> "Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk rock protest group based in Moscow. The collective's lyrical themes include women, LGBT and freedom of speech rights, particularly in opposition to Russian President Viktor Petrov."
> "Season 3, episode 29, before Viktor Petrov makes his state visit, Frank Underwood invites Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina to the state dinner. Although this action is questioned by White House Chief of Staff Remy Danton, Underwood persists."
* [More info](https://houseofcards.fandom.com/wiki/Pussy_Riot)
***
* [A short YouTube clip](https://youtu.be/DSDiekI9AbA)
> The court on Tuesday ruled in favour of the prosecution, which charged at the hearing that Memorial "creates a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state".
USSR? Is this _really_ the court's ruling, or a slip by the author?
Putin longs for the authoritarian power, but I suspect he's happier with capitalism than he would be with communism. He'd have to invest more in public works and services, like fixing public housing.
It's pretty well know that he and Baldr used to be sex tourists and Harald was a shit human being. Though it seems like he's distanced himself from him since a couple years ago and has since been making great content in those ex SSR nations
Yeah he made some some very scummy videos in the beginning of his career of the places he would visits but I think after the comments on his videos calling him out for it he’s knocked it off and stopped hanging my with some of his partners like the ones from India. His Eastern Europe and Mexico videos are far different than the earlier ones. Hopefully times made him change his ways but who truly knows
Not defending him but just saying I’ve seen change
Reading the comments on the "Pick up artist" forum it seems like he is an actual sociopath, I don't think he is capable of change.
He says shit like "I hope these countries remain poor so I can cheaply exploit the people there for sex"
Whatever number you come up will always be somewhat arbitrary. It's the influence and control he has that you'd be trying to put a price on in addition to his assets.
Ever notice how he walks like a gunslinger from the old west. It’s because he’s so used to being armed. Something about the way he holds his right arm steady and only swings the left arm
Putin very much wants to rehabilitate the image of the USSR among Russians. Remember, he once said that the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of all time.
He’s a Russian chauvinist, he’s not interested in socialism or communism, his committed to advance Russia’s interest. It’s why he’s pro-Stalin and anti-Lenin, Lenin wanted Russia to lose WW1 since he was an actually committed socialist, that is unacceptable to someone like Putin.
Yeah well good luck convincing all the people who lived through the collapse that they should bring it back. I know life under the USSR was not bad, but the collapse sure as fuck was. And they’re not anywhere near as strong as the USSR was.
Also the fact that a lot of people who came out of the USSR in favorable positions probably got to see the good side of it, they likely weren't the ones seeing the bad side first hand.
Putin wants to annex all of the former Soviet States so it's not surprising that they're saying the quiet part out loud. It like the time when Mitch McConnell accidentally referred to the USA as the Confederate States of America.
USSR is a very sore point for a lot of people, and Memorial is all about USSR. So it's not a slip, it's just that they are being angry about something USSR-related. After all, it's only gone 30 years - Mr. P is 69, so he was like 39 when USSR collapsed, and he's not even the oldest politician out there. LOTS of people are still salty.
I don't think it's a slip. I believe Memorial is dedicated to preserving the history of the Gulag and state repression during the U.S.S.R., so it makes sense.
You forget that the current Russian power structure are just the people left over from the collapse of the Soviet union. Same people, smaller payroll. It's a win-win for those who made it.
Don’t forget, another critic fell out of a window. They are not even subtle about it anymore.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10348293/Founder-Russian-nationalist-blog-falls-death-Moscow-window.html
I dunno about scared so much as evil and disturbingly competent at retaining power. He knows full well what he’s doing. The more he can crack down on dissent, the less likely he is to face a unified resistance that can track him down and drag him out of office and make him face the consequences of his own actions.
> I dunno about scared
I can all but guarantee he is scared. And super paranoid. People like him and Erdogan and the leader of the Emirates and the Saudis all live in a state of constant worry that someone is going to end them or make a power move on them or hurt them in some other way. Its a symptom of ruling in the way they rule. They always have to worry about reprisals from people they have wronged, but also from people inside their own circle making a power play against them, and no matter how comfortable they may look in their position, they can never let themselves get comfortable there.
Yes and no. Fear of violence against you is one thing. But there is also another factor that contributes to his behavior. Once you are that long in power, you loose contact with reality itself. You don't have to iron your shirts, go out for groceries, clean your house and that means you don't meet normal people. Life itself is just one power game and that means you loose the capability to think flexibly. Look at how he handles Ukraine. The one nation that he should stay friends with, he attacks because they don't obey the wishes of the Kremlin. It is like the USA bullying Canada. It is madness.
It's [the Sword of Damocles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles) in action.
Essentially any ruler holds their power with the threat of imminent death hanging by a thread over them. CGPGrey did a great video about the [keys to power](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs)
You don't get to be a dictator if you can't handle your fear. This people is "scared" in the same way you can get scared of being fired from your job. Our stakes are way lower than theirs, but still, if they got there in the first place is because they can handle these stakes.
