The Graphic Truth: Whom do Russians see as their friends?

Gzero Media ^ | June 15, 2021 | Alex Kliment and Gabriella Turrisi

[Right Wing Vegan]

The latest poll from the independent Moscow-based Levada Center has answers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US tops the "enemy" list these days. But right there in second place is Ukraine — a country where many Russians have strong family and historical ties. Things have soured since a 2014 popular revolution ousted a Kremlin-friendly president, prompting Russia to annex Crimea and provoke a civil war in the East. But who would you guess tops Russians' droog list? Have a look here.

[Laslo Fripp]

It’s okay to post the whole thing, Noob.

[The Duke]

If the United States is a failed state - which could very possibly be the case - then the Russians should count me as a friend. My second favorite system is the old .. "Strong-dude-who-rides-grizzly-bears-between-Judo-matches-while-ruling-with-an-iron-fist" system.

[Texas Fossil]

Ian Bremmer, founder of GZero Media:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Bremmer

In March 2016, Bremmer sent a weekly note to clients where he unintentionally came up with the "America First" slogan used by Donald Trump. The note described then-candidate Trump's foreign policy as not isolationist but "America First", a transactional, unilateralist perspective that was more a Chinese than American framework for foreign policy. Bremmer used the term to help explain Trump’s foreign policy views and not as a campaign slogan. A few weeks later New York Times reporters David Sanger and Maggie Haberman, both of whom receive Bremmer's weekly note, conducted Trump’s first foreign policy interview and asked him if he would describe himself as an isolationist. He said no. They then asked Trump if he considered himself America First. Trump said yes[28] and liked the term so much he started using it himself. Haberman later credited Bremmer with coming up with “America First” to describe Trump’s foreign policy.[29]

In 2019, Donald Trump issued a Tweet that appeared to praise North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for criticizing rival Joe Biden: “I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse.”[33] In reaction, Bremmer Tweeted: “President Trump in Tokyo: ‘Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.’”[34] After he was criticized on Twitter for appearing to falsely quote Trump, Bremmer acknowledged that President Trump did not in fact say that quote and suggested that it was facetious, calling it “objectively a completely ludicrous quote.”[34][35] President Trump used the incident to call for stronger libel laws.

Ian Bremmer is no friend of President Trump. And he runs with the likes of New York Times reporters David Sanger and Maggie Haberman.

[sauropod]

“Droog list?”

[Leep]

All the cool kids are saying it.

[Leep]

Do they mean Americans or do they mean Democrats?

[tlozo]

Russian media is under government control.

WHICH FIVE COUNTRIES WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE MOST UNFRIENDLY OR HOSTILE TOWARDS RUSSIA?

1-USA 66% 2-Ukraine 40% 3-Great Britain 28% 4-Poland 21%

NAME FIVE COUNTRIES THAT YOU WOULD CALL RUSSIA’S CLOSEST FRIENDS

1-Belarus 58% 3-China 38% 4-Kazakstan 34%

[Wilderness Conservative]

I stopped reading when I got to the noob’s name.

[Moltke]

In March 2016, Bremmer sent a weekly note to clients where he unintentionally came up with the "America First" slogan...

So no one said 'America First' before 2016? Are we supposed to believe that stupidity?

[Texas Fossil]

No, that is demonstrating the ComDem’d arrogance and ignorance.

[Paal Gulli]

For more than two centuries the Rooskies have had some fashion of a "secret police." For ten generations they've lived in a culture where it is commonplace for entire families to vanish overnight, and then for anyone who inquired what had become of them also to mysteriously disappear. Under such circumstances it would be life-threateningly abnormal not to be paranoid. But is it paranoia if in fact everyone well and truly is out to get you?

The point is, Russians don't have friends, just family, and sometimes not even family. And Gorby got it wrong. Their motto isn't "Trust, but verify," it's "Verify, but don't trust in any case."

[Right Wing Vegan]

Probably would be cooler if they spelled it “drook” in English letters. Russian version of ‘g’ takes ‘k’ sound at the end of this word.

[dfwgator]

You mean it isn’t the Poles anymore? That’s progress.