PUTIN

Putin, DePfeffel, or both?

 

Its russia were on about not some middle east country we can bully and invade. I think sanctions are the best way for the world.

 

Are you OK? What's your thoughts on how all this affects you?

 

Agreed. We know @SuperTyke likes to shoot from the hip, but you are right that sanctioning all Russian companies would be very damaging and morally wrong. The western media have to take some responsibility too, as do people like Sleepy Joe with their damaging rhetoric. Anti-Russian sentiment is being ramped up once again (it's always ready in waiting), and ordinary lives are at stake. Ukrainian lives and Russian lives.

 

Is Putin Ill? A dying despot doesn't care if the world burns.

 

Totally agree about civilians on both sides. I just don’t see how any other way of dampening down the situation which doesn’t affect normal Russians. All out war, there is massive loss of life. Economic sanctions, there is massive loss of income (and probably life as an effect). It’s a completely **** situation that one man has created, but it needs stopping before civilians in more than just Ukraine (and Russia) are affected.

 

Putins painted himself into a corner here. He’s energised and united NATO and Europe, hardly in the long term interest of Russia. Sanctions will hurt - EU takes 27% of all Russia’s exports, China barely half of that, if he wants to try and jump into bed with China then he’s condemning Russia to be the junior partner to a superpower that sees them as a diplomatic sidekick and a backward source of cheap commodities. Bankrupting powerful Russian businessmen isn’t going to endear him internally and turning his country into a pariah state isn’t going to help.

 

Exactly.

There always has to be someone to be scared of......in 2020 we were about to go to war with North Korea, now we're back to the Russians.

London is basically Russian with the amount of money that's been stashed in property there.

 

If you look at the sanctions DePfeffel has just announced... I'm sure they are shitting it!

I'm not sure Putin is bothered about a few things on the periphery which may itch a bit. I'm not sure he's thinking logically either, where threat of penalty is enough to inhibit his actions.

I'd also argue he probably considers Russia a superpower still. They certainly have a large military to cause major problems. If the axis shifts to align Russia and China (and there methodologies have some similarities), I don't think a western air of superiority will see us safe.

 

None. Too many snouts in the trough.

 

Berlin.

 

Unfortunately this

 

who do you think bought the presidency for Trump. He won’t be biting the hand that feeds.

 

I'm absolutely fine, cheers for asking. I don't expect much to change in St Petersburg. However, the fact that 80%-90% of my earnings are in rubles is a bit worrying, although realistically I think that the markets have factored in a certain anount of risk. But anyway I'm expecting quite serious inflation, which is likely to affect the poorest in society first and foremost. However, the government will probably bring in price caps on staples so Babushka Lyudmilla and Sergey the factory worker (Putin's core support) probably won't notice that too much is amiss, at least for a while.

But one thing that very few people have mentioned is the fact that there are two million Ukrainians living in Russia, most of them in Moscow and St Petrsburg. It doesn't take a very large percentage of them to mobilise and suddenly there's an IRA type situation where there is a well-organised militia group within the country, capable of carrying out terrorist attacks on shopping centres, public transport, government buildings and the like. If so, then Moscow and St Petersburg will be first on the list. Ironically the two places where Putin is most despised by the majority of the population. I hope it doesn't happen, but let's be honest it's not that outlandish an idea.

 

Deborah knows. It's barely anything at all. It isn't severe that's for sure.

 

"Barrage of sanctions".

Little Britain randomly waving it's arms about again...

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ng-Nato-UKs-aggressive-posturing-Ukraine.html

Let us be thankful Corbyn didn't become the PM. He would have been even softer on Russia than Boris putting some sanctions on some small time Russian banks instead of the main ones.

 

All non contributors to the Tory Party probably .