Comments by "Faithless Hound" (@faithlesshound5621) on "news.com.au" channel.

  1. The Russian-speakers in Transnistria amount to less than a third of the population, not much more than the Ukrainian and Romanian-speaking populations. Another interesting fact is that the Romanians switched to the Latin alphabet in the 19th century, but Stalin made the "Moldovans" switch back to Cyrillic after he forced Romania to give up their land under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
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  2.  @Larry_atta45  There are only so many writing systems to go round. It's usually easier to adapt an existing system, especially if you want to print. Also, it's easier to learn another language using the same system. But those who want to set you apart, such a missionaries, make you change your script. That's why Ataturk switched Turkish from Arabic to Latin-based characters, and why Stalin made Turkmens, Uzbeks etc change again from Latin to Cyrillic. Now they're changing back, but to Latin, not Arabic letters.
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  3. Yes, he was a lieutenant colonel of the secret police, not a military man at all.
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  4. The constitution of the Russian Empire used to be described as "Autocracy tempered by Assassination."
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  5.  @basilicarusnac2864  The few people who could read and write used the Cyrillic alphabet, but they switched to Latin letters during the 19th century.
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  6.  @havable  Poland represented the bulk of the territory covered by the pact, which extended to the Baltic states also. The "secret protocol" allowed Stalin control of Bessarabia, but the area he annexed went beyond that.
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  7. Afghanistan, a country of 40 million people (currently), has defeated the British Empire, the USSR and the USA. It is truly "the home of the brave."
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  8.  @johnadams247  If you want a corrupt country where they all look and dress the same, you have no need to look further than the ole' US of A.
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  9. Kings and Presidents rarely visit the front line. The last British King to lead his army in the field was George II in 1743 (at Dettingen). George Washington did, but his successors did not.
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  10. I don't like the idea of poisoning enemies, but it's Putin's specialty.
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  11. With that mentality, Mongolia should take back China, Russia and half of the Middle East.
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  12. It's a valid point, if that's what would lead Putin to start a nuclear war. It doesn't matter that he wouldn't win: we would ALL lose if that happened.
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  13. How would Americans explain this tragedy? Alien intervention, of course. Just watch it play out in the comments.
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