Originally Posted by
Aegis8
Good points a to c, well presented.
D is an assumption and the upcoming elections will give better view on this.
Regarding D: no we will not, as Navalnyi is conveniently in jail.
Originally Posted by
Aegis8
E and F are another story altogether. My first reactions are: years of hollywood indoctrination have worked: all soviets/Russians are stupid and fools. And common sense has left the planet!
No one said all the Russians are stupid nor fools. The same applies to former soviet citizens. It would be against common sense to claim otherwise. It would be as stupid as stating all the US citizens are cowboys. Or UK citizens are earls and duchesses.
Originally Posted by
Aegis8
I will touch on the ones I know.
Nemtsov: ....
Skripals: ....
Navalny: ....
People prefer not to attend unsanctioned protests/rallies, as they can get arrested. Russia is much freer than you make out.
Using something that is obvious to all parties makes a statement, mess with us and you will have it. A random stabbing/shooting etc leaves questions but the abovementioned way gives a striking hint to anyone with the idea to oppose. It isn't about the west. Putin couldn't care less. It is about domestic politics he is worried about. No one is going to overthrow him from outside.
Regarding participation in rallies: you just confirmed what I stated earlier about comparing protesters numbers to real voters/total population. Hence 50k people in the streets of Moscow is a BIG thing. And Putin knows that. And wants to get rid of anyone capable of gathering these masses.
Originally Posted by
Aegis8
F: Poisonings covered.
Chechnya: response to a large terror attack. The west portray it as a false flag event.
Georgia: if you are talking about 2008, then that was Medvedev and Georgia started the shooting war, Russia finished it. Check the EU commission findings.
Crimea: with the maidan happening so close to home, he would have won the election without a problem. Crimea was a direct response to the geopolitical upheaval of the time.
Chechnya: even the Moscow building bombers weren't all chechnyans, What if it was done by FSB to boost a war to make Putin look great? Supportive elements are, and the Sugar Sack incident doesn't really clear the image, either. And Litvinenko (ex FSB/KGB) was murdered for telling this story.
Georgia: come on, Medvedev was a mere puppet with Putin pulling the strings. They really wanted the world to think that Medvedev would've been a strong leader making independent decisions. What on earth was Russia doing there in the first place and why did Russia then begin an attack war towards Gor and Tbilisi if it was merely a peace keeping action in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Putin wanted to get rid of Saakasvili.
Crimea: Maidan protests were in February 2014, and at that time Putins approval ratings had been between 60-69% for over a year (comparing the approval ratings earlier being above 70% until 2011). Crimean annexation was in the turn of March 2014, and 24th of March the approval rating had peaked to 80%. Annexation of a part of a sovereign foreign country was undoubtedly boosting nationalist feelings within Russia and boosting Putins approval rating.
Originally Posted by
Aegis8
Over the past few years bribery and corruption have been steadily weeded out, not stopped yet. So if you are guilty you will pay.
Constitutional changes were aimed at enshrining laws regarding the people of Russia into the constitution. Secondly the powers of the president were reduced and handed to the Duma. These are all forgotten and the only one everyone mentions is the term changes. So Mr Putin has been the president for 16 years, Merkel has been chancellor for nearly 16 years, so where is the problem here?
The difference in between Merkel and Putin is, that Merkel has been the chancellor without changing the legislation for her benefit and through open elections. It is quite a difference.
Originally Posted by
Aegis8
The final question to ask is: who does this all benefit? Not Russia that is for sure. Remember most Russians are not stupid and this is not a hollywood movie! I have my doubts though, about the ones that try to kill me on the roads daily!
As stated before, Russian are not stupid as US citizens are not cowboys. But it does benefit the ones wanting to build up a New Russian Empire for their ruling.