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Originally Posted by colebatch
Not sure I can agree it is "interesting" in any meaningful way. How is that different from us? How many Londoners fought in Iraq and Afghanistan? They come from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, Cornwall, Lancs ... the poorer regions. And the US military? Massively overweight in ethnic minorities from lower socio economic groups. So how are the Russians different in any interesting way? Its naturally socially and economically more attractive for people in less developed regions / groups to join the military - in any country
I would similarly be pretty sure that very few of the regular enlisted men in the Peoples Liberation Army come from Shanghai or Beijing as well. Thats just natural forces at play. There are far more attractive economic opportunities available to kids growing up in big cities, that applies equally to whether or not they are British, Russian, Chinese, American or French.
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It's been exactly like that since long before Iraq or Afghanistan too. The WW1 and WW2 war memorials in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and N Ireland tell their own story. One example of many that was close to my former home: https://www.yorkshire-guide.co.uk/ni...-memorial.aspx
A personal anecdote: My father gave up a marine diesel engineer apprenticeship in a ship yard on the River Clyde in Glasgow in the 1950s because the writing was on the wall: He signed up for 22 years in the British Army instead.
If it wasn't for the Nips
Being so good at building ships
The yards would still be open on the Clyde
(From The Post War Dream by Pink Floyd)
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