A while ago a Russian friend of mine in Sakhalin asked what people in the West were saying about Russia. I told him that most people really couldn’t care less about Russia or what it is doing. The average Brit or American cares as much about Russia as they do the sale that’s on at the bread-counter of their local supermarket. The Cold War ended some time ago and the widespread interest in Russia disappeared. It is only those who follow geopolitics that care a jot about what Russia is doing and why, nobody else cares. This is probably something that drives Putin nuts.
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Samizdata quote of the dayNovember 2nd, 2016 |
 9 comments to Samizdata quote of the day |
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Emotionally, it may annoy Putin; he wants Russia to be big in world perception the way it was when he was a KGB agent. Rationally, it may suit him; he can achieve more if the “reset with Russia” is not itself reset by popular pressure. The less the public care about Russia, the less he’ll be impeded. His rational mind would not want the Ukraine to be the first topic of every western conversation however much his feelings would be gratified by Russia being again of world-wide concern.
I’m actually more worried about the US getting involved and accidentally starting a hot war with Russia. One nation or another has been “bombing the shit out of anything that moves” in the Middle East for my entire life, rather the Russians than us but when they start bombing the shit out of slightly different things in more or less the same area…
That doesn’t seem accurate, given that a particular presidential candidate is aching for war with Russia and sees the work of Putin everywhere she looks. And her supporters are eating it up.
Does “Vlad the Impala” suffer from attention deficit syndrome?
It’s a bit like The Monty Python “Oscar Wilde” sketch.
Or does he, having the background that he does, thoroughly enjoy messing with the (often empty) heads of the western politico / media class?
Why not just tell Russian acquaintances, “We are all in fear of mighty Russia”, and let Putin’s ego be sated? Then, no doubt, he’ll quietly retire from International Politics, resign from the Presidency, and take up cucumber-raising in a country dacha.
A reified “Russia” is exposing Slithery’s corruption, collusion, conspiracy, lies, theft, dishonesty, treason, purgery, contempt of congress, felonies, and other high crimes of state. Therefore, “Russia” is the bad guy…or so the narrative goes.
Has anyone else noticed that she isn’t saying those emails are fraudulent, but rather stolen?
WhOOps.
At the start of the 19th century the Middle East was less developed (and less populated) than it had been under the Emperor Maurice at the start of the 7th century.
You are correct that the Middle East has been a war torn area for many centuries (do not tell the BBC that – they think it was peaceful before the 20th century).
Western medicine and do on have led to a massive increase in population – an astonishing increase in population.
What were villages (or did not exist at all) are now vast urban centres.
And oil money has also changed things – for example there were open slave auctions in Arabia up to the mid 1960s (is it still legal to point this out?).
Now we all have to pretend the Middle East is a naturally peaceful place – if only some nasty person does not mess it up.
Not that I like Mr Putin – most certainly not, the man is a monster (especially to Russia – although most Russians are kept in the dark about what he does)
But the Middle East would still be a mess – even if he did nothing.
I wish, for the sake of Russia and the world, that Mr Putin has not allied with the Islamic Republic of Iran (and with the People’s Republic of China).
But he has.
We did not force him to – on the contrary the West desperately tried to make friends with Mr Putin.
He hates us because he hates us, see how RT (Russia Today) presents the West and has done for many years.
He does not hate us, Paul, but he loves power, and he is doing all he can to stay there, by the most cynical means if necessary. There is nothing personal or ideological in what Putin does.
I imagine the same was true with most Soviet post-WWII leaders.