> is something most Westerners know nothing about. Our nightly news gives us
> only facts and figures. The news we get tells us nothing of the soul of the
> country. In order to understand the depth of corruption and cruelty in
> Russia, you have to take a much deeper dive into the historical culture of
> the people and the politicians. Absolutely worth doing, trust me!

The Quora quasi-experts aren't liable for what they say, while
Russia's internals are pretty transparent, so any interested
one can watch/learn them through multiple and various accounts.
With the modern scale of communications, there's no incredible
problems to learn some foreign internals. "Multiple" & "various"
are keywords. But ignorant people seeking to adjust reality to
match their beliefs would filtrate reality selectively. Such
folks do not need reality, - what they really need is something
to comfort them within their bubble of delusion.

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 11:38:08 AM UTC, Oleg Smirnov wrote:
> > is something most Westerners know nothing about. Our nightly news gives us
> > only facts and figures. The news we get tells us nothing of the soul of the
> > country. In order to understand the depth of corruption and cruelty in
> > Russia, you have to take a much deeper dive into the historical culture of
> > the people and the politicians. Absolutely worth doing, trust me!
> The Quora quasi-experts aren't liable for what they say, while
> Russia's internals are pretty transparent, so any interested
> one can watch/learn them through multiple and various accounts.
> With the modern scale of communications, there's no incredible
> problems to learn some foreign internals. "Multiple" & "various"
> are keywords. But ignorant people seeking to adjust reality to
> match their beliefs would filtrate reality selectively. Such
> folks do not need reality, - what they really need is something
> to comfort them within their bubble of delusion.

Since you seem to present yourself as a Russian, can you comment on the
following claim:
"many peoples living in the Russian Federation have been forced and are being
forced to be part of the Russian state"? True, false to what degree, and why.

(For discussion's sake, let us exclude the obvious that people everywhere cannot
choose their parents and consequently their nationalities.)

ltlee1, <news:30bf9858-e4da-4c10-82ce-068a784bd887n@googlegroups.com>
> On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 11:38:08 AM UTC, Oleg Smirnov wrote:

>>> is something most Westerners know nothing about. Our nightly news gives us
>>> only facts and figures. The news we get tells us nothing of the soul of
>>> the
>>> country. In order to understand the depth of corruption and cruelty in
>>> Russia, you have to take a much deeper dive into the historical culture of
>>> the people and the politicians. Absolutely worth doing, trust me!
>>
>> The Quora quasi-experts aren't liable for what they say, while
>> Russia's internals are pretty transparent, so any interested
>> one can watch/learn them through multiple and various accounts.
>> With the modern scale of communications, there's no incredible
>> problems to learn some foreign internals. "Multiple" & "various"
>> are keywords. But ignorant people seeking to adjust reality to
>> match their beliefs would filtrate reality selectively. Such
>> folks do not need reality, - what they really need is something
>> to comfort them within their bubble of delusion.
>
> Since you seem to present yourself as a Russian, can you comment on the
> following claim:
> "many peoples living in the Russian Federation have been forced and are
> being
> forced to be part of the Russian state"? True, false to what degree, and
> why.
>
> (For discussion's sake, let us exclude the obvious that people everywhere
> cannot
> choose their parents and consequently their nationalities.)

Had those notorious Uyghurs been forced to be part of China?
And should the Tibetans regain their independence?
And should the "inner" Mongols reunite with the "outer" ones?
And should the Taiwanese be forced to be part of China, even
if they don't want so? Attempts to answers to such questions
would lead to depths of historical analysis, that may turn out
pretty long and voluminous.

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 1:30:36 PM UTC, Oleg Smirnov wrote:
> ltlee1, <news:30bf9858-e4da-4c10...@googlegroups.com>
> > On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 11:38:08 AM UTC, Oleg Smirnov wrote:
>
> >>> is something most Westerners know nothing about. Our nightly news gives us
> >>> only facts and figures. The news we get tells us nothing of the soul of
> >>> the
> >>> country. In order to understand the depth of corruption and cruelty in
> >>> Russia, you have to take a much deeper dive into the historical culture of
> >>> the people and the politicians. Absolutely worth doing, trust me!
> >>
> >> The Quora quasi-experts aren't liable for what they say, while
> >> Russia's internals are pretty transparent, so any interested
> >> one can watch/learn them through multiple and various accounts.
> >> With the modern scale of communications, there's no incredible
> >> problems to learn some foreign internals. "Multiple" & "various"
> >> are keywords. But ignorant people seeking to adjust reality to
> >> match their beliefs would filtrate reality selectively. Such
> >> folks do not need reality, - what they really need is something
> >> to comfort them within their bubble of delusion.
> >
> > Since you seem to present yourself as a Russian, can you comment on the
> > following claim:
> > "many peoples living in the Russian Federation have been forced and are
> > being
> > forced to be part of the Russian state"? True, false to what degree, and
> > why.
> >
> > (For discussion's sake, let us exclude the obvious that people everywhere
> > cannot
> > choose their parents and consequently their nationalities.)
> Had those notorious Uyghurs been forced to be part of China?
> And should the Tibetans regain their independence?
> And should the "inner" Mongols reunite with the "outer" ones?
> And should the Taiwanese be forced to be part of China, even
> if they don't want so? Attempts to answers to such questions
> would lead to depths of historical analysis, that may turn out
> pretty long and voluminous.

Ooops!!!
I assumed you would like to rebut those sentiment concerning Russians. May be
I am wrong. Of course, I know very little about Russia. But let me offer my two cents.
First of all, people would in general want to move from a less wealthy places to where
they have better hope to become wealthier. This is universal.

Now my view based on happening in Kherson.
Kherson had a population of about 280,000 before the conflict. About one third had left
upon Russian took over. Russia organized evacuation from Kherson last winter, first the
city and later expanded to include surrounding area.

Western media reported various protests inside Russia and Ukraine. There were also
various reports on protests against Russia in Kherson up to June, 2022. AFAIK, there was
no report on protests against the evacuation in Kherson. The process appeared to be
successful and peaceful. I was a little surprised by the lack of protests.

Examining the same issue from the opposite end. How many people in Kherson were
welcoming the liberating Ukrainian army. According to Moscow Times, an Atlanticist
publication, there were 20 to 30 people in front of the Freedom Square. And the weather
was pleasant per the photo. Well, The city of Kherson is about 54 square mile and it is
quite rectangular. Meaning, it won't take too long for residents to walk or bike to the
Liberty Square if they really did not want to become Russians and choose to stay
behind. I was very surprised by the small size of the crowd.