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Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE
I still think HoMM3 is the best, but imho HoMM6 is the second best. Much better than 4 and 5 in any case!

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Paladinus
Jan 11, 2014

heyHEYYYY!!!
No trolling, please.

Nenonen
Oct 22, 2009

Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa
The original HOMM was okay but then the quality dropped. It's better to play the actual Might & Magic, the best one was MMIX.

There, ARE WE DONE?

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Nenonen posted:

The original HOMM was okay but then the quality dropped. It's better to play the actual Might & Magic, the best one was MMIX.

There, ARE WE DONE?

You’re about to be hella done, bucko

Xerxes17
Feb 17, 2011

"Eastern Europe: AntiHOMMusexuality laws pass duma."

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005

homm3 rules, i just got back into it a couple months ago. it still owns that a single misclick can totally ruin a 12-hour game. merciless AI

Antigravitas
Dec 8, 2019

Die Rettung fuer die Landwirte:
King's Bounty. :smuggo:

RedSnapper
Nov 22, 2016
H4 at least tried something new. Tried and failed, but still.

And it had some of the best music, only behind H2

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005

when i fire up homm3 i have to turn my speakers way down at the intro screen; even pre-saved music at zero and sound effects at one creates a blastwave

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




i say swears online posted:

when i fire up homm3 i have to turn my speakers way down at the intro screen; even pre-saved music at zero and sound effects at one creates a blastwave

Check out https://h3hota.com/en/documentation (which includes https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ by the way). I highly recommend it, over whatever was the recent remaster - this is going to be both better “HD”, after you tinker to your liking with new graphics settings, and will have quite a few balance and bug fixes. It’s also the edition of the game played currently only and in tournaments. I suggest installing it over https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition - this gets you all campaigns, and everything of all worlds basically.

If you check HotA documentation, you’ll see random templates mentioned - multiplayer happens on randomly generated (to a specific pattern) maps. Quite a bit of those will be really hard for someone who’s not spent time learning how to chain heroes and win fights at a severe army disadvantage (on template maps, roads have numbers indicating guard strength, and guard strength above 10 is probably going to eat any recreational player alive on a non-rich template).

Here are some default HotA templates that should be interesting enough for a single player game:
  • Simpler - 8mm6a, 8xm12a, Spider, Clash of Dragons, Boomerang, Nine-Day Wonder
  • More involved - h3dm1, 6lm10a, Mini Nostalgia, Diamond, Apocalypse
Do keep in mind that AI is not particularly good at playing those out, but I think it’s still a good bit of fun. In multiplayer, Jebus Cross is by far the most popular template, but it’s randomisation pattern can make it so difficult that pro players will every now and then fail to exit their starting zone in a live tournament match. Even with favourable RNG, you still need to have quite a few multiplayer-specific skills to get anywhere there, and AI is unable to play it at all.

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005

cinci zoo sniper posted:

Check out https://h3hota.com/en/documentation (which includes https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ by the way). I highly recommend it, over whatever was the recent remaster - this is going to be both better “HD”, after you tinker to your liking with new graphics settings, and will have quite a few balance and bug fixes. It’s also the edition of the game played currently only and in tournaments. I suggest installing it over https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition - this gets you all campaigns, and everything of all worlds basically.

If you check HotA documentation, you’ll see random templates mentioned - multiplayer happens on randomly generated (to a specific pattern) maps. Quite a bit of those will be really hard for someone who’s not spent time learning how to chain heroes and win fights at a severe army disadvantage (on template maps, roads have numbers indicating guard strength, and guard strength above 10 is probably going to eat any recreational player alive on a non-rich template).

Here are some default HotA templates that should be interesting enough for a single player game:
  • Simpler - 8mm6a, 8xm12a, Spider, Clash of Dragons, Boomerang, Nine-Day Wonder
  • More involved - h3dm1, 6lm10a, Mini Nostalgia, Diamond, Apocalypse
Do keep in mind that AI is not particularly good at playing those out, but I think it’s still a good bit of fun. In multiplayer, Jebus Cross is by far the most popular template, but it’s randomisation pattern can make it so difficult that pro players will every now and then fail to exit their starting zone in a live tournament match. Even with favourable RNG, you still need to have quite a few multiplayer-specific skills to get anywhere there, and AI is unable to play it at all.

there's another install over the most recent version? what's hota? i understand random maps, but what are specific pattern random maps? i played a random map once that had no nearby lumber or stone, or one or the other? do you just restart at that point or keep going? do you really tailor down logistics (or ban the heroes) speed to the point in order to chain heroes/new week refreshes? what is guard strength ten? oh no i'm a noob

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Breathe out and ask your questions slower. Clicking the first link in my post would explain both what HotA is and what map templates are.

i say swears online posted:

there's another install over the most recent version? what's hota?

Concerning the game versions, the original release, “HoMM3”, is Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (1999). After that was out, two expansion packs were release for the game - Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon’s Blade (1999) and Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death (2000). Later in 2000 the game with expansions combined was rereleased as Heroes of Might and Magic III: Complete.

Then, in 2009, a Russian dude nicknamed Baratorch did release a mod (more like a custom launcher) called “HoMM 3 HD” that does a few things, but most importantly upscales game graphics to resolutions and aspect ratios of modern monitors. Subsequently, in 2011 a team of community modders, including Baratorch, did release Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss (HotA), a fully fledged expansion mod for the game. In its current state it includes a new town, 3 story campaigns, HoMM 3 HD, and all necessary functionality for the modern multiplayer, including the aforementioned template-based random map generation.

Unlike Heroes of Might and Magic 3.5: In the Wake of Gods (WoG), one of the more popular of about half a dozen community expansion mods out there, which tried to change the game in some far reaching ways, HotA is quite conservative overall, and feels just like playing the base game - even better, since between HoMM 3 HD and other parts of HotA quite a few bug and bullshit fixes have been implemented for the base game.

