They're right. Russia is not my enemy. The Russian mafia regime is. Putler is. The oligarchs are. Once their idiotic dictatorship is switched for a stable democratic rule of law, paying reparations to Ukraine and Georgia and then some, Russia will be a candidate for EU membership and eligible to be our friend.
this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
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Russian mafia regime is Russia. Both its genocidal conquest policies and the tradition of subservience to a central authority predate the word “россия” and are consistent across governments and states.
The idea that wars of conquest and genocide Russia throws itself in since before we formulated the definition of a word „genocide” are somehow not about Russia would be the winner of every mental gymnastics competition for years to come.
This comment is just bigotry. Russia the country, the Russian people, the Russian history are no better or worse than, say, France or Germany or Britain. Any major European colonial power has a genocidal past. Any major European colonial power has a history of tension between tyranny and liberty.
There is nothing that is irredeemable about Russia, at least not any more than France, Britain, Germany, etc. The conflation of Russia with Putin's regime is precisely the Putinist Big Lie. In Putin's mind, the survival of his regime is THE SAME AS the survival of Russia. Don't buy the Big Lie. A free, democratic Russia is possible. And that is precisely Putin's worst nightmare.
Any major European colonial power has a history of tension between tyranny and liberty.
Big difference between European history and current Ruzz reality.
Their culture has never learned any Human Rights lesson, which is exactly the problem. For centuries their Gvment have been one or another form of Tsarism (autocracy) basically. There might have been a couple of years of reprieve, before Putin went fullmetal.
So though I believe a "Russian & Belarusian Spring" is definitely possible, the country needs to go full Fascist deprogramming first. #syntax
When UK refuses to return the riches they stole, we just say it like that.
When Belgia refuse to acknowledge genocide in Congo, we just say it.
When we talk about France losing colonial wars in Vietnam and Algeria, we say it.
When Israel starves an entire population in openly advertised genocide, we say it.
When we talk about Japanese massacres in China, we just say it.
When we talk about Chinese genocide of Uighurs, we just say it.
When Canada systematically oppresses indigenous population, we just say it.
But when Russia commits genocide and openly promises hellfire on the heads of those who would resist, don’t we dare say it!
This is pure mental gymnastics.
The fact that you straight ignored the core of my argument doesn’t add it any credibility either.
I didn't give Russia a free pass. I said it deserves the exact same scrutiny as other big European colonial powers. And it is by those standards that their aggression is Ukraine, but also in Georgia, in Moldova, etc is despicable and condemnable.
But if I understanding correctly, the core of your argument is that the whole concept of "Russia" is inextricably connected to barbaric genocidal wars of expansion, that Putinism is essentially Russian and inextricable/inseparable from it. And I have a problem with that, because that's a condemnation of Russian-ness as such. Am I misreading your core argument?
Unfortunately that is not the case anymore. Propaganda works, repression works. Putin has the overwhelming support of Russian people and they share his views, not only about the role of Russia in the world, but also about killing Ukrainians.
People are idiots and will do as they are propaganded. They can be propaganded in the other direction as well.
Russia will be a candidate for EU membership
Don't think that will ever happen. At least while they still have large population and local production. Same with Turkiye.
Türkiye is a candidate. The process is frozen though because of their idiotic president.
But the EU should reform itself a bit before admitting new members, especially such large ones.
That's a mistake as well. Turkey still occupies half of cypruss which is part of EU. I wouldn't want an occupier of the EU to become part of it.
Not occupying Cyprus is a precondition to joining
I wouldn’t want an occupier of the EU to become part of it.
Well, majority of the western world that EU is part of is still bowing down to the occupier (and now genocider) that is Israel. So clearly there's room.
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I bet it will be a candidate forever. I think the reasons are economical, politics just helps to stall it.
Cyprus will never, ever let Turkey ascend to the EU while they continue to illegally occupy 1/3 of Cyprus.
Ascension votes must be unanimous. I don't know why anyone at any time thought Turkey might join the EU.
russia is my enemy. Russia isn't. The country get to have a capital letter, the regime does not.
Not sure how common this way of distinguishing between the two is, but it's something I picked up from a Russian coworker of mine. He hates Putin as much as most decent humans do. He even lost a family member in the Kursk accident because of the regime.
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Again: cheaper than tanks and rockets and feeding your people. Hybrid War is real.
To quote a military yutuber I watch now and then: WW3 started in 2014. It's just that the kinetic element has been limited to Ukraine.
And nothing will be done about it because goverments are scared of meta, xitter and reddit, just point angrily at it and let the propaganda flow.
You hear that? That's the sound of lemmy.ml deleting this post from their instance.
Can the EU also start lauching propaganda: The EU is not your enemy. Make posters of how it was before and after the EU. Make a campaign with The US, Russia and China being the enemies and how only a united EU can be strong enough to stay relevant in modern geopolitics?
The countries that escaped the clutches of Russian rule need no reminding. They know what a shitty failed state it was and is.
In my country, the part that escaped the clutches of Russian rule absolutely needs reminding, unfortunately.
Paradoxically, it is there where Russia is still heavily romanticised.
YOU get a trump! And YOU get a trump! And EVERYBODY gets a trump!
What if we already have one?
Double. . . trump?
Ah there's your problem, the news always forgets to translate Kremlinese. The stickers all say "Russia is my enemy". Easy mistake to make, no harm done.
The Russia of today is my enemy.
Until the likes of Putin are dead and democracy has been established, I assume that Russia is not a good thing. Here's hoping that Ukraine can conquer or shatter Russia, so that it can be reformed into something that doesn't suck.
Do you know why these are called "Molotov's cocktails"?
The name's origin came from the propaganda Molotov produced during the Winter War, mainly his declaration on Soviet state radio that incendiary bombing missions over Finland were actually "airborne humanitarian food deliveries" for their "starving" neighbours. As a result, the Finns sarcastically dubbed the Soviet incendiary cluster bombs "Molotov bread baskets" (Finnish: Molotovin leipäkori) in reference to Molotov's propaganda broadcasts. When the hand-held bottle firebomb was developed to attack and destroy Soviet tanks, the Finns called it the "Molotov cocktail", as "a drink to go with his food parcels".
Molotovin leipäkori
TIL
May their renewed humanitarian efforts be greeted with the same level of cynicism!
I mean its true. Russia is not my enemy. Just their leadership and those who support it are. Its pretty much the same with the us or north korea.
Naming the country never ever meant the population but the leadership
Im pretty sure with propaganda they are trying to not make a distinction.
Though that exactly is what russia as a whole is. Not all support but a big amount
Im betting its like the us. Some small amount totally behind and actively keeping it going. A large amount just accepting it. A large amount not accepting it but just trying to live their lives and not fighting that hard. A small amount actively fighting it in every way they can.
Can we not just silent ban Russia from the entire Internet? Let them think they're posting shit but no one outside their region can actually see it!? (/s... but also not)
Sounds like something an enemy would say.
Watch the popular “influencers” and you’ll notice the beginnings of pro-Russia propaganda trickling in on the more gullible and “moderate” channels.
Ive personally seen (and removed) these in some places in Italy.
I remember the Cold War and the fall of the iron curtain. It was quite tiresome that every other American movie had the bad guys be Russian (with some older movies having Germans instead).
I feel we’re going back to that.
Expansion in Eastern Europe you say? Yes, it rather does feel like we're going back to that - and it appears quite justified
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