Interesting history piece, but clearly a big mixup with on one hand an entity called "Russia", that apparently fears the West, which is not true at all, the average Russian is well informed of the West and particularly the US being a lot more focussed on rising China.
On the other hand there was indeed a real worry that the economic and political freedom of the West was an existential threat, but only to the kleptocratic rulers, that somehow in this article are named..."Russia"...
But just as WW2 started in 1937 but didn't really kick off until 1941, the main bouts of this one, The West vs the BRICS, won't be for another few months yet. (Say end 2024, beginning of 2025)
I would ask Putin, or anyone in such a position, would you throw away the lives of Russians living abroad, or people whose flesh and blood contains traces of Russian soil, to win a war? Wealth, power, control... you can't take them with you. Who will visit Russia and appreciate it's history and perspective when there are no others? The science and philosophy of all so-called nations have achieved so much in so little time. Is it really foolish to think that wars must be perpetually faught to aid progress and provide meaning and context to our individual and collective lives? Look out into the cosmos and tell me there isn't more greatness to achieve by settling (or celebrating) differences, putting our affairs in order, and seeing what humanity is truly made of. But, yknow, I'm just one dumb fellow with an internet connection. What do I know?
What I think is important to understand about world leaders, business executives, etc. is that these are mentally ill people. To them wealth and power are like pizza to an obese person.
Obviously there are shades of gray, but just seeking these positions hints at their psychology.
Are you insane, talking like that to this kind of person? Of course he would. He was killing people since his work in KGB, where he most likely worked with Red Army Faction, he was facilitating cocaine trade through Saint Petersburg port in 1990s and worked with most bloody and violent crime families of the city.
Russians dying in this war might have been one of his direct goals, as this cements Ukrainians as enemies and bolsters how legitimacy.
It's worth remembering Putin's been quite happy to conduct this war through 'meat assaults', frittering away the lives of hundreds of thousands of his citizens, though Russia already faced a serious demographic crisis. It seems unlikely he'd place the same value on human life as a decent person like you.
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