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Everything belongs to the workers (lemmy.ml)
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[–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (45 children)

Seems to me that it's most likely Russia is going to ramp things up in the near future. And the focus will be on deep strikes on command centres and industry. Lavrov made it pretty clear that gloves are coming off. One big factor was that China didn't really want escalation previously, but it looks like Americans managed to piss the Chinese off royally during their visit. Seems like after Russians went to China they agreed that Ukraine needs to get wrapped up, and that dialogue with Americans is impossible.

A good discussion with a former CIA analyst on the whole thing https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xVVyS7NtB5k

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (42 children)

    Seems to me that it’s most likely Russia is going to ramp things up in the near future.

    Yes, without this, there won't be any meaning at all...

    And the focus will be on deep strikes on command centres and industry. Lavrov made it pretty clear that gloves are coming off.

    As for industrial facilities—strikes against them will no longer make any serious impression.

    As for decision-making centers—that depends on how effective Russia's intelligence capabilities are. Russia possesses nothing even remotely comparable to the intelligence assets held by the United States and Israel. I do not believe Russia is capable of executing strikes with such precision. During their recent "retaliatory strike" against Kyiv, they attempted to achieve something, but the result was nil—including in terms of intimidating the civilian population.

    Seems like after Russians went to China they agreed that Ukraine needs to get wrapped up, and that dialogue with Americans is impossible.

    I am skeptical about this. It seems to me that China will not risk a severe escalation with the United States. China will continue to play a waiting game.

    Meanwhile, in Russia—on state-run channels—everyone keeps talking about the "Spirit of Anchorage." I was reading about it there again just yesterday.

    At this moment, the situation remains uncertain. The Russians have realized that Trump is unable to bring the war to an end. Now, everyone is waiting to see what further actions Russia will take.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xVVyS7NtB5k

    As the saying goes: the only good CIA agent is a dead CIA agent... )))) However, I think he got his facts mixed up.

    In 1689, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed—the first agreement between Russia and China (the Qing Empire). The Russian Tsardom: It lost a significant portion of the Amur region as well as lands along the upper Amur River. Russia was forced to dismantle the fortress of Albazin and liquidate the Russian settlements located there; the border was established along the Argun and Gorbitsa rivers.

    For Russia, this was a humiliating outcome—not the other way around. The second guy was right: China was the one that suffered territorial losses under the Treaty of Aigun, during the reign of Alexander II.

    Comrade, I listened to his take on the conflict over Damansky Island, and it hit me... ))) It turns out that the Soviets were the ones planning to attack China.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYHGeLyuH5O/

    Well, just think about it yourself: China lays claim to Soviet territory—territory that Nicholas II supposedly annexed illegally—yet, despite all this, the USSR is supposedly the one planning to attack China. Does that remind you of anything?... ))))

    Back then, China had a idée fixe: to tear up the Treaties of Aigun and Peking.

    The Treaties of Aigun and Peking (1858 and 1860) were key interstate agreements between the Russian Empire and the Manchu Qing Empire. They secured vast territories in the Far East for Russia and established the modern border with China.

    At that time, China massed two divisions—15,000 troops—along its border with the USSR and was preparing to launch a major military operation.

    And don't forget that just a year after the Damansky incident, the Chinese launched another attack—this time along the Kazakh border. Kazakhstan was not covered by the Treaty of Aigun. Kazakhstan has never belonged to China.

    You’ll notice once again that the moment the conversation turns to China, contradictions immediately crop up between us. On every single issue.

    People here keep telling me that I need to "think dialectically" in order to understand it all... ))) But I don't understand a damn thing...

    I’ve known since childhood that it was China that wanted to attack—not the other way around. I remember that Brezhnev was deeply alarmed by the concentration of forces along the border, yet he issued orders not to succumb to provocations; consequently, the Chinese were met solely by border guards, who held the line against an overwhelming enemy force until the regular army could be brought up. These border guards were subsequently hailed as heroes throughout the USSR, though many of them perished.

    As for the current relations between Russia and China, I would very much like to see what he says come true...

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (41 children)

    Iran makes it pretty clear just how bad US/Israeli intelligence is. And the US is no longer in any position to do escalation in China because they shat the bed in Iran. They're literally out of weapons at this point, and their economy is collapsing because of oil prices. Cost of filling up your car basically doubled now, and you can't go anywhere without a car in the US. This is the biggest crisis since Vietnam.

    There is no other path for Russia or China today than what he says. Neither Chinese nor Russian leadership is stupid, and they can see that the only way they survive is by working together. And their economies are complimentary on top of that, they have nothing to fight about. Russia is a resource economy and China is a manufacturing one. It's the exact same situation as the US and Canada.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    You must remember this guy. He served on the Central Committee under Gorbachev but stepped down from his post in 1991 when he realized where things were heading. This is Ryzhkov.

    He had a remarkable life story. He rose from being a shop foreman at the Uralmash plant all the way to becoming the plant's Director—it’s like something out of a fairytale... :) He hailed from the Donbas region, from a family of coal miners, and truly worked his way up from the very bottom.

    He has since passed away; this is one of his final interviews—you’ll see Spitsyn there as well. Incidentally, Spitsyn was a student of Yuri Nikolayevich Zhukov, whose books I’ve mentioned here before.

    If you’re interested in the Soviet economy of the 1980s, you might find this worth watching.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Ryzhkov

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (39 children)

    Iran makes it pretty clear just how bad US/Israeli intelligence is. And the US is no longer in any position to do escalation in China because they shat the bed in Iran. They’re literally out of weapons at this point, and their economy is collapsing because of oil prices. Cost of filling up your car basically doubled now, and you can’t go anywhere without a car in the US. This is the biggest crisis since Vietnam.

    Do you think Trump will make a deal with Iran?

    I think Trump has no other choice.

    There is no other path for Russia or China today than what he says.

    China is also dependent on Russia—that's undeniable. Putin recently visited Kazakhstan, where he agreed with the Kazakh president to increase energy supplies to China.

    The partnership will certainly develop, but moderately and cautiously, in the Chinese style.

    Russia is a resource economy and China is a manufacturing one.

    Yes, a major leap in industrialization is not expected in Russia yet. Russia's industrial sector is not doing well.

    The oligarchs, who have been holding back industrial development in Russia since the 1990s, exert too much influence on the state. The oligarchs act like invaders, sucking resources out of the country and exploiting the Russian people. They instill false ideals in the people.

    There's this oligarch named Malafeyev in Russia, a monarchist and religious obscurantist.

    https://www.bbc.com/russian/international/2015/02/150211_malofeyev_interview

    He financed that lousy film.

    And note that this film was blessed by some Elijah.

    https://youtu.be/NgZ1SUekJUc

    They want to remove Lenin's mausoleum so they can put God there with the Tsar.

