China is actually quite independent from the US, and we have recent conclusive proof of that when Trump tried doing a trade war. Turns out, exports to the US are a tiny part of Chinese economy now. And I don’t know why you think China needs microchips from Taiwan when they have chip production entirely on the mainland. I think you need to spend a bit of time to actually research this subject because you’re very much misinformed here. https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2026/5/ieee-iscas-tau-scaling

Comrade, this symposium was held in May, and the topic discussed was “A New Path for the Development of the Semiconductor Industry in Practice.”

The key phrase was “New Path.”

This is from open sources:

“Taiwan produces significantly better and more technologically advanced chips than mainland China. The island is home to TSMC, which controls over 90% of the global market for the most advanced and commercially successful chips. China is rapidly closing the gap and dominating other segments, but Taiwan still retains technological leadership. What is the difference between chip production in Taiwan and China? Technological level: Taiwan mass-produces the most advanced processors using process technologies of 3 nanometers (nm) and below for Apple, Nvidia, and AMD. China (represented by SMIC) has struggled to master 7-nm and 5-nm processes, which are more expensive to produce and have a much higher defect rate. Access to equipment: Taiwan has free access to unique ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners from the Dutch company ASML. Sales of such machines to China are completely blocked due to US sanctions, which is hindering its development. Development. Advanced chip production: Taiwan holds an absolute monopoly on processors for artificial intelligence, data centers, and flagship smartphones.”

China does not yet have the technology to overtake Taiwan.

https://mskgazeta.ru/obshchestvo/kak-vozmozhnoe-protivostoyanie-knr-i-tajvanya-povliyaet-na-razvitie-ii-16020.html

by the way https://xcancel.com/upholdreality/status/2067629274765394368

Yes, but Margarita Simonyan is Solovyov, only in a skirt. As they say in the West, she’s a mouthpiece for the Kremlin…))) They won’t say anything bad about China on official Russian channels close to the Kremlin, I can tell you for sure – it’s taboo! They say the same things about China there that they say here.

They’re all raving about China these days.

Read it here

https://alfabank.ru/alfa-investor/posts/t/e04dd1d4-f454-f111-91c6-0050569e1fd0/

I don’t think anybody takes what Trump says seriously at this point. He’ll say one thing than another, it literally changes day to day. What matters is that the US is exhausted now. They just lost a major war against Iran, their weapons stocks are depleted, and China has them by the balls. So, Trump is doing a bit of posturing right now, but it’s not going to translate into anything material because the coffers are empty.

As we expected, Bibi won’t allow the war to end, as that would mean the end of his career. Negotiations have broken down.

And I can’t see Russia taking out the bridges because it’s almost certain they plan to use them. The goal of the Europeans is to provoke a big reaction right now so they can rally their public. The support for the war is at all time low in Europe right now, so they’re trying to put pressure on Putin to do something big to start scaring people how Russians are coming for them.

They started destroying bridges across the Dnieper in the south. Where supplies come from Romania.

They turned on our hot water. Just so you understand, before the war, we never had hot water in the summer. The last time we had hot water in the summer was under the USSR. I still don’t understand how they do it. By the way, they bombed Thermal Power Plant 5 again yesterday, and the lights were flickering.

The support for the war is at all time low in Europe right now, so they’re trying to put pressure on Putin to do something big to start scaring people how Russians are coming for them.

Yes, there’s a massive propaganda campaign on TV, along with strikes deep into Russia. Yes, it’s putting pressure on ordinary people in Russia. This will continue for several more months.

By the way, let’s get back to our long-suffering sheep.

A Chinese proposal for interceptor drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces has leaked online. These aren’t even dual-use items anymore. And you’re saying someone’s going to run out of something…)))) If it all goes wrong, the Chinese will help…)))))

This infuriates me so much, Comrade!

China is so mired in this capitalist shambles, where profit is king, that it’s disgusting to watch.

And China won’t sever relations with the US, just as the US won’t sever relations with China. Too much is tied to it, involving enormous mutual risks.

The US is imposing tariffs on Chinese goods. No, China isn’t offended by stopping supplying these goods; China is circumventing the sanctions by reselling the goods to the US through Mexico.

