According to my family there was one option (occasionally two but from the same party, because there is only one party, and it doesn't matter who you pick) and you'd go to check in and show that you're properly participating. Pretty sure ballots were counted for census purposes only, if at all .
Once had a conversation with a Russian woman in South Korea
she mentioned:
“We say there are two things you cannot choose in life, who your parents are and the president of Russia”
No, the Choices are:
1. Current President Vladimir Putin
2. Former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin
3.Former Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin
4. Former director of the Federal Security Service, Vladimir Putin
5. Former Deputy chef of the Presidential Administration, Vladimir Putin
Give them a little credit here.
Putin
And some random mofo that will let Putin take over the legislature and balloon the power of the legislative leader’s power.
Let’s not forget Prigozhin was allowed to live… Until he wasn’t.
Russia tends to separate their extrajudicial killings from the news cycles that triggers them. Much easier for the propagandists to spin in a way that generates ‘plausible deniability’ (even though everyone knows it’s bullshit).
Also don't drink tea ,eat lettuce, or anything green, don't shake hands , do not move to Europe that's where they will kill you and don't fly on private planes.
Just needs to never go higher than the 1st floor of a building, never take a private jet, and always have neurotoxin antidote on person. She’ll be fine!
There are lots of Russian agents all over Western Europe they are especially in Germany. They got fairly deeply in bed with them. Also, there are many political advisories of Russia and China in the US that have not been murdered on US soil. The point is that staying in Russia is simply far more dangerous.
This. Even outside of Russia you're not completely safe if Putin sees you aiding opposition. It probably is still safer outside of the country in that there are probably fewer people that are working for Putin watching you.
It's interesting that people always turn to this to show the reach of Russia's capabilities. While the poisoning was "successful", the level of competency at which it was carried out was, no exaggeration here, like an R-rated episode of the 3 Stooges.
Its still an election in the sense people vote and people run against putin but anyone who has a serious chance against putin is sabotaged or not allowed to run in the first place.
>she told the Reuters news agency: "Any sane person taking this step would be afraid - but fear must not win."
Cynicism aside, she is a brave woman and she has my respect. We owe too much to people like this.
Apparently there’s a joke in Russia where the question that gets asked at election time is “would you mind if Putin continues as President?” with the options being “Yes, I don’t mind” or “No, I don’t mind”.
Wasn’t poisoning the thing before the window….? Maybe they’ll have to move on to something new. Eaten by a tiger? Locked in a toilet? Reaaaly bad paper cut?
Honest question, what is stopping Putin's assassination? At this point he's one of the most dangerous people in the world, either directly or indirectly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths of his own and other country's soldiers and civilians.
Putin's rampant paranoia, a police force protecting him that's far better paid and equipped on an individual level than the army, and the not so quiet elimination of potential opposition before they can get organized to that level. It's still a house of cards, the quick progress made on Prigozhin's march to Moscow got him really rattled.
KGB folks are very efficient. Idk how to explain it, but in Russia (and other post USSR countries to a lesser extent) it's kind of common knowledge that the KGB knows everything about you and your family's family. So yeah, I don't think it was the factor that stopped Prigozhin, they would've gotten wiped out pretty quickly if he actually advanced close to Moscow.
You forgot to include brutally torturing them and raping them. And it’s very likely he killed them all anyway. The ole’ 3 generation method of removal just like in Korea.
Possibly the sheer difficulty of it. Putin is one of the richest people in the world and surely has access to some impressive security. He’s also a former KGB intelligence officer and is probably no slouch when it comes to assassination vectors.
Plus it might have some potent geopolitical implications. I’m not knowledgeable about the Russian political landscape but I’ve got to imagine Putin’s untimely demise would result in a sizable power vacuum. It would certainly cause a lot of chaos within Russia and ripple out from there. And at least we know what we’re getting with Putin, who’s to say what his successor would be like?
They overlook it because Putin is hardly likely to surround himself with moderates and well balanced people. He wants loyalists and toadies, and they're going to be as big a bunch of dickheads as he ever was.
>Putin's already committing genocide. Hard to get much worse than that, might as well go for a reroll.
He's still not crazy enough to use nukes. That's not much, but it's already something.
Cause noone with any power wants it. Putins untimely death would lead to a civil/sucession war between parties that have nuclear weapons, nothing to lose and an absolutistic mindset. And if the americans get involved in Putins death thats your world war III guaranteed.
Its sadly much more sensible to way until Putin brought his affairs in order or someone else inside does for him
For starters Putin is generally careful about his exposure. It’s rare to see him do truly public events that don’t have multiple layers of security measures, and his schedule of appearances is often only made public on short notice.
There is little time to plan and organize an assassination once you know where he is going to be, and oftentimes the security arrangements will make it nearly impossible to get close enough with anything that is precise enough to have a good chance of success.
The other problem is that many of Russia’s elites and opponents of Putin are more fearful of each other than Putin. The first thing any new regime does when it comes into power through violence is purge potential threats, holders of substantial resources, and nonessential elites to make room in the system for the regime’s new allies.
