# "Russian World" may be taking a hit in the hinterland **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178 "2023-02-01T21:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/81 "2023-02-23T03:17:38Z")
I am American. Argue against my points, please, I do not get my news from Russian TV ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/82 "2023-02-23T03:22:31Z")
> [@WellHelloThere](#): > > Argue against my points, please Points like this? > [@WellHelloThere](#): > > Tell that to Serbia, and Libya Are those really supposed to be examples of NATO aggression? Western nations have done shitty self-interested things throughout history, and somehow you manage pick two situations where NATO was genuinely trying to do the right thing for humanitarian reasons? ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/83 "2023-02-23T03:23:43Z")
They are examples of NATO acting offensively. It puts the lie to the idea that it is a defensive alliance. The actions were taken as NATO actions. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/84 "2023-02-23T03:24:19Z")
> [@WellHelloThere](#): > > They are examples of NATO acting offensively. Utter nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Ssounder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@Ssounder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ssounder)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/85 "2023-02-23T03:25:15Z")
Maybe if _defending_ human rights meant something? ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/86 "2023-02-23T03:28:09Z")
Lets be clear, again. These are facts: NATO is not a strictly defensive alliance. Ok? Lets just talk about facts instead of saying that that those particular air strikes were defensive because they targeted bad people. ETA “defensive” is an edit, I originally put “ok”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/87 "2023-02-23T03:39:56Z")
> [@WellHelloThere](#): > > These are facts: NATO is not a strictly defensive alliance. Ok? Lets just talk about facts instead of saying that that those particular air strikes were defensive because they targeted bad people. To most people, a defensive act is a reaction to protect the victims of unjustified aggression. These operations fit that definition, and the fact that they were conducted in Libyan and Yugoslavian territory does not change that. Unless you _are_ getting your news from Russian TV it is quite ridiculous to infer that NATO has aggressive intent toward any nation. ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/88 "2023-02-23T03:45:22Z")
That is a stretch, and definitely not the original intent of the alliance. Well stated though, I have to say. The intent of NATO was to guarantee a mutal response to any aggression towards member nations in the Northern Hemisphere, that is it. It still is, on paper. Obviously NATO has been quietly re writing its own rules but then that is kind of one of the subjects of this thread. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/89 "2023-02-23T07:12:03Z")
> [@WellHelloThere](#): > > Nobody has made that argument anywhere. Mr. “I am a blind supporter of the war and I don’t want to hear anything else.” Well I certainly don’t support the invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine by a foreign military. And I do support the Ukrainians in their defence of an invading army killing its citizens on Ukrainian soil. Because that is what is actually happening now. And NATO’s existence is not a valid reason for Russia to invade another country, even if they had the sadz that they did not choose to join. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/90 "2023-02-23T12:37:19Z")
i dont know about that going bu this story … sounds like russia is going to be in for it for a long time [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-support-for-putin-s-war-in-ukraine-is-hardening/ar-AA17P6vI?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=d26d092040e24fc1db084d730e67d8ba](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-support-for-putin-s-war-in-ukraine-is-hardening/ar-AA17P6vI?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=d26d092040e24fc1db084d730e67d8ba) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/91 "2023-02-23T12:39:57Z")
I don’t think Russian “support” means much when the Russian people clearly don’t want to enlist and fight, and more critically when Russia still has catastrophic supply and logistics problems. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/92 "2023-02-23T12:49:11Z")
well its things like this that have people concerned : The Russian leader has unleashed a wave of repression not seen since his KGB hero Yuri Andropov ruled, jailing citizens for the slightest hints of questioning of his official line, a mix of Russian imperial and Soviet nostalgia that has been rushed into curricula for schools and universities across the country. Artists, writers and actors have been hounded from their jobs for even suggesting critical views, their works and exhibits replaced by new ones scrubbed for adherence to the neo-Soviet “traditional values” Putin wrote into law. Schoolchildren denounce teachers and parishioners priests for suggesting peace instead of war o shore up support, his government has doled out cash payments to citizens in the country’s impoverished regions and shut down the few remaining media outlets that challenged the official state version of events. In stage-managed events lavishly covered by the state media, Putin maintains the image that the war is far away, rarely referring to it directly, highlighting economic successes, new welfare benefits and renovated clinics. That was the message of his state-of-the-nation speech this week, which blamed the conflict on the US and its allies but offered no hint of when it might end. Instead, Putin offered new benefits to veterans and their families, touting the value of combat experience as the “best school of life.” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/93 "2023-02-23T14:51:35Z")
> [@WellHelloThere](#): > > This was prior to any aggressive actions by Russia, though. [Chechens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechen%E2%80%93Russian_conflict) might disagree. The so called [First Chechen War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_War) was not the first, it was only the first after the Sowjet Union. But fortunately Wikipedia has a list of [Post-Sowjet Conflicts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_conflicts). It is a long list. PS: Just as you feel you have to make clear that critisizing NATO does not make you a Putin stooge, I must point out that critisizing Putin does not make me a friend of NATO. But I like fascism even less by several orders of magnitude, and Putin is a fascist and Russia today a fascist country. They must be defeated. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/94 "2023-02-23T15:38:04Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Next would be Moldova. I posted this in the other thread, but since it’s been mentioned here: [Putin cancels decree underpinning Moldova’s sovereignty in separatist conflict](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-cancels-decree-underpinning-moldova-s-sovereignty-in-separatist-conflict/ar-AA17P5ge). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/95 "2023-02-23T16:07:34Z")
What a strange article. It starts with a statement that Moscow is undermining Moldova’s sovereignty, and ends with a Moldovan official saying almost the complete opposite. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/96 "2023-02-23T16:10:59Z")
I would assume Moldova’s position is “we’re a sovereign state and Russia’s opinion is irrelevant.” ---
**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:** [February 23, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/97 "2023-02-23T16:15:06Z")
I read it as Russia is setting the stage for an invasion of Moldova, unless Moldova toes the line. The Moldovan official is saying, ‘Move along! Nothing to see here!’ or ‘Don’t worry. As a sovereign nation, we’ll just do what Russia tells us to do and we’ll be OK.’ ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/98 "2023-02-23T16:18:37Z")
Moderating: > [@WellHelloThere](#): > > I have said before, my posts in this thread are meant to be critiques of US and NATO policy. The ignorance of Russian history by our leaders, and the willingness of people to believe a black and white narrative. I guess that is the craziest part; we all remember Iraq. And after Saddam Hussein came… ISIS. What comes after the destruction of Ukraine? This is potentially off-topic. The OP requested a fairly narrow topic, namely, the fate of “Russian World”. The OP also requested this be “breaking news” but also wanted to be able to touch on politics. So I’m not going to add the breaking new tag for now, but I ask all the posters to respect the topic requested by the OP. Feel free to start a new thread for this topic, which may well be of widespread interest. But also please drop it here, or restrict commentary to how the destruction of Ukraine might impact “Russian World”. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/99 "2023-02-23T17:29:39Z")
**Moderator Warning** > [@WellHelloThere](#): > > “I am a blind supporter of the war and I don’t want to hear anything else.” Do not attack other users outside of the BBQ Pit. The general rule is attack the post, not the poster. If this had been a one-time thing this would just be a mod note, but you are developing a pattern of hostility towards other users. This behavior needs to stop, so this is an official warning for attacking other users outside of the BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![WellHelloThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@WellHelloThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WellHelloThere)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178/100 "2023-02-23T20:53:35Z")
Will do, sorry for veering off topic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-world-may-be-taking-a-hit-in-the-hinterland/979178.md?page=6)