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I don’t think it’s politics to say I have been pretty scared of Vladimir Putin since Thursday.


Entre_Perpetuo
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I'm not going to write a huge essay on the matter. Only some observations from a man on the inside who is against the war, half-Ukrainian, and tries to look at things as objectively as possible. And, after 9 months, has the power of hindsight.
Me being half-Ukrainian isn't anything out of the ordinary in Russia. At the time when both countries were blocs of a Soviet Union, it wasn't uncommon for the people to travel between them, meet each other, fall in love and start a family. That's what happened in my case as well - my father came to (at the time) Leningrad from Sevastopol where he grew up, met my mom and the rest, as they say, is history. So.
What's going on now is a horrible situation for all involved, for a lot of different reasons. And, unfortunately, not as black and white as Western media tries to make it seem - evil and terrible Russia attacking poor, innocent Ukraine. Unfortunately, because the situation would've been far more simpler if it really was that way. In reality, not as poor and not as innocent, as it turns out, even though not much is written about it on the other side (although there has been some movement in the opposite direction - it telling about the Russian captive soldiers being killed, which is just one of the many atrocities committed by Ukrainians, people in Kherson being tied to posts, Zelenskyy recording his announcements in front of the green screen, with an actual video of that, Amnesty International report, which, although having been gaslit, still saw the light of day, and other reports).
No, I'm not saying all this because I've been brainwashed by propaganda - believe me, I have all the means of accessing information, so I know what's actually going on. Plus, it isn't as restricted as some may try to lead you to believe. Most of the foreign sites are readily available and even official reporting is not all roses, not to mention countless independent sources. And I can reach this site and many others (and write this message) without any fear of repercussions - this is to the topic of how horribly oppressed and stifled Russians are. No, we are not. Our government isn't actually that different from governments all across the world. Follow the official line or get kicked in the teeth. Other than that, there's actually more freedom in some departments than I saw in some European countries and the USA. The problem is, there has been more and more things lately that the government isn't happy about, but that's a whole other matter of discussion.
Speaking of propaganda, I actually find it amazing how some people, who aren't even able to find Ukraine on the map, actually believe that the entire country has been put under some sort of spell. Do they actually think that the entire 140-million some population is that stupid and naive? There are, of course, radicals, as there are everywhere, but those of us who do want to know, do know. And there are a lot of us. Those who don't want to know... Well... Can lead the horse to the water, but can't make it drink.
Why, then, has there been no uprising, you ask? I guess nothing so strong that could spark it happened yet. Also, the answer to that might be found by the end of this post. The hatred does exist, unfortunately, on both sides.
And the other side doesn't have it easy. What Zelenskyy is doing now, shutting down independent reporters, forbidding to tell about the real consequences of the war, including losses, signing decrees that free the Ukrainian politicians from having to be under financial surveillance during their lifetimes (which didn't happen in Russia), and many other things, all under a guise of war, is exactly what Putin did in Russia. Only, it took him twenty-two years to get to that point. Zelenskyy did all that in nine months.
No matter what the Ukrainians are trying to do now, destroying the Russian monuments (to Pushkin, among others) and saying how they are so different and not like the Russians at all, the history between the countries is rich and intertwined. Their presidents share the first name, for crying out loud. And I'm not even going to mention the cultural and family ties, tons of trade preferences given to Ukraine by Russia (yes, by that same, horrible, occupant country it's attempted to be painted as), visa-free travel, so they could, among everything else, come and make more money in Russia than they could in their own country, nuclear powerplants left from the USSR days, and lots of other things. Which makes the current proceedings even more tragic.
However, they didn't just come from out of nowhere and that is important. Ukrainians didn't just start shitting on Russia because of the war. It didn't even start after Crimea. No, it was happening for a very long time, with them being sure that they will live oh so much better if only they could break away from Russia (despite all of the practical things mentioned above, so go figure), that Russians oppress them and that they should just go away. And I would like to conclude with something the media won't tell you about.
The year is 1998, I'm ten years old and I'm vacationing in Kyiv (see, I even spell it how it's supposed to be spelled now, not "Kiev", as it's been for ages) with my grandparents on my father's side (remember, I'm half-Ukrainian). One day, I go out on the playground, meet some kids, as you do, tell them I came from Russia, along the way, we play and everything is fine. The next day I come out, see them again and approach them, all smiles, like "'sup, you guys?" What do I hear in return? "Get out of here, you Russian pig, we are not going to play with you." I turn around and walk away. I understand that that was what they heard from their parents, but still. Now imagine the entire country of kids growing up and hearing about "Russian pigs". So in some ways, the conflict was maybe even inevitable. Even without the political interference from the USA in 2013, confirmed by Obama, among others.
TL;DR - I love Russia. I love Ukraine. f**k war. Love everywhere in the world. Burn the weapons. Peace.