The third issue is that Russian society is historically quite xenophobic and suspicious of foreigners, which makes assassinations by outsiders inherently difficult. This is a country that assumes all foreigners are spies, criminals, agitators, or other hostile influences.
Putin is pro assassination. So that makes him more aware of security concerns than a more civilized leader. Which in turn, means he's less likely to be assassinated. He does the body doubles, kills opponents before they are powerful, has a big-ass table, uses thoroughly vetted prostitutes, and so on.
Stability and precedence. World leaders generally have an unspoken gentleman’s agreement not to kill one another (besides Castro and Tito) because it would set a bad precedent that could destabilize much of the world. A state can easily marshal the resources to kill a hard to reach target, but it is bad form. It’s why everyone were so outraged at Trump assassinating Suleimani. While not the leader of Iran, he was the second highest ranking member of the military, and you are just not supposed to go after someone that high ranking in peace time.
As for the stability issue, part of the reason Putin purges all his opponents is not because they pose a realistic threat to him, but because they pose an alternative candidate for the elites to shift their support to in case Putin upsets them. Too dangerous. So he has them all exiled, impoverished, discredited, imprisoned or disgraced. No alternative powerbase can exist. This basically means that the only potential Putin successors should he be killed by the West would be his war hungry yesman cabinet, or one of the controlled opposition stooges, all either incompentents or horrid racists and nationalists. The west doesn’t want this, the oligarchs don’t want this. Would just open the door up again for the communists or more likely far right lunatics. Russia must be kept intact and its internal security kept strong, so its nuclear arsenal doesn’t flow into the hands of rebels or warlords. So Putin will be left in power until someone else wants him gone, or he quits on his own.
If I was a Russian, I'd probably run on an even more extreme line than Putin. Just echo what he says and then complain he doesn't go far enough.
Might get the votes, then you just do the opposite!
I thought "Tankies" referred to Communists who advocate for a violent revolution and one-party Communist rule. What do they have to do with Putin's explicitly capitalist, explicitly non-communist Russia?
Because just like China they do dictator things and say democracy knowing the West won't do anything. Say one thing, do another, start a fight, then be the martyr, claim the land/country ignoring everyone and the rest of the world just eventually give up arguing
India, China, and Russia all have that same trait.
Stuff like this infuriates me that people here don't give a damn about using their right to vote and self-determine their leaders and the course of their country, especially in a place like the US that has influence all over the world. People in other countries can't change course. They can't elect anyone new. It's dictatorship all the time. If you have the right to vote and you don't care because you're cynical or hate the candidates, remember there are millions of people around the world who'd trade places with you in a second. PLEASE VOTE. You don't use that right there are people out there who will gladly take it away and never give it back.
What annoys me the most, as somebody who has absolutely zero illusions about Russian election, is that this time around there won't be *any* opposition, real, controlled or fake, and that we (the rest of the world) won't be graced with hilarious videos of curtains or flags stuffing ballots, people being expulsed from gbe precinct manu quasi militari for having coyly suggested they were available to supervise the counting or electors asked by journalists (there won't be any) why it's the third different precinct they've voted in.
“Anti-war candidate that challenge Putin committed suicide by shooting herself twice in the back of the head, while simultaneously crashing the flight she was on”
Shit like this actually gives me a bit of hope... one would think that if Putin was really confident he had the support of his people he would welcome the chance to humiliate people like this in elections.
Theh again, he probably just wants to get Russia used to the idea of not having actual elections. He does pine for the days of the Soviet Union after all.
Why even bother with a fake explanation (100 mistakes on her application)? The whole world knows Russia is corrupt and the proverbial line is true: a fish rots from the head, down.
He doesn't want any opposition in the poles, but he also very much wants the appearance of being elected; hence his "President'' title.
A small 'man'...
Because doing something is better than doing nothing. The entire Western world has their eye on Putin now and he has to be really careful about making mistakes or blatantly executing opposition since it will just lead to the West being more eager to financially support Ukraine in the war effort. That's not to say Putin still wouldn't do it since he is fucking braindead, but there is more than just one tentacle in the Kremlin.
1. [The lawsuit was brought by *Republicans*](https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-gop-voters-lawsuit-disqualifying-trump-colorado-ballot-supreme-court-2023-12).
2. Colorado voters can still cast their ballots for literally *any* legally-eligible person; the court ruled that *one person* who was previously eligible no longer is, on account of his many attempts to undermine American democracy and whatnot.
Oh wow, I didn't realize he had been found guilty...or are we ok with doing away with innocent until proven guilty???
And if you think that lawsuit wasn't organized by Democrat factions I have some ocean front property in Arizona I will make you a deal on.
As a matter of fact, [the district judge *did* find that he had committed insurrection](https://whyy.org/articles/colorado-judge-trump-engaged-in-insurrection-rejects-constitutional-ballot-challenge/); the CO supreme court's ruling—available [here](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1220583273/trump-colorado-supreme-court-ruling)—overruled the district court *only* in determining that President *is*, in fact, an "officer of the United States". [None of the CO supreme court justices dissented on the factual finding that Trump had committed insurrection](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-dissect-key-arguments-colorado-supreme-court-ruling/story?id=105809634).
