Putin has always been more concerned about the loss of control over Russiaâs perceived sphere of influence than about a NATO threat to Russia. Putinâs actual issue with NATO and the West has been that they offered an alternative path to countries that Putin thought fell in Russiaâs self-declared sphere of influence. The âcolor revolutionsâ that so alarmed Putin were, after all, the manifestations of those countries daring to choose the West, or, rather the way of life, governance and values the West represented, over Moscow.
...Putin had effectively blocked Ukrainian accession to the alliance by the time he launched his full-scale invasionâ clear evidence that Russian fears of imminent Ukrainian NATO membership did not drive the invasion.
'Russia is wrapped in a heavy, impenetrable cocoon, a cocoon of silence. How many crimes the Putin dictatorship has committed, how many foreign cities it has seized and devastated, how many killings and tortures it has meted out, and the response to all these outrages is a deafening silence.
Many prefer not to know what is happening, to close their eyes and stop listening. Many deceive themselves, wishing to be deceived - after all it is so easy to believe blindly what the television says, even if it is broadcasting the most monstrous lies.
But many know perfectly well what this vile regime is doing. They endure the burden of their dissent, their outrage, their anger. And all the same, they are silent.
Just as any crime is committed with somebody's tacit consent, so any dictatorship is maintained thanks to the people's silence. A colossus with feet of clay will be worthless if all the dissenters speak out.
But they are silent.
One person thinks that everything has been decided, and that there is no reason for them, a minor figure, to get mixed up in this. Another hopes that others will say everything - but those others also find excuses to remain silent.
The real reason for this silence is human fear, visceral fear. No dictatorship can make everyone believe in it - therefore it constantly resorts to fear, its first and last instrument for subjugating the people.
Germans in the era of Hitler obediently shouted 'Heil,' understanding the consequences of disobedience; Soviet people in the era of Stalin were afraid to whisper in their own kitchens for fear of being denounced. The steamroller of repression doesn't need to crush every dissenter, just a few demonstrative examples, and the rest will gag their own mouths.
The absurdity of Putinist repression has reached such heights that any trifle can become a pretext for persecution - and no one knows what one can say. The criminal in the Kremlin is satisfied; that's exactly what he needs. As long as everyone is silent, his own skin will be safe.
That is precisely why one cannot stay silent. No, human fear is understandable: it is very difficult to risk one's position, one's future, one's freedom. To say nothing of the fact that many have families - for these people, the fear is doubled. But will it be easier for these families to live under a dictatorship, under tightening screws, behind an iron curtain?
A dictatorship can continue to wreak its atrocities, its lawlessness, as long as it feels strength and power. Nothing will change as long as everyone remains submissively silent.
So perhaps the time has come to start speaking?
Everyone who can speak, must speak. The individuals who dared to speak up are now too few to move anything. Everyone must speak, who does not agree with the Moscow regime. Individuals can easily be put behind bars for their words, because they are individuals. But there are not enough prisons for everyone, for all the dissenters in Russia. Even if the regime builds just as many especially for them.
When, having overcome fear, everyone begins to speak out, it will time for Putin's gang to be afraid.
No evil lasts for ever, any dictatorship will inevitably collapse. It can collapse of its own weight, like the USSR, or thanks to the uprising of the people.
Don't let this dictatorship live any longer than it can. Speak out, people!
Yeah, Russia wants to expand the regional conflict it started into world war. Suck it up Putin, if you are going to invade another country, you have to expect them to defend themselves and friendly nations absolutely have the right to help them fight your aggression.
oh gosh, silly me. You're quite right. The Russians are absolutely the most freedom-loving nation in all of Europe. They'd never do anything to hurt their neighbors now, would they?
I mean apart from deporting a few million Poles to Siberia, razing neighbouring capitals to the ground, you know, the usual acts of neighbourly love and acceptance.
oh gosh, silly me. You're quite right. The Russians are absolutely the most freedom-loving nation in all of Europe. They'd never do anything to hurt their neighbors now, would they?
I mean apart from deporting a few million Poles to Siberia, razing neighbouring capitals to the ground, you know, the usual acts of neighbourly love and acceptance.
So, back to Crimea, the US ships missiles to Ukraine, which Ukraine uses to shoot the occupied territory of Ukraine, i.e. its OWN country, which get intercepted by Russian flak, which falls on the heads of Russian holidaymakers, who shouldn't be there anyway, cos it's not their goddam country. Sure big bad USA. It's all their fault. Of course it is.
