Comments by "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus" (@marcusaureliusantoninus2597) on "Global Living" channel.

@toomasargel8503 why would an Estonian that can barely write English even care about the topic of Americans moving to Russia. What’s your problem, tovarisch?
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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @KR72534 the first part about the birth of Russia is true. Nobody is a saint. The rest is old and tired Soviet “oppression” narrative akin to the leftists in the West and good old Russophobia. No, 12 republics did not “leave the oppressors”. First of all, there were 15 republics. Communist party elites just wanted to have their own playgrounds, while in the majority of the population of republics wanted to preserved the unified country (referendum of 1991). Not to mention the “republics” were created on purpose with the explicit clause of retaining the right to secede because of the Bolsheviks idea to derail Russia. You understand that average life expectancy is a stat that has an enormous lag in correlation with the quality of life, do you? Otherwise we must agree that life in Albania is better than in the US. No, it’s been long time since a noticeable portion of Russians grew food in their summer homes in order to survive (90s). Now those who do it do it because they like their own food better. And a sizeable population has a summer house in addition to a flat in the city, mind you, that’s something very typical for Russians and is not even a token of affluence. And of course those lies about Russian houses not having an indoor toilet. Or rather misinterpreted statistics where the number of house not connected to the central sewage system is considered the number of houses not having an indoor toilet. I’ve seen it somewhere, usually patriots of a strange excuse of a country on the Southwestern borders of Russia have this fixation on toilets (and this propensity to lie).
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@KR72534 The first part about the birth of Russia being tied to Rurik in 862 AD is absolutely true. That’s a historical fact. As you said, nobody’s a saint, and history is never black and white. The rest of this narrative—that 12 republics “escaped their oppressors”—is a tired Soviet-era trope mixed with the same Russophobia you often hear from certain circles in the West. • Correction #1: There weren’t 12 republics; there were 15. • Correction #2: The Communist elites were not liberators; they were opportunists. The collapse wasn’t about freedom—it was about the ruling class wanting their own playgrounds. • Let’s not forget the 1991 referendum, where the majority of the population in these republics actually voted to preserve the unified country. The breakup didn’t reflect the people’s will. Here’s something often overlooked: the “republics” themselves were created on purpose by the Bolsheviks. They explicitly included the right to secede as a way to undermine Russia, following Lenin’s ideological vision. Now to the life expectancy. When you hear stats about life expectancy, remember this: it’s a lagging indicator. It doesn’t reflect quality of life in real time. By that logic, Albania would be “better” than the United States, which is clearly absurd. Moving on to dachas. The idea that Russians grow food at their summer homes (dachas) to survive is outdated. That was true in the chaotic 1990s. Today, people do it because they prefer fresh, homegrown food—it’s a cultural choice. Plus, many Russians own a dacha in addition to a city apartment, which is a common lifestyle, not a sign of poverty. And finally, the infamous “indoor toilet” claim. This one comes from misinterpreted stats. Not being connected to a central sewage system doesn’t mean you lack an indoor toilet. The obsession with this myth? Let’s just say it’s particularly common among certain “patriots” of a certain country southwest of Russia’s borders who have a peculiar fixation on toilets—and an even greater habit of bending the truth.
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