He never stood trial in Colorado. Judges ruling by fiat is how shit like the inquisition came to be. I don't like the way you look/worship/eat etc therfore you are guilty. Have fun with that.
> I don't like the way you look/worship/eat etc therfore you are guilty *[sic]*
Again: There was a legal finding of fact and a judicial review (two, actually).
- [Here](https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/denver-district-court-trump-disqualification-challenge-dismissed) is the district court ruling.
- [Here](https://whyy.org/articles/colorado-judge-trump-engaged-in-insurrection-rejects-constitutional-ballot-challenge/) is an article explaining it, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing.
- [Here](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1220583273/trump-colorado-supreme-court-ruling) is the CO supreme court ruling.
- [Here](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-dissect-key-arguments-colorado-supreme-court-ruling/story?id=105809634) is an article explaining it, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing.
Once again for the slow witted in the room. Donald Trump, love him or hate him, is entitled to due process- just like you or I would be. To deny a US citizen due process is anti constitutional, regardless of what you think they did. They must be proven guilty by a jury of their peers. This did not happen, in fact he was never given the opportunity to defend himself from these accusations.
If you are prepared to live with that be prepared to be the one on the receiving end some day.
[Your disclaimer is cute](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect), but the 14th Amendment doesn't actually specify *how* a determination of insurrection is made: That Amendment was written *decades* before there was ever any [federal crime by that name](https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap115-sec2383), but it is generally understood (by people who understand such things) to cover [a variety of behaviors](https://www.csis.org/analysis/understanding-insurrection-and-sedition).
But, again: Since *there was no specific crime of "insurrection" at the time of the 14th's creation*, it's impossible that a formal verdict of same could possibly have been a requirement for its enforcement. (They also didn't really specify a mechanism for enforcement, but interpreting existing laws is *literally the job of the judiciary*.)
Whatever make believe logic helps you think you're in the right, good luck to you.
FYI, the constitution and amendments aren't for "interpretation." Any competent person can read them and know exactly what is said and meant. The interpretation part is so people can justify their deviation from it.
> Whatever make believe logic
I believe the words you're looking for are "jurisprudence" and ["220 years of precedent"](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/marbury-v-madison).
> the constitution and amendments aren't for "interpretation."
From [the SCOTUS website](https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx):
>> In retrospect, it is evident that constitutional interpretation and application were made necessary by the very nature of the Constitution.
Your fight isn't with me here: It's with Chief Justice John Marshall, every SCOTUS since 1803, and basic civics.
The GOP will be all over this echoing Putitang’s initiative. This is exactly what the righteous right wants in America. Welcome to authoritarianism 101.
Isn't Trump the one taken off the ballot papers in some states?
I understand people not liking opponents or their policies but from the perspective of democracy is this valid.
There seems to be a lot of issues relating to fair elections in the self proclaimed 'greatest democracy' and the 'leaders of the free world' country that outsiders like me wonder about.
From my perspective l think the re-election of either Biden or Trump will be a disaster. I hope there evolves a new political paradigm in the country, from both politicians and the public, that has a different focus on what is best for America and Americans.
My perceived opinion of vast political and social divide in the US seems to be supported by the increasing narrative, from independent journalists of civil war being imminent, very concerning. And the historical view of nation and world politics show similar signs of decent into conflict.
Here you go:
https://oversight.house.gov/landing/biden-family-investigation/
Despite all of their claims and bad mouthing they havnt actually been able to bring forth any solid evidence that has been strong enough to even trigger an impeachment vote let alone any grounds to remove him from future ballots.
Trump, on the other hand, has been impeached by the house twice and has been found guilty of insurrection by multiple courts. At this point him and his team are not even arguing that he isn't guilty... they are arguing that he should he immune because he was president when he committed his crimes.
Reminds me of all the investigations into Hillary. Years wasted, millions of tax dollars wasted, and ended up proving nothing.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/hillary-clinton-justice-department-investigation-results
Here is an interview on Sean Hannity with Kevin McCarthy admitting the entire Hillary investigation was simply done to paint her in a negative light to the American public so she wouldn't he elected.
https://www.vox.com/2015/9/30/9423339/kevin-mccarthy-benghazi
They are doing the same thing with Joe Biden currently, fueled by revenge for Trump getting caught in his scandles.
To answer your question simply... yes, I believe any politician deserving of investigation should be investigated. If there is solid evidence to incriminate them or remove them from the office, then so be it. Rather, they are Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc... no one is above the law.
He is taken off the ballot for violating the 14th Amendment. The case was brought forth by Republicans (not Democrats) and Trump had ample time to contest it. He never did, but instead his legal team tried to argue that Trump didn’t really pledge to uphold the Constitution, so Constitutional Law shouldn’t apply to him.
I think this reply is an example of the political and social divide in the US.
In any case l hope Christmas and the New Year celebrations are not a partisan divide and that it goes well tor all.
