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Different. Because Islam at the end turned against its "supporters" with a vengeance, while supporting other kind of *allies* was "business as usual."
And China turned against the SU back in the 50's to the point that there was even a minor conflict between the two powers.
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I wonder why Cubans were holding on to that system that long, shaming Russians themselves actually?
Cuba is a dictatorship in all but name. Since Castro came to power, he has been the de facto ruler of the island until his death. Cubans never had a chance to establish a different kind of country.
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Check when you saw the Iranian suicide bomber lately..
The person who held a bunch of people hostage in Sydney back in 2014 was Iranian. The reason you don't see many Iranian suicide bombers is because they fund a bunch of Shia Arabs to carry out attacks. Iran funds Hezbollah who constantly bombard Israel with rocket attacks. They also supported Shia elements in Iraq who carried out suicide bombings and the mujaheddin in Bosnia (even though they are at odds with the west, they found common ground here). Taking it further back, they carried out assassinations of political targets from the Shah's regime outside their jurisdiction and funded the attack against the Jewish Centre in Argentina, then tried to cover it up with the Argentine government.
There is an element of resentment vis-a-vis Islam in Iran due to the fact that the country has a long line of history predating it's Muslim conquest and some Iranians view Islam as an intruder upon their culture. However, they are a minority, and for all intents and purposes, Iran as a political identity is Saudi Arabia 2.0. They will support different factions as both are trying to establish themselves as leaders of the Islamic faith, but make no mistake, they are both theocracies.
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Putin is a head of the state, ( so he is officially a politician,) and Bill Gates is just a businessman. Soros however is something else, since he puts his money straight into making politics.
The common thread is that they all have a lot of money, therefore they are able to influence politics if they so choose.
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Apparently it is, since some countries on her borders are not NATO members, and for a good reason.
A crash course on imperialism 101.
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Putin's Russia IS an imperialistic power - no doubt about it; I don't see how it could be any different.
Glad we agree on something
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Instead of broad "matter of time" and "some form of influence," let me ouline it in more distinct terms, when it comes to the US policies towards Russia and China back in the nineties ( i.e. at the turning point.) While the first one (Russia) was encouraged to destroy its scientific/technological sector, to privatize its industries of oil/gas/metal sector ( in order to pass the ownership to transnational corporations,) and overall to impose the "wild capitalism and survival of the fittest," the second one (China) was chosen to be turned into American workshop, with American technology and know-how being brought in. See the difference and ( desirable for the US) consequences of such policies in the long run? It's not that difficult to figure it out, is it?
The Soviet Union collapsed due to internal weakness, there is no need to blame other people for one's own limitations. The SU had been on a downward spiral in tech/scientific research since the 70's, when it decided it was no longer able to compete with the US in that field. The SU were the first nation to go to space but when they saw tat the US had reached the Moon they dropped out of the space race.
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Everything)))
I guess that makes it true then
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Because decent jobs are not easy to find even for Europeans themselves?
What makes you think that Russia provides a better alternative?
I wouldn't want to live in the EU being an Eastern European. Particularly being a native of the countries like Bulgaria, Latvia or Lithuania. You tend to use statements that are too broad I'd say.
I wouldn't want to live in the EU either, but that's mostly due to preference. I'd much rather stick to countries like Canada, Australia or the US. I have a number of friends who live within the EU and who have had no problem finding jobs and integrating there.
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Your outlook is not typical for the "native" Canadians, ( but rather typical for someone from E.E, Ukrainians including,) plus your English doesn't come across as your native tongue, that's why I asked, sorry.
What is a typical Canadian outlook? From what I can tell by looking at this thread, most commentators are either Russian or Ukrainian with a few inputs from individuals not affiliated with the SU like Ariete, Scratt335 (though I'm not sure if his ancestors came from the SU) and myself. There aren't many Canadians or people not affiliated with the SU commenting on this thread, so I understand why you may think I was of Ukrainian origin. To answer your question in more broad terms, the conflict is entirely nonconsequential to me as I have no relatives or any friends there.
