BS. Only the US needs constant war and the world has had it. The elections in Russia had a huge turnout. Admittedly really only one realistic option to vote for, but the size of the people who voted, in the 70's% I think, suggest he has very wide support. If they didn't like him, they wouldn't have bothered voting. and of those 70 odd percent, he got 88% of their vote.

The Russian army was pathetic when they went into Ukraine and they went in because the domestic population demanded they intervene eg 12,000+ Russian speakers dead in 8 years killed by an army trained and armed by NATO, Ukraine banning everything Russian (fined if heard speaking Russian). They rushed in with a small force to force negotiations which worked. A peace negotiated between two sovereign nations at war then along comes Boris Johnson. "Keep fighting, whatever it takes. NATO have your back". Peace off so Russia pulled back, dug in and built an army. Putin's fatal mistake was believing someone would negotiate and employ diplomacy.

Thanks to NATO being pussies (they should have gone in straight away) Russia now has a very large army, battle hardened in modern warfare. A huge misjudgment sanctions would bring Russia to it's knees. Another huge misjudgment cutting Russia off SWIFT. BRICS grew rapidly and now Russia is besties with China. DOH!

Putin wants BRICS to replace the US rules based world order ie he wants more and more countries to grow now. A multipolar world where all sovereign nations are treated with respect, something lacking since 9/11 from the US. He is not mad so will not bite by provocations by NATO members suppling bigger and better weapons (he could well get Iran to bite for him) as that would discourage many from joining BRICS. US total support for Israel has made this choice very easy for countries to decide, a clear choice ie a US rules based world order which means do what the US demands or else. Or a multipolar world where no one country dominates and sovereignty is respected.

NB Have to say the funniest thing I've seen all year is Genocide Joe wearing a MAGA hat. The world laughs with me.

@puff Sorry no, if you think there are any good sides in the superpower game, then you are sadly deluded. Putin needed the war because he was being challenged within his own government, and the economy, which has picked up since, was failing. He no more cared about the 12000 ethnic Russians, than he does about the ethnic minorities in his own country, who he is using disproportionately to fight the war, to conceal the losses from the white Moscow centric minority, who wield the greater part of power within the former Soviet Union.

@Fernapple Glad you used the word "former". Russia is the same as Australia eg a Federation of totally separate self governing states. This was illustrated very clearly here during Covid eg each state did it's own thing and imposed their own rules. Before Federation, in 1901, all the Australian states were separate colonies. The Russian Federation is a collection of self regulating states. Comparable to the American Republic also.
And even during the USSR, very few of the leaders were ethnic Russian.

And people don't understand BRICS at all. There is to be no more superpowers. There is to be no more richer/ stronger nations exploiting weaker ones. There is to be no one country controlling the (default) world currency. Instead nations will respect difference in culture and society. A nations sovereignty. No more "My way or the highway". A multipolar world that ends white European supremacy. That is the whole point and why it is an attractive option to many nations. Israel is a colony of white Europeans. It will be the last one.
I have heard commentary that Turkey joining BRICS will allow BRICS to pressure Israel and others in the region. Those European commentators don't get it either. That is Western thinking, to use nations to advantage and advance their agendas. That is not what BRICS is about at all. It's about a multipolar world based on respect. Respect of difference, culture, religion but especially sovereignty and the right of all nations to seek their own destinies. Exploit their own resources.

Us English speakers think the world revolves around us. That may have been true but it is not any more because of US arrogance and hubris as the "unchallengeable" imperial power this last century. The French and English haven't gotten over their empires declining either. Portugal, Holland and Spain do seem to have gotten over it. These are all Western European countries and thus, the term the "West". The colonisers and exploiters of others resources. The ones who destroyed indigenous cultures and conquered by force. That is what the non-English speaking world is against and well and truly over. I am positive living in Thailand and working in different countries helped me understand this.

@Fernapple BRICS should be embraced not resisted. Our nations need to understand we are not the biggest swinging dicks anymore. And get used to not getting our own way. I'm fine with it totally. No problem eating some humble pie. But history tells us when empires fail and new world orders emerge, they tend to go out with a bang. Have their last gasp. This is what we are living right now.

@puff BRICS is a good idea and one we should embrace, but Putin did not invent it, and his motives for supporting it are probably no more than because he wants to create divisions in the international community, which he, and he deludes himself Russia with him can step into. BRICS by its very nature, would be a democratising influence in the international community, so it is unlikely that it would be truly espoused by someone who has openly declared himself as an opponent of democracy.

@Fernapple Democracy means many things to many people. American democracy does not impress me either with noncompulsory voting and electoral colleges. Australia has a gerrymander system and use the English Westminster system. France is different again etc. China is quite democratic at the very base level but not the highest eg villages elect their leaders through rigorous debate, reach a consensus on local policy and that goes up with a strict chain of command to be followed. They are very harsh on corruption. Some have monarchies that are absolute, some have constitutional monarchy. Different interpretations of what democracy is.

BRICS is a law based world order where laws will be enforced, laws agreed to through consensus from BRICS nations. Respect that nations are not the same. That they determine by themselves how their government is run.

Now we have a US rules based order which to the rest of the world is "One rule for the US and Western countries, another for the rest of us with the US deciding when to enforce". Israel and Ukraine have made this extremely clear to all. Hypocrisy to the extreme eg want to throw the book at Putin's Russia, but Israel we throw the book called Geneva Conventions out the window

You still have the Western attitude that "our democracy" must be adopted by all. Why? Why can't nations to be free to decide how they run themselves? If we want to judge our own as a better system, good for us. But we must respect the sovereignty and right to seek their own destiny of all nations, big and small. They probably don't like other nations systems of governance either, but respect their right to choose for themselves. Don't judge as good or bad, compare as better or worse. Just accept as different, that's what Western cultures need to learn.

BRICS says if you join us, we will have laws bought about through consensus that you must abide by. They will be enforced without favour. There will be conflict resolution mechanisms set up which will replace the UN as that organisation is useless due to the abuse of the power of veto. Things like the Philippines and China and fishing waters etc

Humans are social and territorial creatures so there will always be some conflict, as we see in other species in the animal Kingdom that are social and territorial.

150 nations have expressed interest in joining this multipolar world. The UN has about 192 nations I think. BRICS has the momentum and is now unstoppable so we better get used to it. Europeans "the West" have had a good run, 500+ odd years.
It was never going to last forever and is now so corrupt us peasants are ignored by organisations like the WEF and IMF in favour of globalist one world government, controlled by a few, ideology of the current leadership of the "West". Australian politicians want Australia to be a big players in weapon manufacturing. This is the vision for my country? Fuck that.

@Fernapple Thanks for the conversation too. Reminds me of the good old days on this site before Trump and Covid rocked on the scene and polarised everyone into echo chambers. I'm sure half the site has blocked me lol.

@puff
Good break down analysis.
It's been the last 300 years the one world order strongly persuade its power. With Rockefeller and Rothschild Zionist and other following. . I Remember Mel Gibson once got thrown into jail , as he was drunk and shouted out all the wars are cause by the Jews.. Not far off confiding when we still get punished calling out Zionist.