What going on with Russia latley

[Rodmantheman]

I keep reading all these articles about how Russia is flexing it's muscles. Russian aircraft getting intercepted over NATO nations.Some articles even suggesting we are in the new Cold war and if it escalates more it could trigger a Great war.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/uk-russia-bomber-flights-idUKKCN0IW20T20141112

[JohnFreeman]

We have the g20 where I live, and apparently the Russians parked a couple of warships near Australia

[KevinNYC]

I keep reading all these articles about how Russia is flexing it's muscles. Russian aircraft getting intercepted over NATO nations.Some articles even suggesting we are in the new Cold war and if it escalates more it could trigger a Great war.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/uk-russia-bomber-flights-idUKKCN0IW20T20141112

One thing that is going on, is the international sanctions are hitting their economy hard.

Ruble is down
http://img.qz.com/2014/11/year-to-date-performance-of-the-russian-ruble-against-the-dollar-rate_chartbuilder.png

Capital is leaving the country. (http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russian-central-bank-increases-capital-flight-estimate-by-38-billion/510869.html)

Russia's Central Bank has upped its estimates of capital flight for this year to $128 billion from $90 billion, the bank announced in a report released Monday.

"According to 2014's results, net outflow of private capital is estimated in the order of $128 billion, which is significantly higher than the forecast," said the Central Bank's prognosis for 2015 and 2016-17.

On top of this oil prices are plunging and 70% of Russia's exports are from oil.

For Russians, it's a nightmare come true: The oil price has plunged, falling around 30 percent in just a few months. It may come as a blessing for Western motorists and fuel oil buyers, but it's a tangible threat to the wellbeing of the more than 145 million inhabitants of the world's third-largest oil producer.
That's because crude oil is by far the biggest source of income for the Russian state. Despite the media spotlight on gas, it's much more important as a lubricant for investment and consumption. And gas, too, has become cheaper due to a stipulation in most of Gazprom's export contracts linking its price to that of oil.

[KevinNYC]

The Russian central bank had been propping up the price of the ruble and they changed that policy two days ago. They spent something like 24 billion euros trying to keep the ruble's price high and it didn't work. Their interest rates are up to like 9% (http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21632634-bold-policies-russias-central-bank-may-not-stem-roubles-decline)


Russia's central bank has raised its key interest rate to 9.5% from 8% as it seeks to tackle inflation.

The 1.5 percentage point increase was higher than expected, with analysts having forecast a rise of 0.5 percentage points.

The bank has already raised rates from 5.5% at the start of the year but the moves have failed to combat inflation.

A weak rouble and a ban on western food imports has kept inflation stubbornly high.

"If external conditions improve, and a persistent trend for lowering inflation and inflation expectations emerges, the Bank of Russia will be ready to start to ease its monetary policy," the central bank said.

The new rate will take effect on 5 November. The last rise was imposed at the end of July.

The central bank said that inflation had reached 8.4% and would remain above 8% until the end of March.

[KevinNYC]

Russia has a lot of economic problems right now and if they don't get a handle on it soon, these problems are going to reinforce each other and the whole mess is going to get bigger.

[KevinNYC]

Russia also seems prepared for a new offensive in Ukraine

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2PuldhCYAAF4lr.jpg

It was reported today that these highly sophisticated radar vehicles have been moved into Eastern Ukraine.

[step_back]

Russians need to get Putin out of power. He's in love with the days of the Soviet Union. He has no business in Ukraine so why is he sending troops and vehicles back over the border.

[CeltsGarlic]

Russians need to get Putin out of power. He's in love with the days of the Soviet Union. He has no business in Ukraine so why is he sending troops and vehicles back over the border.
I think its pretty clear that its for not the likes of you decide that

[Graviton]

Russians need to get Putin out of power. He's in love with the days of the Soviet Union. He has no business in Ukraine so why is he sending troops and vehicles back over the border.
Putin has full control over Russia, he had his own puppet President. He changed the term from 4 years to 6, he has all his buddies in positions of power, he controls their version of "Congress", the media and shuts down anyone who opposes him. Nobody in Russia can stand up to him, only way this shit ends is with his death.

[step_back]

I think its pretty clear that its for not the likes of you decide that

Go on then, explain why he's sending the military into Ukraine.

