Russia-Ukraine War: Effects on Gymn World

[MaryClare]

Perhaps the strange thing is that unlike for most Russians, I have the choice. I could go back to London, rip up my Russian passport and never return. But I won’t.

I do have to particularly careful as my husband is an investment VP at a major bank here. I am also still under contract from the army sports association.

 

[Hatsumomo]

 

[JDB]

I hope this doesn’t escalate into international sports movements fragmenting. We lost North Korea’s support. Though Kim Jong-Un doesn’t strike me as sporty which would explain why he’s not interested in sending athletes abroad. Externally isolating Russia and Belarus from sports could backfire long term.

 

[JaJa]

No it isn’t. It’s been a Russian majority area for centuries as it’s historically and culturally Russian and predominantly Orthodox Church. Western Ukraine is very different and has more of a shared history and culture with Poland, which it used to be a part of and like Poland is mostly Catholic. If you look at a pre WW1 map of central and Eastern Europe, the Dnieper river forms the border between Russia and Poland. Today it forms the political and cultural divide in Ukraine.

I agree that these breakaway regions really are historically and culturally (and linguistically) Russian. But the majority of Ukranians are not Catholic actually, they are Orthodox – but NOT Russian Orthodox. Most in the West now – and in growing numbers – are members of this new Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has been granted autocephaly. But this is distinct from the Russian allied Ukranian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate which predominates in these Eastern pro Russian areas and which does NOT have autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church. All of this happened on steroids after 2014

 

[JaJa]

I do have to particularly careful as my husband is an investment VP at a major bank here.

How has his bank been impacted at this point?

 

[JaJa]

Maybe this isn’t true but it has been reported with video and photo. Police are stopping people in Russia and checking their phones randomly for material and messages that go against the government.

You better believe its true. But that kind of thing goes on throughout that entire part of the world , in many of the various former Soviet Union Countries . Not just Russia, and not just now. It is for sure worse in some places – like Belarus and Tajikistan – and better in others – Like Georgia. But it is very widespread in differing doses and depending on what is going on in a given country at the time

 

[MaryClare]

Much of their overseas assets have been frozen or even seized. For his department, there is little for them to do at the moment as there is nothing to invest and banned from international markets whilst domestic one is suspended. The government has prevented trading of Russian held foreign currency too. In the bank’s overseas offices, most of the staff have been laid off and the Russian nationals ordered home.

 

[JaJa]

Thats what I figured. I hope you and your husband make it through this difficult time ok

 

[MaryClare]

Thank you. He works for one of the the largest state owned companies and I work for the army sports association, so on a personal level we accept our punishment, even though we disagree with the sanctions on the whole.

 

[Doug1233]

What do you think the West should do going forwards, if not the sanctions?

 

[Doug1233]

I wonder what the ethics committee can even do?

Either way, this guys international gymnastics career is ruined.

 

[MaryClare]

I’m not sure that there’s much they can do, but then there’s plenty of situations where that’s also the case, for instance Afghanistan.

The best weapon the west has is to more actively push for regime change. Where is the counter propaganda? There is none. The west has forgotten how the Cold War was won.

Public opinion of Putin is the lowest it’s ever been. People are so angry. A golden opportunity for the west but instead it is punishing ordinary Russians with economic hardship and driving them reluctantly back to Putin

 

[Doug1233]

Oh Paseka

 

[Doug1233]

is to more actively push for regime change.

How?

The West is filling the airwaves with images of Putin dropping bombs on children. It doesn’t need to be “counter propaganda”. The truth is enough.

 

[Memphisgym]

As a journalist, I can tell you lots of people don’t really care about truth. Lol. They care about self interest. The message should be your future under Putin is bleak but if you overthrow Putin, your future is bright.

 

[JaJa]

I can tell you lots of people don’t really care about truth. Lol. They care about self interest.

That is true of the VAST majority of people. The vast majority. You always have to appeal to people’s self-interest. Just watch the West lost interest in the suffering of the Ukranians when the price at our pumps begins to eat into the average guys paycheck a little too much.

 

[JaJa]

Thank you. He works for one of the the largest state owned companies and I work for the army sports association, so on a personal level we accept our punishment, even though we disagree with the sanctions on the whole.

Hang in there MC. It will be bad for a while. But you will get through this.

 

[JaJa]

One minute I think we need to keep international geopolitics out of sports then I see what Paseka tweeted and I think “ban them all.” period.

 

[MaryClare]

The truth means nothing if people don’t believe it

 

[JaJa]

The truth means nothing if people don’t believe it

Or more to the point do not care about it.