Anyone feel that Russia is going back to their old Communist selves?

[audtatious]

The latest:http://www.dominicantoday.com/...luded

"Moscow.- Russia's Ministry of Justice has adopted a ruling by the Supreme Court that flags with crosses will be considered symbols of extremism, and their display will be banned.

The ruling effectively outlaws the flags of Georgia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, as well as those of 15 states within the Russian Federation.

According to online news site Rustavi2.com.ge, Georgian heraldry experts downplay the attack of the Russian authorities on symbols and even the Russian experts slam Russian Justice Ministry for such an inadequate decision. "

Are they going back to their old ways?

They sure like to support countries like NK, Iraq, etc....

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news....html

[BusyBadger]

Are they going back to their old ways?

I never felt like the old ways ever completely left. There are elements of capitalism & the influences of the west everywhere you look, the strength of the Bratva has grown constantly & considerably since the fall of The Wall, before the market crash Moscow had the highest cost of living in the world (now its slipped to #3 behind Tokyo & Osaka - based on the strength of the Yen, no doubt) and and yet somehow in no small way, to me, it still feels very much unchanged.

That's coming from me, someone who was on the other side of The Wall in a literal sense for a few years. I'll never forget turning on the tv and watching the television come down. Its something I never thought I'd see happen in my lifetime, let alone a few months after I rotated back stateside.

I think that there are still too many of the old hard-liners left and that they once they are gone there may be less of a tendency to slide back to the old ways.

Changing something that was a way of life for so long takes some time, and not just the 20 years since The Wall came down.

[AZhitman]

I think there's always been a sense of emasculation and indignation amongst the old Soviet leadership (and even some residents) at the WAY it all went down...

Couple that with the coming of age of a naturally "angst-y" generation, and it's no surprise they may be looking backward through rose-colored glasses and thinking those were "the good old days".

[audtatious]

The "old guard" didn't completely go away, that's for sure. Seems they are right back to doing anything they can to be the opposite of the US, Britain and others.

[themadscientist]

They are just afraid we will beat them to socialism.

[audtatious]

The way things are going they should be VERY AFFRAID

[PalmerWMD]

I think there's always been a sense of emasculation and indignation amongst the old Soviet leadership (and even some residents) at the WAY it all went down...

Couple that with the coming of age of a naturally "angst-y" generation, and it's no surprise they may be looking backward through rose-colored glasses and thinking those were "the good old days".

i think greg hit the nail on the head.

PS:A little bit of political education to some if I may:

lets not forget "communism" the way we americans use the term, has nothing to do with actual communism.

Decades of cold war indocrination has taught us to just use it as a blanket hammer to designate people that are "mean" or dont agree with the way we do things in this country.

What is happening in russia is more like a Republic of Korea approach.

Authoritariamism and some steering of economy , cronyism to benefit some but hoping there is enough market economy for economic growth.

This is an approach our elites and media cheered when it was practiced by the ROK.

But when Russia does it it's somehow scary communism....

And no one has ever accused the ROK's of being communist.

In fact the communists are among the most bitter oppostion in Russia to the governing "United Russia" party..... and Communist demonstrators in Russia are subject to beatings and occasional arrest