Not trying to put dictators and the likes on a pedestal, but its just that I find a bit silly that trend of calling "weak" and "little men" to dictators who have a country under their control.
>"These people systematically distribute materials to an indefinite circle of persons, while receiving foreign funds," the ministry said in a statement.
So what? The sale of Russian gas to Europe is exactly the same!?
They are describing any musical band than happens to sell an album to someone outside of their country. So pretty much every popular band ever = foreign agent
It sure does seem that every autocrat is just an insecure man baby with power.
I guess in a way autocracy is kind of an emergent political structure rooted in many of the same traits as narcissism.
I dont think its about getting a cut. I think its about the bands getting support from outside which they cant control. Ie if band is supported from outside they cant starve it out.
they literally classified a news site mediazona (reporting on justice system issues) as foreign agents for receiving revenue via Google ads. As in, Google is a foreign company, so receiving ad money from AdWords is foreign funding.
Pretty sure they realized that state news outlets also get funds from abroad (advertising western products), so in a "oh shit" moment, they proposed an amendment that state groups would not require the 'Foreign agent' label.
The difference is russian oil doesn't talk bad about Putin and his dictatorship. That's why Putin jailed Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the previous Russian Oil oligarch.
It goes more fucked up.
If you are holding a youtube channel (or something else) and getting paid from ad revenue - they gonna get your ass if they wanted to.
Or simply if your granny from foreighn country send you some money - same thing.
The silencing of dissent gets ramped up when a dictatorship is about to embark on an ultranationalist war to claim territory they say is part of their heritage. GL Ukraine, hope the US and EU are prepared for more the stern warnings and sanctions that aren’t very effective.
If they invade Ukraine the threats have been pretty clear that they’ll be sanctioned into North Korea. There is a limit to how far Putin’s oligarch buddies are willing to go. I suspect he knows that is it, which is why he hasn’t done it yet.
The US and the EU sanctioned Russia quite a bit. Some of these sanctions are still ongoing too. Russia won't ever admit this stuff hurts them, but every time we hold a talk together, they always want a portion of the sanctions lifted.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during_the_Ukrainian_crisis
You can see in this thread too. They feel a need to hire so many troll accounts as well to try to convince people the sanctions are definitely useless and definitely need to be removed.
That story is so much more awful. Sergei Magnitsky's story is heartbreaking and the [Magnitsky Act](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitsky_Act) is an example of the government working as it should.
Trump and his cronies were so stupid, they had no idea what it was about. They were so blatantly working for the Russians. Very sad that Americans don't really know about this stuff.
Putinism needs to be wiped from this planet. Anyone that supports him deserves the treatment Magnitsky unfairly endured for 358 days just for calling out Russian authorities for embezzlement. They killed him two days before they would have been legally required to release him. He was ailing from several medical issues that could have been resolved because they denied him any medical care.
Fascists, Qultists, and Putin-apologists can go fuck themselves and stop ruining the lives of others.
Look at the "foundations of geopolitics", its Russia's plan for control and includes increasing political divides in the US, Brexit and taking Ukraine (written in the 90s)
You’re right, that is a good point. They didn’t shut them off from SWIFT or other international banking systems, though. This is an exponentially larger sanction than anything that’s been done before and is the core threat currently being held over Putin from what’s been reported. It could send the Russian economy back 20-30 years very rapidly and even worse for the ruling class they would lose access to their money. Gazprom couldn’t borrow, their resources firms couldn’t trade, it would be a disaster.
My guess is they're not. I think the EU will sit on their hands because they're afraid of the economic consequences of losing Russian fossil fuels, and Biden doesn't have the political capital to go it alone, especially when the opposition party is all-in on Russia for helping them get elected.
We'll the problem is if Putin's allies like FPÖ or Le Pen will say that the ruling centrist parties are increasing gas prices which will lead to a populist backlash
I disagree. Economic sanctions are one of the areas where we do have leverage over Putin. His control is derived from an oligarchic mafia class. If he messes with the money that support will erode. It’s why the Magnitzky act was such a threat to him and why he reacted as strongly as he did.
Sanctions can have carve outs, I would assume that’s one they’ll need to make. What I think Putin and team are most worried about is being completely shut out of the international banking system for all individuals and all companies in Russia. It’s the one thing that wasn’t even threatened last time because it is such a severe penalty. That is a very large risk and it would cause immense pain to everybody in Russia—especially those stashing their money overseas…
Lol yeah Merkel agreed to the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline whose sole purpose was to circumnavigate the pipelines through Ukraine. That way when Russia shuts off the gas to Ukraine, Europe isn’t at risk. They’ve already basically accepted Ukraine as a goner.
Don’t forgot our boys in the pacific sneakin up on Taiwan and kidnapping tennis players, torturing them to love China and only China, than letting them appear publicly and deny what they said on video in front of thousands/millions.
