Mark Steyn: The death of Mother Russia

The Spectator (U.K.) ^ | 10/22/05 | Mark Steyn

[Ramius]

I don't know if he's right about all of it, but it is a safe bet that he's right about a lot of it. Kinda scary, that.

[Antoninus]

Pretty tough stuff re: Mother Russia.

[timsbella]

"Plus ça change, eh? Last week Islamists killed a big bunch of people in Nalchik, the capital of the hitherto more-or-less safe-ish Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. "

*****
I'm still amazed how LITTLE coverage this got. Many thanks for the pokey-ping!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

"Now I am doubly depressed.”

You need immediate first aid. Treat yourself to your favorite ice cream, or cake, or both. You will feel all better. At least I do.

[don-o]

read later

[Freedom_Fighter_2001]

*Groan*... could that joke have been any more fowl?

At least he is not beating his breast and winging it!

Mmmm...time for lunch...

[jb6]

Ahhh lack of perspective again.

Last week Islamists killed a big bunch of people in Nalchik, the capital of the hitherto more-or-less safe-ish Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

If he means by that a dozen (Muslim) civilians and two dozen police in exchange for almost a hundred insurgents (who had tactical numeric advantage and operational surprise) killed and two dozen captured. Any rational analysis (and there usually is none from the West) would see this as not a great victory for the "insurgents", "rebels", "militants", "discontent choir boys" but a massive failure, one in a long list of failures. Their mistake was attacking military and police stations and not going after soft kiddies.

[GarySpFc]

There are so many errors in Steyn's article I don't know where to start, and so I will just list a couple and let others add to the list. I'm not saying Russia doesn't have problems, but the author doesn't have a clue.

Firstly, Russian men do not live to 56, which is an exaggeration on Steyn's part. It did drop to 58 at one time, but now is back over 60.

Secondly, while Russia did have a problem with abortions at one time, abortion has been strictly restriced by law to the first 12 weeks.

[jb6]

And in the long run it’s hard to see why they won’t get it, the only question being whether it’s still worth getting. Moscow has reduced Grozny to rubble, yet is further than ever from solving its Chechen problem.

Again not true. The West's attention span is that of a 30 second commercial but guerrilla wars last decades. As far as this goes, most of the fighting against the Jihaders are now Chechen militia that have figured out independence wasn't worth it. As for the spill overs (never mind that about 40% of the population in the area is Orthodox Christian and Jewish, none of the attacks, not even the Ossessian-Ingushi war of 1993 were able to spark a wide ranging conflict and they won't.

[jb6]

It was a poultry complaint but indicative of a retreat into old-school Kremlin paranoia. Putin was sending America’s chickens home to roost.

No, they were building a case for tariffs in support of their own poultry industry....something we should be doing more of ourselves, as our industries leave this nation in droves.

[jb6]

It doesn’t help the grim demographic scenario if your economic base is also being systematically eaten away.

I'm guessing this Kanook doesn't climb out of the snow drift to often. The fact that Russia is the 7th largest economy and growing at 6.8% average for the past 6 years escapes him or he can't admit it.

I read a third of this bile and there are so many mistakes and out right lies it's not worth pursuing. Tell Moodies (who keeps raising the ratings) how its all "failing". What crap.

[jb6]

It might be high-octane stuff but the majority of it is pure BS. Go to Russia and see the construction everywhere and I do mean everywhere. Even the small satellite villages of the larger cities are either now part of that city or cities on their own.

Even the birth rate has been increasing there yearly for the past 5 years.

[KC_Conspirator]

I have had Czechs and Poles tell me Russians ruin everything they touch.

[jb6]

They would always make claims about how Russia was growing again, getting stronger and more populous, etc.

It is and this kanook is off his rocker. I just got back from a trip there 1 month ago. New Moscow is now under construction, with 3 sky scrapers up, another on the way and about 20 more planned....this is the new IT/Business park.

Euro-land is a cool mall....4 stories high, has a full soccer stadium and is about 4 blocks long in size. And guess what, the middle class are the main shoppers. This is one of many malls. Furniture World is a 4 story store 1.5 blocks long. The Ikea store is the width of a super k-mart and 3 stories tall and the list goes on and on.

[Shalom Israel]

It might be high-octane stuff but the majority of it is pure BS.

All extrapolations are BS. Indeed, Steyn ironically quotes a few that have since been disproven. However, exaggeration doesn't render his observations meaningless: the birth rate is still below replacement level; the muslim problem is still raging; both know-how and capital are still flowing west; etc. Those problems may all be resolved tomorrow, even--but they do exist today.

[GarySpFc]

The improving economy is having a dramatic effect on the number of births. Everywhere you go you see pregnant women, and in far greater numbers than America.

[jb6]

Actually, capital is being built up at a high rate and the out flowing capital has been slowing down. The outflow is by oligarches while real businessmen (many Western) are flowing in. If one observes a 5% yearly industry growth, how can all the capital be out flowing. Judging the state of the nation by the fact that the novia riche diaspora has fled is wrong. It's actually better that these thieves have left. The Kanooks will soon find out what happens when these mafia types settle down (the novia riche, not the hard working engineers, etc). As for IT and such, many have returned to Russia or been returned by their companies. If you haven't noticed, the US is no magnet for engineers anymore.

My former roommate is case in point: Intel moved his entire R&D department to Nizny Novgorad...minus the Americans (about half the people). He stayed at Intel only because he moved to Portland and into a support job. No R&D for you!!

I've also spoken with quite a few Russian-Americans and just plain Americans living in Russia, many went there when IT busted here and have stayed there either working for local, international or their own companies.

A similar thing is happening in India with not just Indians heading that way but also white American engineers. They might only make $6K a year there but its like making $100K here and there are plenty of jobs.

The problem with many analysist is: 1. they live in yester-year and view things from that prism and 2. most talk about things they learn about from other analysts and so on, rather then going first person and finding things out for themselves.

[jjmcgo]

Who actually fought the Russians? Was it all the Finns, the whole army, or was it just the Karelians, who would be back under Russian domination?
I'm not challenging you. I don't know the answer. Was the resistance local or national?

[tjg]

"most Russian women are voting with their foetus:....."

Now that's just plain gross.

[jb6]

It was national, the main commander was Mannerheim a former Marshal under Tsar Nicholas II. This is what happens when you execute all the thinkers and promote only the party animals who obey blindly and have hubris as your planning guide.

The second offensive, utilizing actual combined arms, brought Finland to her knees....the first was an utter failure on so many levels it makes for an excellent manual of what not to do.