15 hours ago, Tug said:

Your category’s are designed to achieve a certain result,so much so that I like jingthing decline to contribute to your lopsided attempt at a poll.In my view Russian culture is incredible their people hard working resilient strong and creative.the country has incredible potential no doubt about it.I wish they had a better form of government and could be allowed to contribute to the world in a positive manner they have lots to offer.

Ok - either you or Jingthing can make your own polls. 

"Your category’s are designed to achieve a certain result..."

I find it interesting and heartening that the majority of those answering had a neutral to favorable feelings about Russian culture and society.  I designed it to find that information.

20 hours ago, Dcheech said:

That is a bumper load a crap, but in your head, everyone watches that excrement. 

 

Rocky IV was a massive hit, earning around $300.5 million worldwide and becoming the year's second-highest-grossing film, indicating tens of millions watched it in theaters, making it the highest-grossing Rocky film ever by box office. 

 

And that's just at theatres. God knows how many watched Rocky IV on TV worldwide.

7 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Rocky IV was a massive hit, earning around $300.5 million worldwide and becoming the year's second-highest-grossing film, indicating tens of millions watched it in theaters, making it the highest-grossing Rocky film ever by box office. 

 

And that's just at theatres. God knows how many watched Rocky IV on TV worldwide.

 

Junk films sell as well as junk food does.

 

8 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

Junk films sell as well as junk food does.

 

 

Well, Rocky IV did have its deficiences, Ivan Drago for instance had that typical elongated Germanic square head, not a round Russian head, as they picked a Swedish actor to portray Drago.

 

So racially, Rocky IV was badly off the mark.

 

At 1.77 m Stallone is not that short though, just a few cms shorter than Tyson. He could have become heavy weight champion, if one looks at height alone.

6 hours ago, connda said:

Ok - either you or Jingthing can make your own polls. 

"Your category’s are designed to achieve a certain result..."

I find it interesting and heartening that the majority of thbose answering had a neutral to favorable feelings about Russian culture and society.  I designed it to find that information.

 

Conflating indifference with "liking". Conflating UK with India. The UK's beliefs would likely be more similar to Ireland, than India or Mozambique, but you pigeonhole people, likely because of Anglophobic feelings.

 

Why are you interested in knowing where people are from, and their attitudes towards Putin's Russia? Why did you decide to segregate the UK from the Republic of Ireland? Its about supporting your prejudiced view about the role of the UK with respect to Russia's criminal aggression towards its neighbours. Its an attempt to divide and rule, to put Americans and "Europeans" on one side, and the British, and by extension anyone from Australia/New Zealand/South Africa because they are all the same in your world view.

 

The survey isn't really about a genuine exploration of attitudes towards Russian culture. Its more about dividing the forum based on your own prejudices.

6 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

Well, Rocky IV did have its deficiences, Ivan Drago for instance had that typical elongated Germanic square head, not a round Russian head, as they picked a Swedish actor to portray Drago.

 

So racially, Rocky IV was badly off the mark.

 

At 1.77 m Stallone is not that short though, just a few cms shorter than Tyson. He could have become heavy weight champion, if one looks at height alone.

 

There are a lot of German Russians. In theory, there are also Welsh Russians.

5 minutes ago, Roadsternut said:

 

There are a lot of German Russians. In theory, there are also Welsh Russians.

 

Welsh Russians would be interesting, great singers who can box.

10 yrs ago I traveled to Russia. In St P I stayed at a homestay with an old weird guy. He asked me 2 times if I was gay. One morning I was sleeping in and he sent me messages 'when are you going to leave the condo blah blah'. 

 

Dont stay in a Russian homestay. nightmare....

Well, I believe that Russia is more than halfway to being an Orwellian state. I believe that Vladimir Putin is trying to recreate the Russian empire. Do you know that he calls the war that's being waged against Ukraine a "Special Military Operation"? And that it's actually a crime to call it a war? And what's even more unbelievable, there is at least one poll-takers in this forum who has adopted that usage.

On 12/12/2025 at 1:50 PM, Cameroni said:

Having said that, there are real issues with Russian society. Whilst the Russian people are intelligent, big hearted and know how to party, they have also eliminated religion for decades, which seems to have affected their moral compass.

