Post by Bonobo on Jun 26, 2022 13:33:34 GMT 1
A good article which suggests that the very essence of Russia`s existence as a state is the constant imperial conquest. Without it, Russia as we know it, will disappear. Good. Let it happen sooner than later. All nations who are Russia`s neighbours have had enough of its Mongol barbaric character.
www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/swiat/artykuly/8375798,dr-jacek-sokolowski-wojna-w-ukrainie-russki-mir-rosja-opinia.html
Before our eyes, the myth about the Russian Order is collapsing [OPINION]
Jacek Sokołowski
March 9, 2022, 07:18
PAP Archive / Alexander Ryumin
This war was not supposed to take place. In fact, everyone agreed that Russia was not profitable to open conflict in Ukraine. And yet, Krzysztof Wojczal, an unknown analyst, who had already predicted it in 2019, turned out to be right.
dr Jacek Sokołowski, lawyer and political scientist, head of the Center for Quantitative Research on Politics, Jagiellonian University
ADVERTISEMENT
In a brilliant blog entry, he argued that by 2022 Russia would lose the ability to dictate gas prices in Europe, and Nord Stream 2, even if completed, may prove unprofitable. In this situation, he stated, Russia has two options: to lead, with the hands of Iran, to the war in the Middle East (to raise the prices of hydrocarbons) or to subdue Central and Eastern Europe so that NATO's eastern flank becomes impossible to defend without commitment of resources on a large scale. Such a situation would give Russia an excellent bargaining position in relations with the USA.
Wojczal's prediction came true to the letter, but it was only the beginning of the surprises. Ukraine - contrary to the expectations of many, especially the Germans - did not fall. The staunch (and effective) defense of Ukrainian forces, combined with the media offensive and the shock in which Europeans shamelessly attacked a peaceful and harmless state, triggered a dynamic of terror and indignation, which in turn resulted in economic sanctions of an unprecedented scale and a revolution in Germany's foreign policy . We woke up in a different world. How much different? We are still trying to visualize it.
Disguise the allies
"Russia has only two allies - the army and the navy," Tsar Alexander III once said. Since then, his homeland has acquired just one more ally, and that is the Russian Air and Space Force. Russia's foreign policy is closely related to its military doctrine, to the state of its armed forces and, of course, to the possession of nuclear weapons. The consistent reconstruction of the capabilities of the Land Forces, Navy and Air-Space Forces was one of the most important elements of the policyPutin. Parallel to the growth of these capabilities, their use in international politics also increased, starting with the war in Georgia in 2008 and ending with the intervention in Syria. The latter is intentionally carried out in the form of a show off, demonstrating to the world that all components of the armed forces of the Russian Federation already have the superpower ability to effectively interfere in the affairs of countries distant from Russian territory.
This impression lasted until February 24, 2022. Within a week from that date, it turned out that the world power so far cannot cope with one country, occupying 112th place in the world according to gross domestic product per capita (in 190). Poorer than Mongolia and Albania. Yes, it is a country supported by the United Statesand Europe. But they give it to a limited extent, without giving the most important thing - their armed forces. For the countries of Central and Eastern Europe threatened by Russia, this means not only hope. It means shaking off your paralyzing fear. All the more so as it turned out that NATO could act decisively and coherently. For Poles, Romanians and Balts, what is happening means - first of all - that you can stop Russia, even by yourself. Second, that it will not need to be held back on its own for longer than is necessary for the assistance of the rest of the Alliance. And the Alliance will provide this help.
This is already a defeat for Moscow. After the reforms of Serdyukov and Shoygu, the Russian army was to be a power. Meanwhile, the whole world sees her abandon her (precious) "technique" in the mud, losing the most modern vehicles and planes, and her tank "being stolen by gypsies." The myth of a military power has collapsed, and a new one - a strong and effective NATO - is being born before our eyes. The consequences of this will be long-term and serious.
Of course, as is the case with myths, it is to some extent an illusion. The Russian army - despite all the embarrassments - gradually, with difficulty, but achieves the goals set in Ukraine. But illusions that are believed can be very powerful. The strength Russia has built up on the illusion of a modern and invincible army is just about to dissipate. However, much more serious for her will be the fall of another myth.
What is Russia for?
It is a truism in our part of the world to say that Russia can only function in the imperial model. So much so that we rarely think about what exactly it means. It is not an imperialism like the European one, known to the colonial powers. Sooner, though it may seem paradoxical, it resembles the American model; like him, it is based on a sense of mission. The existence of Russia is organically linked to the mission that this country - in mythological terms - fulfills in the world.
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, being a kind of "scrap" of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, developed - initially in the shadow of the Golden Horde, and then in opposition to it - thanks to the doctrine of "collecting Ruthenian lands". Ruskies, that is, those in which the Old Russian language is spoken. And he professes Christianity in the version developed for the Slavs by two Byzantine missionaries - Cyril and Methodius, who also created the Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic, later transformed into Cyrillic. At the root of the existence of the Moscow-based state was a powerful sense of cultural community with all people who could be communicated with the same language and written with the same letters. And with whom you can pray together.
Moscow's competitor in the policy of liberating the Ruthenian principalities from the Tatar yoke was Lithuania. It was under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian state that the southern territories of the historically oldest state center in the Ruthenian lands, i.e. Kievan Rus, found themselves. The result was a linguistic division - in the lands that became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ruthenian language was spoken (from which the Belarusian, Ruthenian and Ukrainian languages originate); in the territories under Moscow's rule, the Old Russian language turned into Russian. However, the peoples in the orbits of two different centers of civilization have preserved the community of religion, and through it - also of language. The Orthodox liturgy is celebrated in the Church Slavonic language. This one in turn has the most similarities to the Russian language.
