From: ibshambat@gmail.com   
      
   Vladimir Putin broke my heart. I used to support him. Then he invaded Ukraine   
   and destroyed everything that he had worked for.   
      
   I have put in vast effort into translating Russian poetry into English.   
   Russians have never been good at politics, but they have been good at   
   literature, and making available for English-speaking audiences the work of   
   Russian literary masters is a valid    
   endeavor. But when Russian leadership acts in hideous ways, that discredits   
   everyone and everything Russian. And it also endangers Russian people living   
   elsewhere.   
      
   I have been deeply involved in American and Australian social issues. I worked   
   for a long time on an American non-partisan political information site, and   
   I’ve had involvements in a fight against domestic violence in Australia. I   
   am now addressing my    
   attention to issues of Russia.   
      
   The worst problem with Russia is what is known as the dedovschina. It is   
   brutal military hazing that costs countless lives. It also costs Russia   
   because families move abroad to avoid for their children the deadly conditions   
   of Russian military. Since    
   dedovschina is worst on the intellectual (as opposed to the brutal) type, the   
   result is vast brain drain – both through killing in it and through   
   emigration. The people who die from it and the people who move abroad are   
   Russia’s best minds. And    
   Russia loses vastly from it. Some people think that it makes people stronger.   
   No, it makes Russia weak.   
      
   Another is domestic violence. 14,000 Russian women a year die from it. Russian   
   women are smart, strong, beautiful and family-oriented; but their men treat   
   them like dirt. These men are a bunch of brats. They haven’t had to deal   
   with women who are    
   actually bad, as they claim women to be. Instead they have at their disposal   
   some of the best women in the world, and all they can think to do is use them   
   as punching bags.   
      
   Another is racism. Russia has half of Europe’s skinheads. There are not many   
   people there from Africa; but there are a lot of people from Caucasus, and   
   these get attacked a lot. Jews get attacked too. Someone once graffitied on   
   the house I used to live    
   in, “Shambat is a dirty stinking kike.” Many Russian people are openly   
   racist, and the conditions there are much worse than they are in America.   
      
   These are the main problems with Russia. Having paid a lot of attention to   
   social issues in America and Australia, I would consider it hypocritical for   
   me not to pay attention to issues in Russia. Dedovschina must be abolished,   
   and strong effort needs to    
   be made to fight domestic violence and racism. I don’t think that domestic   
   violence and racism will ever be completely defeated. But we must do what we   
   can to confront such things.    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)