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1 hour ago, IbanezJem said:

Reording against a green screen? Damn you, Zelenskyy!!!

 

Yes, this is clearly the worst outrage of the whole tragedy.

 

And how could the countries think they're separate; their presidents have the same first name! That would be as crazy as George Washington rebelling against King George III!

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Like I said in the beginning, I am against the war. I also think that starting it was a moronic decision on great many levels.

Regarding the names, that was to point out how both countries share a lot of things together. Which, as has been mentioned, makes the situation even more tragic, with people (not presidents) with the same names and roots, and (in case of some) with relatives in both countries killing each other. Not that Ukraine is Russia's property in any way.

Edited by Waclimino
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On 11/24/2022 at 8:42 AM, Waclimino said:

Like I said in the beginning, I am against the war. I also think that starting it was a moronic decision on great many levels.

Regarding the names, that was to point out how both countries share a lot of things together. Which, as has been mentioned, makes the situation even more tragic, with people (not presidents) with the same names and roots, and (in case of some) with relatives in both countries killing each other. Not that Ukraine is Russia's property in any way.

You made some good points. Not all of us completely buy the Western media narrative. If you force me to make a binary choice on who the villain is I'll select Putin. Still, there are plenty of bad decisions and motivations on both sides of this conflagration.

 

Another villain is the Western powers that push this stalemate on and on. I get all the arguments about not escalating to the point of WWII. Still, fight to win or let the Russians win. In the meanwhile Ukrainians die and lose everything they have each day this goes on. It isn't good for the global economy or the environment. The West should be making overtures each week for peace talks, it's criminal that doesn't happen.

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8 hours ago, JohnRogers said:

You made some good points. Not all of us completely buy the Western media narrative. If you force me to make a binary choice on who the villain is I'll select Putin. Still, there are plenty of bad decisions and motivations on both sides of this conflagration.

 

Another villain is the Western powers that push this stalemate on and on. I get all the arguments about not escalating to the point of WWII. Still, fight to win or let the Russians win. In the meanwhile Ukrainians die and lose everything they have each day this goes on. It isn't good for the global economy or the environment. The West should be making overtures each week for peace talks, it's criminal that doesn't happen.

Agree. I will also say that it was Putin's decision, which then led to everything that could've been avoided. And which, as things stand in the moment, leads Russia towards the abyss. It isn't in it yet, but if things continue on that path, it might very well end up there.

And yes, don't exactly see the Western powers, and Zelenskyy, for that matter, doing everything they can to stop the war and begin peace talks. Only providing more and more weapons, week after week, and not even hiding the fact that going for a peace resolution isn't in anyone's interests and no one is going to do it. Yes, some deals are being made, like Kherson, which had 30.000 troops and tons of weaponry in it and was fully prepared to be turned into a battlefield, being given back without a fight and Ukrainians letting Russians leave without shelling them with everything there is, but still. And now Pentagon states that it's already provided more than $20 billion in weaponry to Ukraine. Meanwhile Russia, which supposedly has this unprepared and badly equipped army that doesn't know what it's doing, still hasn't been defeated. Isn't it time to reassess?

And also, I would like for the war to stop, but unfortunately, I don't see it happening anytime soon. I and a lot of Russians don't want the war. A lot of Ukrainians, even those living in cities pounded the most, don't want it. Unfortunately, there are also people on both sides that do and want the fight until the end. They enjoy killing each other, for reasons outlined above.

For anyone who doesn't read my original post in full (nor do you have to), I'd like to point out that I don't whitewash the war, nor do I advocate for it. The only thing I'm saying is that the animosity between two countries goes far more back in time than Putin flying off the rocker and attacking, that one party isn't exclusively to blame, and that there are nutjobs on both sides of the fence who want to see the enemy defeated in blood. Just as well as there is a great number of those who want the war to stop.

Which, I hope, will happen sooner rather than later.

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