Nothing Changes In Russia

The Russian war against Ukraine , is not just Pootins war . The mentality among Russians has been troubled for centuries , and it could continue as same . I dont know the origins why their mentality seems to differ , is it from being Mongol vassal earlyer where the time period was harsh or brutal in some way, IDK .

IMO the West should not same mistake again, as after Soviet Union collapsed, hoping a true change of Russian society . If i had to bet , my money would now go for Russia continuing being same mentality it`s been now last centuries , i would like to be wrong in this .


Human Life Has No Value There“: Baltic Counterintelligence Officers Speak Candidly About Russian Cruelty

The Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress interviewed the heads and several employees of Estonia’s, Latvia’s, and Lithuania’s state security agencies. This is what they had to say regarding Russia.

Too big article to quote , it`s long but worth to read IMO .

a reply to: Kenzo

The mentality among Russians has been troubled for centuries , and it could continue as same .

I don't know what you mean by saying this I quoted above from your OP. I imagine the mentality of regular Russian citizens because of the advent of the internet and their accessibility to it may put their ideas of common folks on par with the rest of the world. I don't honestly know if Russians are troubled, I do know that it appears almost all world leaders are troubled for one reason or another.

So strange that the human collective is the internet, and in a lot of ways the internet is being used against so many people that have the ability to use it. Obviously no fault of yours my friend but I will point that out that again a free collective of the human experience isn't so free and is often not true.

Thank you for your post my guy.

a reply to: Kenzo

I think you are wrong about reason why they have such a mentality.
Serfdom ended in Russia 1860 much later than it ended in other european countries and serfdom was bound to the land which landlords owned, serfs could not leave if they wished, they were brutally beated and violated. Even slaves had it better than serfs, slaves were kept with nutrition, clothes and place to sleep. When serfdom ended there were 23 million serfs in Russia. Only Ural and Siberia had no serfdom.
Even landlords were under Tsars rule and were dictated how to manage all those serfs and how they managed was with brutal violence. So every command had a hierarchy set place.

Literacy rate under last Tsars father Alexander III was only 24% 1897 which gives an idea why serfs were unable to rise up from the "pit" they were hold in and schools were uncommon luxury. When Tsardom and Church were tightly bonded together and church duty were to boost the power of Tsars ( you see this same thing today in Russia ) not much eduacation was provided.

During soviet rule people had a bit more freedom, schooling was seen important but still people were throwed from place to place. For example if there were a uprising movements among farmers in some area they were forced to leave the land and move to Gulags.. many times those who had know how for farming were replaced with those who did not. People had no say when the order came .

This is the mentality of generations in Russia.

a reply to: Kenzo

Coincidentally I currently read a Catherine the Great biography from some French guy and he says, she was bffs with Voltaire and Diderot(?) as super enlightened but in her notes and actions and such it seems shine through that she loved Russia but because she liked it rough.
I mean it's pretty amazing right? She called her people 'servs' in translation but in effect slaves that came with the land.
And if you wouldn't keep them in check they'd go straight for your throat.
Smacks a bit of Sparta, if you think about it.

„It’d be overly simplistic to attribute the Russian mentality to propaganda,“ says Jauniškis. „Imperialism, chauvinism, brutality – they’re a part of Russian education, upbringing, and culture, but are also part of their values. And it’s been that way for centuries.“ Alas, neither Jauniškis nor any other Baltic counterintelligence officer I interview believes it can change.

From the article in the OP
Justification for abuse. They would hit you, so you have to hit them first, seems to be the intention of the author?
But I don't doubt for a second that's what the abusers tell themselves in Russia too.
Doesn't make it right.

Even if parts of it like Russia will only stop if it is stopped are probably true.

a reply to: Peeple

Strange, after I finish Inazo Nitobe Bushido, Soul of Japan, Voltaire was next on my list. It was recommended because i am a huge fan of transcendentalist authors. LOL it really is a Thoreau thing "irony is the glue that joins the world" or something like that

a reply to: Brotherman


Sorry my inaccurate rambling, i find it hard to really explain Russians in great precice details , i do fundamentally allways take everyone as individual hmm..

But there do seems to be some repetition, repeated pattern in " in general" among Russian population on behaviour side...stil difficult to understand all but some patterns point to same that are seen in 2022 / Ukraine war and how Russian think about it all.

Maybe troubled is wrong word .

