131–140 of 427 posts
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Russia hasnt taken a single large city since the start of the war. They are struggling to even keep the front intact (which is why Putin now begs for peace). They wont suddenly blast through all of Ukraine and invade a new country just over a night. But sure never hurts to be prepared.
And if it is NATO blasting through Moldova into Ukraine?
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> He's only been in America a few years so as soon as he speaks the entire bar knows he's Russian. Because Americans are so good at distinguishing Slavic languages by ear in a noisy room? I live near a Russian Orthodox church. People complain about the congregants, but mostly about their parking. A house opposite the church as a Ukrainian flag prominently hung; on the other hand one of the congregants has a sticker o…
> Because Americans are so good at distinguishing Slavic languages by ear in a noisy room? There is a simpler explanation: Russian is probably the only Slavic language most Americans know about.
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You aren’t saying very much. What is a rape apologist in this context?
He takes advantage of lower socioeconomic status women in poor countries with uneven gender dynamics and makes a jokey travel vlog in between. He has also given the classic "it's basically their fault" argument.
Arguably, women of post-socialist (Slavic) countries have comparatively higher socioeconomic status and comparatively more even gender dynamics that these in the West.
For a dedicated sexual predator, it would be much easier to just head directly to Thailand or similar.
I wonder what will happen to them if Ukraine loses to Russia. I have heard Moldova already has issues with Russian separatists. EDIT: Changed an offensive use of a definitive article. ;)
You're thinking of Transnistria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria The history of that area is complex. Moldova itself was part of the Ottoman Empire, then it was ceded to the Russian Empire, united with Romania, then the whole are became part of the USSR... and after the dissolution of the USSR, Transnistria became an unregognized, but de facto autonomous "country". Moldovians see the area as still part of…
it doesn't, Russia hasn't officially annexed Transnistria as it did with occupied Ukrainian territories
Travelling to any ex-USSR countries on the periphery from the "western" world is taking a nice fun gamble. The bigger places in Kazakhstan are probably okay, and yeah, you likely would have fun in Tbilisi or Yerevan, but the chance of you having a very bad time in Bishkek or (heavens forbid) the Dushanbe is just too high. It could be a lot of fun, it would be fairly cheap by western standards, it will certainly be un…
In short, I think this is a simplistic point of view, and one that is unfair to the people living in the countries you deem dangerous to "western" people.
Travelling to any ex-USSR countries on the periphery from the "western" world is taking a nice fun gamble. The bigger places in Kazakhstan are probably okay, and yeah, you likely would have fun in Tbilisi or Yerevan, but the chance of you having a very bad time in Bishkek or (heavens forbid) the Dushanbe is just too high. It could be a lot of fun, it would be fairly cheap by western standards, it will certainly be un…
In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan you'll be pretty much safe everywhere throughout the country. In Kyrgyzstan, I'd avoid rural non-tourist areas, but to Bishkek and tourist destinations I'd go without second thoughts. Tajikistan is questionable, but not Dushanbe.
Another place I'd like to go is Kyrgyzstan. And Turkmenistan. Why? Because no one goes there. What other reason do you need?
The tourist experience wasn’t sugarcoated at all though. It’s a genuine poor country with not a whole lot happening. Id say go for it, it’s a place that I find myself thinking of often.
Visit Transnistria for another level of amazement if you're in the area. The last Soviet republic.
There's a BBC short series from some years ago where our intrepid correspondent visits twilight zones. The episode on Transdnestr is really a trip. He even manages to visit an arms factory masquerading as making consumer stuff. The episode is worth looking up.
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> Because Americans are so good at distinguishing Slavic languages by ear in a noisy room? There is a simpler explanation: Russian is probably the only Slavic language most Americans know about.
Unfortunately it's just due to the number of people. It's unlikely a random person could tell a difference between Polish and Russian, much less Ukrainian and Russian.