Do you seriously think Russia will invade Ukraine or Baltic republics? What f#cking for? Who needs to annex countries that are already knee deep in debt, while pissing off the rest of the world? This makes no sense. Just use your gray matter a bit.
Have you not been paying attention? This has already happened.
The question remains - what will invading Ukraine, strapped in debt and with nothing to offer, give the invaders to be? The brainless hysteria surrounding this situation is absolutely ridiculous. It's twice as ridiculous if you'd remember that Russians and Ukrainians generally treat each other as close relatives. Annoying at times, but still same blood basically. There are radical nationalists on both sides, but that's marginal. Just look at how Ukrainian team was welcomed at the Olympics - with an ovation. And how things were unfolding in Crimea - with flash-bang grenades and blanks.
It's not about Russia threatening Ukraine. It's about Russia paying back US and EU for stirring shit in Ukraine to drive it away from Russia. This is all macro-political. Ukraine is just a casualty caught in a cross-fire.
--
If history and geography trump the current citizens and laws, then the yanks should all fuck off back where they came from and leave it to the native americans and the mexicans, no?
> Have you though?
Enough to realise that something is fishy.
Russian troops invaded crimea, surrounded the Ukrainian military bases, and then declared it was all "legit" because a referendum had 96% voting in favour of joining Russia, despite polls from previous years showing 34% support.
All but 2 members of the UN Security Council voted to declare the referendum invalid - it was only defeated because Russia has veto power.
Your argument is that Russia doesn't get anything out of this. Like Putin is a completely rational guy who does shit because it makes sense, rather than because he's a whack job who pines for the "glory" of the USSR.
Just the former. Because, you know, the latter, inasmuch as they are distinct from the former, have the same problem as "the yanks".
before colonisation the native americans weren't called native americans or indians but that doesn't mean they didn't exist.
Link? Crimea has always been pro-Russian, to the extreme.
Bottom line is that Crimea is massively pro-Russian. Unlike you I've actually been there multiple times and have friends who still live there. The overall sentiment has always been that Khrushev was an idiot to detach Crimea from Russia and "gift" it to Ukraine in the 50s. That 97% looks pretty damn close to the reality. If you are interested in this, take a look at BBC coverage of the referendum. The turnout and voting numbers were in fact all legit and no one was going to the voting booths under a gunpoint.
They quoted a single woman who claimed the Ukrainian government are nazis. Sounds legit.
> have friends who still live there. The overall sentiment
I lived in Australia for 29 years and everyone I know thinks Tony Abbot is a fucking idiot, so he must have rigged the election, right? How many of the 2 million Crimean people do you know well enough to have had discussions about their thoughts on Russia? Anything over a million and you're probably safe.
> The turnout and voting numbers were in fact all legit and no one was going to the voting booths under a gunpoint.
a) facts have to be proven. b) who says you need a gun to rig a poll?
Apart from being illegal according to their own constitution, the referendum gave no option to maintain the status quo - only to become part of Russia, or to become independent. That sounds amazingly legit.
A Russian citizen in Crimea on a one year visa was allowed to vote, which is illegal. There are confirmed reports of people having their identification confiscated before they could vote.
Add to this - Russia invited "observers" to validate the legitimacy of the vote. The leader of the group invited to observe is a Neo Nazi and Adolf Hitler admirer. The "observers" from the group were a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a Hungarian. All three are former members of neo-Nazi parties, and currently members of far-right-wing political parties. Still legit though right?
And of course every country on the UN security council except China and Russia must be just saying it's illegal and illegitimate for shits and giggles, not because of any evidence.
If the Crimeans had voted no, would Russia still be there?
Seriously?
Do you actually believe that, or are you simply posting here as part of your job?
You have absolutely no clue as to what a free election is if you believe that 97% of the people in Crimea voted to join Russia. I won't even bother posting any details as to the wording of the ballot, or as to all the Russian slanted propaganda prior to the vote. 97% votes only happen in "People's Republics".
Putin and his kleptocrat buddies (nee oligarchs) are busy looting Russia. Hope you're getting your share.
I'm curious as to how you know what my beliefs are. I don't think they were in the GP post.
Those are the results announced by Russia immediately after their military invasion, yes.
