I spent some time in an apartment in Moscow in the 1990s. The smell in the hallways was awful. The apartment had no smell at all. The cliche/joke that Moscow residents open their windows in October because the heat is otherwise unbearable is true (was true then). The apartment was tiny. The bathroom was the most broken down thing I have ever seen. However, it did have more hot water than I have even seen. Moscow had real food problems (back then).
I went back to Russia after 2000. Things had improved a lot. The traffic (from more prosperity) was intense. No shortage of food was evident.
Moral superiority is the primary tool of tyrants who are generally driven by innate insecurity. This is otherwise known as the bully. And with this, Putin has the most in common with the Western left. Their drift toward authoritarianism and violence is directly related to their feeling they are losing. So what do you do? Stomping their neck is one solution.
I was waiting for a description of American moral superiority and how it, too, damages our standing in the world.
I spent some time in an apartment in Moscow in the 1990s. The smell in the hallways was awful. The apartment had no smell at all. The cliche/joke that Moscow residents open their windows in October because the heat is otherwise unbearable is true (was true then). The apartment was tiny. The bathroom was the most broken down thing I have ever seen. However, it did have more hot water than I have even seen. Moscow had real food problems (back then).
I went back to Russia after 2000. Things had improved a lot. The traffic (from more prosperity) was intense. No shortage of food was evident.
Moral superiority is the primary tool of tyrants who are generally driven by innate insecurity. This is otherwise known as the bully. And with this, Putin has the most in common with the Western left. Their drift toward authoritarianism and violence is directly related to their feeling they are losing. So what do you do? Stomping their neck is one solution.