Simultaneously, in 2015 Ubisoft released Heroes of Might and Magic III - HD Edition. While you could think that this is a remaster of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Complete, this is actually a remaster of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Restoration of Erathia, since Ubisoft was unable to find source code for the official expansions. Furthermore, the graphics work they did is literally worse than that of HoMM 3 HD, and they’ve similarly got nothing on 13 years of cumulative patches released by the community.

In short, installing HotA over Complete is the way to go about running Heroes 3 on a modern computer.

i say swears online posted:

i understand random maps, but what are specific pattern random maps? what is guard strength ten?

https://h3hota.com/en/templates

i say swears online posted:

i played a random map once that had no nearby lumber or stone, or one or the other? do you just restart at that point or keep going?

Sometimes random maps generator misses essential objects, in which case you’re best suited by restarting the map. What should or should not be generated, however, is specific to the template.

i say swears online posted:

do you really tailor down logistics (or ban the heroes) speed to the point in order to chain heroes/new week refreshes?

In competitive play, taking the most popular template, Jebus Cross, the game tempo is very high, and more than 90% of non-beginner matches conclude before the end of week 2 (and this is an XL map). 50% of games on it, if I had to guess, end on the first day of the second week the latest.

The way that happens, and the way most multiplayer is played nowadays, is through players chaining hero movements using taverns and often buying 5-10 heroes per turn just to get more move points out of 8-hero limit on a player, using them to mule the army around basically. That’s not something you should think about, especially for single player. All templates I mentioned are playable without that at their own pace.

cinci zoo sniper fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Nov 27, 2022

Qtotonibudinibudet
Nov 7, 2011



Omich poluyobok, skazhi ty narkoman? ya prosto tozhe gde to tam zhivu, mogli by vmeste uyobyvat' narkotiki
nice, congrats riddle on gaining the genprokutor's ovation and fame forever

https://twitter.com/ABarbashin/status/1597549172508721153

what else do they have to ban going forward? Russia In Global Affairs?

Panzeh
Nov 27, 2006

"..The high ground"

cinci zoo sniper posted:

Check out https://h3hota.com/en/documentation (which includes https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ by the way). I highly recommend it, over whatever was the recent remaster - this is going to be both better “HD”, after you tinker to your liking with new graphics settings, and will have quite a few balance and bug fixes. It’s also the edition of the game played currently only and in tournaments. I suggest installing it over https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition - this gets you all campaigns, and everything of all worlds basically.

If you check HotA documentation, you’ll see random templates mentioned - multiplayer happens on randomly generated (to a specific pattern) maps. Quite a bit of those will be really hard for someone who’s not spent time learning how to chain heroes and win fights at a severe army disadvantage (on template maps, roads have numbers indicating guard strength, and guard strength above 10 is probably going to eat any recreational player alive on a non-rich template).

Here are some default HotA templates that should be interesting enough for a single player game:
  • Simpler - 8mm6a, 8xm12a, Spider, Clash of Dragons, Boomerang, Nine-Day Wonder
  • More involved - h3dm1, 6lm10a, Mini Nostalgia, Diamond, Apocalypse
Do keep in mind that AI is not particularly good at playing those out, but I think it’s still a good bit of fun. In multiplayer, Jebus Cross is by far the most popular template, but it’s randomisation pattern can make it so difficult that pro players will every now and then fail to exit their starting zone in a live tournament match. Even with favourable RNG, you still need to have quite a few multiplayer-specific skills to get anywhere there, and AI is unable to play it at all.

I usually play Eador, the 2d one at least, which is very much made by someone who was super hardcore into homm3 and is completely tuned for that level of difficulty.

Well, i used to play eador it crashes a lot nowadays.

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Eador seemed pretty cool when I tried it once, like 5 or 10 years ago, but it didn’t stick with me.

with a rebel yell she QQd
Jan 18, 2007

Villain


https://twitter.com/PM_ViktorOrban/status/1597558956121260033

Such a nice fellow, rushing things. On February 30, 2023 they will decide when to begin discussing it.

Xarn
Jun 26, 2015

cinci zoo sniper posted:

As in, HoMM 5 absolutely has a better reputation with the surviving HoMM 3 community, than HoMM 4 does.

Yeah, but you have to weight that with players being conservative idiots throwing shitfits because things changed.

Also chaining and 3's dimension door was loving stupid. :colbert:


Nenonen posted:

The original HOMM was okay but then the quality dropped. It's better to play the actual Might & Magic, the best one was MMIX.

There, ARE WE DONE?

:drat:

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/11/29/pope-francis-calls-buryats-and-chechens-the-cruelest-russian-troops

quote:

In a recent interview with the Catholic magazine America, Pope Francis shared some striking words on the violence in Ukraine. He didn’t name Putin, for example, among those responsible for the war because “it is already known.”

He did, however, share thoughts on other parties he holds responsible:

When I speak about Ukraine, I speak of a people who are martyred. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them. When I speak about Ukraine, I speak about the cruelty because I have much information about the cruelty of the troops that come in. Generally, the cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati, and so on. Certainly, the one who invades is the Russian state. This is very clear.

We regret to inform you that milkshake-leftist pope from Latin America is an idiot

Just noticed that meduza quotes a lot of Ru government functionaries but no Buryat/Chechen activists. Not a good look

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin
Fun interview with a couple of Ukrainian anarchists. In general there's been a few really cool Ukrainian leftist voices out there that are unfortunately missing from the Anglosphere. I ran this interview through Google translate.

