Vladimir Putin has said the Russian economic crisis could last two years, in a question-and-answer session where he claimed the West "wants to chain the bear".
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/put
in-speech-president-to-finally-face-his-public-in-anticipated-address-amid-economic-crisis-9932371.html
Meanwhile petrol and oil prices are at awesome fuck-you-Putin lows... Is the relationship between Russia and the West a zero-sum game? Should we chain the bear? Or shit ourselves in fear at what the homophobic dwarf will do next?
Chat shit about it here... meanwhile, here's an action-packed trailer for The Man's latest two-hour speech-cum-press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfZ0Cz9iivM
From the independent link post in the header...
Despite the roubles decline, opinion polls suggest Putin’s popularity ratings are at an all-time high after the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Thursday found that about 80 per cent of Russians still support him
That says it all really...
I work with russians a fair amount, the number of times they compare him favourably to Stalin is slightly concerning.
Putin understands the power of owning the media.
For selfish reasons destroying Russias economy would not be wise as it will impact on ours.
He also said that the west is like an empire keeping its vassal states in line.
POOR OLD VLADIMIR SAGGY TITS
He also said that the west is like an empire keeping its vassal states in line.
well it is after all; thing is Russia has a different mind set and it is no laughing matter, especially coming from the idiocy of 'the west' ...
I said the very same thing myself on here. Probably quite a few times. While banging my keyboard with my fists.
there is no point apparently in being stright forward and to the point concerning these things; 'the west' is obsessed against anything which stand in the way of capitalist expansion;
give it some time and see who will regret such a stupid attitude;
Cuba is going down anyway;
no, just keeping my eyes open and watching the proceedings
It is interesting that his first stated priority in this economic crisis was pensions... in the opening speech he mentions it twice - first to say that they have increased pensions twice this year and then to say that their main priority going forward would be make sure that pensions are 'index linked'... it is a good way to buy votes, at least in the short term...
Also, if his stated budget deficit figures are true then the Russian state finances are better than ours here in the UK...
http://rt.com/news/215471-putin-press-conference-updates/
this because of the lies we the West have spewed (theyhave) over decades....
Russia's problems at least show that some international sanctions do work, despite what some people say.
Whether they work exactly as we wish is another matter entirely.
Whether they were proportionate when the US has Guantanamo and other illegally held territories is also debateable.
Guantanamo is an illegally held territory? I thought they paid rent...
Phew! Good guess.
Obama has admitted that sanctionas against CUba haven't worked; took 50 years to realize that; will it take a century to realize sanctions against Russia will not work? and will probably backfire?
NATO has been treating Russia with less then respect for a couple of decades. With the Ukraine thing, the EU was poking them in the underbelly. Russia has turned around and issued a few warning bites so I don't know why The US and EU are clutching their pearls. They know what they have been up to but are coming the innocent.
The sudden fall in oil prices is rather mysteriously coincidental.