    This is an atavism.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago (38 children)

    Trump has no choice, but I don't see how he can make a deal on Iran's terms. It would be an incredible humiliation and Israel is fighting tooth and nail to prevent that. Given massive Israeli influence in the US, I expect any actual deal will be stopped in the end.

    And yeah, the problem Russia has is the fact that it's a capitalist system which stands in the way of meaningful development. Since the masses need a shared narrative and world view that capitalism is unable to provide, religion is increasingly being slotted in to create national unity. This was unnecessary under the communist system which naturally united people.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (37 children)

    Trump has no choice, but I don’t see how he can make a deal on Iran’s terms. It would be an incredible humiliation and Israel is fighting tooth and nail to prevent that. Given massive Israeli influence in the US, I expect any actual deal will be stopped in the end.

    Yes, right now I find it hard to imagine how Trump intends to extricate himself from this situation. Trump faces a "tough decision"—either that, or he starts drinking vodka. The U.S. needs years to rebuild its military, not just weeks or months.

    Currently, in a hasty scramble, they are field-testing their new technologies in Ukraine; however, I doubt the U.S. is capable of reorganizing its military as rapidly as Russia did at the start of the war. Then again, we shall see—perhaps Trump is a capable manager... (haha), even if he is currently neck-deep in shit. It seems to me that he won't be able to wash himself clean of this—nothing can save him now; he is a lame duck.

    And yeah, the problem Russia has is the fact that it’s a capitalist system which stands in the way of meaningful development.

    Just recently, I was trying to understand the difference between shortages in a planned economy and shortages in a capitalist economy.

    I came to only one conclusion: under capitalism, shortages are highly profitable for capitalists; they allow them to generate excess profits while maintaining the same—or even lower—levels of production. A shortage is simply a mechanism for extracting additional funds from the public.

    This is the very same scheme that speculators employed during the Soviet era—a practice for which they faced prison sentences. Under capitalism, however, these same individuals are regarded as highly respected figures in the world of macroeconomics—people like Trump and Musk. They ought to be shipped off to the USSR so they could finally be judged according to their true deserts—specifically for the things they are doing right now.

    Just take a look: Russia, too, has its own Ma... доморощенный.

    https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/03/30/milliarder-deripaska-predlozhil-vvesti-12-chasovoi-rabochii-den-vklyuchaya-subbotu-chtobi-ponyat-ekonomiku-a191202

    It’s all very simple and straightforward: you work harder, but you get paid the exact same amount. You’re working for the good of the Motherland... :))))

    "The Motherland"—that’s actually Deripaska’s codename in certain circles... :))) Oh, how I miss Comrade Beria.

    This was unnecessary under the communist system which naturally united people.

    Stalin didn't ban the Church, which implies that it was, after all, necessary—especially during times of hardship. It was mainly women who went there—women whose husbands were either at the front or had already perished. There, they found at least some measure of solace to keep from losing their minds during the war.

    But Solzhenitsyn and his ilk decided that Stalin—the Antichrist—had repented and come to believe in God... )))) And they’ve been playing that same broken record for forty years now.... The only thing missing from that story was Rasputin....

    Just recently, a new Russian film aired on Russian TV channels... It’s the kind of thing that would make Dr. Lecter look like a nervous amateur. The story goes that when the Germans were at the gates of Moscow in '41, Stalin was in despair and didn't know what to do; so, he decided to visit a vedunya—a blind old seer. The sorceress handed Stalin a wooden icon and said: "This icon must be flown around Moscow three times..." ))))) Stalin took the icon and entrusted it to the Soviet Union's finest pilot. The pilot proceeded to circle Moscow repeatedly while under heavy fire from German anti-aircraft guns. By some miracle, he managed to fly around Moscow three times. And what do you think, comrade? The Germans immediately retreated from Moscow... )))) С Божьей помощью!

    They’ve completely lost their minds over these icons!

    https://youtu.be/Cz5uF6ms3Do

    And this is the disgrace I am forced to witness right now. And just try saying anything against God...

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago (36 children)

    And agree capitalism is built on extraction, and every crisis creates opportunities for somebody. Especially true when that somebody is causing the crisis and they have inside information. Russell actually had a great essay on the whole extraction mechanic https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/

    And yeah religion is being pushed in a very obvious way, although I recall seeing a survey last yeah I think where it showed that number of religious people is about the same as ever.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (35 children)

    Russell actually had a great essay on the whole extraction mechanic https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/

    I’ve never heard of this guy. But having read his work, I can say with absolute certainty that he has never done physical labor in his life; he views physical work as the worst punishment imaginable. I don’t know—perhaps he is a highly revered and famous figure—but he hasn’t the faintest clue about the mindset of a working man. He describes the psychology of a slave, not a worker.

    I have interacted with hundreds—if not thousands—of workers throughout my life. I can state unequivocally that what he writes is simply untrue! I have seen countless workers who derive genuine pleasure from their jobs; in fact, I’d go even further and say that they live for their work. And his assumption that, given an abundance of free time, they would suddenly start painting pictures or writing poetry just makes me smile! A working man feels lost without his work. And when a working man feels lost without work, he doesn't head off to the theater or the opera; he drinks vodka. To draw a worker toward art, science, or a mind-expanding hobby, he requires a foundation of systematic knowledge—the kind that enables him to survey the full range of options and select the one that best suits his personal tastes. As for his anarchic notion of abolishing universities—I consider it utterly utopian.

    However, I do partially agree with his core premise. And this is precisely the point—the one you and our Chinese comrade seem to miss—that I am constantly trying to articulate: a person who works more than eight hours a day will very quickly devolve into a Neanderthal, regardless of how much money they earn. Their intellect dulls; they lose the capacity for independent thought because they simply have no time to think—life rushes past them like a hurricane. And that is exactly what the capitalist wants: a herd of sheep marching in lockstep toward the "bright future" of capitalism.

    last yeah I think where it showed that number of religious people is about the same as ever.

    Perhaps things remain the same today; however, state propaganda has partially injected this ideological sludge into the school curriculum—specifically the works of Ilyin, for instance, who reveres only God and the Tsar. Their aim is to construct an ideology in the vein of Neo-monarchism.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago (34 children)

    Yeah, Russell is the quintessential British liberal, hence the disdain for the working class in all his work. But he does get at the irrationality of capitalism here where the goal is simply to maximize profit with no regard for anything else. I also very much agree with your point that overwork turns people into zombies.

    My view is that required work should be minimized as much as possible, and people should have the ability to choose how they spend their time.

    Also agree that's precisely how religion is being used right now, hopefully that fails.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (33 children)

    Yeah, Russell is the quintessential British liberal, hence the disdain for the working class in all his work.

    Yes, exactly, his article is steeped in contempt for work.

