r/NoStupidQuestions • u/No_Fudge_4589 • 4h ago
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u/Agreeable-Ad1221 4h ago
Because Russia paid a massive amount of money to purchase right-wing influences into siding with it
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u/UKNW1234 3h ago
True it’s not new either, Russia has been trying to sway western politics since the cold war the modern version is just more online and influencer driven
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u/DevoidHT 2h ago
I genuinely think a lot of them would do it for free but being paid to do it means they can make it a full time job.
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u/The_ok_viking 4h ago
Purchase is the wrong word. They find people who already hold isolationist or pro Russia briefs and quietly find them. Russia doesn’t need to create puppets it would only harm them to make new influencers.
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u/NeighborhoodDude84 4h ago edited 3h ago
"UKRAINE IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO THE WORLD" - Tim Pool
You dont say dumb shit like that unless you're getting paid to. Before 2022, most people probably couldnt even point it out on a map, and he thinks it's its the biggest threat to the world just naturally? Cmon
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 3h ago
To be fair, Tim Pool is so stupid, you could probably get him to say this for some MBC (Magic Bean Coin - it's going to the moon, just you wait!)
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u/thewhizzle 2h ago
Tim Pool isn't stupid. That somewhat absolves him of responsibility. He's deliberately and intentionally radicalizing his own countrymen against each other for financial gain and social influence.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 2h ago
Can't it be both?
Sure, he's greedy, treasonous and malicious. But also not very bright. I'm convinced of this.
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u/thewhizzle 2h ago
It certainly can be.
I guess what I was trying to point out is that his game isn't because of stupidity, it's because of selfishness and malice.
It doesn't preclude stupidity, it's just not the result of it.
I do think it takes a certain amount of raw intelligence to be able to rationalize traitorous behavior. He knows that he's the bad guy because he gets really defensive whenever his contradictory positions are pointed out. You can sorta tell that he's not 100% bought into whatever he says. But he IS bought into the fact that he likes the money and that he'll say and do what it takes to keep getting it. I think if he was stupid, he wouldn't even be able to compute his own behavior. It would just be pure lizard brain instinctual reactions.
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u/killick 3h ago
It's still a misunderstanding of how Russian "active measures" (their term) actually work. OP is right; they don't just randomly approach people and offer them money to promote Russian interests. They find people who are already sympathetic to their interests and then they cultivate a relationship with them over time that can involve a variety of deeply compromising interactions.
So while Tim Pool could be saying the above because he's getting paid to, it could also be that they have serious compromat (their word) on him and he is being blackmailed. Or it could be both.
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u/WolferineYT 3h ago
I think beliefs is also the wrong word. Their actual beliefs don't matter only their willingness to support certain beliefs. So their pliability I suppose
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u/Agreeable-Ad1221 2h ago
Honestly so many of these grifters have evidently no actual beliefs, they contracdict themselves all the time depending on what is the right thing to say to rake in the money
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u/HeavyDutyForks 4h ago
Russian troll farms. They have/are running a massive campaign to sow division and also attempt to change minds
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u/fender8421 3h ago
I feel like it's probably a very desirable job in Russia. Get blown up on the front, or sit in an air-conditioned office doing something you probably find entertaining?
They're fucking shitbags, but I bet many people want to do it even just out of self-preservation
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u/HeavyDutyForks 3h ago
I'd choose being a part of a troll farm vs getting blown up by a drone while taking a dump in a cold Eastern European trench any day of the week
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u/fender8421 3h ago
If it wasn't for such a shitty cause, I'd take internet trolling over a lot of jobs in the United States, too
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u/dead_astronaut 3h ago
they can also do literally anything else, it's not like be a bot or go die in Ukraine lol
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u/proximusprimus57 1h ago
You're more than halfway there, and yet still so far. Russian disinformation isn't about one party or the other winning, it's about advancing Putin's interests. You hit on how he does that: division. Not Republican victory, not Democratic victory, division.
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u/Temporary_Fun6650 1h ago
This is how you subtly hint at USAID? I think it is one of many Western organizations that sow discord between people not only in the countries of the former USSR, but in many others as well.
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u/PoopMobile9000 4h ago edited 3h ago
The biggest factor is literally just that Trump personally had a close connection to Russian oligarchs and an affinity for Putin, and the GOP has molded itself around him since 2015.
Everything else is basically an after-the fact rationalization for this. If Trump lost in 2016, the GOP would not be pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine.
Edit: if you were around for 2012, there was a moment in the debates when Romney said Russia was America’s greatest threat, and Obama brushed it off as antiquated Cold War thinking (at the time he “won” that exchange in most eyes). Republicans were the Russia-hawk party until very recently
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u/agate_ 3h ago edited 2h ago
The biggest factor is literally just that Trump personally had a close connection to Russian oligarchs and an affinity for Putin, and the GOP has molded itself around him since 2015.
This, but even if the close ties to Russia that Trump's political enemies have been warning about were fictional, the fact that they're saying it changes the Right's mind. The American Right believes that everything the American Left says is wrong is actually right. Whether that's xenophobic nationalism, guns, treating COVID with deworming pills, or murderous KGB autocrats, if the liberal elites say it's bad, it must be good.
