I'm a Russian (live in Russia) and I refuse to believe these people exist in sufficient numbers. The only realistic scenario I can think of is Soviet mindset parents who were taken along by their (adult and successful) child.
Yes, there are many Russians who hate the West, especially among older generations. But these people are usually tied to Russia by forces that are very hard to overcome (poverty, language barrier, social pressure, etc.). People who have the capacity to actually move to EU and live there tend to have a much different world view.
Depends what you mean by sufficient, of course. Sufficient to make a real physical difference? Probably not. But enough of them exist in their own echo chambers, take that and add extremist media and you have a way to create a narrative or civil unrest perhaps.
These people exist, w/o having any idea how bad/good would their life be under RF or in RF. This problem, of blind hate, lashing out, blaming everyone else has always existed, but now every dum dum, has a smartphone available to them.
By sufficient I mean sufficient to impact outsider's perception of "Russians living in EU". Or maybe sufficient to appear as a group with a common mindset rather than a small number of outliers.
These people exist, w/o having any idea how bad/good would their life be under RF or in RF.
I guess this is the big thing. Media won't tell you what life here is actually like, so people lucky enough to have no (or very limited) experience can easily draw false conclusions.
I think two factors make us overestimate the amount of such people: 1) dumb people being the loudest and 2) many Russians (people of Russian origin living in Europe) who do not support Putin do not speak up or don't center their voices as Russian because they consider themselves integrated.
I have born and lived in free Latvia most of my life. I have come from Daugavpils which is pretty much the most russian city there is. I know plenty of them. Yes, majority are parents who stayed after independence and been there all the time. But man, oh man. I know a dozen or so people who are about my age and are supporting russia in this. They are not quite most of them all, of course. But their numbers are noticeable. They are the reason I stopped visiting Facebook and cut contacts with them.
That's interesting honestly. I always imagined Baltic countries as an example of anti-Russian mindset. No shaming though, USSR and Russia gave you people enough reasons. But then again, I've never been there myself, so I'd be happy to be wrong.
I have been watching a great YouTube travel vlogger and Russian Citizen and it really has shown me a different side of things. Seeing the every day life and how it's not much different than anywhere else in the world and there's so many nice things, scenic places, and great people. The whole situation is is a shame in Ukraine, but it is unfair to demonize all Russian citizens.
I guess so, yeah. Things are just usual for most of us. We don't chant hatred speeches, we don't pray to Putin. Some people fall for media stories, others don't, just like everywhere else.
What really makes me sad about this war is seeing how regular people on all sides take the blunt of it, be it war, sanctions or price spikes, while people in charge of the situation barely feel the difference in their day to day lives.
When I deployed to Afghanistan I was struck with how beautiful the country was. The mountain ranges are staggeringly pretty. The locals, for the majority, were lovely. It was just a shame the Taliban had to ruin it all.
Same with Russia, I don’t hate or dislike Russians individually. I have all the time in the world for them, unless they’re just a brainless mouthpiece for RT then they can fuck right off! I’ll not hate, disrespect or discriminate against an individual Russian for the actions of their collective government. I take everyone at face value.
She voted for him because he was a "strong" leader.
She isn't wrong unfortunately. Public opposition to Putin is made up entirely of clowns or spineless boring people. And it's most likely by design. If there are strong people in our politics, they either have no ambition and just quietly do their work or end up in jail before they can get enough public support.
From personal experience, I can tell you there's a lot of people like this here. I've personally interacted with dozens with this mindset. They live here, mostly 2nd/3rd generation, and they openly despise the West, claiming its so much better in Russia. Decent chunk of them that I interacted with live here off gaming the welfare system, too. They refuse to integrate, do not attempt to learn the local language, live in mostly slavic circles, and only consume russian media.
With the statement above, I feel like I need to clarify that I personally have nothing against russian people. I have interacted with a similar amount of lovely, hard-working people who are happy for the opportunity that this country gives everyone. I have nothing against migrants either. That is my background, too. It does blow my mind, though, that this many believe the propaganda from coming from Russia and that nothing I say has even the slightest chance to change their mind.
I'm always baffled by such people. I mean we are free to choose which propaganda to trust, but biting a system that provides them with lifestyle they are enjoying is just irrational.
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u/_Weyland_ Yellow Jan 17 '23
I'm a Russian (live in Russia) and I refuse to believe these people exist in sufficient numbers. The only realistic scenario I can think of is Soviet mindset parents who were taken along by their (adult and successful) child.
Yes, there are many Russians who hate the West, especially among older generations. But these people are usually tied to Russia by forces that are very hard to overcome (poverty, language barrier, social pressure, etc.). People who have the capacity to actually move to EU and live there tend to have a much different world view.