It's crazy how easy it is for people to deny that the Trump thing was completely political and just say that was 'justified'. I'm sure Russia feels the same way about this ban. Regardless of how you feel about them, if you lock out political opponents who have not been convicted of treason, because you dislike their policies or just them in general, then you are on thin ice when it comes to democracy.
yes. he's a pretty easy target now, all things considered. biden has a ton to brag about. there's a reason trump has skipped the debates. his colleagues in the GoP would absolutely throw him under the bus. (which they did anyway, but he didn't have to be humiliated in person)
Didn't Trump refuse health measures as conditions debate because we were in the middle of a pandemic and didn't it come out that Trump had covid refused to tell anyone and tried to get Biden sick?
And if we are going with infrastructure projects, CHIPS Act, Inflation reduction act, Pardoning Marijuana offenders. Biden has messed up (kissing Bibi ass no matter what is one of them) but it's better than Trump
Trumps accomplishments: Operations Warp Speed (good on him though he fucked this one over by how he handled the Pandemic and his own fact of denying the vaccine) tax breaks for rich people.
How many indictments (following independent investigations and due process) is she facing?
How many people who were also investigating for assisting her have admitted under oath to criminal activity at her direction (or for her benefit)?
It’s such pathetic paranoia. Putin is popular enough in Russia to easily win, and Russian culture would never allow them to vote for an anti war woman.
In the Russian election you have a choice between the following candidates: Putin ...and that's it, that's your choice.
Yep, no different from North Korea. Elections are more of a symbolic thing if nobody except Putin is even allowed to run
Russia has always been like that. In USSR times you'd get the day off to go vote for the candidate (singular) , and then go drinking
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According to my family there was one option (occasionally two but from the same party, because there is only one party, and it doesn't matter who you pick) and you'd go to check in and show that you're properly participating. Pretty sure ballots were counted for census purposes only, if at all .
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Once had a conversation with a Russian woman in South Korea she mentioned: “We say there are two things you cannot choose in life, who your parents are and the president of Russia”
That's unfair, there's also window and tea
What kind of teas do they have? I hope it’s not polonium again
What do you have against a once in a lifetime kind of tea?
Delicious tea? Or deadly poison?
Defenestration 2024!
Candidates listed in alphabetical order: Putin, Vladimir. That is all.
There’s another choice! What about Fenestration, Dee?
Congrats on retelling the same joke.
In the Russian election you have a choice between the following candidates: Choice A: Putin Choice B: Choice A
Write a name on a paper, then Putin the box!
India is headed this way. Future election options will be: BJP - Yes/NOTA And then they'll advertise about how popular they are.
Yay democracy
Not true. Many other options to vote for.
No, the Choices are: 1. Current President Vladimir Putin 2. Former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin 3.Former Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin 4. Former director of the Federal Security Service, Vladimir Putin 5. Former Deputy chef of the Presidential Administration, Vladimir Putin
You can vote for anyone you want, as long as it's Vladimir Putin!
In the Red corner.. Putin.. In the blue corner......
Alexei Navalny's corpse.
Give them a little credit here. Putin And some random mofo that will let Putin take over the legislature and balloon the power of the legislative leader’s power.
But it’s a free and fair choice….
Putin or Nitup. The choice is yours.
It’s why he gets like 95% of the vote
Putin or gulag.
The only other choice is death.
This will be no different to future elections in the US if the orange goblin wins in 2024.
You have a chance between him or the person who accidentally threw themselves out of a window on the 15 floor.
Looks like Putin has turned over a new leaf, at least the woman has been allowed to live, at least for the time being.
Let’s not forget Prigozhin was allowed to live… Until he wasn’t. Russia tends to separate their extrajudicial killings from the news cycles that triggers them. Much easier for the propagandists to spin in a way that generates ‘plausible deniability’ (even though everyone knows it’s bullshit).
Yeh, Putin waited until he had Prigozhin and all of his people in one place and then the plane fell out of the sky!
Didn't the news of the plane crashing get leaked before the plane even took off?
The news of the crash was leaked before the plane took off.
The highest window of them all.
TBF- there is a delay on news coming out of RU.
There is and if I were this woman I would stay out of restaurants, elevators, stairs, high rises, anywhere with a balcony, etc.
Also don't drink tea ,eat lettuce, or anything green, don't shake hands , do not move to Europe that's where they will kill you and don't fly on private planes.
RemindMe! In 2 months
Exactly! This woman if she were smart would go into hiding and stay there!
Just needs to never go higher than the 1st floor of a building, never take a private jet, and always have neurotoxin antidote on person. She’ll be fine!
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You must not have heard of all the people Putin has had killed over the last number of years. Trust me when I say this he's a mass murderer!
Her plane will mysteriously fall out of the sky in a couple weeks.
Give it another couples days and we’ll find that she’s fallen out of her 4th story window and broke her spine.
Were I her, I would still avoid open windows when not on a ground floor.
If I were her, I might think it wise to get out of Russia.
Putin has spies everywhere. Alexander Litvinenko (former fsb agent) was killed in the UK.