I'm glad politics went through some self-reflection through this war, it's supposed to be an ideological framework that addresses practical problems in life - my boss is loving everyone over, someone is not allowed to express their identity, the state is putting people in prison for Facebook posts, etc. A good chunk of anti-establishment western left badly failed with their answer to the admittedly unlikely but very real problem of "a fascist state is invading us to take us over", with some vague bleating about needing peace and negotiations. But thankfully there's plenty of those who showed themselves as compassionate to the plight of Ukrainians and able to offer reality based solutions



quote:

The Western left has become accustomed to listening to Moscow


This interview comes after the Greek anarchist website Aftoleksi published a defamatory article about Ukrainian anarchists that fit the Kremlin narrative. After Ukrainians were outraged, the article was removed, and editorial board member Yavor Tarinski tried to hear first-hand - ANATOLY DUBOVIK and SERGEY SHEVCHENKA - what is happening in Ukraine. The interview "Aftoleksi" appeared on September 26 of this year.



- Hello and thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview! First, tell me in which part of Ukraine do you live?

Anatolij Dubovik (A.D.): I am Anatolij Dubovik. I am 50 years old, an anarchist since 1989. I was born in Kazan, but for more than 30 years I have lived in Ukraine, in the city of Dnipro. This is the eastern part of Ukraine.

Sergej Shevchenko (S. Sh.): I am Sergej Shevchenko. I am 48 years old, an anarchist since 1988. I was born and lived in Donetsk, the center of Donbass. In 2014, I was forced to go to Kyiv because a Russian-inspired separatist rebellion started in my city. Since the end of February 2022, I have been defending Ukraine against Russian aggression.

- Both of you are known members of the anarcho-syndicalist group RASK. Can you tell us anything else about her and her activities before the war?

A.D. and S.Š.: First of all, it should be clarified that RASK was not a group, but an organization. When the resurgence of the anarchist movement began in the USSR in the late 1980s, it was quite spontaneous and had no strategy, no serious approach to self-organization - many were just "playing anarchism". As an alternative to such a chaotic movement, RASK was established in 1994 - Nestor Machno's revolutionary anarchist-syndicalist confederation. It was an organization - namely an anarchist organization that introduced: planning of activities, consistency, internal discipline, distribution of responsibilities among members, etc. etc.

Although not immediately, it gave good results. A few years after the creation of RASK, the organization's branches were already operating in several regions of Ukraine and were quite successful. We participated in workers' and students' movements, and had considerable influence on the activities of independent trade unions, especially among the miners of Donbass, where RASK representatives were members of local and regional strike committees. We participated in the defense of the rights of hired workers and opposed the adoption of laws unfavorable to working people.

We even carried out several publishing projects. We published the newspaper "Anarchija", which existed almost as long as RASK. We also prepared an anarcho-syndicalist informative-analytical bulletin, several publications for specific social groups: "Darbo balsa" - for workers, "Vienybe" - for students, and the youth magazine "Ukrainian Ukraina". We also published many propaganda-theoretical pamphlets, from the classics of Bakunin and Malatesta to the works of contemporary authors.

Over time, RASK became something similar to a small International - branches were established in other countries: Georgia and Israel. It didn't last long, but it did. Just before the war [2014], we tried to establish an association of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions in Ukraine - the General Labor Confederation of Anarchist-Syndicalists. The process could not be completed due to the beginning of the Russian invasion of Crimea and Donbass.

- Tell me, what was RASK's reaction to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine in 2014?

A. D. and S. Š.: "Conflict"? It was an armed invasion that began in southern Ukraine immediately after Russian troops seized Crimea in February 2014. A Russian-inspired separatist coup in eastern Ukraine began about a month later.

It was immediately clear to us that Russia would not bring anything good to Ukraine. In 2014, a reactionary authoritarian regime had already established itself in Russia, which violated all individual and public rights, brutally persecutes and destroys any independent activity. Of course, we also had and still have many questions for the Ukrainian state, its ruling class, but the anarchist, socialist movement in Ukraine had the opportunity to operate freely. Suffice it to mention that during the entire period of independent Ukraine, there was not a single political anarchist prisoner in our country. At the same time, many of our associates in Russia ended up in prisons. They were imprisoned only for their anarchist views.

Therefore, RASK's position was clear: Russian aggression must be resisted by all possible means.

But there was a problem here. RASK was created and existed for 20 years and acted as an organization for the promotion of anarchist ideas and the support of anarcho-syndicalist activities. As an organization adapted to legal and semi-legal forms of activity in conditions of peaceful life. The war changed everything, including the immediate tasks facing activists in the anarchist movement here and now. Old organization, old forms of activity turned out to be simply unnecessary or impossible under new conditions. New forms and principles of operation were needed, primarily focused on the underground goal of resisting the invaders. Including armed resistance.

Therefore, RAS was performed in April 2014 K member survey, after which the old organization was liquidated. Then a new phase began in the history of the Ukrainian anarchist movement.

- Do you know that information was spread outside of Ukraine that RASK was somehow connected with the establishment of the so-called "people's republics" in Donbas?

A.D. and S.Š.: Yes, we learned about it in September 2022 from an article on your website. There were only disgusting lies and the most stupid deductions. For example, the article was illustrated with a photo of people with black and red flags, followed by the caption: "RASK members at a demonstration in front of the Maidan in Donetsk in 2014."
That photo was taken in 2012 during the May Day demonstration, and on the banner we were carrying then, and it was easy to read in the photo, it said: "New Labor Code - legalized slavery." There is not a word about Maidan, just because this demonstration happened several years before the Maidan, during the struggle against the government's attempt to change labor laws. The author of the article deceived his readers, and he deceived very stupidly: whoever reads at least a little Russian or Ukrainian and can understand the inscription on the banner will immediately understand that the demonstration has nothing to do with the events of 2014.

Another example of an outright lie. By falsifying RASK's ties with pro-Russian separatists, the author of the article writes: "Mikhail Krylov, a seasoned veteran of the Donetsk miners' labor movement, called for an armed uprising against the Kyiv regime and participated in the creation of the "Miners' Department" of the Donetsk People's Republic." What and how did Krylov call for action, or did he do anything although it formed, it doesn't matter now. Mikhail Krylov was certainly involved in the Donbass labor movement back in the days of the USSR, he certainly had connections with RASK in the second half of the 1990s, when our organization closely cooperated with the regional committee of Donbass, which was headed by Krylov. However, he severed all cooperation and ties with anarcho-syndicalists 26 years ago. He has long been a typical FORMER labor leader who has surrendered to his enemies for a long time. After 1998, he "went into politics", joined various bourgeois parties and tried to be elected to power. And now he serves the Russian occupiers.

