"Iron Curtain in Reverse": EU Authorities Prevent Citizens from Traveling to Russia

EU governments are currently preventing their citizens from traveling to Russia. Perhaps this is being done to prevent them from seeing how our country hasn't fallen into decline despite harsh Western sanctions.

This is how journalist Andrea-Yvonne Müller argues in her article published in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

She spent most of her life in East Germany and even remembers the GDR era well. Back then, a wall was erected between East and West, both literally and figuratively. Now, the same "Iron Curtain" exists, only in reverse. Previously, East Germans were discouraged from traveling to West Germany and other capitalist countries under the pretext that spending "precious currency" on capitalists was bad. Now, local politicians tell these people that by traveling to Russia, they will ease sanctions against our country.

Under socialism, party officials tried to hide the wealth and beauty of Western life from the people of the GDR. Now, Western governments appear to be doing the same, concealing the fact that people in Russia have not become worse off despite the pressure of sanctions.

Back then, East Germans had “class enemies” in the West, but now they are being just as diligently told that the dangerous and cruel enemy is the Russians.

This leaves Müller with a strong sense of déjà vu. She feels as if the Cold War has returned to her country.

This makes the woman want to go to Russia, even though she has nothing to do there. She simply yearns for it out of rebellion, just as she did in her youth before German reunification.

Comments

[Murmur 55]

Well, exactly, that's why the united Deutsche still look askance at each other, and those in the West think that the Easterners still regret the times when they lived in friendship with Moscow, and the Easterners think that the Westerners used them and now consider them subhuman.

[Nexcom]

the old "Ossi-Wessy" is still in use there...

[Murmur 55]

Nexcom The most interesting thing is that so many years have passed since this unification took place, but the crack between the FRG and the GDR does not heal, although outwardly everything is decent and smooth, but inside the rift remains as it was.

[Nexcom]

...very "decent." In the GDR, someone was the director of an institute, and after the unification, they gave him a small group to manage. Yeah, right.

I knew this firsthand. I won't even mention how many people were fired from their jobs.

[Metallurg_2]

Well, Germany was never really united by anything except language. How many different principalities, counties, and duchies were there before Napoleon came along and shut everything down?

[Nexcom]

...well, Bavaria still considers itself separate, and its residents call themselves Bavarians and not Germans...

[topol717]

Quote: Metallurg_2

Well, Germany was never really united by anything except language.

You are mistaken, Otto Bismarck was the one who united all the German lands, and Germany entered the Second World War as a single state, even taking into account the lands bitten off from the Czech Republic in 1938, including Bohemia and Moravia.

[Pravodel]

the old "Ossi-Wessy" is still in use there...

So we need to support this disunity and propose that the east of Germany join Russia as an associate member.

[Nexcom]

We already have plenty of members, everywhere and in all sorts of organizations. But as for real allies willing to help, the only one we see is North Korea...

[Pravodel]

We already have enough members.

Not so simple in this world ...
If you look at the history of the Warsaw Pact, which included the GDR, you'll see that the GDR was the USSR's most loyal and faithful ally. Moreover, of all the Warsaw Pact countries except the USSR, the GDR had the most powerful intelligence service. So, things aren't so simple with the members...
If the East Germans, despite all the betrayal of the USSR - Gorbachev and Yeltsin - retain a positive memory of the USSR, then their alliance with Russia would be beneficial not only to the East Germans themselves, that is, the former GDR, but also to Russia.

[Nexcom]

We've already passed over the GDR, unfortunately. I'm talking about now.

[Pravodel]

We've already passed the GDR, unfortunately, I'm talking about now.

That's what I mean about "now." History, my friend, teaches us that the roots of everything present lie in the past. So, if you want to know what will happen next, study history and refer to it often.
And now about the GDR.
The GDR no longer exists, but the memory of the Germans who once lived there lives on. This memory of the USSR doesn't denigrate the USSR itself, but East Germans remember their existence with the USSR positively. And, given what has been written above, an alliance between East Germans and Russia could be positive for both the East Germans themselves and Russia itself.

[Rakitin]

Simply put, "Ossies" aren't really Germans at all. Genetically, they are 80-90% Germanized Western Slavs. Until the mid-19th century, there was even debate about whether the inhabitants of Austria and Prussia could be considered Germans, given the enormous influence of their Slavic background. For example, as early as the early 18th century, more than half of the inhabitants of Leipzig and Dresden spoke Sorbian (and Sorbian is even closer to Russian than Polish or Czech). Then, after Prussia's victory over Austria and the other Bavarians and the assumption of the role of "gatherer of German lands," the Prussians were tacitly recognized as the "model Germans."
After 1945, due to the catastrophic loss of local males and the presence of a 600-strong Soviet presence in East Germany, at least 1 million children were born to Soviet fathers in the future GDR. This further shaped the distinctive image of the "Ossie."

[Nexcom]

...well, yes, it remains for the West Germans to remember about "correct" and "incorrect" skulls...
The Swedes had "eugenics" going on for God knows how long—an entire institute worked there, sorting out the "bad guys"... so the Hans didn't exactly invent selective breeding back then—they ripped it off from the Swedes. Research the Swedes—you'll be very surprised. Adolf wasn't exactly a pioneer in this...

[Arkady007]

Murmur 55
Do you yourself believe what you wrote or are you simply repeating the media mantra?
Have many people from East Germany returned back to Russia?

[Word]

This has always been and will be the case when ideology loses and does not keep pace with technological times.

[eugen_caro]

that's right... and most of the Ossies are now really nostalgic for the GDR... and here's another nuance - until recently, Lukashenko introduced a visa-free regime for those who have roots or relatives in Belarus - and people have been traveling to Belarus for 3 years now - and bring back not only gifts showing that Belarusians are doing great - that they are not starving and do not live in a concentration camp (as some media here seriously claimed) - but they also say that Belarusians live better than us and our faggot aces are stupidly lying - and now this silliness is over - the Poles and Lithuanians forcibly closed the border for their part.... (otherwise it's not far to the collapse of the EU) - we, you see, are telling the cattle that in Russia and Belarus - MORDOR - entire institutions work for this - they receive a salaries - and a bunch of irresponsible Rednecks - go there - and all the work of respected structures to fool the rednecks will go down the drain.... - it's disgusting - yeah!...

