Putin's 'Forever War'.. epic photo essay on Russians and Russia in shadow cast by war (Page 2/2)
rinselberg AUG 09, 01:01 PM

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Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
Can you save me the effort... why do they call this "Putin's Forever War?" I don't think it's even been a solid year... unless you count starting to put troops on the border back in March of 2021.


After the months-long buildup, involving the deployment of large numbers of Russian Federation soldiers to their starting positions on the Russian side of the Russo-Ukraine border, the Russian military attacked and invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

So the war has been going on now for about 18 months, and that's not counting the years of conflict that preceded it, when pro-Russian factions established enclaves in the Donbas region of Ukraine's east, and Putin's "little green men" seized control of the Crimean Peninsula, and Russian reabsorbed it with a formal annexation, undoing the substantial recent history of Crimea as part of Ukraine.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 08-09-2023).]

82-T/A [At Work] AUG 09, 01:12 PM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

After the months-long buildup, involving the deployment of large numbers of Russian Federation soldiers to their starting positions on the Russian side of the Russo-Ukraine border, the Russian military attacked and invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

So the war has been going on now for about 18 months, and that's not counting the years of conflict that preceded it, when pro-Russian factions established enclaves in the Donbas region of Ukraine's east, and Putin's "little green men" seized control of the Crimean Peninsula, and Russian reabsorbed it with a formal annexation, undoing the substantial recent history of Crimea as part of Ukraine.





Yes... but how/why does that deserve to be called a "Forever War?"

As far as wars go, it's barely above a skirmish in terms of length. This has nothing to do with my opinion on the war, I'm just trying to understand that word choice. Is it just for the theatrics? I mean... I'd imagine a bunch of Millennials in a coffee house with their smart phones and laptops reading this on free WiFi thinking... "Oh my... Forever war..."

Is it just to get clicks, or is there an actual point to calling it the "forever war?"
rinselberg AUG 09, 01:31 PM
I think of "Forever War" as a way of encapsulating the idea that Putin has turned his back on the West irrevocably.

He was obviously already headed that way, even before this invasion of Ukraine, when he used Russian military assets to prop up Bashar al-Assad's dominance of Syria.

Beyond that, it's too much of an essay for me to attempt.
82-T/A [At Work] AUG 09, 03:11 PM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

I think of "Forever War" as a way of encapsulating the idea that Putin has turned his back on the West irrevocably.

He was obviously already headed that way, even before this invasion of Ukraine, when he used Russian military assets to prop up Bashar al-Assad's dominance of Syria.

Beyond that, it's too much of an essay for me to attempt.




I would view it more as Putin's "Forever War" of trying to rebuild the USSR.

I can't remember that guy we kicked off here... he was like the right-wing extremist version of Fredtoast. But that guy used to constantly tell me that I was totally wrong for believing that Putin wanted to rebuild the old USSR map. That's where this will be a forever struggle. It's not just Ukraine. Had he been successful at this point, he'd already be eying the next parcel of land...
theBDub AUG 10, 10:39 AM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I would view it more as Putin's "Forever War" of trying to rebuild the USSR.

I can't remember that guy we kicked off here... he was like the right-wing extremist version of Fredtoast. But that guy used to constantly tell me that I was totally wrong for believing that Putin wanted to rebuild the old USSR map. That's where this will be a forever struggle. It's not just Ukraine. Had he been successful at this point, he'd already be eying the next parcel of land...



Yeah, that's what the long-form article is about. It's about how he plans to mobilize in other countries, and speaks to how Russian citizens may react to the "next stage" of Putin's plan.

It's admittedly very long though. Some of it could have definitely been cut for a more defined story. I do enjoy long-form journalism sometimes, but sometimes this one got a little full of itself. Still worth a read.
82-T/A [At Work] AUG 10, 10:41 AM

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Originally posted by theBDub:

Yeah, that's what the long-form article is about. It's about how he plans to mobilize in other countries, and speaks to how Russian citizens may react to the "next stage" of Putin's plan.

It's admittedly very long though. Some of it could have definitely been cut for a more defined story. I do enjoy long-form journalism sometimes, but sometimes this one got a little full of itself. Still worth a read.



RGR, I'll check it out later.
williegoat AUG 10, 12:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:

I would view it more as Putin's "Forever War" of trying to rebuild the USSR.

I can't remember that guy we kicked off here... he was like the right-wing extremist version of Fredtoast. But that guy used to constantly tell me that I was totally wrong for believing that Putin wanted to rebuild the old USSR map. That's where this will be a forever struggle. It's not just Ukraine. Had he been successful at this point, he'd already be eying the next parcel of land...


Believe it or not, there are plenty of older folks in Russia who yearn for the "good old days" of the USSR.
Patrick AUG 11, 04:31 AM

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Originally posted by williegoat:

Believe it or not, there are plenty of older folks in Russia who yearn for the "good old days" of the USSR.



Not difficult to believe at all. People around the world yearn for the "good old days".

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-11-2023).]