As a Russian, I agree with your many points against Russia, but I can't agree with the point about World War II. Russians are justly proud of their victory because the war was on their territory, they defended their country, and they won their war. It was their Great Patriotic War, and they lost more than 20 million soldiers and totally destroyed cities, not only Stalingrad. I remember Voronezh in 1946. Ruins, 95% of the city was destroyed. Russia is the Wrong Country, as I titled my memoir, because the Communist propaganda ruined the minds of the peoples of this huge country, and the country needs new generations to renew itself.
Yes, they point to the (very real) flaws of the west to get drunk on their own sense of victimhood, all the while inflicting tremendous harm on other nations.
And Russia eats this shit up. They rely on it. Russia’s propaganda game is strong and somehow done something no power has been able to, bring the American far left and far right together in both thinking Russia is based. The far right eats up the whole “sigma male vibe” (Russia even has a song out called “Sigma Boy) and the Russian Orthodox Church has been strong in recruiting members in red states. They like Putin and see Russia as this beacon of traditional and Christian values. The far left likes Russia because they’re ignorant tankies who think Stalin and the USSR was based, and because Russia represents the antithesis to NATO, it therefore must be a net positive.
Yes, I also think there is a genuine crisis of masculinity and culture, which Russia is expectedly exploiting. Like you said, it appeals to both sides: "antiimperialiasm" and "male centered nationalism". Both sides, left and right, are getting played.
On the minorities fighting and dying in Ukraine my take is that wasn’t the intention, but just the natural consequence of the strategy of buying cannon fodder with promises of huge pay and benefits, cause ethnic minorities in Russia, especially those in the periphery regions, are much poorer.
Most will not, but the watching eyes of the entire world are a sort of judgment. The Zionist project which has always subsisted on foreign approval is dead. It's unbelievable how this state and it's idiotic backers have singlehandedly managed to bring back antisemitism in such a way. They are playing with fire and are too stupid to see it.
Indiscriminate bombing of civilians and civilian infrastructure is what Russia does. They did it in Chechnya and Syria and are doing it again in Ukraine.
That's another huge issue. People (rightfully so) are disgusted by the genocide taking place before our eyes in Gaza. When future generations look back on this they will be disgusted and ashamed that we in the West enabled this. None of this excuses Russia for its history of violence and human rights abuses.
I have a personal vested interest because I lived in both Russia and Ukraine at different points.
My father is from Gaza and my girlfriend from Ukraine. I see both sides. I lived and grew up in Saudi Arabia, and I always hated authoritarian tendencies. The more I live, the more I see how the human brain is wired for propaganda. We just can't accept that much of what we hold to be true is just manufactured consent. The effect of disobedience is being an outcast and people don't want that. They would rather believe the lie.
My heart breaks for Gaza. I know platitudes mean very little at this point, but the naive part of me would like to believe some justice exists in this world and all the war criminals responsible for the genocide will be held accountable.
Wonderful article. It's bad to see many left leaning critical people not seeing the chauvinism, racism, and militarism they rightfully criticize in the west. It's like people always need a state to look up to. Bottomline is that all states are bad, some more than others.
Thank you for reading! Very well said. It's Russia's lack of introspection and critical thinking that enables it to mobilize its people to continually wage wars of aggression and feel a sense of entitlement to their neighboring lands.
I agree with you there, that Putin is the endgame of the Russian Soul.
However, I see it from the context that if given a real opportunity to continue the path or change should there be a power vacuum at the top, change will win out.
But unlike the fall of the Soviet state, NATO and the rest of the world have to actually try to influence culture with more than just commercialism to root out the deadly Nationalism that has blinded many people.
Denouncing the Russian state is one thing, but I think having no issues with Russians is a bit naive. Look at Russian support for Putin. Yes, you can't fully trust poll numbers, but rest assured that Russian support is very high. Just like a sickeningly large number of Israelis support the genocide in Gaza, a huge portion of the Russian populace supports the war effort.