Good point about internet and how it can effect mind. Thought so many Russians has left the country,even before this war and now more....maybe they dont have optomism that Russia will / can change ?

Problem in Russia is also that huge amount of people there get their views from propaganda state MSM and their internet sites.


From what i seen/read , this is not just Putin doing all, but also how certain way of thinking arise from society , here is one twitter thread also about it:

War of memes: why Z-war won't end with peace

a reply to: dollukka


Excellent analysis , i think you are spot on! You have better knowledge / details about their historical background in details.

Also, i wonder how much effected the killed tens of millions of Soviets during USSR time since most likely many intelligents were purged out, and society lost brain power.

This site also list some things:

How Russians think, and why they do what they do

a reply to: dollukka


So has the brutal violence shaped their mentality far too much ?

a reply to: Peeple

Yeeh sounds quite rough , and interestingthat Catherine the Great had friends like Voltaire and Diderot. The Romanov dynasty lasted about 3 centuries , i never read anything about them , maybe i should.


This abuse thing reminds me about theorys how some people become narcissist , psychopaths etc...they have violence / abuse in their childhood, and then they become itself as troubled psyche....


I really think that Russia respect only force, so only way to counter them is show enough power/force ...

a reply to: Kenzo

I don't think anything with humans is that simple.
There's not a single philosophical 'item' where the reaction is 100% the same and for the same reason.
Some people love to dominate. But it's still society that allows it.
What wenn can also read from the history stories is that Russians always revolted against the cruelty very violently not for the sake of enjoying it but by being brave and passionate.
That's I think the two sides of a coin, a trait is virtue or a curse depending on how you use it.

a reply to: Peeple



I think you are right , it`s complicated process all , how to become like what is as human being ( Scratching Head )

Usually there is allways two sides of a coin, and also in this.

So maybe Russia is now heading back to 1917 moment ?

I believe there are a lot nice and intelligent Russians also, but many have decided to left Russia, that has negative effect again in Russian society .

Russia should at least be gratefull about West helping creating their industrial base in early part of 1900 , but they dont want to even remember that .

a reply to: Kenzo

I believe so and the fact that they have not experienced any better.

btw sent you IM.

a reply to: dollukka


They are like walking circles....instead of trying to break out to new direction, they repeat and continue walking circles .

Thank`s PM

originally posted by: Kenzo

The Russian war against Ukraine , is not just Pootins war . The mentality among Russians has been troubled for centuries , and it could continue as same . I dont know the origins why their mentality seems to differ , is it from being Mongol vassal earlyer where the time period was harsh or brutal in some way, IDK .

Nice low key bigotry you got there...

Interesting the mods haven't stepped in yet.

Imagine saying that about any other group of humans on the planet.

The mentality among Zimbabweans has been troubled for centuries

Your thread would already be taken down.
The dehumanization that I am currently witnessing is becoming more unsettling by the day.

You know what group appears to have very little value for human life?

Grab a mirror...

a reply to: JAY1980

Do not get upset about nothing, there is no bigotry just simple facts which can been seen. As we speak NATO and EU keep pondering the mentality of Pootin so does every country in Europe, also China and USA.

During WW2 these mentalities were pondered also.. is Hitler insane, maniac etc just like we ponder now due the World situation.

This is not personal.. this is how the World is.

a reply to: Kenzo

They have never had democracy that would be totally new to them. They just keep hanging on the wheel of autocracy, i wonder what should happen that they would learn democracy, fake polls are not the way. I truly hope someday they will have that so i could visit Russia

PM sent

a reply to: JAY1980


Since you mentioned dehumanization , here is some interesting text to read about how Russia has been dehumanizing ukraine , these are just what happen recently, and more has happened in history. The genocidal intent against Ukrainians /Ukraine is seen both from their own words and also actions, mass graves in Ukraine, so many things they do, and now they are targeting Ukrainian power plants/infrastructure as part of their intent to destroy Ukraine.


Russia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Russia's genocide handbook


What should Russia do with Ukraine? [Translation of a propaganda article by a Russian publication]

a reply to: dollukka


Yeeh, how to get Russia to right track, that is difficult to know right now.

Hopefully someday they turn new page .

originally posted by: Kenzo
The mentality among Russians has been troubled for centuries, and it could continue as same.

