Essay: More about Ukrainian & Russian corruption

This essay is an original work by [[User:User:Conservative|User:Conservative]]. Please comment only on the talk page.

Russia's vaunted military underperformed due to corruption which is endemic in the Russian government.[1][2] For example, this recent news story: Russia Arrests Top General as Military Purge Ramps Up.

At this time, the best they will do is eke out a costly pyrrhic victory. And historically, the Russians don't have a stellar record when it comes to military victories (See: [[Essay: Russia getting pummeled in wars in Russian history that hyper Russophiles will not tell you about]]). Conservative (talk) 21:30, November 4, 2024 (EST)

My grandfather was a legal immigrant to the USA and he improved the condition of the USA. On the other hand, the corrupt autocratic Vladimir Putin who was born in Russia, has been a disaster for his butter stealing country that is having great difficulty beating the much smaller country of Ukraine which is also a corrupt and authoritarian-leaning country. If only the Russian military wasn't so corrupt! And since military might is built on economic might (according to Measheimer), it's too bad for Russia that its labor productivity rate is half that of the USA and that its ability to innovate is much smaller than the USA!

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, a frequent critic of the United States, admitted about American's openness, open-mindedness and creativity: "I like the creativity. Creativity when it comes to tackling your country's problems. They're openness. Openness and open-mindedness. Because it allows them to unleash the inner potential of their people. And because of that America has achieved such amazing results." USA! USA! USA!

You wonder why I revert and don't read your pestering and why your emails are blocked. It's because you have been so wrongheaded about China and Russia! Your political opinions are worthless. If you want to share your political opinions with people, I suggest you set up a blog or a substack. I have the information superhighway and live in a city with many libraries and universities/colleges that Chinese students flock to in order to be better educated! And my excellent hairdresser emigrated from Russia!

Set up a blog or substack to counter the blog Decline of Russia. And remember, if you pester me enough, I may choose to use my ever-increasing web marketing skills to help anti-Russian imperialism websites hasten the complete failure of the Russian state which is already a failure! But at this juncture, I prefer to use these skills to help Christendom go from one glorious victory to another! One obvious reason for me helping Christendom on the internet rather than Russian nationalists is that I prefer associating with winners rather than losers! Right now, Russia Today is losing global market share according to Similarweb.com.[3] The world is becoming less and less interested in the political opinions Russkiy Mir and it will continue to do so - especially if the stable genius of Donald J. Trump is reelected. You do realize that Trump told Putin that he would blow off the dome over his head if he invaded Ukraine during his administration and Putin was so scared that he didn't do it!

Donald Trump: “I said to Putin, ‘Vladimir, we have a great relationship.’ I got along with him great. He’s a different kind of a character, I will tell you, much different than anybody under—I knew him very well. I said, ‘Vladimir, if you go after Ukraine, I am going to hit you so hard, you’re not even going to believe it. I’m going to hit you right in the middle of fricking Moscow.’ I said, ‘We’re friends. I don’t want to do it, but I have no choice.’ He goes, ‘No way.’ I said, ‘Way.’ I said, ‘You’re going to be hit so hard, and I’m going to take those f— domes right off your head.’ Because, you know, he lives under the domes.” Source: Wall Street Journal article: Weekend Interview: Trump Tangles With the Journal’s Editors

If only Putin sent love letters to Trump like Kim Jong Un did and courted the USA more ardently. If he had done so, Russia might have some the most beautiful golf courses in the world with the help of Donald J. Trump instead of paying an arm and leg for butter because Russia has a shortage of tractors, is under sanctions and the Russian ruble is worth significantly less! I feel so sorry for the Russian oligarchs who will never head a country that is the leading country in the world for the foreseeable future. Conservative (talk) 06:45, November 5, 2024 (EST)

The corrupt/authoritarian country of Ukraine, which has not been accepted into the European Union or NATO, is an Eastern European country that borders Russia. Ergo, it can be argued that the so-called Kursk fiasco shows the bankruptcy of Eastern strategic thought! With that being said, the truth is that both the West and the East have made contributions to military strategy and tactics. For example, West Point teaches concepts of Sun Tzu to its officers.

Secondly, in the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese consistently lost the bigger battles and the U.S. General Westmoreland was obsessed about body counts that showed the USA was "winning". However, although the Tet Offensive was not ultimately not a successful operation militarily, it did win on the propaganda front because it showed the American public that the Vietcong were not on their last legs. Specifically, the Tiet Offensive showed that the Vietmanese still had power to oppose the USA via a large operation and as a result of this the American public soured on the war. One does not win wars solely by winning battles. Breaking the will of the enemy is a key component as far as how wars are won. Near the end of the Vietnam War at the peace negotiations, the American officer Harry Summers said to a Vietcong colonel that we won all the battles and you did not win on the battlefield. The Vietcong colonel replied back, that's true, but it is also irrelevant.[4] It was the political context that was more important in the Vietnam War than the military context. But ultimately the the USA won the peace in Vietnam as evidenced by all the Coca Cola now being sold in Vietnam and the current cordial relations between the USA and Vietnam.

One of the things the Russians may face in Ukraine if they win a pyrrhic victory is a Ukrainian insurgency that wears down the Russians. This may come into play because of this: Russia defector reveals 'majority' of people inside Kremlin unhappy with war in Ukraine, ABC News video, July 2023. In addition, as far as the Kursk invasion, the inability of the Russian state to protect its borders shows this: Will Russia become a failed state within 10 years? Is Russia currently a failed state? Will Russia eventually become a failed state?. Almost half of global strategists think Russia could become a failed state within the next 10 years, Fortune magazine, January 23, 2023. Conservative (talk) 15:31, November 17, 2024 (EST)

Moscow Dismisses Fears Over Sinking Ruble, Barron's, November 6, 2024.

The international relations expert John Mearsheimer says that military might rest on economic might which is a a true statement since militaries are expensive to maintain. Right now, Russia has sky-high inflation due to its guns and butter economy being highly inflationary and there are Russians stealing butter. See: Desperate Russians Resort To Stealing Butter Amid Economic Crisis, The Pinnacle Gazette, November 26, 2024. And this Russian high-inflation keeps ratching up Russia's risk of entering into stagflation due to corporate bankrupticies caused by sky-high interest rates, its effects on consumers, etc. See: Russia’s rising stagflation threat, The Bell, November 16, 2024.

And Trump definitely has some economic leverage as far as Russia because his tariffs on China will have an effect on how much oil China buys from Russia. In addition, the West has frozen $300 billion in Russian assets so Trump and his Western allies have some economic leverage there as well. I doubt these Oreshnik missiles will ever cause $300 billion dollars in damage to the West.

By the way, the UK gave a knighthood to Bill Browder. Sir Bill Browder is urging the UK to adopt US-style legislation which would give the UK power to confiscate Russian assets to support Ukrainian military efforts.[5] Whether or not this knight will proverbially lance Putin again is anybody's guess. He certainly lanced Putin via the Magnitsky Act. Conservative (talk) 13:54, November 26, 2024 (EST)