Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumWell, this is destressing... Russian person-in-street interviews on "Should we invade Poland next?"
Our greatest enemy is propaganda.
I love this YouTube channel, 1420, which does street interviews of ordinary Russians. Over time I've seen a big generation gap, at least in the Moscow and St Petersberg interviews. The people over 40 have bought Putin's "everyone's a Nazi" propaganda. Dmitri Medvedev comes in for some ruthless bashing in the interviews. In the small town interviews you rarely see young people, so the opinions in the hinterlands are lot more uniformly pro-war. The young people in the big cities have a more balanced view of the west and they usually take the pose of "I'm not a political person" before making anodyne statements about "everyone in the world should just get along."
But hoo-boy are the Russians ready to pile it onto the Poles. There's some beef there. One old lady seems to keep on saying some verb that gets bleeped -- even in the captions. From context, I think she's pro-genocide. Putin's propaganda only gets a C- in the west, now that the farce of it all has been exposed. But he's rocking a solid B+ on hardening his own peoples' hearts.
sarisataka
(20,255 posts)and Russians (generally) would be happy to see the country wiped off the map- again.
However it is fair to say the feeling is mutual.
I recall an old joke-
A Medieval polish farmer is out working in his fields one day, and digs up an old magic lamp. He begins to wipe off the dirt, thinking to sell it at market, when suddenly a Genie flies out, offering the astonished farmer 3 wishes.
"Oh Noble farmer, you have freed me from my prison, and for that I grant you 3 wishes! What say you?"
The farmer thinks hard about his first wish, and finally says "I wish for the Mongol hoard to come invade Poland."
The Genie looks at the farmer, puzzled for a moment, then nods. The entire Mongol hoard then eventually shows up and begins pillaging and looting everywhere. It is a time of great misery and suffering, but the hoard eventually leaves again.
Shaken, the Genie asks the farmer for his second wish, "Oh Noble farmer, now that thou hast brought this country to its knees, what is your next wish?"
The farmer looks around at the devastation, resolve in his eyes, and says "Genie, I want the Mongol Hoard to come invade Poland again!"
The Genie looks at the man in horror, and starts to argue with him, but then just sighs and snaps his fingers. Eventually, the Mongols arrive once more, and re-destroy the surrounding country. It is another time of great pain and misery for the polish people. Eventually, the Mongols depart once more
Shaken by what he has witnessed, the Genie cautiously asks the farmer for his third wish. Without hesitation, the farmer immediately says "I wish for the Mongols to invade Poland one more time!"
The Genie can't believe his ears.
"Oh Cruel farmer, why would you wish such misery on your fellow countrymen? What harm and suffering have they heaped on you to make you hate them so?" the puzzled Genie asks, as he snaps his finger one final time.
The farmer grins at the Genie. "Oh, I don't hate my countrymen, I love my friends and neighbors and this country. But every time the Mongols invade us, they go through Russia twice!"
xocetaceans
(3,917 posts). . . if the Russian population now knows about them. Is there a current video from 1420 (newer than from nine months ago) that follows up with the same set or a similar set of questions?
Bucky
(55,334 posts)I linked to their homepage in the original post. See for yourself.
Most of their video titles are very straightforward. WYSIWYG.
xocetaceans
(3,917 posts)gab13by13
(23,930 posts)Russia is going to lose the war in Ukraine, maybe the on the street guy should ask that question first?
Bucky
(55,334 posts)...there are certain questions Russians don't want to answer directly on camera. 1420 is pretty good at asking questions that won't get their interviewees in trouble (altho I'm certain the militsiya and the FSB go thru these uploads anyway, looking for "troublemakers"
getagrip_already
(16,908 posts)All you will ever hear is either silence or something heard directly on state TV.
It doesn't matter what the person thinks, that will be their only response.
Because literally any other response will get them arrested. No matter how subtle, any criticism or even concern will get them arrested. 100% of the time.
They know this. It is publicized to keep people in line.
So it means very little, really.
Bucky
(55,334 posts)getagrip_already
(16,908 posts)This is a country where a blank piece of paper, or a fake caviar sandwich, or just a shrug at the wrong time, will get you arrested.
If there is a message, those people were arrested. And they became examples to others. It can't happen often.
Diraven
(866 posts)Poland could probably steamroll what's left of the Russian Army and take Moscow in a couple days.
Bucky
(55,334 posts)But historically the Russian mindset has always favored attacking over defending and bullying over peaceful coexistence.
The real problem with a conflict with Poland is that it would swiftly move into nuclear exchanges. The Russian leadership seems pretty set against crossing that threshold.
rurallib
(62,934 posts)but on the list nevertheless
Bucky
(55,334 posts)Fortunately Putin doesn't seem to have the resources to go "shopping" right now.
rurallib
(62,934 posts)Bucky
(55,334 posts)And it was nice to see a Republican putting nation before party for once
"The United States has maintained longstanding support to NATO. Most recently, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, passed by Congress on December 14, 2023, prohibits the President from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO without approval of a two-third Senate super-majority or an act of Congress. This bill was a response to Donald Trump's repeated expressions of interest in withdrawing from the organization."