Forced Assistance in Russia

Back in March, the stadium rally was not authentic

When the United States joined both World Wars it did something most democracies do. They sold war bonds, that helped fund the war. The country still went into deep debt, and it’s a good question whether the bonds helped to pay for it. What they did though was create buy-in for civilians. Those who bought bonds were invested in the war.

Many also had family at the front.

What Russia is doing is very different and it matches a few things we have seen in the past like the rally in Moscow where employees were forced to attend, as well as college students. This is very authoritarian.

So this morning we had more evidence of not just the imperial attitudes, but what in the army is called mandatory team-building fun time. Corporations in the United States may also have these exercises. They are good for limited team building, but it is no way to run a war or a country.

Again, this came via Telegram, and my Russian is just barely sufficient to hit translate. So let me give you some context using a tad of how authoritarian states function. But any errors. In translation, I am blaming the machine.

200 (rubbles) for nurses, 500 for nurses: forced “assistance to Donbass” is deducted from salaries even in poor regions.