Current Affairs Ukraine

[Spadge Vernacular]

Putin cemented his position with Russia's organised crime in St Petersburg in the 80's. He was signing dodgy export licences and mob casino licences. Anyone interested in understanding might want to have a look at the Salye commission.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Here

Marina Salye

The St. Petersburg Lawmaker Who Became Putin’s First Accuser

www.rferl.org

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Here

Marina Salye

The St. Petersburg Lawmaker Who Became Putin’s First Accuser

www.rferl.org

A broader paper below covering more of his early mob criminal activity.

Has Vladimir Putin Always Been Corrupt? And Does it Matter?

President Vladimir Putin was “the person to know in St. Petersburg,” according to Karen Dawisha, Walter E. Havighurst Professor of Political Science and Director, Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Miami Universtiy, Oxford, Ohio, and Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson...

www.wilsoncenter.org

 

[peteblue]

You think Russia can be taken out without us all being incinerated...

Are you being serious...Russia rolls over when faced with annihilation.

Wow.

I think you misunderstood my comment, if we were at war most of us would be gone, therefore we are not at war……

 

[Charro]

Putin cemented his position with Russia's organised crime in St Petersburg in the 80's. He was signing dodgy export licences and mob casino licences. Anyone interested in understanding might want to have a look at the Salye commission.

The oil for food scheme as well.

He's been at it for decades. Nobody can really pin down what exactly he was doing when he was in Dresden but the book I'm reading at the moment links him to domestic and international organised crime.

 

[Kev The Rat]

The oil for food scheme as well.

He's been at it for decades. Nobody can really pin down what exactly he was doing when he was in Dresden but the book I'm reading at the moment links him to domestic and international organised crime.

Authored by Victoria Nuland no doubt

 

[Charro]

My version of events was that 1) US propaganda won the day, the USSR dismembered itself as a result and 2) the Chicago boys muscled in and directed them towards a path of severe and uneccessary economic pain and which also involved mass privatisation which in turn led to looting.

So on 2 counts (both of which I view as the main issues) - the west is front and centre of the problem.

Funny that most Russians do blame the west for this, and you seem to think its only a small part. I know who I'd rather believe tbh.

Does your version of events hold any blame towards the Russian state and it's enabling of organised crime?

During the 80's do you think it was western propaganda that collapsed the state, or a massive drop in living standards, and collapsing infrastructure?

 

[davek]

I think you misunderstood my comment, if we were at war most of us would be gone, therefore we are not at war……

 

[Charro]

Authored by Victoria Nuland no doubt

Nope.

 

[Kev The Rat]

Does your version of events hold any blame towards the Russian state and it's enabling of organised crime?

During the 80's do you think it was western propaganda that collapsed the state, or a massive drop in living standards, and collapsing infrastructure?

A very small part a lot less than you seem to have inflated it to.

Living standards had not ‘collapsed’ in the Soviet Union by 1985 not sure what you’re talking about

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

In a society where white collar crime - bribery, state theft and other forms of corruption were endemic - protection payments were standard and a thriving black market economy was well established from the second world war onwards it defies belief that anyone would try to suggest otherwise.

The braincell bro's think people being raped and murdered is a fun topic to troll.

They are a stain on the wonderful GOT brand.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Edit: Keep with it til the end

 

[Charro]

A very small part a lot less than you seem to have inflated it to.

Living standards had not ‘collapsed’ in the Soviet Union by 1985 not sure what you’re talking about

Living standards had dropped the economy was failing, and infrastructure was collapsing.

Hence Chernobyl, hence why Gorbachev had to take action and opened up the economy.

Or do you believe he did this because of the west?

 

[dublinbluenose]

Do me a favour. The type of people who became oligarchs may have already been in the Soviet regime in the FSB etc but the cracking open of state industries to bring them to market - along with a break down in law and order - turbo charged their ability to create and build a wild west capitalist economy.

The excesses of that are why we have Putin and his turn to national chauvinism.

The West created that mess and then came along the strong man to clear it up and provide order alongside terror.

This war was ultimately made by western companies and western governments. Only a fool believes otherwise.

The communist party was corrupt from the top to the very lowest ranking party members. The Oligarchs didnt appear out of thin air.

I agree that the free market experiment of the early 99's, designed by Washington and NY think tanks was a complete disaster for your average citizen.

The corruption that was and is still endemic in state bodies such as the military would have bled the system dry regardless.

 

[davek]

Get lost. The Ukros have lost orders of magnitude more that the Russians.

10x I’d say

Kev, regarding likely Ukrainian battlefield losses: a clue was in that Newsnight report about the 24th Mechanised Battalion. It was 2,000 strong when the invasion started, and Mark Urban's report believes that the individual numbers stamped on each medal of honour handed out to the fallen stand at 300 plus since the war began.

If that's a proportion across the Ukrainian army then they've taken a terrible loss of life.

They had about 700,000 men in the army in 2022, that'd translate as what - 80,000 to 90,000 killed in action...