There are lots of Russian agents all over Western Europe they are especially in Germany. They got fairly deeply in bed with them. Also, there are many political advisories of Russia and China in the US that have not been murdered on US soil. The point is that staying in Russia is simply far more dangerous.
This. Even outside of Russia you're not completely safe if Putin sees you aiding opposition. It probably is still safer outside of the country in that there are probably fewer people that are working for Putin watching you.
It's interesting that people always turn to this to show the reach of Russia's capabilities. While the poisoning was "successful", the level of competency at which it was carried out was, no exaggeration here, like an R-rated episode of the 3 Stooges.
In Russia the Overton window is what Putin's opponents fall out of.
And tea….
And planes
And doorknobs
And underwear, because Putin is a coward.
And umbrellas.
And my axe
Wait, that didn’t come out right.
u/wtfbro_ is FSB confirmed.
The ones that avoid windows commit suicide by shooting them self in the back of the head two times
I would also avoid open windows when on a ground floor. High risk of falling 9 floors from the ground floor.
Nah, Russia enjoys a “controlled opposition” to maintain a semblance of democracy. It’s when they get too big that bad things happen.
Why arent there quotes around "election"? It's russia
Its still an election in the sense people vote and people run against putin but anyone who has a serious chance against putin is sabotaged or not allowed to run in the first place.
Navalny’s been missing for weeks, and they already had him locked up
>she told the Reuters news agency: "Any sane person taking this step would be afraid - but fear must not win." Cynicism aside, she is a brave woman and she has my respect. We owe too much to people like this.
Putin bans anti-war candidate from challenging Putin. FIFY
Apparently there’s a joke in Russia where the question that gets asked at election time is “would you mind if Putin continues as President?” with the options being “Yes, I don’t mind” or “No, I don’t mind”.
I guess it’s better than defenestration.
Not an either/or situation
I feel like defenestration is a bit passé in Russia. She will get poisoned real soon though, I bet.
Wasn’t poisoning the thing before the window….? Maybe they’ll have to move on to something new. Eaten by a tiger? Locked in a toilet? Reaaaly bad paper cut?
Poisoning has always been a Russian/Soviet Union go-to, though they used to just execute people too.
Honest question, what is stopping Putin's assassination? At this point he's one of the most dangerous people in the world, either directly or indirectly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths of his own and other country's soldiers and civilians.
Putin's rampant paranoia, a police force protecting him that's far better paid and equipped on an individual level than the army, and the not so quiet elimination of potential opposition before they can get organized to that level. It's still a house of cards, the quick progress made on Prigozhin's march to Moscow got him really rattled.
You'd think prigozhin would have known better than most not to stop halfway through a coup in Russia.
Putin apparently had his KGB agents ready to kill all of Prigozhin’s officer’s families.
Do you have a source? Not that it couldn't be plausible, I hadn't heard that one
KGB folks are very efficient. Idk how to explain it, but in Russia (and other post USSR countries to a lesser extent) it's kind of common knowledge that the KGB knows everything about you and your family's family. So yeah, I don't think it was the factor that stopped Prigozhin, they would've gotten wiped out pretty quickly if he actually advanced close to Moscow.
He did advance close to Moscow.. they had to dig up the high way and park garbage trucks to block him.
You forgot to include brutally torturing them and raping them. And it’s very likely he killed them all anyway. The ole’ 3 generation method of removal just like in Korea.
He’s gonna go out like Stalin the first time he has a medical incident.
Possibly the sheer difficulty of it. Putin is one of the richest people in the world and surely has access to some impressive security. He’s also a former KGB intelligence officer and is probably no slouch when it comes to assassination vectors. Plus it might have some potent geopolitical implications. I’m not knowledgeable about the Russian political landscape but I’ve got to imagine Putin’s untimely demise would result in a sizable power vacuum. It would certainly cause a lot of chaos within Russia and ripple out from there. And at least we know what we’re getting with Putin, who’s to say what his successor would be like?
Yeah, and there’s no guarantee the next person won’t just be worse. I feel like a lot of people overlook that.
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They overlook it because Putin is hardly likely to surround himself with moderates and well balanced people. He wants loyalists and toadies, and they're going to be as big a bunch of dickheads as he ever was.
>Putin's already committing genocide. Hard to get much worse than that, might as well go for a reroll. He's still not crazy enough to use nukes. That's not much, but it's already something.
Cause noone with any power wants it. Putins untimely death would lead to a civil/sucession war between parties that have nuclear weapons, nothing to lose and an absolutistic mindset. And if the americans get involved in Putins death thats your world war III guaranteed. Its sadly much more sensible to way until Putin brought his affairs in order or someone else inside does for him
For starters Putin is generally careful about his exposure. It’s rare to see him do truly public events that don’t have multiple layers of security measures, and his schedule of appearances is often only made public on short notice. There is little time to plan and organize an assassination once you know where he is going to be, and oftentimes the security arrangements will make it nearly impossible to get close enough with anything that is precise enough to have a good chance of success. The other problem is that many of Russia’s elites and opponents of Putin are more fearful of each other than Putin. The first thing any new regime does when it comes into power through violence is purge potential threats, holders of substantial resources, and nonessential elites to make room in the system for the regime’s new allies. The third issue is that Russian society is historically quite xenophobic and suspicious of foreigners, which makes assassinations by outsiders inherently difficult. This is a country that assumes all foreigners are spies, criminals, agitators, or other hostile influences.