 

 

Yes, it's such a good thing that religion is making a comeback in Russia with the enthusiastic support of Vladimir Putin. And the Russian Orthodox Church is returning the favor:

Russian Orthodox Church declares “Holy War” against Ukraine and West
By Brian Mefford

Russian Orthodox Church declares “Holy War” against Ukraine and West
The Russian Orthodox Church has approved a remarkable new document that spells out the Kremlin’s intention to destroy Ukraine while also making the ideological argument for a broader confrontation with the Western world. The decree was issued during a March 27-28 congress of the World Russian People’s Council, which is headed by Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill. It calls the invasion of Ukraine a “Holy War” with the explicit aim of extinguishing Ukrainian independence and imposing direct Russian rule.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russian-orthodox-church-declares-holy-war-against-ukraine-and-west/

 

From Chatbot AI:

Christians in Russia Under Attack From Putin’s Law Banning Evangelism Outside of Churches

Impact on Religious Groups
The laws have significantly impacted various religious minority groups known for their evangelism or who operate outside of traditional structures, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Pentecostals, and others. 
Jehovah's Witnesses The group's door-to-door practice was effectively banned, and the organization was later labeled an "extremist" group by the Russian Supreme Court in 2017, leading to a complete ban and persecution of its members.
Baptist Churches Many Council of Churches Baptist congregations, which often meet in homes and refuse state registration based on their history of resisting state control during the Soviet era, have faced ongoing crackdowns, court orders, fines, and closures of their places of worship.
Other Protestants Missionaries for groups like the Seventh-day Adventists have had to adjust their operations, with the Church officially registering its "missionaries" as "volunteers" to comply with the law and avoid discussing faith outside of approved locations. 

 

Russia's Patriarch Kirill in furore over luxury watch

The Russian Orthodox Church has apologised for showing a photo of its leader Patriarch Kirill that was doctored to airbrush out a luxury watch he was wearing.

The gold Breguet watch is estimated to be worth more than $30,000 (£19,000) and was spotted by Russian bloggers.

The watch's reflection could be seen in the 2009 photo on the church's website.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17622820

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like Dostoyevsky and Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago.

I lived and worked in Russia for five years, Siberia and Kamchatka. I liked the people and culture very much, though I was socialising with, and largely working with, well educated Russians. There are a couple of things to bear in mind with Russia, it's huge and the people east of the Urals are different from Muscovites; there's a fair degree of resentment that profits from Siberia's natural resources are largely spent west of the Urals. Russians are distrustful of governments and authority to a much greater extent, for good reasons, than people in the US or Western Europe. What people are willing to say and what they think can be very different, the feeling that there's little they can say or do to change things runs deep.

On 12/12/2025 at 3:42 PM, Cameroni said:

I also had an altercatoin with a 60 year old Russian woman over a sun lounger in Phuket.

 

Who won?  C'mon...  The truth.

 

I grew up in a Russkie/Pollack community in Chicago, and those were some tough birds. 

 

If you watch Fiddler on the Roof, that's my family origin story.  Mine was one two of the families that went to Chicago (toward the tail end of the movie).  From Ukraine and Belarus, but they were all considered Russkies at that time.

1 hour ago, impulse said:

Who won?  C'mon...  The truth.

 

If you think I'll be intimidated by a loudmouthed 60 year old Russian woman, you're sadly mistaken. I calmly pointed to the notice "no lounger reservations allowed", smiled at her extra wide and stayed put. They caved of course.

 

They are quite tough. But not as tough as me.

I dont care

On 12/13/2025 at 11:53 AM, Cameroni said:

 

Welsh Russians would be interesting, great singers who can box.

 

Welsh miners settled in the Donbas

On 12/12/2025 at 2:59 AM, Hummin said:

For Europe it should had been easier to cooperate with the Russians, but unfortunate they had Stalin when their chance was there, and USA had the package ready with the Marshal help which made USA rich 

The USA is constantly bailing out Europe.  

