"I'm shocked, there's gambling going on here".........
Link: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-rocked-corruption-scandal-wave-top-official-resignations-sports-cars-mansions
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This is how our elites work. They do what they want and don't care what the people think.
Link: https://twitter.com/UnpluggedRus/status/1618228732568928258
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Zelensky himself ran his election campaing on rooting out the deep corruption of government.
...I support their fight by the Ukraine against Russia, but the unlimited, unmonitored money spigot needs to be reigned in without hurting the war effort. The Dems have resisted this.
I think you answered it.
The sudden fall of communism without the development of a long history of freedom and democracy has left them vulnerable to criminal corruption.
West Ukraine revolted against this corruption and is trying to become most like Western Europe.
It won't happen overnight but it is worth it to support the process.
If you really know Ukraine as you repeatedly claimed here and know what people are like in Communist country, you should understand what I meant. I am not just talking about corruption, I am talking about people's mindset/mentality/attitude in general. This is the reason why Ukraine couldn't pass post-communism struggle which all former Communist countries faced in 1990s.
When Ukraine became independent in 1991, it inherited one third USSR industry and many R&D centers. With it's extremely high percentage rate of higher education, huge agriculture and cheap (almost free) gas and oil from Russia, many predicted back then Ukraine would be top 10 developed country in the world in 30 years. Obviously they are wrong. Why, because Ukrainians' mindset doesn't change very much. They still stay in the mentality of 1990s.
My guess is that m,ost Russians do also... but are terrified of Putin's thugs.
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They strove to be the best of the West.
personal experiences of dealing with elites or immigrants of one country and mistakenly think majority people of that country are like them. I can give some typical examples.
Any country, if over 25% of its population left, this country has a big problem. That means people lost hope on this country. They can still and will yearn. So they emigrate. This is evidence of a failed country. Say whatever about Russia, Russia never had 25% of its population emigranted, not even 10%, not even 5%.
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2000-2014, this period, if you want to pick up Russia to compare with Ukraine. Russia in general were much better than Ukraine.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has been feeling weak and dizzy as a result of side effects from medications he’s taking that have also caused him to lose his appetite, according to a new report by sources claiming Kremlin ties.
The 70-year-old Putin, whose health has been the subject of intense speculations for many months now, was described as “withdrawn, terse, not meeting virtually with anyone in person, and generally deeply preoccupied,” according to the Telegram channel “General SVR,” which is said to be run by a former Russian intelligence officer.
“Putin is undergoing a course of treatment that uses medication, which, besides their therapeutic effects, cause weakness, dizziness, a lack of appetite, which does not affect the president’s psycho-emotional state in the best way,” Tuesday’s post on the Telegram channel read.
Putin is rumored to be suffering from various types of cancer and a worsening Parkinson’s disease, among other suspected ailments, none of which has ever been confirmed by the Kremlin.
wants to go back to 80's and restore USSR. But they only represent about only 20% Russian voters, even they are 2nd largest party. Putin's party dominate in Russia. History will tell you the Western are fortunate to have Putin as Russian leader if this Ukraine-Russia war doesn't lead to a nuclear war. Putin, together with Medvedev, belong to St. Petersburg liberal faction, are the best moderate leader that western can find from Russia. He wants to join NATO, he wants to join EU. It is the West that drove Russia away from Europe.
Of course western propaganda don't want you to know this. English media in the west never published a full speech of Putin. They always cut or edited some.
Please kick yourself in the balls
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You have centuries of Czars and a century of dictators
I can't testify to that personally. Just read a piece about it some time ago.
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