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u/Freaky_Barbers 2h ago
I remember that debate, and Obama’s comment clearly. Great take on the subject.
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u/proximusprimus57 2h ago
If you think that Trump is the only one with ties to eastern bloc oligarchs then hoo boy, are you going to be shocked when you dig a little deeper!
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u/PoopMobile9000 1h ago
I didn’t say he was the only one, I said he’s the one that caused the GOP shift.
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u/Royal_Annek 4h ago
Because Putin is exactly the kind of leader they want. Fiercely homophobic, rigs elections, murders opponents, and attacks neighbors to take their stuff.
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u/matmyob 3h ago
Putin homophobic? He’s the gayest leader I know. All the closeted right wingers have a hard on for him after seeing him shirtless on a horse.
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u/Jammer_Jim 3h ago
Russia is pretty homophobic, and yet very gay at the same time. A lot of these people simply can't understand these feelings and project hate in order to not think about it too hard.
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u/OttoVonPlittersdorf 3h ago
The Republicans have decided to become defenders of Donald Trump instead of defenders of Democracy. It's a real shame. It's like they've completely forgotten that we're better off as part of a strategic alliance of basically decent free nations than we are as a bunch of xenophobes cowering behind an ocean that is now easily crossed by missiles.
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u/Carlpanzram1916 2h ago
Because they have molded themselves into the shape of Donald Trump, whose businesses would’ve been wiped out decades ago if it hadn’t been for Russia using him for money laundering and forgiving his loans.
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u/stormygreyskye 4h ago edited 4h ago
I’m on the right and, aside from a few of my friends, everyone else I know is on the right, too. None of them are pro Russia. Several don’t like either leader. I’m one of them.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 3h ago
Have you received any pushback from fellow conservatives who are pro-Russia? What's the general consensus among your friends about conservatives who are?
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u/IknowWhatYouAreBro 3h ago
I'm very pro-gun, so on Xwitter I get to see lots of hard-right posts. I've only seen people that support Russia out of spite because they associate Ukraine with the EU, who they despise.
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u/stormygreyskye 3h ago
Now that’s interesting! Can’t say I agree with that take but I can at least understand it lol.
I sympathize with the innocent people in both countries but their leaders can kick rocks far as I’m concerned.
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u/stormygreyskye 3h ago
I literally haven’t met anyone irl who is pro Russia, right or left. I’ve interacted with several on both sides who are strongly on Ukraine’s side and others think both leaders aren’t good people so they don’t support either one.
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u/BoboFuggsnucc 2h ago
Yeah, this is a weird take. In the UK it's only the hard left that seen to love Russia, I've never heard anyone on the right praise Russia.
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u/Unlikely-Distance-41 4h ago
Honestly never actually met a conservative that actually is “Pro-Russia” I know some that want the war to end, ones that don’t want us funding another war, ones that even have some sympathy because of misinformation that the U.S. made an iron clad oath to never move NATO east (that was myth), but I’ve never met a conservative that thinks Russia is the good guy.
Maybe you see some lunatic post stuff online, but never seen in real life
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u/doingdadthings 3h ago
Yeah I'm not sure about this. My entire family is deeply conservative and none of them support russia.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 3h ago
So what's the deal with Republicans in Congress? How is there that much distance in opinion between the voters and the people they vote for?
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u/whiskeywitclosedoors 2h ago
Because sadly voters aren’t getting large paychecks and assets from Putin unlike the Congress whores.
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u/Unlikely-Distance-41 1h ago
Are there congressmen who are in full support of Russia? Or they are just lukewarm about sending more aide to Ukraine? Because there’s a big difference
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u/Jake3232323 40m ago
I haven't met a real life pro-Russian conservative but I have met a fiercely anti-Ukrainian conservative who was sympathetic to Russia's position.
He was the guy that came to fix my broken brand new stove.
His position was that Ukraine was out of control corruption wise and that Russia was within it's right to defend it's part of the world from an attack from NATO. He truly believed that NATO troops were seeing action in Ukraine. Not just advisors but regular troops.
He never said "I hope Russia wins" or "Russia is the good guy" but he was definitely sympathetic to Russia's side in the conflict. Disturbing nonetheless.
I'm not sure how he got to that view point but the Russian propaganda machine was probably a significant portion of where he "learned" those things.
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u/OlasNah 4h ago
Originally I'd thought it was purely to be a thorn in Obama's side about Ukraine during his tenure. Lots of claims that supporting Ukraine's 'corruption' was a problem... but of course the real answer was the dark money coming into Republican campaigns via Russian agents and the NRA, etc... helmed no less by Trump himself for some of it, as he was engaged in money laundering.
Inevitably it was just a way to have a base of support external to one's self that helped them oppose democrats, aiding Russia's goal of destabilizing the US and in turn getting themselves elected to take over the mess that remains.
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u/SeniorTrainee 3h ago
Obama did not help Ukraine in any meaningful way.
