What do you like about Russia (history and present)?

[luiz]

Where do the Chechens live now?

A lot of them simply ceased living as result of the tolerant and benevolent deportation to which they were collectively subjected by the progressive and humanist Soviet authorities.

 

[luiz]

As much as it pains me to say, but I agree with luiz here. This sentence was a severe case of WTH.

Why does it pain you?
I always considered you a reasonable guy, I see no reason why any of my posts or positions should be painful to you. Disagreeable, sure, but I never post outright monstrosities like justifying the mass deportation under barbaric conditions of an entire nation.

I don't expect people to agree with me, but I do expect them to recognize that, unlike some posters, I'm not a monster.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

EDIT: Never mind. I need a break from this forum, for sanity's sake.

Anyway, the answer is that they live in Chechnya, which suggests that once their punishment was over, they were allowed to be free again (they were allowed to return by Khrushchev). Doesn't sound very much like bloodthirsty vengeance to me.

 

[luiz]

EDIT: Never mind. I need a break from this forum, for sanity's sake.

Anyway, the answer is that they live in Chechnya, which suggests that once their punishment was over, they were allowed to be free again (they were allowed to return by Khrushchev). Doesn't sound very much like bloodthirsty vengeance to me.

I think the ship has sailed with regards to your sanity. Joining mad cults has that effect, but I'm sure it's curable.

Oh, and BTW, over 40,000 Chechens fought for the Red Army during WW2. So much for this nazi-esque theory that their entire nation was an enemy and deserved to be deported.

And the right answer is that a gigantic percentage of the deported Chechens, anywhere from 20 to 30%, died as a result of this Soviet humanism. Some were summarily executed by the NKVD, others were just mistreated to a barbaric degree. That's why the European Parliament, that fascist organization, has classified the deportation as a genocide.

But I guess you're right and everybody else is wrong.

 

[warpus]

I also like this one Russian girl I met in Thailand! I almost forgot.. Does she count? We didn't do it or anything, if that's what you're thinking, we just met at a bus stop waiting for a bus and became buddies for a couple hours. Her English was so-so and in Russian all I could say was "Spasiba" and at one point we actually had an east vs west argument.. no no literally if east is this way > or if east is that way < .. She almost had me convinced that west was east and I, the dumbass, proceeded to try to explain it in terms of the COLD WAR, which I thought was the easiest way to convince someone that east was east. Well, it didn't work, but the girl was cool, and her deaf friend was cool too, although I didn't talk to her much or at all.

Anyway, I've met other Russian people before and so far they have all been upstanding human beings. When I meet a new human and I find out they are Russian, I try to have no preconceived notions about what they might be like EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IF IT'S A GUY AND HE'S AT THE BEACH HE IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE WEARING A TINY & INCREDIBLY TIGHT SPEEDO AND NOTHING ELSE

I honestly don't know what else that's Russian I could say I like, which is why my other post was so short and might have seemed dismissive of Russian achievements, or whatever.

I just realized that I also like all the Russian space stuff. Russian space stuff = THUMBS UP, unless we're talking weapons in which case BOO

 

[Yeekim]

But I do disagree. I wouldn't ague that racism is gone in America, not by a long shot. And as I displayed, there is a huge difference between the two situations.

Now I'm curious. My first post in this thread was made to point out that I indeed do not consider policies/actions of USSR, no matter how repressive otherwise, to have been racist. So I believed we were in an agreement, especially as you admitted there still was an element of casual racism among the population.

However, I don't see at all how you've displayed that is "hugely different" from today's America.

But what would I know, I just learned it from a professor who's spent the past 40 years writing about the Baltic States during the inter-war through post-war periods.

Before you make appeals to authority, I'd remind you that:
- I just happen to live here;
- what I know, I have learned from talking to actual deportees, including my own relatives, as well as from reading a number of first-hand sources. After all, the events under question only took place 35-40 years before I was born and affected pretty much every other family. Not exactly in the exclusive competence of professional historians.
- to add to the last point, it is worth recalling that it would be trivially easy to find e.g. a Holocaust denier who has also spent the past 40 years writing about how it didn't happen. Out of curiosity: are any of that professor's writings accessible in the public domain?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

EDIT: Wrong thread.

 

[Hakim]

Let's see. I like the classical music and some of the folk songs. The Russian people themselves seems to be rational, civilized and friendly in general (as opposed to some of the leaders).

