I posted two months ago that I had left the US to... somewhere. Well, it was Belarus. Because my mom is from here. So there's that. I'm just one smol human bean with vicious brain worms, but I'd be happy to answer questions about/from the perspective of this point on the Google Maps before we're disconnected by the Iron Curtain 2.0.
(It's evening here, I have a few hours, but if I don't answer your question I'll get back to it tomorrow I promise (unless it's redundant/silly/makes me mad lol))
E: I'm going to bed but I'll answer any new questions when I'm up, as promised.
Juan Guaido walks around the world. Frontiers cannot bar him.
I would have thought you’d be in Warsaw. Seems like the bogota for Kiev
Hexbear is hosted on an old laptop in the GRU headquarters. Belorussians will have free access
i shall be spreading my word of love, peace, and kartoshka as long as i live
Why would China ban Hexbear? They’re our biggest supporter on Patreon :weihua:
Thanks. No she's not taken seriously by any meaningful number of people. Shes a gift to Lukashenko (who let her flee to either Poland or Lithuania, I don't remember, after the protests, at her request the rumor even goes). Either way, she is even more embarrassing than Guaido, she can't speak properly, she does not understand politics, so she's a total embarrassment and just discredits the pro-western opposition. They are now (the pro-western opposition) fighting among themselves viciously, being complete failures and unable to influence anything in Belarus from abroad, and denouncing her in the process. Understandably. A complete failure to deliver.
Lukashenko playing 3D chess releasing the most embarrassing opposition leader to completely discredit the movement :galaxy-brain:
My mom makes the meanest borscht. Unlike Ukrainian, it usually has no meat here. Cabbage is also optional for some reason, that I do not understand at all
I've never had it with meat and the thought of that is strange to me, but no expert me. Sounds delish
I had it both ways but do prefer meatless. There's something aesthetically disturbing about chunks of meat floating in a blood red liquid.
Is Lukanhesko serious about helping Russia because he believes that Putin will resurrect the USSR and make him a colonel? Even if that was a joke it’s incredibly weird to make it during the buildup of a crisis. Do Belorussians actually like him?
There was some funny talk long time ago about reuniting Belarus and Russia so that Lukashenko can be the new president of the whole thing after all Putin mandates expire. But that's not gonna happen, these times are long gone, and maybe that was a joke too. No one's talking abt resurrecting the USSR here (welp), that's the US military business. Real prole Belarusians like Lukashenko a lot, the working professions, not office managerial stuff. Elderly population who get pensions too for the most part. My guess is 30% of Belausians are hardcore Lukashenko. Some 50%+ vote for him, the rest is a mixed bag. Those numbers will grow again now, as they did in 2014, as people are looking at what's happening in Ukraine.
Interesting. Western media had me believe that Lukashenko was on the verge of being overthrown because most of the country was protesting. You said that no one is talking about about the USSR there. Is there any nostalgia for it at all like Russia? Do people think their lives are better now or better under socialism?
He was a bit on the verge of being overthrown back in 2020 indeed, when peaceful protests suddenly turned not so peaceful. Then he did an Allende but better and also lived. Actually Belarus never rejected its Soviet past, unlike Russia even, and that's why we have very good relations with China too. There's a giant Lenin statue in my hometown, and there's one in every person's hometown here. There was never such a rabid neoliberal period in BY as it was in RU under Yeltsin. There is generally nostalgia abt the Soviet past in the ex-USSR countries, and now that shit is hitting the fan I suspect it will intensify. Or not. Ppl born in the 90s obviously haven't experienced that past, and they haven't really been taught about it either.
Holy shit I’ve never seen that image of him lmao. Is he carrying an M4? :bern-disgust:
Thanks for the insights. I’m curious what the next wave of communism will look like over there. But considering you said that basic needs are provided, it doesn’t seem like there would be any reason to revolt for now.
