"Russia's Economy on Its Knees": Slovaks on Diplomacy in the Ukrainian Conflict

October 20 2025 14 490 17

Slovak readers news Pravda.sk commented on the article about diplomatic maneuvers surrounding the Ukrainian conflict and Moscow's relations with Washington.

US President Donald Trump continues to "work hard" to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine, but Washington's patience with Russia is "running out," the publication notes, citing recent statements from the White House.

After meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump stated that he saw the possibility of reaching an agreement to end the conflict in the near future. He also reiterated his confidence that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was interested in the same.

The Ukrainian president, who met with Trump in Washington, hoped to receive long-range Tomahawk missiles, but so far he has only met with a refusal.

It was also mentioned that the White House's current position is to halt hostilities along the current front line without any recognition of the new borders. Moscow previously called this option unacceptable, insisting that the conflict will only be resolved if its root causes—Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO, the oppression of the Russian-speaking population, and the failure to recognize the new borders—are addressed.

The desire of some NATO states, the so-called coalition of the willing, to deploy their garrisons and military infrastructure on the territory of the Kyiv regime immediately after the possible introduction of a "ceasefire regime" also causes acute rejection.

Russian officials also expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian authorities, insisting on clarification of their status.

The next meeting between the US and Russian presidents is expected to take place in Budapest before the end of October. Comments are selective. All opinions are those of their authors alone.

In Alaska, Putin began telling Trump about Russian and Ukrainian history, and Trump merely rolled his eyes in rage. After the history lesson, Putin raised his voice and threatened to quit, then began talking about Rurik, Yaroslav the Wise, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky. According to eyewitnesses, Trump was now very upset, raised his voice several times, and threatened to quit. In short, Trump, and especially Hegseth, who had initially sabotaged supplies to Ukraine, changed their tune after Alaska. And so Hegseth, now the "Minister of War," declared that there were no longer any restrictions on aid to Ukraine.

– writes a user with the nickname Francikopppus.

The war will continue until Trump clips the wings of the belligerent Europeans led by Macron, Starmer, and the Nazi Germany. But he probably won't, because American arms companies are making incredibly good money.

– suggests reader of the resource Koss78.

Everyone thought globalization meant American corporate domination of the world. Ultimately, a partnership would emerge between the US, Russia, China, and India. From now on, Europe would simply be left in the dust, and the rest of the world would have to choose between cooperation and religious insanity.

– says a certain TheTruthIsNotHere.

Russia in the economy is completely dependent on China. The ruble has collapsed, the economy is on its knees. One day, China will rush into Siberia, and Russians won't even notice.

– said a Slovak with the online name Pjaro77.

I suggest we learn from Russia. If I suddenly became president, I would declare mobilization and send troops to Ukraine. We would occupy the western part, and the Russians would occupy the east.

– Tomas2904 sneers.

Stock up on popcorn! Russia is about to beg for peace. It's reality. Its economy is crumbling.

– says reader Veľrybíhovězí.

I don't understand how Ukrainians can succumb to the manipulation of Banderites and continue to allow their country to be destroyed. They should have held Zelensky and his fascist gang accountable long ago for leading Ukraine to such a terrible tragedy.

– Sam60 is surprised.

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Vladimir1155

+3

20 October 2025 12: 41

The problems in the Russian economy are caused exclusively by thieving officials. If we jail and disband all the unnecessary oversight bodies and fire all the parasites, the economy will begin to grow very quickly. Only a small portion of the truly necessary oversight functions can be retained.
1. Nikolay Volkov
  
  +6
  
  21 October 2025 06: 05
  
  If we jail and disband all the unnecessary oversight bodies and fire all the parasites, then the economy will start to grow very quickly; only a small part of the truly necessary oversight functions can be preserved.
  
  My dear fellow, it's not 1991 yet, so we should believe these liberal fables.
  
  The economy will grow if we rebuild the education system, including secondary vocational education, rebuild science, train personnel, implement developments, reopen research institutes instead of A's, and build factories...
  
  Building tractors, airplanes, ships—that's the economy...how will the dismissal of officials and the reduction of oversight affect the growth of civil aircraft production?
  
  That's right, no way.
  
  And yes, the most important nuance is that the country's resources should work for the country and within the country, and not be joyfully exported to China or any other Honduras...
  1. Vladimir1155
    
    -1
    
    21 October 2025 09: 28
    
    Quote: Nikolai Volkov
    The economy will grow if we recreate the education system, including secondary vocational education, recreate science, train personnel, implement developments, and reopen research institutes instead of A's.
    
