Comments by "E Dennis" (@edennis8578) on "Russian TYPICAL (Luxury) Shopping Mall: ГУМ Москва" video.

@Tomek You obviously have no idea what Soviet times were like. At all. Empty grocery stores, people standing in line for hours to buy toilet paper or in the hope of buying one poorly made pair of shoes. Modern Russia is far from that. Very far. And a lot of that is because of Putin's domestic policies.
4
@sputnikcaviar5592 I agree. As an American historian, I don't understand #1. Why so many people are acting like Ukraine is an angelic child who never committed a crime themselves. The government of Ukraine is blatantly murderous to their own people, but nobody says anything about that. And if we were in Russia's position, we would have moved against Ukraine years ago. Nobody wants to talk about that, either. #2. Putin's domestic policies have made Russia fairly self-sufficient, so we are far more likely to be seriously affected by the sanctions than Russia. Russia can produce just about everything it needs, but we don't. We have outsourced almost everything we use and that makes us extremely vulnerable. Why don't westerners understand this? I have a very bad feeling that such vulnerability will become apparent the hard way - experience.
4
@ovh992 Conversion rates only matter for imports. For example, the conversion rate for the dollar vs the British pound varies quite a lot, but within the UK, it only affects tourists and imports. As a matter of fact, it makes exports extremely attractive to other countries because they can purchase goods at a much cheaper price. And I know you're going to say sanctions, but not everyone is going to sanction Russia. The hypocritical west isn't the whole world.
3
I don't know how that would work. I read that high end art is a big money laundering racket, because there are no fixed prices, and nobody questions why a rubbish painting was purchased for huge stacks of cash.
3
Russia is so prosperous now because of Putin's domestic policies. I remember the old days when people had to stand hours in line for a roll of toilet paper and the grocery stores were empty. Now Russia is very nearly self-sufficient; they can produce almost everything they want and need. Btw, if you want the truth about what Ukraine government is really like, search YouTube for videos on the eight years of shelling in Eastern Ukraine - by their own government. There are years of European news clips. They are horrible.
3
Modern Russia isn't as poor as you think. Many people live like middle class Americans and Europeans. Watch channels by ordinary Russian families. There are some that have been making videos for years. Their supermarkets look like American supermarkets, and their restaurants look very much like American restaurants, and their shopping centers look like American shopping centers. Many regular Russian families have weekend cabins in the country, besides their home in town. They drive modern cars, wear modern clothes, and have televisions, computers, and smartphones. They live like us. Except not as many people in America have weekend homes in the country.
2
#Chianti You people commenting how Russia will suffer! Worry about yourself. Putin's domestic policies have made Russia nearly self-sufficient. The west needs the east far more than Russia needs us. That's just fact. At least in America, we've outsourced most of our manufacturing and a lot of our food. Supply chain problems are getting worse and worse. My husband works for a multinational company who makes municipal water treatment facilities and the lead time to get parts is more than half a year instead of a week or two like it used to be. If it gets any worse, fresh drinking water will become a thing of the past throughout America.
2
It's a predictable consequence of sanctioning Russia - pushing Russia and China even closer as allies. They have a common enemy, us. That's not what we should be doing.
1
Ukraine is hardly an innocent victim. Search YouTube for shelling Donetsk, for example. Eight years of shelling their own people. Also, Dr. Robert Pope, director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at the Department of Defense, stated a few days ago that not only do we fund biolabs in Ukraine, but conduct bioweapons research there. Putin was 100% right. Be grateful that he's going after Ukraine and not us, since we're just as much to blame for those bioweapons labs.
1
@tocu9808 #1. You believe all of the ridiculous garbage coming from the criminal government in Ukraine. They don't say anything if it isn't a lie. #2. Why are you defending Ukraine? For the last eight years, the government of Ukraine has been shelling the eastern part of their own country. Search YouTube for videos about the shelling of Donetsk, for example. There are years of European news clips about it. Where are your tears for the many thousands of innocent people killed by Ukraine? Where are your tears for all of the children who have never played outside because they might get killed? I have no sympathy for the people in central and western Ukraine. Now they have a taste of what they have been dishing out.
1