As to the level of my English proficiency, I tend to type real quickly whenever a train of thought occupies my brain, therefore I may ignore spelling or syntax errors that pop up, not to mention any instant where autocorrect kicks in and ends up changing the word I'm typing into something else entirely.
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Again this broad generalization " a lot."
"A lot" doesn't mean to be in the midst of the Eastern front, and "a lot" doesn't mean to be a country designated for total annihilation.
So it's not all about the "GDP" as you can see...
Im not suggesting that Canada's contribution to the war effort exceeded that of the SU, the US or the British and you're right in suggesting the country was spared annihilation largely thanks to its location far removed from the frontlines. Canada took part in the Allied war effort and that is something that cannot be taken away from the country.
It's also wrong to assume that the Eastern Front represented the majority of the conflict when outside of Europe the Pacific theatre was raging on. Many Europeans believe that the war in Europe represented the extent of the conflict.
A country's GDP is not the only measure worth considering, but it remains an important metric of success, especially considering it measures the total output of a country's population. A country of over a 140 million being eclipsed by one of about 36 is not a good sign.
Im not suggesting that Canada's contribution to the war effort exceeded that of the SU, the US or the British and you're right in suggesting the country was spared annihilation largely thanks to its location far removed from the frontlines. Canada took part in the Allied war effort and that is something that cannot be taken away from the country.
It's also wrong to assume that the Eastern Front represented the majority of the conflict when outside of Europe the Pacific theatre was raging on. Many Europeans believe that the war in Europe represented the extent of the conflict.
First time talking to a Russian about World War 2? Their version of the war is burned into their heads. You won't get anywhere explaining to them its was more than the SU fighting fascism. As far as they are concerned, that was it. They don't even acknowledge the start and stop dates, let alone all of the other countries involved.
But lets be real, the war really WAS about this fight. This was Hitler's goal: cleanse the east of undesirables (Jews) and reclaim it for Germans with Slavs as their peasantry. This meant the defeat of Communism and thus the USSR was the obstacle to that, not the UK or the USA. Lucky for us, Stalin didn't agree to it (he could have kept most of modern day Russia) and fought him all the way back to Berlin. Stalin could have beaten the Nazis back and signed a treaty more or less in early 1944 and saved a lot of Soviet lives.
First time talking to a Russian about World War 2? Their version of the war is burned into their heads. You won't get anywhere explaining to them its was more than the SU fighting fascism. As far as they are concerned, that was it. They don't even acknowledge the start and stop dates, let alone all of the other countries involved.
But lets be real, the war really WAS about this fight. This was Hitler's goal: cleanse the east of undesirables (Jews) and reclaim it for Germans with Slavs as their peasantry. This meant the defeat of Communism and thus the USSR was the obstacle to that, not the UK or the USA. Lucky for us, Stalin didn't agree to it (he could have kept most of modern day Russia) and fought him all the way back to Berlin. Stalin could have beaten the Nazis back and signed a treaty more or less in early 1944 and saved a lot of Soviet lives.
I fully recognize the Soviet's contribution to the war effort and would argue with anyone who tried to claim that the USSR did not do much in the war. Many Russians seem to believe that the USSR was fighting the Germans for a noble cause, but the reality is far from it. The Soviets signed a pact with Hitler and were all too happy to let western Europe fall to Nazism as long as they were not affected, it's only following Hitler's breaking of the pact that the realities of the situation became more apparent.
I agree with the notion that the US wasn't much of an obstacle at first as it was too distant to pose much of a threat, but the UK definitely was one. The UK's status as an island definitely helped them in the long run.
I also find it naive to claim that the Soviets won the war, when it only officially ended with Japan's surrender. The fact that most Europeans played a minimal role at best in the Pacific Theatre doesn't diminish the fact that it was a major battleground that stretched all the way from Burma to Australia and up to the North Pacific.
I fully recognize the Soviet's contribution to the war effort and would argue with anyone who tried to claim that the USSR did not do much in the war. Many Russians seem to believe that the USSR was fighting the Germans for a noble cause, but the reality is far from it. The Soviets signed a pact with Hitler and were all too happy to let western Europe fall to Nazism as long as they were not affected, it's only following Hitler's breaking of the pact that the realities of the situation became more apparent.
