What is up with Russia these days?

[alaric]

It started last fall with that hostage situation which ended with more than 100 dead after the russian security forces refused to tell doctors what they gassed them with.

Then I hear about Putin alledgedly killing of politcal oppenents.

Now it looks like they're concealing the number of dead in that Moscow subday attack.

This begs the question: Cossack, what is up with mother russia these days?

[kami]

Too much vodka.

[tasty]

too busy doing the crazy russian dance and wearing hats made out of animal fur.

[PLOPje]

Hmm I just heard that "killed political oppenent" is back from a little holiday in Kiev
Probely forgot to tell his wife that he went out to buy some smokes

[BTs_FahQ2]

I say any country where you can get Vodka from vending machines in the streets is okay by me.

Viva Comrade Ruskie

[Cossack]

        My motherland is in a period of dire transition with a bunch of ex-communist pretending to be people of democracy. During the 90s our country was fiscally raped by the IMF, Putin has kicked them out but he has also trampled over our rights. Personally my family and I supported former commander of Afghanistan operation General Alexsandr Lebed who died in a helicopter crash outside Novosibirsk a year ago. In combination with other destabalizing factors such as attacks in the city of Moscow and the conflict in Chechnya Russia is struggling to retain some sort of social order and to keep other potentialy volitile republics within the Federation such as Tartarstand, Dagestan, and Ossetia violence free while Chechnya continues. I have personally known two high school friends that have been killed in combat. One in Groznyy and the other in some cave up in the Caucuses.

      What will fix my country is having a Confederation and not a Federation. The system of government in Russia is built upon the French model of democracy where the centralized government in Paris has alot of power. This may work for France which is a small country, but Russia is the largest country in the world with as many ethnic and language groups as there can be. A extreamly centralized government is not the way to go in Russia. Something along the lines of Germany's model or America's model of goverment would be more fitting.
         On top of the whole destabilization theory and whatnot the country's largest problem if the demographic crisis. You see, my country has a negative population growth rate. AIDS is a borderline epidemic in Siberia (dont fuck Siberian chicks ever) as well as heroin usage. Considering their close proximity to Afghanistan the situation will only get worse. Also, Russians dont see anything wrong with abortion. Abortion is used as a birth control and it is not uncommon for a Russian woman to have ten abortions in her lifetime. With the very liberal stance toward abortion there is a failure of birth growth.
         However, despite the fact that Russia is up shit creek, our situation is improving. My country is considered to have the second fastest growing economy in the world and the life of Western Russians (people living in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kursk, Saratov, e.t.c. is improving. Unfortunently so is the gap between the rich and the middle class. It is also widely agknowledged by optimists that the Russian Empire may re emerge. This is in response to recent referendums held in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belerus where 50% or over of the population favoured rejoing the motherland. Belerussia has made preperation to join with Moscow before but the economic crisis in 1998 prevented this.
         As for Rybkin (the bitch that disappeared) he is just some village idiot of a drunk and I will miss voting for him.

[Cossack]

                            ELECTION UP AND COMING

       It is rare I get to rant and rave about Russia's political workings so I am going to take this chance to do so about our up and coming presidential elections. In almost all likleyhood we will see another four years of Putin. In many ways I am greatful for Putin and so are the majority of Russians despite his apparent disregard for human rights. It is my feeling that with Alexsandr Lebed gone Russia needs a strong leader to  reconstruct the government and make sure that the Duma works. Putin is the only man that can do this. He may be the only man but there is also a woman that I am fond of. Her name is Irina Kakhamada and she is a Russian of Nipponese (as Bucc would like to call it) decent. She is the presidential canidate for the coalition named the Union of Rightest Forces. Now to you Americans you guys think facist, Republicans, George W. Bush, and neo-conservatives. In reality these people are trying to increase civil liberties and stimulate buisness. They are the "party for the middle class" If you Americans think that the democratic party is full of a bunch of big spenders, you havent seen what the Russians parties are like. Irinia and her coalition can be comparable to the democratics party in Washington. If she continues to create the buzz I like hearing I may vote for her. Unfortunently the Union of Rightest Forces do not have a good hold in the Duma (Russian Parliment).
           Now there is one guy in Russia who I hate and I hope to see dead. His name is Zironovskii. He is leader of the Liberal Democratic Russian Party. Dont let the name fool you this party isnt Liberal or Democratic it is totalitarian. Its like the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in agenda and the personality of the parties head honcho. Now Ziro isnt running but his puppet Oleg is. Ziro wants to put Jews into camps (and even I am an accused anti-semite) and go into Germany and Eastern Europe. He has stated that we will blackmail the world with our ICBM sabres. I would vote for him because he does have a decentralizing agenda, but it does go a bit too far (he wants to make it where the central government has power only in name).
          Putin you gotta love Putin. He will win hands down with his 80-90 percent approval rating. He strongarms the oligarch and he has suppresed the Chechen rebels to a few bands of miscrient bandits. Yes you people will cite the recent terrorist attacks, but it is nothing when you compare it to 91,96, and 2000. I really wish he would decentralize the government though. This is my main qualm with him.
           All other canidates are useless, especially Gorbechev. You know, now that I looked back on it, the hardliners should have just sent him on some wooden raft and let him drift off into the Black Sea. The man is a pussy. He reminds me of Bondo.
       

[kami]

Rybkin was apparently in Kiev, Ukraine, with his cell-phone off, so no need to worry.

[BFG]

... and there is no evidance at all that links the recent bombings to the chechens.

Funny how we havn't talked about the state of the poor chechens much.. supose we get sidetracked what with america fucking about and the UK sticking its head up Dubbya's head as far as it can