It’s not naive to separate the war mongering authoritarian state from the people, conflating and generalizing the two leads to unnecessary hate.
It’s naive to think every soldier is a is there not only willingly but enthusiastically for the cause. Russia does not need a draft because their economy sucks and most men are given little to no option but to join if they aren’t the upper crust or already employed.
You also assume that because I have “no issues” with Russian people, or that I don’t like watching soldiers die by FPV drone strikes I’m naive? Buddy, I’m human.
I’m not on the side of Russia, but it’s not the people who are the problem, it’s the state and always has been since Stalin took power.
Have you spent any time in Russia? I’m not of the mind that “in order to have an opinion about a place, you must live or have lived there” but context helps. The majority of Russians support Putin. The majority support this war. Putin isn’t the cause of Russian aggression, he’s merely a symptom of centuries of Russian imperialism and aggression. He’s the logical endpoint of “Russian Soul”. So no, not all Russians are guilty, but they certainly made their bed.
We didn’t commit genocide on the scale that some have suggested. 90% of everyone who lived here was already dead before the first Europeans arrived on the mainland. Some govt forces (the Buffalo Soldiers, for example) did commit atrocities. Some of our troops tried and failed due to their own arrogance (George Custer). Treaties were also signed. Some tribes commited atrocities against other tribes before, and after (the Seminoles, for example, but you won’t find any information about what they did online) the Europeans arrived. Some tribes attacked Europeans who wanted a peace deal. Some tribes owned slaves on their reservations AFTER the Civil War ended (because they were here first and the US Govt made a agreement with them so they could do whatever they want and sell cigarettes to outsiders with no additional tax, plus have casinos). And some Natives just integrated and lived the same lives as everyone else. Some Natives helped us win WW2 with their language that Germany could not decode.
As a Russian, I agree with your many points against Russia, but I can't agree with the point about World War II. Russians are justly proud of their victory because the war was on their territory, they defended their country, and they won their war. It was their Great Patriotic War, and they lost more than 20 million soldiers and totally destroyed cities, not only Stalingrad. I remember Voronezh in 1946. Ruins, 95% of the city was destroyed. Russia is the Wrong Country, as I titled my memoir, because the Communist propaganda ruined the minds of the peoples of this huge country, and the country needs new generations to renew itself.
Yes, they point to the (very real) flaws of the west to get drunk on their own sense of victimhood, all the while inflicting tremendous harm on other nations.
And Russia eats this shit up. They rely on it. Russia’s propaganda game is strong and somehow done something no power has been able to, bring the American far left and far right together in both thinking Russia is based. The far right eats up the whole “sigma male vibe” (Russia even has a song out called “Sigma Boy) and the Russian Orthodox Church has been strong in recruiting members in red states. They like Putin and see Russia as this beacon of traditional and Christian values. The far left likes Russia because they’re ignorant tankies who think Stalin and the USSR was based, and because Russia represents the antithesis to NATO, it therefore must be a net positive.
Yes, I also think there is a genuine crisis of masculinity and culture, which Russia is expectedly exploiting. Like you said, it appeals to both sides: "antiimperialiasm" and "male centered nationalism". Both sides, left and right, are getting played.
“Russophobia” they like to call it…
On the minorities fighting and dying in Ukraine my take is that wasn’t the intention, but just the natural consequence of the strategy of buying cannon fodder with promises of huge pay and benefits, cause ethnic minorities in Russia, especially those in the periphery regions, are much poorer.
Even if not the intention, still plays into the Russian ethno-centric playbook.
Most will not, but the watching eyes of the entire world are a sort of judgment. The Zionist project which has always subsisted on foreign approval is dead. It's unbelievable how this state and it's idiotic backers have singlehandedly managed to bring back antisemitism in such a way. They are playing with fire and are too stupid to see it.
The cruel bombing of Syrian civilians by Russia has been forgotten. Only the US is an imperial power.
Indiscriminate bombing of civilians and civilian infrastructure is what Russia does. They did it in Chechnya and Syria and are doing it again in Ukraine.
