Sanctions on Russia

Paul Anderson7 said:Ukrainians are fighting for their very future, while the Russians have mostly just hunkered down in their holes, praying this Putin-esque madness blows over so they can go back to business as usual. They’re burying their heads in the sand, seemingly unaware that this apathy will eventually cost them far more than any revolution or civil unrest ever could. I realize it isn't a simple fix, but I'm holding out hope that the Russian people will soon realize they need to stand up and fight for their own future collectively.
If they actually start pushing back against Putin, they'll have my sympathy—and I suspect they'll have plenty of it—specifically in hoping that sanctions don't linger so long that they completely crush the nation. On the other hand, if it turns out that the Russian people truly support what Putin is doing, then let them sit under those sanctions for another twenty years; I won't be the one coming to their rescue.

No matter how intense street protests against Putin might look, they still pale in comparison to the horror unfolding in Ukraine.

They’d be better off just starting a revolution themselves—if they actually want to see how that ends. Look at what happened in Syria, where the people were sold this exact same dream: get rid of Assad and everything will be great. Eleven years later, the place is a total wreck, and the West—acting like the "friend of the people"—just keeps piling on sanctions to stall any recovery and keep them stuck in poverty.

I’d probably tell the Russians to just stick with Putin—show some backbone so they aren't getting bullied. They should pull out of Ukraine—well, except for Crimea and the Donetsk/Luhansk areas plus a buffer around Donetsk—but they shouldn't bow down to foreign advice designed to bleed their country dry, regardless of who's running things.

Honestly, Putin would be making his smartest move by stepping down—but only if there’s actually someone competent waiting in the wings to handle both the economy and the geopolitical mess. That is, provided it isn't just another group of clowns like Navalny's crowd. 🤣

It seems my colleague missed the fact that the Syrians—with help from Russia and Iran—never actually managed to unseat Assad, making it a bit silly to lecture us on how easy it was once he was gone.

With Putin and his ilk, Russia is essentially driving itself into a ditch, perhaps just enough to leave Russians walking on eggshells while they struggle for the "freedom" to have no say over their own leadership or their own lives.

I’m talking about the long game here. In the long run, Russia is facing massive headaches, and if the citizens start showing even a hint of pushback against the war, they might actually see some concessions down the line. I misspoke when I brought up revolution; what I really meant was large-scale protests that aren't just easy to sweep under the rug. You can't exactly throw hundreds of thousands of people in jail if they all decide to show up at the square every single day. I don't think Putin would ever resort to opening fire on them, mostly because he's far too aware of how the rest of the world would react.
I wasn't suggesting an armed conflict with Putin—that would likely just make things a whole lot worse.

slyfox43 said:It seems my colleague missed the fact that the Syrians—with help from Russia and Iran—never actually managed to unseat Assad, making it a bit silly to lecture us on how easy it was once he was gone.

With Putin and his ilk, Russia is essentially driving itself into a ditch, perhaps just enough to leave Russians walking on eggshells while they struggle for the "freedom" to have no say over their own leadership or their own lives.

Removing a leader isn't a guaranteed fix; it can just trigger a civil war. Look at what happened in Syria.
I wouldn't be surprised if that’s one of the preferred scenarios floating around the mob in Washington.

CERN tightened sanctions on Russia:
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wi...ussia-83674864

They're also looking at a total cutoff by June, once they figure out what kind of mess that would cause.
Seems like the organization is feeling the heat from its member states—mostly those over in Europe.

wiredseal7 said:Removing a leader isn't a guaranteed fix; it can just trigger a civil war. Look at what happened in Syria.
I wouldn't be surprised if that’s one of the preferred scenarios floating around the mob in Washington.

CERN tightened sanctions on Russia:
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wi...ussia-83674864

They're also looking at a total cutoff by June, once they figure out what kind of mess that would cause.
Seems like the organization is feeling the heat from its member states—mostly those over in Europe.

You see, I don't find it hard to imagine that the most idealistic scenario would be the Russian people abandoning imperialism and militarism altogether, though I suppose that belongs more to the realm of fantasy.

The actual strategy currently in play seems to be neutralizing specific expressions of that imperialism and militarism in Ukraine, driving toward a state of total international isolation for Russia to prevent them from executing broader aggressive plans. As for how the Russian people choose to react to those consequences, that is entirely their business; as a true believer in sovereignty, I support them bearing the weight of their own decisions, and I am certain you would agree.