    So much so that he considers writers and artists slackers—that sounds ridiculous to me.

    Example: Jules Verne worked very intensively. His workday lasted up to 15 hours. The writer strictly adhered to the following schedule:

    Start: early morning, from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM.

    Finish: late evening (around 8:00 PM). Daily output: he wrote 10 to 20 printed pages daily, which allowed him to publish several seminal novels a year.

    How can you call this man a slacker, and where would he find the time to work for four hours, only to then... in his "free time" pursue creativity?

    And what mark did this man leave on history?

    But he does get at the irrationality of capitalism here where the goal is simply to maximize profit with no regard for anything else.

    Yes, I liked his logic, at some point I even got carried away reading it.

    I also very much agree with your point that overwork turns people into zombies.

    I saw this with my own eyes in Moscow. People on the metro are empty-eyed, detached, and always in a hurry. Such are the conditions for survival there.

    My view is that required work should be minimized as much as possible, and people should have the ability to choose how they spend their time.

    I'm not sure about the 4-hour period. I doubt unemployment in more or less developed countries is 50%... it's probably not even like that in Africa.

    But 6-8 hours, depending on the complexity of the job, would be normal.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago (32 children)

    My expectation is that most people would be productive even if they didn't have to work. People like making things, it's in our nature. Imagine a society where you had minimal work, but you had things like community workshops, and places where you can get together with people to build whatever you want. Like even public access to labs, factories and so on. I think we'd see incredible things getting made because people would get ideas, find like minded people and work on projects together just because they find them interesting. We actually see this happen with software and the whole open source movement already. Plenty of people write large software projects just because they find it interesting, they don't make any money off them, and the goal is purely to make something interesting. The reason it works for software is because anybody with a laptop can do it, but I think it would work exactly the same for building physical things if tools were readily available.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (31 children)

    My expectation is that most people would be productive even if they didn’t have to work. People like making things, it’s in our nature. Imagine a society where you had minimal work, but you had things like community workshops, and places where you can get together with people to build whatever you want.

    This can only be possible when AI is channeled in the right direction. AI should free people from work, not so they become unemployed, as would happen under capitalism, but so they have more time for creativity.

    I think more attention should be paid to childhood education, so that children can be instilled with a passion for something sublime from an early age. How can you instill anything in a child today if all they see is profit?

    The education system needs to be completely overhauled—that's where we need to start.

    By the way, Stalin personally edited the first Soviet history textbook for schoolchildren. He also placed great emphasis on educating young people.

    As that liberal philosopher who fears work said, it won't work! First education, then a creature—not the other way around. And studying is hard work, so you can't just slack off and become Lomonosov. We need an educational foundation for that. Therefore, from early childhood, children must work; they must become accustomed to work in order to achieve real results in the future. They also need an incentive to do so, and it's best if it's not money, but high ideals, as was the case in the USSR, the most educated and well-read country in the world. I've already experienced this firsthand: the horizons of a Westerner are much narrower than those of someone raised in the USSR. In the USSR, creative people were trained from school, while in the West, they produce narrow specialists who don't need anything beyond their specialty. They don't need critical thinking, for whom life is a chain of simple algorithms.

    Plenty of people write large software projects just because they find it interesting, they don’t make any money off them, and the goal is purely to make something interesting.

    I understand everything here because I experienced it myself, with my son.

    The attraction to computer programs lies in the fact that a child, as soon as they begin to understand, immediately becomes passionately fascinated with computers. There comes a time when the child gets bored with computer games and wants to get something more from the computer, but the computer still fascinates them as much as ever. If your father is a millionaire, at this point you can turn into Bill Gates or Elon Musk.

    The reason it works for software is because anybody with a laptop can do it, but I think it would work exactly the same for building physical things if tools were readily available.

    But I would slightly modify your concept of the new world. It's not about people having free access to production facilities or laboratories, but about computer simulators of various processes in schools.

    A cultural revolution in society is needed.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 5 months ago (30 children)

    Every form of automation is turned against the worker under capitalism. AI will be no different here, and it might accelerate the collapse of the whole system.

    And agree that education needs to change significantly at this point. A lot of education focuses on rote memorization, but what's really important now is the ability to integrate the available information, evaluate it, and make decisions. Basically, applying dialectical thinking to the world. Also very much agree that USSR education was far better and broader. Becoming an intellectual was basically seen as the way to move up in society. In the west it's just about making money which creates a very narrow and selfish horizon for people.

    Teaching kids to experiment using computers in school is actually a really good idea. Once they develop the mindset it's applicable everywhere, and easily transfers to working with the physical world too.

    I do think we'll need to restructure society in significant ways in the near future because technology is outpacing our existing social norms. Unfortunately these kinds of upheavals tend to be highly volatile socially.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (1 child)

    That American professor said that lately, a great many supporters of socialism have been emerging—among young people in the US and elsewhere. But this isn't because they are committed socialists; rather, they are protesting against capitalism, and since there is no alternative to socialism, and people want change...

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (26 children)

    Every form of automation is turned against the worker under capitalism.

    Comrade, you know a thing or two about economics—please take a look at this video; it’s short. At the end, there are formulas he uses to prove the opposite.

    Do you agree with this?

    https://youtu.be/LfRdDwgky0A

    That’s Comrade Semin; Semin promoted him on YouTube. He’s a socialist, too.

    It’s really gratifying to see young people in Russia starting to think so progressively. And most importantly, they base their arguments on science rather than Solzhenitsyn’s tall tales or fairy tales about God.

    I’m convinced that the politics of common sense and science—which Musk championed before—for some reason—going quiet—will sooner or later prevail over the politics of obscurantism or "popcorn and Coke," both in Russia and the US.

    I listened to Semin recently; he attended an international communist congress in Britain a few years back. He represented the Russian Communist Party there (not the CPRF).

    And the main thing is—honestly, Comrade—he used the exact same words I’ve been using for a long time. Their concept of socialism is somewhat abstract; every speaker at the forum said something different—there’s no unified concept, no single clear idea; it’s all very unrefined.

    But on the other hand, progressive youth there—not just those with socialist views—are starting to realize that capitalism has outlived its usefulness, that it’s a hollow sham. So, they’re beginning to look for an alternative. Meanwhile, in Russia, the so-called progressive youth are only just starting to soak up the joys of capitalist life, because they didn't get a chance to enjoy it for 40 years... ))) There’s a lag and some gaps here, too.

    It turns out there’s a Marx Library in London; I didn't know that... ))))

    "Marx remains relevant as long as capitalism exists."

    https://youtu.be/am-D1MtZ7Xg

    And agree that education needs to change significantly at this point. A lot of education focuses on rote memorization, but what’s really important now is the ability to integrate the available information, evaluate it, and make decisions. Basically, applying dialectical thinking to the world. Also very much agree that USSR education was far better and broader. Becoming an intellectual was basically seen as the way to move up in society. In the west it’s just about making money which creates a very narrow and selfish horizon for people.