[Hunter 2]

In fact, anyone who wants to can come to Russia! There are some, I've seen them personally... and there are also volunteers, including some from East Germany, good guys.

[Monster_Fat]

And how do they "obstruct" you? Do they hold you hand and foot and prevent you from traveling to Russia with a Russian entry visa already stamped in your passport? Do they threaten to fire you from your job, strip you of your civil rights, imprison you, place you under surveillance, turn off your electricity and water, and so on after your trip to Russia? How exactly? Or is it just "blah-blah-blah"?

[Hunter 2]

I haven’t written a single word about what they are hindering, on the contrary, I am writing about the fact that they are with us, they are even fighting for us.

[Monster_Fat]

I haven't written a single word about what's hindering us, on the contrary, I'm writing about the fact that they are here with us, they're even fighting for us...

What does this have to do with you? Don't you know that when I write posts, they often appear in random order? My post is about the article as a whole...

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Monster_Fat

Don't you know that when you write posts, they often appear in random order?

Well, yes, of course. A common way of clinging to something higher.

The post "in general" would have flown down, creating a new thread.

10 years on the site, and such, um, cheap, um, excuses

[Egoza]

Quote: Hunter 2

I am writing about the fact that they are with us, they even fight for us.

Yes, East Germans came back in 2014 and fought on the side of the LPR and DPR, until the "Minsk agreements" came out.

[Dart2027]

The European Union (EU) doesn't want to allow its citizens into Russia in order to conceal its prosperity and continue to lie to the population, according to Andrea-Yvonne Müller, an author in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

"The nineteenth round of US and European Union sanctions against Russia prohibits travel agencies and tour operators from selling trips to Russia. <…> Today, it seems, I shouldn't see Russia thriving," she emphasized.
More details: https://www.m24.ru/news/politika/01112025/843629?utm_source=CopyBuf

[ergh081]

You might even say, "...to hide its prosperity..." Whose prosperity? That of the bankers? In a wartime environment, there can be no prosperity except for our bankers: two years in a row, two trillion in profits in the banking sector. From this, by the way, we can draw certain conclusions about who benefits from this war, and who are the beneficiaries, essentially. Everyone else is starting to feel the squeeze on their wallets and accounts. I'll go further: according to one of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation's forecasts, the decline in GDP by the end of 2026 will amount to 6% year-on-year. That's the Central Bank's forecast, but it will be 10-12%. Now they'll slap VAT up to 22%, hitting small businesses hard, transferring them to the general tax system. It won't be easy.

[Dart2027]

Quote: ergh081

You might even say: "...to hide its prosperity..." Whose prosperity? That of the bankers? In a war-torn world, there can be no prosperity except that of our bankers: two years in a row, two trillion in profits in the banking sector.

You forgot to say that the people are dying of hunger, everyone is on the verge of rebellion, and the missiles ran out in some year, I don’t remember exactly.

[Essex62]

And what is the connection between the super-profits of usurers, which is absolute reality, and all the other nonsense below?
1) They won’t let you die of hunger;
2) Riots are not at all a part of modern Russia (see point 1). There are no idiots with money these days; they've memorized the lessons of the last century so thoroughly that they bounce off their teeth. They balance like tightrope walkers. And most importantly, the only class capable of controlling them has been exterminated;
3) The missiles may run out the year NATO finally starts paying back its money. So, definitely not anytime soon. They're not ready yet.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

And what is the connection between the super-profits of usurers and absolute reality?

You're talking about reality in propaganda:

Quote: Essex62

1) They won’t let you die of hunger;

What about the mantras of class struggle?

Quote: Essex62

2) Riots are not at all typical of modern Russia.

because people have become smarter since the beginning of the last century and are not fooled by beautiful fairy tales.

Quote: Essex62

3) The missiles may run out in the year when NATO finally starts to return its money.

So why aren't they pushing?

[Essex62]

Not mantras, but historical inevitability. There is no class; you've destroyed it through "we'll buy everything there" and the destruction of your industry.
The people are still the same. They really want justice and equality. The bourgeoisie has gotten smarter and doesn't take things to extremes. I've never met a single one, unless they're a masochist, who would ride on their backs. But, as always, they're very patient.
I wrote why, they're not ready. They're using proxies for now.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

There is no class, you have destroyed it through “we’ll buy everything there” and the destruction of your industry.

Really? Who works in the factories?

Quote: Essex62

The people are still the same. They really want justice and equality.

These songs are sung every time someone wants to seize power. But in the real world, no one will be able to build a just society—human nature won't allow it.
Dreaming of a new communist revolution? Well, if it happens anywhere—I hope not here—after victory, half the revolutionaries at the very top will be sacked within a week. That's life.

Quote: Essex62

I wrote why, they're not ready. They're using proxies for now.

And? Why don't they push themselves if they can?

[Essex62]

Have you seen many factories here? The working class is still small.

Personally, I really liked Soviet power. It gave the working man all the benefits. And the hucksters, in cold climates, wielded picks and saws, instead of imposing their own rotten, wolfish rules.

Can you read? It's the third time—we're not ready yet. We've gotten complacent and decided we're done for after they imposed their agenda on us. They were pushing consumer goods instead of military hardware. Now they've started.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

How many factories have you seen here?

More than.

Quote: Essex62

Personally, I really liked the Soviet regime. It provided every possible benefit to the working man.

Yeah. Especially compared to the party officials. Not everything was bad, but there was no universal equality.

Quote: Essex62

Can you read? Third time - not ready yet.

So when will they be ready? How many years have they been trying to change the government here?