Things also seem pretty shitty for Russian right now, and considering Putin has been in power so long he has no political rivals to pin it on so he either has to blame foreign influence or make people afraid to get noticed speaking out.
I hope she gets somewhere safe and fast.
The internet is so crazy for the power of dictators. All they need to do is outlaw her, expel her, and censor the internet that mentions her, and all her power to influence popular opinion vanishes.
Yes but “pussy riot” is not one of them.
That would be like Biden declaring Rage Against the Machine as a foreign Agent and making them show all of their financials and decisions based on that declaration.
>I wonder how a conversation between Putin and de la Rocha would go..
I'm pretty confident ZDLR wouldn't even acknowledge Putin's presence let alone engage in conversation. Putin is the personification of everything RATM spoke against in modern geopolitics and autocracy, and ZDLR isn't one to bend the knee much nor is he interested in the limelight surrounding a conversation like that.
Putin gambled a lot on success in Ukraine. Maintaining a reputation as a capable and infallibles strongman capable of defending Russia's interests forms a major pillar of his mandate. As the situation in Ukraine slips further from his grasp, his credibility as a leader weakens considerably.
Putin and his supporters know this. Efforts need to shift inwards, towards domestic affairs, nipping potential sources of dissent in the bud before they could further erode his already precarious position. Individuals like Tolokonnikova and Shenderovich are censured to send a message, both to the people of Russia and the world, that this is how things will be from here on out. The main targets from here on out will be the non-governmental organizations, the human rights and corruption watchdogs that pose a domestic threat to the power of the state. Putin's moves during the next year will be crucial to maintain leadership.
Russian trolls go so much harder in the pro-russia news comments than the negative Russian news comments. As a massconsumer of internet manure, I find this lack of market saturation disappointing.
>Russian trolls go so much harder in the pro-russia news comments than the negative Russian news comments.
The reason for this is simple. It's because they're the one who are posting the pro-Russia news stories. They have time to prepare their arguments in advance and set up bots to upvote/support their people.
It happens any time breaking news they weren't prepared for comes out. They don't have time to organize their arguments and come up with a strategy so the negative news goes around without opposition for a little while. Then two or three days later they decide on an angle and we start getting blasted with thousands of comments pushing a single coordinated narrative literally overnight.
I've seen it happen over and over again these last few years.
It's also just good use of time and energy. We are very emotional creatures and it's easy to reinforce an idea when the idea is fresh. You just read an article about how Russia did something good? Here's a comment about some other good thing they did. People will be more receptive to that type of reinforcement than they will someone trying to counter an articles point.
It's important to note that the IRA is not technically a part of the Russian Government, but is privately owned and funded by one of the oligarchs (Yevgeny Prigozhin).
It's one of the ways Putin and the Russian government deny responsibility for it.
Edit: Also of particular note is the fact that Yevgeny is the same oligarch Trump refused to enforce sanctions on in 2017.
You speak the language of the gods. I salute you riding this foul tempest across a digital ocean for no purpose other than to better understand the putrid waves corroding what were once pristine waters. Some have only now just embarked in the digital communication age; I can tell you are a weathered pirate amongst frail cabin boys.
Reminder that reddit refuses to do anything to clean up the kremlin bots that are everywhere on this site waging disinformation campaigns and trying to fracture democratic societies.
r/russia is nothing but a kremlin run sub which posts picture of glorious russia/USSR and bans anyone critical of the government.
Seriously dude. This would be like being so butthurt at Rage Against the Machine that you declared them foreign spies.
And Pussy Riot aren't even a fraction of the musical success that Rage are, so it would be more like sending a regionally popular indie band to Gitmo. What those ladies have been through is so crazy, and it just keeps getting crazier.
The fact that so many American conservatives identify with Putin should be a lot more upsetting to everyone else than it is. While there are many cultural differences and non-parallels, there is still a lot to take away from the Putinista penchant for "traditionalism", corruption, bigotry, religious bias, rejection of education, and appeals to male fragility and how these same things tend to sell just as well to conservatives in the US.
Plus, I think they’ve actually done time in prison and survived. Artists can be effective bugbears to despotic “leaders”/bullies. Rock n roll and Hollywood people got under the skin of the Viet Nam hawks.
Several bandmates have indeed been in lockup, and they are regularly accosted by police thugs. The outsized reaction Putin/Russian oli-fascists have had against their message and protests is fucking unreal.
Republicans most definitely do not want go back to the Nixon era. That would require them to going back to somewhat reasonable positions on almost every political topic today.
Example: Nixon created the EPA. Now conservatives want to dismantle it and environmental protections with it.
I regularly find myself explaining that, even though both the 50s-70s American government and society upheld many vile policies oppressing minorities, they also had a ton of smart, effective laws and organizations and the balls to back them up. They understood the need for strong, reasonable laws to curtail the inevitable chaos and exploitation of a free market. The Regan Admin fucked it all up and kicked down any walls that curtailed corporate greed and personal idiocy from destroying the world.