    A quick side note: In the USSR, children were made to grow up early and shed their illusions, not the other way around.

    As for Hollywood movies—if you strip away the sex, violence, and drugs, the vast majority of them are essentially children's films.

    When I got to know American culture better, I was really surprised to learn that adults read comic books... In the USSR, the closest thing to comics was produced only for children who were just learning to read (before starting school). Personally, I was already reading Pushkin and had memorized several poems before I even started school—though I read comics, too.

    Comic books, for crying out loud... )))) At age seven, I read H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. I remember staying up all night in fear after reading The Time Machine.

    And I’d borrowed the book from a classmate—a friend who had highly recommended it to me...

    But why am I telling you this, Comrade? You were just like that yourself once... )))) You saw it all firsthand!

    Teaching kids to experiment using computers in school is actually a really good idea. Once they develop the mindset it’s applicable everywhere, and easily transfers to working with the physical world too.

    I’ll join Marx and add this: as long as capitalism exists, education will be crap! Because they aren’t raising intellectuals—they’re raising docile workers for their factories. Intellectuals don’t serve their interests; intellectuals think too much and notice too much... and then they say things that are highly inconvenient for the powers that be...

    I do think we’ll need to restructure society in significant ways

    I’m afraid restructuring won’t be enough.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (25 children)

    Do you agree with this?

    This is basically what Marx explains in the first volume of The Capital. It's good to see young people still read Marx in Russia. :)

    And he's right that full automation is fundamentally incompatible with capitalism because the whole system is based around consumption. You need wage workers who produce value, and then pay the capital owner to consume goods. If you eliminate wage workers from the system there's nobody left to consume the goods. And once you have the majority of population become useless within the system it can no longer function.

    But on the other hand, progressive youth there—not just those with socialist views—are starting to realize that capitalism has outlived its usefulness, that it’s a hollow sham

    Basically what happened was that the US sat out the second world war and developed its economy while the rest of the world burned. Then they used their head start to prop up their ideological bloc during the Cold War and created the whole mythology that capitalism was a superior system and the standard of living in the west wasn't because the US had a huge head start, but because capitalism is a superior system. Now that China has caught up and capitalism has destroyed all the material benefits western public enjoyed, we're seeing the new generation sobering up.

    And I'm still shocked how nobody actually reads books here. It is absolutely incomprehensible to me. Just like you, I was reading from the young age, cause there really wasn't much other type of entertainment. And reading really opened up your imagination, I'm incredibly grateful for growing up in USSR and having developed this habit. Reading a good book is still by far the most enjoyable experience for me.

    incidentally https://english.www.gov.cn/policies/latestreleases/202512/17/content_WS6941fa8bc6d00ca5f9a08243.html

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (24 children)

    It’s good to see young people still read Marx in Russia. :)

    In Russia, Marx is inseparable from Lenin.

    By the way, listen to the story of how Russian officials, together with their Chinese counterparts, are selling a massive Soviet factory to China for scrap metal. It’s a disgrace!

    When Platoshkin exposed this criminal scheme, a local official simply blew up the factory to cover his tracks...

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qsA-IegBgcg

    And he’s right that full automation is fundamentally incompatible with capitalism because the whole system is based around consumption. You need wage workers who produce value, and then pay the capital owner to consume goods. If you eliminate wage workers from the system there’s nobody left to consume the goods. And once you have the majority of population become useless within the system it can no longer function.

    And once again, capitalism is doing harm—this time, to the advancement of progress.

    Basically what happened was that the US sat out the second world war and developed its economy while the rest of the world burned. Then they used their head start to prop up their ideological bloc during the Cold War and created the whole mythology that capitalism was a superior system and the standard of living in the west wasn’t because the US had a huge head start, but because capitalism is a superior system. Now that China has caught up and capitalism has destroyed all the material benefits western public enjoyed, we’re seeing the new generation sobering up.

    As I understand it, during the Iron Curtain era, the only information that reached us from the other side was propaganda. And as I’ve come to realize decades later: Soviet propaganda told 90% the truth about the West, whereas Western propaganda told 90% lies about the USSR.

    That is why people in the West are only now beginning to understand what socialism actually is—now that advanced Western capitalism has gone into a tailspin. I remember when I first joined Western forums back in 2015; people’s jaws would drop at the stories I told. At first, they didn't believe me—they thought I was making it all up! I became very popular very quickly on that first Western forum.

    cause there really wasn’t much other type of entertainment.

    Comrade, those are just Western tall tales... )))) Деревянные игрушки, скользкий подоконник, каляска без дна))) I was never a homebody as a child. There was a sports ground in every courtyard; we played soccer there every day—it was impossible to get me to come home. In the winter, they’d flood the area to make an ice rink, and we’d play hockey. When my parents bought me a computer—a ZX Spectrum—I went wild and started skipping school, but even so, there was always a book on my nightstand; I read every day before bed.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago (23 children)

    Yeah, that's the ironic part, it turns out that Soviets didn't really have to make stuff up about the west while the west had to spin tall tales about evils of communism. I do think that it was a failure of Soviet education system that it failed to make people really understand the problem with capitalism. I remember when I was a kid at school, there was no discussion about it, nobody really gave it any thought. But you look in the west, and indoctrination starts very early on. Not just in schools too, it's in TV shows, comic books, everything. And we see now just how effective this type of indoctrination is.

    And yeah, that's fair, I meant specifically in terms of media entertainment. I did spend a lot of time outside with my friends as a kid. This is, incidentally, another thing you can't do in the west. My parents would just let me go out by myself when I was 8 years old without a single worry. I'd go out in the morning, come back lunch, and hang out with friends the rest of the day. That's how safe things were. That sort of thing would be unthinkable in Canada today.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (22 children)

    Yeah, that’s the ironic part, it turns out that Soviets didn’t really have to make stuff up about the west while the west had to spin tall tales about evils of communism. I do think that it was a failure of Soviet education system that it failed to make people really understand the problem with capitalism.

    One mistake made in the late USSR was that the public did not take the propaganda seriously.

    There were economic problems, yet reports spoke of incredible achievements in socialist construction; in reality, everything was stagnating. The leaders could barely articulate their words... Brezhnev’s final speeches were completely unintelligible; people laughed at him back then just as they laughed at Biden when he rambled. The party leadership had become ossified; the country definitely needed a breath of fresh air at that time. That was precisely what Andropov envisioned when he tasked Ryzhkov and Gorbachev—who were the "young guard" of the party back then, full of fresh thoughts and ideas—with developing the project.

    Unfortunately, however, Andropov didn't live long enough to see it through, and Gorbachev later ruined everything.

