Just what's the deal with this country? What's the deal with it now umpty years after the end of the Cold War? What the Hell happened to Russia's military? Will this country ever recover or become First World (what an ironic term to use) or not be a toilet? Are Russians really white people?
basically russia just underwent a name change, a slight PR makeover, and changed the KGB into mobsters.
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What are you on about? Empty? Russia is still a terribly populous country. Military? Just because it isn't US quality doesn't mean it isn't there. White people? What does that have to do with anything? (They are Slavic) - and I hardly think you are qualified to term the nation a toilet - it is still economically influential, and with the drive towards prgress of industry and the like they are going to be one of the more powerful economic nations in the future.
Of course - all the art, music, litrature, philosophy and the like over the years means nothing. I guess you don't know of the great Russian composers. Or of their industry? Or the fact they have access to a lot of oil?
A posistion well supported by the complete lack of proof such a thing will happen, yes?
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Last edited by Imperial_Samura on Sep 16th, 2006 at 09:36 AM
Despite the fact some of the most important stuff that came out of the Renaissance was artistic or throught based?
I'm not so much talking about Russian "only" inventions (and technically they didn't invent the gun, merely that form of it) - I am talking about industry in general. They are in a situation similar to, though not quite as good as, China and India - large population, low pay, many factories.
As well as this there has been western investment in the oil - as I said above Russia will have access to a lot of oil and other natural resourses. And they grow a lot of crops that are worth alot of money - potatoes and grain coming to mind.
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Yeah, but are Slavs white people? I'm wondering, because in WW2 part of Operation Barbarossa was that the Germans wanted to exterminate the Russians and/or use them as slaves cause they thought that Russians weren't real white people, but then later they changed their opinion and considered the Russians to be Aryans. I'm not a Nazi (and who ever heard of a Nazi that's 1/8 Chippewa Indian anyways?), I'm just asking this question because Russians look Caucasian. Although in Russia, a Caucasian is a person from the Caucasus mountains, it doesn't mean a white guy.
Also, if possible, could Grey Fox post some links to some stuff about Russian folklore and mystical entities and mythology and stuff? It sounds pretty cool. Assuming that what he said wasn't the sum total of absolutely everything he knew about the place, lol.
Ok Slavic Folklore is always a good place to start , next up Grigori Rasputin who may be a real person but his death and various ideals are very...out there , so to speak . Finally Soviet Movies are usually (like most foreign movies) very good compared to our own with a different style of storytelling driving the films.
I don't know a huge deal about Russia but i know enough
I am fairly sure it is a descriptor based upon the predominance of Slavic language in the area. The Nazi's are hardly authorities on correct racial identification. While some say the people of Russia and other East European nations are distinctive in terms of physical appearance the main reason is that predominant language that binds the region together.
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Not to mention the fact that Russia has never lost a war on Russian soil. Both Hitler and Napoleon failed in their attempts at conquering the 'Big Bear'.
To this day, I am convinced that Russia simply cannot be defeated on Russian soil.
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At this time nobody would be stupid enough to attack Russia, it still has enough nukes to blow up the world a few hundred times or so...
But yeah Russia probably wouldn't be conquered otherwise either. A lot of people live there, fierce nationalists at least a great deal of them, great oppertunity's for industry in both the east and the west of the country and a lot of oil...
Russia will only get richer and stronger and more powerful and probably less democratic in the future... Putin is investing a lot of money in the oil bussines and in the military, and at the same time reduced the freedom of the press and invested more money in the secret police. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he tried to limit the freedom of the people more adn more and make himself a dictator of some sort.
He already threw his most important political rivals in prison, and the western world is pretty much silent about it... But that's probably a good thing for the Russians. The west failed to help them become a good and stable democracy so they might just as well go back to what they were before and what worked... Or at least something in between the two.