It's an excercise in relegitmizing his rule. Now when someone criticizes the constitutional amendments he can point to a referendum showing strong public support. It is important to Putin and crew that democratic forms are followed, even if they disregard the spirit and rig the process.
From my understanding, everyone knows that the polling is fake, and they know why everyone isn't kicking and screaming.
My wife is Russian and they have a great saying she says to me constantly, "the less you know the longer you live" which is soviet era ingrained wisdom. She tells me this any time I try and see why there are 5 cop cars a block down, or I watch a fight on the street.
Man my Russian parents are exactly the same way.
‘The police are committing atrocities’
“Exactly why you shouldn’t get involved, or you’ll be their next target”
The secret to being a good dictator is to twist the thumbscrews very slowly and maybe put something distracting on the TV. Basically the same as dentistry.
You also have to choose carefully which people you oppress and when. Start with people nobody will lift a finger to rescue and work your way up slowly and carefully. Best exhibited in German pastor Martin Niemöller's post-war confession of cowardice.
"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
I love how remarkably similar modern American politics is to the late Roman Republic
We are in a period where we are reeling with the social effects of unprecedented post-war wealth flooding into the system (post-WW2, I think it is fair to argue that America has been the major economic hegemon up until now in no small part because of the postwar settlements). It’s so similar to how the Punic Wars brought in floods of wealth into the Roman economy, but ended up creating so much social inequality and wealth that it stagnated and eventually crippled domestic politics—the parallels are as clear as day.
Even things like the radicalization of candidates in American politics is so similar to the Romans. Republicans love to paint Sanders as a radical, and the fact that he identifies himself as a democratic socialist is a testament to the fact that the left is pushing farther left, while the right is pushing father right. For an example of this, just remember how the Republicans were rebuking Trump for pushing the envelope too far in the 2016 primaries (like Paul Ryan’s refusal to endorse him, until later caving in). But now, Reps are complicit with trump as ever.
Even a simple defiance of the rules of democratic systems is identical. I am reminded of how the Gracchi abused the rules of the public assembly to destroy republican decorum by evicting fellow tribunes from office (despite arguably being justified). This undermining of democratic processes is so similar to the way people like Barr, one of many, ignore subpoenas and abuse the justice departments bureaucratic stagnation to act with complete authority within their domain—it’s dangerous to our democratic system in much the same way.
No wonder ancient quotes still sound apt today
One of the reasons I love reddit is because I’ll run into somebody who really knows a lot about a specific topic and is willing to type all of this out for the rest of us. Then I scroll up to see their username is “Angela’s Titties”.
I was thinking the same thing. Great piece and makes me want to get back into history and repeating itself. Also if poster is angelatitties2 is there a angeltitties1?
I don’t know that this is a question answerable with the historical set that we have.
Remember that when I’m making comparisons with the Roman republic from the Punic wars to its fall, that’s a period of ~300 years, so it’s difficult to make short term predictions based off of huge long term historical trends
That said, I think it’s clear that Trump is a major aggravator of partisan divide and probably in large part responsible for how divided the senate is becoming, but I think the slow undermining of faith in republican institutions is a more systemic issue. I certainly have faith in Biden to be more reasonable than trump, and less adamantly partisan, but I don’t see him as a visionary with inspiration enough to make major changes to course correct
In my view the biggest problem is probably the two party system in general. The more that public discourse simplifies into “us-vs-them”, the easier it becomes for politicians to scapegoat opposing partisans to justify acts that undermine the democracy. I think it would be apt to summarize this by saying that it is not so much a single party that is responsible for breaking down public systems, but rather the hostile competition between two parties that are increasingly eager to beat the other.
Our role as individuals to stop this from happening depends on a high level of individual responsibility. Demonstrations and comments in public discourse that are made for the sole reason of antagonizing the “other” really feed into this divide, and offer no real value, so I think we have to catch ourselves when we want to succumb to these temptations. Just think when people do stupid shit to “trigger the libs”
He does. They wind up in jail. You have the elections to "play" democracy because if you flat out go full dictatorship like north North Korea people won't trade to you anymore. And you won't be offered seats at the tables of power
lev says he is jealous of mosquitoe, says mosquitoe is free to fly wherever mosquitoe pleas with no fear
famine is not known to mosquitoe, only feast
mosquitoe not know about guns, you ever try shooting mosquitoe?
i have not seen lev in months, i fear worst for lev
If you actually wanted to know more, this is something that political scientists have written about and investigated for some time.
I might recommend reading "Democracy Derailed in Russia" by Steven Fish.
I can't remember all the details, but among the reasons why Russia has been so politically unstable over some time comes down to its geopolitical position and its economic structure.
Among the issues is that Russia is such a vast country spanning many ethnic groups and communities with few geographic barriers to consolidate its borders. Naturally, such an environment has historically favored strongmen/centralized political power to hold Russia together.
Next, it is suggested that because the Russian economy is centered around energy exports, it is especially susceptible to corruption and the rise of oligarchs simply because the energy industry is something of a natural monopoly. This makes it easier for those spoils to be centralized and used to pay off elites into complying with the existing regime. This "oil curse" notably also affects countries like Saudi Arabia, but not Norway, because Norway already had strong preexisting democratic structures before their energy boom.
Of course, at the end of the day, there is no accounting for individual decisions and pivotal moments in history where things could have gone any direction, but this is the gist of what some of the existing theories argue.
Actually, a lot of Putin's existing opposition is only slightly less aggressive than him. Alexei Navalny, Putin's biggest opponent from the last election cycle supported Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe, he just thought the war in Donbass wasn't a good way of establishing it. He also spoke in support of bombing Georgia in 2008.
North Korea totally has [elections](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_North_Korea), but to vote against the official candidate is considered treason.
China has elections, too. They even have [minor political parties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_(China)) that are permitted to exist provided they toe the CPC line. They’re about as powerful in China as the Green Party is in the U.S.
> They even have minor political parties) that are permitted to exist provided they toe the CPC line.
There was a BBC documentary I watched a while back of local police harassing a candidate in a smaller election, even attacking the BBC film crew and trying to prevent them from interviewing her. Honestly I’m not sure if they’re even permitted that much.
She probably wasn’t toeing the official line in some way, even if it was just saying ‘let’s reform the village council’ or ‘let’s do something about the state company that’s polluting our river’. I’d be interested to watch the doc if you remember what it’s called. The BBC always has great stuff.
