- cross-posted to:
- Ukraine@europe.pub
- cross-posted to:
- Ukraine@europe.pub
cross-posted from: https://europe.pub/post/1289229
Rule #1. Russia’s traditionalism makes it surprisingly predictable. If Russia surprises you, then you don’t know Russia.
Rule #2. If Russia promises to do something good, it will never do it. Consequence: a treaty with Russia is not worth the paper it is signed on.
Rule #3. If Russia promises not to do something bad, it will definitely do it. Consequence: Russia will do it the moment you decide it will not do it.
Rule #4. If Russia promises to do something bad, it will definitely do it. Consequence: Russia will do it at the most inopportune moment for itself.
Rule #5. If Russia accuses someone of meanness or a crime, then it has already committed it.
Rule #6. If Russia claims that someone is preparing meanness or a crime, then it is preparing them.
Rule #7. If Russia makes an official statement, it is a lie.
Rule #8. Russia does not understand the language of force, it understands only force. The consequence: ultimatums and negotiations with Russia are useless, because it perceives them as a sign of weakness.
Rule #9. If you are afraid of “provoking Russia to escalate”, then you are mistaken. Escalation has been planned by Russia for a long time and does not need an additional reason, pretext or provocation.
Rule #10. If you are still afraid of Russia, then you are doing it in vain. You simply do not know Russia.
Removed by mod
Like gulags?
Probably all countries have some far-right elements. Ukraine has some far-right people, Russia has some far-right people. But I think the main strand of nationalism in Ukraine at the moment is probably not “fascist”. I think they just want independence and sovereignty.
Ukraine and Russia are both pretty white I think, so if I was trying to pick the “white” side, then there would be no reason to support Ukraine over Russia, or Russia over Ukraine.
Can you point me to a country anywhere in history that could get through a world war, a revolution, a civil war, then another world war, all in the span of 30 years, all without ever putting people in prison? Also, any time people say something positive about the USA, do you pipe in and ask them how they feel about mass incarceration in the US, which has a far higher incarceration rate than the USSR did even in the worst parts of the purges? Or would that be whataboutism?
Quantity has a quality all of its own.
If all they wanted was independence and sovereignty, why do they keep putting black suns on their uniforms as they fire pork grease laced bullets at Chechen Muslim soldiers?
I’m glad you think that way, but whiteness is not about the color of their skin. Italians, the Irish, and the Spanish didn’t use to be considered white. Even Germans have been considered not white in the 19th century. The only group of people that is consistently considered white are the WASPs. Whiteness is a very fluid thing and the bounds of whiteness are really just defined by hegemonic narratives. The current hegemonic narrative in the West is that there’s a clash of civilizations, the West and the East, where the West is white-coded and the East is the Other.
Removed by mod
Removed by mod
I don’t know if that’s true about the rate, although I suppose it could be. In any case the gulags were very harsh right? I assume harsher than American prisons at the time. Anyway I’m not saying the USA is a perfect country. I was just questioning the idea that the USSR had “institutions for public wellbeing”. Maybe they had some but the USSR was known as pretty oppressive.
That map shows Germany as having monuments for Nazi collaborators, but I don’t think modern Germany is a Nazi state. It’s a pretty liberal country and they even outlawed Nazi symbols right?
I bet it’s just a minority of Ukrainian soldiers who have those. I think independence and sovereignty is all they want, and it definitely seems to be what they’re fighting for. Do you honestly believe they’re fighting for the right to put Jews in death camps? When their elected president is himself Jewish?
You can say that’s not the best conduct in war, but come on. I don’t think a pork-grease-laced bullet is the worst offence in the world, when Ukrainian civilians are being killed, and their children are being kidnapped by Russia. I think it’s fair to criticise Ukraine for the pork bullets if you want, but that doesn’t mean you should regard Ukraine as a Nazi regime - I really don’t think it is one.
Russia invaded Ukraine. That’s why many people in the West aren’t big fans of the Russian state at the moment. I don’t think it matters whether Russia is east of Europe, or west of Europe, or anywhere. Russia has seemingly taken other actions against western countries too, like assassinations within western countries (Alexander Litvinenko in London, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin).
Remember that the West used to collaborate closely with Russia in the G8. I think if any member of the G8 had invaded Ukraine, they would have been kicked out of the G8. I don’t think Russia has been criticised just because it’s Russia, or just because it’s in the east. Their government has been criticised for their actions.