We might be through the looking glass here...

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skeptical_in_Ohio

skeptical_in_Ohio

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Hi all-

I was reading an article this AM and somebody commented on Vladmir Putin and concealed carry laws in Russia. Intrigued, I Googled the phrase and found this article on Townhall.com (admittedly not a mainstream outlet, but not InfoWars, either).

It was discussing how Russia is now (well, actually as of November of last year) relaxing firearms ownership restrictions.

http://finance.townhall.com/columni...sia-adopts-concealed-carry-n1921915/page/full

The article is almost a year old but I did a search and didn't see mention of it on the site - if it is posted someplace and has been discussed my apologies and feel free to ignore this thread for that or any other reason :).
 
Firearms ownership in Russia is a lot more common place than a lot of us think. It has been against the law and we foolishly think that Russians follow the law. They don't. Lots of WW2 era guns that never got turned in. My wifes grandmother had a PPS-43 in the broom closet . Good to see that they are making steps to legalize firearms ownership so that the millions of people wjho own guns in Russia can keep doing it legally.
 
It's a step in the right direction, even if I suspect this move will benefit the friends of the Government more than it is applied to the adversaries of the Government. :) It also should be remembered that, without a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Russians will always be highly subject to the political whims of their Government. There is no notion of the RKBA as a natural right in Russia.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."
 
Funny ---
As certain politicians in America attempt to constrain our 2A rights ....
certain politicians in Russia attempt to loosen the gun rights of Russians ....:uhoh: I never thought I'd live to see this day.:(
 
Vladmir Putin ran the KGB and is the current Russian gang boss. Does whatever he wants. So do the assorted Russian gangs.
 
While Russia may be relaxing their laws concerning carrying for SD, how many folks will this really affect? Unlike most Americans, most Russian citizens do not enjoy the disposable income it takes to go out and outfit themselves to the hilt for CWC like so many Americans have done in the last decade. Since open carry is going to be a option, one would think it probably means those folks that at one time had the right to have a hunting firearm, may now carry that long gun for SD. I wonder how available to the general public in Russia handguns intended solely for SD/HD are and the subsequent relative cost of them. Being legal for all does not automatically mean being available to all. The high crime/murder rate in Russia is because of the hard economic conditions there. Making it legal to defend oneself by carrying a firearm during times like this is not helping those who cannot afford to buy a firearm.
 
Sunray said:
Vladmir Putin ran the KGB and is the current Russian gang boss. Does whatever he wants. So do the assorted Russian gangs.
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Putin was the equivalent to a Lieutenant Colonel in the KGB. He did not run the KGB. He's also the most popular elected leader in the history of post Soviet Russia and probably the most popular Russian leader in general since the Tsars . I lived in St Petersburg in the mid 90's when he was a minor official in the St Petersburg municipal government when the Mafia really did run the country. It was a lot like Chicago in the late 20's or early 30's with extortion , gang wars, bombings and such. Its nothing like that now. Putin became popular in his home country due large part to his crushing the Mafia bosses that came to prominence in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Going to St Petersburg or Moscow these days is like travelling to any other western capital. BTW don't bother quoting official statistics or anything like that when referring the Russian economy. They are all bogus and the Russian economy is amazingly self sufficient. No one , especially businesses, reports their true income because they have to pay taxes on what they report. Most wages are still paid under the table and money laundering to evade taxation is an art form in Russia. As the old adage in Russia goes "Only idiots pay taxes".

No one is going to carry a shotgun around for self defense. Guns are maybe not quite everywhere but they are pretty common compared to western Europe. Nothing like America though. Great hunting in Russia BTW. Huge country that is sparsely populated and most city folks stay there or in their dachas and seldom go into the wilderness. Lots of Caribou and Wolves to hunt and forget about that whole permit thing. Lots of good hunting for sportsmen and yes, its easy to buy hunting arms.
 
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It also should be remembered that, without a Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, the Russians will always be highly subject to the political whims of their Government. There is no notion of the RKBA as a natural right in Russia.
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Ya mean, kinda like the way our "betters" treat us? They do not follow or obey the Constitution, persecute any group they deem a threat, and try to squash any "potential threat"......................
 
I've always thought that some time when Bill Clinton was President space aliens swapped the brains of Russian and American leaders :)
 
Speaking of the Russian Mafia, here is a documentary made by a former Mafia member, interviewing various high level Russian Mafia leaders.

By their stories, they never had any problem getting guns whatsoever.

Although the dialogue is in Russian, there are English subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwB9q31Jkew

L.W.
 
Leanwolf said:
Speaking of the Russian Mafia, here is a documentary made by a former Mafia member, interviewing various high level Russian Mafia leaders.

By their stories, they never had any problem getting guns whatsoever.

Although the dialogue is in Russian, there are English subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwB9q31Jkew

L.W.
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Yeah, Its one of those places where you can get just about anything you want and the legalities arent anything anyone really cares about. Lots of decent hard working people to be sure but the criminal element is/was something that was ever present at least when I was there. Not so much the last time I visited. They always did their best to emulate the Italian Mafia too style wise. I could pick a gangster out of a crowd because they always had the black suit, black shirt, black tie thing going on. You don't hear about it much but the biggest mafia traded item after the Soviet Union imploded was real estate. If you had been living in an apartment in the city you were basically given it free and clear and some of those neighborhoods were like goldmines. Pensioners being shot in their apartment after signing their apartment over to the mafia was a common place occurrence. Whole apartment complexes blowing up in the night , extortion and protection rackets etc.
 
Yugorpk, thanks for that information. When I lived in Los Angeles, I had a number of friends who were in law enforcement. They talked about just how dangerous and merciless were the various Russian gangs in that area. Most of them came to L.A. and southern Calif., after the end of the Soviet Union.

L.W.
 
Leanwolf said:
Yugorpk, thanks for that information. When I lived in Los Angeles, I had a number of friends who were in law enforcement. They talked about just how dangerous and merciless were the various Russian gangs in that area. Most of them came to L.A. and southern Calif., after the end of the Soviet Union.

L.W.
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Funny thing is a lot of those mafia guys came over here as religious refugees. I had a few friends from Belarus who came over as religious refugees who kept a bible next to the door in case the INS guy showed up. Not that they had ever opened it.

The Bratva are an interesting crowd to be sure. Some are petty criminals but some of them are organizational and actual geniuses. Old school Mafia style with a pretty even split been Slavic and Jewish gangs. Great Tattoo's.

My wife is from good old Leningrad. She's got a friend who's father is one of those "businessmen" in St Petersburg. He's got a real nice full story apartment in St Petersburg about a block off the Gostiny Dvor on Nevsky Prospekt. Think Macy's off Times Square. Probably worth a cool $20 Million.
 
I posted this almost a year ago, November 19, 2014, 09:12 AM

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=766488

Russians can now carry guns for ‘self-defense’

In a surprise move. Russia now allows citizens to carry guns for self defense purposes. Places that are off limits will be places that serve alcohol, places where demonstrations and protests take place and educational institutions. Self defense weapons are described as pistols, revolvers, smooth bore long guns (I guess they mean shotguns), and even Tasers and teargas devices.

http://rt.com/news/206703-russia-guns-self-defense/

"Russian gun licenses are to be renewed every five years, and applicants face strict background checks and are required to take gun safety courses. The addendum to the law now lists self-defense as a legally acceptable reason for carrying a weapon. "
.
 
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