[RidonKs]

I keep reading all these articles about how Russia is flexing it's muscles. Russian aircraft getting intercepted over NATO nations.Some articles even suggesting we are in the new Cold war and if it escalates more it could trigger a Great war.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/uk-russia-bomber-flights-idUKKCN0IW20T20141112
be careful with what you read. much of what i have encountered of this sort is plain old propaganda. putin is a cynical machiavellian power maneuver no question... but it so happens he leads a country that has very little capacity/opportunity for expansion, let alone aggression. russia has been on the defensive for years and the last many months are no exception.

[KevinNYC]

be careful with what you read. much of what i have encountered of this sort is plain old propaganda. putin is a cynical machiavellian power maneuver no question... but it so happens he leads a country that has very little capacity/opportunity for expansion, let alone aggression. russia has been on the defensive for years and the last many months are no exception.
I don't get this bold part at all. He clearly has expanded into the Ukraine and seems to be planning further expansion.

Putin also mentions "Novorossiya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya)" all the time. Imagine how Canadians would feel if we started talking about dominion over "North America."

[KevinNYC]

The Russian people are more than happy with him and his results. Without him they would have incompetent Western Puppet leaders like Boris Yeltsin running the country into the ground. Putin saved Russia and the people love him for it.

Nice numbers. Helped along by the fact that the worldwide price of oil fell throughout 1997 and 1998 and started to rise in very beginning of 1999.

And the fact that Russia had a financial crisis in 1998. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Russian_financial_crisis) Russia started to rebound from that crisis before Putin took office.

http://s30.postimg.org/6rq111w8x/Macrotrends_org_Crude_Oil_Price_History_Chart_1.pn g


I love how Americans and Westerners are always trying to tell the people of other countries who they should like ahahah. They did it in Libya, Syria and Iraq.....and look at those shit holes now. and Japan and Germany and South Korea. Those banners look pretty nice in the rafters.


Russian people are well aware of the Wests true intentions (Napolean, Hitler etc) so they enjoy having a strong leader. From Catherine the Great, to Stalin, to Putin. Deal with it. Youll never control Russia.

Freedom for Eastern Ukraine!!!
Freedom, like the kind that Stalin brought. (http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm)

http://hrsu.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/9/11495427/5879119_orig.jpg

[KevinNYC]

We shall see if Russia is headed for another crisis. Putin was talking about the "catastrophic" drop in oil prices today. He say Russia is positioned to withstand this drop.

[KevinNYC]

Stalin's a hero mate. Russian's love him. And they should. Without him they would be slaves to the Western Europeans. Churchill kills 5 million Benghalis in India, hes allowed to be Britains hero. Abraham Lincoln starts a war that kills 600 000 Americans, hes allowed to be Americas Hero. Charles De Gaulle murders millions in Indochina and the Meghreb, hes allowed to be Frances hero. Stalin kills millions......and hes the devil. Whys he the devil? Because YOUR country doesnt like him. You do the same thing with Mao Ze Dong in China. These two men took their nations from total embarrassment and annihilation, and turned them into POWERS. And you cant hack that.

Stalin is voted third greatest Russian in TV poll modelled on BBC contest

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1102508/Stalin-voted-greatest-Russian-TV-poll-modelled-BBC-contest.html

HERO

Suck it
You're wrong about Lincoln.

[RidonKs]

I don't get this bold part at all. He clearly has expanded into the Ukraine and seems to be planning further expansion.

Putin also mentions "Novorossiya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya)" all the time. Imagine how Canadians would feel if we started talking about dominion over "North America."
lol you guys refer to canada more or less as a cultural colony all the time. but more analogous to the centuries old region of "novorossiya" (implicitly lead by putin himself) is the endless commentary across the world throughout history by all shades of political stripe on "the west" (implicitly lead at the moment by.. who else?)

so no, it's not outside the realm of imagination to imagine the united states implicitly referring to its empire. it's right at the core of reality to know the unite states explicitly lauding its empire



as for russian expansionism, i just don't see it. yes they took crimea in a major flex of strength. it was significant. but it doesn't signal a trend of russian aggression and empire building in its neighbourhood, or anything of the sort. truthfully the best case for russian expansion is in the economic realm in its relations with china. but both countries are far more entwined with the us/eu/japan/s.korea than they are with one another.

there is, imo, a lot of evidence to suggest that the crimean annexation was not part of an ongoing trend in russian expansionism but rather one militaristic component of a broad response to pending economic arrangements between its neighbours, ukraine and the eu. this hypothesis needs to be judged on its own merits but i think its pretty credible.

your hypothesis is that russian expansion is an ongoing trend... at least you strongly suggest that by "seems to be planning more". you need to back that up. the msm may take it as gospel but i'm not so easily convinced.

i imagine your most recent evidence boils down to a) crimea and b) strategic / financial support for eastern ukrainian rebels. a bit further back, perhaps you want to make the case that yanokovych was a kremlin paid goon.. do you have anything else to offer in this regard?

as i said before, there is little evidence for an expansionist kremlin regime. not because it's unwilling... it's as brutal as just about every other state government. there's just no opportunity.

