I'd like to share another really important video.
Maybe this will give David f a little bit of the backstory he hoped for, and mhaze and understanding of my reasoning in regards to 'seduced by apparently objective videos and to think that what you're fed is the truth', and some understanding of why I hold the opinion against the West as I do.

Also - Fester,
I never said that Russia was a model for a perfect society, and you spoke about oligarchs.
I know from videos that out in rural areas things are not great and people live in quite terrible living conditions.
It leaves a lot to be desired and I'd like to see Russia do more for these people.
Maybe the video I'm about to share will give you some understanding of things from an economic point of view at the end of the Soviet era.

So to all I'd like to share this video from Democracy Now.
I shared 2 other 'Must Watch' videos earlier, this is another 'Must watch' video.

Jeffrey Sachs: U.S. Policy & "West's False Narrative" Stoking Tensions with Russia, China
http://youtu.be/wmOePNsNFw0

I hope that it will help you all come to understand my reasoning better.

Hi AC

"Fester said to me earlier he didn't understand why the Russians interviewed were happy to go to war to kill Americans."

What I wanted to convey was that if the fellow was not so brainwashed by the state media he would feel the same way about killing Americans as he would about killing people in his own street.

Horrible as it is AC, I am no less convinced that things will be resolved diplomatically. The Russian losses of late have been staggering and the Ukrainians seem to be acquiring more offensive and defensive capability. It could get very tough for front line troops in the freezing cold with their supply lines cut.

Thank you everyone for your various comments.
I still have family and friends living in both Lithuania
and Russia. My maternal grandmother was Russian. She married
a Lithuanian who was in the Tsar's army. He brought her to
Lithuania. I grew up singing Russian songs and hearing
Russian folk-tales. Russian culture was very much a part of my
life.

I again will give you a Foreign Policy link that I think sums
things up rather well.
hRead it or not. It's up to you. I stand by balanced factual
reporting because of proper sourcing and a clean fact-check
record. MediaBias/Fact-Check has given this link a high in
factual reporting.

Regarding Putin - his actions speak for themselves.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/30/eussia-democracy-putin-soviet-union-cold-war/

Sorry. Here's the link again:

http://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/30/russia-democracy-putin-soviet-union-cold-war/

Hi AC,

You can read all the various versions that you want.
My family and friends have lived experiences of life
both of the Soviet regime and life under Putin. They
know of what they speak. They've lived through it.
Not all of them survived. But those that did are alive
to tell the truth.

cont'd

AC - there's a book that's worth a read so that
you can understand things better:

"White Russians, Red Peril," by Sheila Fitzpatrick.
It's a Cold War history of migration to Australia
and what Russians (like others who fled the Soviet
Regime) had to put up with in Australia.

It may help you understand much better what people like
my parents had to put up with.