I just watched a very insightful video on Russian politics

[Infinity16]

I always figured that Russian culture was cynical but this video dives more into depth. 

Obviously this video does not use spiral dynamics but it contrasts the stage red Russian mindset from the stage orange western one. As quoted in 1984, power is not a means to an end but rather an end in of itself. Ideology and popular well being are the means; power is the end.

In stage red, you don't question why those with power over you do what they do. Rather, you work around it. Orange seeks a meritocratic hierarchy whereas in stage red, there is no pretense that the hierarchy should be meritocratic. In red, your goal in life is to make your way up as high in the hierarchy as possible.

We in our WEIRD society are oftentimes baffled by how differently the rest of the world thinks. I as a westerner was surprised that Putin decided to wage war a special military operation in Ukraine, not because I believed that there was good in everyone but because it's the worst move possible from a western perspective. I figured that as a dictator, one would want to ensure prosperity for the people, if nothing else, to stay in power. According to this video, the war is helping to keep Putin in power. The video says that with war, time stands still, but I might add a thought to it. Taiwan and South Korea both started out as dictatorships. Their economies grew quickly and eventually, both got to a point at which the people demanded a democracy. It might just be that dictatorships benefit from the populace being at a low level of consciousness. At red, you are concerned with survival and do not even consider the possibility of social change. At orange, survival can be taken for granted and social change becomes possible.

The first video of his is about how freedom is scary from a Russian POV. This is because Russian society is at stage blue. People at any stage (at least below yellow) assume that the next stage is just like the previous one with those limitations. As such, people in orange hold collectivism in contempt, considering green to be oversensitive just as blue is judgemental. For people in stage blue, individualism is instability. They don't consider orange from above because all they understand is red from below.

His video on propaganda mirrors a common take on MAGA talking points. The take being that Trump doesn't lie very convincingly, but he lies so often that it becomes pointless to even worry about it. The job is not to convince but rather wear you down. I don't quite think the comparison quite sticks because half of the country does believe that Trump was a victim of the deep state. With that said, Trump's way of doing things is authoritarian. That's why he gets along well with people such as Putin, Erdogan, and King Salman, but not so well with Merkel, Macron, or Trudeau. If the US didn't have a century long tradition in liberalism and was a fragile state for a decade, Donald Trump would probably have been more well received.

It really seems like Russian culture revolves around fear, contrasted with the west which revolves around guilt. Authoritarianism is good from a fear-based perspective, not so much from a guilt-based one.

[Rodrigo Costa]

I consider myself to be more conservative than most people on this forum, but I don't see Germany, France and Canada as less authoritarian than the US, especially since 2020. They are not hardcore dictatorships (yet), but these western countries are far less democratic today than they were in the 20th century. 

Edited December 31, 2025 by Rodrigo Costa

[Infinity16]

1 hour ago, Rodrigo Costa said:

I consider myself to be more conservative than most people on this forum, but I don't see Germany, France and Canada as less authoritarian than the US, especially since 2020. They are not hardcore dictatorships (yet), but these western countries are far less democratic today than they were in the 20th century. 

Indeed, it seems like authoritarianism is making a comeback in the west. I genuinely wonder if deepfakes will encourage the Russian mindset to truth.

[Breathe]

This guy has an interesting channel.

I'm watching all of his vids now.

Thanks for sharing.

[Breathe]

On 12/31/2025 at 5:10 AM, Infinity16 said:

The first video of his is about how freedom is scary from a Russian POV. 

This is not just a Russian thing. People fear freedom because they don't want to have to accept the consequences of their actions and mistakes. People want some safeties and guarantees

Nor is this a spiral thing. It's just what the mind does. That said, someone in teir2w will have developed skills for dealing with uncertainty.

 

Quote

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

~! Jean-Paul Sartre

For anyone who hasn't 't delved existentialism, it is well worth understanding the basic principals

Edited January 2 by Breathe

[Infinity16]

6 hours ago, Breathe said:

This is not just a Russian thing. People fear freedom because they don't want to have to accept the consequences of their actions and mistakes. People want some safeties and guarantees

Nor is this a spiral thing. It's just what the mind does. That said, someone in teir2w will have developed skills for dealing with uncertainty.

 

For anyone who hasn't 't delved existentialism, it is well worth understanding the basic principals

You probably find this mindset in poorer countries with unreliable governments. In countries like Russia, China, Turkmenistan, and North Korea, the government is simply a mafia that controls a nation. I wonder if this shapes society or if the state is shaped by society. Russia has no history of liberalism. It wasn't long after the end of the monarchy that it became a one party autocracy. The brief period that Russia was friendly with the west was a time of high unemployment, crime, and mortality. Putin promised order to the Russian people and they got it. Plus the Russian people tend very heavily towards conservatism. Russia would be the future of the US should Trump succeed in doing away with democracy.