    By the way, I’ve finally fully grasped the reason why Europe was, until recently, a Garden of Eden.

    The EU project—conceived long before the USSR collapsed—was aimed at preventing the emergence of socialism in individual European states. To achieve this, capitalists were forced to spend vast sums out of their own pockets to ensure social well-being for all their citizens. After all, there were very strong socialist movements in France, Italy, and elsewhere at the time. If the people had been living in hardship, they would have elected socialists. Consequently, capitalists were compelled to share with the public—as should happen in a genuine democratic capitalist state.

    After the USSR collapsed, there was no longer a need to maintain a high standard of living for the European populace. And so, almost without realizing it, Europe began to slide into the abyss! Capitalists now have a free hand; they can do whatever they please.

    And now we come to the main point. It turns out that the collapse of the USSR turned Europe into a garbage dump.

    Not just in schools too, it’s in TV shows, comic books, everything. And we see now just how effective this type of indoctrination is.

    This is a caricature from a Soviet newspaper from 1955. Absolutely nothing has changed.

    And yeah, that’s fair, I meant specifically in terms of media entertainment.

    Yes, it was done intentionally to give the child more time for beneficial activities. It was the right approach for the upbringing of young people.

    This is, incidentally, another thing you can’t do in the west.

    I remember once being in the countryside with my parents, but I had a soccer match on Sunday morning, so I headed back to town in the evening to be ready for the game the next day. My parents stayed behind in the village. When I arrived in town, I realized I had left my apartment keys back in the village—but I had taken the last bus of the day. It was a 15-kilometer trip, and I was only 13 years old. I lived on the edge of town, so I walked out to the main road—it was 10 p.m.—and managed to catch a ride. Strangers drove me all the way back to the village; even though it wasn't on their way, they dropped me right at my house and wouldn't take a single penny. I had a few rubles in my pocket and tried to offer them the money, but they flatly refused.

    It never even crossed my mind that someone might try to harm me. And my parents didn't scold me for coming back to the village in the middle of the night instead of staying over at a friend's place in town—to them, that sort of thing was perfectly normal.

    Even now—before the war—I don’t recall any instances of anyone being abducted; children roam the streets freely. But that’s before the war; I don’t know what will happen afterwards—the world has changed.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago (21 children)

    We talked about this before, lack of a good selection process that allowed people of low competence to get into positions of power and created a bureaucracy which was largely concerned with preserving itself rather than solving problems was the ultimate cause of the decline. Simply telling people everything is great while you're unable to produce substantive change they can see tangibly deligitimizes the system. And that's precisely what we see happening in the west today, and why there's now public disillusionment with liberal democracy.

    And you're absolutely right that Europe has been propped up to prevent genuine socialism from taking hold. The US didn't pour billions upon billions into rebuilding western Europe after WW2 out of sheer altruism. They used it as a way to deligitimize communism in the east. Look how great Europeans are living, look how much faster things develop under capitalism. That was the whole narrative. This is a great read on the subject incidentally, confirms everything you said http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27c/046.html

    This is a caricature from a Soviet newspaper from 1955. Absolutely nothing has changed.

    Yup, that cartoon is ever green, and just as true as the day it was made.

    It never even crossed my mind that someone might try to harm me.

    Exactly, there were just not thoughts people had back in USSR. It's destruction was the biggest crime of the 20th century.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (20 children)

    We talked about this before, lack of a good selection process that allowed people of low competence to get into positions of power and created a bureaucracy which was largely concerned with preserving itself rather than solving problems was the ultimate cause of the decline.

    For some reason, I am convinced that Stalin would have sorted the situation out in a couple of years—it would have become 1937 all over again. Of course, for a long time afterward, people would have talked about how cruel Stalin was...

    In essence, the situation in 1987 was the same as in 1937, when the Trotskyists crawled out into the open. And Trotskyists are essentially the same as kulaks and petty property owners.

    By the way, I’d like to challenge your point about whether, according to Marx, a transition from feudalism to socialism is possible while bypassing the "agonies of capitalism."

    Yes, in his letter to Vera Zasulich dated March 8, 1881, Karl Marx did indeed allow for the possibility that Russia could transition to socialism by relying on its pre-capitalist institutions, thereby bypassing the capitalist stage.

    Marx analyzed the socio-economic situation and concluded that the Russian rural commune (specifically the land-holding commune) could serve as a foothold for social renewal.

    https://revarchiv.narod.ru/marxeng/tom19/marx_zasulitch.html

    Therefore, Stalin acted precisely in accordance with Stalin's own theory—the NEP in Russia could have been dispensed with! Both Marx and Stalin turned out to be right.

    I wonder what Marx would have said about the possibility of building socialism in China. Although I’d ​​probably agree with you: China lacked the necessary foundation to skip over the NEP stage.

    China was incredibly backward after the Opium Wars.

    Look how great Europeans are living, look how much faster things develop under capitalism.

    Trump has finally stirred into action, wanting to make America the way it was 40 years ago, but it is already too late. While Europe and the US were fleecing their own people and dismantling their industries, China was building. We see the result: there is no turning back.

    Yup, that cartoon is ever green, and just as true as the day it was made.

    Back then, they were just pictures to me; I didn't take them seriously. But when events started unfolding in Ukraine... can you imagine? I immediately remembered those cartoons—and the scales fell from my eyes.

    Exactly, there were just not thoughts people had back in USSR. It’s destruction was the biggest crime of the 20th century.

    It’s all down to modern capitalist culture—a lifestyle where everyone is chasing profits and all sorts of sordid amusements. Drugs have also had a massive impact; they’ve poisoned all of Europe and the US. Wherever there are drugs, there is perversion. That’s exactly where that flood of "jolly guys" came from—the ones whose rights I’m suddenly supposed to care about. It’s all the drugs, I assure you!

    You know yourself that the whole high-society crowd is hooked on cocaine. It’s very fashionable among them.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (19 children)

    I think Stalin was largely correct in what he did, the problem was that he left a system which failed to ensure strong leadership going forward. A stable social system can't depend on a single strong willed individual being in charge and making the right calls. Continuity of competent governance, especially in time of plenty is the hardest problem to solve in my opinion.

    And completely agree, China quietly outplayed the west. A lot of it was inherent in western hubris too. They really thought that theirs was the only way to develop, and they figured that China would have to become like them eventually and they'd fold it in. But it didn't work out that way. Turns out people with 3000 years of continuous civilization under their belt know a thing or two of their won. Also, don't know if you saw, but American media has now realized DPRK is doing rather well. https://archive.ph/b9zrS

    The west really is starting to look like the final days of the Roman empire now. I expect we'll start seeing provinces getting cut loose next and imploding economically. The UK looks like it might be the first to pop.

    oh and just ran across this https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202605/19/WS6a0c0718a310d6866eb4976d.html

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (18 children)

    I think Stalin was largely correct in what he did, the problem was that he left a system which failed to ensure strong leadership going forward. A stable social system can’t depend on a single strong willed individual being in charge and making the right calls. Continuity of competent governance, especially in time of plenty is the hardest problem to solve in my opinion.