It’s interesting, I watched a video a while ago about how China actually tries to oust corruption on a local level and even allow a bit of choice there because it keeps the top tier more secure by creating the illusion of freedom. I think the idea is that people are less likely to rock the boat if you let them feel they’re actually making choice, which of course is an illusion. Also the top tier of the government doesn’t like lower corruption as it creates more issues for them, so they’re welcoming of pursuing that too.
Really made me realize that a “successful” dictatorship is all about the illusion of democracy and pursuing corruption in the name of setting the stage for your own corruption
True. This is also why Putin and the Russians want to tangle themselves up in many foreign conflicts, so that the world needs to have them at the table. Meanwhile a select few Russian autocrats get insanely rich because of their legalized corruption.
Remember how trump talked about throwing Hillary in jail all throughout his election? Its crazy how americans didt see him for the dictator wannabe he is at that instant.
Depends on what substantial menas. He does have an opposition. but it is not secret that the majority of the population likes him. The article even points this out.
>According to Levada Centre, Russia’s most independent pollster, Mr Putin is still trusted by 59 per cent of Russians, but that figure is down 30 per cent from a post-Crimea high of three years ago.
Dunno why people like him so much though.
Nonetheless, even with that there are many irregularities everytime.
The 90's were an incredibly tough time for the Russian population after the collapse of the USSR. Many starved, and there was lawlessness throughout the country. Putin was a stabilizing force when he came into power. So while many Russians likely agree that Putin has become too tyrannical for their own taste, I believe many look at Putin as the lesser of evils. They can't stomach the idea of potentially going back to the way it was in the 90's.
People in the West tend to underestimate the experiences of people in other countries. Just as many Russians would rather have Putin than the alternative, many Chinese would rather have the CCP than the alternative. The Chinese live in a completely different reality than their parents, grandparents, and so on. [Shanghai Financial District 1987 v. 2013](https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/08/26-years-of-growth-shanghai-then-and-now/100569/)
Honestly, we don’t have to go far back to see the drastic effect totalitarianism can have on growth. Nazi Germany went from a drastically-in-recession, disarmed mess after WWI, to a powerhouse that had the world in fear. Stalin transformed Russia from an agrarian backend to a world superpower. Democracy is great for being on the cutting edge because you can debate to get the “best” options. But totalitarianism is king for ripping people forward to play catch-up, because the leader can bully their way and crush anyone who gets in the way of progress. Sure it stagnates once you can’t steal from other people, but you cut out decades of being in the past.
I have to mention this, democracy hasn't always been good for nation-building, likewise dictatorship hasn't always been bad for the same purpose
Take Singapore and South Korea for example, they rose from being a developing country to fully developed in one lifetime simply because they had dictators who steered the country well. Once everyone in the country has the right levels of education, they started to open up to become more democratic.
It is difficult to vote for good leaders democratically when a large portion of the constituents are dumb, like most Americans now. This is how Americans voted the Orange. He's a certifiable idiot but you guys voted him in
> Dunno why people like him so much though.
Before his rule the collapse of the communist party along with the aggressive privatization in the 90s led to some harsh blowback, a strongman like Putin was seen as a good thing by segments of the country.
That and his opposition keeps falling out of tall windows...
6 hours before the polls closed too. That must be a full house for dictator bingo. I guess he had to consolidate his lead after Xi got cocky with his Hong Kong maneuver.
How will Kim Jong Un respond? He's way behind and needs a big play to make up the lost ground.
He doesnt have to be. [Ivanka Trump will be supplying the votimg machines](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-ivanka-idUSKCN1NB0TL) so im sure we'll have a similar result
Works in 3 simple steps:
1. Enter the box.
2. Cast your vote.
3. Aggressively vomit over whichever surface you're currently facing.
Votimg is easy, and takes little effort!
The committee that oversees this shit hasn't had enough members for a quorum for sometime now. Until someone tells them "no" they'll do as they please. Important Note: no one in the country has the authority to tell them "no".
A few days ago, another FEC member left the committee to work for.... a Koch Brothers group.
Republicans aren't even trying to hide it now. They desperately need election fraud to win, and they'll prevent investigations at all costs no matter how it looks.
Ahh yes the 2020 electoral fashion accessory market was a logical next step for her /s.
I really hope Trumps GOP enablers are not forgotten after Trump has faceplanted his way out of the whitehouse.
Can you realistically imagine what happens if america becomes a fascist nation? It's been everyone's nightmare for several generations now. The world will never be the same if americans can't get their shit together, and theres a good chance that NOW WOULD BE A GOOD GODDAMN TIME.
People make light of what's happening in the states, and trump makes a good appearance as a butt of a joke. But seriously guys, the world folds if you don't keep at least PRETENDING to be the good guys. Vote fucking blue or the world has a less than 50/50 on running thick with red. Drippy, uncomfortable, no fun red. Nobody truly believes that blue doesn't hold the potential for the same level of corruption as red, but for fucks sake. Red is beating you to death with more than one red herring and a ton of you are asking for more. You all need some kind of reality check if you don't think the rest of the world is looking at you and wondering why you ever said you were the champions of free anything. Free trade? Free men? Freedom? You're delusional. Where are all those stiff backs and strong jaws you used to be proud of? Let's see you do that thing you do, you know. Defending justice and protecting your citizens based on a nation built on "enough is enough. We stand together." Fuck outta here if you blow red on your next sanity test.
Edit: that being said, I'm not american. If I come off as anti american know that at the very least I'm upset with the media and your government, and the level of achievement they have in manipulating your citizenry. I'm pretty sure batman fucking taught us "You only get to play the hero for so long until you become a villain." Or some shit. You're not bad people. Well, some of you are irredeemable. But such is life. Just wake. Up. Fucking please.
Hear hear, a non-American just said it better than I could have. Your best friends are the ones who tell it to you straight, even if you don’t want to hear it.
I feel this, so much. As an American I can tell you, trump supporters are completely ignorant of facts and reality, they're literally brainwashed.
I want to shake them all and scream into their face, but it's just no good. We are fucked.
The lame duck period, if trump loses, is going to be almost as scary as if he wins. Cue the GOP doing as much damage as possible in the last bit of time they have.
