Centennial of the USSR

[TIDE-HSV]

The bloodletting of 1941-45 was overwhelmingly men. This bloodletting had "echoes" 20-30 years later, although the echoes were reflected in both women and men, because those men were not there to father the next generation.

So they're still playing catchup and never have caught up...

 

[JDCrimson]

They never will according to a book I am reading by Peter Zeihan which makes them even more dangerous...

So they're still playing catchup and never have caught up...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

They never will according to a book I am reading by Peter Zeihan which makes them even more dangerous...

Title?

 

[JDCrimson]

End of the World is Just Beginning

It all comes down to demographics and aging population...

The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan - Books on Google Play

The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization - Ebook written by Peter Zeihan. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The End of the World is...

play.google.com

 

[AWRTR]

Given 27,000,000 dead and 1415 days, that averages out to 19,000/day, every day for almost four years.
An inconceivable number of dead people.

Read a book recently focused on the Germans and the Russians battle, and it’s amazing the Russians didn’t completely collapse. They may be the toughest people group to ever live. It also helped they shot people that retreated, but the ability of the Russians to people to endure misery I can’t begin to comprehend in that war is a marvel of history.

They never will according to a book I am reading by Peter Zeihan which makes them even more dangerous...

I watched a video that was talking about the demographic issues they have. If the information was accurate they will collapse. They simply won't have enough people to maintain any level of economic activity to be relevant on the world stage. The only they have is natural resources and nuclear weapons.

 

[JDCrimson]

It goes into more detail, very interesting. A worldwide declining population increases inflation from slowing economy and smaller workforce. Periods of inflation dampen birthrates which is why the Gen X was such a small generation. Book basicallysays its a numbers game of less people, aging people, and disincentives to start families.

Read a book recently focused on the Germans and the Russians battle, and it’s amazing the Russians didn’t completely collapse. They may be the toughest people group to ever live. It also helped they shot people that retreated, but the ability of the Russians to people to endure misery I can’t begin to comprehend in that war is a marvel of history.

I watched a video that was talking about the demographic issues they have. If the information was accurate they will collapse. They simply won't have enough people to maintain any level of economic activity to be relevant on the world stage. The only they have is natural resources and nuclear weapons.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Demographically, they're already past the point of no return. I could use a more illustrative word, but I'd be banned.

Even if they changed all their policies today, threw down their guns in Ukraine today, and concentrated on giving 20 - 30 year-olds a reason to be "in the mood" tonight and every night for the foreseeable future, there are no longer enough young people to recover.

The chart below is from Peter Zeihan, who also cautions that these are Russian numbers, and the Russians always lie about their numbers.

Also, note that the numbers are from 2020. A significant portion of the last decent cohort they had (the early 1990s) has already aged from the 30 - 34 bracket into 35 - 39. That is really long in the tooth to be a new birth parent in a place as nasty as Russia.

IOW, it's probably materially worse than shown here.

 

[Its On A Slab]

I spent some time over the holidays with an expat Russian friend, friend of my wife's(both are Russian-speaking). At the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, she was all in an the Nazi stuff and Putin's lies.

10 months down the road, and she's still all in. She's a Phd in Physics from one of Moscow's leading universities. So she's not stupid. I shake my head at how intelligent people can be so misled.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I spent some time over the holidays with an expat Russian friend, friend of my wife's(both are Russian-speaking). At the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, she was all in an the Nazi stuff and Putin's lies.

10 months down the road, and she's still all in. She's a Phd in Physics from one of Moscow's leading universities. So she's not stupid. I shake my head at how intelligent people can be so misled.

We've discussed that before. Intelligence and expertise in one area doesn't necessarily carry over to all areas. I live in a town with a lot of kookie scientists...

 

[Its On A Slab]

We've discussed that before. Intelligence and expertise in one area doesn't necessarily carry over to all areas. I live in a town with a lot of kookie scientists...

And to just completely buy it. When Putin "annexed" those "republics" he tried to create in Ukraine, my MIL was enthralled. All she sees is the stuff she gets from Russian media sources. She was thinking it was a great thing. When in reality, Russia was losing in those areas.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

And to just completely buy it. When Putin "annexed" those "republics" he tried to create in Ukraine, my MIL was enthralled. All she sees is the stuff she gets from Russian media sources. She was thinking it was a great thing. When in reality, Russia was losing in those areas.

And their inhabitants were going to be Russians forever. We learned how short "forever" can be...

 

[Tidewater]

10 months down the road, and she's still all in. She's a Phd in Physics from one of Moscow's leading universities. So she's not stupid. I shake my head at how intelligent people can be so misled.

Maybe she just knows which way the winds is blowing in Moscow and does not wish to fall out of a hotel window.
On a more relevant note, I believe that the Russo-Ukraine War has been a laboratory for testing and demonstrating the power of information operations if the government controls the narrative.
Most Russians, it would seem, believe that there is a fascist regime in control of Kyiv (led ironically by a Jew). They are fed this on television, radio, and print. And they believe it. There are not alternative viewpoints available to them. The Russian public shows what a government can get away with if they control the narrative. That to me is terrifying.