[Essex62]

More than where?

Your knowledge is flawed. Brezhnev's salary, from which he paid contributions, was, in the north, sometimes even a thousand rubles a month. The secretary of our district party committee had golden toilets, three of them, and certainly more spacious than our two-story Khrushchev-era apartment. The TV is a Schmidt-style TV and the furniture is Czech. I went to the same class as his son and visited him many times.

What does a change of power have to do with it? They changed it in 91-93. But they're not ready for an invasion. When? Better yet, never.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

More than where?

In Russia.

Quote: Essex62

Your knowledge is false. Brezhnev's salary, from which he paid contributions, was off the charts for me in the north, in some months, even for a thousand.

We remember the resorts, hospitals and shops where mere mortals were not allowed.

Quote: Essex62

What does a change of power have to do with it? They changed it in 91-93. But they're not ready for an invasion.

Then why invade? The goal of an invasion is precisely to change the government, in case you didn't know.

[Essex62]

Well, yes, in Russia, but more so than anywhere else? Count on your fingers, in comparison with both our recent past and our enemies.
I was quite happy with our professional resorts. I couldn't care less how the Politburo had fun. The main thing was that they were at the state's expense, in accordance with the Table of Ranks. He left, they selected him. And how many of them were there?
The goal of invading is to kill us all and plunder with impunity. They've already replaced the government to suit themselves. It's pointless.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

Well, yes, in Russia, but more than where?

That is, there is nothing to say except clinging to words.

Quote: Essex62

I was quite happy with our professional resorts. I couldn't care less how the Politburo were having fun.

That is, you do not deny the fact that there was a caste system in the USSR.

Quote: Essex62

The goal of invading is to kill us all and plunder with impunity. They've already replaced the government to suit themselves. It's pointless.

So, the power is theirs, but it's against them? You decide.

[Essex62]

For pity's sake, where am I getting hung up on? I'm pointing out a fact. How many were there in the USSR and how many are there now? And even then, life and war forced us to at least develop something. The Chinese don't give us anything except beads, and we need something to fight with.

There was no caste at all. Democracy in the pre-shooting Soviet Union was enough to make Americans choke with envy. People took on responsibility for a tasty ration and slightly better conditions, and sometimes lost it all when they couldn't handle it. Put your party card on the table, and you could be a janitor. Try pushing off fat bureaucrats these days. That's where the impenetrable caste lies. Or the mafia.

In their image and likeness. Only the descendants of pirates, the precocious, didn't recognize them as equals. And why do you think they're against it? If we remove the half-witted EU members from the helm of Gayrope and bring back national, separate states, our bourgeoisie will be kissing their gums again tomorrow.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

How many were there in the USSR and how many are there now.

The USSR itself was much larger. And factories exist, that's a fact.

Quote: Essex62

There was no caste at all. Democracy in the pre-shooting Soviet Union was enough to make Americans choke with envy. People took on responsibility for a tasty ration and slightly better conditions, and sometimes lost everything when they couldn't handle it. Just put your party card on the table, and you could have become a janitor.

I don't remember ever hearing about such a janitor.

Quote: Essex62

In their image and likeness. Only the descendants of pirates, the precocious ones, didn't recognize them as equals. And why do you think they're against it?

Let's remember how much they tried to organize a coup in our country.

[Essex62]

Of course there are. But not many. :laughing
Of course there are, but it will be too little. As will the working class, as a result.

Well, yes. Not many lived to become janitors. A party card on the table and a heart attack. And in the temporary detention center, it wasn't just janitors you became. There was work for every taste. A pick, a shovel, and a saw.

Yes, they did it already, thirty years ago. What else is there to turn over? Just replace the figures in the towers.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

Of course there is, it will be too little.

Few sources?

Quote: Essex62

Not many lived to become street cleaners. A party card on the table and a heart attack.

I haven't heard of anything like that either.

Quote: Essex62

And in the temporary detention center, it wasn't just janitors who became people. There was work for every taste. Pickaxes, shoveling, and sawing were all available.

It was. Only he died (not necessarily on his own).

Quote: Essex62

Yes, they did it already, thirty years ago.

Well, yes, the entire leadership of the CPSU were their agents.

[Essex62]

You haven't heard, but I've seen a couple of them.

There was one, for sure. But the most important one. He brought in the turncoats, eliminating the communists. They would jump out of windows, shoot themselves, from three trellises at once, or simply push them aside so they wouldn't interfere with the rebuilding... for speculation. It kind of started under socialism, after all. Don't you remember?

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

There was one, for sure. But he was the most important one. He brought in the turncoats, eliminating the communists. They "jumped out of windows," "shot" from three trellises at once, or simply pushed them aside so they wouldn't interfere with the rebuilding... for speculation.

Really? Actually, at first you were arguing here that this was how the USSR dealt with those who stole, took bribes, and so on, and now you're talking about perestroika.

[Essex62]

Wait. Where did I say that? Socialism ended as soon as the marked one began to abolish its fundamental principles, gradually legitimizing speculation under the slogan "more socialism." What kind of thieves were the perestroika people fighting? They merged with them.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

Stop. Where did I say that?

Quote: Essex62

Democracy in the pre-shooting Soviet Union was enough to make Americans choke with envy. People took on responsibility for a tasty ration and slightly better conditions, and sometimes lost everything before they could handle it. Put your party card on the table, and you could be a street sweeper. Try pushing off those fat bureaucrats these days. That's where the impenetrable caste is. Or the mafia.

The perestroika people definitely have nothing to do with it.

[Essex62]

And where's the thieves mentioned? You're always yelling that party members lived better than you. Well, firstly, they lived only a little better, and secondly, given the responsibility and burden they had, they had every right to. That was the case until a certain point. The period of the turncoats' disintegration.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

So, first of all, they lived just a little bit better.

Well, when smoked sausage was in short supply... I think it's better the way it is now.