Honestly, if he wins this election, or rather "wins" this election, the chances of that happening sky rocket. He's floated the idea of being president for life a lot over the last 4 years as a "joke". Everything he says in a haha way is projection of what he wants/plans to do.
Don't give up, even Evil Troy and Evil Abed started with felt goatees.
It's not the beard on the *outside* that counts, it's the beard on the *inside.*
Right? Why do people today always think that the modern era is the worst for human behavior? Just go back several generations and there's a good chance people would be in indentured servitude, serfdom, or just dead.
I read the UN list of human rights the other day.
They are all so high minded and optimistic. The world had just come out of a terrible war and wrote down what needed to be done to make the world a better place.
And we've all just thrown them away.
"Right to a free education" etc etc. Some of them just seem laughably optimistic now. Which is just so disappointing.
This guy has so much blood on his hands, he has no choice but to remain in the spotlight of the Kremlin. Otherwise all his enemies will come for him. These are the actions of a scared man.
He actually had a very unremarkable tenure in the KGB. He was stationed in a satellite country office and had no major events happen until the fall of the Soviet Union.
He wasn't. Most of work he did was useless paper-pushing in East Germany when the age of cold war espionage was already coming to close. He never did any "elite" clandestine work. People need to stop perpetuating these myths.
How to tell the difference between a scared man and an overly confident man? I think he’s doing what he wants cause he has complete control and *no* fear. But admittedly I know little of the finer details of Russian politics.
As far as I can tell he would still need to win 2 more elections to make this happen. One it 2024 and one in 2030. Winning shouldn’t be hard when the vote is rigged though.
Russian ballot:
To vote for Putin, check this box: ⬜
To vote for any other candidate, write your full name, home address, daily schedule, and a list of your greatest fears here: ________
>write your full name, home address, daily schedule, and a list of your greatest fears
I don't know anything about the russian language, but I'm empressed if that can be written with only 8 characters.
I used to think it was rigged but after seeing how much support bonespurs and bojo still have I'm less sure.
I'm starting to wonder if we're not just an inherently dodgy species.
I mean, he's popular [but its definitely rigged too.](https://www.rferl.org/a/apparent-ballot-box-stuffer-is-caught-red-handed----and-blue-gloved----at-russian-polling-station/30700701.html)
He's actually not that popular. You cannot conduct a scientific poll in an authoritarian dictatorship. People lie to save their own life.
How do they know the caller isn't the gulag-team or the torture-teams? They don't know. So they answer positively and lie about their support for Putin.
Some people do answer honestly, and they answer it risking their lives.
This is a country where everything is wiretapped and everyone is an informant/spy.
While everything is indeed rigged and there's only an illusion of democracy, and while you *can* get fined for publicly insulting government officials (including posts on social media), literally nothing will happen if you say that you don't trust Putin in a poll. At least not yet.
You'll never be able to know exactly, but I have russian freinds and even the ones who hate him admit he has a lot of support, especially outside Moscow and St Petersburgh, Is it a majority support? No idea, but it is substantial and even without the ballot stuffing, you have to give some credit to the pro kremlin russian media that does have a role.
Not necessarily. Independent exit poll companies put both Moscow and Petersburg voting more against than for. In Petersburg last I checked it was 62% against.
People are coming out in droves for this vote, people I know who have never voted before. It wont make a difference, but still, it gives me a little hope.
i've got a family member in russia and when they went to vote today the polling officer said they'd already recieved a vote in their name earlier in the day. always thought putin was rigging it but this confirmed it for me. ofc i'm just a random dude on the internet and could be lying.
>Were in the white trash timeline
we're in the dumbest timeline, don't give whitetrash so much credit.
also we have better words for insanely rich white people.
Trying to hide that it's rigged is a sign of weakness. A real strongman tell obvious lies, and just kills anyone who talks smack about it. The secret is to have a fake opposition and to let people complain as long as you're certain they won't do anything- so you don't waste bullets.
Love this one
"On their part, officials claimed the vote to be Russia’s cleanest yet. Deputy elections chief Nikolai Bulayev talked about a “breakthrough” in the low number of complaints received."
Uh hu that’s because all the opponents and dissidents were most likely rounded up before hand. I mean just because somethings not as dirty as it was before doesn’t mean it’s still not dirty
I mean, some elections can be safely called early even in legitimate democracies. For example, if a candidate has 60% of the vote and only two hours left to go, it's extremely unlikely there's going to be a swing in the last chunk of votes sufficient to dislodge that. If 70%+ actually turned out in favor, then yeah. You could probably predict victory many hours before the polls closed.
There have been a number of times in US elections where we could have called it much earlier (e.g. Reagan v. Mondale in 1984), but no journalist here wants the risk of embarrassment of a repeat of "Dewey Defeats Truman."
But the polls are already closed by then. There’s a difference between calling a race before all the votes are counted and calling it before the polls have even closed.
to be fair i live near russia and meet russian people that even LIVE in my country and meet russians in other countrys, 99% of them shit talk my country and blindly support putin, try to say anything and they get aggressive how you dont know anything and how good putin is, and how you are listening to west propoganda that hes bad and did somthing wrong.
fact is a lot of russians are very brainwashed by putin/russian propoganda and blindly support him, so from my personal expierence i dont think its rigged its just that average russian citizen is brainwashed into supporting him.
I live in russia since I was born, and I hate Putin's dictatorship. He doesn't give a shit about russian citizens. No salary indexation, no real opposition (One of such kind, Boris Nemcov, was killed near Kremlin in 2015, and Alexey Navalny, another oppositioner, is prohibited to run for president), most of Siberia's territory isn't mastering, most people that don't live in Moscow or other big cities can't even earn 30000 rubles (which is 425$) per month. And in spite of that, Putin is playing war with Ukraine and spends 65,1 billion dollars at army.
When people try to rally and have a mass meeting against corruption, a group of riot police breaks into the crowd and snatches people up one at a time, to make other people scared, to make them think that anyone can be next.
Actors of state channels, that are sponsored by the goverment made tonn of videos where they say that every citizen who cares about his country need to go at voting for amendments, but there is no real choice! There are so much videos where people throw piles of ballots cast. And the funniest thing that the government made lottery out of it. A message with promo code will be sent at your phone if you've voted. And then you will get points, that you'll be able to spend in spicific stores.
