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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am Russian but have lived in the US for over a decade 
I still have family there so I visit regularly and have been going even after the invasion (it’s become much more expensive and cumbersome fyi)
My guess is that Russia will be Iran on steroids. A geriatric regime, extremely conservative and on the brink of dictatorship (but not to the extent of North Korea). The economy will be militarized (the so called mobilization economy), people won’t starve and will be able to move freely (finances permitting). However there will be no innovation and not much vibrancy if you know what I mean. However there is a rich legacy of kitchen cultural life from the soviet times, as well as post soviet cultural renaissance, so it not going to be all doom and gloom.
Yes there will be brain drain but also there will be a sufficient number of technically talented people who are believers and can keep the austere military economy afloat. And there is a certain taste for overcoming difficulties in the “genes” of the population. 
As for the war, it will be a slow churn, one step forward and two steps back. I feel bad for the annexed regions and their population. They will suffer no matter the outcome. 
Some parts of Russia might be under shelling too (some already are but I mean cities and not just Belgorod). 
Basically, there will be life but no one without ties to Russia will want to live a life like that. [/quote]

Interesting! Does your family have access to information or are they also blinded by the Russian propaganda machine? Do you enlighten them?
Also, do you think that the "overcoming difficulties" gene is still strong, especially after Western exposure and luxuries? Even with the youth? I'd think it'd be waning. [/quote]

You don't understand.  The Western exposure and luxuries were always available only to a minority of Russians, just like it's a minority in America that travels abroad regularly.

For those outside large urban centers, it's always been a slog. As one of my favorite Russian bloggers wrote shortly after the war, "congratulations, we probably won't see Vienna or Barcelona any time soon. Do you know how many Americans have ever seen either? Less than 10%, in all likelihood. Now, we'll be like Americans and vacation at the nearby lake. Enjoy." [/quote]

But a big difference is that here in America we can easily get access to all of the media as well as unvarnished information directly from the source, as opposed to strictly being spoonfed propaganda and information heavily screened, filtered and censored by Roskomnadzor.  And, we don't immediately get arrested for questioning or criticizing what we hear - or even just holding up a blank sign.[/quote]

To be completely honest, the range of acceptable opinions fit to print in the mainstream media in the US is very narrow.  Deplatforming dissent is the same as censorship.

You can access pretty much anything in Russia with a VPN.

[/quote]

I had said this upthread and this is truth but don’t even bother with the false equivalency. Most people in the US are not for Cancel Culture, and there is always a place to say the most extreme things here. Russia has real cancel culture and a lot more consequences for going against the mainstream or doing or saying anything “non-standard.” Have you been to Russia?
It was like this even ten years ago.

Some people who can use Telegram and VPNs get around censorship, yes, but there is a lot more societal conformity [/quote]

Most people may not be for Cancel Culture but most people are not the ones controlling access to platforms, mainstream media or tenured professorships.  You are deluding yourself if you think dissenting opinions in America have no bearing on your professional and social advancement.

Minority opinions in the US do exist but they are pushed out to marginalized platforms, and then they are blamed for being marginalized.

There is no equivalency with Russia, that's true, but let's get real about the extent of censorship in the US of A.  It's much more insidious because it's completely voluntary.[/quote]

I don't even know where to start with this mess of a commentary.  It's often the people yelling the loudest to complain about "cancel culture" who are trying to cancel the culture of others.  The American far right, while complaining about "cancel culture" is constantly trying to cancel LGBTQ people, Jews, immigrants and refugees and anyone who can't speak English well, cancel anyone who dares to point out actual instances of racism, and so on.  And they fail to understand that this supposed "culture war" is in large part corporate driven - not that corporations are run by ideologues...  in fact, most corporations are amoral, and only care about money.  The problem comes in when, for example, people use their platform to spew anti-semitic screeds.  Nick Fuentes, as an example.  He was unbanned from Twitter by Elon Musk, but in less than 24 hours managed to get himself banned again by saying the Jews committed the 9/11 attack, and praising Hitler.  And meanwhile, the platforms advertisers pull back because the audience doesn't like that stuff.  So, they get "marginalized" to fringe platforms full of other antisemites and conspiracy theorists.  But the far right then doubles down, and attacks the advertisers, to try to make them look like the bad guys, and try to add them to the "cancel" lists along with the hundreds of others previously added, like Nike, Yeti, NFL, and so on.  The far right is CONSTANTLY "canceling" all the while complaining about "cancel culture."  That is the deepest irony.  [/quote]

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