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@ Erik Uden 🍑
2025-03-06 16:48:27
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq50la25yuq8c90wtgcvkunq5ktu6darj35ez8s04z7l29udzu4tes87vu7f thank you for taking the time to respond. First of all I think it's important to discuss the historical alternatives, of course one can always make the argument that there's no point in talking about the past, since political action needs to be taken today with today's circumstances. That is true, though, whatever happened in the past lead to where we are today. If we, truly, do not wish to cause situations in the future where we are left “without” alternative, then our actions today should reflect that.
For starters, what's up with Russia today? Who is Putin?
The short answer is that the Russian Federation emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union, caused put into law by Mikhail Gorbachev against the democratic will of the people. Now, you can think of the Soviet Union what you will, the point is that the modern “conflict” between Russia and Ukraine (the Russian invasion) as we have it would not exist with a Soviet Union as we know it or as the reform plans by the democratic decision would've planned. We can have a discussion about whether living under many of the tyrannical laws of the Soviet Union are preferable to the current war or wage peace under oppression against war in “freedom” (or our current definition of it) but that's not my point.
However, that's not fully true. Many people blame the current war not just on the fact that Russia and Ukraine are separate countries now, but on Putin himself. It's a bit too short of an analysis, but to a very important degree it's true: Putin faced many internal political struggles prior to the war, and as we've learned within our lifetime from George W. Bush, such disagreement can be fixed by launching an illegal invasion which will unite the country behind you, allowing you to ride a new wave of patriotism and nationalism.
So, what brought Putin to power? There we need to analyze the Russian oligarchs and how they were created. The too short explanation is that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the second largest economy in the world, a figure known as Boris Yeltsin had a handful of his friends buy up those state owned companies, which made these few people immeasurably rich. The shock therapy of capitalism shortened people's life expectancy and their standard of living by an immense amount. Such economic policies were reckless and should've always been avoided.
We know that the material conditions to create terrorists or extremists movements are always rooted in poverty and unfair wealth distribution. If the entirety of East Germany votes for a fascist party due to "slightly" increasing rent and cost of living prices, imagine what happened in Russia?
We have the political turmoil, the circumstances, the nationalist movements, which all result in the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in 2022.
The trade agreements with Russia should've never been continued from the beginning until specific circumstances are met. NATO should've not divided the world, but long term peace solution like OSZE should've been strengthened. The U.N. security council should've never given a handful countries veto rights and so on.
What can be done as an alternative today? First of all, take in Russian deserters more easily and grant them asylum. Weakens the Russian military with no blood being spilled and allows for information to spill over more easily. Second of all, don't ally with nations who have ulterior motives. If the US sees Ukraine as a means to an end for more resources, then they're not interested in peace, and would prolong this war indefinitely until it means they seize control and power. Third of all, fight far right movements within your own borders. What happened in Russia can happen anywhere, if you ignore social services and spend it all on weapons, you may see more opposition within than outside.