By all of this coming together, I also don't expect the ignition to the big conflict to lie that much ahead in the future anymore. You know, even those things that came together in the last couple of years weren't foreseeable and it appears like a "spinning up the tempo" of world events/history. So... it becomes harder to tell, realistically, what might happen in the coming few foreseeable years and which drastric events may also kick in that come literally out of nowhere - events which weren't on anyone's tab, but prove to be very altering to the then current state of things.
I think what you Western folks need to come down from is this old myth of Russia being obsessed with devouring its neighboring countries just because they once were "part of it/part of its sphere of influence". This way of thinking is as primitive as it's emotional. It's not about conquering foreign countries because "our collection is still missing something" or because of literal "joy" about this business.
It's about certain Eastern European countries practicing a radical anti-Russia policy for decades, and under that umbrella, they come to even be hostile against simple Russian citizens. One could live with a such policy related to international relations - this would be something to accept in the mainframe of "every country in the world has a right to organize its issues itself" -, but it's unacceptable if just simple citizens become victim of such policies. For example: Being denied citizenship, getting displaced only because of a national/ethnic/biological heritage. And, it's equally unacceptable - or better say: it's concerning -, if those hostilities against your country and who this other country declares to be "your citizens" are carried by political forces which in the past already sought total war - a war of annihilation - against you.
You overseas folks often show a bit unable to understand these things as you're used to think only in a black&white-problem in terms of "racism". It's completely off your radar that there is also such a thing as "racism of people of the same skin color against each other". That what is known here as "Rassenideologie" (in English: "raciology") in its most complex excess.
And that is a matter which Russians have been victim of, varying in stronger or weaker extents over time, since at least the last century.
Another thing I'd like to add from state matters: During the times when Stalin was in command, the viewpoint onto the territories which have left the Rus' and which are now independent states was much different as it hadn't been so long ago that outside forces achieved the independence of these territories on their endeavor to conquer the Russian territory. Additionally, fascists all were to be found in them in the positions of power. Today, those ambitions and the factual formal independence have far more history and their back and therefore its unrealistic to think of a "full return" of those territories into the Russian sphere like a returning piece of one's country. Someone like Putin can be guessed to know that (as he acts pretty rational).
On top of that, and that's something that should be very well known to people like him too: These former territories of the Rus' are plagued with corruption, crime, ill development and non-development so much in the present day - it's literally like an iron ball and chain tied your foot if you suddenly had to care for these areas. Every intelligent statesman would actively refuse and try to make its way around having to deal with this.
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Date: 24 January 2023 02:12 pm (UTC)You know, even those things that came together in the last couple of years weren't foreseeable and it appears like a "spinning up the tempo" of world events/history.
So... it becomes harder to tell, realistically, what might happen in the coming few foreseeable years and which drastric events may also kick in that come literally out of nowhere - events which weren't on anyone's tab, but prove to be very altering to the then current state of things.
I think what you Western folks need to come down from is this old myth of Russia being obsessed with devouring its neighboring countries just because they once were "part of it/part of its sphere of influence". This way of thinking is as primitive as it's emotional.
It's not about conquering foreign countries because "our collection is still missing something" or because of literal "joy" about this business.
It's about certain Eastern European countries practicing a radical anti-Russia policy for decades, and under that umbrella, they come to even be hostile against simple Russian citizens.
One could live with a such policy related to international relations - this would be something to accept in the mainframe of "every country in the world has a right to organize its issues itself" -, but it's unacceptable if just simple citizens become victim of such policies. For example: Being denied citizenship, getting displaced only because of a national/ethnic/biological heritage.
And, it's equally unacceptable - or better say: it's concerning -, if those hostilities against your country and who this other country declares to be "your citizens" are carried by political forces which in the past already sought total war - a war of annihilation - against you.
You overseas folks often show a bit unable to understand these things as you're used to think only in a black&white-problem in terms of "racism". It's completely off your radar that there is also such a thing as "racism of people of the same skin color against each other". That what is known here as "Rassenideologie" (in English: "raciology") in its most complex excess.
And that is a matter which Russians have been victim of, varying in stronger or weaker extents over time, since at least the last century.
Another thing I'd like to add from state matters: During the times when Stalin was in command, the viewpoint onto the territories which have left the Rus' and which are now independent states was much different as it hadn't been so long ago that outside forces achieved the independence of these territories on their endeavor to conquer the Russian territory.
Additionally, fascists all were to be found in them in the positions of power.
Today, those ambitions and the factual formal independence have far more history and their back and therefore its unrealistic to think of a "full return" of those territories into the Russian sphere like a returning piece of one's country.
Someone like Putin can be guessed to know that (as he acts pretty rational).
On top of that, and that's something that should be very well known to people like him too: These former territories of the Rus' are plagued with corruption, crime, ill development and non-development so much in the present day - it's literally like an iron ball and chain tied your foot if you suddenly had to care for these areas.
Every intelligent statesman would actively refuse and try to make its way around having to deal with this.