[Essex62]

What's better? How is this sausage paid for? By lawlessness, the loss of all social services, the dominance of thieves, swindlers, and speculators/loan sharks? By the complete loss of moral compass, the elimination of the creative person, replacing him with a consumer—the stomach? It's your business. I don't like this at all. I've seen a different country. And I knew we could try and do better. So that sausage would appear everywhere. What a problem. Build factories where the "raw materials" graze. This could have been done in every regional center. And they speculated according to my wishes (and according to me personally) from tank fools and
riflemen and the legally elected people's government.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: AI

This phrase is part of a well-known prayer also called "prayer for peace of mind" Its full version is: "Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."This prayer has been attributed to various authors, including the American pastor Reinhold Niebuhr and the German theologian Karl Friedrich Oetinger.

Try it, it's been proven - it helps.

[Essex62]

I don't need prayers. I'm stress-resistant. I can manage without a moral crutch and won't lose my faith in a righteous, just world. If I don't see it myself, no big deal; the main thing is, people will come to it anyway. Unless, of course, the profiteers bury everyone en masse. Something like that has been looming lately.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

I don't need prayers

Well, this isn't really a prayer. Someone very smart wrote this:

Lord, give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to distinguish one from the other

But actually, I myself am, well... non-religious. In the words "in general" and "completely".

[Essex62]

Precisely because prayer is the most natural way to walk and a call to abandon resistance. That's why religion was invented. Jewish religion, at least.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

Precisely, that prayer... and a call to renounce resistance

Yes of course:

Lord, give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change what I can, and wisdom to distinguish one from the other

[Essex62]

Accepting the seemingly impossible doesn't work. I prefer "there are no fortresses the Bolsheviks can't take..." (c)

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

Lawlessness, the loss of all social services, the dominance of thieves, swindlers, and speculators/loan sharks? The complete loss of moral compass, the elimination of the creative individual, their replacement by the consumer—the stomach?

Social issues still exist, the prevalence of thieves was there back then, but creativity is an innate quality, and people are different even now.

Quote: Essex62

And I knew that I could try and do better.

That's the point, no. Shortages and other problems are not the cause, but the effect. People are just people—and there was no other humanity back then. That's why everything fell apart.

[Essex62]

There is no trace of such social programs and the absence of extortions now.

There wasn't a thieving scourge back then. What nonsense? Most people worked honestly, for a salary. But when they became allied with the authorities, that's when it all happened.

The consequence of which is the absence of speculators,
A loan shark and a swindler. It didn't collapse, it was destroyed. Because power and administrative resources ended up in their hands. There's nothing natural about what happened. No one in their right mind would want to end up in a snake pit.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

It didn't fall apart, it was destroyed. Because power and administrative resources ended up in their hands.

And this happened because of the actions of some Martians?

[Essex62]

We're going in circles. The Contra did this, people with bourgeois convictions, enemies of the working man.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

The Contra did this, people of bourgeois convictions, enemies of the working man.

So? What next? These were all people who were born, raised, and educated in the USSR. They all made careers in the party, the KGB, and so on.

[Essex62]

So what? They were born, raised, educated, and betrayed us to speculate and smuggle the loot to the enemy. And they didn't strangle the working class, like they used to. What are you trying to say? Their percentage of the rest, who fell victim to capitalism, isn't that big.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

What are you trying to say? Their percentage compared to the rest of those who fell victim to capitalism isn't very significant.

Quote: Dart2027

People are just people - and there was no other humanity back then. That's why everything fell apart.

[Essex62]

I get it. People are just different, with different beliefs. There aren't many who are prone to speculation, fraud, usury, and theft, but you're lumping everyone in with that. Most Soviet people were fed up with wild capitalism, so they adapted. So what can you do? A commoner is just a commoner. Surely you wouldn't claim that we live in a just society today?

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

There are not many people who are prone to speculation, fraud, usury and theft, but you classify everyone as such.

Firstly, there are quite a lot of them, and secondly, they are much better suited to getting into power.

Quote: Essex62

You wouldn’t say that we live in a just society today, would you?

I won't. But such a society is fundamentally impossible, unless a higher power intervenes.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

But such a society is in principle impossible, unless a higher power intervenes.

Inspired by:

Quote: Strugatsky: It's hard to be a god.

- Well then, - he said, - so be it. I would say to the Almighty: "Creator, I do not know your plans; perhaps you do not intend to make people good and happy. Want it! It is so easy to achieve! Give people bread, meat and wine in abundance, give them shelter and clothing. Let hunger and want disappear, and with them everything that divides people."
- And it's all? asked Rumata.
- It seems to you that this is not enough?
Rumata shook his head.
- God would answer you: “This will not benefit people. For the powerful of your world will take away from the weak what I have given them, and the weak will remain poor.”
- I would ask God to protect the weak, “Reason the cruel rulers,” I would say.
- Cruelty is power. Having lost cruelty, the rulers will lose power, and other cruel ones will replace them.
Budah stopped smiling.
“Punish the cruel,” he said firmly, “so that the strong will learn not to show cruelty to the weak.”
"A person is born weak. He becomes strong when there is no one stronger than him. When the cruelest of the strong are punished, their place will be taken by the strongest of the weak. Also cruel. So we'll have to punish everyone, and I don't want that."
"You know best, Almighty One. Then just make sure people get everything and don't take from each other what you've given them."
“And this will not benefit people,” sighed Rumata, “for when they receive everything for free, without effort, from my hands, they will forget the work, lose the taste for life and turn into my domestic animals, which I will be forced to feed and clothe forever.”
"Don't give them everything at once!" Budakh said heatedly. "Give them little by little, gradually!"
- Gradually, people themselves will take everything they need.

and from there:

everything has already been invented before us

[Dart2027]

Quote: Paranoid62

Quote: Strugatsky: It's hard to be a god.

If you read the Stragatskys carefully, you'll see that the Earthling "Rumata" doesn't consider most locals human at all. For him, humans are only the intelligentsia. As for the notorious working class... Well, you get the idea.

