Hi from... Russia!

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No, I'm not joking, prepare for the upcoming "Russian collusion" accusations :laugh:

Now, to begin the actual introduction on a serious note, I'm a Russian-American citizen who has been living the last 7 years in Russia, but who has grown up in Tacoma, WA. I'm heading back to Washington in a couple weeks, since I've landed a job in Seattle.
As I was quite the gun enthusiast before I left (I went back to Russia at age 23), I had an SKS, a WASR-10, an East German Makarov and a Browning HP knockoff (Hungarian? Turkish? Hell if I remember, it was a gift), that have been waiting for me in my father's hands since then.

When I come back, I'd like to start shooting again, and since I'm not the biggest fan of the GOP ever, I joined your forum, in order to find like-minded range buddies.

Have a nice day everyone, and please don't think I'm an RT-bot :mrgreen:

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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Welcome from Lexington KY
All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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:welcome:
You likely owned an FEG Hi-Power... Hungary.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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when the berlin wall and the iron curtain fell, boris yeltsin was in nominal charge and perestroika was the order of the day, it seemed briefly that russia had, for the first time in its history, certainly since 1917, a real chance at democracy. and then it became a wonderland of unrestrained capitalism and evangelism, much of it imported directly from the good ol' USA and the oligarchs rose to power, and i remember thinking, "well that was good, for a while". did russia really have a real chance to join with western europe and north america as a democratic republic, or was it all a pipe dream?
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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lurker wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:45 am when the berlin wall and the iron curtain fell, boris yeltsin was in nominal charge and perestroika was the order of the day, it seemed briefly that russia had, for the first time in its history, certainly since 1917, a real chance at democracy. and then it became a wonderland of unrestrained capitalism and evangelism, much of it imported directly from the good ol' USA and the oligarchs rose to power, and i remember thinking, "well that was good, for a while". did russia really have a real chance to join with western europe and north america as a democratic republic, or was it all a pipe dream?
It was a similar deal in Poland. Many people in the Solidarity movement (including Walesa) hoped the country would take a 'third path' (not Leninism, not capitalism) but most Poles just wanted to live like West Germans, so that was the end of that.
"When and if fascism comes to America... it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism'." - Halford Luccock
"Liberty without socialism is privilege and injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
— Mikhail Bakunin

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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Where in Russia are you currently living? On the "collusion" theme, or alternatively, is Putin sending you as an advance team to prepare us for next years Imperial visit? :whistle:
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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Not that many Hi Power clones in the world (certainly not as many as CZ-75's) so a Hungarian was a good guess. The FEG's are also very good pistols and apparently "spec-ed" to the originals since the barrels and other main components interchange w Browning Hi-powers. I have not tried to swap barrels and fire them myself but was told this by a professional (old-tymie) gunsmith who owned several Hi-Powers and clones over the years.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Hi from... Russia!

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Welcome to the Forum Badger16, and "Hello" from Las Vegas.

A Rooskie eh? I just finished watching "Dr. Strangelove" for the 53rd time. So I am very familiar with Russian thought!

I was in St. Petersburg two years ago. The food was great, and the Russian boys could drink like sailors. They might weave while they walk, but the did not hit the ground.

I hope you have a safe return to the USA and can quickly settle into a life of pyrotechnics and range time.

And ...
harriss

If you ever get to Las Vegas, NV, the high deserts of southern CA, or anywhere in northern Arizona send me a PM.
I live in Las Vegas about 50% of the time. I live on the Strip. Are you near Las Vegas? Ever go to the Green Valley Gun Range?
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Re: Hi from... Russia!

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:welcome: Howdy from Ballard!

Hope we can meet up to shoot in Issaquah soon. Your HP clone sounds like fun. I just sold all my centerfire auto pistols and am looking for something to replace them, but I have a small assortment of revolvers from .22 to .44, .22 autos, and a weird .357 Mag lever gun to bring to the party.

Another huge fan of Dr. Strangelove. Maybe tomorrow night I'll watch it again while loading 100 rounds of .38 Special.
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

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Re: Hi from... Russia!

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Once again, thanks! I'm right now visiting family in Saratov but I'm originally from Samara ; or Kuybishev, as it was still called back then.

And speaking of Russia becoming a Western style democracy, I'd say that it can, but certainly not in 1992. I mean, look at France : they had their revolution in 1789, drove out the king in 1792, and established a long lasting, functional democracy in... 1871. After the revolution, they a republic for less than ten years (and there was the Terror), then Napoleon, then a king again, then a more moderate king, then a republic again (for... 3 years), then Napoleon's nephew, then a left wing revolution, and only after all of that, they established the French republic we all know.

I think it may well be the same for Russia. Rushing things will only lead to a catastrophic outcome, like the 90s in Russia (which had, according to some estimates, a worse impact on Russia than Stalin's repressions). Even the USA could only be a republic from its first days because the British monarchy had had a parliament for a while already, and because of the pioneer mindset.

Interestingly enough, socialism in Russia was rushed in as well ; even in 1917, Lenin didn't think he'd see socialism in his lifetime, because in the Marxist vision of history, socialism could only happen after a phase of "bourgeois democracy" (or, as we call it, Western style democracy) in order to create an educated working class and a non-noble cultured class, but Russia pretty much jumped from a feudal system right into socialism, skipping the whole "western/bourgeois democracy" thing, and this was one of the reasons behind Stalin's actions (to whip Russia into becoming a developed country).

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