Typically in Russia it was possible not to support actions of the government even when working for the government directly or indirectly. The threat of being fired was empty as bosses did not want to report to superiors that some people did not participate in official campaigns. But this time the threats became real and an option to keep the mouth shut no longer exists.
No, it would not be prudent. In fact, "permanently cutting off" an individual from "the west" just because they support something you don't agree with sets a very dangerous precedent and is many times worse than any war. It's screwed up that you're even suggesting this.
Under duress you'd be surprised what you'd publicly support.
It's not as if every Russian has the luxury to say what they want and not fear extreme retaliation.
Instead of "Russians", think instead "diverse group of humans living under a violent, jealous, unpredictable regime."
Just like victims of domestic abuse struggle to escape their abuser, it's not as easy to say "fuck off" or actually leave as keyboard pundits would have us believe.
If you want some history about making lists, check out the McCarthy Trials.
Or, they actually support the invasion, which is valid as well. I may not agree, but I think everyone can express support for any position. The only position that is invalid is censorship/suppression/thought control, because it cuts off communication.
We've banned this account for breaking the site guidelines. This was bad enough, but https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30541975 is completely not ok. Please don't create accounts to break HN's rules with.
Is it really so bad to call out a throwaway account created for the sole purpose of violating HN rules? Calling someone a coward for throwing insults at me from a throwaway account is hardly inappropriate.
The fact that you had to ban his account pretty much proves my point.
You've clearly been breaking the rules repeatedly—this is not a borderline call. For example, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30577434 was certainly an attack by the standard we apply here. If it doesn't fit your own definition of the word, that's fine; but it's the kind of thing we ban accounts for, so we need you to stop posting like that if you want to keep commenting on HN.
The rules apply regardless of how badly others are behaving. It always feels like the other person started it and did worse—this perception is hard-wired in all of us, so to use it as a justification guarantees a downward spiral.
Yesterday there was a story about a rector who was arrested for preaching against the war during a sermon - pretty courageous but that kind of courage is apparently not too common.
Just keep in mind that in the old Soviet Union if you had a public position or a position with public influence(like a rector) you were always expected to agree with the government, or (in the best case) you'd lose your job. So it could be very much a case of "sign this or you'll regret it".
There are no ppl left in these positions who had not proved their loyalty to Kremlin in the past. Students tend to speak their mind (Doxa[1] is a good example) and they can organize themselves, so they need shepherds.
For example, Zuev was imprisoned, because Kremlin didn't found another way to deal with him.[2]
Doxa[3] is a students led media, and they were crushed after they showed their support to Navalny. They had troubles before, but this was the last straw. Zuev was a rector of Moscow School for the Social and Economic Sciences[3], which was itself under the attack for years, and it ended with charges to Zuev alleging that he misused money from government.
War is always a good pretext for crushing internal dissent, since critics can easily be branded as traitors. Some Russian observers believe the only reason Putin is invading Ukraine right now is because his position has weakened to the point that he needed a war to shore up support and get rid of opposition. So now is probably not a great time to accurately gauge how much real support and loyalty he commands.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 50.6 ms ] threadThese are 700 people who should be permanently cut off from the west.
It's not as if every Russian has the luxury to say what they want and not fear extreme retaliation.
Instead of "Russians", think instead "diverse group of humans living under a violent, jealous, unpredictable regime."
Just like victims of domestic abuse struggle to escape their abuser, it's not as easy to say "fuck off" or actually leave as keyboard pundits would have us believe.
If you want some history about making lists, check out the McCarthy Trials.
>It's not as if every Russian has the luxury to say what they want and not fear extreme retaliation.
I suspect that vast majority of people saying things like this haven’t even visited Russia.
I own a home in Moscow, am married to a Russian. Our family has been hit hard by sanctions. I have skin in the game.
Knowing what I know about the actual experience of living in Russia, I don’t believe any of these people are under duress to support this.
I don't have the Russian credentials you do so I'm only able to guess at reasons something so unreasonable can be supported.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
If you continue to break the site guidelines we are going to have to ban you. I had to warn you about this just recently. No more of this, please.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
The fact that you had to ban his account pretty much proves my point.
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30580008
Just calling things what they are.
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30577434
There is no attack here, not even the mildest hostility. Pointing out that someone is talking out of their ass isn’t an “attack”.
The rules apply regardless of how badly others are behaving. It always feels like the other person started it and did worse—this perception is hard-wired in all of us, so to use it as a justification guarantees a downward spiral.
https://hn.algolia.com/?query=downward%20spiral%20by:dang&da...
For example, Zuev was imprisoned, because Kremlin didn't found another way to deal with him.[2]
[1] https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2021/07/07/5-prichin-pochem... [2] https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2022/03/04/sud-prodlil-ares...
Sorry, links in Russian, but as a tl;dr:
Doxa[3] is a students led media, and they were crushed after they showed their support to Navalny. They had troubles before, but this was the last straw. Zuev was a rector of Moscow School for the Social and Economic Sciences[3], which was itself under the attack for years, and it ended with charges to Zuev alleging that he misused money from government.
[3] https://doxajournal.ru/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_School_for_the_Social_a...