...Two hundred thousand people! There was something common about them for an alien from Earth. Perhaps it was that almost without exception, they were not yet human in the modern sense of the word, but blanks, molds from which only the bloody centuries of history would one day carve a truly proud and free man...
...Protoplasm. Just protoplasm, eating and reproducing...
...Grit your teeth and remember that you are a god in disguise...
...Enough, are these people?..
...It's hopeless. You can give them everything. You can house them in the most modern houses and teach them ionic procedures, and still, in the evenings, they'll gather in the kitchen, play cards, and laugh at the neighbor whose wife is beating him. And there won't be any better way for them to spend their time...
...There's only one thing left to do: save the few who can be saved. Well, maybe another ten, maybe two dozen more... But the mere thought that thousands of others, perhaps less talented, but also honest, truly noble people, were fatally doomed, sent an icy chill through my chest...

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

If you read the Stragatskys carefully

They are the Strugtskys, actually...

Quote: Dart2027

then the earthling "Rumata" does not consider most of the locals to be people at all

Um... I always read carefully, professional deformation.

And he's right to do so. Moreover, the so-called "working class" is an artificial invention of the classics of Marxism:

Quote: Dart2027

You can give them everything. You can house them in the most modern homes and teach them ionic procedures, and still, in the evenings, they'll gather in the kitchen, play cards, and laugh at the neighbor whose wife is beating him. And there won't be a better way to spend their time...

That's why we worked with those who stood out from the crowd even slightly. Ultimately, the work was unsuccessful.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Paranoid62

They are the Strugtskys, actually...

Just a typo.

Quote: Paranoid62

And rightly so.

Being a communist? For someone who fancies himself a progressive god, that seems a bit odd.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

For someone who imagines himself as a progressive god, this is somehow strange.

Even a progressive God understands that nothing but shit can be made from it.

Next - see above about the "working class"

[Dart2027]

Quote: Paranoid62

Even the progressive God understands

You're forgetting that we're talking about a communist, and one from the world of victorious communism. It's all very different for us, but he must have reasoned completely differently.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

he should have reasoned completely differently

Um... I'm already bored. Everything has already been written above. "The world of victorious communism" is still somewhere on the level of Heaven.

And there's a specific person working there, in a specific swamp. What he can do, he does; what he can't, well, excuse me... that's up to God. Or to victorious communism.

Let's wrap this up, it's not even funny anymore. I thought you were sane for a while, but now I'm starting to have doubts.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Paranoid62

"The world of victorious communism" is still somewhere on the level of Heaven.

Quote: Paranoid62

And this is full speed ahead. Should I? To whom? On what basis?

If you're saying that communism is impossible in principle, I know that perfectly well. But we're talking about the book.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

But we're talking about a book.

Crap )))

You're talking about the book, colleague Essex62 is talking about the background... I'm already confused, really )))

The book clearly shows why the leap from the Middle Ages to Communism is impossible. It really is impossible. The rest is just lyricism, sophistry, and scholasticism.

IMHO, naturally.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Paranoid62

You're talking about the book, colleague Essex62 is talking about the background... I'm already confused, really )))

Well, since you quoted the book, that's what I'm talking about.

Quote: Paranoid62

The book clearly shows why the leap from the Middle Ages to communism is impossible. It really is impossible.

I would say that communism is impossible in principle, due to human nature.

Quote: Dart2027

unless a higher power intervenes

and it is precisely a higher power in the direct sense, and not some progressors from somewhere.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Dart2027

he should have reasoned completely differently

And this is full speed ahead. Should? To whom? On what basis? Nonsense.

[Essex62]

And that's the point, he's a communist. He has to be. He owes everyone. That's his way of life and his inner convictions. When your shirt is firmly attached to your back, it certainly seems absurd. And Arkady, with Borya, is a real contrarian.
For some reason, the intellectual thinks that he is the center of the universe, and the worker turns out to be an artificial invention of Karla
Friedrich.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

And on that very point, he's a communist. He has to. He owes it to everyone. That's his way of life and his inner convictions.

I see. You haven't read the book. The guy's mind was blown when his girlfriend was killed. A local girl, by the way.

I would have been blown away too. Even though I'm not a communist at all (they invited me in the 80s, but by then I realized everything was rotten there, and I refused).

Somehow

[Essex62]

Of course I read it. And I really didn't like the thinking of that "communist" Kammerer, or rather his spiritual fathers Arkasha and Boris. And I agree about the rottenness. I didn't refuse; I saw a revolution in the candidates.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

I read it, of course.

Amazingly.

Try it on yourself - what would you do in a similar situation: I would tear, and not only with my teeth... I can

[Essex62]

I would have too. I'm not talking about that specific episode; that alone evokes understanding. I'm talking about those very same discussions about the kitchen, the cards, and the hungover worker. He's more valuable to me than any worthless, loudmouthed anti-lichen, a test tube washer, wasting his time in a useless office. The conversation wasn't about the work. The work is excellent; it evokes genuine emotions.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

I really didn't like the thinking of this "communist" Kammerer, or rather his spiritual fathers Arkasha and Boris

I wonder what exactly. Everything seems to be laid out very clearly and logically there.

You can't jump from the Middle Ages to communism. It's technically impossible, the material (human resources) aren't ready. I already gave a long quote there – a conversation between Budakh and Rumata. Refute at least one of the things Anton (who is Rumata) said.

Quote: Essex62

And I agree about rotten.

A couple of trips to vocational training (trade union, not even the Party) at the institute were enough for me. Zero studying, lots of vodka and snacks... total chaos, in short.

People flocked there specifically for this. Well, and for the additional opportunities. 1981, January.

[Essex62]

Right from the title. What does being a god have to do with it? It's already ambiguous for communists. Applied to a person, even one with superpowers, even a progressive and a great guy. And those Papuans, right? It's all logical, you can't jump over it. But it's a bit of a bummer.