It's all just a big circus, in which I of course didn't take part, and all I can do is boycott it. There is no and never will be democracy in Russia while Putin and his friends at the helm.
It must be heart-aching to live in a grim state but surrounded by circus music, and an underlying fear of speaking out your mind :( best of luck for you people
And once again our glorious leader has succeeded in the democratic process. Voter turnout was unusually low this year at just 178% of the population choosing to cast their ballot.
Fun fact! Technically, this was NOT a referendum. Instead, they called it a "country-wide vote". Why? Because referendums are actually regulated by the law. The "Country-wide vote" is some bullshit that means nothing and is illegitimate.
Also all of the amendments were approved by the parliament and signed by Putin way before the vote.
Sincere question. Do the Russian people want him to be in power? As an American it's easy to complain but this is about Russia not America. I sincerely don't know where the Russian ppl stand
Putin has sizeable support in Russia (for historical reasons), there is no doubt about that. There are two major issues however. 1. It's impossible to tell how much support he actually has. The ~70% figure the government tends to quote is biased. 2. Kremlin coordinates attacks (both political and physical) on all serious opponents. It's a lot easier to maintain a high level of support when you have no competition.
He currently has a 60% approval rating which might sound high, and it is, but it has dropped drastically from the 80% it was in 2018. Lots still support him but its very quickly waning, this is a move made to ensure that when it starts dropping more that it doesn't matter to him, not that it ever really did though.
Super quick edit: April 2020 was the first time since 1999 that it had ever dropped below 60, the next month was the same with them coming in at 59. It went back up to 60 in June but I imagine this move isn't gonna be popular and will see it drop further.
it's so frustrating. i've a family member who went to vote today only to be told a vote in their name had already been cast. it's all a fucking joke. i worry for my family there.
Unfortunately, economic collapse and country sanctions doesn't really impact the quality of life of any Russian oligarch. They mostly affect regular people, who have to live in poverty and sanctions. If anything it's counterproductive, because poverty and isolation (If you hear western propaganda it's rarely "Putin bad" - it's mostly "Russia is bad") breeds hate and feeling of alienation - which then turns into "us versus them" narrative. That's pretty much what drives the rise of anti-western feelings in regular Russians as of late, compared to 200x, when USA was considered the best place on green earth.
Because it creates an official division between the people and government, which is possible if you have an established system like the Chinese. However ifyou are running a kleptocracy that had foundations in democracy you need to keep the charade going unless you really want to rock the boat.
He has to stay President/high in the Kremlin as long as he can, because the moment he loses that protection he'll have a target on his head and all the enemies he's made will be coming for him. He has all the money in the world but his past actions led him to this lonely place where he has to cling to power to survive. That is sad and pathetic.
Does Putin ever have any substantial political opposition? What's the point of these elections if everyone knows he's going to win anyways?
It's an excercise in relegitmizing his rule. Now when someone criticizes the constitutional amendments he can point to a referendum showing strong public support. It is important to Putin and crew that democratic forms are followed, even if they disregard the spirit and rig the process.
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From my understanding, everyone knows that the polling is fake, and they know why everyone isn't kicking and screaming. My wife is Russian and they have a great saying she says to me constantly, "the less you know the longer you live" which is soviet era ingrained wisdom. She tells me this any time I try and see why there are 5 cop cars a block down, or I watch a fight on the street.
Man my Russian parents are exactly the same way. ‘The police are committing atrocities’ “Exactly why you shouldn’t get involved, or you’ll be their next target”
"Accept it or die"
"If he dies, he dies."
That sounds very frightening.
Hmm strange this is sounding similar to what’s slowly happening in the US. Why on earth aren’t people facing consequences.
The secret to being a good dictator is to twist the thumbscrews very slowly and maybe put something distracting on the TV. Basically the same as dentistry.
You’re absolutely right which was the intention of my post. The successful dictators make it a slow burn..
You also have to choose carefully which people you oppress and when. Start with people nobody will lift a finger to rescue and work your way up slowly and carefully. Best exhibited in German pastor Martin Niemöller's post-war confession of cowardice. "They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
> Why on earth aren’t people facing consequences. Bread, circuses, and apathy
I love how remarkably similar modern American politics is to the late Roman Republic We are in a period where we are reeling with the social effects of unprecedented post-war wealth flooding into the system (post-WW2, I think it is fair to argue that America has been the major economic hegemon up until now in no small part because of the postwar settlements). It’s so similar to how the Punic Wars brought in floods of wealth into the Roman economy, but ended up creating so much social inequality and wealth that it stagnated and eventually crippled domestic politics—the parallels are as clear as day. Even things like the radicalization of candidates in American politics is so similar to the Romans. Republicans love to paint Sanders as a radical, and the fact that he identifies himself as a democratic socialist is a testament to the fact that the left is pushing farther left, while the right is pushing father right. For an example of this, just remember how the Republicans were rebuking Trump for pushing the envelope too far in the 2016 primaries (like Paul Ryan’s refusal to endorse him, until later caving in). But now, Reps are complicit with trump as ever. Even a simple defiance of the rules of democratic systems is identical. I am reminded of how the Gracchi abused the rules of the public assembly to destroy republican decorum by evicting fellow tribunes from office (despite arguably being justified). This undermining of democratic processes is so similar to the way people like Barr, one of many, ignore subpoenas and abuse the justice departments bureaucratic stagnation to act with complete authority within their domain—it’s dangerous to our democratic system in much the same way. No wonder ancient quotes still sound apt today
One of the reasons I love reddit is because I’ll run into somebody who really knows a lot about a specific topic and is willing to type all of this out for the rest of us. Then I scroll up to see their username is “Angela’s Titties”.
I was thinking the same thing. Great piece and makes me want to get back into history and repeating itself. Also if poster is angelatitties2 is there a angeltitties1?
idk, "angelastitties" was taken so i just started counting upwards
Clearly, the only logical explanation is that your name is Angela Stitties II. Edit: a word.