    Yes, this is something Mao did better than Stalin.

    I think the reason is that Stalin was much more powerful than his comrades; everything rested on that, on Stalin's authority. As soon as Stalin was gone, intra-party squabbling began. Everyone was trying to take over. No one was found who could replace Stalin and continue his work. Stalin's legacy was simply squandered!

    Also, don’t know if you saw, but American media has now realized DPRK is doing rather well. https://archive.ph/b9zrS

    Yes, I recently discussed this with a Marxist friend of ours here.

    For me, if the Wall Street Journal writes something like this, there's something fishy about it.))))

    Just recently they wrote that Kim is machine-gunning his opponents..... )))

    oh and just ran across this https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202605/19/WS6a0c0718a310d6866eb4976d.html

    We definitely need to show this to our Chinese comrade... )))

    Yes, I see, the trade turnover between the US and China alone is $700 billion.

    The US is dearer to China's heart than Russia... )))

    Ten times more.

    In fact: It turns out that China is much more dependent on the US than on Russia.

    If you recall the economic crisis of 2008, China experienced it more painfully than the US.

    This is what distinguishes China from the USSR, because the USSR wasn't nearly as dependent on the West as China. No one could threaten the USSR with sanctions and the like, because it was all pointless! There was no such dependence on microchips from Taiwan. You have to admit, if China doesn't have microchips from Taiwan, they won't be able to produce competitive products. As far as I know, China doesn't have such technology yet, because Taiwan has American technology.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (17 children)

    Yeah, I think that's exactly what happened as well. He was too big of a figure and that created an environment where there were no other strong leaders within the party. So, once he was gone, it created a huge power vacuum and squabbling.

    China is actually quite independent from the US, and we have recent conclusive proof of that when Trump tried doing a trade war. Turns out, exports to the US are a tiny part of Chinese economy now. And I don't know why you think China needs microchips from Taiwan when they have chip production entirely on the mainland. I think you need to spend a bit of time to actually research this subject because you're very much misinformed here. https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2026/5/ieee-iscas-tau-scaling

    by the way https://xcancel.com/upholdreality/status/2067629274765394368

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (16 children)

    China is actually quite independent from the US, and we have recent conclusive proof of that when Trump tried doing a trade war. Turns out, exports to the US are a tiny part of Chinese economy now. And I don’t know why you think China needs microchips from Taiwan when they have chip production entirely on the mainland. I think you need to spend a bit of time to actually research this subject because you’re very much misinformed here. https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2026/5/ieee-iscas-tau-scaling

    Comrade, this symposium was held in May, and the topic discussed was "A New Path for the Development of the Semiconductor Industry in Practice."

    The key phrase was "New Path."

    This is from open sources:

    "Taiwan produces significantly better and more technologically advanced chips than mainland China. The island is home to TSMC, which controls over 90% of the global market for the most advanced and commercially successful chips. China is rapidly closing the gap and dominating other segments, but Taiwan still retains technological leadership. What is the difference between chip production in Taiwan and China? Technological level: Taiwan mass-produces the most advanced processors using process technologies of 3 nanometers (nm) and below for Apple, Nvidia, and AMD. China (represented by SMIC) has struggled to master 7-nm and 5-nm processes, which are more expensive to produce and have a much higher defect rate. Access to equipment: Taiwan has free access to unique ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners from the Dutch company ASML. Sales of such machines to China are completely blocked due to US sanctions, which is hindering its development. Development. Advanced chip production: Taiwan holds an absolute monopoly on processors for artificial intelligence, data centers, and flagship smartphones."

    China does not yet have the technology to overtake Taiwan.

    https://mskgazeta.ru/obshchestvo/kak-vozmozhnoe-protivostoyanie-knr-i-tajvanya-povliyaet-na-razvitie-ii-16020.html

    by the way https://xcancel.com/upholdreality/status/2067629274765394368

    Yes, but Margarita Simonyan is Solovyov, only in a skirt. As they say in the West, she's a mouthpiece for the Kremlin...))) They won't say anything bad about China on official Russian channels close to the Kremlin, I can tell you for sure – it's taboo! They say the same things about China there that they say here.

    They're all raving about China these days.

    Read it here

    https://alfabank.ru/alfa-investor/posts/t/e04dd1d4-f454-f111-91c6-0050569e1fd0/

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago (15 children)

    China does not yet have the technology to overtake Taiwan.

    China absolutely does have the technology to overtake Taiwan, and if you look at the history of how fast Chinese technology develops, it should be obvious that it's not going to take long. Look at what happened with solar panels, EVs, batteries, phones, etc. In every case, once China ramped up research and production, they leapfrogged the rest of the world within years. China sees chip production as a national security issue, they will be pouring state level resources into it.

    Meanwhile here's what Stanford has to say about AI https://hai.stanford.edu/news/inside-the-ai-index-12-takeaways-from-the-2026-report

    Not only has China basically closed the gap already, but they're doing it at a tiny fraction of the cost.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    China absolutely does have the technology to overtake Taiwan

    Has is probably slightly ambitious. China's first EUV machine was completed last year and won't even produce chips until 2028. However once that milestone is passed the trajectory of what logically follows is obvious.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago (4 children)

    Right, and on top of it Huawei is coming up with new ways to arrange transistors with stuff like Tau folding architecture, which combined wtih EUV might actually allow Chinese chip makers to push far ahead of traditional chip designs.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    The future of Chinese chip manufacturing is definitely bright it's simply not here quite yet until the new machine succeeds in passing the final and most important hurdle of taping out a chip of acceptable quality.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago* (2 children)

    It seems like Tau architecture might close the performance gap even without EUV though. Similarly Huawei managed to get clever with optical connections in their Ascend clusters to actually outperform NVIDIA for AI training. https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3315068/how-huaweis-ascend-ai-chips-outperform-nvidia-processors-running-deepseeks-r1-model

    So, the gap really isn't that big in practice. Also worth noting that software side plays just as much role here as well. Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, and even Linux all have a lot of legacy decisions baked into them for backwards compatibility needed to support existing software. Huawei building a fresh stack on top of HarmonyOS allows them to make a much leaner stack that's not saddled with all the prior baggage. And that can make overall user experience a lot better even on slower hardware. Modern software is incredibly bloated, and addressing the bloat is a low hanging fruit that can be plucked right now without the need for EUV machines. The benefits will stack with faster chips as well just the same way Tau will stack with EUV.

