Yeah… and Putin is the one dragging you. Russia criticizes the world for their comments on Russian troop buildup, citing that Russia can do whatever it wants within its borders. However Russia refuses to apply the same logic when it comes to Ukraine wanting to chose to western partnerships.
Russia says NATO and the West are invading Ukraine, even though Ukraine has literally invited them with open arms. Not to mention Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and manufactured a war in Donbas that has displaced 4 million Ukrainians. A war Ukraine did not start, does not want and has been trying to end for eight years now. It’s Russia who doesn’t show up to the peace talks.
Yeah, I’ve read too many shallow takes thinking that the Russian public opinion is going to be the constraining factor here. It’s not, as they obviously won’t blame Russia for any escalation, and those that do will be suppressed.
In Russia, as in most places, foreign policy is driven by the elites and their perceptions.
>Our research shows that 50% of Russians blame the US and NATO for the existing tensions. As few as 3%–4%, which can be regarded as a marginal group, hold the Russian authorities responsible.
Yeah.
Fascinating to read. I imagine the sentiments in italics are near-literal translations, they sound so authentic. And it was brave to post this knowing the average Reddiot doesn’t read linked articles before hitting the downvote button for anything relating to Russia.
Orwell was right.
>The obvious lack of emotional response at the current stage of the confrontation may encourage certain conclusions. According to some experts, Russian foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy – i.e. any foreign policy statements or steps are made or taken in order to improve the ratings of top officials, which could be observed in the case of Crimea.
And these experts are consistently wrong. War as a distraction is a lazy meme.
Here’s a good take on drivers of Russian military actions.
> ‘America and Great Britain are provoking Ukraine so that it acts aggressively towards the Donbas, and by doing so they are trying to force Russia to stand up for Russian citizens who live on the territory of the Donbas; eventually, this will be yet another reason for more sanctions against Russia’; ‘All this is done to drag us into a war. This is also really scary. And we fall for it, we actually fall for it!’; ‘It looks more like a provocation [by the West – DV]; they want us to look inferior to them’; ‘They provoke us on purpose, to impose sanctions, so that the economy deteriorates again, and the currency depreciates’; ‘Russia will have to respond … We are being pinched from all sides; they’re biting us. What are we supposed to do? Give in?’
> ‘Top leaders should sit down and negotiate; just talk, talk and negotiate; it is always possible to reach some kind of compromise by talking’. Nearly 80% of Russians have consistently been in favour of improving relations with the US and other Western countries in recent years
This is actually a very interesting article. I had been wondering how on earth any honest Russian could back Russia, but take a government that controls the media and add in disastrous Western foreign policy in other areas and it’s not that hard to empathise.
If I was Russian, would I feel the same? Probably. It is the Russian (and to a lesser extent in this case American) government at fault, but I don’t blame normal Russians.
A worthwhile read.
Remember that apart of the effects of propaganda, the results of polls and, particularly, focus groups are skewed:
>”Apparently, under the pressure of mainstream public opinion, these few individuals who have a different view of what is happening do not dare to express their opinion out of fear of disapproval and ostracism,accusations of a lack of patriotism or possible punishment at the hands of the authorities.
Edit: formatting
I’d like to point out the United States and Uk were very supportive of the Iraq War, until the body bags started coming home
8 comments
Yeah… and Putin is the one dragging you. Russia criticizes the world for their comments on Russian troop buildup, citing that Russia can do whatever it wants within its borders. However Russia refuses to apply the same logic when it comes to Ukraine wanting to chose to western partnerships.
Russia says NATO and the West are invading Ukraine, even though Ukraine has literally invited them with open arms. Not to mention Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and manufactured a war in Donbas that has displaced 4 million Ukrainians. A war Ukraine did not start, does not want and has been trying to end for eight years now. It’s Russia who doesn’t show up to the peace talks.
Yeah, I’ve read too many shallow takes thinking that the Russian public opinion is going to be the constraining factor here. It’s not, as they obviously won’t blame Russia for any escalation, and those that do will be suppressed.
In Russia, as in most places, foreign policy is driven by the elites and their perceptions.
>Our research shows that 50% of Russians blame the US and NATO for the existing tensions. As few as 3%–4%, which can be regarded as a marginal group, hold the Russian authorities responsible.
Yeah.
Fascinating to read. I imagine the sentiments in italics are near-literal translations, they sound so authentic. And it was brave to post this knowing the average Reddiot doesn’t read linked articles before hitting the downvote button for anything relating to Russia.
Orwell was right.
>The obvious lack of emotional response at the current stage of the confrontation may encourage certain conclusions. According to some experts, Russian foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy – i.e. any foreign policy statements or steps are made or taken in order to improve the ratings of top officials, which could be observed in the case of Crimea.
And these experts are consistently wrong. War as a distraction is a lazy meme.
Here’s a good take on drivers of Russian military actions.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA444-3.html
> ‘America and Great Britain are provoking Ukraine so that it acts aggressively towards the Donbas, and by doing so they are trying to force Russia to stand up for Russian citizens who live on the territory of the Donbas; eventually, this will be yet another reason for more sanctions against Russia’; ‘All this is done to drag us into a war. This is also really scary. And we fall for it, we actually fall for it!’; ‘It looks more like a provocation [by the West – DV]; they want us to look inferior to them’; ‘They provoke us on purpose, to impose sanctions, so that the economy deteriorates again, and the currency depreciates’; ‘Russia will have to respond … We are being pinched from all sides; they’re biting us. What are we supposed to do? Give in?’
> ‘Top leaders should sit down and negotiate; just talk, talk and negotiate; it is always possible to reach some kind of compromise by talking’. Nearly 80% of Russians have consistently been in favour of improving relations with the US and other Western countries in recent years
This is actually a very interesting article. I had been wondering how on earth any honest Russian could back Russia, but take a government that controls the media and add in disastrous Western foreign policy in other areas and it’s not that hard to empathise.
If I was Russian, would I feel the same? Probably. It is the Russian (and to a lesser extent in this case American) government at fault, but I don’t blame normal Russians.
A worthwhile read.
Remember that apart of the effects of propaganda, the results of polls and, particularly, focus groups are skewed:
>”Apparently, under the pressure of mainstream public opinion, these few individuals who have a different view of what is happening do not dare to express their opinion out of fear of disapproval and ostracism,accusations of a lack of patriotism or possible punishment at the hands of the authorities.
Edit: formatting
I’d like to point out the United States and Uk were very supportive of the Iraq War, until the body bags started coming home