AKS-47U. On the one hand, the Communist party is the 2nd most powerful and largest party here. On the other, here it's not even China, as far as communism is concerned. In practice, maybe, it's a very social govt, but ideologically no one is trying to build a communist paradise here. It's about 50/50 state vs private enterprise, which is still very good, but it's spurred by necessity rather than Marx or Lenin. Lukashenko mourns the demise of the USSR very much though, so there's that. It's very pragmatic, very practical, rather than ideological here.
oh shit are those combat bib overalls? i need some of those
I know Russian media has pretty consistently said Ukraine won't respond to requests for negotiation and Western media says that's propoganda. What's the view over there? Is Ukraine being obstinate or is Russia lying and just wants to continue to fight? Do they think negotiation will happen over there?
Re Belarus specifically, Lukashenko advocated for peace negotiations, like it happened in 2015, he calls for Minsk-3. He is earnest about this. Not only because that happened before already and because that'd be good for his reputation, but also because Belarus generally takes a very careful still not hostile to Ukraine approach (not that Russia is hostile to Ukrainian non-combatants but still), in state media too. But that's not gonna happen anymore.
Generally, not-Belarus specific, since I've been reading a lot of Russian-language military reports, the narrative is like you say, and more specifically: Russia advances, takes a little pause, and waits for the Ukraine govt to respond to their demands (negotiations, Ukr military stands down, etc, capitulation basically); Initially, Ukr side did start talking, then refused to do the talks in Minsk, then suggested to do it in Warsaw, then just stopped responding; Russian forces advance again, take a pause; Ukr govt says "no we won't do it on your terms, if you want to talk do it on our terms"; resulting in the current full speed advancement of Russian forces atm.
Truth dies 1st during a war. And information warfare has become so much part of war. But so far, it's been mostly silence from the Russian official side re what's going on, and there's been a lot of really juvenile propaganda from the Ukrainian officials, including footage from a video game ( that even Reuters had to admit was false) . So all cards on the table I trust the Russian side much more, especially since I, as a Slav, don't want what's been happening in Ukraine to come here. But I'd also just honestly suggest to take a nap for those uninvolved, or if ppl really must know, to not believe any text without evidence, to check if footage had already been posted before but is attributed to be about something else etc etc. It's just not possible to know anything for sure atm.
Is there a given reason why Ukraine won't respond? Does Lukashenko still have a lot of sway with Ukraine?
No official sway or any sway atm. Ukraine even imposed some sanctions on BY before EU did in 2021. Zelensky is a Western puppet. Ukraine never had bad blood with Belarus before him, even during Poroshenko, who was also pro-Western. Regular Ukrainians, the closer they live to the Belarusian borders, the more they respect Lukashenko.
It's extremely irresponsible that Zelensky doesn't negotiate. In Kiyev, they gave arms to everyone who wanted, around 20k units, there's been maraudering and lots of friendly fire last night. It makes no sense. As if someone gave Ukr govt an order to increase the chaotization of the situation as much as possible. Or hZelensky is incredibly disinformed. Or he's a coward. Rumor has it he'd fled from Kiyv to Lviv and those messages from him that'd been coming from Kiyv are pre-recorded. It is also said that's he's being "defended" by the nazi forces in Lviv. If that's true (and those people have nothing to lose at the moment obviously) it could be that they had threatened Zelensky to say these things or else. But I'm just speculating. Whatever it is, it's nuts. Ukr official channels have been suggesting regular people go fight Russian tanks. (For the media picture, of course.)
this whole thing seems like US/NATO are sacrificing Ukrainians to force Putin/Russia to look like butchers, as far as I'm understanding of this situation (fog of war), Russia's slow advance towards Kyiv shows they are trying to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible. Compare that to USA response when an American solider gets killed, they just start bombing the town into rubble.
Zelensky and Ukraine as been played as the sacrificial lamb, they kept poking the Russans thinking that US/Nato had their back militarily.
that's my take too. Biden admin loves to say every day on the TV that the US army won't fight for Ukraine bc that'd mean a war with Russia. what they imply is that they're perfectly happy to fight a proxy war with Russia down to the last Ukrainian
As if someone gave Ukr govt an order to increase the chaotization of the situation as much as possible
Hey where have I seen this before :joe-ligotti:
True. Whatever the story Zelensky doesn't come out of it looking good.
Thanks for the insights! Stay safe
I am sorry about that footage it seemed very real to me and I have apologized to Ukrainian governments.
