There's a certain amount of schadenfreude in Putin's rund-down of his version of Russian/US (and EU) interactions in the post-Soviet and especially the post-Jeltsin era:
Putin is fully in the know when it comes the plan launched during the dismantling of the USSR: turn new Russia into a modern equivalent of what the old colonial states in…
There's a certain amount of schadenfreude in Putin's rund-down of his version of Russian/US (and EU) interactions in the post-Soviet and especially the post-Jeltsin era:
Putin is fully in the know when it comes the plan launched during the dismantling of the USSR: turn new Russia into a modern equivalent of what the old colonial states in Africa were used for. Resource extraction where all real tangible assets and resources are owned and controlled by London and Washington.
Remember, Putin didn't become "mad, bad and dangerous to know" in western media until he finally stopped the take-over by US/British oil&gas corporations of Russia's resources. And since Russia is neither Mesopotamia (Irak) nor Iran, the usual tactics employed by Shell, BP, and their correspondent nation-state enforcers couldn't be brought to bear in full until a proxy front had been created in the Ukraine.
You know, that's both absolutely obvious and an immensely keen observation--I'd merely add that 'everyone knows', and the main reason for esp. the Europeans not saying anything isn't just the agit-prop angle, the decades of brainwashing, or the many academic textbooks that are 'incomplete' or wrong.
There's two issues here, I think:
1) How long would any European politician last in office who spoke out openly?
2) Given Russia's recent economic improvement (and the unveiled threat of 'doing business' with China), what incentive does Russia have to change course?
I suspect that any answer to 2) would have to be based on non-material issues, much like a wounded lover 'returning' to the serial abuser. Fat change this will happen (but I'd add that stranger things have indeed happened…)
There's a certain amount of schadenfreude in Putin's rund-down of his version of Russian/US (and EU) interactions in the post-Soviet and especially the post-Jeltsin era:
Putin is fully in the know when it comes the plan launched during the dismantling of the USSR: turn new Russia into a modern equivalent of what the old colonial states in Africa were used for. Resource extraction where all real tangible assets and resources are owned and controlled by London and Washington.
Remember, Putin didn't become "mad, bad and dangerous to know" in western media until he finally stopped the take-over by US/British oil&gas corporations of Russia's resources. And since Russia is neither Mesopotamia (Irak) nor Iran, the usual tactics employed by Shell, BP, and their correspondent nation-state enforcers couldn't be brought to bear in full until a proxy front had been created in the Ukraine.
You know, that's both absolutely obvious and an immensely keen observation--I'd merely add that 'everyone knows', and the main reason for esp. the Europeans not saying anything isn't just the agit-prop angle, the decades of brainwashing, or the many academic textbooks that are 'incomplete' or wrong.
There's two issues here, I think:
1) How long would any European politician last in office who spoke out openly?
2) Given Russia's recent economic improvement (and the unveiled threat of 'doing business' with China), what incentive does Russia have to change course?
I suspect that any answer to 2) would have to be based on non-material issues, much like a wounded lover 'returning' to the serial abuser. Fat change this will happen (but I'd add that stranger things have indeed happened…)