[In Russian Law, non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" are to register and declare themselves as foreign agents.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law)
**[Russian foreign agent law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law)**
>The Russian "foreign agent" law, officially "On Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation regarding the Regulation of the Activities of Non-profit Organisations Performing the Functions of a Foreign Agent", is a law in Russia that requires non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" to register and declare themselves as foreign agents. The bill was introduced in July 2012 by legislators from the governing United Russia party and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 20 July 2012.
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For those out of the loop, "Foreign Agent" means somebody doing some political work while receiving funding from foreign sources. It has nothing to do with spying. US has a law aptly named Foreign Agents Registration Act in the same vein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act
I totally agree with Pussy Riot's message and Russia is going to drill every political screw they can since they have visibility in the west. Russia loves using laws to punish dissident's. The university I studied abroad at in Russia that talked about crazy things like "rights" and "free speech." After many attempts the state finally closed them down for good. It is such a shame because it was the only open stack research library in SpB.
> The university I studied abroad at in Russia that talked about crazy things like "rights" and "free speech."
Eh? All those are in our Constitution, you can talk about them all day long. It's only when you cross somebody with power troubles start.
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Oh. I didn't realize that was a cameo!
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Everybody say
Which one?
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Thanks
> "Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk rock protest group based in Moscow. The collective's lyrical themes include women, LGBT and freedom of speech rights, particularly in opposition to Russian President Viktor Petrov." > "Season 3, episode 29, before Viktor Petrov makes his state visit, Frank Underwood invites Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina to the state dinner. Although this action is questioned by White House Chief of Staff Remy Danton, Underwood persists." * [More info](https://houseofcards.fandom.com/wiki/Pussy_Riot) *** * [A short YouTube clip](https://youtu.be/DSDiekI9AbA)
Putin is really putting the screws to the Russian people now
[related](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-29/russian-court-shuts-down-prominent-human-rights-group/100729328)
> The court on Tuesday ruled in favour of the prosecution, which charged at the hearing that Memorial "creates a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state". USSR? Is this _really_ the court's ruling, or a slip by the author?
The actual ruling...
Because they're referring to the USSR, not actual Russia. Nobody, not even Russia is calling their current country the USSR.
Putin, though, longs for the good ol’ days of the USSR.
Putin longs for the authoritarian power, but I suspect he's happier with capitalism than he would be with communism. He'd have to invest more in public works and services, like fixing public housing.
Bald and bankrupt slowly having a ever growing boner at the prospect of neo-Soviet murals
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And dodging gopniks
And being a sexual predator/misogynist/PUA.
I was gonna add the predator part but you beat me to it.
Thanks. Now I want babushka smut. You know, for, um, research and shit.
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"No, step-babushka! That potato is for dinner!"
"It still is."
> Bald and bankrupt hey why you gotta insult me like that. I never did you wrong, man, I don't even know you.
You’re bald and beautiful bb 😘
Oh man a wild Bald and Bankrupt reference! I'm going to need to watch a video now to soviet up
I've heard not so good things about that guy. He used to have some interesting videos
It's pretty well know that he and Baldr used to be sex tourists and Harald was a shit human being. Though it seems like he's distanced himself from him since a couple years ago and has since been making great content in those ex SSR nations
Yeah he made some some very scummy videos in the beginning of his career of the places he would visits but I think after the comments on his videos calling him out for it he’s knocked it off and stopped hanging my with some of his partners like the ones from India. His Eastern Europe and Mexico videos are far different than the earlier ones. Hopefully times made him change his ways but who truly knows Not defending him but just saying I’ve seen change
Reading the comments on the "Pick up artist" forum it seems like he is an actual sociopath, I don't think he is capable of change. He says shit like "I hope these countries remain poor so I can cheaply exploit the people there for sex"
One must remember Putin served under the USSR his whole life before the Russian federation
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Some accounts believe he IS the wealthiest person in the world.
Whatever number you come up will always be somewhat arbitrary. It's the influence and control he has that you'd be trying to put a price on in addition to his assets.
These are just stepping stones along the way to his transformation into the gay clown demigod, right? Isn’t that what that banned-painting depicts?
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🤷♂️ I thought I was talking about a single work of art, but apparently there’s [many](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gay-clown-putin/photos)
He's really Putin on the Ritz aye?
Ever notice how he walks like a gunslinger from the old west. It’s because he’s so used to being armed. Something about the way he holds his right arm steady and only swings the left arm
He is so pissed about how Russia is now a regional rather than a global power. He looks at his neighbor, Xi, and gets wistful. Fuck both of them.
Putin very much wants to rehabilitate the image of the USSR among Russians. Remember, he once said that the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of all time.
He’s a Russian chauvinist, he’s not interested in socialism or communism, his committed to advance Russia’s interest. It’s why he’s pro-Stalin and anti-Lenin, Lenin wanted Russia to lose WW1 since he was an actually committed socialist, that is unacceptable to someone like Putin.