It's really hard to gauge. I was taking a walk the other day and there were two grannies passing by, one said to the other: "We truly do live in interesting times!" lol. There was a military equipment exhibition today, which happens every year at this time, and on one local online portal 60-70% of comments were that that's inappropriate atm, and the rest that "all the kids know these days is how to dodge the draft". But generally, Belarusians have very deep ties with both Russians and Ukrainians, very often familial ties, so I think there's also just a lot of confusion here because of that. It'll tear some friends/families apart for sure.
they are fucking GIANT for some reason. or tiny and crooked. I don't get it either 🤔 unwashed carrots are so much cheaper than the washed and packaged ones though
Can you send me a crate of Soviet champaign before you get put behind an iron curtain 2.0?
I once sent two (plastic!) bottles of Snapple from the US to Germany for sentimental-friendly purposes, and that was like $40. Couldn't even imagine what shipping a crate of sparkly good would go for. Cocaine 2.0? Perchance...
Hope you stay safe with everything going on right now! Have you had a chance to travel and see the country while you've been there? What is the most scenic part of Belarus?
(Google Maps? that's for libs, all the real leftists use OpenStreetMap... 😀 )
Thank you. BY is pretty plain, landscape-wise. No mountains, nothing too dramatic. But a bunch of old ass castles. Or, say, the Brest fortress , where the Nazi invasion started for the USSR in 1941.
I remember Bald and Bankrupt, a travel vlogger that goes through post soviet states, showing video of all these bright blue monuments in like every Belorussian village or city. And you can just read through the names of entire families of men who took up the cause against the Nazis and became partisans or served in the Red Army. Just entire villages wiped out.
I think he actually ended up marrying or at least staying for a long time with a Belarusian girl from Minsk, there in Minsk. But him going to those tiny abandoned villages close to Chernobyl, that was really something
How is the economic situation in Belarus? If bad, do you think people blame COVID, the west or the government?
Is the media in line with the Russian state line on the war?
How is the economic situation in Belarus?
Belarus is a "moderately-developed" country according to various Western rating agencies. The rich-poor divide is rather narrow, compared to many other countries. Which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, there are very rich people here too (Belarus never allowed Russian-style oligarchs, and they don't control the govt). But it also means that there are very few homeless, health care is socialized and free (you gotta pay for some stuff, but it's affordable for the majority of people), utilities are subsidized, pensions are guaranteed to all (depending on your work experience though) etc etc. So what you get in the end is that the majority of people lives more or less modestly (compared to the US standards) but there is almost no one left behind. The highest salaries here rn are in the IT, it's booming. And people who protest the govt the most are these people too, the petit bourgeois, if you please.
If bad, do you think people blame COVID, the west or the government?
Covid closed a lot of businesses here, like everywhere else. So there was an increased wave of discontent because of that. But in my experience covid-blame is not a developed narrative here. Ppl here generally have a deeply rooted habit to blame the govt for even the smallest thing, thanks to all the Western NGOs and narratives too, but still, yeah, at least in my circles ppl love to complain abt the govt (but I'm not representative, it can be a bubble, by various ests rn I feel 30% firmly support the govt, 10-20 firmly oppose, and the rest just love to complain, it's a kind of Slav way of talking to one another anyway). I'd say very few ppl I know blame the West outright (fools lol, we're under so many western sanctions).
Is the media in line with the Russian state line on the war?
Not entirely. It's kind of the same as it was when Crimea got annexed. It's Russia-friendly in general, but there are anti-war calls (including from prez), no official recognition of Russian claims etc. It's more Russia friendly now though. And among pundits even more friendly. There is talk of the "New Eurasia": goodbye to the West, enough trying to follow that, it's bankrupt, the future is Belarus-Russia-China (Iran-India etc etc).
Ppl here generally have a deeply rooted habit to blame the govt for even the smallest thing, thanks to all the Western NGOs and narratives too
Lol, I can tell you are a Westerner since that's been a thing as long as Slavs have been alive. No attack on you
I have spent half of my life in the US. And for the three quarters of that I'd been a rabid lib. So fair.
