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Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

reuters.com

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Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#121

Post by culebron21 »

mlindner wrote: post #43

Lots of weird extremely Russian-patriot sounding comments in this thread. Russia is sending paratroopers because they don't want another Ukraine situation. They don't want Kazakhstan to break away from Russia because of a popular uprising like Ukraine did. And it's a lot easier for them to prevent it than it was for Ukraine because Ukraine doesn't border Europe so the west won't protest it as much. I expect a whole l…

Though I'm not supporter of Russian government, and I don't like current suppression of uprisings, it's Kazakhstan government that asked CSTO contries [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Security_Treaty_Org...] to send troopers, not a Russian initiative as one might imagine from the title.

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#122

Post by q1w2 »

rainworld wrote: post #24
yread wrote: post #20

Just a few months ago it looked different, there were articles like this https://globalcomment.com/is-russia-losing-or-tightening-its... about US looking into getting an airbase and Tokayev trying to play it both sides. That probably won't happen anymore

The Armenians, too, and even Lukashenko tried to play both sides, get cozy with the West. They are probably/definitely not going to do that again.

It's pretty telling that several western leaning nations/political groups in Asia have been defeated by non-Western adversaries.

We've now seen this in Armenia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Kazakhstan.

I think the geopolitical message is pretty clear - EU/US will not protect you. Alliances with them cost little, but have little protective value. Russia/Iran/China/Turkey might force you to pay a higher price for their protection, but at the end of the day, they will actually protect you.

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#123

Post by everybodyknows »

mc32 wrote: post #83
sam_lowry_ wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kazakh elite keeps its money in western banks, flies western planes to western capitals and owns land and property in top western locations. Same for Russian elite. In the Cold War, dealing with Soviets was unthinkable. Now, the West is complacent, there is even a term for it, Schröderizatsiya. See this opinion piece by the former Estonian president [1]. [1] https://news.err.ee/1608362130/toomas-hendrik-ilves-alexei-…

What’s the alternative, Sanctions? What about China, should they be sanctioned too? [Many make the claim that sanctions mostly affect civilians so for example are against Iran Sanctions, etc.]

Better than sanctions: Enforcement of existing anti-money laundering laws.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/new-icij-i...

https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-international-anti-money-lau...

Enforcement of course is a perpetual cat-and-mouse game in which the cats are underfunded and the mice have money to burn.

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#124

Post by tyingq »

mrighele wrote: post #100
snickerer wrote: post #22

I traveled many post-Soviet countries in the past years with my old camping car. My personal impressions in Kazakhstan were frightening. A deeply corrupt state, much worse than Russia. Aggressive armed bandits in police uniform tried to rob me several times. Kazakhstan is true mafia state where every part of the regime tries to enrich itself at the expanse of the people. In contrast to the rich oil elite there are th…

> But why is such a dysfunctional dictatorship so stable? Why did it last for three decades? The situation is very similar to Azerbaijan My bet is natural resources.If i remember correctly Kazakhstan is the biggest uranium producer in the world. With big natural resources, you don't need a solid economy supported by a state of law to keep the regime running. Something similar can be said for Azerbaijan. The trick is…

The government lifted price controls on liquefied petroleum gas on January 1st. I assume LPG is used for home heating, hot water, cooking, etc. Prices supposedly doubled overnight.

Edit: Apparently most cars use LPG there as well.

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#125

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

brnt wrote: post #19
HatchedLake721 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Foreign army in this context is just using a treaty you signed with an ally to request assistance. It’s as “foreign” as any NATO country’s army to another.

It'd be very strange if the French government asks Germany or Nato to quell the gilet-jaunes demo, wouldn't it?

Aren't most people from Kazakhstan pretty anti Russia?

Wouldn't this be more like Taiwan asking China to send in the army to help with a protest?

Or Iraq asking Iran?