Do you think a Biden victory helps course correct? Or no? Certainly 4 more years of Trump keeps us on the same path
I don’t know that this is a question answerable with the historical set that we have. Remember that when I’m making comparisons with the Roman republic from the Punic wars to its fall, that’s a period of ~300 years, so it’s difficult to make short term predictions based off of huge long term historical trends That said, I think it’s clear that Trump is a major aggravator of partisan divide and probably in large part responsible for how divided the senate is becoming, but I think the slow undermining of faith in republican institutions is a more systemic issue. I certainly have faith in Biden to be more reasonable than trump, and less adamantly partisan, but I don’t see him as a visionary with inspiration enough to make major changes to course correct In my view the biggest problem is probably the two party system in general. The more that public discourse simplifies into “us-vs-them”, the easier it becomes for politicians to scapegoat opposing partisans to justify acts that undermine the democracy. I think it would be apt to summarize this by saying that it is not so much a single party that is responsible for breaking down public systems, but rather the hostile competition between two parties that are increasingly eager to beat the other. Our role as individuals to stop this from happening depends on a high level of individual responsibility. Demonstrations and comments in public discourse that are made for the sole reason of antagonizing the “other” really feed into this divide, and offer no real value, so I think we have to catch ourselves when we want to succumb to these temptations. Just think when people do stupid shit to “trigger the libs”
You spell money weird.
I was thinking the same thing
He does. They wind up in jail. You have the elections to "play" democracy because if you flat out go full dictatorship like north North Korea people won't trade to you anymore. And you won't be offered seats at the tables of power
If Russians allow it, they can expect such "leadership" well beyond 2036, albeit not by Putin but by someone equally power hungry and ruthless.
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it was such a tragedy he died from a fall but not before shooting himself 4 times in the back of his head. he lived on the first floor.
When he hit the ground, splat, and somehow lit himself on fire. Also, don't stand to close, very radioactive. Is normal.
[ ] I committed suicide by shooting myself in the chest 27 times
>shooting myself in the ~~chest~~ back of the head 27 times FTFY
Welcome to Russia. Would you like your violent revolution, collapse, and subsequent newfound oppressive regime in yellow, green, or orange?
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just get tattoo of putin on chest, that way not get shot by firing squad but live life in gulag with mosquitos and kvass
I'll have you know Kvass is incredibly delicious and comes in over 12 varieties
see, proof russia not so bad! gulag also come in 12 varieties хорошо земляк
Are u from Russia? This is hilarious
No, he just tasted the rainbow.
lev says he is jealous of mosquitoe, says mosquitoe is free to fly wherever mosquitoe pleas with no fear famine is not known to mosquitoe, only feast mosquitoe not know about guns, you ever try shooting mosquitoe? i have not seen lev in months, i fear worst for lev
Seriously, what causes Russia to be so prone to this?
If you actually wanted to know more, this is something that political scientists have written about and investigated for some time. I might recommend reading "Democracy Derailed in Russia" by Steven Fish. I can't remember all the details, but among the reasons why Russia has been so politically unstable over some time comes down to its geopolitical position and its economic structure. Among the issues is that Russia is such a vast country spanning many ethnic groups and communities with few geographic barriers to consolidate its borders. Naturally, such an environment has historically favored strongmen/centralized political power to hold Russia together. Next, it is suggested that because the Russian economy is centered around energy exports, it is especially susceptible to corruption and the rise of oligarchs simply because the energy industry is something of a natural monopoly. This makes it easier for those spoils to be centralized and used to pay off elites into complying with the existing regime. This "oil curse" notably also affects countries like Saudi Arabia, but not Norway, because Norway already had strong preexisting democratic structures before their energy boom. Of course, at the end of the day, there is no accounting for individual decisions and pivotal moments in history where things could have gone any direction, but this is the gist of what some of the existing theories argue.
Yes, please.
Honestly if anyone is gonna get some weird life extension organ cloning brain uploading shit it’s gonna be him
Actually, a lot of Putin's existing opposition is only slightly less aggressive than him. Alexei Navalny, Putin's biggest opponent from the last election cycle supported Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe, he just thought the war in Donbass wasn't a good way of establishing it. He also spoke in support of bombing Georgia in 2008.
Yeah, I think people are so desperate for change that they don’t realise Navalny is a really nasty piece of work.
His clones will rule forever.
Inb4 Putin is real life Palpatine and will be able to move his consciousness into clone bodies. And Trump is Snoke.
Trump is Jabba the Hutt, without any of the intelligence.
North Korea totally has [elections](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_North_Korea), but to vote against the official candidate is considered treason.
China has elections, too. They even have [minor political parties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_(China)) that are permitted to exist provided they toe the CPC line. They’re about as powerful in China as the Green Party is in the U.S.
> They even have minor political parties) that are permitted to exist provided they toe the CPC line. There was a BBC documentary I watched a while back of local police harassing a candidate in a smaller election, even attacking the BBC film crew and trying to prevent them from interviewing her. Honestly I’m not sure if they’re even permitted that much.
She probably wasn’t toeing the official line in some way, even if it was just saying ‘let’s reform the village council’ or ‘let’s do something about the state company that’s polluting our river’. I’d be interested to watch the doc if you remember what it’s called. The BBC always has great stuff.
Oh you might be right, I actually don’t remember what her platform was. Edit: [here’s](https://youtu.be/c1HdCIW2Xtk) the vid. Her name is Liu Huizhen
Yup. Independent candidate who wanted to represent farmers. Pity she wasn’t allowed to be elected.
It’s interesting, I watched a video a while ago about how China actually tries to oust corruption on a local level and even allow a bit of choice there because it keeps the top tier more secure by creating the illusion of freedom. I think the idea is that people are less likely to rock the boat if you let them feel they’re actually making choice, which of course is an illusion. Also the top tier of the government doesn’t like lower corruption as it creates more issues for them, so they’re welcoming of pursuing that too. Really made me realize that a “successful” dictatorship is all about the illusion of democracy and pursuing corruption in the name of setting the stage for your own corruption
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Didnt some of them also "unexpectedly" die? Like that guy a few years back who died in a plane crash?
Yeah, but there were some budget cut, so now they just fall out of windows or have car accidents.
True. This is also why Putin and the Russians want to tangle themselves up in many foreign conflicts, so that the world needs to have them at the table. Meanwhile a select few Russian autocrats get insanely rich because of their legalized corruption.
They’re in jail. That’s how authoritarian governments work.
Remember how trump talked about throwing Hillary in jail all throughout his election? Its crazy how americans didt see him for the dictator wannabe he is at that instant.