Artemov explains everything correctly, and reading his book really helped me see how American propaganda machine works a lot more clearly. The direct inspiration from the nazis and the evolution of the narrative was very interesting to read about as well.

This vile lie was exposed back in the USSR. Then the USSR collapsed, and we were forced to believe this nonsense again!!!

I think Stalin was largely correct in what he did, the problem was that he left a system which failed to ensure strong leadership going forward. A stable social system can’t depend on a single strong willed individual being in charge and making the right calls. Continuity of competent governance, especially in time of plenty is the hardest problem to solve in my opinion.

Yes, this is something Mao did better than Stalin.

I think the reason is that Stalin was much more powerful than his comrades; everything rested on that, on Stalin’s authority. As soon as Stalin was gone, intra-party squabbling began. Everyone was trying to take over. No one was found who could replace Stalin and continue his work. Stalin’s legacy was simply squandered!

Also, don’t know if you saw, but American media has now realized DPRK is doing rather well. https://archive.ph/b9zrS

Yes, I recently discussed this with a Marxist friend of ours here.

For me, if the Wall Street Journal writes something like this, there’s something fishy about it.))))

Just recently they wrote that Kim is machine-gunning his opponents… )))

oh and just ran across this https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202605/19/WS6a0c0718a310d6866eb4976d.html

We definitely need to show this to our Chinese comrade… )))

Yes, I see, the trade turnover between the US and China alone is $700 billion.

The US is dearer to China’s heart than Russia… )))

Ten times more.

In fact: It turns out that China is much more dependent on the US than on Russia.

If you recall the economic crisis of 2008, China experienced it more painfully than the US.

This is what distinguishes China from the USSR, because the USSR wasn’t nearly as dependent on the West as China. No one could threaten the USSR with sanctions and the like, because it was all pointless! There was no such dependence on microchips from Taiwan. You have to admit, if China doesn’t have microchips from Taiwan, they won’t be able to produce competitive products. As far as I know, China doesn’t have such technology yet, because Taiwan has American technology.

I don’t think the crisis has been averted. It’s going to take a long time before energy prices get back to normal because restarting production can’t happen overnight. Just clearing the backlog of tankers in the gulf is going to take over a year. I also don’t see Israel stopping attacking Lebanon which means the fighting is likely to restart soon.

Trump wants to get out desperately, but he has no way out because Israel won’t play along. From Russian perspective it makes sense to play along though because it drives Europeans up the wall. And I don’t see what leverage he has left either.

Based on the results of the G7 forum, we see that everything is repeating itself again. Trump has once again been talked into a false sense of security by the European ghouls, along with Zelensky. And all of this is precisely connected to the strikes deep into Russia.

Trump has once again sided with Ukraine, and the narrative that Russia must leave the occupied territories has also begun to be heard again. Trump no longer wants peace.

Moscow was bombed again today; this will become a frequent occurrence. The drones that strike Russia using artificial intelligence are American Hornet drones, which the US is testing in Ukraine. Yesterday, such a drone hit a bus carrying Belarusian children who were on their way to the Black Sea for a vacation.

Regarding fuel, every country has reserves, and until these reserves are replenished, the price of oil will not fall. Yes, the price of oil will remain high for some time. That is, if the agreement is signed. Let’s wait until Friday.

And completely agree that strikes just serve to remind people in Russia why the war is necessary.

Right now, everyone in Russia is demanding radical measures from Putin. It’s understandable: Everyone’s talking about bridges across the Dnieper. They’re very upset that this hasn’t been done yet. This is what I see in Russian chats and war-related public groups. You understand that after the latest strikes on Moscow, the demands will become louder. No one could have imagined that the war would reach Moscow.

It does look like Russia is ramping up deep strike

In any case, the blows will be uneven, with the exception of the bridges across the Dnieper.

Russia will have to endure.

I saw a video just yesterday of some kid beating up TCK cause they took his dad. Yes, public is definitely starting to turn on them.

There’s a new trend now: a grandfather with a shovel)))

But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a recent incident in Kyiv where several hundred people confronted the TCC and the police. The police and the TCC fled. This is the first such mass incident in Kyiv.

