I think I'm beginning to understand Russia a little

[regexcellent]

I was in ROTC but I left.

Yes, spending less money on the military and taxing people less is a good thing for the economy in direct terms. We need a certain amount of military power obviously but it's better to be spending less than more.

[Kidlicious]

We've been closing bases since the end of the Cold War. There isn't really a noticable effect.

[Felch]

So what would be the point of Russia in the 1990s fabricating Soviet statistics to show them (the Russian Fed) being much worse than they really were?

The main issue was the oligarchs gobbling up companies very quickly after opening up the economy. It basically made any attempts at a free market a joke. It's one of the reasons Putin first went after them - and it's one of the major things that Russians liked about him in the beginning.



And when that suddenly goes away, that's a lot of soldiers and industries suddenly not having work.

I agree with your criticism of Russian crony capitalism, but I think that the price of oil may have had a bigger impact on their GDP.



Oil and natural gas have accounted for a majority of Russia's exports for decades. The 90s slump in energy prices hit them especially hard.

[Ban Kenobi]

I think some have even claimed that the drop in oil prices in the late 80s broke the Soviet Union.

[Hauldren Collider]

I think it's more likely a combination of that, a stagnant economy, costly failed military adventures (afghanistan) and futile efforts to keep pace with US military might. Trying to identify the "thing" that broke the Soviet Union is like trying to identify the raindrop that caused the flood.

[Dr Strangelove]

What broke the Soviet Union was Gorbachev's insistance that force was not necessary to keep the Communist world intact. Their Warsaw Pact partners in Eastern Europe disproved that first, followed by the Soviet republics.

[C0ckney]

LENIN: Look! It's an exciting, scientifically proven Western idea to lift Russia from her backwardness!
RUSSIAN PEOPLE: Well, it can't be much worse than the Tsar, so . . . oh. Ohhhhh, crap.
(decades pass)

i think this is a common misconception. although what the communists did had an enormous human cost, the rapid industrialisation improved the russian people's lives a lot. if i recall correctly, less than 10% of people were employed in areas other than agriculture in the early 1920s. under stalin russia industrialised faster than germany had in 19th century.

[Serb]

PETER THE GREAT: Why don't you shave, you sad sacks of crap? You're embarrassing me. Clean up, get it together. Pretend you come from a normal, non-retarded country, like France.

RUSSIAN PEOPLE: What is this 'France'?
Oh, you mean that sh!tty country which has been ruled by the Russian queen about how much? Seven centuries ago from now? In 11th century? A country whose all their kings are maternally Russians since that moment?

No way, Sir. Those dirty Europeans don't wash for centuries and prefer to use perfumes to hide the stink of their dirty asses and wigs to hide their fat head louses.

You know why there was no plagues in Russia (despite having the same large population centers like Moscow, Kiev, Novgorod, etc). Cause we wash. At these times, Europe was a dirty, stinking ****hole, compared to Russia. That is a simple and sad for you fact.


p.s. Yes, I.m back. Where is the Olympic thread? link, anyone?

edited: Now, I actually read the article in the link myself. Gotta love that letter:

The new queen consort was not instantly attracted to her new realm. She wrote to her father that Francia was "a barbarous country where the houses are gloomy, the churches ugly and the customs revolting."^[1] Anna complained that the French could not write and read, and did not wash themselves. Anna of Kiev could write and read five languages, including Greek and Latin, while her husband Henry the First and his entire court could not write and read, and signed themselves with a cross. At her wedding banquet, she was shocked to have only three dishes, while at her father's court in Rus', she had five dinner dishes every day. Anna could ride a horse, was knowledgeable in politics, and actively participated in governing France, especially after her husband died.

"non-retarded country, like France", my ass

[Felch]

Here you go, Serb. Hotels in Sochi.

It looks like you guys were so happy with your 11th century sanitation that you haven't bothered to improve on it.

[Serb]

Wrong again. We have doubled it.

[Felch]

Russian toilet density per restroom stall is twice that of the West. Kudos!

[Hauldren Collider]

That just doesn't mesh with the anti-gay philosophy very well, though, does it?

[Serb]

Russian toilet density per restroom stall is twice that of the West. Kudos!

Told you

[Hauldren Collider]

[Felch]

Homosexuality in Russia is a crime and the punishment is seven years in prison, locked up with the other men. There is a three year waiting list.