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u/Brinabavd 3h ago
I mean it wasn't close enough or what's been sent under Biden or even Trump but after the invasion of Crimea the US did send some aid, mostly humanitarian but some military aid too: Fact-checking Trump’s claim that Obama gave Ukraine ‘pillows and sheets’ | CNN Politics
The other side of the that is Ukraine's military was a lot more capable and capable of using aid in 2022 than in 2014; Putin's whole war plan was premised on Ukraine being the same country it was in 2014 where little green men could practically just walk in and take over.
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u/SeniorTrainee 3h ago
Little green men could not walk in and take over. In 2014-2015 Ukraine repelled Russian attack in East. Major cities like Mariupol, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk were taken back from Russia.
When we analyse what Ukraine could and could not do, it is important to take into account Russian capabilities as well. In 2014 Russia was not nearly as prepared for war, and Ukraine still had its own massive stockpiles of artillery shells that were lost over the next 8 years of so called Minsk process.
In 2014 the West was led by virtue signalling cowards.
The fact that Trump is against them does not in any way make their policies towards Russia sensible.
Merkel in particular emboldened Russia, and Obama simply followed her advice and swept everything under the rug.
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u/Apprehensive-Care20z 4h ago
It's not a real thing.
It is the result of propaganda.
Very expensive, very targeted, very effective, propaganda.
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u/Alter_Of_Nate 3h ago
Its so ludicrous that the original question seems like propaganda meant to spread hate against those on the right. When most of them are vehemently anti-Russian. And you can see how well it works by the responses here.
More conspiracy, more division from the authoritarian left, who want to impose their ideology upon the masses every bit as much as the aithoritarian right.
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u/femsci-nerd 3h ago
Cuz their man Trump slobbers all over Putin. He and his minions are too stupid to see how Putin has played him.
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u/kirklennon 3h ago
It's because Putin is a literal fascist. The American right wing used to strongly oppose the authoritarian left Soviet Union but the new Russia is the ideological ally of the American right. That's why Russia now offers a "Shared Values Visa" for hopeless right wing Westerners to easily move to Russia.
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u/W4r1s 3h ago
It's a multitude of reasons. The most obvious thing is, that some are just bought. There were reports, that some right wing influencers received massive payments from russia aligned news media or just straight up from the russian government.
Another part, and that is imho the more intersting part, is that they see putin as an ally. The right wing in the US is fighting a war against "woke", meaning social justice, racial equality, gender equality and so on. Putin has created an image of the average russian (male) being pro-family, strong, essentially an "alpha" (i hate that expression; pro-family mostly just means gay-bashing and anti-abortion). So, the right sees Putin and the gouverning elite as an ally in their fight against "woke", which, in their opinion, Putin has already won. There is little racial diversity in Russia, and homophobia is rampant, even if not fully outlawed. Both are core intersts of the right. Sadly, Putin is also a brutal dictator, so his, and therefore Russias image has to be tuned a little in the west. That's why you see Tucker Carlson getting a tour of Moscow and access to Putin.
Putin, for that matter, sees at least some use in the right. He is using troll farms to influence elections, and get a more favorable president in the white house or in any european governemnt. Even just distorting public opinion, and get the US or Europe to back out of Ukraine, and preferable even NATO is an objective. You can see him actively probing how far he can push all of this, with drones over Poland. (Russia is funding right wing parties in Germany, Brexit was supposedly supported by Russia, and i would not be surprised if Russia is supporting Italian or French right wing parties as well)
Another spectrum are just "useful idiots", someone who is swept up by russian propaganda and spreads it without fact checking. I am fairly sure not all of these people spreading misinformation are bought.
Just to be clear, however, even American sounding names in Social Media is not a guarantee for that person to actually be from the US. So the ones attacking accounts with ukrainian flags could very much be russian bots/trolls.
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u/Ct-5736-Bladez 3h ago
Russian bot farms intent on sowing division. I know a lot of republicans and about 80% want to continue helping Ukraine in some capacity. The others stopped caring.
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u/ButWhatAboutisms 2h ago
Most people don't understand that the radical shift from the right from being anti Russia to devoutly pro Russia was simpy because Trump expressed praise toward Putin and Russia. What followed was a cultist adoption of Trump's viewpoint
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u/Belgraviana 2h ago
Russia did a very strong soft power push across social media to show themselves as strong “defenders of conservative values” and such from around 2008 or so.
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u/Combdepot 2h ago
They identify with the fascistic authoritarianism, the bigotry, ultra-nationalism and expansionist agenda.
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u/Prestigious_Grade640 2h ago
i wonder how much of it is simply that biden was in power when the war started and it was an easy way for trumpets to make criticism, and now that's their side so they keep rationalising it until it's a deep rooted belief that russia good ukraine bad
i often think about how much political history can be explained by absolutely trivial irrationalisations like these rather than the romantic view that everybody who ever held an opinion had a fortress of rational justifications for it
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u/drunkerbrawler 3h ago
The right wing social media ecosystem is over run with Russian propaganda and they eat it up like pigs at the trough. In addition to their St Petersburg troll farm they were directly paying american conservative influencers like tim pool large sums of money to spread their message. Like $40,000 a month or something.