He’s a very interesting author; I’ve never heard of him.

His books are still very relevant today.

https://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/A/ARTEMOV_Vladimir_L'vovich/_Artemov_V.L..html

We disagree on what constitutes socialism.

Yes, I base my argument on the Soviet model, while you base yours on the Chinese one.

The prevailing view is that the Chinese model is superior because it survived.

This leads us to a simple conclusion: there were things Mao managed to do that Stalin did not—actions that ultimately prevented the system’s collapse.

Mao built a rigid vertical power structure that has withstood Western attacks to this day; China held firm thanks to the foundations Mao laid.

In that sense, it is already not a predator.

Let’s break it down.

The fact is, the USSR did not engage in classic private foreign direct investment (FDI) because it lacked a market economy. Instead, it implemented large-scale state programs of economic and technical assistance. The USSR signed agreements with 37 countries and built around 600 industrial, energy, and infrastructure facilities.

That is what foreign economic relations between the USSR and other countries looked like—taking Africa as an example.

African nations did not pay in cash; instead, they used a barter system, supplying the USSR with goods produced in Africa that were unavailable in the Soviet Union. Similar economic arrangements existed with Cuba and the Warsaw Pact countries. Settlements were calculated using a notional unit of account.

Furthermore, the USSR exported socialism to each of these countries and subsequently provided unwavering support for that political system.

As for China: in my view, as long as capitalism remains a factor in foreign economic relations, that “aquarium” will be teeming with sharks! And it goes without saying—it is a rhetorical question—that those sharks couldn’t care less about socialism.

It is well on the socialist road, and while it has capitalists, they do not form a coherent political body.

I know you’re an optimist, Comrade—I’m not arguing with you!

I’m referring to someone whose own pessimism causes them to see negativity where there is no actual basis for it.

Yes, you described that guy accurately. And that’s hardly surprising, because in this world, he has no choice but to be a sociopath.

As for the idea that I might be talking nonsense—that’s unlikely; I have far too much practical life experience to spout complete rubbish. I’ve clawed my way to the top three times in my life, only to hit rock bottom again. Right now, I’m at the bottom once more. Would you be an optimist if you were in my shoes, Comrade? … ))) And please, don’t tell me that I’m the one to blame for it all, rather than the way life is set up!

I am an optimist, a revolutionary optimist.

You just got lucky, Comrade! I’m happy for you.

I was just like that once, too.

I have to hold onto hope to move forward, and do my best to temper that with sober and grounded analysis.

Yes, it’s Dostoevsky: The most terrible thing is when a person has nowhere to go. This quote reflects one of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s most haunting themes: the crushing despair of total alienation and the human necessity for purpose.

I very often fill gaps in my theoretical knowledge with personal experience—please forgive me for that!

I would also like to note that the interpretation of Marx’s theory in the USSR was somewhat simplified. For instance, the USSR acknowledged the existence of a primitive communal system but not the “Asiatic mode of production.” I only heard about the latter recently. I would like to highlight this aspect; perhaps the key to what is currently happening in China lies there.

Given that my knowledge of Marx’s theory is superficial—and considering that Marx did not outline a precise model for constructing socialism (his work was largely a theoretical analysis of capitalism and its consequences)—it is worth noting that philosophy never sets concrete tasks for the individual.

Regarding your view of Marx’s philosophy, I can also point out an inaccuracy. You state that Marx envisioned the construction of socialism only within the context of developed capitalism, based on highly advanced productive forces.

However, that is not entirely the case. In a letter to Vera Zasulich (dated March 8, 1881),

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Засулич,_Вера_Ивановна

Karl Marx stated that Russia could bypass the painful stage of capitalism. He emphasized that his theory was not a universal historical prescription and that the Russian peasant commune could, under certain conditions, become the nucleus of socialist development. Marx told Zasulich at the time that education was one of the most crucial factors in the possibility of bypassing the agonizing stage of capitalism.

The bottom line is this: Lenin and Trotsky supported the NEP, whereas Stalin sided with “Zasulich.” Stalin turned out to be entirely right, and he did not deviate from Marx’s theory by even a millimeter.