    In a way, decoupling from Western tech stack could actually provide a lot of benefits because it opens up the way for doing things differently without having to worry about the way existing legacy stack works.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    I am well aware of all of this however as you maybe subconsciously added yourself:

    So, the gap really isn’t that big in practice.

    I agree the gap currently is the smallest it has ever been, there is however still a gap. I strongly believe from everything I know from my time in the industry that once Chinese EUV achieves a tape out the gap will not simply be closed but thanks to the build-up in novel workarounds that were required in the interim that can then be applied on top of the smaller dimension transistors we will be propelled to a substantial lead. However for now even if it is coming to an inevitable end we still trail the most advanced nodes.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (8 children)

    I have no doubt that China is developing very quickly.

    But at the moment, China is unlikely to survive the severing of economic relations with the US and its satellites.

    By the way, it's time to talk about India. India will now supply gasoline to Russia. It will supply diesel to Ukraine, and gasoline to Russia.

    In Crimea, there is no gasoline at all at civilian gas stations, and in some regions of Russia, there is a gasoline shortage. Gasoline prices have increased by half. Speculators have doubled theirs.

    The Russian stock market has noticeably fallen. The situation is not critical right now, but a lot depends on how quickly Russia finds a way to counter.

    Now everyone is expecting a Russian retaliatory strike. There has been no response yet since the attack on Moscow. Lately, the strikes against us have been very weak every night. The siren rarely sounds. It's very strange.

    Remember I told you about the "Skelya" unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces? Yesterday, Ukrainian media reported cases of flagrant inhumane treatment of soldiers there by the leadership. Torture, sexual violence, murder, suicide. These people haven't even reached the front yet. Criminals released from prison are committing this lawlessness.

    A friend of mine ended up there, and he told me the same thing. This is how they force the "busified" soldiers to fight. Because people reduced to the state of animals are willing to do anything to escape their suffering, even die during an assault. We were talking recently about how the "busified" soldiers hold the front and even counterattack. That's it!!! These are no longer people, but animals reduced to the state of animals. These people are impossible to break because they have no other choice. They believe their chances of surviving an assault are better.

    And Syrsky is personally orchestrating this entire hellish spectacle.

    And this entire "banquet" is being paid for by the collective West.

    We, ordinary Ukrainians, are held captive by the devil!

    When I think about it, I feel sick!

    I'm certain that if the regime in Ukraine doesn't change, a civil war will break out very soon after the war.

    And this won't even be a war between the west and the east of Ukraine, but a war between those who return from the war and those who bullied and abused them in training, and then threw them into brutal assaults.

    And these won't be frightened citizens hiding in their homes; these will be battle-hardened thugs with weapons.

    And if the regime changes, all this scum will immediately flee to the west with the stolen money. But then the country will be cleansed of this scum naturally.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago (7 children)

    I'm going to repeat this again, we have concrete and irrefutable proof that China is no longer dependent on the west. China was completely unaffected by Trump's 140% tariffs which basically amounted to cutting off trade, and just now we saw that China is similarly unaffected by global oil disruption. The reality is that the world has changed, and developing economies are growing rapidly while the west is in an accelerating decline. The west isn't the centre of global economic gravity anymore.

    Outside Crimea, the shortages seem to be more a result of panic buying than anything else given that export volumes haven't been affected. There is going to be a lot of pressure on Putin to do some major retaliation now though, and this time he might have to.

    Even though they can force people to fight by dehumanizing them, this is not an effective tactic. Notice how Russian advance is accelerating now, and big towns towns like Konstantinovka that used to be fought over really hard are now falling mostly intact. There are no more fights to take very building like what we saw in Artemovsk.

    It is absolutely sick what western backed fascists are doing to the people of Ukraine and how people in the west keep cheering for it.

    And I think there likely will be a mutiny in the army sooner or later as well. We talked about this a long time go, but the dynamic is that they have to use actual trained and motivated soldiers to do important operations, and each time that happens the ones that are lost can't be replaced. Russians know this and that's why towns like Pokrovsk are always used as nazi roach motels. Ukraine has no choice but to defend them to the last because it looks bad to western sponsors when they lose them. So, they can't just throw mobics there. And that depletes the core of motivated fascists holding the army together. Eventually there will be an inflection point where there just aren't enough of them and the mobics will start taking revenge for all the abuse they suffered.

    Also, when they flee to the west that's when things are going to get really bad for Europe. They've already been smuggling a lot of weapons into Europe and establishing links with fascists there. Once you have a whole bunch of hardened, trained, and well armed fash running around, Europe might start looking a lot like Syria at that point.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (6 children)

    I’m going to repeat this again, we have concrete and irrefutable proof that China is no longer dependent on the west.

    With the exception of the $600 billion trade volume—where, yes, China sells more to the U.S. than it buys—and high-tech developments that China has not yet created itself but which are possessed by the U.S. (or Taiwan, which utilizes U.S. technology)...

    Outside Crimea, the shortages seem to be more a result of panic

    Yes, due to panic, among other things.

    that export volumes haven’t been affected.

    Comrade, you can't fuel a car with crude oil...)))

    Once again:

    https://korrespondent.net/world/russia/4888980-rossyia-prosyt-benzyn-u-druzhestvennykh-stran

    Even though they can force people to fight by dehumanizing them, this is not an effective tactic. Notice how Russian advance is accelerating now, and big towns towns like Konstantinovka that used to be fought over really hard are now falling mostly intact. There are no more fights to take very building like what we saw in Artemovsk.

    You got a bit carried away regarding the "major cities," Comrade. )))) I only heard of that particular city at the start of the war... )))) When you're driving along the highway, you're hardly going to remember the names of every village you pass. In the USSR, that kind of place was classified as an "urban-type settlement." To a resident of Kharkiv, it’s just a backwater village. I know Sloviansk well—I used to visit often; there was a really good "cook" there... you know, Breaking Bad style... )))) People would travel all the way from Kharkiv just to get his "product." It’s a real hick town, too—they speak Surzhyk there.

    The major cities—or rather, not "major," just cities—that Russia has captured are Berdyansk, Mariupol, and Kherson.

    As for Sloviansk, they’ve turned it into a fortress city. I doubt the Russians will be able to capture it quickly. It’s the next city on the list after Mariupol.

    It is absolutely sick what western backed fascists are doing to the people of Ukraine and how people in the west keep cheering for it.

    Look, this is Ukrainian TV. Things got to the point where they had to announce this to the whole country.

    This woman, the Ukrainian ombudsperson who visited "Skelya," shares her "impressions."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mrkC8kV0Bc&t=275s

    And take a look at the comments below—it’s all those "pot-heads" finally seeing the light; all the comments are in Ukrainian!!! Morons—what were they thinking before?