[KevinNYC]

....

You don't consider moving Russian troops/commanders into Donetsk, etc as expansion beyond Crimea?

[RidonKs]

You don't consider moving Russian troops/commanders into Donetsk, etc as expansion beyond Crimea?
the ongoing atrocities were precipitated by a coup which replaced an administration conciliatory toward russia with a regime intent on pursuing ties with the european union. vladimir putin proposed trilateral negotiations between russia, ukraine, and the eu (also a huge trading partner of russia) in november of last year. it was rejected by the eu. and then you know the whole story.

edit: i thought i'd elaborate on this to make myself more clear. russia would be expansionist if it had intentions of expansion around its borders of influence. prior to this past spring, its border of influence to the west was the ukraine. it is now fighting to maintain that border of influence and not to expand past it. this is all true regardless of whether you support its actions or not.

what we are seeing may well be expansion, but if so it's going in the direction opposite your thesis. but that's another argument which i don't wish to make. all i'm saying is that the portrayal of russia as currently pursuing an aggressive expansionist foreign policy is a fraud concocted by the western media.

edit 2: and by this, i'm obviously inferring nato expansion. if we had access to classified records, we could know for sure what the post cold war administrations in the united states -- primarily bush 1 and clinton -- were saying about the matter. based on actions however i don't think there's any question nato is seeking to expand its domain east of germany. a breech of a 90s agreement as you know, but that's no matter. not like it was binding or anything, just a gentlemen's arrangement.

[Knicks101]

Rusev is united states champ and Lana is bad as fvk

http://38.media.tumblr.com/7ab83ed0a9e34f54ed3c93824a510503/tumblr_n6jwfisT7K1sbzhteo1_400.gif

[CelticBaller]

Rusev is united states champ and Lana is bad as fvk
wtf :mad:

[Knicks101]

Your cuz let the whole country down

Which one Big E or Henry?

[D-Wade316]

All this Western negativity about Russia and its actions against Ukraine has given Putin a greater hold on his country. The more Western countries inflict sanctions on Russia, the more the people will side for Putin. And please stop with all this bullshit that Russia is expanding. The Ukraine conflict is a result of the useless and antagonizing expansion of NATO into Russia's sphere of influence. Putin is a boss and what has transpired this year shows how much Western leaders are clueless in their international actions.

[D-Wade316]

the ongoing atrocities were precipitated by a coup which replaced an administration conciliatory toward russia with a regime intent on pursuing ties with the european union. vladimir putin proposed trilateral negotiations between russia, ukraine, and the eu (also a huge trading partner of russia) in november of last year. it was rejected by the eu. and then you know the whole story.

edit: i thought i'd elaborate on this to make myself more clear. russia would be expansionist if it had intentions of expansion around its borders of influence. prior to this past spring, its border of influence to the west was the ukraine. it is now fighting to maintain that border of influence and not to expand past it. this is all true regardless of whether you support its actions or not.

what we are seeing may well be expansion, but if so it's going in the direction opposite your thesis. but that's another argument which i don't wish to make. all i'm saying is that the portrayal of russia as currently pursuing an aggressive expansionist foreign policy is a fraud concocted by the western media.

edit 2: and by this, i'm obviously inferring nato expansion. if we had access to classified records, we could know for sure what the post cold war administrations in the united states -- primarily bush 1 and clinton -- were saying about the matter. based on actions however i don't think there's any question nato is seeking to expand its domain east of germany. a breech of a 90s agreement as you know, but that's no matter. not like it was binding or anything, just a gentlemen's arrangement.
This is absolutely correct. Ordinary Americans are fools when it comes to international diplomacy.

[Rodmantheman]

http://31.media.tumblr.com/35a69806ff85646438cffdeb0efb4674/tumblr_mm58zke14A1rn4noto1_400.gif