When we saw this article, we were furious. We immediately contacted the site's editors, explained the real situation, and a few minutes later the false article was removed. However, there is no guarantee that such nonsense does not appear on other websites or in the press. In general, we have not been surprised for many years why Westerners writing about the anarchist or socialist movement in Ukraine do not take their information from Ukrainian anarchists or socialists, but rely on sources outside Ukraine. Why they do this is a big mystery.

By the way, it should be said that the myth about the cooperation of people from RASK with the FSB [Federal Security Service], about RASK's participation in the pro-Russian movement in Donbass is supported and spread by the Ukrainian ultra-right. So those who repeat these fabrications are in the same company as the Nazis. Well, maybe they like it that way…

In fact, neither before Maidan nor after it and during all the years RASK was active, its members never supported either pro-Russian separatism in Ukraine or Russian imperialist tendencies. Since the late 1980s, most Ukrainian anarchists, including future members of RASK, have been actively involved in the struggle for Ukrainian independence. Later, RASK consistently opposed the war in Chechnya, supporting an independent Ichkeria. Not only that: a large part of our literature was printed in Ukrainian, our radio "RASK Liberter" broadcasted programs in Ukrainian, one of our publications, already mentioned, was called "Ukrainian Ukraina". Thus, long before 2014, RASK's position was completely pro-Ukrainian. For a free, independent working people's Ukraine. It is in the traditions of the RASK, in the traditions of the Ukrainian anarchist movement in general. Therefore, any fiction about "pro-Russian RASK" is complete nonsense and absurd.

- What did people from RASK do at the beginning of the invasion?

A.D. and S.Š.: Those of us who continue our work as anarchists have done and continue to do all kinds of things. Most sensed that sooner or later Russia would launch a massive invasion, and it began on February 24, 2022. We prepared for resistance as much as we could: we trained volunteers in paramilitary organizations, from which territorial defense units later emerged. And some directly participated in the resistance: in 2014-2015, former RASK members created underground fighting groups that participated in the guerrilla war in Donbas. Groups of RASK members who were on the territory of free Ukraine worked in various social projects, helped refugees from Donbass and Crimea. Of course, they continued their cultural and educational activities, spreading anarchist ideas. In general, we did not disappear anywhere - we continued our activities, our anarchist life. It's just that now it's in a different form, without RASK.

Now some of us are in the back, helping to defend our country, our people. es. Some are at the front and defend the country with weapons in their hands as members of the Armed Forces and Territorial Defense of Ukraine. We even managed to organize committees of anarchist soldiers in the units in which they serve. These committees operate in an anarchist spirit: they protect the rights of soldiers, organize volunteer assistance, and carry out educational and ideological activities in their units. We will tell you more about all this after the victory.

- Do you know how things were in the "people's republics" and other occupied territories: were the anarchists and leftists forced to flee from there? Were civilians forcibly recruited into the occupation army?

S. Š.: I myself was forced to leave my hometown of Donetsk. Since 2014, 1.5 million people have left Donbass for Ukraine. people. About 6 million people lived in Donbas.

A.D. and S.Š.: Most of the anarchists and socialists left the occupied Donbass (speaking of the left in general, the "left" unites people of very different views: from anarchists to Stalinists, although they often have nothing in common with each other). The fact is that in the territories occupied by Russia there is only one option: to be completely and absolutely loyal to the authorities. If not - arrest, after which no one will know about you anymore.

As for the recruitment of the civilian population of the occupied Donbas into the army, there was no formal mobilization until 2022. It was like this: when the separatist regimes came to power, the mass closure of companies began, their equipment was taken to Russia. Every year it became more and more difficult to find a job in a civilian specialty. The only place where an adult, physically healthy man could earn money was in the army. And people themselves chose military service. This continued until February 2022, when general mobilization was announced for DLR and LLR. After that, forced recruitment into the army took on the most terrible forms: people were caught just on the street, in public transport, in universities and taken to mobilization points. After a few days, these people were thrown to the front. Most of them have not seen a weapon. Many of them died and continue to die. In fact, the Russian mobilization in Donbas has turned into a genocide of the local population. Now, in the very near future, the same fate threatens the inhabitants of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, who are also forcibly recruited into the Russian army.

- Can you tell us what the social situation has been like in the areas of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian-backed separatists since 2014: labor rights, minority rights, LGBT rights, freedom of speech, etc.?

A.D. and S.Š.: Putin's Russia has become a fascist state in which all citizens are deprived of all rights. In those regions of Ukraine under the control of Putin's army and pro-Russian separatists, the situation is even worse than in Russia itself. For example, at the end of 2014, an attempt was made to organize strikes in defense of the economic interests of the workers in the mines that were still operating at that time. These attempts were suppressed with thuggish methods that we could only read about in books about the history of strikes in the 19th century: the activists were taken outside the city, beaten and barely escaped death. Rallies, gatherings and other public actions of independent public organizations, including trade unions, are impossible: the pro-Russian government has imposed martial law with all the resulting prohibitions since 2014. In fact, the social organizations themselves have long ceased to exist in the "people's republics" - as we have already mentioned, the only acceptable form of life there is only associated with the unconditional support of the occupation regime.

Like any fascist regime, the Russian government and its puppet governments in Donbas see it as their duty to interfere in people's private lives. First of all, those people who do not support the so-called "traditional" values, that is, the most conservative ideas of the most conservative part of the Russian Orthodox Church, are persecuted. "Wrong" sexual orientation, "wrong" religion - this is a sufficient reason to terrorize a person, dismiss him from work, arrest him. No LGBT organizations in DLR and LLR are simply impossible. Most of the religious communities, including Protestants and Greek Catholics, which existed until 2014, were expelled. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, whose activities are banned in Russia, experience particularly brutal persecution.

