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Kamil Galeev Profile picture
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Feb 1 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Many observers see Putin as an aberration, some unfortunate deviation from normality. I disagree. Watch this excerpt from Yeltsin - Jiang Zemin meeting in Beijing, December 1999. You can see:

- Nuclear blackmail
- "Multi-polar world" rhetorics
- Attempted alignment with China
Putin is not deviation from normality. He is just another stage of *return* to normality that started before him. Modern Russian regime was shaped to its current form around 1996-1997:

- Restoration of state security
- Re-militarization
- Crony oligarchy

Return to normality
In pretty much of its worst aspects the Putin's rule is only continuing the trends that had been set before and were very much visible by 1996-1997. Putin is just the logical continuation of late Yeltsin. Putin has been only perfecting the model casted long before his ascension Image
When it comes to the military buildup, Putin has been only continuing the late Yeltsin policies. The buildup started in 1997 with *very* limited resources. When Putin came to power, he changed little to nothing. He:

1) took solutions tried by those before him
2) scaled them up Image
Will elaborate later

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More from @kamilkazani

Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 30
Empire and colonies: an introduction

1. Russia imposes Communism in Czechia

2. Making it difficult to impossible to function without paying lip service to the Communist shibboleths

3. Now Russians are criticising Czechs for having paid the lip service to the said shibboleths
It’s *extremely* important. Colonies are always guilty, always tainted, always rightfully punished and disciplined by the empire. They never have a right to question the empire. If they resisted it, they’re guilty of resisting. If they complied, they’re guilty of compliance
Paradoxically enough, all the subjects being guilty, forever tainted by their past and having no right to raise the voice is *critically* important for the existence of the empire. It’s not based on everyone being “good”. It’s based on everyone being guilty -> having no rights
Read 4 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 29
Regarding @navalny's hate propaganda record, you can believe either:

a) an honest "this is all Russian propaganda" @UChicago Professor @k_sonin
b) your own shameless eyes

The choice is yours
Daily reminder that the current reputation of @navalny and his team results from the massive whitewashing by the a) Moscow b) Western media, who either failed to question him or chose not to. As a result, he got away with the most insane, easily verifiable lies. Like this one:
This is the cockroach video, existence of which @navalny denied. Based on these two videos you can:

a) see standard navalnist tactics when dealing with *any* criticism (denial, ad hominem, smear)
b) make your own judgement on integrity of Navalny and journalists whitewashing him
Read 4 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 27
What you miss here is that @navalny *is* apres moi, for very, very many. I am yet to meet a Chechen who would view him anywhere positively, for example. Plenty of people highly critical (to say the least) of both Kadyrov's and Putin's regime view @navalny as a big threat
It is very wrong to presume that the Twitter/media representation reflect the real distribution of opinions (or of the broadly understood leverage).
@navalny's ultranationalist propaganda may have little consequences here on Twitter. It does have real life consequences though
You can play "If you do not support us, you are Putinist/Kadyrovite!" game with the Twitter midwits. Again, this trick doesn't work in the real life. People not being represented in media does not mean you can safely ignore their opinion in the times of impending political crisis
Read 4 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 27
Very good point. Concerns of the ethnic Asian/Muslim population are:

a) dismissed by the Russian "liberals"
b) ignored by the Western media

The reasons for (a) are too obvious. (b) happens because the targeted demographics have nearly zero representation in the Anglophone space
Since the targeted demographics have almost zero public platform, the Western media are sincerely unaware that their perspectives do even exist. This is a major factor behind the outrageous perspective laundering we are witnessing today
Accusing any critics of being "Putinist" is largely a preparation for their next move - which is shift the blame for Putinism on *minorities*, once they take power

(They're already doing this btw. Will give details in next thread)
Read 7 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 25
Forgive me @leonidvolkov, but you need to:

a) first, take power
b) *then* be calling for tribunals over your critics

Once in Kremlin, you can jail whomever misfortunate enough to be within your reach. Until then you need to:

1) make *specific* accusations
2) provide evidence
Daily reminder

@navalny'st tactic when facing *any* criticism is:

a) ad hominem attack against their critic
b) some made up lie about him or her

(a) doesn't surprise me at all. It is (b) that is amazing

Can @leonidvolkov provide any evidence for the payroll claim for example?
If you can't prove your claim, then why making it all? Be vague, produce some insinuation that doesn't require much proof (as it contains no statement of fact). You can take example from a few Western academicians, who are smart enough to be vague in their smear

Why can't you?
Read 4 tweets
Kamil Galeev Profile picture
Jan 22
The biggest myth about @navalny's sucession is:

Navalny's succession -> the war stops

In reality Navalny's succession can happen only *after* the Russian military defeat. It's not that they want (or can) stop the war. It's them aiming to save & reboot system *after* the defeat
That's what many (clueless) Westerners aren't getting. "@Navalny team may not be perfect, but at least they'll stop the war". No, it's the other way around. They can't and are not going to stop the war. What they could do is to capitalise on the impending Russian defeat
Once again, they are not bringing the Russian military defeat closer, but want to capitalise on it. Therefore, the @navalny movement should be discussed into the context of the endgame. What is the *positive* scenario for when this war ends?
Read 8 tweets

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