[Essex62]

I've shown you with examples that it's possible. We lived through it. But you measure everything by "sausage," and that's a poor, objective measure. And the most important thing is that it's almost impossible for such people to gain power—or rather, it was us who held power, not them.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

I've shown you with examples that it's possible. We lived in it.

Really? I don't really remember.

Quote: Essex62

And the most important thing is that it is almost impossible for such people to come to power, or rather, we had power, not they.

So it was you and those like you who organized perestroika?

[Essex62]

But you don't listen. You're fixated on the sausage that Moscow had and the party leader had, while you only have lard. And then there were the unlimited number of jobs, free education (including Moscow State University and Bauman Moscow State University), free housing, and the ability for a worker to tell any man to go to hell if he started acting like a boss. Besides, that worker was doing just fine financially. I toiled for four years in the taiga (plus two years of mandatory military service there), so where would I get sausage? There weren't any and there wasn't any need. I came to the city, went to the pub, and ate and drank whatever I wanted.

Where does this conclusion come from? You don't understand. We had power until the recruited "emperor" found himself on the Kremlin stool. Can you imagine the possibilities, in that system of governance, of destroying resistance at the top. Those below suspected nothing. They took out our people one by one, replacing them with their own.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

But you don't hear it. You're fixated on the sausage that was in Moscow.

So sausage trains went there. The rest is in the same vein.

Quote: Essex62

Where does this conclusion come from?

But you claim that you had power.

Quote: Essex62

We had power until the recruited "emperor" found himself on the Kremlin stool.

How wretched was the state system of the USSR that it was destroyed by one person.

[Essex62]

We're going in circles. I'm tired of it.
I'll just say that this "wretched system" brought down the collective European Union, was the first to enter space, and kept the predator at bay, giving hope to many on the planet. All the while, it didn't skimp on its own citizens.
Only a person - a stomach - can explain and prove this... He didn't have any sausage, so everything is bad.

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

I will only say that this "wretched system" has ruined the collective gayrope.

The feudal Russian Empire also slaughtered the invaders with twelve languages. Does this mean it was more developed and its structure was better?

Quote: Essex62

Only a person - a stomach - can explain and prove this... He didn't have any sausage, so everything is bad.

That is, you admit that all these achievements were due to the fact that there was a minimum left for your own people.

[Essex62]

Nonsense about feudal times.

They spent everything they could on the people. Nowhere else in the world was there such social welfare. And equality.
Let's wrap this up already. How much longer?

[Dart2027]

Quote: Essex62

Nonsense about feudal times

Seriously? So you're saying the Russian Empire didn't win the war of 1812?

Quote: Essex62

They spent everything they could on the people. Nowhere else in the world was there such social welfare. And equality.

Quote: Dart2027

So sausage trains went there. The rest is in the same vein.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

I've shown you with examples that it's possible. We lived in it.

Twice no. And sausage has nothing to do with it.

Communism, theoretically, is a society that is conscious through and through, where Everyone knows how to limit their needs, and all their abilities are put into the common fund.

I don't know about you, but I've never seen anything like this. Not in the 70s, and certainly not later. Although that's exactly how we were raised, and rightly so, by the way.

[Essex62]

Did I write about communism? About the socialism that was, with a stretch, of course, called developed. A big stretch. But not feudal-bourgeois raw materials capitalism. I wrote that we lived in a just society. That's it, final word.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

we lived in a just society

Let's say it was a more comfortable society for the general public. Yes, that's how it was; everyone was more equal.

But no one was held accountable for anything. That's why it fell apart so easily—"and there was no command to defend."

I'm not making excuses, I'll just explain: I'm not an enemy of the communists (according to Tatra), but I'm not their friend either - what I saw (their smug faces, "we'll sort it all out now", hello, 90s... they did decide) - that's just bullshit.

I live honestly, by my own labor, and what I can do, I do well. Because that's how I was taught: you must be prepared to answer for what you do (and say).

I am always ready. DIXI

[Essex62]

Yes. There's just one big thorn: all the country's wealth belongs to a handful of individuals from the late 90s, who are up to their necks in blood. Primitive accumulation of capital is the same everywhere and always.
It's good to isolate yourself in your own world and point-blank ignore the others. I don't blame you; sometimes I want to do the same. And I've already done it, why lie to myself? My last attempt at fighting was the BD, October 4, 93. They brought me back from the "other world," and I'm alive.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

It's good to fence yourself off with your own world and not see the other one.

It's not about me, I see everything perfectly well. But: I can distinguish between what I can change and what I can't.

So I try to do what's possible for me well (the bricks I lay don't wobble )))), and I don't strive for the highest—it's beyond my reach, but evolution will probably lead to something more correct than now. I'll be 64 in a couple of months. Peer

The last attempt to fight - BD, October 4, 93.

I respect that. But I don't get involved in hopeless activities. Because it's pointless.

[Essex62]

Well, it's the same thing. And the house, and the tree, and the grandchildren... I'm in three.

[Paranoid62]

Quote: Essex62

And the house, and the tree, and the grandchildren...

But that's exactly what I don't have. Well, that's how life turned out. Although I had a wife, a beloved one, and a daughter - my blood. And then it all ended. And then there was the woman I loved, a different one - I need to go to her grave this week, she's already 16 years old... there.

This is the kind of crap (swearing is prohibited, I remember).

[ergh081]

I said what I said and didn't forget anything. About missiles and hunger - that's all yours.

[Dart2027]

Quote: ergh081

I said what I said and didn't forget anything.

Forgot. You need to know the manual.

[ergh081]

"Forgot. You need to know the manual." Lemon, a provocateur?

[Dart2027]

Quote: ergh081

Lemon, provocateur?

No, I'm just giving you advice.

[ergh081]

Put your advice in your pocket.

[Dart2027]

Quote: ergh081

Shove your advice in..

True eye pricks.