We talked about this before, lack of a good selection process that allowed people of low competence to get into positions of power and created a bureaucracy which was largely concerned with preserving itself rather than solving problems was the ultimate cause of the decline.

For some reason, I am convinced that Stalin would have sorted the situation out in a couple of years—it would have become 1937 all over again. Of course, for a long time afterward, people would have talked about how cruel Stalin was…

In essence, the situation in 1987 was the same as in 1937, when the Trotskyists crawled out into the open. And Trotskyists are essentially the same as kulaks and petty property owners.

By the way, I’d like to challenge your point about whether, according to Marx, a transition from feudalism to socialism is possible while bypassing the “agonies of capitalism.”

Yes, in his letter to Vera Zasulich dated March 8, 1881, Karl Marx did indeed allow for the possibility that Russia could transition to socialism by relying on its pre-capitalist institutions, thereby bypassing the capitalist stage.

Marx analyzed the socio-economic situation and concluded that the Russian rural commune (specifically the land-holding commune) could serve as a foothold for social renewal.

https://revarchiv.narod.ru/marxeng/tom19/marx_zasulitch.html

Therefore, Stalin acted precisely in accordance with Stalin’s own theory—the NEP in Russia could have been dispensed with! Both Marx and Stalin turned out to be right.

I wonder what Marx would have said about the possibility of building socialism in China. Although I’d ​​probably agree with you: China lacked the necessary foundation to skip over the NEP stage.

China was incredibly backward after the Opium Wars.

Look how great Europeans are living, look how much faster things develop under capitalism.

Trump has finally stirred into action, wanting to make America the way it was 40 years ago, but it is already too late. While Europe and the US were fleecing their own people and dismantling their industries, China was building. We see the result: there is no turning back.

Yup, that cartoon is ever green, and just as true as the day it was made.

Back then, they were just pictures to me; I didn’t take them seriously. But when events started unfolding in Ukraine… can you imagine? I immediately remembered those cartoons—and the scales fell from my eyes.

Exactly, there were just not thoughts people had back in USSR. It’s destruction was the biggest crime of the 20th century.

It’s all down to modern capitalist culture—a lifestyle where everyone is chasing profits and all sorts of sordid amusements. Drugs have also had a massive impact; they’ve poisoned all of Europe and the US. Wherever there are drugs, there is perversion. That’s exactly where that flood of “jolly guys” came from—the ones whose rights I’m suddenly supposed to care about. It’s all the drugs, I assure you!

You know yourself that the whole high-society crowd is hooked on cocaine. It’s very fashionable among them.

I really can’t see how relations with Europe could be restored at this point. There would have to be a revolution in Europe before that happens.

Yes, I agree; the EU looks relatively united right now. Trump has backed down, the global fuel crisis has been averted, and while there will be complications, they won’t be critical—unless Bibi sticks his long nose in again. Because, it seems to me, if the war ends, Netanyahu will be ousted. For him, just as for Zelensky, the end of the war spells political death.

And Trump has finally realized he can’t break Iran.

Trump is shifting his focus back to Ukraine. That “dynamic duo” will be heading to Moscow again.

I don’t get it—isn’t Putin tired of this? Flirting with Trump again, sending warm birthday wishes… The circus act is starting all over again. After his setback with Iran, Trump needs to do something before autumn: either secure peace in Ukraine, attack Cuba, or something similar. I think he’s lost his appetite for war after that last incident, so he’ll opt for “peace” in Ukraine. What leverage he’ll use this time, though, is unclear to me.

The G7 summit is taking place today, and—as always—Ukraine has crossed yet another red line. There was a massive strike on Moscow. This is bound to happen regularly from now on; things will only escalate.

Yes, given the unfavorable situation at the front, Ukraine has little choice but to resort to deep-strike attacks and terrorism as a countermeasure. However, this is unlikely to affect the actual frontline; it is aimed at the civilian population to sow fear and create hardships—financial and otherwise. That said, I believe Russia has been preparing for this since winter, back when the blocking of social media platforms began.

