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they are thousands of miles away from us. all the talk is just corrupt "hawks" looking to justify more insane military spending to appease their overlords at boeing, lockheed martin, northrop grumman, etc. etc. etc.
The problem for Russia is that the source of Putin's power - the oligarchs - enjoy all manner of gadgets, toys and luxuries that they purchase from the West. So sanctions placed on Russia hurt them. Conversely, no one in the West wants much of anything from Russia. They make virtually nothing. Vodka? Caviar? Vodka is available elsewhere. And no one needs caviar.
Oil? Yeah, that'll bite if Russia cuts off the spigot. And it'll bite Russia even harder. That's what comes of having a monolithic economy. There's just no room to maneuver.
Travel? Comparatively few Westerners are all that interested in vacationing in Moscow, St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk. The Russians with money? Most of them are indeed very interested in being able to travel to the West. Again, Putin has far fewer cards to play.
Over $75 billion in capital has fled Russia since Putin began his making-it-up-on-the-fly Ukrainian adventure. And for what? Crimea? Sure, but it really doesn't give him much. He had access to it anyway, and in the case of a real hot conflict the Bosporus choke-point still keeps the Black Sea Fleet bottled up. Meanwhile, Putin's pique over Ukraine's reluctance to join the Eurasian Economic Council has now turned a wavering Ukraine into a Ukraine that will never, ever, under any circumstances join that union. He has pushed Ukraine firmly into the arms of the West. And eastern Ukraine? That will be a money-sink for years and years if he's foolish enough to try and grab it. And if he doesn't, he alienates all the pro-Russians there who have risen to his sabre-rattling by abandoning them. He's boxed himself in.
And for what? Putin has made himself popular at home. For now. But in so doing, he has hamstrung Russia in myriad ways. Let's see how stoked Russians continue to be after economics sown are reaped.
Not that it matters much. Russia is a stagnated, fading power that was never a substantive threat anyway. Nukes? They're a trump card that can't be played. Putin has just accelerated the ongoing demise of the power, based in Moscow, that peaked in the 1970s. It's been all downhill ever since.
Russia going back to the cold war
How?
They aint got nothing!
Wait till those economic sanctions start kicking in, they're going to turn on Putin so fast.
Yes. This should surprise no one. Putin is ex-KGB, after all. These days, they don't need a decent army for a Cold War. The Cold War is now being waged on the economic front. For example: the gas pipeline to Europe. Now they're building one to China. It would be naive to think they're not preparing for a new version of the Cold War (and haven't been for a long time). I've never harbored any illusions to the contrary. This is completely predictable.
And btw, capitalism in the US is starting to look like Russia; oligarchs at the top (whose gold did you think that was, in the photo?), and people collecting welfare, unemployment, and foodstamps at the bottom and spreading into the middle class.
Putin is relying on China to keep their supplies and goods flowing through. There's no way that China would ever join the US in sanctions nor can the US afford to put sanctions against China as well.
The problem for Russia is that the source of Putin's power - the oligarchs - enjoy all manner of gadgets, toys and luxuries that they purchase from the West. So sanctions placed on Russia hurt them. Conversely, no one in the West wants much of anything from Russia. They make virtually nothing. Vodka? Caviar? Vodka is available elsewhere. And no one needs caviar.
Oil? Yeah, that'll bite if Russia cuts off the spigot. And it'll bite Russia even harder. That's what comes of having a monolithic economy. There's just no room to maneuver.
Travel? Comparatively few Westerners are all that interested in vacationing in Moscow, St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk. The Russians with money? Most of them are indeed very interested in being able to travel to the West. Again, Putin has far fewer cards to play.
Over $75 billion in capital has fled Russia since Putin began his making-it-up-on-the-fly Ukrainian adventure. And for what? Crimea? Sure, but it really doesn't give him much. He had access to it anyway, and in the case of a real hot conflict the Bosporus choke-point still keeps the Black Sea Fleet bottled up. Meanwhile, Putin's pique over Ukraine's reluctance to join the Eurasian Economic Council has now turned a wavering Ukraine into a Ukraine that will never, ever, under any circumstances join that union. He has pushed Ukraine firmly into the arms of the West. And eastern Ukraine? That will be a money-sink for years and years if he's foolish enough to try and grab it. And if he doesn't, he alienates all the pro-Russians there who have risen to his sabre-rattling by abandoning them. He's boxed himself in.
And for what? Putin has made himself popular at home. For now. But in so doing, he has hamstrung Russia in myriad ways. Let's see how stoked Russians continue to be after economics sown are reaped.
Not that it matters much. Russia is a stagnated, fading power that was never a substantive threat anyway. Nukes? They're a trump card that can't be played. Putin has just accelerated the ongoing demise of the power, based in Moscow, that peaked in the 1970s. It's been all downhill ever since.
Rep, Good points all the way around!
Last edited by LS Jaun; 08-06-2014 at 05:52 PM..
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Russia going back to Cold War?
