, even the morning news crew can't get it right—it’s all just pure yellow journalism at this point.

There's a ban on exporting chemical weapons because, if you use a little imagination, the chemicals used to make them are easily classified as "dual-use" substances.

Carl Lee27 said:It’s honestly pretty wild when you think about it—how the USSR actually managed to fall apart, especially since, by almost any metric you look at, it was sitting several rungs higher on the ladder than today's Russia.
And man, that comment about how the West won't let it happen? That is just brilliant. It’s almost funny, really, because it’s as if Americans weren't already doing everything in their power to make sure the collapse of the USSR actually happened.

The USSR didn't just vanish overnight; it took about a decade to fully unravel.

Russia will likely be facing some form of sanctions for at least the next ten years, so we're about to find out if anyone actually learned anything from the Cold War. Personally, I don't think they did, though they seem to be holding their own for now, given the circumstances. If these kinds of sanctions were slapped on 95% of the world's nations, we'd be looking at a total global collapse.

At this rate of attrition and wartime spending in Ukraine—which dwarfs the losses and costs seen by the USSR during its time in Afghanistan by fiftyfold—combined with an economy roughly a tenth the size of the old Soviet one and the weight of sanctions, Russia will struggle to sustain this for even a decade. They might attempt to pivot toward a subsistence existence similar to Iran or Kim’s Korea, but history suggests they aren't quite prepared to survive on meager rations and pennies a day.

What’s actually the point of sanctions when Russia has more than enough resources to sustain itself, especially since their main allies are China and India? They're trading completely unfettered, getting everything they need without breaking a sweat.

It’s like you’ve blocked the front door, but they’re just walking in and out through the back entrance, the windows, the garage, or even the basement. The leaks are everywhere.😁

The players dealing with China and India are pulling massive levers with deep discounts on oil and various other commodities. In reality, China isn't even leaning that heavily on Russia for its oil supply; they’re mostly sourcing from Saudi Arabia and Iran to supplement their own domestic production. It’s a similar story with India, which actually goes even further than China in diversifying its energy imports.

Noah Diaz said:What’s actually the point of sanctions when Russia has more than enough resources to sustain itself, especially since their main allies are China and India? They're trading completely unfettered, getting everything they need without breaking a sweat.

It’s like you’ve blocked the front door, but they’re just walking in and out through the back entrance, the windows, the garage, or even the basement. The leaks are everywhere.😁

At what price are they selling oil to China, and what kind of rates were they giving the West before the invasion?

Noah Diaz said:What’s actually the point of sanctions when Russia has more than enough resources to sustain itself, especially since their main allies are China and India? They're trading completely unfettered, getting everything they need without breaking a sweat.

It’s like you’ve blocked the front door, but they’re just walking in and out through the back entrance, the windows, the garage, or even the basement. The leaks are everywhere.😁

Their allies are such great partners—they won't even buy anything without demanding a massive discount, knowing full well the Russians are in a tight spot.

On the flip side—Russians are fighting back by slashing production big time just to offset those discounts.

China and India being "allies" with Russia is nothing more than a pipe dream. Give me something real for once.

China isn't going to gamble its relationship with the USA and the West just to bail out Russia; it’s a calculation some people simply haven't grasped yet.

analogbear5 said:Their allies are such great partners—they won't even buy anything without demanding a massive discount, knowing full well the Russians are in a tight spot.

On the flip side—Russians are fighting back by slashing production big time just to offset those discounts.

China and India being "allies" with Russia is nothing more than a pipe dream. Give me something real for once.

Things are going so well for them that even the American establishment mouthpiece, CNN, reported this:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/23/p...ion/index.html

The Biden administration Has recently raised concerns with China about evidence IT Has suggesting that Chinese companies have sold non-lethal equipment to Russia for Use in Ukraine , in an effort to ascertain How much Beijing knows about The transactions , according to Two US officials.

that equipment includes items like Flak jackets and helmets , multipli sources familiar with US and European intelligence told CNN, but stops short of the more robust military assistance that Russia has requested.

How does the playbook go again? First, you're just providing humanitarian aid—uniforms and blankets—and before you know it, you're handing over tanks and fighter jets.😁

Noah Diaz said:What’s actually the point of sanctions when Russia has more than enough resources to sustain itself, especially since their main allies are China and India? They're trading completely unfettered, getting everything they need without breaking a sweat.

It’s like you’ve blocked the front door, but they’re just walking in and out through the back entrance, the windows, the garage, or even the basement. The leaks are everywhere.😁

No matter how hard you try, you can't argue with basic math.
The logic is dead simple: war is expensive, and someone has to foot the bill.
The more they have to buy at high prices while selling their own goods at a discount just to keep moving, the faster they'll run out of cash.
Sanctions take a long time to kick in—especially at the start—but once they gain momentum, they accelerate until they eventually crush the economy.

I would love to see all those people who constantly lecture us about how sanctions don't do a damn thing to the Russians still hanging around here in another year or two... but based on experience, I know they'll vanish just like 90% of the people on the Russia thread did.
Best regards,

Noah Diaz said:Things are going so well for them that even the American establishment mouthpiece, CNN, reported this:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/23/p...ion/index.html

The Biden administration Has recently raised concerns with China about evidence IT Has suggesting that Chinese companies have sold non-lethal equipment to Russia for Use in Ukraine , in an effort to ascertain How much Beijing knows about The transactions , according to Two US officials.

that equipment includes items like Flak jackets and helmets , multipli sources familiar with US and European intelligence told CNN, but stops short of the more robust military assistance that Russia has requested.

How does the playbook go again? First, you're just providing humanitarian aid—uniforms and blankets—and before you know it, you're handing over tanks and fighter jets.😁

"Sold" means those Chinese companies actually "sold" the stuff, they didn't "gift" it. And why wouldn't they? Profit is profit—no alliances here.

I’d suggest that anyone claiming sanctions aren't actually working should just pack their bags and head straight to Russia, so they can come back later and give us a firsthand report from the middle of Putin's economic paradise.

Noah Diaz said:What’s actually the point of sanctions when Russia has more than enough resources to sustain itself, especially since their main allies are China and India? They're trading completely unfettered, getting everything they need without breaking a sweat.

It’s like you’ve blocked the front door, but they’re just walking in and out through the back entrance, the windows, the garage, or even the basement. The leaks are everywhere.😁

In scale.

You can smuggle in certain things, sure, but you can't move everything.
At the very least, they need to get enough to stay afloat.

This will push them quite far back into the past—it isn't exactly a simple fix.
It just isn't happening particularly fast.

analogbear5 said:Their allies are such great partners—they won't even buy anything without demanding a massive discount, knowing full well the Russians are in a tight spot.

On the flip side—Russians are fighting back by slashing production big time just to offset those discounts.

China and India being "allies" with Russia is nothing more than a pipe dream. Give me something real for once.

And at what price are our allies selling energy to Europe?

Did that cross your mind when you were talking about alliances...