Comment on Russian Dreams of De-Dollarization Stutter as Chinese Banks Threaten To Cut Off Putin’s Only Remaining Economic Lifeline

• SamsonSeinfelder@feddit.de ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  That is not true. Russia never tried to join NATO. Putin just had a talk in the beginning of his reign with NATO heads about joining, but it was never publicly debated in russia and never applied officially.

  Putin said: ‘When are you going to invite us to join Nato?’ And [Robertson] said: ‘Well, we don’t invite people to join Nato, they apply to join Nato.’ And he said: ‘Well, we’re not standing in line with a lot of countries that don’t matter.’”

  After the orange revolution in 2004 in ukraine and the protests for more democracy in 2007 in Moscow, Putin was very angry and offended by his own citizens. By many journalists accounts, after those protests Putin developed a strong distrust and grudge against his own citizens and was most likely the tipping point of his authoritarian alignment to china.

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• benjhm@sopuli.xyz ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  There was talk, back in 1990s (iirc?) of europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok. I think it’s a pity we missed that opportunity. I’ve crossed the Russian-Chinese border on a few occasions, years ago, back then it felt culturally that was a european border. Now, the way it’s going, seems more likely Siberia will end up attached to China.
  (by the way, wrt OP, China has many many banks…)

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