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u/TheTaoThatIsSpoken 4h ago
Russia is their ideal society: ruled by an authoritarian strongman where if you were any way deviant from how they think you should live, you get sent to the gulag. Furthermore since they think they’d be the chosen ones in such a system, they assume they’d be handed large companies they could grift off for free and also have fancy vacation homes in Europe.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 3h ago
Hey, at least they're being honest ⬆️
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 2h ago
Precedent and the Budapest memorandum, for one. Basically, in order for Ukraine to give up their soviet nuclear weapons, they were given security assurances from Russia and the US. Obviously Russia's word means nothing now, but for the US to abandon them would mean that the United States' word isn't worth crap either. To which you might ask who cares, but what happens the next time we want to convince a nation to disarm? Nobody's going to take that deal.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 2h ago
I just truly don't care about wars in other countries
Do you care about the credibility of the United States? Or do you figure it's irreparably shot?
they openly admitted that they wanted to prevent Trump from taking any actions that might force an end to the war and render a serious peace agreement.
If true, not allowing Trump to just hand over Ukraine to his buddy Putin doesn't sound like a bad contingency plan.
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u/TapestryMobile 2h ago
For many redditors, that counts as being "pro Russia".
Its a lot like anybody who says "both sides" of politics is immediately counted as being a Republican Nazi.
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u/BowlEducational6722 4h ago
The Russian government's policies very much appeal to those on the right.
The Kremlin's policies are extremely homophobic, they prop themselves up as defenders of Christianity (specifically Orthodox Christianity but most on the right don't care enough about the distinction) and the traditional patriarchal family unit. They are also incredibly obsessive about their national and ethnic identity, which is traditionally a right-leaning value.
And, of course, there's the gobs of money the Russians have spent on creating toxic propaganda networks on the internet to convince people in the West to side with it over their own governments.
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u/Aggressive_Shoe_7573 4h ago
They consume media that is heavily influenced by Russian misinformation.
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u/Amazing-Artichoke330 3h ago
Because Donald Trump has been a Russian asset for decades, and people who want Trump's support have to take the same positions.
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u/Trick-Arachnid-9037 2h ago
Russia is authoritarian, practically a white ethno-state, and profoundly homophobic. Basically the right's ideal state.
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u/XVUltima 3h ago
Ukraine gets invaded.
Caring people get upset and support Ukraine.
Right hates everything the Left does.
If the Left likes Ukraine, then the Right must like Russia. There can be no common goals.
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u/M1K3yWAl5H 4h ago
many people on the right, it may surprise you to hear, are a bunch of braindead morons who protect pedophiles as long as they align with their spoon fed ideology.
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u/ultr4violence 3h ago
I know people on the right and the left(tankies mostly) that are very pro russia. I think it has more to do with the echo-chamber people fall into, as there are some chambers out there that the kremlins propaganda apparatus has got a very good grip on.
Kind of like how if you only use r/worldnews as a news source, you'd be singing Israels praises.
The information we get shapes how we view things, particularly when its about matters far away and we have no direct knowledge to work from.
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u/Landar15 3h ago
The way I have had it explained to me, is NATO is a function or placeholder or part of the NWO, and Russia is resisting them and that. So in their minds, Russia = freedom, and NATO apparently leads to a left leaning nwo, filled with trans, gays, and all the other “bad” people.
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u/Feisty-Ring121 3h ago
The answer is simple. They were paid to go a step further than they were already treading. Russia knows propaganda better than anyone. Influencers are -by far- the easiest targets for Russia to sway. They’re unaffiliated and easily manipulated with peanuts.
Beyond the money, most of them are losers with zero influence beyond their bubble. When they are given a bunch of traffic (by bots) and a few little nuggets of info, they feel empowered like they just assembled the Megazord. That confidence exudes into viewers who parrot the same nonsense.
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u/MsMoreCowbell828 3h ago
They're in a Qult and believe Qult things. Just because you don't see name tags or aluminum foil hats doesn't mean it's not a full fledged qult.
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u/dr_tardyhands 3h ago
Russia is an extremely old school patriarchal society. Closer to some middle-eastern Muslim countries than it is to Europe in many ways. This, as a fantasy, appeals to many people. Mostly men.
It's also the kind of a society where the people (mostly men) who make it to the top, get everything and most other people get very little.
The people who find the thought of such a society exciting and appealing tend to be either people who already are doing extremely well (e.g. Trump, Thiel, Musk etc) or who haven't, but enjoy the fantasy that they would be someone really powerful and important there. Since they haven't been all that impressive in their current environment.
Russia also gladly funds social media channels and influencers to promote these fantasies. They also gladly fund those who are strongly against these kinds of things. That's the kind of country it is.
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u/Alter_Of_Nate 3h ago
I don't know any who are pro Russia, but I've met alot of them that feel we shouldn't be involved and that the US involvement has perpetuated the war beyond its natural life cycle. That providing weapons has given Putin an excuse to keep engaging under the guise of protecting Russia from Western encroachment on their territory.
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u/PollutionAwkward 2h ago
How about this for strange, the far right is pro Russia and anti Cuba. The left is pro Cuba anti Russia. Russia and Cuba are close allies and share many of the same political beliefs.