I suspect Putin won’t make any rash moves right now; he has made it clear that he is banking on developments on the ground—at the front. We shall see; perhaps he knows something more.

They openly stated that they’re going to be shuffling Syrsky out by fall, and it’s clear the directive is coming from the US. It could be that Americans are hoping to transition to something like Chechnya soon.

If we’re talking about Chechnya, it probably would have been better to make Budanov president and install a military government.

By the way, there has been a noticeable rise in public opposition to the TCK [military recruitment offices] recently. Something will have to be done about this in the foreseeable future, too. Incidents of mobs beating up TCK officers have become more frequent. I’m not saying this will necessarily lead to an uprising anytime soon, though. It’s just that TCK officers feel very uncomfortable in the city because everyone hates them—both Western and Eastern Ukrainians. It turns out that a common enemy unites both the “Banderites” and the Russian-speaking population of southeastern Ukraine. You can see it all on social media here. There is growing hatred directed at both Zelensky and the TCK. Even those who want Ukraine to win have come to hate Zelensky and the TCK. It’s like a parallel reality here. Everyone here—the ones with “pots on their heads”

https://youtu.be/H2Pratb_TNw?t=52

—seems to have developed bipolar disorder.

I used to say that being American isn’t a nationality, but a diagnosis—back when I listened to American politicians or watched CNN. It was nothing but contradictions. Now I see the same thing happening with Ukrainians. I’ve now fully realized from personal experience what American propaganda is all about.

If you dig deeper, it’s not even just American propaganda; it’s Goebbels-style propaganda—the kind that turns people not only into schizophrenics but also into cruel, ruthless individuals.

China is a socialist country

I thought we had agreed that China has not yet built socialism.

Yes, I agree with you that Lenin allocated a great deal of time to the transitional period, but Stalin proved otherwise.

China isn’t an angel, but it isn’t a predator either.

Yes, not entirely a predator—I agree. It’s very simple: China will cease to be a predator once it completely eradicates the capitalists within its own country.

We seem to have agreed on that point too, Comrade. The question is whether China will manage to do so before it becomes a hegemon—or rather, to put it in terms that are clearer to you, before it becomes the one dictating the rules of the game. That is what worries me.

This does not mean they will deliberately accept deals they can benefit more from.

This does not mean they will deliberately accept deals they can benefit more from.

That’s an interesting way to put it. Are you referring to Cervantes and the windmills?

My subjective pessimism stems from the fact that I’ve lost faith in my own future—my personal future. It’s just that, due to certain circumstances, I reached a point where I lost hope for what lies ahead. I’ve come to terms with that now.

As for objective pessimism, that has nothing to do with my personal outlook. If you like, you could call it dialectics in its most extreme form… )))))

But seriously, Comrade, when was the last time you saw someone looking toward humanity’s future with confidence and optimism—without any illusions?

Yeah, that’s the ironic part, it turns out that Soviets didn’t really have to make stuff up about the west while the west had to spin tall tales about evils of communism. I do think that it was a failure of Soviet education system that it failed to make people really understand the problem with capitalism.

One mistake made in the late USSR was that the public did not take the propaganda seriously.

There were economic problems, yet reports spoke of incredible achievements in socialist construction; in reality, everything was stagnating. The leaders could barely articulate their words… Brezhnev’s final speeches were completely unintelligible; people laughed at him back then just as they laughed at Biden when he rambled. The party leadership had become ossified; the country definitely needed a breath of fresh air at that time. That was precisely what Andropov envisioned when he tasked Ryzhkov and Gorbachev—who were the “young guard” of the party back then, full of fresh thoughts and ideas—with developing the project.

Unfortunately, however, Andropov didn’t live long enough to see it through, and Gorbachev later ruined everything.

By the way, I’ve finally fully grasped the reason why Europe was, until recently, a Garden of Eden.

The EU project—conceived long before the USSR collapsed—was aimed at preventing the emergence of socialism in individual European states. To achieve this, capitalists were forced to spend vast sums out of their own pockets to ensure social well-being for all their citizens. After all, there were very strong socialist movements in France, Italy, and elsewhere at the time. If the people had been living in hardship, they would have elected socialists. Consequently, capitalists were compelled to share with the public—as should happen in a genuine democratic capitalist state.

