On the crack of dawn of 24 February our dearest leader Mr. Putin ordered invasion of Ukraine making it abundantly clear that he is the first national leader in the modern history of Russia (in whatever form it has existed) that will leave the country economically, politically, culturally, emotionally, and spiritually in a much worse shape that on the day he ascended to power, back when I was a baby of about 2.
(A truly impressive achievement at the time when world’s economy has grown twice in the same period).
Putin lays blame on the invasion squarely on the shoulders of the government in Ukraine, and calls it a ‘de-Nazification’ special operation (which is even more absurd given that President Zelenskyy is Jewish)
Politically this war will be writ in history textbooks as a perfidious attack on the sovereign nation of Ukraine prompted by a Russian regime’s imperial ambitions, kleptocratic tendencies, and personal animosities.
Earlier today, I walked the streets of Moscow a while to observe reactions.
No jubilations, no beaming faces, no high fives among strangers proud in the fact that our neighboring nation will soon have all its Jewish-Nazis exterminated.
The always normally worn-out faces of Moscovites have grown a darker shade of grey within the night.
I stopped to buy a cup of Americano (the drink will soon be renamed I guess) that by the ongoing exchange rate costs 50 cents, to sit and observe people in the coffee shop. Meanwhile police vans and cheap crow-black sedans of Investigative Committee are parked on street corners with engines idling.
My usually peppy Big Boss, our own oligarch (aka my father) is moody and quiet.
Alexei Navalny used as a pulpit the improvised court house in his penal colony - where he’s being tried on new bogus charges to keep him jailed indefinitely:
I’m against this war. The goal of the war it to misdirect attention from the problems in Russia…I consider the individuals who started this war crooks and bandits.
Supermarkets have doubled prices for foreign-produced foodstuff overnight. A $100 bill I have leftover from a recent trip to Turkey, has gone from 6,500 rubles to 9,000 rubles and keeps going, gaining almost 50% in value here.
And this is all nothing compared what the peoples of Ukraine experience today.
What a boon for Ukraine and Russia alike!
We are brothers and sisters and we are neighbors 🙁
I feel so sorry for you Russian people. Your leaders are violent criminals, and you will have to pay for their crimes. ☹️ I have some friends in St. Petersburg, peaceful people, and they are devastated. There's nothing they can do. They have jobs. They have kids. Protesters are arrested immediately.
Thank you so much for this😭 I am trying to be fair and realize that NATO is threat to Russia and has been moving closer. But they still didn't throw the first punch. But I def do not blame the people of Russia as they are good common people and they are going to suffer too from disrupted trade and sanctions. Whereas the rich and powerful have enough wealth to isolate themselves from consequences. But stay safe and stay good. I'm neither Russian nor Ukrainian but I am human and I stand with humanity not the greedy and insane.
@helenS NATO is threat to Russia in Putin's mind, because I think for the ex-KGB man, the idea of a military alliance only for defence makes no sense. NATO is something to the Russian leadership they cannot quite understand.
Besides, there is a truth to the idea of the NATO "threat", in the sense of spheres of influence I guess, and the Kremlin sees the idea of old Soviet members or territories like Poland or Lithuania inside a western alliance as troubling.
Not that I agree, but I think that could be their sense of it...
@ChampagneTraveller Actually I don't give a f*cking sh*t about that assassin's mind. The whole concept of "spheres of influence" is anti-democratic and authoritarian. It's exactly that concept which we have to fight against, with all means, except war.
You've hit the nail on the head. The only, and I mean, the only reason Putin is engaging in this aggression is to distract from problems at home. From what I hear, the Russian people do not support the invasion. It's disgusting that so many American conservatives do (but not all - this is creating a rift in the Republican party).
I heard the Russian stock market dropped 50%. If this continues, I would hope that the oligarchs who support him will tell him to back off. It's one thing for the government to lose money, quite a bit different when rich people suffer.
I don't understand what is "Nazi" anymore, I see warriors showing the swastika proudly and they are being praised for their bravery in the battle field by their Jewish president, so yeah it's a lame reason for war but anyway nothing is simple or easy to analyze yet one thing for sure is I will always love the Russian people no matter what .
This is a very heart-wrenching account of what’s happening and I appreciate you sharing the moods of the Russian people in this moment. I’m very happy that there is no pride or jubilation - because there shouldn’t be. This would be like the US invading Mexico.
Even my friends who are usually all 'our army is our patriotic pride' are not proud right now. There is no need for this bloodshed nonsense. My heart cries for Ukraine :(
@HoraceGreenley What we really should do would be (a) a total trade embargo - a ban on ALL trades with these butchers; (b) a total monetary embargo. The ruble should no longer be convertible to $, Euro, Yen, GBP. The Putin machinery would not survive that.