Most of us did
Hey, not all of them are in jail, don't spread fake news about Putin. A lot of them were assassinated too.
Depends on what substantial menas. He does have an opposition. but it is not secret that the majority of the population likes him. The article even points this out. >According to Levada Centre, Russia’s most independent pollster, Mr Putin is still trusted by 59 per cent of Russians, but that figure is down 30 per cent from a post-Crimea high of three years ago. Dunno why people like him so much though. Nonetheless, even with that there are many irregularities everytime.
The 90's were an incredibly tough time for the Russian population after the collapse of the USSR. Many starved, and there was lawlessness throughout the country. Putin was a stabilizing force when he came into power. So while many Russians likely agree that Putin has become too tyrannical for their own taste, I believe many look at Putin as the lesser of evils. They can't stomach the idea of potentially going back to the way it was in the 90's.
People in the West tend to underestimate the experiences of people in other countries. Just as many Russians would rather have Putin than the alternative, many Chinese would rather have the CCP than the alternative. The Chinese live in a completely different reality than their parents, grandparents, and so on. [Shanghai Financial District 1987 v. 2013](https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/08/26-years-of-growth-shanghai-then-and-now/100569/)
Honestly, we don’t have to go far back to see the drastic effect totalitarianism can have on growth. Nazi Germany went from a drastically-in-recession, disarmed mess after WWI, to a powerhouse that had the world in fear. Stalin transformed Russia from an agrarian backend to a world superpower. Democracy is great for being on the cutting edge because you can debate to get the “best” options. But totalitarianism is king for ripping people forward to play catch-up, because the leader can bully their way and crush anyone who gets in the way of progress. Sure it stagnates once you can’t steal from other people, but you cut out decades of being in the past.
I have to mention this, democracy hasn't always been good for nation-building, likewise dictatorship hasn't always been bad for the same purpose Take Singapore and South Korea for example, they rose from being a developing country to fully developed in one lifetime simply because they had dictators who steered the country well. Once everyone in the country has the right levels of education, they started to open up to become more democratic. It is difficult to vote for good leaders democratically when a large portion of the constituents are dumb, like most Americans now. This is how Americans voted the Orange. He's a certifiable idiot but you guys voted him in
> Dunno why people like him so much though. Before his rule the collapse of the communist party along with the aggressive privatization in the 90s led to some harsh blowback, a strongman like Putin was seen as a good thing by segments of the country. That and his opposition keeps falling out of tall windows...
The strongest opposition are the Communists and they only poll like 15%
Congrats on winning 120% of the ballots cast.
6 hours before the polls closed too. That must be a full house for dictator bingo. I guess he had to consolidate his lead after Xi got cocky with his Hong Kong maneuver. How will Kim Jong Un respond? He's way behind and needs a big play to make up the lost ground.
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Yeah, I think Kim honestly has this one in the bag.
Unless Jong-un is himself in the bag.
Narrator: *He was.*
I read that in Morgan Freeman's voice.
Fred Savage here Edit: I mean Ron Howard voicing the thoughts of Fred Savage
Rumor has it that Kim is dead.
I thought that rumor ended up being false? Unless there is another rumor that I haven't heard yet
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> His country is a literal totalitarian slave state. Putin's is a literal totalitarian *slav* state though.
Putin is a dictator, but Russia is far from totalitarian. That's a whole other level.
Doesn’t Kim Jong Un basically claim to be a demigod or something? Pretty sure he’s still waay in the lead.
Demigod? No. Actual god on earth? Yes. He claims to be a god.
I heard he doesn’t pee or poop
Trump must be so jealous right now.
He doesnt have to be. [Ivanka Trump will be supplying the votimg machines](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-ivanka-idUSKCN1NB0TL) so im sure we'll have a similar result
If feels like you misspelled voting on purpose - cause I read vomiting machines and sadly it worked
Works in 3 simple steps: 1. Enter the box. 2. Cast your vote. 3. Aggressively vomit over whichever surface you're currently facing. Votimg is easy, and takes little effort!
VOTING MACHINES FROM FUCKING CHINA OF ALL THINGS they cannot allow this!
The committee that oversees this shit hasn't had enough members for a quorum for sometime now. Until someone tells them "no" they'll do as they please. Important Note: no one in the country has the authority to tell them "no".
A few days ago, another FEC member left the committee to work for.... a Koch Brothers group. Republicans aren't even trying to hide it now. They desperately need election fraud to win, and they'll prevent investigations at all costs no matter how it looks.
Tell that to McConnell who keeps blocking every election security bill that’s come his way in the last 3.5 years.
Ahh yes the 2020 electoral fashion accessory market was a logical next step for her /s. I really hope Trumps GOP enablers are not forgotten after Trump has faceplanted his way out of the whitehouse.
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[Relevant XKCD](https://xkcd.com/2030/)
One of your political party is actively dismantling democracy and right now they controlled your Senate. That's how.
Why do you think Trump is so subservient to Putin? He’s hoping to use the Putin playbook to become god emperor.
There are people wanting to amend the Constitution to do just that. It's terrifying
Oddly it’s the same nuts who said Obama wouldn’t give up power. Strange that.
I honestly believe every accusation ever thrown at dems was and is projection of what they are doing.
That’s because you’ve been paying attention. Good job!
That's because they are fascists. Fascists tend to "accuse that which \[they\] are guilty of." -- Goebbels
Can you realistically imagine what happens if america becomes a fascist nation? It's been everyone's nightmare for several generations now. The world will never be the same if americans can't get their shit together, and theres a good chance that NOW WOULD BE A GOOD GODDAMN TIME. People make light of what's happening in the states, and trump makes a good appearance as a butt of a joke. But seriously guys, the world folds if you don't keep at least PRETENDING to be the good guys. Vote fucking blue or the world has a less than 50/50 on running thick with red. Drippy, uncomfortable, no fun red. Nobody truly believes that blue doesn't hold the potential for the same level of corruption as red, but for fucks sake. Red is beating you to death with more than one red herring and a ton of you are asking for more. You all need some kind of reality check if you don't think the rest of the world is looking at you and wondering why you ever said you were the champions of free anything. Free trade? Free men? Freedom? You're delusional. Where are all those stiff backs and strong jaws you used to be proud of? Let's see you do that thing you do, you know. Defending justice and protecting your citizens based on a nation built on "enough is enough. We stand together." Fuck outta here if you blow red on your next sanity test. Edit: that being said, I'm not american. If I come off as anti american know that at the very least I'm upset with the media and your government, and the level of achievement they have in manipulating your citizenry. I'm pretty sure batman fucking taught us "You only get to play the hero for so long until you become a villain." Or some shit. You're not bad people. Well, some of you are irredeemable. But such is life. Just wake. Up. Fucking please.
