Imagine calling the country that defeated the nazis, nazis.

Let me get real with you: there are better mentors and inspirations than wannabe hitler, trust me.

Your source: "Trust me bro"

My source: my own experience. If your mentor is a *looks at paper* dictator (among other things), you base your personality and look up to bad people, you will be miserable. Cool, that’s enough of my genuine life advice, back to whatever argument.

And which dictator do I supposedly idolise?

The one we are currently discussing: Putin.

Putin? A democratically elected leader is a dictator?

First of all, dictator does not inherently imply that they entered office undemocratically, second of all, Russia has less so election now and more so performances from Putin. They’re rigged, if you couldn’t tell from my previous statement.

This is a really important point — leaders who first come to power democratically can abuse their power and turn a democracy into a dictatorship.

The first election that Putin won in 2000 was (mostly) free and fair. But Russia hasn’t had a free and fair election since. State media repeats the party line, alternative sources are shut down, independent journalists and NGOs are run off, “opposition parties” are co-opted with Kremlin cash, the real opposition is systematically destroyed, citizens who engage in wrongthink are fined or jailed or sent to die in Ukraine or fall mysteriously out of windows.

Same with Hitler. The Nazi Party didn’t win a majority in 1932, but did win the largest share of votes of any German Party. From there on out under Hitler, elections were cancelled.

Multiple other countries have transitioned less dramatically in and out of democracy and dictatorship, including many in Latin America and Europe, and some famous ones in Asia (Taiwan and South Korea are democracies, but pretty recent ones).

It's scary how much it sounds like your describing my countries government.

It’s really sad that you think this. It’s really sad you’ve gotten so alienated from your country, one of the freest in the world, that you would think that.

There are so many living in the world today who would give anything to trade places with you. Or with me. Free, prosperous, warm, with full bellies, and the ability to put their kids to bed at night without much fear.

Certainly, the young Russian man who got a knock on the door this year, ripped from his family, then shipped off to freeze and starve and die in a trench somewhere in Eastern Ukraine would trade places.

People throw around the term “decadence” in political contexts these days without considering the dictionary definition.

The essence of decadence is taking what you have for granted. In this case, life’s most precious and valuable things: Freedom, security, prosperity. Overindulging in the culture war outrage-du-jour and losing sight of the big picture.

By that definition, you’re the most decadent of all. Out of everyone who posts and comments around here, you’re the perfect picture of Western decadence and decline.

Not those other people you like to point the finger at.

No. You.

Indeed, if we were all like you, if we all priced our freedom so cheaply, we would lose it all.

Why would any country admit to being corrupt.

Here I'll put it simply for you since you seem to lack basic information gathering skills.

Ask the Russian government how they operate and look at their websites and documents.

Then go compare it to as many other sources as you can (Both critical and supportive).

Then come to a reasonable conclusion from the information gathered. In other worlds, switch your brain on before putting your mouth into motion.

Make sense?

Nono, that’s not how it works friend. You don’t get to provide one source, one incredibly biased source, and leave the rest up to me. That’s not the point of providing a source lol. Try again.

If all my other sources fail to intrigue then I can only offer you this source:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/

If you're just going to dismiss every source I present you then what's the point in me continuing trying to convince you why Russia is justified.

I'm not going to just confirm your biases through state department propaganda and blow smoke up your ass. If you can't handle different sources then that's you're problem.

Russia will will win, one way or the other.

Source:
https://files.catbox.moe/mw8pd9.mp4

Okay, so let’s get this straight your sources so far have been:

The kremlin
Seemingly a podcast with no explanation that I have any means of checking if this is reliable.

Did you just click on the first link of google for “Russia propaganda”, try again.

I mean, you have yet to provide a source. Sounds kinda hypocritical ngl.

You wanted a source, I gave you one. Who better ask about the Russian Government than The Russian Government itself. Don't like the source? Tough.

Now, I'll ask again... What's your source for Putin being an unelected dictator?

In other words: you walked into a checkmate.

nah, I’m not going to explain to you why the kremlin is not a valid source of Russias corruption. I shouldn’t have to, but you don’t even seem to realize how deeply you just discredited everything you’ve said lmao.

Well there's no point giving you sources if you just dismiss anything that goes against your narrative.

You're beyond my help I'm afraid.

If the Russian government was corrupt, would they admit that?

Break it down for me how that made sense in your head

http://en.kremlin.ru/

That’s the actual kremlin you fool (in place of a rude word) 😂. Yeah that’s argument over, good night.