# In defence of Russia **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 6, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166 "2022-08-06T00:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/361 "2022-09-18T14:36:46Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Weapons of mass destruction. WMDs were a deliberate lie by the Bush administration, not a failure of the media. It’s like what Putin is doing now, only in this case the Russian media are complicit. > [@Kedikat](#): > > Clinton will win easily. They were wrong. But all data at the time supported this position. (Seriously, who would have thought Americans would elect a known con-man?) > [@Kedikat](#): > > No Covid lab leak, > **[The COVID lab leak theory is dead. Here's how we know the virus came from a...](https://theconversation.com/the-covid-lab-leak-theory-is-dead-heres-how-we-know-the-virus-came-from-a-wuhan-market-188163)** > > For the lab leak theory to be true, SARS-CoV-2 must have been present in the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic started. But there’s not a single piece of data suggesting this. > [@Kedikat](#): > > Trump is Russian agent. Trump was (and is) a Russian asset. > **[‘The perfect target’: Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book)** > > The KGB ‘played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality’, Yuri Shvets, a key source for a new book, tells the Guardian > The ex-major recalled: “For the KGB, it was a charm offensive. They had collected a lot of information on his personality so they knew who he was personally. The feeling was that he was extremely vulnerable intellectually, and psychologically, and he was prone to flattery. > > “This is what they exploited. They played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality and believed this is the guy who should be the president of the United States one day: it is people like him who could change the world. They fed him these so-called active measures soundbites and it happened. So it was a big achievement for the KGB active measures at the time.” > [@Kedikat](#): > > Russia will not invade Ukraine. Like the predictions of Clinton’s victory, media were merely reporting what the experts were saying. They reported correctly. It was the analysts who were wrong. You can’t blame the media. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/362 "2022-09-18T14:47:05Z")
Denying that Trump is a Russian agent is deliberate obfuscation. It’s like focusing on the word “collusion” when that wasn’t the exact accusation. It fools all the people I mentioned above who can’t tell fact from fiction, real from fake. It’s a simple Faux news trick, and it amazes me that people are dense enough to fall for it. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/363 "2022-09-18T18:29:08Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Try as I might, I cannot remember one moment, one instance of Tan the Conman acting like a president. Well, there was that time in his first year when he did the Presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey. A comment in the thread about it was, “he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself.” > [@naita](#): > > Stop showing us cat turds and asking if we think maybe this time it’s gold. I am so stealing this. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/364 "2022-09-19T01:57:09Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Well, there was that time in his first year when he did the Presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey. All I remember is some turkey pardoning a bird. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/365 "2022-09-19T17:22:28Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Did Ukraine invade some country? Not yet. But considering the current trend in the war, it’s a possibility for October. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/366 "2022-09-19T17:27:49Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not yet. But considering the current trend in the war, it’s a possibility for October. Perhaps they will create a 50km buffer zone inside Russia, and not allow Russian military equipment or troops to enter. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/367 "2022-09-19T17:50:44Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Perhaps they will create a 50km buffer zone inside Russia, and not allow Russian military equipment or troops to enter. At this point, the Russian troops would probably like any agreement that keeps them from entering Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/368 "2022-09-19T22:05:30Z")
Also it isn’t as if we aren’t skeptical of pro-Ukraine sources. In the MPSIMS Ukraine thread there are many cases where the posters acknowledge that a given report from the Ukraine may be biased. Example. > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/960037/8198): > > Your link is from Yahoo, quoting a Ukrainian source. I still use an old email account at Yahoo, so I check the site every day, and it always feeds me several links from Ukrainian news sources. Sources which are , of course, biased. The headlines are always upbeat and encouraging. Even when Mauripol was being destroyed, the headlines Yahoo displayed said things like “heroic fighting in Maruipol is slowing the Russians down.” So I hope your link is true…but let’s see if some other internation… We recognize that Ukrainian and western sources may be biased, but Russian sources are guaranteed to be biased. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/369 "2022-09-21T21:43:31Z")
Another [“untimely death”](https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-dies-falling-down-stairs-day-russia-mobilization-1744944) in Russia. How does someone fall down _several_ flights of stairs? From the article: “One-way flights from Moscow to visa-free countries were sold out within minutes of Putin’s televised address.” Must be Ukraine propaganda, no? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/370 "2022-09-21T22:01:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > How does someone fall down _several_ flights of stairs? Better than falling down the SAME flight of stairs 5 times… ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/371 "2022-09-21T22:09:42Z")
Onto some bullets? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/372 "2022-09-21T22:12:56Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > How does someone fall down _several_ flights of stairs? Like [this one](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-view-looking-down-a-stairwell-from-the-top-floor-26531264.html?imageid=B922DBC8-188C-4ECB-BA27-9146E488BE21&p=5064&pn=1&searchId=29c8f1162879e9490d2d9b7021bfd973&searchtype=0), maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/373 "2022-09-21T22:29:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Like [this one](https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-view-looking-down-a-stairwell-from-the-top-floor-26531264.html?imageid=B922DBC8-188C-4ECB-BA27-9146E488BE21&p=5064&pn=1&searchId=29c8f1162879e9490d2d9b7021bfd973&searchtype=0), maybe? Or [this one](https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2016/8/4/47439673-14703591341863785_origin.png)? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/374 "2022-09-21T23:01:32Z")
Jason Bourne hardly got a scratch when “falling down stairs” that way. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/375 "2022-09-21T23:02:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > How does someone fall down _several_ flights of stairs? Didn’t OJ do that in Naked Gun? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/376 "2022-09-21T23:18:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or [this one](https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2016/8/4/47439673-14703591341863785_origin.png)? Those stairs you’re falling down and up at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/377 "2022-09-22T00:26:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Jason Bourne hardly got a scratch when “falling down stairs” that way. Jason wasn’t in his seventies. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/378 "2022-09-22T09:06:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or [this one](https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2016/8/4/47439673-14703591341863785_origin.png)? [Like this, you mean?](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BiodegradableDazzlingLamprey-mobile.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/379 "2022-09-24T02:06:19Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Putin has said he is not nearly as concerned about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Putin has also said, VERY clearly, that he does not consider Ukraine a legitimate nation-state and that it’s part of “Greater Russia.” His motivation is very clear. “Ukraine isn’t even a state.” - Vladimir Putin ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/380 "2022-09-24T02:37:37Z")
My quoted comment, referring to what Putin said, is likely due to Sweden and Finland not having been such major tactical invasion routes to Russia in the past. ( I may be wrong ) Statehood not being an issue. Also not sure how " VERY clearly " he stated it. Trying to find that speech without clipping. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166.md?page=20)