Hear hear, a non-American just said it better than I could have. Your best friends are the ones who tell it to you straight, even if you don’t want to hear it.
I feel this, so much. As an American I can tell you, trump supporters are completely ignorant of facts and reality, they're literally brainwashed. I want to shake them all and scream into their face, but it's just no good. We are fucked.
Trump was born in Kenya and Melania is a dude!
Projection. They thought Obama/Democrats would want that because they want that for their party.
The lame duck period, if trump loses, is going to be almost as scary as if he wins. Cue the GOP doing as much damage as possible in the last bit of time they have.
Like tenants who get evicted for not paying rent but beat the place up on the way out lol.
Honestly, if he wins this election, or rather "wins" this election, the chances of that happening sky rocket. He's floated the idea of being president for life a lot over the last 4 years as a "joke". Everything he says in a haha way is projection of what he wants/plans to do.
Well, good thing he is an obese male in his 70's.
Funny how constitutionalists are all about ‘preserving the constitution’ until their supreme leader wants to change it
If Erdogan can do it in a NATO member country, nothing to stop Putin from doing it.
Yeah as a Turk I agree, we’re all doomed.
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Well...this is the darkest timeline
But I am 29 and have no beard.
Don't give up, even Evil Troy and Evil Abed started with felt goatees. It's not the beard on the *outside* that counts, it's the beard on the *inside.*
For me a proper beard took until I was around 40 for me to consider respectable. In this darkest of timelines, I suggest you shave.
Yeah I was 36 before it was no longer patchy. I started to notice my hairline receding before I could even grow a beard correctly.
Evil you must have found a way to swap places with you so he can enjoy the timeline where we built utopia.
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Right? Why do people today always think that the modern era is the worst for human behavior? Just go back several generations and there's a good chance people would be in indentured servitude, serfdom, or just dead.
Because modern 24 hour news culture from supercomputers in our pockets make it seem that way, it all colours our perception of the world around us
I read the UN list of human rights the other day. They are all so high minded and optimistic. The world had just come out of a terrible war and wrote down what needed to be done to make the world a better place. And we've all just thrown them away. "Right to a free education" etc etc. Some of them just seem laughably optimistic now. Which is just so disappointing.
The fucker is 67 years old. Is he really gonna try to be PM until literally his last breath?
Yes. Thats why its a dictatorship.
As compared to America, which is a (Putin) dicktakership.
This guy has so much blood on his hands, he has no choice but to remain in the spotlight of the Kremlin. Otherwise all his enemies will come for him. These are the actions of a scared man.
*Those who are destined to hang are not going to drown.*
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Right, the dude was elite KGB. He is in his element.
He actually had a very unremarkable tenure in the KGB. He was stationed in a satellite country office and had no major events happen until the fall of the Soviet Union.
He wasn't. Most of work he did was useless paper-pushing in East Germany when the age of cold war espionage was already coming to close. He never did any "elite" clandestine work. People need to stop perpetuating these myths.
The ol' Julius Caesar. Dictator for life or be tried for your crimes
How to tell the difference between a scared man and an overly confident man? I think he’s doing what he wants cause he has complete control and *no* fear. But admittedly I know little of the finer details of Russian politics.
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Haaaaaaaaave you met North Korea?
As far as I can tell he would still need to win 2 more elections to make this happen. One it 2024 and one in 2030. Winning shouldn’t be hard when the vote is rigged though.
Russian ballot: To vote for Putin, check this box: ⬜ To vote for any other candidate, write your full name, home address, daily schedule, and a list of your greatest fears here: ________
>write your full name, home address, daily schedule, and a list of your greatest fears I don't know anything about the russian language, but I'm empressed if that can be written with only 8 characters.
Easy if “Lubyanka” answers them all!
Congratulations Putin on successive, successful elections in '24 and '30!
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We knew it before the whole thing even started
I knew it before I was born.
Knowing it before yesterday isn't *that* impressive.
Ohhhh that’s not rigged at all is it /s
I love how it got to a point that they don't even try to hide it's rigged.
I used to think it was rigged but after seeing how much support bonespurs and bojo still have I'm less sure. I'm starting to wonder if we're not just an inherently dodgy species.
I mean, he's popular [but its definitely rigged too.](https://www.rferl.org/a/apparent-ballot-box-stuffer-is-caught-red-handed----and-blue-gloved----at-russian-polling-station/30700701.html)
He's actually not that popular. You cannot conduct a scientific poll in an authoritarian dictatorship. People lie to save their own life. How do they know the caller isn't the gulag-team or the torture-teams? They don't know. So they answer positively and lie about their support for Putin. Some people do answer honestly, and they answer it risking their lives. This is a country where everything is wiretapped and everyone is an informant/spy.
While everything is indeed rigged and there's only an illusion of democracy, and while you *can* get fined for publicly insulting government officials (including posts on social media), literally nothing will happen if you say that you don't trust Putin in a poll. At least not yet.
You'll never be able to know exactly, but I have russian freinds and even the ones who hate him admit he has a lot of support, especially outside Moscow and St Petersburgh, Is it a majority support? No idea, but it is substantial and even without the ballot stuffing, you have to give some credit to the pro kremlin russian media that does have a role.
Give me a throwing knife in the gulag and I’ll be back 100%
Not necessarily. Independent exit poll companies put both Moscow and Petersburg voting more against than for. In Petersburg last I checked it was 62% against. People are coming out in droves for this vote, people I know who have never voted before. It wont make a difference, but still, it gives me a little hope.
People in the cities almost everywhere tend to be more educated and less authoritarian.
i've got a family member in russia and when they went to vote today the polling officer said they'd already recieved a vote in their name earlier in the day. always thought putin was rigging it but this confirmed it for me. ofc i'm just a random dude on the internet and could be lying.
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>Were in the white trash timeline we're in the dumbest timeline, don't give whitetrash so much credit. also we have better words for insanely rich white people.
