Why is Russia still behaving like a enemy, even after the fall of communism?
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The GDP of Russia is less than that of Greece, per capita.
It would be insane for the Greeks to run a spy network and have big displays of military hardware etc. It's insane for Russia too. They won't give up the idea of being a superpower, even though the USSR has gone.
Edit: I was mistaken to write that the per-country GDP of Russia is less than that of Greece, but the per-capita is. The nominal GDP of Russia as a country is less than that of Canada.
Last edited by grumpyskeptic; 07-25-2020 at 05:12 AM.
The GDP of Russia is less than that of Greece, both per country and per capita.
It would be insane for the Greeks to run a spy network and have big displays of military hardware etc. It's insane for Russia too. They won't give up the idea of being a superpower, even though the USSR has gone.
The GDP of Russia is less than that of Greece, both per country and per capita.
Per country? Wikipedia says Greece's GDP is 300 (or 200 nominal) billion vs Russia's 4.5 (or 1.6 nominal) trillion.
Per capita they're both around 30000.
The fundamental problem with this thread is it's title. It assumes that idealogy/methodology is Good or Evil, when the simpler truth is power vacuums lead to power freaks and they will find a way to harness ANY system to their whims.
But if that is all there is to it, why do all countries not behave in the same way? Why for example does a country like Sweden not behave like Russia? The communist/capitalist split gave Russia an idealogical justification for her imperialistic behaviour, but the behaviour itself was much the same as it had been in the 19th century, when her main opponent was Britain rather than the US.
Let me add that "Communism" never "fell".
Communism is an ideology that has roots reaching into the antique, but likely got its current name in the 19th century (when Marxism also got its name).
[As an aside, the socialist movement of that time has introduced many important changes into our "western" world that, if undone, even the purest capitalist would bitterly complain about]
It is invalid to equate this with various socialist/communist regimes over the world; the atrocities of these are not a result of communism, they are a result of despotism. Despotic attempts to change a flawed society into "something more communist" (even the communists of these countries were aware that they hadn't reached that goal yet).
Russia! Stop shivering in the cold as an outcast, come inside and enjoy the warmth of the West.
Now that just doesn't make any sense at all.
The "cold" analogies are valid for any Nordic country. Also parts of Russia are way hotter than wherever you're from (the "West" I presume).
And outcast by whom?
I don't think Russia sees itself that way, not its inhabitants, not its regime. And frankly, neither do I.
To put it bluntly, your statement betrays both arrogance and ignorance.
I have never heard of it before, or at least only barely. I never imagined that there was a country between Poland and Russia. I would have thought that countries like that were between the Black and Caspian seas.
Last edited by grumpyskeptic; 08-10-2020 at 05:16 AM.
At least the former European satellite countries of the USSR are basking in our western warmth and 257 varieties of yoghurt.
Once again, this is an invalid simplification & most likely complete ignorance of what is really going on in Russia nowadays, clinging to old images from times when Clint Eastwood was potus.
Assuming "257 varieties of yoghurt" stands for consumerism and cheap, partly imported, products in general:
yes, some of the former Eastern Bloc countries - most notably those that are actually quite close to the former western border of said bloc - have 257 varieties of yoghurt, but many also don't.
in Russia itself I think it's more regional - some regions have even more than 257, others have much less, but I think everywhere there's more than 1. I hope somebody actually living in Russia can confirm.
BTW, if you lived in one of the fringe regions of the world (e.g. high up in the North) or simply in a sparsely populated area, you'd know that even in so-called "Western" countries 257 varieties of yoghurt aren't the norm.
Once again, this is an invalid simplification & most likely complete ignorance of what is really going on in Russia nowadays, clinging to old images from times when Clint Eastwood was potus.
Assuming "257 varieties of yoghurt" stands for consumerism and cheap, partly imported, products in general:
yes, some of the former Eastern Bloc countries - most notably those that are actually quite close to the former western border of said bloc - have 257 varieties of yoghurt, but many also don't.
in Russia itself I think it's more regional - some regions have even more than 257, others have much less, but I think everywhere there's more than 1. I hope somebody actually living in Russia can confirm.
BTW, if you lived in one of the fringe regions of the world (e.g. high up in the North) or simply in a sparsely populated area, you'd know that even in so-called "Western" countries 257 varieties of yoghurt aren't the norm.
I lived in both Russia and the US. I can confirm that in any big country you can find high and low depending on geography (not only, it can depend on other things). To be honest, the US is in bigger contrast than Russia. 2 hours of driving from Chicago in any direction and you will be in a totally differend country, not that one you can see on TV. Well, in Chicago where I lived 10 years, I could see different worlds even within a city :-)
Russia is more or less the same despite anything (there are differences too). On average it's pretty good, be it on Baltic sea, or Pacific coast.
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