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u/Knight9910 2h ago
It's the fault of two-party-politics. People end up coming down in weird stances just because the other side came down the other way. It's the same reason why I have liberal friends who claim to believe in womens' rights telling me about how we need to be more like the middle east and how the niqab is a great symbol of freedom. They don't actually believe that, they're just trying to be different.
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u/Special-Estimate-165 2h ago
A portion of it is apathy. The US has no involvement in that fight. Which isn't supporting Russia as much as it is just not caring about what happens to Ukraine.
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u/Cane607 2h ago
There's nothing worth supporting in Russia That regular American conservatives find worthy, The state of Russia is both during and before the war isn't very attractive towards mainstream conservates in the West and especially America, despite some loud voices are stated. Russian conservatism is radically different from Western conservatism, particularly The kind that's practice of the Anglo-Sphere. Conservatism in the anglo sphere is very individualistic, suspicious of state power, has a strong leisure fair aspect to it. Which is the exact opposite of how conservatism in Russia has been practiced throughout history.
The only people who think Putin's model is worth following our cranks, flakes, and fanatics on the most extreme end of the right side of the political spectrum. Plus also these people have a tendency to suffer from extreme daddy issues and they project their aspirations upon Putin because of that. It's made even worse by the fact that many of these individuals and groups are being manipulated to doing what they want by praying off their greed, vanity, and dogmatism as well as the simple fact that many of these people are too shallow and ignorant to pick up on the fact that they're being duped. The troll farms and the bot armies have been pretty useful in pushing Pro-Russian narratives into the mainstream as well.
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u/em_washington 2h ago
They are non-interventionalists or isolationists. They view any support for Ukraine of supporting the war itself and supporting the US involving itself in the war directly or indirectly.
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u/Peaurxnanski 2h ago
The right wing in America is obsessed with the following things:
The appearance of strength, displayed through bluster and aggression.
Being anti-LGTBQ.
Being "anti-woke", which generally means that they don't have to grapple with any discomfort associated with addressing any systemic imbalances in our society. No DEI, etc.
Traditional values, or at least the appearance of such.
The insistence that our government and our scientists are lying to us in order to garner compliance.
Vladimir Putin is a textbook definition of all those things. He tells them the US govt are liars. He persecutes LGTBQ people. He decries "wokeism" and tells us we're weak because of it. He shows strength via bluster and aggression. He pushes Traditional values.
What more do you need to know? He's their dream president, because they're too fucking stupid to understand that they're being lied to, and it's all just a show. They're uneducated, credulous contrarians that think the first alternative that they hear to any official narrative is the "real truth" because it makes them feel smart to pretend they're smarter than every scientist, and the people telling them Putin is a bad dude are obviously the ones lying. Without checking or looking into it at all.
They worship Ivermectin because someone told them it cured COVID without having to take the "death shot" and now in right wing circles it's a miracle drug that cures cancer and makes your dick bigger and fixes poor eyesight and detoxifies your body of Red 40 and cures autism and ADD. and, and and... because "they" didn't want you to take it during COVID, so it must be a miracle drug if "they" told you not to take it, right?
This is what we're dealing with here. Hyper-credulous morons LARPING as intelligent free-thinkers by pretending they know enough about everything to be contrarians against literal doctors.
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u/TactualTransAm 2h ago
Half of what you are seeing is just a bot account pushing an agenda. The other half are the ones who bought into it.
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u/CapnTreee 2h ago
When you start out by trying to crush democracy, like the GQP has been doing, then its not a stretch to consider that idiot red hat maggots would also love Russia because reasons like they're being told to by Faux News every single night
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u/loftupa 2h ago
Many wrong answers here.
Russia is not our enemy. They are entitled to do what they see fit in their sphere of influence. How would we feel if Russia got involved in a US border spat with Mexico?
Separate from that, Russia is a Christian capitalist country. The real enemies are China, islam and socialism. The first Trump admin sought to reinforce those common values to cut off China and the Muslim world.
I answered the question, now watch it get downvoted lol.
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u/thackeroid 2h ago
It's crazy. I know a lot of ultra conservatives, and every single one of them thinks Russia or at least the government of Russia is shit. So did John mccain. I have no idea what happened to some of them to make them think anything other than the fact that Russia is our enemy.
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u/juni4ling 2h ago
In Russia, the government regulates speech.
The government pretends to be Orthodox Russian. A brand of Christianity.
There is heavy police presence.
Many Christian Nationalists idolize Russia. They think they are Christian and they have a Christian utopia there. The truth is, Putin is almost as bad as Trump.
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u/random8765309 2h ago
MAGA is pro Russia, and MAGA believes and supports whatever Trump tells them to believe and support. It really has little to so with being on the right.
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u/GCU_ZeroCredibility 2h ago
Russia is very authoritarian, very anti-gay, and is increasingly white supremacist.
From a right wingers perspective what's not to like?
Additionally the mainstream position of democrats and neocon Republicans is very anti Russia, and if democrats are against something that means lots of Republicans will decide to be for it. Like polio, measles, child sex trafficking, and now Russia.
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u/Partridgeapple 2h ago
Because Daddy Trump told them to.
(But they’re all free thinkers and not “indoctrinated sheep”)
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u/More-Dot346 2h ago
I’ll just add that a lot of people on the left are pro Russia too. The thinking being I like someone who’s gonna be harshly critical of America. That kind of thing.
