Topic: Sanctions at work:Russia posts its second highest deficit in the post-Soviet era - page 7. (Read 1713 times)

I believe that Russia's propaganda problem is complex and difficult to solve. But, we shouldn't only focus on the bad sides of this issue. Instead, we should work to educate people about propaganda's harms. Promoting critical thinking and knowledge can help. Empowering people to think for themselves helps reduce misinformation in society. Many Russians are patriotic, but that doesn't mean they endorse the government's policies or violence. We shouldn't generalize about entire communities since people are complex. Support for racism is a serious issue, but we must address it delicately. With the appear of internet, no propaganda can last long

Did you study the Nuremberg Trials in detail?
I do not want to judge, but a lot of criminals received minimal terms and spent several years in prison and then were amnestied. And why did this happen? Because the USSR, the USA and other countries did not want to reveal their crimes, but some of them became known anyway at the Nuremberg trials.

The problem is not total propaganda, which has had no analogues since Hitler's propaganda.
In Russia, there are critically few people left who DO NOT SUPPORT both politics and external aggression.
But the total majority are people who enjoy their fake "greatness". They are indescribably excited by the phrase "the whole world is afraid of us", they experience ecstasy at the sight of destroyed Ukrainian cities (read the cities of Ichkiria, Georgia, Moldova,...), they derive moral pleasure from the sadism of their "soldiers", they scream at the slogan " let's destroy Ukrainians (Georgians, Latvians, Poles,...). This is not what you wanted to say. There are countries where totalitarian regimes INTIMIDATED the population and extremely limited the reproduction of those who opposed the government (primitive intimidation with the death of both the speaker and his family, children, relatives). In Russia, the support for rashism is actually more than 90%! And this is no longer a matter of propaganda...

It depends on what you mean by "working"? Can sanctions potentially make life harder for the Russians? Most probably yes. Will sanctions stop Putin? No. Will they lead to a revolution/coup etc in Russia? No. Will they stop the war in Ukraine? Definitely no.

Yes, all countries mentioned above were affected by the sanctions to some extent but did sanctions put political pressure on the leaders? No.

Can you perhaps provide an example of a country where a ruling leader had been overthrown as a result of sanctions in the last 100 years?


As far as I know North Korea has no issues with weapons production (including nukes): "North Korea has a military nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of fissile material for six to seven nuclear weapons per year. North Korea has also stockpiled a significant quantity of chemical and biological weapons. In 2003, North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Since 2006, the country has been conducting a series of six nuclear tests at increasing levels of expertise, prompting the imposition of sanctions."

So what effect did the sanctions cause? 

I can't blame the Russians. As someone who has lived in a country torn apart by tyrants, I believe I have an idea of how things are on the ground in Russia. These guys control every narrative, every news channel, and every newspaper company. They get ahead of every story and spin the narrative. The few in the country who see right through the bs and can do something about it are silenced leaving the rest to be afraid or just accept their fate and hope that one day things will get better. They claim it's a democracy but whatever they practice there is in no way a democracy. It's horrible and very scary, to be honest. 

All of these countries were greatly affected negatively by these sanctions. You cant talk about countries that sanctions had no effects on and mention Iran and North Korea. At first sanctions on north Korea where more focused on trade ban of weapons related materials but the sanctions were later expanded to luxury goods and it got stricter when the sanctions involved banking transactions, financial assets, and general travel and trade. And at this point you have to be purposefully lying to yourself if you believe sanctions did not work on North Korea.
Russia have not been able to fully conquer Ukraine not just because of the passive involvement of the US and NATO but because they have been restricted a lot by sanctions that they cant fuel their war efforts as much as they would like to. Don't be deceived by the bold and fearless face these tyrant put up, deep down he knows his country is in a lot of trouble. My only problem with sanctions is that they don't affect these heartless rulers directly but the country as a whole, causing a lot of trouble for the ordinary citizens of that country.

Yes, I really want to believe in a fairy tale
First of all, tell me - where did the USSR go?

Now tell me what's wrong with the sanctions, if the Kremlin has already screamed "remove the sanctions, it's not fair"?

Well, a couple of facts about non-active sanctions! To begin with, I would like to remind you that the real effect of the sanctions generally began around the summer of last year. So:
  - January 2023 - Russia's budget deficit reached $34 billion
- oil and gas revenues fell by approximately 40% (irreversible loss of the EU market)
- reputational irreversible losses: Russia is a rogue country, the president is a criminal international criminal
- the arms market is lost, after the military-industrial complex of Russia showed its reality in Ukraine and not in cartoons. Broken contracts, almost 50% reduction in purchases by former buyers.
- degradation of medicine, science, education, lowering of social standards, significant reduction of life expectancy....


It's possible to list for a long time... do you want to say that the sanctions do not work? And this is only 6 months of sanctions on the "world's largest economy" and "the second pole of the bipolar world"

While it's true that some countries have experienced much higher rates of inflation in the past, it's important to remember that inflation can have serious consequences for the economy and for people's everyday lives.