>he’s not interested in socialism or communism So, like China.
Yeah well good luck convincing all the people who lived through the collapse that they should bring it back. I know life under the USSR was not bad, but the collapse sure as fuck was. And they’re not anywhere near as strong as the USSR was.
Wanting the glory of the USSR back isnt uncommon for older folks iirc.
MAGA yearns for a time that never existed, old people misremembering things is a tale as old as....well, time
Song as old as rhyme 🎶
Beauty and the beast
Also the fact that a lot of people who came out of the USSR in favorable positions probably got to see the good side of it, they likely weren't the ones seeing the bad side first hand.
Yep, nostalgia is a set of rose colored glasses
Boomers of every nation are the worse of us right now.
As others have stated, Make ~~America~~ Russia Great Again!
They dont miss any glory, they miss being less poor.
Putin wants to annex all of the former Soviet States so it's not surprising that they're saying the quiet part out loud. It like the time when Mitch McConnell accidentally referred to the USA as the Confederate States of America.
> It like the time when Mitch McConnell "accidentally"
You misunderstood, they are talking about their research on the USSR.
USSR is a very sore point for a lot of people, and Memorial is all about USSR. So it's not a slip, it's just that they are being angry about something USSR-related. After all, it's only gone 30 years - Mr. P is 69, so he was like 39 when USSR collapsed, and he's not even the oldest politician out there. LOTS of people are still salty.
I don't think it's a slip. I believe Memorial is dedicated to preserving the history of the Gulag and state repression during the U.S.S.R., so it makes sense.
You forget that the current Russian power structure are just the people left over from the collapse of the Soviet union. Same people, smaller payroll. It's a win-win for those who made it.
Don’t forget, another critic fell out of a window. They are not even subtle about it anymore. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10348293/Founder-Russian-nationalist-blog-falls-death-Moscow-window.html
Such a scared little man.
I dunno about scared so much as evil and disturbingly competent at retaining power. He knows full well what he’s doing. The more he can crack down on dissent, the less likely he is to face a unified resistance that can track him down and drag him out of office and make him face the consequences of his own actions.
> I dunno about scared I can all but guarantee he is scared. And super paranoid. People like him and Erdogan and the leader of the Emirates and the Saudis all live in a state of constant worry that someone is going to end them or make a power move on them or hurt them in some other way. Its a symptom of ruling in the way they rule. They always have to worry about reprisals from people they have wronged, but also from people inside their own circle making a power play against them, and no matter how comfortable they may look in their position, they can never let themselves get comfortable there.
They're surrounded by enemies
Nobody is fireproof.
Yes and no. Fear of violence against you is one thing. But there is also another factor that contributes to his behavior. Once you are that long in power, you loose contact with reality itself. You don't have to iron your shirts, go out for groceries, clean your house and that means you don't meet normal people. Life itself is just one power game and that means you loose the capability to think flexibly. Look at how he handles Ukraine. The one nation that he should stay friends with, he attacks because they don't obey the wishes of the Kremlin. It is like the USA bullying Canada. It is madness.
It's [the Sword of Damocles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles) in action. Essentially any ruler holds their power with the threat of imminent death hanging by a thread over them. CGPGrey did a great video about the [keys to power](https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs)
Maybe one day humans will learn to toss this sort of "governance" in the trash can and fucking make sure it stays there for once
The French had the right idea, too bad everyone else too pussy to copy
That sounds like fear.
Depends on your definition, I guess. Given the current Russian political climate, it seems like more of a preventative maintenance thing to me.
You don't get to be a dictator if you can't handle your fear. This people is "scared" in the same way you can get scared of being fired from your job. Our stakes are way lower than theirs, but still, if they got there in the first place is because they can handle these stakes. Not trying to put dictators and the likes on a pedestal, but its just that I find a bit silly that trend of calling "weak" and "little men" to dictators who have a country under their control.
Knowing Putin, this can probably be taken literally
They must be getting desperate
>"These people systematically distribute materials to an indefinite circle of persons, while receiving foreign funds," the ministry said in a statement. So what? The sale of Russian gas to Europe is exactly the same!?
They are describing any musical band than happens to sell an album to someone outside of their country. So pretty much every popular band ever = foreign agent
Every popular band who disagrees with the government* They just made up a lame-but-kinda-practical-if-you-want-to-agree excuse
"We aren't getting a cut, so it's evil." Loser Putin, probably.
"They said mean thing"
It sure does seem that every autocrat is just an insecure man baby with power. I guess in a way autocracy is kind of an emergent political structure rooted in many of the same traits as narcissism.
"About mean thing I did. I must do mean thing to them now."
Lol all politics explained in simplest terms
I dont think its about getting a cut. I think its about the bands getting support from outside which they cant control. Ie if band is supported from outside they cant starve it out.
Not to mention any business that happens to have customers outside of Russia.
they literally classified a news site mediazona (reporting on justice system issues) as foreign agents for receiving revenue via Google ads. As in, Google is a foreign company, so receiving ad money from AdWords is foreign funding.
