Sept 1- Thread by Kamil Galeev-Consumption Paradise

Zelenskiy welcomes EU suspension of visa facilitation process for Russia

"I think it is humiliating for Europe when it is considered as just one big boutique or restaurant. Europe is primarily a territory of values, not primitive consumption."

Dave Keating @DaveKeating

BREAKING: EU foreign ministers have just agreed to fully suspend the union's 2007 visa facilitation agreement with 🇷🇺#Russia, announces 🇪🇺foreign affairs chief @JosepBorrellF in Prague. He says Russians entering neighboring EU states present a "security risk"

Thread by Kamil Galeev- Consumption paradise

I’ve featured Kamil’s threads before. He offers food for thought on the visa ban issue and why it works, and on establishing ‘green corridors’ for military personnel that would like to leave the battlefield and Russia.

Personally, I don’t understand why there’s a debate on this issue. Putin and his war thugs have wrecked indescribable horrors on the Ukrainian population. Why are we appeasing Russian shoppers? Why are we so afraid of barring them from their aperitivo hour under the Sardinian sun?

Kamil Galeev @kamilkazani

It's the other way around Consumption paradise, including foreign travel, is a major basis of Putin's legitimacy: Consumption options stay = everything's alright Consumption options limited dramatically = something is wrong It's a correct message to the Russian public opinion

Any moral or humanitarian criticism of Putin is usually dismissed in Russia as демшиза (demshiza). Reasonable people support the regime and only a few schizophrenics stand against it. Healthy people are too busy with consumption, so only the mentally ill would do anything against.

Limiting tourism = limiting the consumption choices of the better-off population. It hurts those who have influence and whose voice may matter. It is sending them a signal that something may *not* be going right. Consumption choice has been limited and will be limited even more.

Once again. People are not stupid. They absolutely do have a mental model of how and where it is all going. Limiting their personal consumption choices has a massive impact upon their mental model. And it affects the mental model of pretty much everyone who matters in Russia.

Keeping the tourism open, you are sending a signal that everything is alright. Putin's critics are obviously mental. We were dumb to worry about the consumption decrease in February-March. Everything's alright, so don't panic and chill down. That's the signal of tourism going on.

Saying all of this, I find it very important to keep the door to *somewhere* open. This should not be necessarily the West. But keeping the door open for those who want to leave is crucial. And they should not be necessarily political activists. Any young person leaving is good.

Pavel Telitchenko, an IT entrepreneur, in the apartment in Riga, Latvia, where he settled his family after fleeing Russia. (Reinis Hofmanis for The Washington Post)

I also regret that no green corridor for Russian soldiers has been opened so far. The deal offered currently is:

1. Stay in Ukrainian prison till the end of the war;

2. Then return to Russia, where you'll be carefully vetted

It's a bad deal. That's why so few are surrendering.

Organising a green corridor to far away would be a great deal. Because it would give an option of not returning to Russia. "Somewhere" should not necessarily be the West. It would be also great idea to offer monetary compensations for the equipment/ weaponry destruction.

It doesn't mean that the Russian army will all run to surrender. But some will, which will impact the mutual trust. Besides, even 0,1% of active hustlers destroying equipment to earn money will have a major effect on morals. They're literally recruiting in prisons now.

Anders Östlund @andersostlund

The EU should just close the borders with Russia, with some humanitarian exceptions. Clearly the visa issue is making the Kremlin terrified as it connects nuclear terrorism with the visa issue. Russians need motivation to go into opposition, let's help them.