After the USSR collapsed, there was no longer a need to maintain a high standard of living for the European populace. And so, almost without realizing it, Europe began to slide into the abyss! Capitalists now have a free hand; they can do whatever they please.

And now we come to the main point. It turns out that the collapse of the USSR turned Europe into a garbage dump.

Not just in schools too, it’s in TV shows, comic books, everything. And we see now just how effective this type of indoctrination is.

This is a caricature from a Soviet newspaper from 1955. Absolutely nothing has changed.

And yeah, that’s fair, I meant specifically in terms of media entertainment.

Yes, it was done intentionally to give the child more time for beneficial activities. It was the right approach for the upbringing of young people.

This is, incidentally, another thing you can’t do in the west.

I remember once being in the countryside with my parents, but I had a soccer match on Sunday morning, so I headed back to town in the evening to be ready for the game the next day. My parents stayed behind in the village. When I arrived in town, I realized I had left my apartment keys back in the village—but I had taken the last bus of the day. It was a 15-kilometer trip, and I was only 13 years old. I lived on the edge of town, so I walked out to the main road—it was 10 p.m.—and managed to catch a ride. Strangers drove me all the way back to the village; even though it wasn’t on their way, they dropped me right at my house and wouldn’t take a single penny. I had a few rubles in my pocket and tried to offer them the money, but they flatly refused.

It never even crossed my mind that someone might try to harm me. And my parents didn’t scold me for coming back to the village in the middle of the night instead of staying over at a friend’s place in town—to them, that sort of thing was perfectly normal.

Even now—before the war—I don’t recall any instances of anyone being abducted; children roam the streets freely. But that’s before the war; I don’t know what will happen afterwards—the world has changed.

And when Russia wins, it’s till going to be highly dependent on China economically which means China will continue to exercise a ton of influence over Russia.

There are various possible scenarios. In one of them, Russia wins, and relations with Europe—along with the Nord Stream pipelines—are restored. This scenario is not in China’s interest.

So, there’s simply way more to gain by winning than letting this fester.

A moderate victory—that’s optimal for China.

China cut the west off from critical inputs they need to produce weapons. So, now the west isn’t able to restock what they’ve spent over 4 years in Ukraine and now in Iran. The inventories here keep going down, and there’s nothing the west can do about it lacking its own industries.

I would really like it to be that way!

And this is what I was saying about Bunaov being shuffled to the head of the army.

At the moment, Syrsky is handling his duties reasonably well; he is doing everything he can, regardless of the cost in casualties. So far, however, there have been no major breakthroughs. Besides, one has to hold the front line, not just wage a campaign of terror.

When you see that “)))”, you’ll realize you’re talking to a Russian or a Russian speaker.

Okay, in that case, let’s talk about humor.

Let’s talk about folklore. Folklore isn’t about the state; it’s about the people. Folklore reflects the collective mindset of the people—I think you’d agree with that… Vox populi, vox Dei.

Here’s a Soviet-era joke; these few lines capture the whole essence:

“To launch a satellite, the Chinese formed a human pyramid a thousand stories high, but it collapsed because the guy on the three-hundred-and-seventeenth floor hadn’t properly mastered Mao’s Little Red Book.”

You’re an intelligent person, so you surely understand that my views were formed back in early childhood. It’s something ingrained at a subconscious level.

So, please forgive me for my past stubbornness.

It’s good to see young people still read Marx in Russia. :)

In Russia, Marx is inseparable from Lenin.

By the way, listen to the story of how Russian officials, together with their Chinese counterparts, are selling a massive Soviet factory to China for scrap metal. It’s a disgrace!

When Platoshkin exposed this criminal scheme, a local official simply blew up the factory to cover his tracks…

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qsA-IegBgcg

And he’s right that full automation is fundamentally incompatible with capitalism because the whole system is based around consumption. You need wage workers who produce value, and then pay the capital owner to consume goods. If you eliminate wage workers from the system there’s nobody left to consume the goods. And once you have the majority of population become useless within the system it can no longer function.

