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Comment by tharne | Hacker News Reader

That's a much bigger ask than you seem to realize. Overthrowing a dictator is an incredibly bloody undertaking. Even if you win, there's no guarantee that whoever takes control of the country will be any better.

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> Overthrowing a dictator is an incredibly bloody undertaking.

Doesn’t have to be. We did it in Portugal some 50 years ago [1]! I think just four people died.. We have been living in democracy since then, joined the European Union, etc.. So, it is possible..

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnation_Revolution

Portugal is only 10.000 square kilometres bigger than one of the Russian's "oblast" (region) I grew up in, and has twice less people living in it than Moscow city residents.

This is why only four people have died. Death toll in Russia in case of a mass revolution would be tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.

Portugal has 10M people, Russia has 146M, so 4x14,6=58,4.. A similar coup would result only in 58 deaths.. ;)

Mate, this is not something that can be quantified just like that. I have been to the Portugal once, and your people are very peaceful and friendly. I'm afraid this is not the case with rural Russia -- which means that any confrontation would be deadly and very, very bloody.

This is exactly why I'm doing what I can, but avoiding any violence. This is not the way we win this.

You are right, I was only playing with the numbers, hence my smiley on the end of the sentence. Every case is different, violence should be avoided if possible!

I think that Carnation Revolution also benefitted from the fact that dictator Salazar, who ruled the country for 37 years, had already been dead for 3 years when it happened.

I am well aware of how big the ask is and it will be bloody either way. Acquiescing to a manipulative tyrant is the more painful option in the long run not only for Russians but also the world.

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