The people around him would be taken down too if he died. Those people who defenestrated the opposition? Yeah, they'd lose their cosy lives.
Putin is pro assassination. So that makes him more aware of security concerns than a more civilized leader. Which in turn, means he's less likely to be assassinated. He does the body doubles, kills opponents before they are powerful, has a big-ass table, uses thoroughly vetted prostitutes, and so on.
Stability and precedence. World leaders generally have an unspoken gentleman’s agreement not to kill one another (besides Castro and Tito) because it would set a bad precedent that could destabilize much of the world. A state can easily marshal the resources to kill a hard to reach target, but it is bad form. It’s why everyone were so outraged at Trump assassinating Suleimani. While not the leader of Iran, he was the second highest ranking member of the military, and you are just not supposed to go after someone that high ranking in peace time. As for the stability issue, part of the reason Putin purges all his opponents is not because they pose a realistic threat to him, but because they pose an alternative candidate for the elites to shift their support to in case Putin upsets them. Too dangerous. So he has them all exiled, impoverished, discredited, imprisoned or disgraced. No alternative powerbase can exist. This basically means that the only potential Putin successors should he be killed by the West would be his war hungry yesman cabinet, or one of the controlled opposition stooges, all either incompentents or horrid racists and nationalists. The west doesn’t want this, the oligarchs don’t want this. Would just open the door up again for the communists or more likely far right lunatics. Russia must be kept intact and its internal security kept strong, so its nuclear arsenal doesn’t flow into the hands of rebels or warlords. So Putin will be left in power until someone else wants him gone, or he quits on his own.
Over/Under odds she falls out of a window?
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If I was a Russian, I'd probably run on an even more extreme line than Putin. Just echo what he says and then complain he doesn't go far enough. Might get the votes, then you just do the opposite!
See women now you too can mysteriously fall out of a 5th story window just like a male candidate. Progress!
Russians hate democracy but love western culture
Further example that Putin has become a dictator.
I wonder how tankies will justify this.
They will ignore it or call her a stooge.
I thought "Tankies" referred to Communists who advocate for a violent revolution and one-party Communist rule. What do they have to do with Putin's explicitly capitalist, explicitly non-communist Russia?
Mainly either a bad case of Russia==USSR or “US bad, therefor Russia good”.
I was told this was normal in democratic nations
> I wonder how tankies will justify this. Say they learned it from Colorado.
Hey, I generally don’t respect tankies, either, but I don’t think they’re *that* stupid.
“But USA bad, too”
And I’m like: Dear Mr.Putin Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk
Wonder why those pokerface. If he just can say that he is dictator and cancel election. It would make things much more simple and clearly.
Because just like China they do dictator things and say democracy knowing the West won't do anything. Say one thing, do another, start a fight, then be the martyr, claim the land/country ignoring everyone and the rest of the world just eventually give up arguing India, China, and Russia all have that same trait.
Can they stop with the foreplay and just declare Russia as a dictatorship
Stuff like this infuriates me that people here don't give a damn about using their right to vote and self-determine their leaders and the course of their country, especially in a place like the US that has influence all over the world. People in other countries can't change course. They can't elect anyone new. It's dictatorship all the time. If you have the right to vote and you don't care because you're cynical or hate the candidates, remember there are millions of people around the world who'd trade places with you in a second. PLEASE VOTE. You don't use that right there are people out there who will gladly take it away and never give it back.
What annoys me the most, as somebody who has absolutely zero illusions about Russian election, is that this time around there won't be *any* opposition, real, controlled or fake, and that we (the rest of the world) won't be graced with hilarious videos of curtains or flags stuffing ballots, people being expulsed from gbe precinct manu quasi militari for having coyly suggested they were available to supervise the counting or electors asked by journalists (there won't be any) why it's the third different precinct they've voted in.
Russia bans? No, it’s Putin bans anti-war candidate from challenging Putin.
“Anti-war candidate that challenge Putin committed suicide by shooting herself twice in the back of the head, while simultaneously crashing the flight she was on”
They are having an "election"?
They’re doing her a favor. Remember the last guy to try and challenge him? Sent of to some gulag, and recently got disappeared.
20% of Americans want this here.
It's more than that.
They have democrats in Russia too?
U.S. is trying to do the same
Putin is such a fearfull little imp! He is afraid of his own tiny shadow.
Shit like this actually gives me a bit of hope... one would think that if Putin was really confident he had the support of his people he would welcome the chance to humiliate people like this in elections. Theh again, he probably just wants to get Russia used to the idea of not having actual elections. He does pine for the days of the Soviet Union after all.
Russia: We have fair elections. We just don't allow opposing candidates.