 

[Its On A Slab]

Maybe she just knows which way the winds is blowing in Moscow and does not wish to fall out of a hotel window.
On a more relevant note, I believe that the Russo-Ukraine War has been a laboratory for testing and demonstrating the power of information operations if the government controls the narrative.
Most Russians, it would seem, believe that there is a fascist regime in control of Kyiv (led ironically by a Jew). They are fed this on television, radio, and print. And they believe it. There are not alternative viewpoints available to them. The Russian public shows what a government can get away with if they control the narrative. That to me is terrifying.

I also believe that the current falling in line with the Putin narrative is a continuation of the Stalin line of: if you disagree with me, we find a way to make you disappear.

My wife's grandfather was a Soviet apparatchik in Azerbaijan SSR. One day, he was summoned to Moscow for a meeting with Stalin. He didn't pack a bag because they all thought he was not going to return. Turns out, Stalin found out that he was an expert in antiques, and wanted to discuss antiques with him.

 

[Tidewater]

I also believe that the current falling in line with the Putin narrative is a continuation of the Stalin line of: if you disagree with me, we find a way to make you disappear.

My wife's grandfather was a Soviet apparatchik in Azerbaijan SSR. One day, he was summoned to Moscow for a meeting with Stalin. He didn't pack a bag because they all thought he was not going to return. Turns out, Stalin found out that he was an expert in antiques, and wanted to discuss antiques with him.

Oh, my gosh. I bet he was a nervous wreck.

 

[AWRTR]

I also believe that the current falling in line with the Putin narrative is a continuation of the Stalin line of: if you disagree with me, we find a way to make you disappear.

My wife's grandfather was a Soviet apparatchik in Azerbaijan SSR. One day, he was summoned to Moscow for a meeting with Stalin. He didn't pack a bag because they all thought he was not going to return. Turns out, Stalin found out that he was an expert in antiques, and wanted to discuss antiques with him.

I would have had to wear a diaper for the meeting. Stalin was on another level. I watched a very interesting interview with his daughter. He apparently loved her very much, and spent quality time with her. She went into his office at their home one day while playing and found evidence of the mass killings. It shook her badly. She recounted how people around her disappeared all the time. As a child she didn't understand why one minute people were in her life and the next they were gone. She said the house got very empty. It was chilling to listen to her speak about it.

 

[Its On A Slab]

I would have had to wear a diaper for the meeting. Stalin was on another level. I watched a very interesting interview with his daughter. He apparently loved her very much, and spent quality time with her. She went into his office at their home one day while playing and found evidence of the mass killings. It shook her badly. She recounted how people around her disappeared all the time. As a child she didn't understand why one minute people were in her life and the next they were gone. She said the house got very empty. It was chilling to listen to her speak about it.

Yet many Russians and Russian expats worship Stalin. He "won the Great Patriotic War". When I remind them of the millions of people killed and enslaved, I am usually met with a blank look. I am countering their entire belief system, I guess.

In a similar vein, I had a neighbor who was in the Soviet military in his younger days. One day, he was lauding Russian fighter jets. He said they were superior to ours. I told him, they may at times be able to fly faster, but I will always place my best on the US fighters' ability to shoot them down from over the horizon.

 

[Tidewater]

Yet many Russians and Russian expats worship Stalin. He "won the Great Patriotic War". When I remind them of the millions of people killed and enslaved, I am usually met with a blank look. I am countering their entire belief system, I guess.

In a similar vein, I had a neighbor who was in the Soviet military in his younger days. One day, he was lauding Russian fighter jets. He said they were superior to ours. I told him, they may at times be able to fly faster, but I will always place my best on the US fighters' ability to shoot them down from over the horizon.

And US planes do not have a habit of falling out of the sky like Russian warplanes do of late.

 

[Tidewater]

Troubling development.
Soldiers' widows group calls on Putin to order major mobilisation for Ukraine war
Of course, a mysterious widows' group asks Putin to do what Putin already wanted to do. What a coincidence!

 

[Its On A Slab]

And US planes do not have a habit of falling out of the sky like Russian warplanes do of late.

They might as well mothball or scrap the Kuznetsov. Lumbering bucket of bolts, belching black smoke, unable to be deployed without a lot of effort. Seems like I remember reading that they needed an ocean-going tug to get it to Syrian waters.

 

[Tidewater]

They might as well mothball or scrap the Kuznetsov. Lumbering bucket of bolts, belching black smoke, unable to be deployed without a lot of effort. Seems like I remember reading that they needed an ocean-going tug to get it to Syrian waters.

That speaks well of the design/construction.

In 2016, someone had ordered Russian aircraft and ships to violate neighbors' territorial waters and air space. Russians were sailing and flying all over the place. Heck, one Russian bomber violated Hawaiian airspace on the 4th of July while President Obama was in Hawaii.
Then Russian plane started falling out of the sky. In abundance. Then someone told the Russian air force to throttle back a bit. Crashing a bunch of Russian airplanes might send the message the Kremlin wanted.