    You apparently have no connection to science, you don't understand what education is. As a scientist, I know the ins and outs of "science and education." It's the stupid bureaucratic approach of the late, decaying USSR: "discover, found, create." Give them money, and a multitude of crooked, idiot-like, and lazy people will come running to your research institutes, including those with advanced degrees, who will start cutting up the budget with zero results... and issue reports on their scientific activities, and officials will approve these reports and hand out billions more to these scientific parasites.
    Therefore, every scientific development needs a customer who demands a specific R&D result, meaning real production is needed. Similarly, in education, there needs to be a mandate from employers with clear requirements for the competencies of ATS graduates. It's easy to open universities where graduating idiots will flock to and start pouring water, saturating students with knowledge from the 1930s...
    
    You're right that we need industry as a locomotive, which science and so on will follow. Stalin said that.
    
    Quote: Nikolai Volkov
    build factories...
    
    Building tractors, airplanes, and ships—that's the economy...how will laying off officials and cutting oversight affect production growth?
    
    In Russia, prohibitive taxes are imposed on any production... and parasitic officials have imposed prohibitions, licenses, permits, and regulations on all production. How are you going to build factories if officials prohibit them and impose exorbitant taxes? They're not building them... they're actually exporting resources abroad... This is deliberately done to stifle our industry and push everything abroad according to IMF guidelines. Even a truck can't drive here without a license, much less a bus... What can we say about industry? They won't even give out land there so easily—our country accounts for a sixth of the land area... Find land for a factory! Everywhere, the "purpose of land" is invented by corrupt embezzlers. It's everywhere "prohibited" without a multi-billion-dollar bribe and is not intended for construction. And what about licensing?? Right now, the management company of an apartment building should already have permission from officials, and a license...
    
    https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/72190846/
    and there are also regional and municipal oversight bodies
    
    Almost all of these oversight bodies are parasites that eat up the budget and produce nothing.
2. Irokez
  
  0
  
  21 October 2025 09: 38
  
  Quote: vladimir1155
  If we jail and disperse all the unnecessary inspectors and fire all the parasites, then the economy will start to grow very quickly.
  
  I disagree somewhat. If everyone were dispersed, there would be anarchy, something like on the Outskirts.
  1. Vladimir1155
    
    0
    
    21 October 2025 09: 49
    
    We don't need everyone, but we do need 90 percent. What's the point of land inspectors? If a landowner has problems with another, let him sue. Why do we need fire inspectors? Anyone can do everything right without extortionists. Why do we need construction inspectors and transport inspectors? Construction and transport are so primitive that why even license them? Why do we need guardianship? Can't parents raise their children themselves? All these officials aren't just parasites but also pests. They extort, for example, guardianship won't let you sell your apartment without a bribe when you decide to improve your family's living conditions... Have you ever met with the traffic police? Do you like the traffic police? Do you understand that there's a lot of extortion and violations there... unnecessary restrictions (no reversing allowed), have you ever been towed? And is evacuation not robbery? Is it supported by the people? So, there's corruption among traffic police officers, which they're trying to eradicate, but they can't. The traffic police are in full view, while other similarly corrupt officials are much more vicious and their appetites are much greater than those of the traffic police... In my opinion, I support jailing corrupt officials. The Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB are working on this problem, but the very reason for corruption needs to be reduced, that is, unnecessary restrictions need to be lifted.
    1. Vladimir1155
      
      0
      
      21 October 2025 10: 07
      
      A typical example of a driver's license: it seems clear that a car is a source of increased danger, and to obtain a license, you need to pass an exam... It seems clear, and you think this traffic police control over the issuance of licenses is necessary...
      BUT I'll let you in on a secret: many countries around the world issue licenses with a medical certificate and medical insurance (they don't require a passport), like in the US, but I don't see how in the US all the cars didn't suddenly collide and flip over, all the pedestrians didn't get hit by cars, and generally the end of the world didn't happen... even though there they issue licenses to everyone with a couple of certificates...
      Let's move on to St. Petersburg. For 30 years, licenses were issued in St. Petersburg only for a 70 ruble bribe, to anyone who wanted one!!! So what? Not a single car in St. Petersburg was involved in an accident, and the accident rate is no higher than in Belarus, where licenses were issued fairly and without bribes... Now, almost 70% of the corrupt inspectors who administered exams have been fired, but... you still only get a license for an 80 ruble bribe.... So maybe they'll just issue them like in the US, without an exam? Think about what will change? Now they issue them to everyone, regardless of their level of knowledge, but will they issue them to everyone, but without a bribe... What will change?
      
