Alexei Navalny dead

[Mr Kobayashi]

Has he gone to live on collective farm?

 

[Iassel]

He was the complete opposite of that filthy little gangster nonce hiding in the Kremlin.

I mean not really….he still openly held some pretty ‘questionable’ beliefs and was clear that Ukraine was Russia and fully supported the Crimea annexation.

 

[Iassel]

A very good and well-considered post. But I actually wonder what kind of Russia people think would have existed with Navalny in charge. I'm not sure that it would have been any less corrupt than now, nor do I think that evidence exists to show that Russia would have embarked upon a different foreign policy.

I mean for a country as deeply entrenched in dictatorship as Russia the reality is that you cannot just replace Putin with a full democracy, fully aligned with ‘the west’. It’s going to take a generation or two to get to that.

Navalny most likely would’ve been much more closely aligned with ‘the west’ or at least much more open to working together, but undoubtedly the corruption would have just been marginally different to today. The Russian system has been built to support corruption and arguably even needs it to function, you can’t just rip that apart overnight.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

I mean for a country as deeply entrenched in dictatorship as Russia the reality is that you cannot just replace Putin with a full democracy, fully aligned with ‘the west’. It’s going to take a generation or two to get to that.

Navalny most likely would’ve been much more closely aligned with ‘the west’ or at least much more open to working together, but undoubtedly the corruption would have just been marginally different to today. The Russian system has been built to support corruption and arguably even needs it to function, you can’t just rip that apart overnight.

Constructed as broken from the outset. Repair not nearly as easy as hoped.
Throw in the constant propaganda of strength and economic power and even the oppressed end up against common sense reforms of the broken system.

Quandary.

Perestroika & Gorbachev seem like they were part of a movie or mini-series from the good old days!

 

[KS55]

I mean for a country as deeply entrenched in dictatorship as Russia the reality is that you cannot just replace Putin with a full democracy, fully aligned with ‘the west’. It’s going to take a generation or two to get to that.

Navalny most likely would’ve been much more closely aligned with ‘the west’ or at least much more open to working together, but undoubtedly the corruption would have just been marginally different to today. The Russian system has been built to support corruption and arguably even needs it to function, you can’t just rip that apart overnight.

Navalny believed Ukraine was part of Russia but I doubt he approved of the invasion.

 

[mackenzie]

Navalny believed Ukraine was part of Russia but I doubt he approved of the invasion.

I think he was anti war. With the elections due I don't think Putin wants any of that kind of talk.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

And some people want us to negotiate with these murdering cunts.

They simply cannot be trusted. It really is as straightforward as that and should be the absolute starting point of any negotiations.

 

[John Wayne]

I mean for a country as deeply entrenched in dictatorship as Russia the reality is that you cannot just replace Putin with a full democracy, fully aligned with ‘the west’. It’s going to take a generation or two to get to that.

Navalny most likely would’ve been much more closely aligned with ‘the west’ or at least much more open to working together, but undoubtedly the corruption would have just been marginally different to today. The Russian system has been built to support corruption and arguably even needs it to function, you can’t just rip that apart overnight.

The chance for this to happen was at the end of the USSR in 1991. That was an opportunity missed by the West.

I'm also not completely convinced that Navalny was pro-West either. He supported the military intervention in Georgia in 2008 and didn't seem to have a coherent foreign policy to the extent that he was decidedly more pro-Western. The following book is a good read for anyone interested further:

 

[Scottyboi]

I think he was anti war. With the elections due I don't think Putin wants any of that kind of talk.

His other rival wanted the war to stop so they have banned him from running on some bullshit claim of fraudulent signatures on his paperwork. Bet he is scared of touching any door handles himself now.

 

[John Wayne]

And some people want us to negotiate with these murdering cunts.

They simply cannot be trusted. It really is as straightforward as that and should be the absolute starting point of any negotiations.

Do you say the same about Saudi Arabia?