Why do I say that? Well, when inflation is high, the cost of goods and services can rise rapidly, which can make it difficult for people to afford basic necessities like food and housing. Additionally, inflation can erode the value of savings and investments, which can be especially harmful for people who are nearing retirement or who rely on these assets for their livelihood.

One potential solution to this issue is for governments and central banks to work together to coordinate their response to inflation and economic challenges. By collaborating and sharing expertise, policymakers can develop more effective policies and strategies for managing inflation and promoting economic stability.

PPP is one of the most misleading indicators ever.
Since we're on Bitcointalk and we talk BTC let's have the numbers like that:

Russia's GDP can buy you 77,563,000 BTC
France's GDP can buy you 109,563,000 BTC

Put that in per capita and you get:
France 1.62 BTC
Russia 0.53BTC

Now you udnerstand the differnce? And that with all the oil, gas, minerals, land, and everything!


Stop taking so much information from all the clickbait news titles and sensationalist tabloids, the world is in a far better position even right now with this inflation than it was in a lot of periods in the last century. There is so much panic about inflation of 10% in Europe, common, I've seen it at over 50% for years and surprisingly we're still here, there have been numerous wars far worse than even what's happening in Ukraine and we' re still here, even this banking crisis is currently peanuts compare to others.

And besides that, your utopia will never happen, not in 2084 not in 2848, people have dreamed of it for millennia only to never reach it and they will not make it happen in less than half a century.

Sanctions can work, if country is small and weak. For large countries, like Russia etc., they do not work. Russia have everything - first of all, natural resources - oil, gas and wood, a lot of various manufacturing and ~147 millions of people. Russia GDP ( gross domestic product ) - ~4.6$ trillion - is 6th largest in the world. France, for example, have ~68 millions of people and GDP - ~3.6$ trillion.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France

Yes I have heard  that in news  too. Will they be able to arrest him?
This is the nail in the coffin - they would have Putin arrested and will have a ruler of their choice? 
The world peace would never prevail amid cruelty - there is dire need for negotiation and stopping the war at the same time

2 lines that will bring the world closer to the new Nuremberg!

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is reported by BBC News.

Also, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Russian Federation.


https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/03/17/mezhdunarodnii-sud-v-gaage-vidal-order-na-arest-vladimira-putina-a37278

These are all just wishes and beautiful words about the illusory and unreal world. But the desires for goodness, peace and justice do not at all work against the bullets and shells of the Russian invaders, with which they attack Ukraine every day. Therefore, the Ukrainians have no other choice but to defend themselves with weapons in their hands. It is possible to dream of an ideal world, but only when you are not being killed right now in the real world.

I now live more in an imaginary future - in 2084, because, frankly, I can no longer live in the real world with its endless horrors, stupidity and hopelessness. 

My ideals are the ideals of humanism, pacifism, technological development, culture, love, happiness, physical development and beauty.  This is what I love. 

Therefore, I supplement the real world with my fantasies about how it should be, so that people would be comfortable and interesting to live in it.  My choice is augmented reality.  Something good can come from a dream. 

I do not believe that economic sanctions will solve existing problems and make the world a better place.  In my opinion, they will only prolong the war indefinitely. 

The rulers of some third countries will profit from this situation and become proud.  They will think that they have made super profits because they are super people with super powers.  And their picture of the world will be so distorted that they will become interested in geopolitical adventures... Thus, the circle will close again (which, on the contrary, must be broken). 

People, in my opinion, need a positive future in order to live and become better. 

Another selection of FACTS that "sanctions are only for the benefit of Russia"

- Putin is sure that "only 12 million people live beyond the Urals." He already made a similar statement in September 2022.
In reality, about 40 million people live in the Urals, Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts, excluding the Urals - more than 25 million.
It seems that he means the Chinese, who are assimilating their historical territories

- The Russian government has not found the money to electrify the railway to China, to import/export products between Russia and China.
The expansion of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway to increase exports to China ran into a problem: about 200 billion rubles are not enough for the electrification of the railway, Vedomosti writes with reference to a representative of Rosseti.

According to him, the investment program of the federal grid company does not allow the start of electrification of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway (Eastern polygon). “The Rosseti Group is asking for funding sources for the investment program, taking into account the need to fulfill national tasks,” he said.

https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/03/15/pravitelstvo-ne-nashlo-deneg-na-elektrifikatsiyu-zheleznoi-dorogi-v-kitai-a36748

- Speaking of BRICS
They offered to pay for Russian oil in Zimbabwean dollars.
The Zimbabwean authorities are ready to buy barrels in the Russian Federation, provided that the payment is in national currencies.
The Zimbabwean authorities are interested in direct purchases of Russian oil and would like to pay in national currencies, Christopher Mutswangwa, spokesman for the country's ruling party ZANU-PF, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, in addition to energy resources, Zimbabwe would like to purchase fertilizers and agricultural machinery from Russia. “We need at least 50,000 tractors so that we can develop agriculture,” Mutswangwa said.