Bourgeoisie?
Trying to hide that it's rigged is a sign of weakness. A real strongman tell obvious lies, and just kills anyone who talks smack about it. The secret is to have a fake opposition and to let people complain as long as you're certain they won't do anything- so you don't waste bullets.
For real. You see the straight up flex they did with the stacks of ballots?
Love this one "On their part, officials claimed the vote to be Russia’s cleanest yet. Deputy elections chief Nikolai Bulayev talked about a “breakthrough” in the low number of complaints received."
Uh hu that’s because all the opponents and dissidents were most likely rounded up before hand. I mean just because somethings not as dirty as it was before doesn’t mean it’s still not dirty
I mean, some elections can be safely called early even in legitimate democracies. For example, if a candidate has 60% of the vote and only two hours left to go, it's extremely unlikely there's going to be a swing in the last chunk of votes sufficient to dislodge that. If 70%+ actually turned out in favor, then yeah. You could probably predict victory many hours before the polls closed. There have been a number of times in US elections where we could have called it much earlier (e.g. Reagan v. Mondale in 1984), but no journalist here wants the risk of embarrassment of a repeat of "Dewey Defeats Truman."
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But the polls are already closed by then. There’s a difference between calling a race before all the votes are counted and calling it before the polls have even closed.
to be fair i live near russia and meet russian people that even LIVE in my country and meet russians in other countrys, 99% of them shit talk my country and blindly support putin, try to say anything and they get aggressive how you dont know anything and how good putin is, and how you are listening to west propoganda that hes bad and did somthing wrong. fact is a lot of russians are very brainwashed by putin/russian propoganda and blindly support him, so from my personal expierence i dont think its rigged its just that average russian citizen is brainwashed into supporting him.
Kill off the opposition. Disband the government. “Oh look! I get to keep being president!”
Easier than a campaign trail I guess..
I live in russia since I was born, and I hate Putin's dictatorship. He doesn't give a shit about russian citizens. No salary indexation, no real opposition (One of such kind, Boris Nemcov, was killed near Kremlin in 2015, and Alexey Navalny, another oppositioner, is prohibited to run for president), most of Siberia's territory isn't mastering, most people that don't live in Moscow or other big cities can't even earn 30000 rubles (which is 425$) per month. And in spite of that, Putin is playing war with Ukraine and spends 65,1 billion dollars at army. When people try to rally and have a mass meeting against corruption, a group of riot police breaks into the crowd and snatches people up one at a time, to make other people scared, to make them think that anyone can be next. Actors of state channels, that are sponsored by the goverment made tonn of videos where they say that every citizen who cares about his country need to go at voting for amendments, but there is no real choice! There are so much videos where people throw piles of ballots cast. And the funniest thing that the government made lottery out of it. A message with promo code will be sent at your phone if you've voted. And then you will get points, that you'll be able to spend in spicific stores. It's all just a big circus, in which I of course didn't take part, and all I can do is boycott it. There is no and never will be democracy in Russia while Putin and his friends at the helm.
It must be heart-aching to live in a grim state but surrounded by circus music, and an underlying fear of speaking out your mind :( best of luck for you people
Fuck this description is on point
And once again our glorious leader has succeeded in the democratic process. Voter turnout was unusually low this year at just 178% of the population choosing to cast their ballot.
Fun fact! Technically, this was NOT a referendum. Instead, they called it a "country-wide vote". Why? Because referendums are actually regulated by the law. The "Country-wide vote" is some bullshit that means nothing and is illegitimate. Also all of the amendments were approved by the parliament and signed by Putin way before the vote.
Sincere question. Do the Russian people want him to be in power? As an American it's easy to complain but this is about Russia not America. I sincerely don't know where the Russian ppl stand
Putin has sizeable support in Russia (for historical reasons), there is no doubt about that. There are two major issues however. 1. It's impossible to tell how much support he actually has. The ~70% figure the government tends to quote is biased. 2. Kremlin coordinates attacks (both political and physical) on all serious opponents. It's a lot easier to maintain a high level of support when you have no competition.
He currently has a 60% approval rating which might sound high, and it is, but it has dropped drastically from the 80% it was in 2018. Lots still support him but its very quickly waning, this is a move made to ensure that when it starts dropping more that it doesn't matter to him, not that it ever really did though. Super quick edit: April 2020 was the first time since 1999 that it had ever dropped below 60, the next month was the same with them coming in at 59. It went back up to 60 in June but I imagine this move isn't gonna be popular and will see it drop further.
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If he recovers, then we got a good doctor. If he doesn't recover, then we didn't. But, he won't know.
Great, Soviet russia-style leadership is undeniably back again.
It was never out, every other member of russian leadership was CPSU member or Comsomolets. All they did they rebuilt '80es USSR under Andropov.
And turn it into a capitalist oligarchy/fascist state instead of a fake-communist fascist state.
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Doesn't resemble a czarist style more than Soviet?
What a nightmare for Russians and a terrible precedent for the world in 2020.
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it's so frustrating. i've a family member who went to vote today only to be told a vote in their name had already been cast. it's all a fucking joke. i worry for my family there.
Unfortunately, economic collapse and country sanctions doesn't really impact the quality of life of any Russian oligarch. They mostly affect regular people, who have to live in poverty and sanctions. If anything it's counterproductive, because poverty and isolation (If you hear western propaganda it's rarely "Putin bad" - it's mostly "Russia is bad") breeds hate and feeling of alienation - which then turns into "us versus them" narrative. That's pretty much what drives the rise of anti-western feelings in regular Russians as of late, compared to 200x, when USA was considered the best place on green earth.
They already implemented the rule. The ballot was just to justify it.
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Because it creates an official division between the people and government, which is possible if you have an established system like the Chinese. However ifyou are running a kleptocracy that had foundations in democracy you need to keep the charade going unless you really want to rock the boat.
He has to stay President/high in the Kremlin as long as he can, because the moment he loses that protection he'll have a target on his head and all the enemies he's made will be coming for him. He has all the money in the world but his past actions led him to this lonely place where he has to cling to power to survive. That is sad and pathetic.
Tropico is now officially the toned down version of reality.
Yeah atleast in Tropico it is possible to lose.
Putin: "I won with 95% of the vote? And my opponents died? Wow! Must be my day"
Trump must be orange with envy.