And what was wrong with that pact? The other countries also had similar agreements. At that time, the Nazis did not burn people in the stoves yet. And a year before this pact, England, France, Germany and Poland divided Czech Republic. And, by the way, Poland has accepted new lands with pleasure. And yes, Russia fought for a noble cause against the terrible Nazi regime. And you can not prove otherwise.
There was no motive for the USA to engineer a coup when the election was going to take care of the problem well enough.
The reason: the coming to power of neo-Nazis (in the broad sense of the word). These people would never have been able to lead the country in fair elections (when the Crimea and the East voted).
Profit US: 1. Loans. 2. Military bases. 3. Trade for insane prices (gas, coal weapons, etc.).
And what was wrong with that pact? The other countries also had similar agreements. At that time, the Nazis did not burn people in the stoves yet. And a year before this pact, England, France, Germany and Poland divided Czech Republic. And, by the way, Poland has accepted new lands with pleasure. And yes, Russia fought for a noble cause against the terrible Nazi regime. And you can not prove otherwise.
Everything was wrong with the pact. The reason Germany became so powerful in the first place was because the Allies did little to stop them. I'm not only accusing the SU of having a pact with Hitler but countries like Britain and France who appeased Hitler with Austria and the Czech Republic in hopes it would prevent a war. The belief was that if Germany could claim all lands where German was spoken, it would stop trying to expand and there would be no need for conflict. It's only when Hitler invaded Poland that the allies decided to step in. Russia, like the rest of the Allies only fought the Nazi regime when it had become powerful enough that it could no longer be ignored. It was a fight for survival not one conducted out of benevolence.
I think what Milky Way Resident is trying to get at is that Russians tend to be very defensive of their history and their country. And that whenever an outsider/westerner points out anything negative about Russia, even if it is true, Russians well deflect it by stating that the US/Europe does the same thing, which often times is true as well. (I know this to be true as I do this quite often as well) In essence both sides become hypocrites. Westerners criticizing Russia for many of the things that the west is guilty of, and Russian's defending it because "unethical" westerners do it too. However one thing I want to point out to Milky Way Resident, is that I think most Russians are aware of Russia's flaws, and are embarrassed and tired of it, and are pretty open about discussing these issues amongst themselves. But when a foreigner comes into the conversation, Russians will try to tidy up the situation and try to present it as "not so bad", even though knowing full well of the ills eating Russia inside out. Similar to how when guests come over to a persons house, that person will try to make their house more presentable and the guest ends up leaving the house thinking said person is a very tidy person, even though most days said person leaves a mess around. And what I want to point out to the Russian community, two wrongs don't make a right. Even if the west does it, doesn't mean you have the moral high ground. Many westerners are aware of their flaws too and openly discuss about them amongst themselves too, and detest many of the things their governments do. For instance many Americans hate that their country spends so much money on the military and wars, when that money could be better spent on domestic issues. Many Americans hate the corporate greed that has taken over the country, and how everything is focused on making as much profits as possible, while many people in the bottom half of the social ladder don't know if they will still have a roof over their head in the next couple months. Americans detest their inefficient healthcare and education system as well as many other things. And I'm pretty sure Russian's have plenty of things to detest about their own country as well. I think all that Milky Way Resident wants is for you Russians to admit that Russia is a flawed country and has a lot to grow in, and that he/she is worried about the current path that Russia is set on. And all the Russian's want to say is that they are aware of their own problems and don't need outsiders pointing them out, since the people who know them best are the ones who actually live with them. It's like an anorexic person talking with an obese one. Anorexic person tells the obese one that they need to eat less or they will die of cardiovascular disease, and the obese one tells the anorexic one to shut up and instead eat more or else they will die on malnutrition, while all this time they both think they have the moral high ground in this debate and neither one can admit that they both think that they are fat.
The pact between Stalin and Hitler was Stalin's own attempt at appeasement. He took those lands for the SU as a buffer against future Nazi expansionism. I'm not trying to say Stalin had a noble cause here. I'd say it was just as noble for Germans to fight the spread of Communism (at the time).
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