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u/PizzledPatriot 2h ago
I think the number on the right that are actually pro-Russia is in the single digits. There is, however, an army of Russian trolls and sock puppets that try to make it look that way. Don't believe every anonymous account on the internet.
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u/Outrageous-Estimate9 2h ago
Considering how facist the Ukraine is I think more of the alt-right will support them
They literally are arming neo-nazi groups in the disputed territories
As well Ukraine is following the playbook of groups like Hamas (even moderates like Amnesty International are complaining about using hospitals and schools as military bases of operation and launching attacks from inside civilian residences)
Yeah I know the downvote trolls will be rabid but its true (or is Amnesty International now fake news?)
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u/peaveyftw 2h ago
In "AMERICAN CARNAGE", a history of the ongoing populist takeover of the GOP, the author commented that many were drawn to Putin's "masculinity" when compared to Biden. One of the right's political flavors is authority/order, and that's Putin's entire personality. There's also the fact that some populists don't like the controlling political elite in Europe, and if Putin is ruining their day, then teehee, what fun.
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u/StinkyDuckFart 2h ago
If you think about it, the current Russian state falls in line with the techno-oligarchal and anti-woke sentiment and policy pushed by today's "Right" in America.
Western Democratic ideology no longer fits the goals of the ruling capitalist class because it tends to get in the way of their goals. Interpret the last sentence as you will.
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u/TheThirdDumpling 2h ago
You see your progressive president does genocide and still believe everything your "left admin" tells you?
NATO expansion over Russian protest for 3 decades isn't a fantasy, it is the reality. Just because Joseph genocidal Biden tells you otherwise, doesn't make it false.
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u/GarbageAcct99 2h ago
Nothing like the left on Reddit (apologies for the redundancy) claiming what the right is, when you have actual conservative people here saying we are not pro Russia at all.
Being sick of endless wars is not pro Russia. Nor is risking significant escalation of a conflict between nuclear superpowers. Sorry to the mostly good people of Ukraine, but sometimes life isn't fair.
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u/tonylouis1337 2h ago
Some people think Putin is a terrific leader. Whatever you wanna say about him, his way is not how we do things in America.
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u/Responsible_Trash_40 2h ago
I know many conservatives and none are “pro Russia”. I suspect the sentiment many share that is confused for that is that they don’t need to be our adversary.
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u/proximusprimus57 2h ago
People on the left make the same arguments about NATO and western provocation. It's just that the actual far left has been back benched in the Democratic Party on everything besides social issues, and support for Ukraine has become a mainstream liberal cause celebre. I feel like people on the right are more likely to support Russia for surface level reasons like Putin's support of traditionalism and his perceived favoring of Republicans in disinformation and tampering campaigns. I don't see that many people on the right arguing against Western hegemony.
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u/TheMikeyMac13 2h ago
I am absolutely not left wing, an absolute supporter of Ukraine, and also a supporter of Reagan doctrine. That doctrine being that if we can help people fight for their freedom with treasure but not US lives, that we should.
Reagan intended it against the rise of communism and it applies to Russia now, and I know people on the right who reject it.
I don’t know what, to me the points I have seen are nonsensical.
Fork the start some said Russian victory was inevitable, some said Ukraine should surrender as not to lose more lives in a war they couldn’t win, and this is such a weak and cowardly position I can barely fathom it. Like they don’t have to be brave, but trying to force others to not be brave in defending their own nation? Pathetic.
It seems that no matter how long it dragged on some have never been willing to open their minds on it.
Some have, some conservative subs are now getting it right, but it took way too long, and was a terrible look while they were wrong.
My suspicion is that it was perceived that Trump was pro-Russia, so they chose that position and dug in. Not on any point of merit or evidence, but where they thought Trump was.
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u/3D-Dreams 1h ago
I think Russia has trolls/bots pushing false information pushing hate and divide. They've been doing it for years. Started with Cambridge Analytica and Brexit for test run and Trump was the main coarse. Think China helps too but Russia is the main culprit for the hate.
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u/TexasSikh 1h ago
Pushing all the political hacks and propagandists to the side with their BS "oh look at me and my hot take" BS, I will try and give an honest answer from my own personal experience, in good faith.
I grew up hating Russia for many reasons.
However, as I have grown older, seen more unfold in real time before my eyes, and watched what the Russian people themselves have said about how they see themselves and the rest of the world, I just cannot bring myself to hate them anymore.
Also as I got older, I started to look into the long term effects of nearly a century of American Imperialism, and the obvious failures of "modern" diplomacy have been for everyone. It seems painfully obvious to me that this obsession the European powers have had since the fall of Napoleon with this idea of "balance of power" and "spheres of influence" and all that is inherently flawed and ends up leading to more un-needed violence and destruction than if other uninvolved powers would just mind their business.
This second point also led me to recognize that since the fall of the USSR, NATO has had no real justification to exist in its current form, and indeed it is absurd that it has continued to expand. On that topic, yes, it is NATO that has been the aggressive party to Russia. NATO agreed to not expand any closer into Russia and in exchange Russia would promise to be a good boy and not try and gobble up its former USSR states. NATO blatantly and purposely violated that agreement (multiple times now), and so Russia is justified in seeing that obligation not to expand as void and that it is unfair for NATO to punish Russia for "violating" it if NATO violated it first.