It doesn't mean those are the actual results, that the voting was actually done by "the Crimeans", or that the voting was free or fair. [1]
> If so, then there was no invasion.
No, even if the people of the invaded part of the Ukraine actually agreed after-the-fact, Russia unauthorized intrusion with military forces into what Russia had previously by treaties (in which it also agreed to respect and guarantee the soveriegnty and territorial integrity of the Ukraine, as part of a deal wherein the Ukraine gave up the former Soviet nuclear weapons on its territory) agreed was Ukrainian territory would still be an invasion. It doesn't retroactively become "not an invasion" based on events after the invasion occurs.
> If the Crimeans had voted no, would Russia still be there?
Almost certainly.
[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/un-hints-russia-may-have-rigg...
You can find all companies that offer the ruling at https://ind.nl/zakelijk/openbaar-register under the heading 'Erkende referenten Arbeid Regulier en Kennismigranten'
Do keep in mind that homophobia is both not acceptable and that you'll meet actual openly gay people here, so if you have a problem with that you'd probably be better off elsewhere.
Also, as the immigrant he will eventually be at the receiving end of at least some minor racism or xenophobia, no matter how progressive and open you think your society is. So lecturing him on that is kind of pointless as well.
In my experience there are some Russians who come here expecting to be able to be openly homophobic which, as I can personally attest to, is a recipe for disaster.
I've worked with lots of Eastern Europeans and many of them have been perfectly accepting of my orientation and the vast majority treated me respectfully though.
Unfortunately, when you move from a society where being gay is still considered a mental illness by 70+% of the population, you can't assume that everyone is just able to leave that behind when they move.
Actually I would advise Russians in every country to practice smiling at strangers, on the street, in shops, everywhere. Keep notes and make sure that you smile at least 20 times a day, and always smile at the people you buy stuff from. Smiling is not just for your best friends.
As for homophobia: I am open-minded, respect other people's beliefs, orientation, views and so on.
Actually, I have a very European way of thinking, rather than Russian (at least I think so).
Nevertheless, there are some problems with migrating to Europe/USA (and other countries) that scare me a little bit.
They are:
1. Bureaucracy. A lot of documents, visa, cv, cover letter etc.
2. Language barrier.
3. I have a girlfriend. I don't know how to leave Russia together. Who will give her visa? Who will invite her?
4. I'm not very confident about my skills. I think that foreign employer will hire you only if you are a genius or a strong senior specialist with many years of experience.
And so on...
I hope that the real situation is not so scary and complex :)
Luckily most people who want to move to Europe do ;)
As for the rest.. I can answer for the Netherlands, since we're quite unique in how easy we make it for international workers.
> 1. Bureaucracy. A lot of documents, visa, cv, cover letter etc.
The only bureaucracy is about getting hired. After that the company will arrange everything.
> 2. Language barrier.
Everyone in the Netherlands speaks fluent English and at pretty much everyone of the companies on that list it'll be the official working language.
> 3. I have a girlfriend. Who will give her visa?
Dutch knowledge migrant visas actually have room for a spouse. She can even work freely here.
> 4. I think that foreign employer will hire you only if you are a genius...
No, they'll hire you because you're cheaper. Since you'll both get the tax discount and will not negotiate as hard they can pay you less while you still get plenty enough. Also; Dutch employees have a reputation of not listening to the boss and many bosses don't like that ;)
The one thing I have found is that you need to have your CV in the right style for the country since each country has different standards. Dutch ones are more about understanding what your main responsibilities / daily activities were. Russian ones tend to be summaries of all types of tasks your job involved. US ones are often 'boasting' about the results you've achieved.
As for common objections; the main reason not to hire Russians is usually a lack of communication, since we expect much more cooperation and interaction. It's not a deal breaker since we're used to it, but if you can convince people on the other side you communicate well/better than they're used to it'll be a big plus.
For a Dutch style CV that works well you have a look at mine at http://michiel.trimpe.nl
FWIW I work in a room full of Russian speakers at the moment. I quite like the atmosphere :)
Make sure to do your research – e.g. countries like Australia and Canada are much easier to move to than US or EU. IT professionals are in high demand everywhere. You can start by working remotely, etc.
Good luck.