tteh !MemesToDNA joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 2 minutes later, 5 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,487
@1,236,478 (B)
The working languages are English and French, but the 'official languages' are English, French, Chinese, Russian (all because UNSC) and Spanish and Arabic.
Meta !Sober//iZs joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 2 minutes later, 7 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,499
@OP
Is Putin okay? Russians are acting weird: right after blowing up their own Nord Stream pipeline, and then drone attacking their own Kremlin, the Russians just blew up a dam that supplies water to Crimea.
Yeah sorry for the blurry pic, I was taking it from a car window. The big red writing says 'WAGNER' and beneath that, on all their posters, are variations of "Настоящая мужская работа", which means "A real man's job". Then there are 2 phone numbers, one for those with no military experience and one for those with experience.
A little further down the road is a billboard for the regular Russian army, I'll try and take a snap tomorrow. That one focuses more on financial benefits rather than Wagner, whose marketing strategy is based entirely on 'being a man'.
Anonymous D replied with this 2 years ago, 52 seconds later, 8 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,513
@1,236,511 (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U) > A little further down the road is a billboard for the regular Russian army, I'll try and take a snap tomorrow. That one focuses more on financial benefits rather than Wagner, whose marketing strategy is based entirely on 'being a man'.
That's not entirely true. The campaign has always primarily focused on duty to country. If you see that as the same as 'being a man', then I feel sorry for you.
> Why is it called "Wagner"? That sounds very Germanic.
It was the call sign of the group's neo-Nazi founder, Dmitry Utkin, who chose it because Wagner was Hitler's favourite composer. The group's slogan "kровь, честь, родина, отвага" (Blood, Honour. Homeland, Courage) is from a passage in Mein Kampf.
> > A little further down the road is a billboard for the regular Russian army, I'll try and take a snap tomorrow. That one focuses more on financial benefits rather than Wagner, whose marketing strategy is based entirely on 'being a man'. > That's not entirely true. The campaign has always primarily focused on duty to country. If you see that as the same as 'being a man', then I feel sorry for you.
> Thanks! If you're expected to perform military service, does it count if you join and 'serve' with Wagner?
I think first you'd have to join the regular army and then transfer. With that said I don't imagine it's come up. Nobody would avoid military service by joining Wagner, it would be like shooting yourself in the leg to get out of P.E class.
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 2 minutes later, 9 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,550
@previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
He's quite upset his love wasn't returned, it'd seem. (If indeed he's the person you're thinking of - I shan't comment.)
Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 1 hour later, 11 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,571
By the way here's an example of a recruitment poster that's been placed in every metro train carriage. I took this last week when I had business in the centre. You can see again the "Настоящая мужская работа" ('a real man's job') slogan.
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 27 minutes later, 12 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,572
@previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
Are they actually successfully recruiting people with these posyets, or are most of their new recruits prisoners and the like?
Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 21 minutes later, 12 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,573
@previous (Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU)
Successful, yes. An element of the 'Western narrative' regarding the state of the Russian army is that Russia is running low on men and supplies, but it simply isn't true. Soldiers are one thing it has in abundance. My wife's cousin has military experience and was mobilised last September but he still hasn't been deployed to Ukraine. He's home in Siberia going about his life and waiting on a call-up, which I strongly doubt will ever come. The official numbers of last year's "partial mobilisation" was 300,000, but I know for a fact it was closer to 800,000. Literally every person in my circle knew of at least 1 person who had been mobilised last autumn, and I live in the small town of Pushkin, one of the most 'exclusive' towns in Russia. Do the math for the entire country where most people don't live like Petersburg or Moscow people (i.e they're more prone to nationalism and Putinism).
Nobody responding to these ads and billboards is going to be sent to Ukraine next week or next month (the ads themselves say that). They're not needed there. This new recruitment drive is for the future, opportunistically seizing on a wave of 'patriotic' propagandised zeal.
tteh !MemesToDNA replied with this 2 years ago, 18 minutes later, 12 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,575
@previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
Is it fair to say it's trivial to evade being mobilised/called upon with the right connections, money, etc.?
Any instances of well-connected people being drafted, or their relatives/children? I'd have expected a number of "look, we're all in this together!" type situations. Curious if that's happening at all.
Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 4 minutes later, 13 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,580
@1,236,575 (tteh !MemesToDNA)
Yes, mobilisation can be fairly easily avoided in a number of ways. A doctor's note (easily bought) being the simplest. But I'll add the caveat that IF you don't have a valid reason for not turning up to the military office when the summons arrives, you'll face serious problems down the line. That's why if you really don't want to be mobilised, you need to make sure you have a completely 'genuine' optician's note saying you can't see for shit.
As for any glitterati being drafted, Dmitry Peskov's son (Peskov is the Kremlin spokesman) is in Wagner, but I don't know the circumstances of how or why that happened. Dunno about any others. My neighbour's husband has been in Donetsk since last May and they're pretty wealthy, so I don't think it's only the rural hoi polloi being drafted.
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 41 minutes later, 13 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,582
@1,236,573 (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
I don't see the western media (that I follow anyway) saying that they are running out of men. Anyone can look up the population of Russia and figure out that Russia has more military-age men than they've sent over to Ukraine so far. The reporting that I've read has said that both sides are running comparatively low on troops who are fully trained and have prior combat experience - not men in general. I was just curious because it's a lot more straightforward for the Russian military to mobilize men than it is for Wagner and I would assume that the Russian military would mobilize/draft the most capable men first, leaving slimmer pickings for Wagner.
I think probably they would get a lot fewer recruits if they mentioned your first deployment for Wagner would be to Bakhmut or the left bank of the Dnipro! Probably good to not bring that up in the poster. Save that for after the contract has been signed.
> I think probably they would get a lot fewer recruits if they mentioned your first deployment for Wagner would be to Bakhmut or the left bank of the Dnipro! Probably good to not bring that up in the poster. Save that for after the contract has been signed.
New recruits are not being sent to the front. They simply aren't.
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 20 minutes later, 14 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,585
@previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
They aren't presently or they won't ever be? I haven't joined a mercenary company recently but I imagine they'll send you where they need you most. Presently it may not be Ukraine but will that still be true in 3 or 6 months? I can't imagine Prigozhin is filming videos of him standing in front of 100+ dead Wagner mercs in a field yelling at the Russian MoD because things are going exceptionally well for Wagner fighters in Ukraine. Maybe new recruits will be sent to Syria or Africa or kept in reserve, etc. but it seems optimistic to think new recruits won't wind up in Ukraine at some point.
Aren't presently, as in without training. "Won't ever be" is ridiculous, what private military company paying 200,000 rubles a month operates on the principle that you won't ever be sent to fight?
Fake anon !ZkUt8arUCU replied with this 2 years ago, 24 minutes later, 15 hours after the original post[^][v]#1,236,593
@1,236,586 (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U) @previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
Sorry I misread, I thought you meant the people signing up today would not see combat in Ukraine as a condition of their employment after training. I agree (or at least sincerely hope) that they will be given training before being sent anywhere, Ukraine or otherwise. I guess we'll see in 6 months if that holds true!
Killer Lettuce🌹 !HonkUK.BIE joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 5 hours later, 3 days after the original post[^][v]#1,236,841
@previous (dw !p9hU6ckyqw)
Dave would be wasted as a soldier, he'd be much more useful in Russia's cyber warfare division. His classic "My my, looks like we've really riled you up :)))))" could absolutely devastate Ukrainian morale.
> Dave would be wasted as a soldier, he'd be much more useful in Russia's cyber warfare division. His classic "My my, looks like we've really riled you up :)))))" could absolutely devastate Ukrainian morale.
I'd prefer to use the TG persona for that. "LOL Zelenskiy getting FIST-FUCKED because of his SHITTY counter-offensive!!!"
dw !p9hU6ckyqw replied with this 2 years ago, 3 minutes later, 3 days after the original post[^][v]#1,236,920
@previous (Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U)
Ok well I still don't know why your so into personas or why you think the Dutch government is buying russian nickel en masse
Father Merrin !u5oFWxmY7U (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 10 minutes later, 3 days after the original post[^][v]#1,236,924
@previous (dw !p9hU6ckyqw)
I feel closer to you already.
I'm off for the night but I'll probably be around tomorrow. Until then keep your ear to the grindstone. You never know when life is gonna come at you with its pants down.