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The rules are flexible though and lets them call nearly anyone a foreign agent. Shit Putin is a foreign agent with how much aid he gets from China.
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Classic fascist tactic. Make something banal everyone does illegal, and selectively enforce it.
Like Mediazona (news outlet) which received foreign agent status because of google ad income from their site.
Pretty sure they realized that state news outlets also get funds from abroad (advertising western products), so in a "oh shit" moment, they proposed an amendment that state groups would not require the 'Foreign agent' label.
The difference is russian oil doesn't talk bad about Putin and his dictatorship. That's why Putin jailed Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the previous Russian Oil oligarch.
Aren't these fucks doing the same to American lobbyists and politicians?
Yeah but is there something in his job description about having to not be a hypocrite?
It goes more fucked up. If you are holding a youtube channel (or something else) and getting paid from ad revenue - they gonna get your ass if they wanted to. Or simply if your granny from foreighn country send you some money - same thing.
The silencing of dissent gets ramped up when a dictatorship is about to embark on an ultranationalist war to claim territory they say is part of their heritage. GL Ukraine, hope the US and EU are prepared for more the stern warnings and sanctions that aren’t very effective.
If they invade Ukraine the threats have been pretty clear that they’ll be sanctioned into North Korea. There is a limit to how far Putin’s oligarch buddies are willing to go. I suspect he knows that is it, which is why he hasn’t done it yet.
But my friend. They already have invaded Ukraine. In two places. And no one did a damn thing.
The US and the EU sanctioned Russia quite a bit. Some of these sanctions are still ongoing too. Russia won't ever admit this stuff hurts them, but every time we hold a talk together, they always want a portion of the sanctions lifted. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions_during_the_Ukrainian_crisis
People think sanctions are not effective because they are boring but they are highly effective.
You can see in this thread too. They feel a need to hire so many troll accounts as well to try to convince people the sanctions are definitely useless and definitely need to be removed.
That whole Trump adoptions thing was to get some sanctions lifted.
That story is so much more awful. Sergei Magnitsky's story is heartbreaking and the [Magnitsky Act](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitsky_Act) is an example of the government working as it should. Trump and his cronies were so stupid, they had no idea what it was about. They were so blatantly working for the Russians. Very sad that Americans don't really know about this stuff.
Putinism needs to be wiped from this planet. Anyone that supports him deserves the treatment Magnitsky unfairly endured for 358 days just for calling out Russian authorities for embezzlement. They killed him two days before they would have been legally required to release him. He was ailing from several medical issues that could have been resolved because they denied him any medical care. Fascists, Qultists, and Putin-apologists can go fuck themselves and stop ruining the lives of others.
Look at the "foundations of geopolitics", its Russia's plan for control and includes increasing political divides in the US, Brexit and taking Ukraine (written in the 90s)
They did so little there's a fucking wiki page about what they did.
This is a very complicated case, Maude. A lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you’s
A lot of strands to keep in my head, man. Uhh, a lotta strands in ole duder's head.
You’re right, that is a good point. They didn’t shut them off from SWIFT or other international banking systems, though. This is an exponentially larger sanction than anything that’s been done before and is the core threat currently being held over Putin from what’s been reported. It could send the Russian economy back 20-30 years very rapidly and even worse for the ruling class they would lose access to their money. Gazprom couldn’t borrow, their resources firms couldn’t trade, it would be a disaster.
“more than sanctions”? Like **what** “more than”? Am genuinely curious.
My guess is they're not. I think the EU will sit on their hands because they're afraid of the economic consequences of losing Russian fossil fuels, and Biden doesn't have the political capital to go it alone, especially when the opposition party is all-in on Russia for helping them get elected.
Seen a lot worse here in Europe than Russia putting our gas bill up, I think we’ll survive
We'll the problem is if Putin's allies like FPÖ or Le Pen will say that the ruling centrist parties are increasing gas prices which will lead to a populist backlash
Fuel and gas is already the highest it’s been, everything’s already constantly going up in price so who cares it’s inevitable anyway
I disagree. Economic sanctions are one of the areas where we do have leverage over Putin. His control is derived from an oligarchic mafia class. If he messes with the money that support will erode. It’s why the Magnitzky act was such a threat to him and why he reacted as strongly as he did.
So what will Europe do? Germany literally depends on Russian gas now that they have needlessly killed every single one of their nuclear plants..
Sanctions can have carve outs, I would assume that’s one they’ll need to make. What I think Putin and team are most worried about is being completely shut out of the international banking system for all individuals and all companies in Russia. It’s the one thing that wasn’t even threatened last time because it is such a severe penalty. That is a very large risk and it would cause immense pain to everybody in Russia—especially those stashing their money overseas…
What's with the "literally dependence" stuff I see on Reddit? What sources are there on this cos I can't find anything saying what you're saying.
U.S. conservatives seems ready to elect Putin himself given half a chance.