The most important thing to know when talking about the DLR and LLR regime: their goal is to destroy ANY other opinion, to suppress ANY disobedience. It is precisely because of this that they are on par with the worst ruling regimes of the past. They are like Nazi Germany or Stalinist USSR. That is why we have no choice but to fight these regimes.

- It is impressive how easily the pro-Russian separatists took over the cities of Donbas in the first days of the conflict. There appears to have been little opposition from local authorities. Can you tell me the reasons for this?

A.D. and S.Š.: Yes, there was no local government resistance to the separatist coup in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In the best case, the representatives of the government disappeared, fled, in the worst case, they joined the pro-Russian forces. Not only the civil administration, but also the police leadership, security, prosecutor's office, etc., behaved in this way. Apparently, these bodies were infiltrated by many Russian agents.

Despite the treachery of local bodies and authorities, there was resistance, and ordinary people participated in it. In March and April 2014, pro-Ukrainian rallies were held in Donetsk and other cities, which attracted quite a lot of people. The separatists dispersed the rallies by force. These people were the first victims of the war in Donbas, who were beaten with sticks or kidnapped and killed by pro-Russian executioners. All this is well known.

- Do you know that Stalinist disinformation channels operating outside of Ukraine claims that the "real" left of Ukraine supports the separatists and the occupiers (and as we know, your group was mentioned in such fake news)? And in general, how do you feel that they are trying to present the "conflict" as a clash between the Ukrainian "Fourth Reich" and pro-Russian progressive forces?


A.D. and S.Š.: Of course, we know that. And we hope that our readers have already understood how much "progress" there is in the activities of the pro-Russian government.

In fact, almost all Ukrainian anarchists now oppose Putin and the Russian invasion. And we know many Ukrainian anti-authoritarian Marxists who are on the same side. For example, the Social Movement Group, the independent trade union "Darbo gynyba", the editorial office of the socialist magazine "Spilnė", other initiatives. Few people know about these and other groups outside of Ukraine, simply because the "leftists" (again: we don't know who they are) are used to listening only to people from Moscow. In our view, this means that for many people living in the former USSR and beyond, the Soviet empire is still alive. At least in their heads, in their fantasies. It is as strange as getting news about events and proceedings in Mexico or Argentina from Madrid, news about India and Canada from London.

As for the Stalinists… They can say anything, wave the reddest flags, but in reality they are a reactionary force subordinate to Russian nationalism and Russian imperialism. Western "leftists" look at their party names and think: "Oh, they must be wonderful people!" For example, in our country, the Ukrainian Progressive Socialist Party was so well known. A very loud name, but this party held joint events with Alexander Dugin, one of the main ideologues of modern Russian nationalism and open fascism, and used racist and homophobic images and vocabulary in its propaganda. You may consider them "leftists", but then neither Marx nor Lenin nor Trotsky were ever "leftists".

- Russia's invasion of Ukraine highlighted some deep-seated problems in libertarianism and leftist movements around the world. Although traditionally these movements are ostensibly against authoritarianism, it turned out that a significant number of people who call themselves anarchists and libertarians support Putin's invasion, because, according to them, Russia has concentrated its forces against NATO and all the dead in the war and the victims of mafia regimes in the occupied territories are just a small casualty of geopolitical struggles for the sake of What do you see as the future of the world's anarchist movements, given the split between what we might call "geopoliticians" and social anarchists?

A.D. and S.Š.: We are convinced that many socialists and even libertarians are stuck in the concepts and realities of the last century. They don't notice that the world has changed a lot. And this is a huge problem that has come to the fore only now, with the start of a new series of Russian aggression. Remember that Ukraine was not the first victim of modern Russian imperialism, that even in the 1990s there were Russian invasions of Georgia and Moldova, that there was a colonial war in the Caucasus that continued into the first decade of this century, that in 2008 Russian tanks invaded Georgia again, that since the 2000s Russia has been interfering in Syrian affairs since the beginning of the year, so that in January 2022, Russian troops were sent to quell the uprising in Kazakhstan. The war in Ukraine is just another outbreak of violence by Moscow, the scale of which has long been seen in Europe, but there is certainly nothing new in its policy of killing, destruction and occupation.

Those "leftists" who support Russia today see it as something like the USSR of the second half of the 20th century. Not wanting to believe that there the words "socialism", "social justice" or "nation-state" were thrown into the trash, and in Russia people were deprived of almost all their rights and lived in a terrible environment and a dreary daily life. Now people in Russia live in a police state, they are persecuted because of their ethnic origin (Crimean Tatars), because of their religious beliefs (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons or members of unorthodox Islamic sects), not to mention persecution for opposition activities. Two examples. Azat Miftachov, a Moscow mathematician and anarchist, was accused of breaking the window of the office of the ruling United Russia party. He was tried for this "terrible" crime and received 6 years in prison in 2021. Anarchists Dmitry Tsibukovsky and Anastasia Safonova from Chelyabinsk (Urals) hung a poster on the fence with the inscription "FSB - the biggest terrorist". They were sentenced to 2.5 and 2 years in prison for this protest action. This happened recently - on September 10, 2022.

The "leftists" see Putin's Russia as an alternative to NATO, an adversary of NATO. In a sense, they are right: Russia is indeed opposed to NATO. But they do not see and do not want to see that Russia's alternative is only a desire to pursue its own independent but equally (if not worse) imperialist policy.

"Russia's geopolitical goal" is not to stop "Western imperialism", but to make Russia once again an empire, more powerful, more aggressive and more inhumane than the usual "West". The Russian state, which has stifled freedom and independence within itself, cannot bring any freedom and independence to other countries.

