The General Russia Thread

The USA, obviously. 'Cuz you should always strive to be #1!

You realise you just said "You" about the US when referring to a comment by a Saudi Arabian troopers right?

It was a "you" aimed at the reader. Like "you should always wash your hands before eating."

We'll than that's even sillier, as many off the posters here aren't from the US.

You realise that you are currently overanalysing a joke, right?

Besides, you don't have to be American to like being the first. I mean, Russians already live in the biggest country on the planet, but that doesn't prevent more them 80% of them from welcoming it when their country grows even bigger.

edited 30th Mar '15 11:39:45 AM by KnitTie

This conversation...◊

Indeed. Care for some popcorn?

Okay so the only good automobile Russia has is a utility truck maker? No sedans worth anything (apart from new Ladas it seems)?

In Russia, we call it "a talk between a deaf man and a blind one."

If it's not supposed to be brutal, Russia isn't good at making it.

edited 30th Mar '15 11:48:15 AM by KnitTie

Someone mentioned "serviceable Russian animated films". Any recommendations?

Pretty much all of the Soviet animation. Oh, and there's also that modern Russian series called "Masha and the Bear," but I haven't watched it.

Watching them with some antidepressant pills?

There wasn't an animation about an inventor who made a tank that attacked only people with fear in order to avenge his son by having presenting the tank to the same generals responsible for his son's death knowing they'd be afraid of their tank?

I'm sure I've seen it in a TV Tropes page.

edited 30th Mar '15 12:14:09 PM by AngelusNox

All of Soviet animation, yes. My personal favourite is Prostokvashino. It's like an animated series, but still. It's very good.

edited 30th Mar '15 11:56:28 AM by Luminosity

In Russia TVTropes thread, conversation have YOU

edited 30th Mar '15 12:44:24 PM by Aszur

Is it TV Tropes thread of Russia, or is it Russia thread of TV Tropes? Meditate on that. The answer is cupcakes.

X9 I am disappointed that that wasn't a Polandabll link.

Found that creepy tank cartoon.

That was interesting, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Good thing it had english subtitles.

The American press continues its worrying obsession with Putin. You'd think that, for a commentary on growing far-right sentiments in France, discussing the actual cause of these sentiments - social disappointment, ethnic tensions, etc. - would be a much better thing to do than accentuating the reader's attention upon the (so far one-sided) praise and supporting rhetoric the leaders of the French right occasionally direct towards the head of a rather unrelated to France country.

In actual, non-tabloid news: Russia to form a ministry of pretty much ethnic tolerance. I'd say that it's long overdue, but still, better late than never.

edited 31st Mar '15 10:36:56 AM by KnitTie

Armenia: Searching for work in Russia by hook or by crook.

Some Armenians are finding their usual summer work in Russia very hard because of new travel restrictions that mean they must spend only 3 months in Russia and 3 months in Armenia unless they have a long-term visa. Violating this ban gets you on a blacklist that can last a decade, and some Armenians are even taking their wives' names to get past Russian immigration.

This might be a good barometer about how serious the Eurasian Economic Union plan is, or how quickly its members want to move. Free movement of workers is a pretty important cornerstone of an economic union. Are there such plans in the works for the EurEU?

edited 31st Mar '15 10:41:26 AM by Achaemenid

As far as I know, the Eurasian Union will allow free movement of workers between its members.

But what is also interesting about that whole recent work visa screw-tightening is that migrant workers have been a big part of the Russian ethnic tension problem for the last 20 years. Nothing to feed your bigotry like a bunch of Caucasians coming in to steal your job and then get drunk and make trouble in the city's sleeping districts. Perhaps Russia's recent turn away from cheap foreign labour has been in the name of preventing the potential spread of racism, and the consecutive fun times a-la Yugoslavia, among the Russian peoples?

edited 31st Mar '15 11:06:22 AM by KnitTie

Could well be - but it seems difficult to reconcile that with the EurEU objective of free movement. I mean, there's going to be a lot more Central Asian and Caucasians who want to live and work in Russia that Russians who want to work in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Might also be racism itself - we don't like immigrant workers, so we'll make it hard for them.

It's interesting because these rules seem to be pretty much the opposite of what would make sense for an economic union, and if Russia is worried about foreign workers and goods causing trouble, an economic union seems like a bad idea, because it will have to bring more of those things in order to work. Perhaps the Foreign Ministry and the Internal Affairs Ministry aren't co-ordinating all that well?

edited 31st Mar '15 11:13:22 AM by Achaemenid

Or maybe these rules are supposed to create an additional incentive for the Central Asian countries to join the Eurasian Union. You want your people to work here? Then be our allies!

edited 31st Mar '15 11:17:17 AM by KnitTie

But Armenia's already in the EurEU, and they are being affected by the policy, presumably along with Kazakhstan.

Huh. Didn't know that. I guess I must've forgotten that Armenia is in the Eur EU. That's kinda embarrassing, actually.

Anyway, from what I can find about that anti-gastarbeiter law on the Russian sources, it appears that the whole initiative is an attempt to crack down specifically on illegal and semi-legal migrant workers, as those guys have been causing big problems for the Russian civic order and economy alike. Problems arise mostly from poor execution and disorganisation in the lowest echelons of bureaucracy.

edited 31st Mar '15 11:32:20 AM by KnitTie

Sounds logical. It's something that might need to be reversed in the near future though.