On 12/12/2025 at 1:50 AM, Cameroni said:

There have been decades of anti-Russian propganda poisoning the minds of people in the West. So we can't blame Americans and West Europeans for their prejudiced view on Russia.

Such as?  

This poll shows how masterfully President Trump has worked. Although 0% of people in Europe are anti-Russian, they are the ones being pushed for war with Russia.

1 hour ago, TedG said:

The USA is constantly bailing out Europe.  

It's been a beneficial bailout for USA, if not, it wouldn't happened! 

1 hour ago, zmisha said:

Although 0% of people in Europe are anti-Russian, they are the ones being pushed for war with Russia.

You sure about that?

 

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/06/23/views-of-russia-and-putin-2025/

Here's a link to a  comment made by the original poster in another thread. You'll note his use of the phrase "Special Military Operation" which is the Orwellian formulation that Russians are legally obliged to call the war that Russia launched against Ukraine. If they call it a war,  which, after all, is what it is, that's a crime for which they can be prosecuted and imprisoned. What's Connda's excuse?

 

2 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

You sure about that?

 

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/06/23/views-of-russia-and-putin-2025/

Credible western journalists are too busy to correct the results of this poll, right? - 

5 hours ago, Hummin said:

It's been a beneficial bailout for USA, if not, it wouldn't happened! 

n the immediate post-World War II period, Europe remained ravaged by war and thus susceptible to exploitation by an internal and external Communist threat. In a June 5, 1947, speech to the graduating class at Harvard University, Secretary of State George C. Marshall issued a call for a comprehensive program to rebuild Europe. Fanned by the fear of Communist expansion and the rapid deterioration of European economies in the winter of 1946–1947, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act in March 1948 and approved funding that would eventually rise to over $12 billion for the rebuilding of Western Europe.

 

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/marshall-plan

6 hours ago, zmisha said:

This poll shows how masterfully President Trump has worked. Although 0% of people in Europe are anti-Russian, they are the ones being pushed for war with Russia.

 

On 12/12/2025 at 2:37 PM, Yagoda said:

Russia is a Judeo Christian country, despite the lack of modern Judeo Christian values.

What’s not Judeo Christian about an illegal invasion of a sovereign country, rape, murder, slaughter of civilians and taking children hostage or indeed any of Russia’s other litany of war crimes?

On 12/12/2025 at 1:45 PM, Jingthing said:

I don't find a choice close enough to how I feel to vote. 

 

 

Yes. Where is the apathetic box ?

9 hours ago, TedG said:

 

This lady told us that Russia is bad because it erases other countries as political entities. 
Is this good for the people of the countries that were erased? Let's take a closer look at this video. Do you see this image?

It's the flag of Georgia. A country that was once threatened with total annihilation by Turkey. After joining Russia, this country increased its population, improved its standard of living, and its politicians moved from the leaders of a small microstate to those of a gigantic nation. For example, the Georgian Joseph Stalin became the head of a huge state.
Tell me, how many Native Americans became US presidents? How much did the Native American population increase after joining the US? There were 20 million of them, now how many?
Hating your rivals won't help you win the competition. If you want to win, you must thoroughly understand the advantages that your opponent uses to win.

8 minutes ago, zmisha said:

This lady told us that Russia is bad because it erases other countries as political entities. 
Is this good for the people of the countries that were erased? Let's take a closer look at this video. Do you see this image?

It's the flag of Georgia. A country that was once threatened with total annihilation by Turkey. After joining Russia, this country increased its population, improved its standard of living, and its politicians moved from the leaders of a small microstate to those of a gigantic nation. For example, the Georgian Joseph Stalin became the head of a huge state.
Tell me, how many Native Americans became US presidents? How much did the Native American population increase after joining the US? There were 20 million of them, now how many?
Hating your rivals won't help you win the competition. If you want to win, you must thoroughly understand the advantages that your opponent uses to win.

You have to go back to the 19th century to defend the Russian empire's absorption of Georgia? What that means is that you've got nothing.

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

What’s not Judeo Christian about an illegal invasion of a sovereign country, rape, murder, slaughter of civilians and taking children hostage or indeed any of Russia’s other litany of war crimes?

Sounds like Great Britain during the colonial era.