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1. Embed this notice
   simsa02 (simsa02@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Jun-2023 18:50:48 JST simsa02

   • simsa04
   • es0mhi

   @es0mhi @simsa04
   I'm not so sure that "restotring the territory of the Soviet Union" are mere empty words. At least Putin believes in them, and, as it seems, more than 50% (numbers are sometimes up as high as 75%) of Russians support his war in Ukraine. It seems to me that many Russians rather choose "meaning", the feeling of importance, over freedom and good neighbourhood.

   This is the same reason why I also don't see this as the "beinning of the "end" for Russia.

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   • Embed this notice
     simsa02 (simsa02@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Jun-2023 18:50:47 JST simsa02

     in reply to

     • simsa04
     • es0mhi

     @es0mhi @simsa04
     As long as "meaning" is provided, any nation can stay on a downward path for a long time, esp. Russia, with all its historical experiences of brutalization and terror. I even fear that Putin is able to connect with the majority of Russians exactly via this level because he, like presumably them, in the end only respects the baseball bat. And he who isn't willing to use it is seen as weak.

     2/3

   • Embed this notice
     simsa02 (simsa02@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Jun-2023 18:51:25 JST simsa02

     in reply to

     • simsa04
     • es0mhi

     @es0mhi @simsa04
     That's why sanctions won't hurt, why negotiations will be empty words to play with in a game of deception, and why brute force is cherished in this paranoid style of living: One is only alive and vivid when it hurts.

     And even if the majority of Russians were not to share the beliefs of Putin and his circle: Nations can long endure oppression, economic decline, and cultural decay. The former Soviet Union throughout its entire history is a well-known example of this.

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