Furthermore, as any true sovereignist should, I support the Ukrainian people's struggle to defend the system they have chosen and the freedom they fought for—including through various "color revolutions"—rather than seeing the Russian people submit to those who enslave, imprison, kill, and lead them to ruin. I trust we are of one mind on this.

wiredseal7 said:They’d be better off just starting a revolution themselves—if they actually want to see how that ends. Look at what happened in Syria, where the people were sold this exact same dream: get rid of Assad and everything will be great. Eleven years later, the place is a total wreck, and the West—acting like the "friend of the people"—just keeps piling on sanctions to stall any recovery and keep them stuck in poverty.

I’d probably tell the Russians to just stick with Putin—show some backbone so they aren't getting bullied. They should pull out of Ukraine—well, except for Crimea and the Donetsk/Luhansk areas plus a buffer around Donetsk—but they shouldn't bow down to foreign advice designed to bleed their country dry, regardless of who's running things.

Honestly, Putin would be making his smartest move by stepping down—but only if there’s actually someone competent waiting in the wings to handle both the economy and the geopolitical mess. That is, provided it isn't just another group of clowns like Navalny's crowd. 🤣

Without hesitation, Putin himself would sign this comment as his own... or at least give a massive thumbs up to the work being done by Russian propaganda.

Best regards,

Russia basically sabotaged itself because of this obsession with NATO paranoia. I’m convinced NATO would never have attacked Russia; up until this conflict, there wasn't even an anti-Russian sentiment in Western Europe, let alone any real appetite among regular people for a war. I just don't get why they can't offer anything beyond raw energy resources—they need to build an economy on something more substantial. Why can't they follow the lead of countries like Japan or South Korea? Those nations don't have massive natural resources, yet they maintain incredibly high GDPs.

It’s because achieving that requires actual competition and the kind of meritocracy you only find in an open market.

Oligarchic oil capitalism doesn't care about progress. Why bother when you can just kiss the right leaders' feet, grab a seat at a state-owned firm, and spend your days lounging by a pool on a yacht without ever having to innovate?

Honestly, South Korea probably wouldn't have turned out any differently if they had oil. Japan is a different story entirely—given their history with occupation, they might have managed to pivot toward democracy even if they had plenty of energy resources. SK was a brutal dictatorship, too, but they didn't have any choice but to grow through tech and industry.

Russia went from a communist dictatorship straight into a petro-monarchy. I'm oversimplifying, but they skipped the serious development phase because the educated class basically fled, leaving them stuck.

bluemason3 said:It’s because achieving that requires actual competition and the kind of meritocracy you only find in an open market.

Oligarchic oil capitalism doesn't care about progress. Why bother when you can just kiss the right leaders' feet, grab a seat at a state-owned firm, and spend your days lounging by a pool on a yacht without ever having to innovate?

Honestly, South Korea probably wouldn't have turned out any differently if they had oil. Japan is a different story entirely—given their history with occupation, they might have managed to pivot toward democracy even if they had plenty of energy resources. SK was a brutal dictatorship, too, but they didn't have any choice but to grow through tech and industry.

Russia went from a communist dictatorship straight into a petro-monarchy. I'm oversimplifying, but they skipped the serious development phase because the educated class basically fled, leaving them stuck.

That all holds water, sure, but there’s another motive fueling their expansionist politics: the desperate desire for Russia to maintain its superpower status. It's embarrassing for them—the largest country on Earth by surface area, loaded with resources, yet unable to stand toe-to-toe with the USA, falling further behind every single day.

In fact, as time goes on, maintaining that "superpower" label becomes less about how many tanks you have and more about economic sophistication.

bluemason3 said:It’s because achieving that requires actual competition and the kind of meritocracy you only find in an open market.

Oligarchic oil capitalism doesn't care about progress. Why bother when you can just kiss the right leaders' feet, grab a seat at a state-owned firm, and spend your days lounging by a pool on a yacht without ever having to innovate?

Honestly, South Korea probably wouldn't have turned out any differently if they had oil. Japan is a different story entirely—given their history with occupation, they might have managed to pivot toward democracy even if they had plenty of energy resources. SK was a brutal dictatorship, too, but they didn't have any choice but to grow through tech and industry.

Russia went from a communist dictatorship straight into a petro-monarchy. I'm oversimplifying, but they skipped the serious development phase because the educated class basically fled, leaving them stuck.

They had a thirty-year window to get things right. Especially after 2000, everything seemed to be working in their favor—you had Bush and his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which damaged the USA's global reputation, all while oil prices were skyrocketing.