But they will pay in Zimbabwean currency. By no means in the dollar or the ruble ))

https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/03/15/za-rossiiskuyu-neft-predlozhili-platit-zimbabviiskimi-dollarami-a36870


I can list the daily "victories of Russia" for a long time, but I can't laugh anymore

It is not the sanctions that are imposed on the aggressor who attacked his peaceful neighbors that should be indignant, but the gangster actions of this aggressor, that is, the current Putin's Russia.

International sanctions are introduced not to restrict the aggressor's international trade, but to prevent him from continuing the war for a long time, manufacturing military equipment and ammunition in the same volumes, and also to finance his military operations. Some time ago, the Russian occupiers fired 50-60 thousand shells a day at the settlements of Ukraine, at the same grandmas, women and children. Now they can fire 7-10 thousand shells per day on the territory of Ukraine. Also, Russia can no longer produce tanks, missiles and other weapons in the same volumes. Therefore, sanctions are necessary.

Of course, ideally, we should have an international contingent of rapid response to manifestations of such aggression in order to directly inflict a military defeat on the aggressor within a few days. Then sanctions will not be needed, and such Putins will think several times before deciding to attack their weak neighbors. But the world did not react to the seizure by Russia in 2014 of part of the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, Putin went further, and now the sons and grandchildren of a Russian grandmother who cannot buy medicine for herself are killing the same grandmothers and everyone else indiscriminately on the territory of Ukraine. Of course, the Russian grandmother will not have enough for medicines if Russia launches expensive precision-guided missiles worth $700 million in one day at the peaceful cities of Ukraine.

I abhor economic sanctions (as well as wars, blockades and other misanthropic acts).  

Some banker Pugachev, who really had a great influence on Russian politics, left for France on time and now he is a respectable European citizen who is not threatened by any sanctions and persecution.  And some poor grandmother will die from the fact that she will not have the opportunity to buy the right medicine.  

Economic sanctions do not actually solve the problems, they only exacerbate the situation.  Any sanctions are a destabilization of the world economy, as a result of which individual countries receive excess unplanned profits.  

This is exactly what happened in Russia, by the way, when the price of hydrocarbons went up sharply due to the fact that the United States imposed an embargo on the sale of oil regarding Iran.

You're really going deep when you use a metaphor to compare the Russian economy to the way the body works. It's like trying to figure out how society works, where each person is a small part of a bigger process. The sanctions are like a disease that is affecting the economy's most important parts, causing them to stop working and make it hard for people to live. Or maybe it's more like a crippling hangover: we know we shouldn't have done it, but we did it anyway, and now we're paying for it.

Let's not forget, though, that we're talking about real people here-living, breathing people who are going through a lot. In the middle of all the political maneuvering, it's important to remember that people are involved. We need to find a way to balance the need to hold the government accountable for its acts with the need to help the people who are suffering the most

Do you seriously think that you have imposed sanctions - and tomorrow in Russia all the streets are empty, all the shops are closed, the economy is dead? No, that's not how it works. The task of sanctions, if we take our body as an example, is to limit, slowly but surely, the flow of oxygen and nutrients into the body from outside. Limit the amount of stimulants, drugs, etc. needed. So that the organism does not die, but comes to a state where it can no longer spoil everyone around!
This is exactly what is happening to the Russian economy now - factories are reducing production, most manufacturers are switching from high-quality raw materials and technologies to technologies of the last century, and low-quality raw materials, budgets are being reduced, the level of providing everyone with everything! Criminal money is being frozen in foreign banks. By the way, this is the money of Putin's entourage, which for 20 years have been driving into their heads that the Western world is evil, dollars and euros are evil, the Western way of life is evil. But they themselves keep those same dollars and euros there, buy expensive real estate, and move their relatives and friends there. But they say to the population - the West is pure evil, do not even think about going there or wanting such a standard of living as in the West!

For many years, Vladimir Putin has been presented as the strong, intelligent and charismatic man who will rebuild Russia's glories.
But what he did was unexpected, since before February 2022 Russia was ranking its army as the second most powerful army in the world. That same army has been unable for months to control a small city like Bakhmut, and it drains hundreds of its soldiers every day despite Wagner's help. All this in a confrontation against the Ukrainian army, which is incomparable with the Russian army, not even with Wagner's forces, which have long experience in the military and war field.
The city of Bakhmut is never of such strategic importance. Therefore, every day that passes further lowers the morale of the Russian army. This is in addition to the fact that the Ukrainian forces behind Bakhmut are much stronger than expected, waiting for the entry of Western tanks to provide assistance to him after a few weeks.
It is becoming clear today that Putin may have made the biggest mistake in the history of Russia and literally discredited it.