r/nottheonion • u/Jessicas_skirt • 1d ago

Moscow Says Europe Is ‘Shooting Itself in Foot’ With Russian Tourist Ban

https://easternherald.com/2026/08/30/russia-europe-tourist-flows-schengen-visa-restrictions-moscow/
2.5k Upvotes

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u/Beertronic 1d ago

Given the majority of Russians support the war, we don't want them. And I'd look a little closer to home regarding shots to the foot. The Russian economy is in flames, parts of Russia are often in flames. All because Putin had empire building ambitions. Slava Ukraini.

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u/shortyman920 1d ago

Most people in ‘Moscow’ are not that different than you and I. They just want to live their lives and probably can’t say that they don’t support the war.

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u/BasvanS 1d ago

I’ve fired Russians for being Putin lovers, as in being smittenly in love with him, fully supporting everything he does. This was after the 2014 part of the invasion.

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u/Mariya_Shidou 36m ago

In 2022, Russia enacted laws that prohibit Russian citizens from saying anything negative about the war. Hell, they have to call it a "special military operation", average people there can't even call it a "war" without the threat of jail time.

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u/r0gee 1d ago

Tell me how that's different to Trump's support base

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u/24_August_1814 1d ago

I'd fire MAGAts too.

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u/LostInSpaceTime2002 16h ago

So in defense of Russians you're comparing them to literal Nazis?

Remind me to never have you advocate for me.

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u/shortyman920 1d ago

That sounds like breaking employment laws if you’re in Europe or the US

I’m sure there are strong pro Putin Russians. But it’s easy to forget that only a vocal minority in any nation are the ones you see speaking passionately about their political views. Most people are just focused on their lives and politics is more of just a topic of conversation when it comes up

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u/Fat-cat-Charlie 1d ago

there are virtually no labor laws in the US. you can absolutely shit can someone for political reasons.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Fat-cat-Charlie 1d ago

you're 100% wrong. common misconception, but still 100% wrong. you absolutely can legally fire someone for political reasons under US federal law. states may vary, but political persuasion is not a protected characteristic or class under federal employment law.

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u/sirkazuo 1d ago edited 1d ago

you cannot legally fire someone over their beliefs

In most of the US you can be fired for any reason or no reason with a small list of exceptions for discrimination that include:

  • Race, color, or national origin
  • Religion
  • Sex, gender identity, or pregnancy
  • Age (specifically being 40 and older)
  • Disability
  • Genetic information
  • Veteran status

Retaliation and whistleblowers are also protected under wrongful termination, but "I fired him for loving Putin" is A-OK.

https://www.usa.gov/wrongful-termination

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u/shortyman920 1d ago

Fair enough I am wrong on the political affiliation condition

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u/hypoglycemicrage 1d ago

Political beliefs are not in any way a protected class.

You can fire someone at any time for who they voted for. Lol

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u/24_August_1814 1d ago

Political preference isn't a protected class, champ.

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u/glosss 1d ago

This is the part where people from the West are completely mistaken. Most people there aren't like you and the people around you. After all, your country didn't experience serfdom, followed by 70 years of Soviet rule and another 26 years of Russian "negative selection"—a process where anyone capable of even a modicum of critical thinking was either thrown into prison or a psychiatric ward, or fled the country

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u/shortyman920 1d ago

I’m Chinese American and China’s gotten through as bad, if not worse times for its population compared to Russia.

Most people in China just care about living their lives. And to not say anything bad about government policies. What I’m describing is human nature.

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u/glosss 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m Chinese American and China’s gotten through

I’m not even going to comment on that, lol.

What I’m describing is human nature.

What you’re describing are judgments based on the people around you in American society.

I, on the other hand, base my judgments on interactions with hundreds of real Russian people.

People and human nature vary greatly depending on the conditions in which people grew up and how they were raised.

You are making literally the same mistake as the missionaries who tried to preach to cannibal tribes.

Most people in China just care about living their lives

People who simply want to live their own lives also support the government's actions—and in Russia's case, the war—through their silence and indifference.

They just go about their lives, and then they don't understand how they suddenly ended up in a state where their lives are worth absolutely nothing

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u/shortyman920 1d ago

And you’re using Russia to gatekeep what a hundred years of suffering and government control can do to a society’s psychology. I used China as an example because its people have also suffered significantly in the hundreds of millions within the past 100 years. Its nationals would also probably support invasion and war to conquer Taiwan or other nations the government deems as ‘belonging to China’. And within that context, most people don’t care about that more than their own prospects.

You have more experience with Russia natives, I’ll give you that. Beyond that it’s human nature to care about your own day to day life and survival than the politics of the nation you live in. I don’t see how that’s controversial for anyone. Caring deeply about politics is a luxury once your basic survival is guaranteed.

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u/glosss 1d ago edited 1d ago

Beyond that it’s human nature to care about your own day to day life and survival than the politics of the nation you live in. I don’t see how that’s controversial for anyone

I don't get why you don't understand that these things are directly linked.

Politics is precisely what determines how you live every day of your life in your country—and whether your life is truly a life, or just mere survival.

