Castle Europa
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Like/Tweet/+1
Latest topics
» Song Cover-Versions & Originals
by Sary Fri 22 Mar - 0:47

» Minimum Drinking Ages
by Sary Fri 22 Mar - 0:41

» Now listening to . . .
by Sary Mon 18 Mar - 0:26

» Religious Followings in Iran
by Neon Knight Sat 16 Mar - 3:00

» European Border Disputes
by Neon Knight Tue 5 Mar - 1:49

» Cat Vision
by Sary Wed 21 Feb - 2:00

» Cool Masculine Art
by Neon Knight Thu 15 Feb - 1:08

» Apparitions & Hauntings
by Neon Knight Wed 31 Jan - 9:33

» Beautiful Feminine Art
by Sary Wed 24 Jan - 0:03

» Monty Python Scenes & Sketches
by Neon Knight Tue 23 Jan - 0:32

» Covid-19 in Europe
by Sary Sat 6 Jan - 2:04

» Xylitol - the ideal sugar substitute?
by Neon Knight Wed 20 Dec - 0:48

» Favourite Quotes - Wit & Wisdom
by Neon Knight Mon 20 Nov - 0:16

» Near-Death Experiences
by Neon Knight Sun 19 Nov - 23:34

» Early Fantasy Novels
by Sary Mon 16 Oct - 1:33

» Computer Simulated Life Experience
by OsricPearl Mon 9 Oct - 4:28

» Career change
by OsricPearl Mon 9 Oct - 4:16

» A normal explanation for some hauntings
by Neon Knight Sun 1 Oct - 1:15

» Alice Cooper dropped by cosmetics firm for trans comments
by Sary Mon 11 Sep - 12:44

» DNA Shared by Relationship
by Sary Sat 26 Aug - 2:10

» Inside Balkan Churches
by Neon Knight Sun 30 Jul - 23:59

» UK Migration Issues
by Neon Knight Mon 17 Jul - 1:36

» The Legendary Dogmen
by Neon Knight Sun 9 Jul - 22:57

» Ancient Archaeological Finds
by OsricPearl Thu 6 Jul - 15:11

» Time Slips
by Neon Knight Thu 22 Jun - 0:38

» European Monarchies
by OsricPearl Tue 9 May - 3:08

» Chesterton's Fence
by Neon Knight Thu 4 May - 16:18

» Physical Map of Europe
by Sary Sat 15 Apr - 0:31

» The maps of Europe and the USA compared
by Neon Knight Sun 12 Mar - 18:11

» John Titor - a time and dimensional traveller?
by Sary Wed 8 Feb - 0:03

» The Sex Pistols' notorious early appearance on TV
by Sary Tue 24 Jan - 2:39

» Responding to SJW Rhetoric
by Neon Knight Mon 9 Jan - 11:00

» Which countries should refugees go to?
by OsricPearl Thu 29 Dec - 15:53

» Spotting dark personality traits from faces
by Guest Wed 28 Dec - 23:16

» Victorian Christmas Traditions
by Neon Knight Fri 23 Dec - 19:13

» The mystery behind the Pied Piper story
by OsricPearl Wed 14 Dec - 4:00

» Saint Places
by OsricPearl Wed 14 Dec - 3:40

» Ancient Monuments
by Sary Fri 2 Dec - 3:30

» Personality traits linked to political orientation
by Neon Knight Tue 22 Nov - 13:49

» Rainbows in European Mythology
by Sary Sat 19 Nov - 19:45


"Putin is acting out of weakness, not strength"

View previous topic View next topic Go down

"Putin is acting out of weakness, not strength" Empty "Putin is acting out of weakness, not strength"

Post Neon Knight Thu 19 Apr - 23:45

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5488995/DOMINIC-LAWSON-Putins-Russia-dirt-poor-basket-case.html Quoting:

Russia is, by land mass, the biggest country in the world, so naturally it looms large in our minds. And when, as it appears, the country’s leader — an ex-KGB officer by the name of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin — commissions a nerve agent attack on the streets of our most beautiful cathedral city, Salisbury, we become fixated by the notion of Russian power. Such anxiety is natural. But we should put this incident in its proper context. Which is that it is a reckless act indicating not strength but weakness . . .

Russia is an undeniably great nation and people. But its gross domestic product is no larger than that of Italy and far smaller than the UK’s. Those outline figures do not do justice to the appalling inefficiency of Russia’s economy, mired in corruption which would disgrace any tin-pot sub-Saharan dictatorship. The result, as one might expect, is extreme levels of inequality and poverty.

A rare British exposé of what life is like in the Russian heartland was provided by the Sunday Times reporter Matthew Campbell in January, when he travelled to the southern Urals: ‘I have only witnessed impoverishment like this before when reporting civil wars in West Africa and Latin America. Here, the miserable conditions are intensified by industrial squalor and the brutal Russian winter. Even in the tumultuous years after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 I did not see poverty like this.’

Putin — with remarkable success, it has to be said — distracts and deflects public anger by blaming everything on the West’s sanctions, which were implemented after Moscow annexed Crimea and poured troops across the border into Ukraine. But those military escapades were themselves designed by the Kremlin to shore up popular support at a time when the colossal corruption and inequalities stemming from it had led many thousands to demonstrate against the Putin regime.

Last month, there was an incident which combined both these elements. A 500-strong force of largely Russian mercenaries in Syria attempted to seize one of the country’s oilfields — and was all but obliterated by the U.S. Air Force.
The Kremlin attempted to cover up this debacle, but the mother of one of the slaughtered Russian mercenaries told the TV network Current Time that her only son, Ruslan, had joined the military campaign ‘because of poverty, because there are no jobs’ . . .

No organisation has produced a clearer and more comprehensive analysis of Russia’s deep crisis than the Carnegie Moscow Centre.

Its most recent (2017) report is devastating: ‘A substantial part of Russia’s production capacity — more than 40 per cent by some estimates — is both technologically and functionally obsolete and cannot produce competitive and marketable products. For example Russia’s machine stock has shrunk by over half in the last ten years. Over the next few years we can expect a decline in investment . . . this downward spiral will eventually lead the country to economic collapse.’

This is one reason why capital has been flooding out of the country: the oligarch class want to take out as much of their money as possible, while they can. And the exodus is human as well as financial. Russia is thought to have lost up to 4.5 million people through emigration since the start of the 1990s — many of the best and brightest among them . . .

The Russian bear may be a physical colossus, but its teeth are rotten. It is much weaker than it appears."




"Putin is acting out of weakness, not strength" Englan11

Between the velvet lies, there's a truth that's hard as steel
The vision never dies, life's a never ending wheel
- R.J.Dio
Neon Knight
Neon Knight
The Castellan

Male Posts : 2357
Join date : 2017-03-05

https://castle-europa.forumotion.com

Back to top Go down

View previous topic View next topic Back to top


Permissions in this forum:
You can reply to topics in this forum