this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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Doing what the Ukrainians tell them to do. Still looking for a master. Trying to be on the winning side, not necessarily on the right side -- I mean is there anything else wrong about imperialism than that it's bad for Russia? Just possibly? The EU could be imperialist AF and get away with it, even be loved by its subjects, yet we don't go down that path.
That other Russian opposition is asking "Please, Ukraine, tell us what to do, we'll do anything": Being receptive certainly isn't a bad thing, but that right there is not an approach you can build a national ethos around. Also, at least parts of them are themselves problematic, being more of the "We want to be Tsar in place of the Tsar" type. They are what they are because cultural context and they can't be many because the wider cultural context makes them meaningless.
The Tsar is dead, long live the Tsar. February revolution? A good start, a weak civil society then let itself be captured and things moved on to Tsar Lenin I, then Tsar Stalin I. Then a couple of other apparatchiks, Gorbachev, who Russians despise, Yeltsin, another weak Tsar Russians are ashamed of, and, finally, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The one to lead them, again, to glory. Who is going to replace him? Who else is leading them to glory? Noone. That's the truth of it, but Russians can't see it, because the glory they desire has always been a mirage. There's people who can lead Russia to normalcy, and it's not like there's a lack of Russians who'd like that, but then the paranoia kicks in: What if country X, country Y, tries to do anything? (They have no interest but hey it's paranoia) What if we are technologically too far behind, we'll never catch up? Quick, quick, some strength! Some self-assurance! Give us our drug! Some vodka to forget the inferiority complex! There, the new Tsar, isn't he glorious! All hail the Tsar!
Putin getting assassinated does not guarantee a positive outcome, you can kill the person like that, but not the position, and the next guy might very well be even worse. Ukraine would already have done it if they thought it would be a good idea. The position itself has to fail, has to fall, not just the person.
This is too much essentialism for me.
Everything the russians do is explained by cultural context. Any and all alternatives are not viable because of the cultural context. We shouldn't judge russian for being proud of putin because of the cultural context.
This is not a viable approach. At the end of the day, all positive social/cultural change is driven going against the grain. If the russians don't want to do anything, we should take it face value and not come up with excuses.
I'm not excusing, I'm explaining because without understanding there's even less chance of changing anything. There's a reason Russians don't want to do anything, and it's not because they would be comfortable within their culture. They don't see a way out, they're trapped in there, if you even try to get out you get beaten up so many decide that as you can't change anything anyways, you can just as well acquiesce, that's less mental load. That's taking the big picture at face value.
...no. Because locking in something good, making sure it sticks around, means going with the grain that is just growing. Or are you a Maoist.
You're playing into their victim-hood narrative that the russians openly use for misinformation and promotion of their imperialist goals. Who is responsible for the current state of affairs in russia? The people of Botswana? The people of Uruguay?
No, it's the russians who voted Putin into power in 2000 (even though they knew the nature of the KGB) and then elected him again in 2004 when he shut down most mass scale independent media. And the elections of 2000 and 2004 are generally seen to be fair.
It's the russians who went with the comical Medvedev seat warming exercise and supported the invasion of Georgia in 2008.
Yet you keep trying to sweep this all under the rug, with claims such as "they are trapped there" to try and position them as innocent victims. When in reality they only have themselves to blame for the state of affairs in their country.
Who is responsible when a junkie rips copper pipes out of their shower to sell to buy drugs?
This is enablement of russian genocidal imperialism.
Rather than taking a sober and realistic look at their actions and attitudes, we get this bullshit.
If you actually had to deal with russians, you would never in a million years behave in such a manner.
Be thankful you don't have to deal with them.
I'm all for locking the junkie up in a psych ward and using their trust fund to pay for it.
There is no rational interpretation of what Russia is doing but considering them irrational actors. They, just like the junkie, aren't acting in their own self-interest, not even close to it. They're mad. All I'm doing is giving some psychoanalysis.
Shitpost all you want, just don't act like you're actually being legit.
At the very least a strong majority of russian are genocidal imperialists (if not an overwhelming majority). The victim/junkie positioning merely provides cover for their actions.
They know what they are doing. They know what they are doing is bad and they will keep on doing it until they think they can get away with it.
That doesn't make sense. Pretending to be mad, to take actions that are to your own detriment, is mad in itself.
And so do a fuckton of junkies.
I don't think we're getting anywhere here. How about this:
That's Sun Tzu. Know the enemy. "They are genocidal maniacs" is not knowing them, it's judging them, it's defining your own relationship to them. You cannot lead them by the nose with that, you cannot manipulate them, you cannot outflank them. Judgement is not understanding, one cannot replace the other.
Might it thus, with that in mind, and if the goal is to defeat them, be helpful to understand why Russia is the kind of country that it is.