And once again, capitalism is doing harm—this time, to the advancement of progress.

Basically what happened was that the US sat out the second world war and developed its economy while the rest of the world burned. Then they used their head start to prop up their ideological bloc during the Cold War and created the whole mythology that capitalism was a superior system and the standard of living in the west wasn’t because the US had a huge head start, but because capitalism is a superior system. Now that China has caught up and capitalism has destroyed all the material benefits western public enjoyed, we’re seeing the new generation sobering up.

As I understand it, during the Iron Curtain era, the only information that reached us from the other side was propaganda. And as I’ve come to realize decades later: Soviet propaganda told 90% the truth about the West, whereas Western propaganda told 90% lies about the USSR.

That is why people in the West are only now beginning to understand what socialism actually is—now that advanced Western capitalism has gone into a tailspin. I remember when I first joined Western forums back in 2015; people’s jaws would drop at the stories I told. At first, they didn’t believe me—they thought I was making it all up! I became very popular very quickly on that first Western forum.

cause there really wasn’t much other type of entertainment.

Comrade, those are just Western tall tales… )))) Деревянные игрушки, скользкий подоконник, каляска без дна))) I was never a homebody as a child. There was a sports ground in every courtyard; we played soccer there every day—it was impossible to get me to come home. In the winter, they’d flood the area to make an ice rink, and we’d play hockey. When my parents bought me a computer—a ZX Spectrum—I went wild and started skipping school, but even so, there was always a book on my nightstand; I read every day before bed.

I maintain that you have to look at the big picture here. The war isn’t between Russia and Ukraine, it’s between the west and the east. And the principle players are the US and China. So, the real question is which bloc can maintain discipline longer. As I’ve said many times before, Russia collapsing or becoming politically unstable would be a disaster for China. They rely on Russian food and energy imports, and Russia protects China’s western flank. If Russia was destabilized or balkanized, then it would become China’s Ukraine. Therefore, it’s obvious that China cannot allow that to happen under any circumstances. If Russia was genuinely in trouble then China would do everything in its power to bail them out. There’s no two ways about it.

To you, Russia’s defeat means Russia’s capitulation—something that is hardly likely. Yes, you’re right.

For me, Russia’s defeat means having Nazis left in my city.

Yes, you are absolutely right: China won’t allow Russia to be defeated, but it has no need for a strong Russia, either.

Freezing the conflict would be quite acceptable to China. It is also not in China’s interest for the West to lift sanctions on Russia; that is a fact.

And another fact is that China is profiting handsomely from this war. It sells dual-use goods to both sides of the conflict.

Yes, I agree that China acts solely in its own interests… its GDP is skyrocketing. China is prospering—that is indisputable.

Given this unarguable fact, the next question is who is in a better position to provide support. Can the US help Europe more than China can help Russia?

Yes, if it wanted to, China could help Russia win. But let me repeat: if it wanted to!

You can see that the US and Europe have essentially gone all-in right now; they are stretched to their limits—especially considering the war in Iraq. Meanwhile, China is taking it easy. Confucianism advocates for victory without a fight. That’s certainly wise.

I’d like that too—sitting on the couch with popcorn, watching a brutal slaughter, and winning in the process. That’s not something I know how to do; I guess you have to be really smart for that… )))

If I’d made smart moves like that in my life, I swear to you, I’d be a millionaire by now! There was a time when I could have climbed the ladder of success by stepping right over the heads of my loved ones and partners. I could have shortchanged my workers while raking in huge profits. I thought that was the right way to do things—that somewhere up in heaven, it would be duly recognized… what a naive fool I was!

But when I suddenly found myself cast aside by life, I had an epiphany. First, I stopped going to church because I realized it only “helps” the rich and successful. Second, I realized that in the capitalist world, you won’t get anywhere if you’re honest, open, and decent—you simply won’t survive. That’s a dogma, Comrade! A Biblical one, at that. ))))

The capitalist world is a three-headed serpent; the names of those heads are cunning, meanness, and betrayal!

