ChrisO_wiki Profile picture
May 11, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Really important question below: why would you even design a T-72 so that the crew literally has to sit on top of hundreds of kilos of highly explosive ammunition and propellant? /1
@clmazin answered this by analogy in his brilliant script for #Chernobyl. In the (fictional) courtroom scene in the final episode, Soviet nuclear scientist Valeriy Legasov explains why Chernobyl was effectively rigged to explode: /2
"It's cheaper". That's the answer to the T-72's design flaws. It's much smaller and lighter than the US M1A1 Abrams or similar British and German tanks. But it costs a fraction of their price, at the cost of crew safety. /3
I think we often forget how much poorer Russia (and the USSR before it) is than the West. Millions of Russians still live in abject poverty, without clean water, indoor sanitation or paved roads - much as their great-grandparents did 100 years ago./4
Russia and the USSR have sought to compete with the West by making cheaper and less safe weapons because they didn't have the means to compete on quality. Unfortunately for thousands of Russian soldiers, that philosophy is now costing them their lives. /end

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More from @ChrisO_wiki

Jun 29
1/ Russia's fuel crisis has spread to its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Fuel prices have soared, rationing has been introduced, gas stations have kilometre-long queues, but most have no fuel to offer. Extreme heat is also causing pumps to break down en masse. ⬇️
2/ Russians are posting videos of long queues at Kaliningrad gas stations, the vast majority of which reportedly have no fuel available. According to one reader of the ASTRA news outlet:
3/ “My parents visited 8 gas stations, and everywhere was empty. They were told that there was fuel at some station outside the city, at 100 rubles per litre, and there was a kilometre-long queue there."
Read 13 tweets
Jun 29
1/ Russia needs better propaganda, argues a prominent warblogger known for pro-Kremlin propaganda. He and other warbloggers say that the Kremlin's current PR approach to the war in Ukraine is causing the population to be complacent and disbelieving about the real situation. ⬇️ Image
2/ 'Rybar' writes:

"When does morale plummet? It often occurs against a backdrop of cognitive dissonance when reality collides with a poorly correlated media image. This applies to major Russian media outlets as well—take the news on federal television channels, for example."
3/ "No, they don't formally try to hide anything: reports talk about high-profile air strikes on cities, fatalities, and fuel shortages. But more often, they're treated as if in passing, not making them the centre of the story or the agenda at all.
Read 25 tweets
Jun 29
1/ Five years into the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Russian army appears to be exhausted and in low morale. An account from a serving Russian soldier at the front line highlights the current mood of dejection and frustration with incompetent commanders. ⬇️ Image
2/ 'Combat Reserve' writes:

"We'll all be going home, it's just not entirely clear in what condition.

The Vostok group's officer ranks are depleted, a leg was blown off—he went home. If he's lucky, he'll get a mortgage or a certificate."
3/ "Everything's awesome, but the general fatigue is taking a toll on the morale and willpower of the personnel. Everyone’s so fed up with it all that the thought of going on leave—even if it means stepping on a felt-tip pen—constantly pops into the soldiers’ heads.
Read 7 tweets
Jun 29
1/ In possibly the most predictable outcome ever, a Russian former soldier who made a video appealing to Vladimir Putin to meet with him to avert an army rebellion over abuses on the front line has been jailed for "propagating extremist symbols". ⬇️ Image
2/ As reported in the thread below, 39-year-old Alexander Lunin recorded an instantly viral video appeal to Putin last week in which he denounced the abusive behaviour of frontline commanders and asked for a meeting with Putin in Moscow.
3/ On 26 June, he set off for Moscow by car after recording a new video claiming that a pro-Putin lawyer had invited him to the capital for discussions. He has not been seen or heard from publicly since.
Read 25 tweets
Jun 29
1/ Vladimir Putin's speech to the United Russia Party Congress on 28 June has received a frosty reception online from Russian Telegram commentators and users. The most commonly used reaction emoji used by readers of related posts is a clown 🤡, while bloggers are sceptical. ⬇️ Image
2/ While many warbloggers have reported the speech neutrally, some are openly hostile – a sign of increasing antagonism towards the regime from parts of the warblogger community, who feel that it isn't doing enough to win the war.
3/ 'Novorossiya Militia Reports' notes the party's adoption of "a controversial campaign poster [shown above] at the congress titled 'Being For Putin is a basic minimum', which is already being used in election campaigns in the regions".
Read 11 tweets
Jun 29
1/ In another sign of worsening economic problems in Russia, a fifth of the fleets of the country's largest airlines have been taken out of operation. The idling of the aircraft has been blamed on equipment failures and extended maintenance incurred by the effect of sanctions. ⬇️ Image
2/ The Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that almost a third of the fleet – 93 out of 322 aircraft – is now idle at the eight largest carriers. This breaks down as follows for the top five airlines:
3/✈️ Aeroflot – 37 out of 349 aircraft are out of service
✈️ S7 Airlines – 33 out of 104 (about a third of the fleet)
✈️ Ural Airlines – 10 out of 51
✈️ Nordwind Airlines – 12 out of 27 (44%)
✈️ Azur Air – 17 out of 23 aircraft (74%)
Read 7 tweets

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