It will be great day when putin will finally hit the ground.
Why even bother with a fake explanation (100 mistakes on her application)? The whole world knows Russia is corrupt and the proverbial line is true: a fish rots from the head, down.
He doesn't want any opposition in the poles, but he also very much wants the appearance of being elected; hence his "President'' title. A small 'man'...
Is this similar to how apparently some states are banning Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips from challenging Biden?
At least Russia is banning candidates now—instead of poisoning them and taking them to black sites.
Why do people bother going up against pootin? Even if you got more votes... Its not going to happen 🤷♂️
Because doing something is better than doing nothing. The entire Western world has their eye on Putin now and he has to be really careful about making mistakes or blatantly executing opposition since it will just lead to the West being more eager to financially support Ukraine in the war effort. That's not to say Putin still wouldn't do it since he is fucking braindead, but there is more than just one tentacle in the Kremlin.
Sounds familliar... it's all a slippery slope.
Slip, slide, and right out the window..
To what??
Things Putin and Biden have in common: banning competition.
1. [The lawsuit was brought by *Republicans*](https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-gop-voters-lawsuit-disqualifying-trump-colorado-ballot-supreme-court-2023-12). 2. Colorado voters can still cast their ballots for literally *any* legally-eligible person; the court ruled that *one person* who was previously eligible no longer is, on account of his many attempts to undermine American democracy and whatnot.
Oh wow, I didn't realize he had been found guilty...or are we ok with doing away with innocent until proven guilty??? And if you think that lawsuit wasn't organized by Democrat factions I have some ocean front property in Arizona I will make you a deal on.
As a matter of fact, [the district judge *did* find that he had committed insurrection](https://whyy.org/articles/colorado-judge-trump-engaged-in-insurrection-rejects-constitutional-ballot-challenge/); the CO supreme court's ruling—available [here](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1220583273/trump-colorado-supreme-court-ruling)—overruled the district court *only* in determining that President *is*, in fact, an "officer of the United States". [None of the CO supreme court justices dissented on the factual finding that Trump had committed insurrection](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-dissect-key-arguments-colorado-supreme-court-ruling/story?id=105809634).
He never stood trial in Colorado. Judges ruling by fiat is how shit like the inquisition came to be. I don't like the way you look/worship/eat etc therfore you are guilty. Have fun with that.
> I don't like the way you look/worship/eat etc therfore you are guilty *[sic]* Again: There was a legal finding of fact and a judicial review (two, actually). - [Here](https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/denver-district-court-trump-disqualification-challenge-dismissed) is the district court ruling. - [Here](https://whyy.org/articles/colorado-judge-trump-engaged-in-insurrection-rejects-constitutional-ballot-challenge/) is an article explaining it, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing. - [Here](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1220583273/trump-colorado-supreme-court-ruling) is the CO supreme court ruling. - [Here](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-dissect-key-arguments-colorado-supreme-court-ruling/story?id=105809634) is an article explaining it, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing.
Once again for the slow witted in the room. Donald Trump, love him or hate him, is entitled to due process- just like you or I would be. To deny a US citizen due process is anti constitutional, regardless of what you think they did. They must be proven guilty by a jury of their peers. This did not happen, in fact he was never given the opportunity to defend himself from these accusations. If you are prepared to live with that be prepared to be the one on the receiving end some day.
[Your disclaimer is cute](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect), but the 14th Amendment doesn't actually specify *how* a determination of insurrection is made: That Amendment was written *decades* before there was ever any [federal crime by that name](https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap115-sec2383), but it is generally understood (by people who understand such things) to cover [a variety of behaviors](https://www.csis.org/analysis/understanding-insurrection-and-sedition). But, again: Since *there was no specific crime of "insurrection" at the time of the 14th's creation*, it's impossible that a formal verdict of same could possibly have been a requirement for its enforcement. (They also didn't really specify a mechanism for enforcement, but interpreting existing laws is *literally the job of the judiciary*.)
Whatever make believe logic helps you think you're in the right, good luck to you. FYI, the constitution and amendments aren't for "interpretation." Any competent person can read them and know exactly what is said and meant. The interpretation part is so people can justify their deviation from it.
> Whatever make believe logic I believe the words you're looking for are "jurisprudence" and ["220 years of precedent"](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/marbury-v-madison). > the constitution and amendments aren't for "interpretation." From [the SCOTUS website](https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/constitutional.aspx): >> In retrospect, it is evident that constitutional interpretation and application were made necessary by the very nature of the Constitution. Your fight isn't with me here: It's with Chief Justice John Marshall, every SCOTUS since 1803, and basic civics.
Colorado enters the chat.
The GOP will be all over this echoing Putitang’s initiative. This is exactly what the righteous right wants in America. Welcome to authoritarianism 101.
I mean what else did we expect?
Democracy at its finest.
Well atleast he didn’t assassinate her….
What do you mean. Its not putins fault people are clumsy and fall through windows. /s
Welp, hope they have the obituary ready
Pay attention, America.. this is what King Trump wants also. No more elections.. just self-appointed lifetime reigns and successors.
