

Ask HN: What do you, Russian hackers, think about the situation in Ukraine? - wczekalski

As far as I know there are many great Russian hackers out there. I have heard about many accomplishments by them. So, Russian hackers, what do you think about the things that your government is up to do (or rather already doing) in Ukraine ?
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raquo
Most of the people I know who like Putin are those who buy into his mass media
propaganda. Such people agree with pretty much everything he does, including
invading Ukraine to liberate them from the "fascist coup". I wish I could say
that these are typically older people, but sadly this is not the case, such
naiveness transcends age and gender.

As for hackers, they are an educated and independent bunch who know to use
their brains. Those whom I know pretty much unanimously believe that Russian
troops should not be in Ukraine. IMHO Hackers worldwide tend to think much
more like each other than their native countries populations.

Non-technical young people are somewhere in between. In my circles they
generally condemn the invasion, but that is not a given for every young
person.

I'm seeing this pattern on a lot of issues that I consider blatant Putinism.

~~~
rainmaking
Thanks, I needed that.

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rainmaking
Suggestions for non-suicidal things that can be done in- and outside Russia to
stop this nonsense?

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avmich
Education.

I think a good target would be to diminish the effects of propaganda. That
could be hard to do, actually - for example, Putin supporters point out many
things done by and in USA as examples of what is supposedly "normal", and USA
doesn't have nothing like stellar record lately - be it in human rights,
surveillance, invasions etc.

But education looks very important - especially if your goal not only to "fix
the Ukrainian invasion problem", but also prepare for life after Putin - be it
in two months or twenty years.

~~~
rainmaking
Educating Putin supporters on the merits of non-invasion sounds a lot like
selling wheat grass juice to Texan open carriers. You could do it, but it's
going up an awful fast stream with an awful small paddle. Where could we get
more leverage?

U.S. bad behavior is certainly not helping, but there's not an awful lot
anyone can do about that. I'm looking for ways to undermine centralized power
that can go viral. Less centralized power, less confidence in your invasion
capabilities.

