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Comment by bsaul | Hacker News Reader

i know it's very easy to say, but if you're russian right now, it seems to me that the only sane choice is to actively organize the overthrow of putin.

It's one of the rare case (nuclear war threats), where it may be the safest solution. Especially now that a few public figures in Russia have officially standed against that war. There may be an opportunity to reach a critical mass at home.

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It may work in a country where private business (i.e. state-independent source of income) is dominant, but a lot of Russians have jobs at state-owned institutions now (various administrations etc.) where they work for a meager wage.

If they go out protesting, they will be fired from their jobs -- their only source of income. Not exactly a good decision, especially during the crisis times.

That’s why i mentioned a critical mass. If you protest with 1000 people, you’re in danger, but if you’re 500k much less so. Now the question being, how do you organize a 500k people protest in russia at the moment, and that i have no idea. But if it’s possible, then now would be a good time IMHO.

The sky is falling and you think workers should be concerned with a wage that can't even afford bread and a roof?

The sanction squeeze shifts the calculus.

The sky is not falling for those government employed workers yet. First the private sector will degrade and government will try to squeeze every last cent out of it to pay the public sector workers. So when that dries up, then you can expect trouble. But this process can last for some time, it doesn't usually happen overnight. I know that there are major sanctions and West is trying to tank Russian economy, but don't expect to see public sector workers on the streets just yet.

If they don't have that wage, how do they eat?

If they have that wage, how do they eat? Russia is not self-sufficient. Going it alone means people will starve to death.

They won't starve to death in March, but it won't be long before buffers are empty. There is a window to do something about it.

People living paycheck to paycheck cannot fight oppressive regimes. Sanctions are meaningless if you want to make people rise up. Protests need a supply chain in itself.

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