While it's easier for a non-democracy to spend big bucks on space technology, I still consider Russia to be space pioneers in spirit. For other nations, space is more about national prestige or some kind of white elephant. And Russia still got it. The way Dennis Tito met friendliness and cooperation in Russia in his endeavour to become the first space tourist shows that the progressive attitude is still there. All the private investments that came after was in large a result of this cooperation IMO.

 

[Borachio]

This thread is hilarious!

What do I like about Russia? I think what's impressed me most about Russia is the strength of the Russian people.

 

[AdamCrock]

To be honest I think that Russian are descendants from Viking settlers. Started as a numerous kingdoms and tribes (Kievan Rus is a noteworthy mention). The Russian statehood began in Novgorod (which translates into english - at least that is what I think - please correct me if I am wrong : as New City/Town "Nov"-New and "Gorod"- City or Town, all dated back to Rurik times (hence the name Russia) I believe. Today I think Russians are like Borg from Star Trek You know : Assimilate ... resistance is futile ! (Non-Rus Rus) and they have assimilated great number of nations this way

Oh man almost forgot to tell what I like about them which is this thread all about ! Sorry I like the "Vodka - connecting people" (parody of the Nokia - connecting people haha !) part the most !

 

[Crezth]

War and Peace. And Dead Souls.

 

[Domen]

Russians are like Borg from Star Trek You know : Assimilate ... resistance is futile ! (Non-Rus Rus) and they have assimilated great number of nations this way

This reminds me of Germans, they are like this too - they assimilated a lot of Celts, Romans, Slavs, Balts (especially Prussians), Poles, etc.

And we Poles shamelessly assimilated a lot of Rusyns, Germans, Balts (especially Lithuanians), Vlachs, other Slavic tribes, etc. as well.

 

[Godwynn]

I like Maria Sharapova.

Hot damn.

 

[AdamCrock]

This reminds me of Germans, they are like this too - they assimilated a lot of Celts, Romans, Slavs, Balts (especially Prussians), Poles, etc.

And we Poles shamelessly assimilated a lot of Rusyns, Germans, Balts (especially Lithuanians), Vlachs, other Slavic tribes, etc. as well.

Lithuanians and Us were in agreement ! We have all agreed to this ! We have not assimilated them by force which is the domain of an more force oriented and revolutionary oriented Russian commune

 

[CivNoobie]

There really isn't anything special about Russia until about Peter the Great, even with Peter, Russia was very much backward when compared to Western Europe.

USSR on the other hand had a lot to be admired about

 

[AdamCrock]

There really isn't anything special about Russia until about Peter the Great, even with Peter, Russia was very much backward when compared to Western Europe.

USSR on the other hand had a lot to be admired about

Tsar Russia (or any Russia) was never backward Young Padawan .... ! You'll be wise to remember that.

 

[Domen]

Lithuanians and Us were in agreement ! We have all agreed to this ! We have not assimilated them by force

Not by force, but they assimilated themselves. For example number of Lithuanians in Wilno (Vilnius), historical capital of Lithuania:

1897 census - 2,0% (3,131 Lithuanians out of 154,532 total population)
1916 census - 2,6% (3,699 Lithuanians out of 140,890)
1917 census - 2,1% (2,909 Lithuanians out of 138,787)
1931 census - 0,8% (1,579 Lithuanians out of 195,021)

1959 census - 33,6% (79,400 Lithuanians out of 236,100)
2001 census - 57,5% (318,510 Lithuanians out of 553,904)
2011 census - 63,2% (331,500 Lithuanians out of 524,566)

By comparison number of Poles (and this still without counting Polish-speaking Jews / believers of Judaism) in Wilno (Vilnius):

1910 census - 97,800 Poles (plus 75,500 Jews, of whom many Polish-speaking ones)
1916 census - 70,629 Poles (plus 61,265 Jews, of whom many Polish-speaking)
1917 census - 74,466 Poles (plus 57,516 Jews, of whom many Polish-speaking)
1923 census - 100,830 Poles (plus 55,437 Jews, of whom many Polish-speaking)
1931 census - 128,628 Poles (plus 54,606 Jews, of whom many Polish-speaking)

1959 census - 47,200 Poles (plus 16,400 Jews)
2001 census - 104,446 Poles (plus 2,770 Jews)
2011 census - 85,816 Poles (no Jews reported)

In the countryside and towns of the Wilno Region (Wile&#324;szczyzna) it was not much better for Lithuanians, and still isn't.

Poles are still majority in that region of Lithuania today (areas around Vilnius), despite westward deportations of many Poles after 1945.