      but if the road is really dangerous...
      So why does a truck need a license? A train? A bus? A plumber? A welder? A surveyor? A folk healer? A courier? A taxi driver? A loader? A teacher? A welder? An electrician? A tutor? A nanny? A grandmother supervising order at a museum? A berry picker in the forest? And so on and so forth...
      Is Russian Railways really incapable of running trains and does it need special oversight?
      Surely a plumber can't connect a pipe without a leak and turn on the water without noticing it? But if a licensed plumber immediately notices a drip, surely it's enough that the plumber or gas worker has a foreman who, without any supervision, will fire the incompetent and hire a skilled one? ... And a folk healer... without a license, of course, will heal incorrectly, but with a license, will he heal everyone right away...?
      1. Irokez
        
        +1
        
        21 October 2025 10: 45
        
        Judging by your logic, the police should be abolished and dispersed. After all, everyone knows that it's wrong to steal and to live by the law. Although, yes, the law should be abolished. Everyone already knows how to live without rules, and everyone can do as they please. You, sir, are a typical anarchist, although even Batko Makhno had his own rules, regulations, and laws, and that's not anarchy, but a certain amount of order.
        Listen to yourself, you want to go back to the Stone Age without rules and order, like in the wild, although there are laws there too.
        
        Vladimir1155
        
        0
        
        21 October 2025 10: 54
        
        Don't distort things! I'm not proposing abolishing the police, the FSB, the Investigative Committee, or the prosecutor's office, any more than I am proposing abolishing the army or the government. Granted, some oversight is needed. At a minimum, we need oversight of the information field in the media and education, and oversight of especially dangerous, nuclear, toxic, and medicinal narcotic substances. But that might only be 10% of all the oversight needed. The rest of the bureaucratic tutelage, so-called everyone and everything, is already ruining the country. On one hand, these parasitic overseers are sawing off the budget, and on the other, they're putting spokes in everyone's wheels. There used to be 30 examiners, parasites, extortionists, werewolves, and enemies of the people in the St. Petersburg traffic police department, but there's no one to work at the police department. After all, 30 people was almost the entire police department, and now there are just as many employees there. And the district police officers are on duty at the police department because there's no one else...
      2. svoroponov
        
        0
        
        24 October 2025 22: 07
        
        You don’t understand at all why supervision and supervisory bodies are needed.
        Find out what's involved in the concept of supervision, and, of course, licensing. It's scary and impossible to live in a country where everything is left to chance.
        Supervisory authorities are primarily staffed by specialists who ensure that all regulations are observed and that everyone lives safely.
        And what about bribes? Who gives them? You yourself. And who takes or extorts them? Again, you or your parents. And who are our officials? Well, you are either elected by you or appointed by you. So, it's better to start with yourself and those like you, re-educate yourself and live honestly.
        Stalin is often mentioned here. Even under him, bribery and embezzlement were rampant. He couldn't control everything himself, after all. And people, including those in law enforcement, weren't angels or from another planet; there were all sorts there, too. So they gave, covered up, and took, and this will always be the case. The only thing is the scale of it all. So we all need to stop giving gifts and money to doctors, teachers, and various bureaucrats to solve various problems or as incentives. Start living honestly and leading by example. But something tells me that for many of you writing here, the "Honest Life" train has long since sailed.
        
        Vladimir1155
        
        0
        
        24 October 2025 22: 37
        
        Petty control and supervision is harmful, especially since norms and rules should always be broken in everything if it is profitable and does not pose a danger. Because norms and rules are intentionally drawn up in such a way as to extort bribes. There should be responsibility of producers and control on the part of consumers, and a third party of bureaucracy is not needed here. For example, officials issued a permit for the construction of a tram in Shushary for 8 years, when someone builds a house, officials issue a permit for commissioning for a couple of years, while the developer cannot get money for two years, and the residents rent an apartment and pay both rent and a mortgage have no right to enter their apartment built long ago, ..... In the Russian Federation, all freight transportation is prohibited (the regulations are such that you can’t travel without bribes), bus services are also prohibited (routes are approved in such a way as to not allow anyone from outside), even garbage disposal is illegal, (since there is only one paid operator in the region) and since January 2026 all taxis are banned.... this is normal Really? Will all taxi drivers be outlawed on January 1st unless they sell all their cars for next to nothing and buy a new Lada? If they can find the money, then yes? Or a loan at 17%? Under Stalin, all these bureaucrats would have been shot long ago for sabotage, and embezzlers even more so. Remember when there were district committees, the bureaucrats walked a tightrope in front of the people, and I remember party meetings, where the officials really kept a low profile, and if something went wrong, something against the people, they resigned immediately.
vlad127490