The pro-Russian "leftists" do not see this. To use George Orwell's 1984 analogy, these "leftists" side with Big Brother from Eurasia against Big Brother from Oceania

These "leftists" are idiots.

As for the future. We have little interest in the future of "left" and state socialist movements and their prospects in the world. We are anarchists and think primarily of the anarchist movement. Our motto remains as it has always been: the emancipation of the working people is the business of the working people themselves! And the split between the social anarchists and those you called "geopoliticians" has unfortunately not happened yet. And we must understand that this split is necessary and inevitable.

- We would like to know your opinion about the referendums on the annexation of the occupied territories of Donbass to the Russian Federation. Can it be called the will of the people, given the presence of the occupying army and brutal repression? Since 2014, we have seen such referendums with transparent ballot boxes and other problematic elements taking place in various occupied parts of Ukraine, such as Crimea, so can we assume that this is an important part of Russia's strategy? What should the average Greek think about this referendum? Will people participate out of fear? Do you think it will involve Russian citizens (judging from your previous experience with the Crimea case)? Do you think ordinary people will finally vote for Russia out of fear and desperation?

A.D. and S.Š.: Right now, when we are conducting the interview, the Internet is flooded with videos from the occupied territories showing how "referendums" are taking place. Anyone can see that there are no polling stations or ballot boxes, transparent or opaque. In the videos, we see that groups of people, 4-5 people each, among whom there are always two in military uniform and weapons, walk around citizens' apartments and offer to mark "ballots". This is not a referendum, it is a total test of the population's loyalty to the invaders, carried out at gunpoint.

Another important moment. Referendum is a legal concept. The current "referendum" was announced by the government. The "referendum" should be held according to the law. What law corresponds to a "referendum" in the occupied territories? Russian law does not say anything about referendums and since 1991 no referendum has been held in Russia. According to Ukrainian law, a referendum can only be held throughout the country, not in certain areas. Even formally, this is a meaningless act that cannot have any legal consequences.

We are sure that every ordinary person from Greece can tell us what he or she thinks about this "referendum".

- What future awaits Ukraine after the end of the war? We hear that the EU is forcing the government to pass new anti-union legislation, and the massive national debt has not been written off or at least reduced.

A.D. and S.Š.: After Ukraine's victory, new struggles await us, only they will be for the social and economic interests of the Ukrainian people. Yes, the government is already passing new anti-union labor laws. But we hope that after the victory we will have good prospects for the development of the social and anarchist movement, and this is why.

First. The people of Ukraine have already defeated the aggressor, at least they won in the first stage of the war. This happened back in late February and March of 2022, when resistance at the front thwarted the original plan for a sudden war - the plan for the quick occupation of Ukraine. People saw their strength, their ability to resist the external enemy. It is unlikely that they will quietly endure the coming onslaught of the enemy within.

Second. You see, anarchism isn't a punk with a piercing in his ear painting an "A in a circle" on the wall. And not when a solid scientist with glasses gives another lecture on the ideas of Proudhon or Bakunin. Anarchism is about people being able to solve their own problems without the involvement of the state and other hierarchical structures. Solve problems based on self-organization and broad interaction of local initiatives. It doesn't matter what they call themselves. It's the substance, not the name that matters. Now in Ukraine there are many such non-state self-organized initiatives. They deal with various issues, from helping refugees and maintaining order in small towns to supplying the army with everything it needs. In this sense, Ukraine is now one of the most anarchist countries in the world.

By the way, a good illustration to dispel the myth about the "Nazi regime in Ukraine"?

- Can you tell me what you think the scale of the current counter-offensive is and can this be considered a turning point in the war? And what are the prospects for the nationalist regimes of Putin and Lukashenko?

A.D. and S.Š.: Anyone can see the scale: in three weeks, the Ukrainian army drove out the Russian soldiers from the entire Kharkiv region and is gradually moving hostilities to the Luhansk region. By the way, the Russians stormed this region for five months. Now the pace of the attack has slowed down, but that's perfectly normal at this stage: it always happens in wars. This attack will be a turning point and historians will write about it.

The fascist nationalist regimes of Putin and Lukashenko will collapse. When and how it will happen - we will all see with our own eyes.

- And finally, can we expect that the invasion will end with some negotiations, and the Ukrainian state will give up some territories, but retain independent sovereignty over all other regions of Ukraine?

A.D. and S.Š.: All wars have ended peacefully, but not all wars have ended in negotiations. For example, to end the war against Nazi Germany, negotiations were not necessary: ​​the Nazis were destroyed and Hitler died in his bunker. The same fate awaits Putin. He has prepared a bunker for himself for a long time.

The compromise you are talking about (giving up part of the territory in order to preserve the sovereignty of the remnants of Ukraine) is impossible. Handing over a few million Ukrainians to Putin's fascist regime would be treason. Today's Russia has long demonstrated its inability to negotiate with the neighboring countries it has chosen as its victims. This became evident during the two colonial wars in the Caucasus. In the 1990s, the Chechens gave the Russian army a good beating, and then the Russians sat down for peace talks. Russia then spent several years building up its strength and preparing for a new invasion of recalcitrant Chechnya. And when new, even more powerful forces were assembled, the Russian army started all over again.

Ukrainian society remembers these events and knows that the only guarantee of peace is the complete crushing of the Russian army, the destruction of Putin's regime and very serious changes in the Russian state and society. It is probably too early to discuss the concrete forms of these changes, but they are necessary.

- Thank you very much for your time! Take care and keep fighting for a freer Ukraine beyond capitalism and elitism!

A.D. and S.Š.: Thank you! Glory to free and independent Ukraine!

