What are your thoughts on the Russia-US (and vice versa) relationship under Trump?
I don't think I am well-informed enough to have a confident opinion. My default expectation is that things will go on about the same as they have been going, which seems to mean that cooperation and bonhomie will be roughly proportional to visibility: conspicuous coordination in space, begrudging tolerance and sniping in official channels, rivalry and maneuvering in proxy war states, and unrestrained battle in arms racing and cyberwarfare. While I was bottom-feeding on music videos and dashcam highlights recently, YouTube recommended something a little different: a speech Putin gave to some wonks at an economic forum. I was rather surprised to see the evil empire cartoon strongman speak in calm, measured tones, telling a version of history from the other side of the curtain. It's hard to know how to parse a prepared talk from a KGB man, but if his goal was to unsettle the audience with the image of a reckless bully upsetting delicate balances and toying with disaster, it worked; I was unsettled. (There is some analysis here and there and at that other place, all at standard Internet quality.) We don't worry about the Bomb very much anymore. Well, most of us. It's hard to judge the risk of unlikely events with very large consequences. I haven't seen good evidence that our next commander in chief is more likely than his opponent to stumble into apocalypse. It's hard to know how to parse bluster and bloviating too. If there is any signal to read amid all the noise, it seems to indicate that Russian leadership favored this outcome. I don't know if there was a "personal beef" (as was certainly true among many voters) or if Trump seemed more friendly, or manageable, or if it was thought that he would weaken a superpower rival. Maybe they thought it would be good for a laugh (or лулз?). We haven't had a world war all century and it would be nice to keep it that way. What do you think?
I, myself, am not quite well-versed in the matter, hence asking the question, but I did see some things around. Ever since I'm in the home city, I keep hearing what the news are saying; not the least amount of airwaves go to Trump these days. The news treat Trump in a defensive tone pretending to be neutral, which itself is unsettling, given the shit the old prez said over various media. I can't give you any examples (mostly because I didn't want to listen closely), but something was said about Trump being "constantly under attack" by his opponents for things he says, as if he's the poor victim of unjustified offences by the evil men and women that he's done nothing to wrong. All of which, I suppose, is to say that official Russian media paint Trump as a friendly figure to the Double-Headed Eagle (which is the Russian coat of arms), much like it was before the election (I remember my groupmate asking me, after I told her the results of the election, "That's good, right? He's good for Russia, isn't he?"). If Trump's to be as bold as his pre-election speeches implied (which seems to be false now that he's in the office), Russia-US trade is going to improve, which would mean lower prices for US produce. For an average Russian, it's an obvious improvement, but I can't see how trading that for a narcissist at the wheel of the country of most powerful military in the world is worth it; I'd rather pay the same and have someone like Hillary - a cold-blooded politician but not sick in the head - in the position. I believe it was rd95 who said in a different thread that people nowadays look for ways to feel safer through validation or assurance because of Trump. I guess I'm looking for the same as far as the two countries' relationships go. I know nothing, and I'd like to know something for certain; or, to put it in better terms that you've used, to have a more confident opinion. No idea how you've found that, but kudos. (or лулз?)
I happened to stumble on an AskReddit asking: Russians of Reddit, how is Donald Trump being portrayed in your Media? There were answers from both Russians in the US and in Russia. If you're interested, I'll leave the link. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5ng6fu/russians_of_reddit_how_is_donald_trump_being/
Some of the better quotes: "Fellow Russian (ukranian, actually) here. My family all voted trump too. My parents told me it's because Clinton and the democrats were trying to rebuild the soviet union but in america." "A lot of communities of legal immigrants sympathize him because he says that legal immigration is OK and illegal immigration is not OK." "Some chose him because of the belief that Hilary would start a war with Russia. Others chose him because of his business background, and feel like he would improve the economy. Many chose him because they hate obamacare. I'm not saying the Russian community loves him or anything, but given the two options, almost all chose trump."
Man, that's some solid logic right there. Russia does have a problem with illegal immigrants, though: people from the poorer southern countries (Azerbaijan, Tajikistan etc.) come to work in Russia illegally en masse. There's a certain disdain for "churka" (a derogative term for people of skin more brown than that of a typical Russian; plural "churki") among the general population, and many people want them gone out of the country because they take jobs that most would scoff at anyway (street sweeper, janitor etc.). There are even measures to make illegal immigration from those countries more difficult. ...wait."A lot of communities of legal immigrants sympathize him because he says that legal immigration is OK and illegal immigration is not OK."
Thanks. Some of the replies were interesting, like the Mongolian guy getting Russian news in his country. Mostly everything I expected to hear, otherwise. Clinton's bad, Trump's good. Clinton = war, Trump = good businessman = good economy (somehow).