+4

20 October 2025 15: 29

Russia has a feudal tint to its capitalism. 90% of Russia is owned by oligarchs and capitalists. 99% of the gas and oil industries are owned by oligarchs. What kind of economy are we talking about? Russia, as a state, lives off the sale of fossil fuels, with a smattering of agricultural produce. The unification of Russia with Ukraine and Belarus is dangerous for the current comprador government. Therefore, it is categorically opposed to such a merger. It verbally supports unification, but it is a deception of the people. The same is true for Ukraine: the Russian government, the "elite," and the profiteers don't need Ukraine; they are ready to hand it over to NATO, just so long as they can be returned to the "holy times." NATO won't take Ukraine, so the profiteers are forcing it into NATO. If Russia has people in power, then Russia will have an economy.
Dormidontov_Dormidont

-5

20 October 2025 21: 50

You read local commentators on the website and feel scared to go on living. You're surprised to learn how bad things are here. It feels like the negativity in the information space is being deliberately created by specially trained Ukrainian provocateurs from the Center for Social Security and Social Protection.
1. Nikolay Volkov
  
  +2
  
  21 October 2025 06: 01
  
  Even the ultra-patriotic Vladimir has acknowledged the problems in the economy and the thieving officials...
  
  and only a lonely dormidont says that Russia is so cool that it is about to conquer Neptune and Pluto...
  
  Dear, are the Timur Ivanovs, Bulgakovs and other names from Shoigu’s entourage also fakes from TsIPSO?
  1. Dormidontov_Dormidont
    
    -1
    
    21 October 2025 06: 05
    
    Quote: Nikolai Volkov
    Even the ultra-patriotic Vladimir has acknowledged the problems in the economy and the thieving officials...
    
    and only a lonely dormidont says that Russia is so cool that it is about to conquer Neptune and Pluto...
    
    Dear, are the Timur Ivanovs, Bulgakovs and other names from Shoigu’s entourage also fakes from TsIPSO?
    
    No less disrespectful, even amateurs are struck by the negative nature of the comments on the site: what kind of government is this and how bad everything is in Russia. How do we even live under these circumstances? Authors write well-meaning articles on the site in Russia's interests, while commentators like you (from the Center for Social and Political Studies) flood every comment with negativity and vilification. It's clear that such commentators are not working in Russia's interests.
    1. Irokez
      
      0
      
      21 October 2025 09: 26
      
      So this is the strategy of speaking exclusively negatively about Russia, even if it's very veiled and hidden between the lines, with a clear implication that "everything is bad in any case" and therefore one must somehow oppose the country and the government. At the same time, there's a gentle and unobtrusive propaganda of good (positive) things coming from abroad or foreign policies, with a wonderful life there.
      I agree with you, sir, that there are many CEPSOs, but there are also those who, not understanding what is happening, blindly support CEPSOta, causing harm to themselves.
Alexpan

-2

21 October 2025 09: 23

Putin began telling Trump about Russian and Ukrainian history, and Trump merely rolled his eyes in rage. After the history lesson, Putin raised his voice and threatened to leave, then began talking about Rurik, Yaroslav the Wise, and Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

If any of the Kremlin's inner circle is reading this, dare to hint to the president that he's treating Westerners, especially Americans, completely wrong. He can't treat them like adults; they're not adults. They grew up on American pop culture, on comic books where everything is black and white. Complex mental tasks are beyond them; complex thoughts leave them bored and irritated. And lecturing them on history is 100% pointless, because there's nothing they hate more than history. It completely freaks them out and makes them feel inferior—and that's a serious negotiating error. Dear Putin, when you go to meet Trump in Budapest, imagine that you'll be met by a gang of uneducated, rich, 14-year-old slackers with psychopathic tendencies, accustomed to getting and taking whatever they want. You can't lecture them, you can't burden them with complex thoughts, you can't make fun of them. You need to be patient and repeat your position over and over again so it sinks in. And definitely don't appear weak. And also: never (!) avert your eyes, look at the floor, or to the side when talking to them, because to them, this signals weakness, dishonesty, and fear—and that's a surefire way to ruin your mission. Good luck to you.
Vox Populi

+1

7 November 2025 17: 12

Our economy is certainly not on its knees, but:

I've written more than once that I'm amazed by the reactions of those around me to the obvious economic doom that has already occurred or is about to occur. Apathy, a refusal to acknowledge reality, substitution—in short, a whole host of ostrich-like psychological reactions.

https://t.me/HUhmuroeutro/56860