Dwesa
Jul 19, 2016

Maybe I'll go where I can see stars
I am stretching the definition of Eastern Europe a bit, but protests erupted in Mongolia, protesters stormed government buildings after news of embezzlement of billions

https://tvpworld.com/64919462/protesters-in-mongolia-storm-the-state-palace

https://news.mn/en/798378/

a podcast for cats
Jun 22, 2005

Dogs reading from an artifact buried in the ruins of our civilization, "We were assholes- " and writing solemnly, "They were assholes."
Soiled Meat
TV Rain (Dozdhj) gets their broadcasting license annulled by the Latvian media regulator:

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1600029264547414017

I'm a bit ambivalent about this, so no real comment from me. Just the newsdump.

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin

Dwesa posted:

I am stretching the definition of Eastern Europe a bit, but protests erupted in Mongolia, protesters stormed government buildings after news of embezzlement of billions

https://tvpworld.com/64919462/protesters-in-mongolia-storm-the-state-palace

https://news.mn/en/798378/

Possibly most appropriate for the Finland thread? :v:
I didn't know Mongolia had such a problem with corruption but I like their style


a podcast for cats posted:

TV Rain (Dozdhj) gets their broadcasting license annulled by the Latvian media regulator:

I'm a bit ambivalent about this, so no real comment from me. Just the newsdump.

There was a strong nasty campaign against them looking for true and untrue things to throw at the wall until something sticks. Doesn't look good when there's actual people praising Putin or businessmen with stuff in Russia, but this is what the state is focusing on. This goes for all baltics, not just Latvia

Mokotow
Apr 16, 2012

First batch of K2 tanks and K9 arty arrived in Poland from South Korea

https://tvn24.pl/polska/pierwsza-do...w-gdyni-6404290

a podcast for cats
Jun 22, 2005

Dogs reading from an artifact buried in the ruins of our civilization, "We were assholes- " and writing solemnly, "They were assholes."
Soiled Meat
More on TV Rain. In a staggering display of inability to read the room, representatives of the channel arrived to the meeting with the regulator without an interpreter and requested for the meeting to be held in Russian.

https://twitter.com/DelfiLV/status/1600043810137919488


Lol if true. That's an unforced error, imo.

Hannibal Rex
Feb 13, 2010
https://twitter.com/DrRadchenko/status/1599772237459992576?t=edcoODN9m9EG6g_r_IVVnQ&s=19

These are a couple of threads that put TV Rain in an understandable context for me.

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




a podcast for cats posted:

TV Rain (Dozdhj) gets their broadcasting license annulled by the Latvian media regulator:

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1600029264547414017

I'm a bit ambivalent about this, so no real comment from me. Just the newsdump.

I really like that we’ve been offering journalistic shelter to Russian media so…

Somaen posted:

There was a strong nasty campaign against them looking for true and untrue things to throw at the wall until something sticks. Doesn't look good when there's actual people praising Putin or businessmen with stuff in Russia, but this is what the state is focusing on. This goes for all baltics, not just Latvia

…it was indeed sad to them getting explicit poo poo from NA and friends…

a podcast for cats posted:

More on TV Rain. In a staggering display of inability to read the room, representatives of the channel arrived to the meeting with the regulator without an interpreter and requested for the meeting to be held in Russian.

https://twitter.com/DelfiLV/status/1600043810137919488


Lol if true. That's an unforced error, imo.

…until they chose to show their whole clown rear end in the watershed moment for their channel. Lmao, just incredible - this one right there is a sharpened, poison-coated stainless steel rake lying on an illuminated pedestal next to the Monument of Freedom, and they did a loving salto into it.

The offence itself I’m 50/50 on, and I think if they had chosen to not do the most tired of “arrogant things Russian tourists do in Latvia” playbook moves for their NEPLP meeting, it could’ve worked out through a combination of fines, firing of the involved staff, and some manner of programming review.

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Hannibal Rex posted:

https://twitter.com/DrRadchenko/status/1599772237459992576?t=edcoODN9m9EG6g_r_IVVnQ&s=19

These are a couple of threads that put TV Rain in an understandable context for me.

A case in point is Navalnyi himself - the man’s saving grace abroad is his opposition to Putin, rather than him actually having politics likeable in the west (which he doesn’t).

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin
Shocking if true, I can't believe they wouldn't speak English


cinci zoo sniper posted:

A case in point is Navalnyi himself - the man’s saving grace abroad is his opposition to Putin, rather than him actually having politics likeable in the west (which he doesn’t).

What do you mean? He's a Yale educated liberal with a program that was "let's adopt policies of EU countries, like Estonia which is not very rich but it's well taken care of" - that's a quote from memory

Der Kyhe
Jun 25, 2008

Somaen posted:

What do you mean? He's a Yale educated liberal with a program that was "let's adopt policies of EU countries, like Estonia which is not very rich but it's well taken care of" - that's a quote from memory

In 2014 Navalnyi was pro-Crimea annexation: https://ukraineworld.org/articles/opinions/what-does-aleksey-navalny-really-think-about-ukraine-crimea-and-donbas

He isn't pro-west/EU, he is anti-Putin. How much he would actually do to work with EU, not undermine it like the current regime, remains to be seen.

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin

Der Kyhe posted:

He isn't pro-west/EU, he is anti-Putin.

I follow Navalny and his team's work and this is 100% wrong, they love the west and want Russia to join the EU someday. I don't think I've ever seen a Russian imperialist use Estonia as an example to follow

Der Kyhe posted:

In 2014 Navalnyi was pro-Crimea annexation:

I posted about this before, the stupid sandwich comment is the most damning thing anyone can dig up regarding this. It's because Navalny doesn't give a poo poo about Crimea and territorial ambitions, he wants Russia to have a rule of law and social programs for the horribly impoverished population and a state apparatus that isn't trying to kill him. The context of that phrase is that his electoralist politics had him make alliances with communists and nationalists and going against the Crimea annexation with the idiot vatnik population would have buried politically everything he did or touched.

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Somaen posted:

What do you mean? He's a Yale educated liberal with a program that was "let's adopt policies of EU countries, like Estonia which is not very rich but it's well taken care of" - that's a quote from memory

He’s an unabashed nationalist and imperialist.