Your standard of living depends directly on the extent to which you allow politicians to deceive and rob you. There are plenty of examples of the same country basking in wealth at one time and living in abject poverty at another, depending on who was in power

And within that context, most people don’t care about that more than their own prospects

Lol, you're describing exactly what allowed Putin's regime to gain total control over the country. As Russians put it: "We had a sort of deal—Putin pays us good salaries and pensions, and we don't meddle in politics."

Caring deeply about politics is a luxury once your basic survival is guaranteed.

What nonsense.

Well, if you knew the history of modern Russia, you would be aware that the situation was actually the exact opposite. After the poverty of the Soviet era and the 1990s, Russians finally began to live reasonably well in the 2000s, and they paid absolutely no attention to how Putin was seizing power and and physically eliminates any opposition and anyone who criticizes him

If you don't take an interest in politics in a poor country, that country will remain poor forever. Those in power will feed you lies and live the high life at your expense. and in the end, you'll lose even the basics

There’s a joke that goes: "— Which concentration camp are we going to? — I don't know, I'm not interested in politics."

If you don't take an interest in politics in a rich country, the poor will get poorer and the rich richer, and the end result will be the same.

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u/selfStartingSlacker 1d ago 
I’m Chinese American and China’s gotten through

I’m not even going to comment on that, lol.

I always make sure to name certain colleagues of mine "Americans" or "Canadians". I ignore their attempt to bond with me about all things Chinese (language, tv shows etc). As an ethnic chinese person who was born in and grew up in southeast Asia It's just frankly embarassing, this desperation to "be/become Chinese". They also think that Mandarin is their mother tongue. No its not, dude.It's either English or Cantonese, based on your surname.

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u/glosss 1d ago

It's like in The Sopranos, the New Jersey mafia came to Italy and thought they had a lot in common with Italians

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u/HonestPupper 22h ago

Chinese born abroad posting actively in English on a Western social media platform judges Chiness born abroad posting actively in English on a Western social media platform

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u/kondorb 1d ago

Who tf told you “majority” of Russians support the war? Putin’s public representative?

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u/Korpikuusenalla 1d ago

I've met enough ordinary Russians, even ones that have lived outside of Russia for years, even decades. And majority I've met consume mostly Russian media and truly believe that Ukrainians deserve the occupation.

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u/BlueRaider731 1d ago

I have one acquaintance who is a Russian ex pat. Fully supports Russia and its war efforts.

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u/Gaunt_Web_Spider 1d ago

Funnily enough, I think it might be a case of expats being overly nationalistic when it comes to their home country. Like Turkish expats having a higher vote share for Erdogan than the population in Turkey. It‘s always easy to support dictators when you don‘t have to live under their rule.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/halpsdiy 1d ago

There are plenty of surveys showing Russians support the war.

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u/glosss 1d ago

I’m from eastern Ukraine. Practically everyone there has relatives in Russia, and all those relatives support the war. So don't go talking about anecdotal evidence here—you're living in some made-up reality

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u/Metalmind123 1d ago edited 1d ago

Surveys consistently show that most Russians support the invasion, they just don't like that they're not doing well.

Almost all experiences of Westerners who know Russians tell of a majority of even those in the West supporting this invasion and Russian imperialism.

Meanwhile your feelings tell you that they don't.

Great source.

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u/SilentMode-On 1d ago

Saw a poll online and believed it, so silly.

I heard in North Korea and Iran they also 100% support the government 🤔

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Pavlovsdong89 1d ago

They were indifferent until the war reached them? That's not exactly an endorsement of their character.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Pavlovsdong89 1d ago

So sad for them, but people generally don't want guests who are indifferent to violence in their homes. Russians can vacation in Siberia or stay home and contemplate why they're not wanting elsewhere.

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u/Beertronic 1d ago

Early in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, multiple independent and state-aligned polling organizations reported that a majority of the Russian public supported the military action.Key Citations and Polls from Early 2022The Levada Center: As Russia’s most prominent independent and non-governmental sociological research organization, Levada tracked major jumps in approval. By March–April 2022, Levada's public tracking indicated that roughly 70% to 80% of surveyed Russians expressed support for the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.The Washington Post / Independent Research Consortium: An independent telephone survey conducted across Russia in early March 2022 (roughly one week into the full-scale assault) found that 58% of respondents approved of the invasion, while 23% opposed it. This independent figure was lower than state-reported metrics but still demonstrated clear baseline majority support.VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center) and FOM (Public Opinion Foundation): These state-aligned or state-funded Russian polling agencies published figures in late February and March 2022 indicating that roughly 65% to 75% of the public supported what the Kremlin officially mandated to be called a "special military operation".Academic List Experiments (Princeton University / RFE/RL research): Academic researchers utilizing indirect questioning techniques (list experiments designed to mitigate the fear of reporting truthfully under strict wartime censorship) found that direct polling showed around 68% support, while anonymous or randomized list experiments still placed baseline support for the conflict at an absolute majority of 53%.

One big outlier was St Petersburg. The held massive antiwar demonstrations at risk to themselves and many were arrested. Those Russians were heroes, and i would happily sit and drink them.

Other anecdotal evidence is the number of Russians outside Russia attacking Ukrainians, and symbols of Ukraine.

It's also worth noting a parallel. Trump ran on no new wars, but when he invaded Iran, support for invading went from 7% to 90%. A lot of people are just shitty.