And I don’t see what they can do to get out of Iran now. The problem is that Israel is now in an existential crisis, and they will not allow the US to leave. Given the amount of influence Israel has over the US, they will continue to drag them into deeper conflict with Iran. We can already see how the war has restarted and likely to escalate now that the US is attacking stuff like water facilities in Iran.

Yes, I fully agree—however cynical it may sound—that Russia was lucky in this regard.

but once the global energy shock hits

In southern Russia, especially in Crimea, people are facing major fuel shortages. I agree with you that this won’t be fatal for the situation at the front, but for the people, it’s a huge problem.

Listen to this guy—he’s Russian; I’ve marked the spot. Just keep in mind that he might be downplaying the issue, since he’s a Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent.

https://youtu.be/hGi66DHc5TI?t=309

He’s a war correspondent of this caliber:

https://youtu.be/UoEqtyhCf-g?t=185

Comrade, just so you know: if I use “)))”, it means I’m joking.

Of course, one shouldn’t date events that way.

I wanted to highlight the fact that you agreed with me on at least one thing!)))

I think you’re reading more into my position than I have stated myself.

Yes, Comrade, you’re right. It’s a very painful subject for me.

To me, this is just like Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, a work that slandered and humiliated the entire Soviet ideology. Both have fostered a distorted view of the Soviet era. They have given rise to all sorts of false theories that are published and circulated worldwide on a massive scale.

Yet the Soviet soul is all I have left in life now. I am being bombed every night, but I live in the past—I live on memories…

As for statistics on wealth over time, you can even see western articles framing this crackdown in “scary language.” The trend is gradual, but it isn’t nonexistent either.

Ma crossed a red line; Xi decided that the oligarchs were becoming a threat to him… though he seems to have realized this rather late.

We can certainly see Ma’s attempt to meddle in state affairs. People used to tell me that China has no oligarchs because Chinese billionaires don’t interfere in government business. Yet, I highly doubt that was the first time Ma had meddled in state affairs—after all, he is a long-standing Communist Party member.

To be honest, Comrade, what is actually happening in China is a closely guarded secret.

China isn’t acting as a predator.

I’m setting everything else aside and focusing solely on the Russia-China relationship.

Let me give you one example: when sanctions were imposed on Russia’s oil and gas sector, China agreed to buy more energy resources from Russia but demanded the price be lowered to match what Russian domestic consumers pay. Even Belarus pays more for Russian energy.

That is precisely the sticking point right now regarding the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline.

Putin is resisting for the time being, but I think that sooner or later, Xi will force him to cave—or at least that’s how it looks to me.

In essence, it’s blackmail—coming at a time when Putin has nowhere else to sell his energy resources but China.

Right, they aren’t predators; they’re angels with wings and halos… )))

It’s the same story with the logging China is doing in the protected Ussuri region. Under the Russian Constitution, all natural resources belong to the people of Russia, not China! China fells the timber in Russia and immediately ships it back to China. Doesn’t that remind you a lot of the resource deal between Trump and Zelenskyy?

Please read this carefully, Comrade. This is an Irkutsk publication, not the BBC. I highly recommend you go there—it’ll be a real eye-opener!

https://irkutskmedia.ru/news/658607/

Just don’t give me that double-standard routine again, Comrade.

They prop up cooperative agreements and don’t take away the autonomy from countries they deal with.

And who told you that a hegemon necessarily seizes foreign lands?

“A hegemon (from the Ancient Greek hēgemōn — leader, commander) is a state, political party, social class, or individual that possesses unquestionable superiority, exercises power, and dictates the rules.”

In case you didn’t know, after the 1917 revolution, the entire proletariat in the USSR was referred to as the hegemon. There are different kinds of hegemons, Comrade!

As for the DPRK, the WSJ still has their classic spin on it, but frankly the progress of the DPRK in recent years is undeniable, and the press profits from getting engagement. Reporting on the DPRK making progress is making some waves.

Let’s hope for the best! I have no issues with North Korea; they are true friends!

That American professor said that lately, a great many supporters of socialism have been emerging—among young people in the US and elsewhere. But this isn’t because they are committed socialists; rather, they are protesting against capitalism, and since there is no alternative to socialism, and people want change…