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Theresa May publicly acknowledges Russian interference

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Original post by Tempest II
The Russians aren't stupid - they know they can use the Western media to their own end in attacking Western governments. The West cannot effectively respond seeing as Russian media is strictly controlled in comparison.
It's certainly not in Russia's interest to have a strong, united NATO on its border so spreading seeds of discontent to weaken NATO members certainly makes sense. The Soviets commonly incorporated "maskirovka" into their plans & the current Russian government seems to follow a similar line of thinking.

Disinformation, fake news, regime change, the creation of energy crisis, cyber warfare and hybrid conflicts have all been used by the Putin administration since his return as President. The reality is that Russians seem to have set up their doctrine purely to defeat the NATO alliance while the West also has the Middle East and to a lesser extent, China to worry about.
Seeing as NATO has slowly but surely spread East since the end of the Cold War, it's easy to understand why the Russians feel so threatened - the USA for example would certainly never tolerate a Russian influenced Mexico on its border - even if the West has absolutely no desire to fight any kind of war with Moscow.


Possibly the best post in this thread and seemingly overlooked by a lot of people.
Original post by Tempest II
Seeing as NATO has slowly but surely spread East since the end of the Cold War, it's easy to understand why the Russians feel so threatened - the USA for example would certainly never tolerate a Russian influenced Mexico on its border - even if the West has absolutely no desire to fight any kind of war with Moscow.


It isn't easy to understand at all. There's no reason why Russia should feel threatened. The idea that countries which border Russia fall within a Russian-sphere of influence, whether they want to or not, is horribly outdated.

Russia is weak, the economy is a mess and Putin lives in fear of his own people. His motives are obvious, he wants to keep his stolen money (he is the richest person in the world). The Magnitsky Act threatens that, which is probably why he went to such lengths to influence the US election in the first place.
Original post by Snufkin
It isn't easy to understand at all. There's no reason why Russia should feel threatened. The idea that countries which border Russia fall within a Russian-sphere of influence, whether they want to or not, is horribly outdated.

Russia is weak, the economy is a mess and Putin lives in fear of his own people. His motives are obvious, he wants to keep his stolen money (he is the richest person in the world). The Magnitsky Act threatens that, which is probably why he went to such lengths to influence the US election in the first place.


How much does Clinton pay per fiction piece? I want in.
Original post by JVoorhees
How much does Clinton pay per fiction piece? I want in.


Pardon? :confused:
Ah, of course.

*Nod, nod, wink, wink*
Original post by JVoorhees
Ah, of course.

*Nod, nod, wink, wink*


I have no idea what you're talking about. Did you disagree with something I said?
Do you agitprops have special code names and stuff?
Original post by Snufkin
It isn't easy to understand at all. There's no reason why Russia should feel threatened. The idea that countries which border Russia fall within a Russian-sphere of influence, whether they want to or not, is horribly outdated.

Russia is weak, the economy is a mess and Putin lives in fear of his own people. His motives are obvious, he wants to keep his stolen money (he is the richest person in the world). The Magnitsky Act threatens that, which is probably why he went to such lengths to influence the US election in the first place.


The Russians don't necessarily think along the same lines as we do. It doesn't help that European powers have invaded/interfered with Russia/the USSR in the 20th Century on several occasions. Putin himself blames the fall of the Soviet Union on the USA & has called its collapse one of the greatest disasters of last century.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-shifrinson-russia-us-nato-deal--20160530-snap-story.html

https://www.nato.int/docu/review/2014/russia-ukraine-nato-crisis/nato-enlargement-russia/en/index.htm

Whatever the reality is behind the negotiations in the early 1990s between NATO and Russia/USSR, Putin has managed to convince the Russian bodies of government and the Russian people that NATO is a threat to them, not just militarily but also through soft power.
It certainly helps Putin's domestic image to be seen as the hardman, taking on the West. Russia has become openly hostile to Western ideas - liberal democracy, human rights etc. Just one look at how opposition groups and LGBT organisations are treated makes this clear.
It's certainly true that money is part of it, but Putin also likes power which is why he's now President of Russia for the second time. If all he was interested in was money then why bother having the Russian constitution amended so that he could run again.

Many Russians do see Eastern European nations as being within their sphere of influence because of the former USSR & therefore Putin has easily managed to persuade the Russian people that the expansion of NATO & the EU into that area of the world is a threat to them, regardless of what the inhabitants of those nations say about it. Both Ukraine & Georgia have had territory seized due to perceived threats against a Russian speaking population with very little response from NATO other than bluster and the odd troop deployment.
Good excuse for *****y leadership lol
Original post by Tempest II
The Russians don't necessarily think along the same lines as we do. It doesn't help that European powers have invaded/interfered with Russia/the USSR in the 20th Century on several occasions. Putin himself blames the fall of the Soviet Union on the USA & has called its collapse one of the greatest disasters of last century.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-shifrinson-russia-us-nato-deal--20160530-snap-story.html

https://www.nato.int/docu/review/2014/russia-ukraine-nato-crisis/nato-enlargement-russia/en/index.htm

Whatever the reality is behind the negotiations in the early 1990s between NATO and Russia/USSR, Putin has managed to convince the Russian bodies of government and the Russian people that NATO is a threat to them, not just militarily but also through soft power.
It certainly helps Putin's domestic image to be seen as the hardman, taking on the West. Russia has become openly hostile to Western ideas - liberal democracy, human rights etc. Just one look at how opposition groups and LGBT organisations are treated makes this clear.
It's certainly true that money is part of it, but Putin also likes power which is why he's now President of Russia for the second time. If all he was interested in was money then why bother having the Russian constitution amended so that he could run again.

Many Russians do see Eastern European nations as being within their sphere of influence because of the former USSR & therefore Putin has easily managed to persuade the Russian people that the expansion of NATO & the EU into that area of the world is a threat to them, regardless of what the inhabitants of those nations say about it. Both Ukraine & Georgia have had territory seized due to perceived threats against a Russian speaking population with very little response from NATO other than bluster and the odd troop deployment.


I'm not sure what you're arguing. It's no surprise that Putin blames the West for the collapse of the USSR, or that he regrets Russia's lost status as a superpower, but so what? The world cannot pander to a megalomaniac who wants to return to the 1980s.

It's certainly true that Putin and his regime has tried to cast the West as threat to Russian culture and identity, but he hasn't done this because he himself dislikes gay people or has an aversion to liberal democracy (he doesn't, he relies on it to keep his money safe) - his game is power, and it's easier to control a society if it feels besieged. In the long term these tactics never work, there are already signs that Russian people (on the street and in government) feel that Putin overplayed his hand in Ukraine and went too far. Make no mistake, the Magnitsky Act and sanctions are working. We just have to keep up the pressure.

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