my family was just forced to vote at gunpoint in russian cosplay of a “referendum” in southern ukraine: - they come to your house - you have to openly tick the box for being annexed by russia (or for staying with ukraine if you feel suicidal) - all while armed gunmen watch you
it seems bizarre for russians cosplaying a “referendum” at gunpoint. but then i remember they did it in 2014 crimea (forcing my aunts to vote, too) and many abroad ate that shit up no questions asked. this bad kabuki theater of a democracy is for foreign audience only
forcing ukrainians at gunpoint to tick a box for their own genocide is a next level sadistic #russiancolonialism, though
@maksymeristavi This time I don't think it is for external audience. It is rather for internal excuse to deploy conscripts. Sure, can be wrong.
@maksymeristavi I think the world are aware of the shameful act Putin is committing. It is equal the military coups in the Middle East
@maksymeristavi Напоминалочка, что маскимка есть гавно
@maksymeristavi My dear friend - this game has started back on Oct.7th 1939. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections…
@maksymeristavi at least this time part of the foreign public has understood that there are other voices to listen to besides the Russian one
@maksymeristavi In Crimea, IIRC there were independent polls that said there was a majority pro annexation (smaller of course than the vote "result"). In this case, the polls from 2019 said people preferred to stay with Ukraine.
@maksymeristavi They would argue that since they participated in the vote as a Russian city, it is now part of Russia.
@maksymeristavi They got better health Insurance and 100's more for those that retired. There were journalists where all the queues were and no gun or soldier in sight. People freely spoke to the journalists. No one has guns. 3 people died. Heart attacks - not weapons
@maksymeristavi Nah. We knew it was a farce. But we also knew it made no difference. It wasn’t an act then (or now) for the justification of actions to the wider world. Just to appease the Russian public that what their dictatorship regime was doing was just.