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[Politics] Wtf is going on in Moscow?



Winker

CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE
Jul 14, 2008
2,403
The Astral Planes, man...
If Wagner are a mercenary group then why don't we hire them to destroy the Russian forces in Ukraine? I'm sure the West could afford to do it. It would be cheaper than sending endless weaponry over there.
 




FatSuperman

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2016
2,830
Trouble is that there’s plenty more where he came from.
This is precisely the issue with Russia.

I was wondering, even if somehow the entire military and espionage leadership structure was wiped out (hundreds of senior figures), what would happen?

The populace are not used to voting for genuine candidates, with published mandates. And even if they did, the entire military structure in Russia operates on corruption. Every junior officer would have seen their superiors creaming their little bit. And they themselves would have done similar. All they know is this, so presumably some charismatic strongman would rise to prominence quickly and they would simply seize control, and we carry on.

There is practically no scenario where someone takes over and genuinely spends a few decades requiring the Russian psyche.

The only way that could be done is as a multi-generation black ops mission to start shifting how they think.

We’re more likely to see aliens arrive and wholesale change the culture of the planet than the Russians take care of themselves.


Please note, I am wholly uneducated to make any of the above statements, and very ready to be corrected by longtime students of Russia.

Also, the few Russian people I know (including my Aunt) are AMAZING people. So I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the humans themselves. Should be obvious but you never know!
 






WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
25,990
Much as I want to see Putin go, I would urge some caution as to what or who replaces him. The West don't have the greatest record of replacing the vacuum left after taking out a dictator, so I'm not sure that I would have great faith in the head of a company supplying mercenaries being any better at it. Have a look at his history in Africa ???
 






trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,458
Hove
Much as I want to see Putin go, I would urge some caution as to what or who replaces him. The West don't have the greatest record of replacing the vacuum left after taking out a dictator, so I'm not sure that I would have great faith in the head of a company supplying mercenaries being any better at it. Have a look at his history in Africa ???
Agreed. Putin is a head case but maybe, just maybe, will stay clear of the nuclear button. Who knows what might happen if someone even worse gets control.
 


FatSuperman

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2016
2,830
Agreed. Putin is a head case but maybe, just maybe, will stay clear of the nuclear button. Who knows what might happen if someone even worse gets control.
Indeed. He’s at least a known quantity and whilst clearly a very negative influence on the world and region, he has at least been consistent and until 2014 and Crimea, generally stable.

Perhaps he’s getting worse as he comes closer to death, but is it better the devil you know?
 




GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,890
Gloucester
Much as I like to see Putin discomforted, I'm not at all sure this is good news. As far as I can see, Prigozhin's main beef with Putin is that the Russian army has made a complete balls-up of destroying Ukraine and wiping Ukrainians off the face of the earth, so he, Prigozhin, wants to take over the war and do a proper job of the slaughter and destruction.
 




Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
Agreed. Putin is a head case but maybe, just maybe, will stay clear of the nuclear button. Who knows what might happen if someone even worse gets control.
Firing a nuclear weapon is never down to one individual, no matter how powerful they are.
They can give the order but the order can be ignored. It is also up to the discretion of the military in charge at the time. Funnily enough, it happened twice, in 1963 and 1983


 






Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,840
Hove
Is it a narrative for a Russian exit from the conflict? We haven’t found any Nazis / we went in on false info / those responsible will be held to account etc etc.
 


Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
The difference may well be that the current troops marching on Moscow are Russian.
And if they pick up a few stragglers along the way....
It appears the Russian troops aren't doing much at all. This chap is Estonian and fairly accurate.

 




Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
50,229
Goldstone
Is it a narrative for a Russian exit from the conflict? We haven’t found any Nazis / we went in on false info / those responsible will be held to account etc etc.

If that was the plan, why would they need Prigozhin and Putin fighting?

Prigozhin gave that as an option for Putin (blaming Shoigu for deceiving Putin and the Russian people) and Putin could have simply said 'yep, it's Shoigu's fault, we're withdrawing. Instead, Putin has said that Progozhin is a traitor and must die. If Putin wins, he can't blame Prigozhin for the pointless war as it clearly wasn't Prigozhin's decision to invade.
 


SeagullinExile

Well-known member
Sep 10, 2010
5,725
London
Much as I like to see Putin discomforted, I'm not at all sure this is good news. As far as I can see, Prigozhin's main beef with Putin is that the Russian army has made a complete balls-up of destroying Ukraine and wiping Ukrainians off the face of the earth, so he, Prigozhin, wants to take over the war and do a proper job of the slaughter and destruction.
He more or less said in one of his rants that the war was a mistake, and that the Defence ministry lied as a pretext to war.
 


Blue3

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2014
5,594
Lancing
Being reported Wagner troops have taken control of military base in another city halfway between Rostov and Moscow no indication relating to size of base or numbers involved depending upon the answers it might be an indication that some troops might be sympathetic to the Wagner cause.
 


Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
23,993
GOSBTS
I imagine we’ll see a lot of defactors when the Russian army see Wagner are better equipped than they are
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Loving the latest conspiracy theory. This semi coup has been set up by the two of them to enable Putin to withdraw from Ukraine under the pretence of defending Russia itself :smile:
 


essbee1

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2014
4,181
At what point will Russian soldiers on the front decide (once word gets through) that the whole thing is pointless and
start laying down their arms en masse?
 


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