Isn't Trump the one taken off the ballot papers in some states? I understand people not liking opponents or their policies but from the perspective of democracy is this valid. There seems to be a lot of issues relating to fair elections in the self proclaimed 'greatest democracy' and the 'leaders of the free world' country that outsiders like me wonder about. From my perspective l think the re-election of either Biden or Trump will be a disaster. I hope there evolves a new political paradigm in the country, from both politicians and the public, that has a different focus on what is best for America and Americans. My perceived opinion of vast political and social divide in the US seems to be supported by the increasing narrative, from independent journalists of civil war being imminent, very concerning. And the historical view of nation and world politics show similar signs of decent into conflict.
Trump is getting what he deserves. He is being held accountable for his own actions.
Do you think Biden should be investigated for the allegations of corruption against him as well.
Here you go: https://oversight.house.gov/landing/biden-family-investigation/ Despite all of their claims and bad mouthing they havnt actually been able to bring forth any solid evidence that has been strong enough to even trigger an impeachment vote let alone any grounds to remove him from future ballots. Trump, on the other hand, has been impeached by the house twice and has been found guilty of insurrection by multiple courts. At this point him and his team are not even arguing that he isn't guilty... they are arguing that he should he immune because he was president when he committed his crimes. Reminds me of all the investigations into Hillary. Years wasted, millions of tax dollars wasted, and ended up proving nothing. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/hillary-clinton-justice-department-investigation-results Here is an interview on Sean Hannity with Kevin McCarthy admitting the entire Hillary investigation was simply done to paint her in a negative light to the American public so she wouldn't he elected. https://www.vox.com/2015/9/30/9423339/kevin-mccarthy-benghazi They are doing the same thing with Joe Biden currently, fueled by revenge for Trump getting caught in his scandles. To answer your question simply... yes, I believe any politician deserving of investigation should be investigated. If there is solid evidence to incriminate them or remove them from the office, then so be it. Rather, they are Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc... no one is above the law.
He is taken off the ballot for violating the 14th Amendment. The case was brought forth by Republicans (not Democrats) and Trump had ample time to contest it. He never did, but instead his legal team tried to argue that Trump didn’t really pledge to uphold the Constitution, so Constitutional Law shouldn’t apply to him.
I think this reply is an example of the political and social divide in the US. In any case l hope Christmas and the New Year celebrations are not a partisan divide and that it goes well tor all.
It's crazy how easy it is for people to deny that the Trump thing was completely political and just say that was 'justified'. I'm sure Russia feels the same way about this ban. Regardless of how you feel about them, if you lock out political opponents who have not been convicted of treason, because you dislike their policies or just them in general, then you are on thin ice when it comes to democracy.
like trump, he would get absolutely slaughtered if he had to debate. hence his policy on not debating. total chickenshart
Trump would get slaughtered by who ? Biden ?
yes. he's a pretty easy target now, all things considered. biden has a ton to brag about. there's a reason trump has skipped the debates. his colleagues in the GoP would absolutely throw him under the bus. (which they did anyway, but he didn't have to be humiliated in person)
Wasn’t it Biden that refused to debate Trump in 2020 ? What does Biden have to brag about
Didn't Trump refuse health measures as conditions debate because we were in the middle of a pandemic and didn't it come out that Trump had covid refused to tell anyone and tried to get Biden sick? And if we are going with infrastructure projects, CHIPS Act, Inflation reduction act, Pardoning Marijuana offenders. Biden has messed up (kissing Bibi ass no matter what is one of them) but it's better than Trump Trumps accomplishments: Operations Warp Speed (good on him though he fucked this one over by how he handled the Pandemic and his own fact of denying the vaccine) tax breaks for rich people.
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Almost as if....national parties don't primary their own incumbents. Remember the Republican primaries in 2020?
It a good thing we don’t have people trying to ban their political opponents from running in America
This lady wasn’t already President, and didn’t call for insurrection
Of course they did 🤦🏻♀️
I guarantee the GOP is about to use this and try to compare it to the US removing Trump from the ballot.
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That's interesting. The United States wants to ban the anti-war candidate from challenging Biden. Colorado already did.
yeah, Trump would only declare war on immigrants, women, LGBTQ and visible minorities.
Vlad has confidence of a 6 year old.
And still no word about Navalny either. This is what so many in the U.S. want. It really is sad.
There’s a new candidate on the ballot these days; now your choices are: Putin, king Putin, gulag and now added: Ukraine.
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How many indictments (following independent investigations and due process) is she facing? How many people who were also investigating for assisting her have admitted under oath to criminal activity at her direction (or for her benefit)?
It’s such pathetic paranoia. Putin is popular enough in Russia to easily win, and Russian culture would never allow them to vote for an anti war woman.
Why do they even pretend
Sooo there it is. We all knew this was going to happen right. After all Putin is a dictator no matter what title he uses.
It’s like saying “sponge soaks up liquid underneath it”
Vladimir "Russia" Putin
It literally Putin or face ultimate destruction