Unfortunately, Poles in Lithuania are being discriminated by Lithuanian nationalists and Lithuanian authorities try to forcefully Lithuanize them:


Link to video.

Lithuanian nationalism is obsessed about language, which is only discouraging ethnic Polish minority from becoming loyal citizens of Lithuania:

In modern Lithuania they have the State Language Police (sic!) since 1995:


Link to video.

Lithuanian anti-Polish nationalists removing all double-language Lithuanian-Polish inscriptions:


Link to video.

From article "Hysteria of Both Nations - why do Lithuanians dislike Poles, and inversely. And what can we do to change this":

(...) In Polish language Tomasz is named Tomasz and that's how they call him at home, but in Lithuanian identity card his name is written down as "Tomas". That's because Poles in Lithuania must write down their names and surnames in a Lithuanian way. This is required not only by the Lithuanian state, also by Lithuanian ortography. Here even Lenin is Leninas, and George Walker Bush is D&#382;ord&#382;as Volkeris Bu&#353;as - and there are no excuses to write differently. Harry Potter is Haris Poteris, James Bond is D&#382;eimsas Bondas, and Arnold Schwarzenegger: Arnoldas &#352;varcenegeris. Local ethnic Poles, however, do think, that in their own land - after all, they live here since many generations - they have a right to write down in their identity cards their own surnames, and they are demanding to grant them this right: Jan Kowalski wants be Jan Kowalski, not Jonas Kovalskis.

The more ethnic Poles demand to be allowed this right, the bigger is suspicion and aversion of Lithuanians towards Polish minority in Lithuania. The Cold War between communities of Lithuanian Poles and ethnic Lithuanians is in progress for a long time, and recently it contributed to the worse within the entire European Union international relations. Research of public opinion carried out by Delfi.lt indicate, that Poles are the most disliked ethnic minority in Lithuania. We even managed to surpass Russians in this constest, who were traditionally the most disliked minority in Lithuania until relatively recently.

Tomasz, a Lithuanian Pole, is well over 20 years old and has enough of Polish-Lithuanian animosity:

- I feel good in this country. I don't want to emigrate and have no intention to raven each other with Lithuanians.

(...)

As you can see, Lithuanian nationalism is really obsessed with their language...

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Here is what author of a preface to "Lithuanian Homily" from year 1599 wrote about Polonization of Lithuanians:

Our own Lithuanian people, preferring the knowledge of Polish language and fluency in this language, are neglecting, abandoning and rejecting their own language - everyone can clearly see this. How advisable is this tendency, I do not know, some people praise it.

My reason tells me that it is indeed not admirable to condemn the people's fluency and knowledge in foreign languages, especially Polish - which is almost like innate language to us, due to the beloved unification of our Grand Duchy with the famous Crown of Poland.

However, I do criticize the negligence, abomination and almost rejection of our own Lithuanian language by many of our people. (...) Lastly, so that both I and all of you can have profit from and find help in all these books translated by me to Lithuanian language, I will be satisfied, if my - no matter how little - work, as I expect and demand, becomes the reason and motiviation for our people to fall in love with our native language, preserve it and spread it.

Well, a huge number of them did not preserve their native language. Southern regions of historically Lithuanian territories became Polonized.

 

[AdamCrock]

<snip> First Ukrainians are gonna tell us that we suck now the Lithuanians are gonna say that we suck this is just <snip> gettin better and better You know !! <snip> them ! We will manage on our own withouth their <snip> enlightened <snip>guidance !! Let them have their <snip> Adam Mickiewicz pffffft - what a clown !!! True Poles accept only Sienkiewicz !


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Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Formaldehyde]

This thread is hilarious!

What do I like about Russia? I think what's impressed me most about Russia is the strength of the Russian people.

And how similar they are to all the rest of us, instead of being boogeymen as some would claim.

 

[Domen]

Adam Mickiewicz was of course Polish. He did not even speak Lithuanian language.

Modern Lithuanian nationalists, as you know, reject all Polish-speaking people from their nation.

Lucjan &#379;eligowski (who established the Republic of Central Lithuania and then incorporated it to Poland) had Lithuanian ancestry.

So I wonder why Lithuanians do not claim that Lucjan &#379;eligowski was one of them ???

Józef Pi&#322;sudski was as well born in Lithuania - actually close to the modern Lithuanian-Latvian-Belarussian border.

==================================================

BTW - Miko&#322;aj Rey - first writer who wrote exlusively in Polish language - was born in 1505 in what is now part of Ukraine (Stanyslaviv = Ivano-Frankivsk).