The western supported carnage in Gaza is giving them perfect cover. This world is a jungle.
That's another huge issue. People (rightfully so) are disgusted by the genocide taking place before our eyes in Gaza. When future generations look back on this they will be disgusted and ashamed that we in the West enabled this. None of this excuses Russia for its history of violence and human rights abuses.
I have a personal vested interest because I lived in both Russia and Ukraine at different points.
My father is from Gaza and my girlfriend from Ukraine. I see both sides. I lived and grew up in Saudi Arabia, and I always hated authoritarian tendencies. The more I live, the more I see how the human brain is wired for propaganda. We just can't accept that much of what we hold to be true is just manufactured consent. The effect of disobedience is being an outcast and people don't want that. They would rather believe the lie.
My heart breaks for Gaza. I know platitudes mean very little at this point, but the naive part of me would like to believe some justice exists in this world and all the war criminals responsible for the genocide will be held accountable.
Wonderful article. It's bad to see many left leaning critical people not seeing the chauvinism, racism, and militarism they rightfully criticize in the west. It's like people always need a state to look up to. Bottomline is that all states are bad, some more than others.
Thank you for reading! Very well said. It's Russia's lack of introspection and critical thinking that enables it to mobilize its people to continually wage wars of aggression and feel a sense of entitlement to their neighboring lands.
I have no issues with Russians.
I do not like seeing Russian soldiers die via FPV drones.
I have no issue with the people who are cogs of war.
But Russia was part of the Axis, before any fighting took place, Russia liked what Germany, Italy, and Japan were selling.
The Russian State should be denounced by everyone.
I agree with you there, that Putin is the endgame of the Russian Soul.
However, I see it from the context that if given a real opportunity to continue the path or change should there be a power vacuum at the top, change will win out.
But unlike the fall of the Soviet state, NATO and the rest of the world have to actually try to influence culture with more than just commercialism to root out the deadly Nationalism that has blinded many people.
Denouncing the Russian state is one thing, but I think having no issues with Russians is a bit naive. Look at Russian support for Putin. Yes, you can't fully trust poll numbers, but rest assured that Russian support is very high. Just like a sickeningly large number of Israelis support the genocide in Gaza, a huge portion of the Russian populace supports the war effort.
It’s not naive to separate the war mongering authoritarian state from the people, conflating and generalizing the two leads to unnecessary hate.
It’s naive to think every soldier is a is there not only willingly but enthusiastically for the cause. Russia does not need a draft because their economy sucks and most men are given little to no option but to join if they aren’t the upper crust or already employed.
You also assume that because I have “no issues” with Russian people, or that I don’t like watching soldiers die by FPV drone strikes I’m naive? Buddy, I’m human.
I’m not on the side of Russia, but it’s not the people who are the problem, it’s the state and always has been since Stalin took power.
Have you spent any time in Russia? I’m not of the mind that “in order to have an opinion about a place, you must live or have lived there” but context helps. The majority of Russians support Putin. The majority support this war. Putin isn’t the cause of Russian aggression, he’s merely a symptom of centuries of Russian imperialism and aggression. He’s the logical endpoint of “Russian Soul”. So no, not all Russians are guilty, but they certainly made their bed.
We didn’t commit genocide on the scale that some have suggested. 90% of everyone who lived here was already dead before the first Europeans arrived on the mainland. Some govt forces (the Buffalo Soldiers, for example) did commit atrocities. Some of our troops tried and failed due to their own arrogance (George Custer). Treaties were also signed. Some tribes commited atrocities against other tribes before, and after (the Seminoles, for example, but you won’t find any information about what they did online) the Europeans arrived. Some tribes attacked Europeans who wanted a peace deal. Some tribes owned slaves on their reservations AFTER the Civil War ended (because they were here first and the US Govt made a agreement with them so they could do whatever they want and sell cigarettes to outsiders with no additional tax, plus have casinos). And some Natives just integrated and lived the same lives as everyone else. Some Natives helped us win WW2 with their language that Germany could not decode.