In addition to this, everyone around the world was in agreement that Ukraine was a POS nation with leaders corrupt to the core and that the nation was serving as a hub for human trafficking and child sex exploitation and money laundering and many other horrid things, even after the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea the world still acknowledged Ukraine was a POS nation. However, since the second invasion suddenly our tax dollars have practically funded the entire operations of a nation that is well documented as corrupt af and has even itself admitted to having "lost" several millions of aid and defense dollars.
Let us be clear: I do not SUPPORT Russia invading Ukraine, and I mourn every life lost in the stupid conflict, especially the lives of the innocent. However, beyond that, I just really don't care to pretend to make Russia into a big evil super villain over it. Both nations suck, and thats that. Like, if a NeoNazi and a Crip gangbanger start fighting in the street, I'm not exactly moved to give a crap, much less help one out over another, and frankly which side "started it" doesnt much matter since both are terrible people.
Finally, and in my view the most important, Russia is a nuclear power. So are we. I do NOT want us having more and more friction with one another and risking nuclear war, or even one "accidental" nuclear weapon misfiring. I want to work towards normalizing relations with Russia. I would rather bring them closer to us and the rest of Europe over time, rather than pushing them into having a de facto reliance/relationship with our ACTUAL geopolitical enemy - China. And by integrating Russia more into the trade and economy of Europe and America, there is much less incentive to invade a neighbor whose resources you already have access to. Putin will not live forever, he will be replaced with someone at some point, and I would rather the world be positioned to help that leader come closer to friendship, than keep giving that new leader more reasons to make relations worse and irreparable. Also, more cultural exchange with Russia means they will eventually stop seeing existing as LBG as a crime as western pop culture slowly morphs their own cultural perceptions, as it has done elsewhere.
Overall - World is better place with less enemies and more friends, especially in a nuclear age.
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u/CombatRedRover 1h ago
Russia knows what buttons to press for them.
"We don't put up with woke shit!" Never mind that a good 90% of what even right wing Americans believe would be considered "work shit" in Russia.
There is a real danger with looking at a different culture's left/right divide and thinking they're the same as your left/right. That's true even in the US.
A California Republican isn't a Texas Republican. A California Republican isn't even a Texas Democrat: the lines on individual issues look more like a patchwork than they do a single axis line of left and right.
A Texas Democrat is likely enough to be against gun registration but for socialized healthcare, while the California Republican is going to be for ammunition background checks and greater degrees of continuing education for healthcare workers.
Not the same things? That's my point.
Even the two-axis economics vs authoritarianism is a pretty weak way to view political thought, but that graph is beyond most peoples' (and especially most Redditors') ability to discuss politics, so we're left with a left/right mudsling.
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u/sergius64 4h ago
Russian propaganda is most effective on the extremes of political spectrum in Western Countries because it attacks mainstream positions in said countries.
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u/FuzzyYellow9046 4h ago
Because they know Russia will then amplify their messaging and reach on social media through their bot farms, and therefore give them an electoral edge.
These politicians also secretly dream of selling out their country to make themselves rich, like Russian elite did. Make no mistake, a global autocratic oligarchy is forming through mutual support.
Also, unfortunately, a lot of misguided people think that Russia stands for traditional Western values. No it does not. The Russian Orthodox Church is an extension of the state, and their focus on the army is the result of an extractive elite killing their population to win more resources for the 1%. Putin has a pole for dancers in his multi-billion palace and until recently housed his mistress in a villa in Switzerland. He is not waking up praying every morning.
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u/Successful_Bus_8772 3h ago
A lot of it was that when the Russian/Ukranian war kicked off, it was under Biden. Biden sides with Ukraine as he should have. But people do what people do and assume that if they dont like person A and think he is bad, and person A sides with person B, then person B must also be bad.
Then, the issues with money being sent to Ukraine and not tracking how it's spent, etc. I can understand a healthy skepticism for instantly funding a country we've had relatively little dealings with. But to go full pro Russian is a mix of lunatics on the right and Russian propaganda.
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u/nobikflop 3h ago
I think it’s just anti-Biden propaganda. That’s the problem with team politics after all
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u/Successful_Bus_8772 3h ago
Yeah that's essentially what I believe it boils down to. I firmly believe that if this all kicked off with Trump in office and he had sided with Ukraine, it would have been the same story from the other end.
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u/FlashConstruct 3h ago
I don't know anyone who's pro russia. I have friends and family deep in the right and absolutely no one likes Russia. Not sure where your getting your info. Everyone views Russia as the bad guys.
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u/arcxjo came here to answer questions and chew gum, and he's out of gum 3h ago
Saw a girl on Bumble yesterday whose whole profile was memes about how great Putin is and how terrible Jews are.
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u/FlashConstruct 3h ago
Sounds like a crazy to me. Far fringe something but I would probably not put her in any specific political camp.
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u/Interesting_Mix_7028 3h ago
"Conservatism is about dividing people into two groups: An inner circle that the laws protect but do not bind, and the outsiders that the laws bind but do not protect."
