421–427 of 427 posts
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Why? That's a very mild way to put it. Entire generations of people were robbed of freedoms and natural progress of their society. Most of Central and Eastern Europe will catch up with the rest by around 2040-2050. Moldova will be lucky if they recover and reach parity even this century.
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I am a Croat and no, we dont describe them as Vodka, nor are we aware that people call them Vodka. The beverage you linked is not rakija, and it’s not even similar. Rakija is made from grapes, Vodka from potatoes. We don’t have enough potatoes to throw away
Specifically in Polish "wódka" (vodka) historically could describe any alcohol-based fluid, be it drinks, perfume or topical medication, so I guess it's this broader term that's used here.
Similarly, whiskey means "water of life". Alchemists had aqua vitae, in Latin, with the same meaning, and the French eau-de-vie.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/vodka>
https://www.etymonline.com/word/whiskey>
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Yes, the population of Moldova was enslaved, put into reservations or exploited. About 90,000 people were arrested, executed, deported, or placed under forced labour conscription during the first year of Soviet occupation alone. About 30,000 of these were forcefully interned in June 1941 alone, and forcefully relocated either to labour camps or to controlled settlements which they were not allowed to leave. This is r…
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No, you, as the Soviet authorities did, keep misrepresenting colonial policies of forced labour, mass deportation, forced internment, forced language policies, and many others, specifically devised to pursue, establish and maintain control and exploitation of people and of resources, the very definition of colonialism, as "repressions against anti-communists".
That's what you've been doing for this whole thread: claiming that these things did not happen, and when it was pointed out that they did, in fact, happen, backpedalled to insist they can't have been colonial policies because Soviet authorities called them by some other names. Western colonial powers called them by other names, too, that doesn't stop us from labeling them as colonial policies.
I'm going to stop this poor-taste "debate" here. I understand your need to defend your political views and I take no issue with that, it happens at both ends of the spectrum. Western liberalism has considerable difficulty reconciling its current human rights policy with its past human rights record, too.
But we'll keep going in circles here: you're going to ask me for another instance of colonial policy from the Soviet Union, I'm going to point one out, you're going to say oh, but that wasn't a colonial policy of the government in Moscow, that was mass repression against anti-communists (as if there isn't a whole history of mass repression against anti-government and/or pro-independence groups in Western colonies), or part of the five-year plan to improve agricultural output (as if there isn't a whole history of, at the very least, deliberate withholding of resources against colonial population, if not outright use of hunger as an instrument of repression), or part of the Soviet educational policy or some other buzzword that Soviet press used.
Sure, Soviet practices were not identical to Western practices, they came from a completely different political tradition and were thoroughly informed by the Russian Empire's politically disastrous and much harsher colonial tradition. Colonialism, like all government policies, changed with time and varied with the government that pursued it. Nothing new here.
But all colonial governments developed their own euphemisms for their practices, and I'm all too familiar with the Soviet array, studying it was literally part of my work at one point. I really don't need a refresher on it.
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> my 15-countries 2-week solo road trip That's barely a day in each country. Why the speedrun?
For me that was a pretty normal trip, 10th one (2nd one in this year) planned like this. About 6 hours a day of driving, total visited about 45 out of 52 planned points. For example I don't understand people who go to a beach and spend half a day there, I go, swim for 30 minutes, and I'm out. Same for any other attraction. How long should I spend on a beautiful viewpoint in Greek mountains? For me it's a stop, take p…
> For example I don't understand people who go to a beach and spend half a day there
I think beach days may be similar to your "something about sleeping in a car in -15°C (5F) that's just amazing". Some people really enjoy the sound of the ocean, the warm air, and the occasional dip. There's also just the social aspect of being outside with your family or friends and feeling that heat.
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> You keep misrepresenting repressions against anti-communists as colonization. No, you, as the Soviet authorities did, keep misrepresenting colonial policies of forced labour, mass deportation, forced internment, forced language policies, and many others, specifically devised to pursue, establish and maintain control and exploitation of people and of resources, the very definition of colonialism, as "repressions aga…
Anything on the scale of what they have done in their colonies?
"part of the five-year plan to improve agricultural output (as if there isn't a whole history of, at the very least, deliberate withholding of resources against colonial population, if not outright use of hunger as an instrument of repression)"
You are missing the point again -- unlike the USSR, western colonial powers didn't do that to their own people.
"or part of the Soviet educational policy"
I have already gave you the link to korenization.
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I don't care about governments, I born and living here. Those who don't like that can go fck themselves.
That's why your pointing guns at your neighbors... cause you were born "there" but don't like people "over there" and you think you should take their place?
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> Nah, just don't break their laws, it's pretty simple. Merely opening this link [1] would send you into trouble irrespective of whether you are local or a tourist. This is the chatbot of an opposition media in exile, FYI. There is for sure a law under which you will be prosecuted. [1] https://t.me/nextamail_bot
As I said, don't break their laws. When in Rome...