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#126

Post by q1w2 »

MomoXenosaga wrote: post #39

The wealthiest European countries have problems with rising energy prices (remember the French yellow vests?) so I'm interested to see how Kazakhstan thinks they can placate their citizens. My own government is giving me €400 this winter which is nice.

...and with that €400, you will likely buy heat, at least partially, supplied by Russia.

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#127

Post by adolph »

MagnumOpus wrote: post #103
adolph wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve read this note about Kazakhstan and BTC a couple of times now but I havnt seen any documentation for the claim. For a crypto novice, what would be a method for validating this claim? BTC and other crypto seem to gravitate toward less expensive energy sources, yet require a substantial capital investment. Is crypto an emerging method for dictators to expropriate wealth? Are there going to be “blood bits” similar…

> Is crypto an emerging method for dictators to expropriate wealth Yes, same for local mafiosi/siloviki who can force the electricity company guy to look the other way (at gunpoint). > Are there going to be “blood bits” similar to “blood diamonds” Given the recirculation and tumbling, probably a majority of BTC/Ether went through shady people's hands (just like most $100 bills have coke residue on them...). Bitcoin a…

Isn't there a difference between using a medium of exchange versus creating it? To stretch the analogy, instead of using $100 bills, printing them a la NK superbills?

If dictators/mafiosi contribute a significant amount to the overall hash rate, are they not decreasing transaction costs for whichever blockchain they use?

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#128

Post by glofish »

thejackgoode wrote: post #52
cmod wrote: post #37

My own experience in Kazakhstan a few years ago was amazing — kind, generous people. I had the most surreal (but standard) Russian Bath experience: sitting with a bunch of naked folks as they self-flog with branches in rooms so hot you needed wool caps to keep the top of your head from singeing. When I was getting dressed a huge guy next to me said something in Russian, I was certain I had committed some bath faux pa…

Being Eastern European, I can attest to the fact that this kindness and generosity (poorly abstracted as being passionate about things) has a flip side, and you don’t want to be on the opposite side of this treatment.

This is a really good point,

when an American (or other rich Westerner) shows up in remote area, they are treated like a king,

basically you are treated as people treat ridiculously good looking and popular people around them that they want to be around,

that generosity you feel is nothing more than being popular and center of attention

start living there, all of a sudden that generosity is not so obvious, families are at each other's throats for that bushel of corn one guys grandfather stole from the other fifty years ago, random shit gets stolen, the whole garden is trampled because someone is stealing a few of your tomatoes, trash is thrown over your yard because the neighbor wants to "save" on trash collection fees, people cut ahead of you around in the queues, people have untrained dangerous dogs that are a menace to the whole community ...

etc

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#129

Post by greatpatton »

Guessnotgauss wrote: post #70
keewee7 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look what happened to Armenia that tried to appease both Russia and the West. It's more important to have few close allies than appeasing everyone.

Worked out pretty well for India, they still court Russia and the US

Yes but Russia and India don't share a border

Re: Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

#130

Post by throwaway0a5e »

glofish wrote: post #128
thejackgoode wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being Eastern European, I can attest to the fact that this kindness and generosity (poorly abstracted as being passionate about things) has a flip side, and you don’t want to be on the opposite side of this treatment.

This is a really good point, when an American (or other rich Westerner) shows up in remote area, they are treated like a king, basically you are treated as people treat ridiculously good looking and popular people around them that they want to be around, that generosity you feel is nothing more than being popular and center of attention start living there, all of a sudden that generosity is not so obvious, families a…

>start living there, all of a sudden that generosity is not so obvious, families are at each other's throats for that bushel of corn one guys grandfather stole from the other fifty years ago, random shit gets stolen, the garden is trampled, trash is thrown over your yard because the neighbor wants to "save" on trash collection fees, people cut ahead of you around in the queues,

So basically all the same petty BS that you get in the urbanized inner suburbs HN raves about without the bickering being laundered through lawyers and local officials to give it a veneer of acceptability?

Humans gonna human.

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