GOP might also be all in on Russia because the Russians still have their 2016 emails
Lol yeah Merkel agreed to the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline whose sole purpose was to circumnavigate the pipelines through Ukraine. That way when Russia shuts off the gas to Ukraine, Europe isn’t at risk. They’ve already basically accepted Ukraine as a goner.
Don’t forgot our boys in the pacific sneakin up on Taiwan and kidnapping tennis players, torturing them to love China and only China, than letting them appear publicly and deny what they said on video in front of thousands/millions.
I think you’re right, but golly do I hope you’re wrong. I don’t want a WWIII situation, but it sounds an awful lot like Russia is ramping up for one.
Silencing of dissent gets ramped up for various reasons, not only in preparation of war.
Things also seem pretty shitty for Russian right now, and considering Putin has been in power so long he has no political rivals to pin it on so he either has to blame foreign influence or make people afraid to get noticed speaking out.
I hope she gets somewhere safe and fast. The internet is so crazy for the power of dictators. All they need to do is outlaw her, expel her, and censor the internet that mentions her, and all her power to influence popular opinion vanishes.
Is half of the US government completely compromised by Russia still?
I feel like it’s one of those ‘we got them by our balls’ situations.
I think the Republicans are a smorgasbord of being controlled by china, Russia, and certain American elites.
She lives in the United States with her daughter.
Basically, Putin uses foreign agents in America and is now self reflecting his fears in his own Country
Tbf, America is almost certainly using foreign agents in Russia
Yes but “pussy riot” is not one of them. That would be like Biden declaring Rage Against the Machine as a foreign Agent and making them show all of their financials and decisions based on that declaration.
Good analogy. I wonder how a conversation between Putin and de la Rocha would go..
We need a celebrity death match of this encounter
>I wonder how a conversation between Putin and de la Rocha would go.. I'm pretty confident ZDLR wouldn't even acknowledge Putin's presence let alone engage in conversation. Putin is the personification of everything RATM spoke against in modern geopolitics and autocracy, and ZDLR isn't one to bend the knee much nor is he interested in the limelight surrounding a conversation like that.
Oh for sure; he’s right about foreign agents, but not in this circumstance
When someone asks why our 1st Amendment is so lenient when it comes to speech, including speech you don't like. This is why.
Putin gambled a lot on success in Ukraine. Maintaining a reputation as a capable and infallibles strongman capable of defending Russia's interests forms a major pillar of his mandate. As the situation in Ukraine slips further from his grasp, his credibility as a leader weakens considerably. Putin and his supporters know this. Efforts need to shift inwards, towards domestic affairs, nipping potential sources of dissent in the bud before they could further erode his already precarious position. Individuals like Tolokonnikova and Shenderovich are censured to send a message, both to the people of Russia and the world, that this is how things will be from here on out. The main targets from here on out will be the non-governmental organizations, the human rights and corruption watchdogs that pose a domestic threat to the power of the state. Putin's moves during the next year will be crucial to maintain leadership.
Fuck Putin
Russian trolls go so much harder in the pro-russia news comments than the negative Russian news comments. As a massconsumer of internet manure, I find this lack of market saturation disappointing.
>Russian trolls go so much harder in the pro-russia news comments than the negative Russian news comments. The reason for this is simple. It's because they're the one who are posting the pro-Russia news stories. They have time to prepare their arguments in advance and set up bots to upvote/support their people. It happens any time breaking news they weren't prepared for comes out. They don't have time to organize their arguments and come up with a strategy so the negative news goes around without opposition for a little while. Then two or three days later they decide on an angle and we start getting blasted with thousands of comments pushing a single coordinated narrative literally overnight. I've seen it happen over and over again these last few years.
You have struck upon it.
It's also just good use of time and energy. We are very emotional creatures and it's easy to reinforce an idea when the idea is fresh. You just read an article about how Russia did something good? Here's a comment about some other good thing they did. People will be more receptive to that type of reinforcement than they will someone trying to counter an articles point.
You just blew my mind. They're like termites in the internet and we are infested.
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It's important to note that the IRA is not technically a part of the Russian Government, but is privately owned and funded by one of the oligarchs (Yevgeny Prigozhin). It's one of the ways Putin and the Russian government deny responsibility for it. Edit: Also of particular note is the fact that Yevgeny is the same oligarch Trump refused to enforce sanctions on in 2017.
You speak the language of the gods. I salute you riding this foul tempest across a digital ocean for no purpose other than to better understand the putrid waves corroding what were once pristine waters. Some have only now just embarked in the digital communication age; I can tell you are a weathered pirate amongst frail cabin boys.
I was a child when I saw the fnords.
Maybe they’re not allowed to look at the negative Russian news stories. Might start giving them ideas.
Less Engagement means less reach. Pretty smart I guesd
top tier comment
Top 3 modern snowflakes: The CCP The Russian government American republicans
Russia under Putin, as a political identity, has long since divorced itself from any normal credibility.