This is just another attempt at framing a Sonderweg narrative (which is manifestly false*) and borders on the demand for collective guilt/punishment. Any astute government would draw a line between the Russian people and the non-representative oligarchy, lest all Russians abroad side with Putin. Churchill vehemently protested against Morgenthau's plan at first, no doubt aware of this ancient principle. In his speeches, FDR made an attempt to clarify on the distinction between German Americans and Germans abroad, at least in theory, although he failed to stay the increasing distrust of German Americans.

Besides, why do you single out only the Russians? A pessimist might observe that despite the efforts of our institutions, the species as a whole hasn't improved that much and draw the conclusion that people as a whole don't change. But if people can't change, then what is the point of educating, governing, philosophizing, poetizing, etc.? Why bother thinking at all? They're just disparaging every expression of human reflection and striving at that point.

You've overlooked that centuries of living under tyrannies has afforded the Russians a more deeply-ingrained compassion for the unfortunately situated than any other people. It was precisely this consideration which prompted Stalin, Molotov, Ehrenburg, etc. to concede to the state of Israel's founding, despite it being against Russia's best interests. old.reddit.com... It seems my fellow Americans are being conditioned to behave as they once did against the Germans, who had unjustly demanded explanations from German Americans for the Holocaust, despite the latter suffering from Hitler just as much as anybody else. The injudiciousness of their interrogations is enough to make one's blood boil, and I'm not even remotely European by descent.

There's a widespread misconception that the Germans welcomed their American liberators with enthusiasm (at first, they did, but then they realized what years of anti-German propaganda had done to them) and that it was Russians who committed atrocities against Germans (the initial wave consisted of Mongols, Chinese and Latvians while the Russians were mainly concerned with engaging German soldiers).

I ascertained this independently from revisionist sources, by studying the lives of German wolf children, who portray friendly Russian soldiers (oddly enough, only Lithuanians are acknowledged as benefactors in mainstream narrative).

Also, the perpetual conflict between democracies and dictatorship, which reached its peak in nazism and communism, had awakened among the masses the ability to distinguish between freedom and tyranny. From Bertrand Russell to Ayn Rand, Hannah Arendt, etc., a thorough examination of existing systems and their deficiencies have been attempted. We've arrived at an unprecedented historical turning point. The ideological war is thawing out from the Cold War repression.

originally posted by: Kenzo
IMO the West should not same mistake again, as after Soviet Union collapsed, hoping a true change of Russian society.

True, the change was expected to take many generations, but people overlook how a single towering personality like Goethe or Stalin can usher in an acceleration of a people's growth.

I have spent the past two years investigating the prophetic claims from my fellow ATS member WanderingMrM. The chances of Russians receiving a representative leader, after Putin and his successors have been ousted, is becoming exceedingly probable. He arrived at his predictions quite independently from Russian Orthodoxy, everything playing out in the West with Ukraine is going in accordance with the expectations of their seers and saints. Historically speaking, the Russians have never been left in the lurch when there were attempts to isolate or invade their country.

* There was no precedent for Hitler's policies in either the Prussianism of Frederick the Great or Bismarck. Haeckel, Wagner, Nietzsche, H. S. Chamberlain, Gobineau, etc. said nothing in their works about discriminating against Jews. Nietzsche was a philo-Semite whose work was tampered with by his sister. Wagner took up anti-Semitism precisely to counter the intrusion of anti-Semitic narrations into the musical sphere. Chamberlain idealized the Jews, but also worshiped his own German culture.

Luther and Lueger were the only exceptions, arguably Luther exceeded Hitler's designs. Kristallnacht was a mild outbreak compared to what Luther had recommended. Yet around the turn of the 20th century, Theodore Herzl had observed in his diaries that modern anti-Semitic movements were beginning to dispense with religious hatred in favor of more rational arguments and the earliest preserved letter from Hitler on this matter recommends a rational anti-Semitism as opposed to pogroms.

originally posted by: Kenzo
The Russian war against Ukraine , is not just Pootins war . The mentality among Russians has been troubled for centuries , and it could continue as same . I dont know the origins why their mentality seems to differ , is it from being Mongol vassal earlyer where the time period was harsh or brutal in some way, IDK .

English article with German style punctuation. Mentality. Mentality. Mentality. How many mental hospitals are there in Russia? And don't tell me Finland, Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania have any room to talk about mental health either, which shows their mentality is just as bad as the Russians although perhaps that could be partially remedied by tarring and feathering public officials.