The Qatari energy minister is denying any deal with Germany. He’s even going as far as to say there's zero chance we'll see Russian gas replaced anytime soon:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/...-17908896.html

gentleviper62 said:They had a thirty-year window to get things right. Especially after 2000, everything seemed to be working in their favor—you had Bush and his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which damaged the USA's global reputation, all while oil prices were skyrocketing.

It’s just a totally different way of thinking... almost cult-like, honestly, across the board.
Americans aren't anything like the Chinese... or even the Japanese..
The worldview is just fundamentally different. It's all about fighting against corruption from oligarchic circles and this weird obsession with idols, whereas you have these intense economic ambitions. Take China, for example—they realized they needed to use their massive population policy as a tool in the global economic race...
A Chinese person is just going to grind! It's simple math, really—just pure numbers and the civilization gap at work...

steelfox98 said:The Qatari energy minister is denying any deal with Germany. He’s even going as far as to say there's zero chance we'll see Russian gas replaced anytime soon:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/...-17908896.html

Do us all a favor and actually read the article instead of just latching onto a bombastic headline that happens to feed your specific bias. It’s easy to cherry-pick a title that confirms what you already want to believe, isn't it?
Look, let's be real here—Putin is a loser.

lp

steelfox98 said:The Qatari energy minister is denying any deal with Germany. He’s even going as far as to say there's zero chance we'll see Russian gas replaced anytime soon:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/...-17908896.html

They've got the gas. Russia's the one losing here.

Biden’s out there warning us about food shortages hitting the US and the European Union because of these sanctions:
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/statu...74994748399616

steelfox98 said:Biden’s out there warning us about food shortages hitting the US and the European Union because of these sanctions:
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/statu...74994748399616

Just move to Russia then. They've got everything you need there, especially if you have plenty of rubles.😁

Russia is essentially in "default" because they either lack the ability to pay back their debts or simply refuse to do it.

The next payment deadline hits on April 4th. If they don't service that debt, gold is going to be in serious trouble—we're looking at a sudden collapse in value even in the middle of an inflationary period. It would also blow the current stock market circulation out of the water compared to just two months ago. The whole logic falls apart, much like if the European Union suddenly started paying for gas in rubles or some other random currency.

The expansion of the gold market is being set up to handle more supply and facilitate trading its value. But here’s the thing: if Russia pivots toward aggressive, rapid mining and turns to the black market, they might clear their debts on time. However, that doesn't guarantee an economic recovery. They'll still be staring down a massive hole where 50% of their revenue from the European Union used to be. In that scenario, gold loses at least 25% of its value.

swiftjackal11 said:They've got the gas. Russia's the one losing here.

swiftjackal11 said:Just move to Russia then. They've got everything you need there, especially if you have plenty of rubles.😁

Why all the nerves? Looks like you missed the point entirely—probably because that massive one-sentence paragraph was just too much for you to wrap your head around. For the record, those aren't my words; I’m just quoting the most responsible experts in the field. ☕
Clearly, you know more than they do. 🤣

steelfox98 said:Why all the nerves? Looks like you missed the point entirely—probably because that massive one-sentence paragraph was just too much for you to wrap your head around. For the record, those aren't my words; I’m just quoting the most responsible experts in the field. ☕
Clearly, you know more than they do. 🤣

Sure, I've got my own contacts in Russia. I'm sending them some sugar 😁 and a McChicken
right now.

swiftjackal11 said:Just move to Russia then. They've got everything you need there, especially if you have plenty of rubles.😁

Oh, please. He isn't going anywhere. We all know how Putko operates—he’s the king of his own little world, isn't he? I remember exactly how everyone used to fawn over him whenever the topic of Russia came up. And now look at him. He’s completely lost his grip, and what does he have to show for it? His only remaining supporters are Eritrea and North Korea. It’s pathetic! Even Mexico won't stand by him anymore, which, frankly, is the most stinging blow of all.

I honestly can’t help but look back at all those old threads discussing Russia, and I find myself spiraling into pure frustration. How on earth are we supposed to just sit here and let Putko—this self-proclaimed emperor of the world—decide whether or not we freeze our tails off this winter? It’s absolutely absurd! And what is the grand plan here? How exactly does Putko, the supposed ruler of the entire galaxy, intend to transform Russia into some kind of unstoppable superpower? We’re told they have a massive military, but does that actually equate to actual stability or global dominance? Is that really how power works in the modern age? It makes me livid just thinking about how much leverage one man thinks he has over everyone else's basic survival.
🤣
Abigail, times have truly changed. Instead of actually listening to what the great Putko has to say, everyone just blindly parrots whatever the Western media outlets and the President of the USA decide to feed them!🤦

lp