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I wonder if they will ever catch up with the US. Americans are excellent drivers but we do have our idiots, just not as many. Our roads are better and believe me in a lot of places it's impossible to drive fast due to congestion. Moscow has got to be worse than any place here when it comes to that. I just read that commuting from Everett to Seattle (about 30 miles) on average took 94 minutes in 2016. We've poured billions into our roads and it doesn't get any better for us. I don't even want to think about what Moscovites will have to endure.
There is also still much better, the progress is obvious.
A lot of people have forgotten, indeed, that Russia also asked to join NATO (under both Gorbachev and Putin) and was rebuffed. Russia wanted IN the club. In fact, how much they wanted in the club was pathetic and I thought so at the time. The West, steeped in Russophobia, was never going to let them in, and the Russians wasted somewhere between fifteen and twenty years before they got the message that the West, and the US in particular, was implacably hostile and intended to remain so.
Russia has about half the GDP of California. It is a superpower only in terms of nuclear weapons, though its army, technology and geographic reach mean that it is still a great power.
It has been pushed into the arms of the Chinese, which from a geopolitical POV is ludicrous: Siberia is the most likely point of conflict between the Chinese and the Russians, driven by the realities of climate change, demographics and aquifer depletion. Siberia has hardly any population, lots of land, and tons of water, and in twenty to thirty years, the Chinese are going to need that water, and in forty years or so they’re going to need the land.
“(Reuters) - The Russian Communist Party on Saturday unexpectedly dropped its veteran leader Gennady Zyuganov as its presidential candidate to challenge President Vladimir Putin next year, choosing instead a largely unknown businessman with links to the farm sector.“ “the party picked Pavel Grudinin.”
Yup.
I am listening here the pre-presidential debates, where Putin's dear V. Solovyev is drilling Grudinin.
Grudinin comes across as a real thing; he definitely has a program and team of people ready to work under him. He is well-spoken, intelligent, analytical, and his popularity is growing fast it seems, which makes Solovyev unhappy. So he tries his best to discredit Grudinin here, during his program "Evening with Vladimir Soloviev."
The CPRF will never win an election in Russia but they are strong enough to not be kept out of politics. Approved co-opted "opposition" is all part of that managed democracy thing.
The CPRF will never win an election in Russia but they are strong enough to not be kept out of politics. Approved co-opted "opposition" is all part of that managed democracy thing.
You understand what Grudinin is saying?
If not, you have no idea what you are talking about.
P.S. Grudinin is NOT a member of the Communist party BTW.
You understand what Grudinin is saying?
If not, you have no idea what you are talking about.
P.S. Grudinin is NOT a member of the Communist party BTW.
Yes and he won the primaries for the left front party earlier, then the communist party nominated him, the entire left spectrum is united under him. (Navalny btw is not left, he is a nationalist, a racist, and a xenophobe) Grudinin has the biggest base of support besides Putin and has a big chance. And even if he loses I think it will be fairly close similar to how Zyuganov/communist party got 40% of the votes back in 1996. Also Grudinin isn’t advocating to go back to soviet times but to form something between Scandinavian socialism and modern Chinese communism, and Russia happens to be right in between the two reagions so it would make sense to be in between ideologically.
Yes and he won the primaries for the left front party earlier, then the communist party nominated him, the entire left spectrum is united under him. (Navalny btw is not left, he is a nationalist, a racist, and a xenophobe) Grudinin has the biggest base of support besides Putin and has a big chance. And even if he loses I think it will be fairly close similar to how Zyuganov/communist party got 40% of the votes back in 1996. Also Grudinin isn’t advocating to go back to soviet times but to form something between Scandinavian socialism and modern Chinese communism, and Russia happens to be right in between the two reagions so it would make sense to be in between ideologically.
Yes-yes, he got the endorsement of both far-left and moderate left forces (and even people who don't think about themselves as your typical "left wing," praised him.)
The more I am listening to Grudinin, the more it becomes clear that it's not the "Communist," but a representative of medium-small Russian business is talking. ( This is for example his fearless ( if not to say shocking) speech at Moscow Economic forum.
These are bad news for Navalny, because big chunk of his voters will go to Grudinin ( I see from the small poll sample - 55% of Navalny votes goes to him, and only 15% to Sobchak most likely.)
So something is definitely shaping and taking place in Russia - unexpectedly, the "last minute" so to speak, but spreading fast, like a fire. ( Sort of like with Trump? lol))) But in the opposite - that is "left" direction.)
I can only start making guesses - is this for real, which comes as unpleasant surprise to Putin, or Putin is looking for the way out of the game and will be content to see someone like Grudinin taking his place?
P.S. Grudinin has an interesting view on the whole current "Ukraine" problem btw, (a view which is basically close to mine.) He believes that once Russia is a prosperous, non-corrupt country, Ukrainians won't be as hostile to it, as it is today.
P.S. I see him as a strong domestic leader, but as far as international affairs go - not so much. ( Hence I am a bit surprised by his referrals to China ( someone needs to tell him that China in its current shape and form was created by the US first of all - it's not some recent phenomenon that came out of nowhere on its own. However Grudinin is aware of his weaker side, so he is not excluding possibility to keep ppl from Putin's team when it comes to international affairs.
P.S. I see him as a strong domestic leader, but as far as international affairs go - not so much. ( Hence I am a bit surprised by his referrals to China ( someone needs to tell him that China in its current shape and form was created by the US first of all - it's not some recent phenomenon that came out of nowhere on its own. However Grudinin is aware of his weaker side, so he is not excluding possibility to keep ppl from Putin's team when it comes to international affairs.
Yes he has pointed out that he would be more than happy to keep Lavrov and Shoygu as he has a deep respect for them. He also used to be part of the United Russia party and so he is aware of how to play the political game in Russia. Btw would Zyuganov end up being the Prime Minister if Grudinin wins?
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But in the opposite - that is "left" direction.)