Links

[selenak]

This weekend I had two antivaxxers trying to enlist/convert me, one of whom was also a Putin defender going on abouto how the "mainstream media" was reporting it all wrong. But at least I'm related to neither of them; a friend of mine has to put up with his own daughter insisting that covid does not exist. Meanwhile, I, alas, had it (with symptoms) last month, despite having been vaccinated because of the new Ommicron variant, and I can tell you, fun this was not. Have some Ukraine related links:

Ukrainian demonstrations in Russia-occupied Kherson

Article about Natalya Sindeya, the founder of Dozhd, one of the last independent Russian media which was just shut down.

Profile of Volodymyr Zelensky, one of several to be published in the last ten days; this one in the New Yorker

Comments

[selenak]

The combination of covid denial and Putin apologia is indeed maddening beyond belief. BTW, the guy who wanted to recruit me didn‘t deny the existence of refugees, but he‘s wholesale buying into „it‘s the fault of NATO/The Americans“ and „the non-Russian-origin Ukrainians are all Nazis“ . Think Sahra Wagenknecht, just male.

„Mainstream media“ is one of those terms, like „Impfdiktatur“, which has me stop listening at once anyway. If the person in question is coming from a right wing instead of a left wing corner, they usuall add something about „Gutmensch“ and „linksgrün“, but the two who contacted me over the weekend were, as I said, more the Sahra Wagenknecht type. Orwell, thou shouldst be living in this hour.

[ratcreature]

Urgh. I've encountered some level of conspiratorial thinking in RL, like the "Ukrainian revolution was a CIA plot" kind of thing, and some of the "Ukrainian nationalists are all Nazis" takes, but not this extreme and it was all before Putin actually attacked Ukraine. I really hope they STFU about that now.

TBH I don't know how disproportionate the influence of right wing extremists in Ukrainian military or militias might be compared to their tiny electoral success (I mean clearly extremists can leverage their influence, even with smallish percentages, as can be seen all over the EU) but from the outside Ukraine doesn't seem to have a larger Nazi problem than, say, France with its multiplying right wing extremist blocks. Or you know, Germany. And even if it was a significant problem, clearly Putin has no issues with that ideological bent, with that disturbing philosopher he's a fan of, Ilyin? Or being previously cozy with occasional Horthy fanboy Orban. Who incidentally doesn't get bombed or invaded for aggravating the US and the EU. Or for harassing gay people. (Apparently the Russian Orthodox church now says Ukraine has to be bombed to fend of the gays or something?? And yet, NATO members in reality much less pro-gay...)

[selenak]

Apparently the Russian Orthodox church now says Ukraine has to be bombed to fend of the gays or something??

Sort of. If I understood it correctly, to save Russia from having to stage Gay Pride parades, which are the sinister loyalty test the West puts on all its enclaves. Yes, I know it isn't funny, but allow me some bitter laughter. Of course, Putin being hand in glove with the Russian Orthodox Church isn't new - remember that Femen activist band who got imprisoned for screaming "Mother of God, damn Putin" in a church? And given the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church were pissed off when the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared independence and were recognized by the Greek Orthodox Church as such, they have even more motive to fall in line with the Czar.

I really hope they STFU about that now.

Alas. It's more like "they mistreated and killed the Donbass population first, and no one is talking about that!"

but from the outside Ukraine doesn't seem to have a larger Nazi problem than, say, France with its multiplying right wing extremist blocks. Or you know, Germany.

Yes. I'm still cringing in shame every time I think of us having the bloody AFD in parliament. Partially financed by Putin, btw. If there is one cheering thing about this is that he won't be able to afford to pay them as well as he used for in the foreseeable future right now.

[ratcreature]

It really makes you wonder whether these people have ever talked to anybody from there who wasn't some disinformation Twitter or Facebook bot.

You know, I've been in a Russian language course for a few years now. I just for fun, but many are learning for family because they married a Russian speaker or are enganged and want to raise their children bilingual, talk with in-laws etc. And that includes some with family from Ukraine, but Russian speakers obviously, this being a Russian course, not Ukrainian.

So through that I have met somebody with in-laws in Eastern Ukraine, and over the years (all post-2014) they mentioned them every now and then, and they were actually "pro-Russian" in that they would have rather liked to keep close integration and open-borders with Russia, not the EU, if it was binary. They were close to the separatist area but not quite in it, but a bit to the North. It was impacted, but my classmate could still visit and she went there for their honeymoon when she eventually married her Ukrainian boyfriend and it was all "normal" despite the war nearby. As of last week her in-laws were now hiding and their area being bombed by the Russian army. They hadn't wanted to come to Germany when their family here tried to convince them that Russia planned to invade and they should get out "just in case" (though my classmate and ger husband didn't really believe it would be *this* bad either). They didn't believe anything bad would happen to them, are older and didn't want to abandon their place etc.

Our teacher (a Russian from St. Petersburg) has a cousin living in Kyiv, as of last week hiding in some bomb shelter with his young family, while the teacher's (anti-war, all internet savy) friends in St. Petersburg are now fearing arrest, and his parents (currently living in Moscow) fear for their savings...

Our course last week was half taken up by just catching up with what horrible new reality people are suddenly finding themselves in now.