[LeutnantTom]

You no longer need a visa in your passport! In Germany, you can apply for a visa online and even receive it directly to your mobile phone or by email.
These are just empty words designed to scare people even more!

The flip side of the coin is this: anti-Russian policies don't prevent the EU from remaining a major market for Russian goods. Experts emphasize that, despite numerous restrictions, trade volumes are in the billions.

[Anglorussian]

How do you bring your money into Russia? Western cards don't work in Russia. My wife and I have been wanting to go for a long time, but this question is holding us back. Thank you.

[bk0010]

Quote: Anglorussian

After all, Western cards don’t work in Russia.

I have never used a card abroad, only cash.

[LeutnantTom]

Man kann bis zu 10.000 Euro bar nach Russland mitnehmen. Kein Problem!
Wir haben uns ein russische Bankkonto / Tinkoff Bank mit den deutschen Pass errichtet. Hat max. 15 Minutes gedauert. Auch kein problem. Und das Geld auf unser Tinkoff Konto transferiert. Hat 10 Sekunden gedauert und das Geld war auf der Tinkoff Bankkarte.
Davor sollte man sich eine russische PrePaid Telefonkarte holen.
Geht auch ganz leicht!
Einreise?
Deutschland - Polen - Kaliningrad - Moskau - Sankt Petersburg
Deutschland - Belarus - Russland
Deutschland - Türkei - Russland
Deutschland - Serbien - Russland

[Anglorussian]

Vielen dank fur das info.

[LeutnantTom]

Bitte, german geschehen. Und sollte es klappen, einen schönen Urlaub in Russland! Kann man nur empfehlen!

[Anglorussian]

Ist die beste einreise mit Turkei oder Serbien?

[LeutnantTom]

Türkei ist ein bisschen günstiger vom Preis her als Serbien!
Wie ich dieses Jahr nach Kazan BRICS Games flog, Nürnberg - Istanbul - Kazan hat es Hin & Retour ca. 600 Euro gekostet. Tipp, mach eins, zwei Tage in Istanbul eine Erholung.

[LMN]

Quote from LeutnantTom

Man kann bis zu 10.000 Euro bar nach Russland mitnehmen. Kein Problem!

Up to $10.000!! And 300 in Euros!
My wife recently traveled through Poland.

[LMN]

Quote: Monster_Fat

And how do they "obstruct" you? Do they hold you hand and foot and prevent you from traveling to Russia with a Russian entry visa already stamped in your passport? Do they threaten to fire you from your job, strip you of your civil rights, imprison you, place you under surveillance, turn off your electricity and water, and so on after your trip to Russia? How exactly? Or is it just "blah-blah-blah"?

Well, formally, the closure of four Russian consulates makes it more difficult to obtain a visa.

[Murmur 55]

Hunter 2, there are those, and there are those who want to move permanently to Russia but are afraid to take such a step. As I understand it, these are mainly those who are against all these new tolerances and other demonic fashions in Europe and the USA.

[Hunter 2]

Quote: Murmur 55

Hunter 2, there are those, and there are those who want to move permanently to Russia but are afraid to take such a step. As I understand it, these are mainly those who are against all these new tolerances and other demonic fashions in Europe and the USA.

I agree with this, I personally know two families who returned from Germany. They've settled in well, especially the 26-year-old girl (well educated), and she's already planning to marry Nashey (the poor guy barely resists anymore, and the beauty simply sank her teeth into him), the wedding was scheduled for December.

[Murmur 55]

Okhotoved 2, this is who needs to be brought back and given apartments by the administration, and advice and love to the young people!

[vitosia]

Oh, damn, is that statistically significant? They moved))) And if you look closely, most of them are out of their minds))) You can change your country of residence until you're 20-25, at least you'll have time to adapt))), but if you're older, you'll remain out of place for the rest of your days)))

[eugen_caro]

It's not really possible to come to you... - in our Reich, life is arranged in such a way that you are simply forced to sign up for all sorts of loans - moreover, if you want to have a good job - especially in government agencies or enterprises - then if you don't have loans, it means you have a bad credit history - and they simply won't hire you - like you're disloyal... And if you have loans, you can move freely within the EU system, but try to leave the territory of the Reich - they won't let you out - you won't buy tickets, and they won't let you through at the border, and they might even take your children away..... so those who dump you - go through quite a quest... and then add to this communication with your officials - it's completely out of it - I personally spoke with a man who forced his way to you, and you kept him waiting for six months, then didn't renew his residence permit, and kicked him back to us - and he no longer has a place to live here - no work, and a black mark from our authorities... that's how funny it is...

[LeutnantTom]

Wait a minute!
The former GDR is not East Germany, but Central Germany! East Germany is East Prussia, Pomerania, and so on.
The term "GDR" (East Germany) is a West German propaganda term. With the onset of the so-called "perestroika" (Wende), the idea arose that the GDR was East Germany.
Why? Because no one came up with the idea of ​​returning East Prussia, Pomerania, or even Kaliningrad to Germany (FRG).

EU authorities are banning citizens from entering Russia.

Just not with me and my wife! The EU warmongers have no say in our affairs! We've been to Russia four times in the last two years! I still have good friends from the 90s: from sports, the army, and so on! And I'll continue to visit them! Even in December 2025!
Okay, last year I had some trouble with the Poles (Poland/Kaliningrad), so I had no choice but to knock out two Polish customs officers! The third customs officer was friendlier!
Moreover, there's a possibility that Germany, Türkiye, and Russia will be involved! And unless someone's an idiot, that's impossible to control!
It used to be called German-Soviet friendship. Now it's called German-Russian friendship!

[Nexcom]

...the Polish customs officials swallowed? And no sanctions against you???

[LeutnantTom]

The third Pole used to be in the military. And, like me, he fought in Iraq in 2003/2004! Everything's fine!

[cat Crush]

I read this interestingly. I'm glad customs finally gave the go-ahead. And now I know how to get it.