    The NABU, of course, "got involved" in the "investigation."

    https://ukranews.com/en/amp/news/1159661-lubinets-launches-urgent-investigation-into-skelia-regiment-following-allegations-of-torture

    And I think there likely will be a mutiny in the army sooner or later as well. We talked about this a long time go, but the dynamic is that they have to use actual trained and motivated soldiers to do important operations, and each time that happens the ones that are lost can’t be replaced. Russians know this and that’s why towns like Pokrovsk are always used as nazi roach motels. Ukraine has no choice but to defend them to the last because it looks bad to western sponsors when they lose them. So, they can’t just throw mobics there. And that depletes the core of motivated fascists holding the army together. Eventually there will be an inflection point where there just aren’t enough of them and the mobics will start taking revenge for all the abuse they suffered.

    For now, this is only in theory.

    Also, when they flee to the west that’s when things are going to get really bad for Europe. They’ve already been smuggling a lot of weapons into Europe and establishing links with fascists there. Once you have a whole bunch of hardened, trained, and well armed fash running around, Europe might start looking a lot like Syria at that point.

    Yes, I completely agree with you; it will be a mafia, armed to the teeth, terrorizing all of Europe. The consequences of the war will continue to haunt Europe for a long time to come.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

    With the exception of the $600 billion trade volume—where, yes, China sells more to the U.S. than it buys—and high-tech developments that China has not yet created itself but which are possessed by the U.S. (or Taiwan, which utilizes U.S. technology)…

    Trade with the US was already less than 3% in 2024, it's even less now:

    Chinese exports of goods and services to the U.S. was 2.9% of Chinese GDP in 2024

    I'm expecting Sloviansk/Kramatorsk will get taken this summer, and why there's such a major panic now.

    And nobody cared before because people were getting grabbed from eastern Ukraine, now the kidnappings are starting to happen in western Ukraine more and more. I think it's also an indication of how desperate the situation is. See how Europeans are now trying to send people back too. There are real manpower problems nobody wants to talk about.

    By the way, another good summary https://youtu.be/9EpDoB-xgOE

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (4 children)

    I’m expecting Sloviansk/Kramatorsk will get taken this summer

    ))) No, Comrade, that’s unlikely.

    Ukraine has massed forces in the Zaporizhzhia sector and intends to launch a counterattack. The Russians are currently trying to disrupt this counteroffensive.

    Ukraine definitely still has potential.

    and why there’s such a major panic now

    I monitor the mood among Russian pro-military bloggers. There was some confusion when Ukraine began actively striking deep into Russian territory, though the panic seems to have subsided somewhat now.

    Belousov recently met with these bloggers in person; the key issue on the agenda was countering UAVs.

    We can see that a feedback loop exists within the Russian Federation.

    Lately, strikes deep inside Russia have become less effective, and it is evident that countermeasures are being implemented; Russia is successfully countering these new threats.

    As for Ukraine, there is no panic there so far—except, perhaps, among those being sent on "meat-grinder" assaults. But no one asks for their opinion.

    And nobody cared before because people were getting grabbed from eastern Ukraine, now the kidnappings are starting to happen in western Ukraine more and more. I think it’s also an indication of how desperate the situation is. See how Europeans are now trying to send people back too. There are real manpower problems nobody wants to talk about.

    Yes, I agree with you, but this isn't aimed at the immediate present—it's looking toward the future. Once this becomes widespread, then we can talk about a catastrophic shortage of mobilization resources within Ukraine. For now, these are just plans.

    As for the current situation: recently, the EU banned granting refugee status to newly arrived Ukrainians of conscription age. Right now, the goal is to round up everyone inside Ukraine; they’ll go after the refugees later. I think there are enough people here to last another year...

    Unfortunately, my outlook on this isn't quite as rosy as yours, Comrade...)))

    By the way, another good summary https://youtu.be/9EpDoB-xgOE

    Yes, his description is roughly accurate.

    This breakthrough occurred because Ukraine is mounting counterattacks in other sectors of the front; it is not currently in a state of purely static defense.

    And Sloviansk is a symbolic city for both Russia and Ukraine. The "Russian Spring" of 2014 began there. The battle for it will be fierce. If you like, you can call Sloviansk "Stalingrad"—and you wouldn't be wrong! It strikes me as the key battle of this war.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 4 months ago

    and thread is full here too

    Oh yeah, the media campaign worked, and the US is back in the game until Trump does a 180 again in a few weeks. I expect the next big event will be Russia taking all of Donbas. That's when the real panic will start.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    I guess we'll see, I think the only potential left is in the media at this point. And that's precisely why the west is in a panic again.

    I've found Russian military bloggers are drama queens of the highest order. They're really not a useful gauge for what's actually happening.

    Also, think about this logically, if the AFU had serious fighting capacity left then they would be defending Sloviansk/Kramatorsk right now instead of doing raids in Zaporozhye. This is by far the most important part of the front. They know they can't hold it, so they're doing 'offensives' to demonstrate that there's fighting capacity left. These have no staying power.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    Also, think about this logically, if the AFU had serious fighting capacity left then they would be defending Sloviansk/Kramatorsk right now instead of doing raids in Zaporozhye.

    Comrade, I’m not telling you that Russia is losing; I’m telling you that—thanks in part to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive—Trump has regained faith in Europe. Consequently, the war is dragging on, which implies fatigue for both Ukraine and Russia.

    If Ukraine realizes it is unequivocally losing, there will be an immediate mobilization of everyone aged 18 and up; we will see that happen.

    The three-month period I spoke about back in the spring has passed. Russia has adapted, more or less. A new wave of the Russian offensive is coming now.

    Also, I observe that Russia’s massive strikes on Kyiv are becoming increasingly damaging, whereas Russia is beginning to adapt to deep-strike attacks. Ukraine recently launched 800 drones, yet the effect was practically nil.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    I’ve found Russian military bloggers are drama queens of the highest order. They’re really not a useful gauge for what’s actually happening.

    So is that why they run to Belousov in a panic to complain? )))) Belousov hands out heart medication to them. )))

    Comrade, if it weren't for those "panic-mongers," we likely wouldn't have such a detailed picture of the situation, because, according to pro-Kremlin media, everything is always fine.

    That is precisely why Belousov summons bloggers—to get information from the ground, rather than from the reports of bloated generals who love sending "flag-bearers" just to snap a photo of a flag. The Russian General Staff then presents this disinformation as fact. Thanks to one of those "panicking" bloggers, several generals—the type who love planting flags—have already been relieved of their commands.

    Remember when the Russians captured Kupyansk a couple of years ago? That general was dismissed, too.

    Still, I understand why you call Russian bloggers panic-mongers. It started back during the Kursk operation, when bloggers caused public panic—but if you look closer, they were telling the truth back then. The Ukrainians caught the Russians off guard; that’s a fact.

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