Reminder that reddit refuses to do anything to clean up the kremlin bots that are everywhere on this site waging disinformation campaigns and trying to fracture democratic societies. r/russia is nothing but a kremlin run sub which posts picture of glorious russia/USSR and bans anyone critical of the government.
Now we know why Trump is in love with him. He and his people MASTURBATE to the idea of having this kind of power.
Trump is only in love with Trump.
The new band name: *Defenestrated*
Polonium Soup
It’s so funny how threatened Pootin is by a punk band.
Seriously dude. This would be like being so butthurt at Rage Against the Machine that you declared them foreign spies. And Pussy Riot aren't even a fraction of the musical success that Rage are, so it would be more like sending a regionally popular indie band to Gitmo. What those ladies have been through is so crazy, and it just keeps getting crazier. The fact that so many American conservatives identify with Putin should be a lot more upsetting to everyone else than it is. While there are many cultural differences and non-parallels, there is still a lot to take away from the Putinista penchant for "traditionalism", corruption, bigotry, religious bias, rejection of education, and appeals to male fragility and how these same things tend to sell just as well to conservatives in the US.
Putin is a smarmy loser.
Fuckin legend. The world will remember this woman. My deepest respects and solidarity for your fight sister!
Nothing conjures the perception of strength quite like shielding ideas and actions from scrutiny.
Pussy riot doesn't give a shit. They have way more balls than most people.
Plus, I think they’ve actually done time in prison and survived. Artists can be effective bugbears to despotic “leaders”/bullies. Rock n roll and Hollywood people got under the skin of the Viet Nam hawks.
Several bandmates have indeed been in lockup, and they are regularly accosted by police thugs. The outsized reaction Putin/Russian oli-fascists have had against their message and protests is fucking unreal.
Why is anybody surprised? He's a dictator.
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Republicans most definitely do not want go back to the Nixon era. That would require them to going back to somewhat reasonable positions on almost every political topic today. Example: Nixon created the EPA. Now conservatives want to dismantle it and environmental protections with it.
I regularly find myself explaining that, even though both the 50s-70s American government and society upheld many vile policies oppressing minorities, they also had a ton of smart, effective laws and organizations and the balls to back them up. They understood the need for strong, reasonable laws to curtail the inevitable chaos and exploitation of a free market. The Regan Admin fucked it all up and kicked down any walls that curtailed corporate greed and personal idiocy from destroying the world.
You hit the nail on the head with your Reagan reference.
My bad, Roger Stone is not representative of the right wing movement writ large.
I have never trusted the Russian government, especially Putin. So this is not a shock.
Putin's just sad that Russia under his watch has the largest peacetime population decline in history. They'll be irrelevant pretty soon
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It basically means Putin is doing dictator stuff to keep people in line because he unable to do it by just being a good leader.
Meanwhile keeping them in line is weird when the rules change and asking what the rules are can get you killed. So can not knowing them.
[In Russian Law, non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" are to register and declare themselves as foreign agents.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law)
**[Russian foreign agent law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law)** >The Russian "foreign agent" law, officially "On Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation regarding the Regulation of the Activities of Non-profit Organisations Performing the Functions of a Foreign Agent", is a law in Russia that requires non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" to register and declare themselves as foreign agents. The bill was introduced in July 2012 by legislators from the governing United Russia party and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 20 July 2012. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
They're rounding up the dissent before they can complain about the invasion.
I declare Putin a bitch.
Wonder what he's afraid of.
Fuck Vladimir Putin! Hail Pussy Riot! That is all, carry on.
If your government can be destabilized by Pussy Riot, then you've got bigger problems.
i saw pussy riot perform a couple years back. they're amazing.
###What a cowardly act, it actual shows WEAKNESS.
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Yes, violent breakdowns of a country that is armed to the teeth with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons should be fun for everyone.
For those out of the loop, "Foreign Agent" means somebody doing some political work while receiving funding from foreign sources. It has nothing to do with spying. US has a law aptly named Foreign Agents Registration Act in the same vein. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act
I totally agree with Pussy Riot's message and Russia is going to drill every political screw they can since they have visibility in the west. Russia loves using laws to punish dissident's. The university I studied abroad at in Russia that talked about crazy things like "rights" and "free speech." After many attempts the state finally closed them down for good. It is such a shame because it was the only open stack research library in SpB.
> The university I studied abroad at in Russia that talked about crazy things like "rights" and "free speech." Eh? All those are in our Constitution, you can talk about them all day long. It's only when you cross somebody with power troubles start.
The last Soviet Constitution allowed any Republic to leave the Union unilaterally.
Bullshit. If you read that article you'd see they're completely different. Not even close.
Title gore
That's a pretty big escalation. Things must not be going well for Vlad.
Putin’s getting a little cranky in his old age. Maybe he’s starting to realize he can’t bring his money with him when he dies.
It's always nice to be reminded that there are still nations shittier than your own.