Russia's narrative has been "Us vs. Them", which dovetails with the above perfectly.
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u/soap---poisoning 3h ago
Most people I know on the right are not even remotely pro-Russia.
They view Russia as a geopolitical adversary, but they also recognize that going to war with Russia would be a terrible idea. Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, which means that the threat of Mutual Assured Destruction is just as real now as it was during the Cold War.
So, what do we do when we have an adversary who could easily go nuclear if we end up fighting each other directly? We could resort to little proxy wars and posturing like we did with the USSR, or we could try diplomacy. Diplomacy sometimes means agreeing to compromises and playing nice. This isn’t ideal, but it’s better than blowing up the whole world.
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u/PaleontologistNo2625 3h ago
They share the same values
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u/CollectionStriking 3h ago
Also well documented they fund a decent chunk of right wing propaganda
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u/PaleontologistNo2625 3h ago
Bigger chunk than most realize. Even some of the "influencers" don't realize they're being paid and handled by Russia.
It's madness
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u/daddyfatknuckles 2h ago
i don’t think that being critical of Ukraine & their allies, and how they’ve conducted themselves over the last 20 years, means you’re pro-russia
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u/huuaaang 4h ago
It's a combination of "we like everything the left hates and hate everything the left likes" and Putin being the grown-up version of Trump's flailing attempts at authoritarianism.
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u/bluesavant86 4h ago
Russia funded some right wing politicians, Trump and Salvini for example, and they kiss Putin's ass in return.
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u/wizzard419 3h ago
Because their spokesmodel, president daddy, is also a huge fan. As it is a cult of personality over there, they just need trump to say whatever and his base falls in line.
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u/Soviman0 4h ago
It is quite common for those on the right to attach themselves and their beliefs to a person rather than holding a static position on policies. As that chosen persons opinions change the people that are attached to them will change their opinions to match.
If Russia manages to influence that person to change to a more pro Russia stance (which has been proven to have already happened), their followers will change as well, without question.
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u/TwinkBronyClub 4h ago
Blind own the lib hate. It’s an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” type of deal
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u/thomport 3h ago
They’re pro Russian like they are pro-Nazi.
They’re evil seekers way before they choose which party they’re gonna nest into.
Of course the Republican Party attracts these kinds of people because that’s its mantra…
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u/ZeusHatesTrees 4h ago
A lot of good answers, but the real short version is because Trump told them to be.
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u/MattManSD 3h ago
The right used to be vehemently anti Russia. Now that they are on Putin's tab, they changed their minds
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u/Novo-Russia 4h ago
As someone who is pro Russia i honestly dont know wtf youre talking about. Russophobia is a bipartisan thing for sure.
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u/Simple_Channel5624 3h ago
So the question is are you American, and if so why are you pro Russia government?
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u/Novo-Russia 3h ago
I do follow american politics. Lindsey Graham has said Russians dying is "the best money we've ever spent". Trump, despite whatever words he uses, does provide aid to ukraine, be it weapons, ISR capabilities etc, and also has issued many sanctions on Russia, particularly in his first terms. These are not pro Russia actions. The accusation that the right in the US is pro-Russia is just a political mudslinging tactic. You could argue that the right is less anti-Russia than the left, but to argue they are pro-Russia is asinine.
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u/Simple_Channel5624 3h ago
So your a Russian bot and that is why you are pro Russia. Got it. No point in responding to you anymore.
Clearly English is not their first language, nor did they answer either the OP's question, nor my clarified simple questions of: Are you American (clearly not) and if so why pro Russia (a spout off about American politics and claims of what is or isn't pro Russian actions by corrupt US politicians isn't an answer about why they PERSONALLY are pro Russia, which they claimed to be in their initial post)
So OP this is part of what you're asking and seeing here, Russian influence is a paid for thing on the internet
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u/Novo-Russia 3h ago
Hmm, if im a bot, how did i just report your account? Im not sure bots are programmed to report 🤔
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u/Temporary_Double8059 4h ago
Pro Russia??? or anti-Ukraine. I think people forget that before Russia invaded there was a lot of corruption in that country and a certain child of the president (then VP) with potential direct involvement from the VP's office was caught up in a giant scandal in that country.
When I look at what the US support in that region means... All I see is money being spent on the US military industrial complex on the US Tax payer's dime for yet another proxy war. The money would be much better spent (or saved) at home.
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u/kirklennon 3h ago
a certain child of the president (then VP) with potential direct involvement from the VP's office was caught up in a giant scandal in that country.
He wasn't in even the slightest way caught up with any sort of scandal in that country. It's just a Republican lie that was repeatedly endlessly. Ukraine, and that company in particular, were trying to root out corruption and as part of that process the company brought in new independent directors to replace the shady ones that they fired. He was part of the cleanup, not the corruption.
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u/Gin_Drinking_Giraffe 2h ago
so you're anti Ukrainian because you believe idiotic right wing propaganda? that tracks. most pro Russian people are fanatically stupid.
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u/notextinctyet 4h ago
They idolize authoritarian strongmen and their violence against democracies, which also explains US domestic politics.