1) Was an organiser for the Russian March
2) Co-founded NAROD with Zakhar loving Prilepin
3) Full support of the Russian position on Osettia, Abkhazia
4) “[Russia, Belarus, Ukraine…] are one nation”
5) “Putin is an enemy of the Russian World”

Somaen posted:

I posted about this before, the stupid sandwich comment is the most damning thing anyone can dig up regarding this.

It’s more than damning enough.

Don’t get me wrong, he’d be a massive improvement for Russians (perhaps an especially massive improvement for ethnic Russians, but nevertheless). And he’d like be an improvement for everyone else too, as he would likely move the government on from mafia games. However, there’s a a lot of space between “good” and “better than Putin”.

Paladinus
Jan 11, 2014

heyHEYYYY!!!

cinci zoo sniper posted:

The offence itself I’m 50/50 on, and I think if they had chosen to not do the most tired of “arrogant things Russian tourists do in Latvia” playbook moves for their NEPLP meeting, it could’ve worked out through a combination of fines, firing of the involved staff, and some manner of programming review.

According to Dziadko, all previous sessions were held in Russian, and on the most recent one in October, it was decided to switch to Latvian, and they couldn't find an interpreter on such a short notice.

FishBulbia
Dec 22, 2021

There is a real union in rhetoric and aims between Putinists and anti-Russian (as nationality) Europeans attacking Russian liberals. Really not sure what the later is trying to accomplish.

cinci zoo sniper
Mar 15, 2013




Paladinus posted:

According to Dziadko, all previous sessions were held in Russian, and on the most recent one in October, it was decided to switch to Latvian, and they couldn't find an interpreter on such a short notice.

As I said before, there’s an element of political scheming from NA to this. If this is actually true, and at the moment I’m afraid I’m thin on a benefit of doubt to unguardedly grant them, then NA and friends may have exploited the situation a bit more ruthlessly than it would’ve appeared.

The reason why I’m partially skeptic to their explanation, besides the political plausibility of NEPLP holding plethora of meetings in Russian, as a broadly Russophobic institution in addition to the conduct itself being unlawful de jure, in a country where VVC is going to hunt you down for it, is that I’ve had to look for an interpreter on very short notices in Latvia, and getting a Latvian-Russian one in Riga should be trivial without swinging excess cash even.

FishBulbia posted:

There is a real union in rhetoric and aims between Putinists and anti-Russian (as nationality) Europeans attacking Russian liberals. Really not sure what the later is trying to accomplish.

The one thing that’s surely real is that you still struggle to consistently write posts which don’t sound like a 3am bottle of vodka shared between you and your telly. The gently caress is this even supposed to mean? Do you think it’s fair to have people maintain a catalogue of your posts to cross-reference for a few minutes every time you post anything?

Navalnyi and his comrades still are supported here, just with a guarded enough attitude to hold mommy’s little Russian World explainer checked, as it would be a generous understatement to say that there may be a conflict of interests between, e.g., being friendly to Latvian statehood and being an organiser for the Russian March.

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin

cinci zoo sniper posted:

He’s an unabashed nationalist and imperialist.

1) Was an organiser for the Russian March
2) Co-founded NAROD with Zakhar loving Prilepin
3) Full support of the Russian position on Osettia, Abkhazia
4) “[Russia, Belarus, Ukraine…] are one nation”
5) “Putin is an enemy of the Russian World”

That's all from over a decade ago though and ignores the evolution of the person and what he did and said after, which is generic liberal policies as an alternative to and in the context of an increasingly authoritarian corrupt state. Nationalists and imperialists don't hide their poo poo views and actively try to signal them to attract similarly minded people. Navalny notably supported BLM even though it pissed off a lot of nationalists and liberals, because he understands solidarity with the oppressed class having enough no matter their race or ethnicity.

I

quote:

t’s more than damning enough.

Don’t get me wrong, he’d be a massive improvement for Russians (perhaps an especially massive improvement for ethnic Russians, but nevertheless). And he’d like be an improvement for everyone else too, as he would likely move the government on from mafia games. However, there’s a a lot of space between “good” and “better than Putin”.

Sure, he's no saint like everyone has their faults, Nemtsov was a cooler guy. I'm just arguing for disliking actually held beliefs he might have as a distinct politician and not a made up golem of beliefs of russian liberal nationalism

I think you're severely underestimating how much better minorities would have it in Russia if they could choose their own representatives and governors instead of getting them assigned from Moscow. I don't really get what in his electoral policies you see that puts Russians first? Genuinely would like to know

Somaen fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Dec 6, 2022

Der Kyhe
Jun 25, 2008

Well, he could try starting with one where randomly attacking neighboring countries every 5-10 years and annexing parts of them is strictly "a bad thing that needs to stop", not something you might do if internal politics show that it isn't too large dip in the percentages.

That sandwich quote is damning enough because he clearly does not rule out wars of aggression as a popularity boost, if he/someone in Russia cooks up a good enough excuse and there is an opportunity to do so. Exactly the same imperial poo poo Russia is already doing, and has been doing since 18th century.

Somaen
Nov 19, 2007

by vyelkin
He unequivocally condemned the war on Ukraine on the outbreak of it on 24th of February out of prison, does that count

Hannibal Rex
Feb 13, 2010
https://twitter.com/IlyaMatveev_/status/1600173490958524419?t=Z5bbmr23_7cf1uGf4NQ3Fg&s=19

i say swears online
Mar 4, 2005

Somaen posted:

He unequivocally condemned the war on Ukraine on the outbreak of it on 24th of February out of prison, does that count

last I checked he got mad about the mobilization draft and suggested the civil service should be rolled into the military or something

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FishBulbia
Dec 22, 2021


https://twitter.com/Alexey__Kovalev/status/1599456499759054848

Why are people doing this. Like what's the goal with this deception here?

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