[eugen_caro]

knock out two Polish customs officersI love beautiful fairy tales - try to get even a little excited at a Polish border crossing (and the Poles have even fenced themselves off from the Lithuanians now) - they'll turn you back immediately... and they'll even blacklist you, and Turkey won't help you - all your movements are tracked online now. Until recently, you could cross through Belarus, but now both the Poles and Lithuanians have closed the border. And to Russia by plane - the visa is expensive, and there haven't been any discounts on tickets for a long time... It's a bit of a deal, though...

[LeutnantTom]

Und nach Russland mit dem Flugzeug – das Visum ist teuer, und es gibt schon lange keine Ticketermäßigungen mehr … Es ist aber trotzdem ein gutes Angebot

Das Visum für 16 Tage kostet ca. 40 Dollar. Okay für manche teuer, für andere eben nicht!
Wenn man clever ist, kauft man sich ein Ticket für die Türkei und in der Türkei kauft man sich ein Ticket für Russland!
Grenzübergang Polen - Kaliningrad funktioniert immer noch. Die Polen wären dumm wenn die den Grenzübergang schließen würden.
Fast täglich fahren LKW Gas/ Oil Sattelzüge und holen sich in Kaliningrad das russische Gas bzw. Oil.

Zwei polnische Zollbeamte niederschlagenIch liebe schöne Märchen

Dafür saß ich eins, zwei Stunden in der Zelle!
Wenn die keinen Respekt haben, dann muß man ihnen Respekt beibringen!

[Ջոն Գալտ]

What nonsense. Just to leave the USSR, you needed an exit visa. Western countries didn't let you in on the first try, regardless of your status. First, you'd have to go to a socialist country. And even going to Bulgaria to warm your ass would be a pain. Plus, it's expensive. Now, you're welcome to come, and there are plenty of cheap flights. Another thing is, getting a visa to Russia for an EU citizen is no less of a pain than the other way around. The simplified procedure is over. Or maybe the woman wanted a free ride at the editor's expense so she could tell the truth—about how the roads in Mysterious and Beautiful Russia are paved with gold. And she got screwed... ;)

[Eugene 62]

What nonsense. Just to leave the USSR, you needed an exit visa. Western countries wouldn't let you in on the first try, regardless of your status.

In fact, they only let those who needed it out. For example, after the war, my cousin married a Jewish woman. She had relatives living in Iran. My uncle and his wife could visit them without any problems. However, this was already under Khrushchev. Back then, my uncle was caught up in Khrushchev's army cuts and went into civilian life. A childhood friend of mine traveled to the UK, where his grandfather's brother (a first-wave emigrant) lived. The real problem was something else. The USSR didn't have a free currency market. And when people went abroad, they exchanged currency at the official rate. Why this was the case is a different matter. But this system had been in place since the late 20s. Otherwise, no industrialization would have been possible in the 30s. To travel abroad (except for a tourist trip), you had to indicate where you were going, for how many days, and why. For this period, you could exchange rubles for foreign currency based on some kind of regulations. And they already knew how people lived in other countries.

[Sergey Kirakosyan]

New Year is coming soon.
At the Kaliningrad border, it's immediately clear who's not allowed in and where...

[AK-1945]

Paradoxically, EU authorities are indeed preventing citizens from traveling to Russia in every possible way. And not because people would see how good things are here, but because, by comparison, they would understand how bad things are there. As for Germany, its unification was purely formal, on paper. The Ossies and Weisses remain as alien to each other as ever.

[solar]

The Ossie-Wessie remained strangers to each other.

Ossi Frau Merkel disagrees with you...

[Right hand of the eye]

EU governments are currently preventing their citizens from traveling to Russia. Perhaps this is being done to prevent them from seeing how our country hasn't fallen into decline despite harsh Western sanctions.

I think it's different))). The fact that we have everything ok, more or less normal, with stores, citizens' well-being, etc., they (EU citizens) can always find out from the Internet... because there are certainly enough videos from stores, in general, about the generally calm and ordinary atmosphere for the Russian Federation, etc., online... Anyone who wants to know the truth will find it, for sure, in the era of a developed Internet...)))
They apparently don't want people to go for another reason... Maybe they're just stupid, afraid of de-brainwashing the weak minds of the rest of their sheep? That they (who have visited Russia) and learned the truth))) will then influence the opinions (general anti-Russian sentiment) of the rest of the herd obedient to Sam, with their revelations about the Russian Federation, its real goals in Ukraine, and so on?

[Essex62]

Does anyone in charge care what these idiots think? Come on, just another propaganda piece about us and them. How bad things are there and how wonderful (everyone put on your rose-colored glasses and rejoice) we have.

[Nord11]

If the new Iron Curtain prevents our leaders from escaping to a better world with their backbreaking plunder, we will bow to its creators.

[Ջոն Գալտ]

Quote: Eugen 62

In fact, they only released those who needed it. For example, after the war, my cousin married a Jewish woman. She had relatives living in Iran. My uncle and his wife were able to visit them without any problems.

That's exactly what "those who need it" needed. Those who were going there permanently, and sometimes to visit relatives. And, in any case, the person shouldn't have any security clearances, and shouldn't belong to a significant category, or have had any negative publicity anywhere. And there were a lot of those – for example, closer to graduating from technical school (a numbered specialty), they practically forced me to join the Komsomol with sticks. Because no Komsomol – no references for admission to the "box." No clearance – no pre-graduation internship. No internship – no diploma. In general, just showing up at the airport to go on a tourist trip was very difficult – even if you had the money. Especially the first time! I remember how in 1986 (already perestroika!) the whole family wanted to go somewhere on vacation "abroad". No! You can't go wherever you want. Let's first go to Bulgaria – to test the rules. A chicken, as they say, is not a bird, and Bulgaria is not abroad. "And once you learn to swim, we'll fill you up with water." I mean, you'll go to a capitalist country. And even to Bulgaria—there'll be a preliminary briefing at some district committee or executive committee. I can't remember anymore ;)