Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union

MicroWave@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 187 points – Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union
bloomberg.com

Vladimir Putin is going on a property hunt, ordering officials to find Russian assets that once belonged to its former empire or were owned by the Soviet Union.

An order from the Russian president published late Thursday allocated funding for a state unit to conduct searches for property abroad and ensure Russia’s ownership rights are registered. The document didn’t indicate the size of the budget for the operation or what kinds of property are being sought.

While it’s unclear what prompted the order, Putin’s interest in former imperial possessions is unlikely to ease concerns about his ambitions among neighboring states after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended European security.

At its peak, the Russian Empire extended into territories of modern Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Finland. It dissolved under the pressure of World War I and the 1917 Bolshevik revolution led by Vladimir Lenin that marked the birth of the Communist state.

Non-paywall link

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I'm reading between the lines: "Russia is broke"

Looking for change in the couch cushions old countries they used to own.

It's pure fantasy fiction, but honestly how wild would it be if some mind-blowing Cold War Tech that was forgotten or abandoned got unearthed? Like a rocket with a hull so thick and boosters so big it could carry 500 tons into LEO, or maybe a big underground semi-functional fusion reactor attempt, or maybe even an analog supercomputer.

Probably not, though. More realistically, he just wants to track down a bunch of old USSR weapons and vehicles before the dissenters do.

While it’s unclear what prompted the order, Putin’s interest in former imperial possessions...

"We consider all former nations of the USSR to be former imperial possessions. We will be taking them back."

A while back, some nut in the Duma said they should reclaim all former Russian territory, including Alaska. It would amuse me greatly to see them try.

We wouldn't even need to deploy the Army, the locals would curbstomp them back to Siberia.

That Duma official has forgotten that the local Alaskan population is armed for much more massive wildlife than a Russian conscript.

Casus Belli: Artifact Claim War on NATO

NATO: "Your low character is the subject of Greek plays. May your humors rot in your living body. We accept your surrender."

Sorry Pootie, just because USSR owned it, doesn't mean your shitty little gas station gets to claim it.

Pootin should order a hunt for his dick and balls.

"Mister Putin, sir... With all respect, after thorough searching and examination, we have found them to be firmly lodged within your own rectum... We also found what appears to be an antique mold of Adolf Hitler's dick and balls behind them..."

He’s probably going to start claiming Alaska as Russian property.

And we'll back the Swede's bid for St. Petersberg & Moscow.

It makes sense as the Russian military does a terrible job keeping track of their assets. They left an entire missile cruiser at the bottom of the Black Sea.

And yet the mods remove posts about the Polish and Estonia PMs warning about future Russian aggression... Interesting.

Some might even say... Propaganda.

I removed them because the same story was posted half a dozen times back to back to back. "Putin to attack Nato in 3-5/5-8 years."

The original story was kept, the others removed as duplicates.

This is the exact shit the Nazis did in the late 1930s.

The Russian mob needs foreign property to borrow against. That’s how they operate. The money machine is having some problems with sanctions, and storage is constantly being depleted.

he already has a bunch of Republicans convinced that giving back Alaska is not only a good idea but the right thing to do

He owns those people now. He can have them back.

those bitches can't roll over fast enough for him.. they figure if we give it back, maybe he won't invade..

He's mad that there's a move afoot to sell seized Russian assets and use the proceeds to fund Ukraine's defense. The signal is: if you buy these things (yachts, real estate, whatever) Russia will see to it as a matter of official policy that you will fall carelessly out of a high window somewhere. The quiet part said out loud, tho, is that Russia now claims that anything it ever held, whether as the USSR or imperial Russia, or the current Russian Federation, is theirs forever no takebacks.

Basically the read on this should be: Russia is having trouble laundering rubles into non-sanctioned currencies (those foreign assets are basically conduits to do that) and is now saying essentially that if they can't keep our offshore loot they'll just seize all of Eastern Europe and demand tribute from their vassal territories

...of course, if Russia could actually do any of that it already would have

Putin finds a new way to be horrible. He labeled it something new, but it’s still the same old shit.

Let us know if you find the Amber Room, will you?

At some point, why does NATO not just stomp Russia flat? They're weak as hell from trying, and failing, to beat up their little brother.

NATO: "I dunno. This guy who has threatened us, nonstop for decades, is on the ropes, and keeps threatening us. Gosh. What do we do now?"

The answer has always been MAD. But does Russia even have flying nukes any longer? They sure as fuck can't field tanks and rifles and men. Or naval vessels. Or airplanes. Or... anything.

I came of age in the Cold War, never been a hawk before now, but FFS are we going to put up with this vile country forever?!

I came of age as a small man dealing with bullies, and not the social media kind. Real bullies that would kick the shit out of you when no one was looking, and sometimes when they were. Constantly on the lookout at school, at the park, at the mall, at Circle K, everywhere.

Know how to beat them? Stand the fuck UP. You (mostly) don't have to exchange fists, merely get up in their face, show them violence is on the table.

But no, we'll puss around, wring our hands, clutch our pearls. We'll "practice" sending troops running about, we'll leak our "super serious training plans".

Bow up on Russia NOW, fight if we must, or continue to suffer for countless more decades.

We don’t know for sure the nukes don’t work, it isn’t worth the risk to even act like we’ll be the aggressors. Just one functional nuke could cost millions their lives, don’t be so reckless

We don't know for sure, but it certainly is interesting that certain "nuclear powers" are stirring up shit. It's almost like they're afraid that the real nuclear powers are about to discover that the nukes, in fact, don't work, and won't be a deterrent anymore.

How are they not a deterrent? Nukes launched by a nuclear power mean equal response and within a few hours we’ve bombed ourselves back to the Middle Ages at best with most of the population gone or soon to starve or freeze in nuclear winter

If we suddenly find out that all of China's and Russia's nukes don't work, they aren't an effective deterrent

We don’t have and never will have 100% sure way of knowing that none of the nukes work. It’s also highly unlikely any nuclear power would let their arsenal fall into such a state, especially since possession of nuclear weapons is a massive deterrent to possible attackers.

Interesting that you're completely omniscient. I wonder what that's like.

We absolutely can have 100% confirmation with geiger counters, and there is reason to believe that the corruption in those two powers has run so rampant that none of their nukes are functioning.

Their economies just won't support that expensive of a weapons program. It's literally how we bankrupted the USSR, and neither economy has surpassed the economic might of the USSR, in fact, both are close to collapse.

lol you think the modern militaries of the world can be completely countered with Geiger counters? Alright, enjoy living in delusion, I see no need to continue this and I’m just glad you’re not in charge of anything.

At some point, why does NATO not just stomp Russia flat?

Russia owns a lot of politicians in NATO countries who run interference for them. Also, they do still have at least a few functioning nukes. It's not as simple as you make it out to be.

Yrah no, life doesn't work like that. You're not playing Hearts of Iron. War is horror, death, rape, famine. It's terrible for everyone involved and hurts even those far away from the front lines. "More war." Has not been and will never be the way forward, that is the path that leads back to the stone age.

The fact that you survived growing up a bullied kid with no supports, doesn't mean you came out alright, just saying. Just because greater aggression gives the illusion that it could end war, does not mean it will.