This is why the marriage of Ivan III the Severe with Sophia Paleolog, the last heir to the Byzantine throne, was such a great achievement for the Moscow rulers: after the fall of Constantinople, it was the Muscovite Principality that became the depositary of the true faith, the "third Rome". And it was Ivan III who adopted the black, two-headed eagle (coat of arms of Byzantium) as the emblem of the state and dynasty. And he was the first to use the title of Tsar of All Russia. All Russia - that is, all Ruthenian lands. Ruskies, that is, those in which Ruthenian languages are spoken and prayers in Church Slavonic. Russia, in a slightly modified form, but still refers to this symbolism. What the West has long been unable and unwilling to understand. The mission of "collecting Ruthenian lands" and later Pan-Slavism was at the heart of tsarist imperialism. This is why Poles - eternal rebels - were considered by tsarist Russia to be traitors to the Slavic (i.e. Ruthenian) cause. Because they didn't use Cyrillic and they were Catholics.
The USSR, although it did not (or instrumentally) refer to "Slavic unity" on the ideological level, put it into practice. After all, Moscow's patronage at that time included not only the historical Ruthenian lands, but also virtually all territories where Church Slavonic remained the language of the liturgy: Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, which was part of communist Yugoslavia (although the latter was only for a short time).
Moreover, the great patriotic war fought by the USSR became the decisive argument for why all Ruthenian peoples must stand by Moscow. Because only she - though she may oppress, she may not give much - is able to protect against the enemy. The enemy is the West and what comes from the West, which is always: conquest, war and destruction. Tatars. Poland, oppressing Ruthenian peasants and Cossacks. Turkey. Napoleon. Hitler. FOR THIS.
Help the Russian brothers
The contemporary ideology of Putin's Russia was most often treated as absurd exoticism. People laughed at her instead of analyzing her. And she, though she appears to be a madman's delirium, is perfectly logical in her paranoid syncretism. All Ruthenian peoples have always been under threat. Their holy faith of their fathers, expressed in their common Church language, was threatened. Their property and lives were at risk. The tsars protected them. Later, Stalin, the great leader, protected him. Maybe he had disadvantages, but he defended the Ruthenian peoples from the destruction brought by the German invaders. The mythology of the great patriotic war is one of the focal points of Putin's ideology. Putin, who - in the eyes of the Russians - raised them from the degradation and poverty they found themselves in after the fall of communism. And the West has once again brought them into this humiliation. Godless, greedy and not understanding the Russian soul. Now he is threatening Russia once again, pulling the tentacles for his brother Ukraine.
This is not a temporary smothering of "ordinary Russians" with propaganda. This is the Russian way of thinking. Russian imperialism is fraternal imperialism. He wants to do well, he wants to help the Ruthenian brothers. That is why Russia was created and exists, because Russia is not only a country. It is primarily "russkij mir", the Ruthenian (not Russian!) World.
The existence of Russia makes sense as long as it can fulfill its historical mission. This is why the Russian Federation supported the Serbs with such stubbornness, even in the period of its greatest weakness. And that is why Belarus and Ukraine must be part of a state ruled by Moscow. Belarus and Ukraine want it, they must want it, even if their inhabitants are not fully aware of it. For if it turns out that there are Ruthenian peoples who are able to choose a different path, it will mean nothing less than that Russia is unnecessary.
Revival on the diplomatic front. Kyiv signals its readiness to make concessions
Revival on the diplomatic front. Kyiv signals its readiness to make concessions
also check
It is happening before our eyes; it has already happened. Although Ukraine's determination to integrate with the West was actually born seven years ago in Maidan, the world has seen it only now. And this is the ultimate determination for which Ukrainian soldiers and civilians die every day. The Russians will do anything not to see it. They will deny the facts, they will deny it with all their strength. Because recognizing that there is a Ruthenian and Orthodox people who, arms in hand, rejects Moscow's protection, means also recognizing that "russkij mir" does not exist. There is no community of peoples. There is no powerful Russia that gives them "protection" and "defense". There is nothing to defend them against. They are defending themselves against Russia. So what is left? Bandit state. Ruined by sanctions. With the army which at best is only "the strongest army of the Third World." A state that has lost its basic sense of existence.
The long shadow that has fallen on my part of Europe since the times of Ivan IV the Terrible - which did not disappear after 1989, but only slightly shortened - is now dissolving into nothingness. Thanks to Ukraine.
www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/swiat/artykuly/8375798,dr-jacek-sokolowski-wojna-w-ukrainie-russki-mir-rosja-opinia.html
Before our eyes, the myth about the Russian Order is collapsing [OPINION]
Jacek Sokołowski
March 9, 2022, 07:18
PAP Archive / Alexander Ryumin
This war was not supposed to take place. In fact, everyone agreed that Russia was not profitable to open conflict in Ukraine. And yet, Krzysztof Wojczal, an unknown analyst, who had already predicted it in 2019, turned out to be right.
dr Jacek Sokołowski, lawyer and political scientist, head of the Center for Quantitative Research on Politics, Jagiellonian University
ADVERTISEMENT
In a brilliant blog entry, he argued that by 2022 Russia would lose the ability to dictate gas prices in Europe, and Nord Stream 2, even if completed, may prove unprofitable. In this situation, he stated, Russia has two options: to lead, with the hands of Iran, to the war in the Middle East (to raise the prices of hydrocarbons) or to subdue Central and Eastern Europe so that NATO's eastern flank becomes impossible to defend without commitment of resources on a large scale. Such a situation would give Russia an excellent bargaining position in relations with the USA.
Wojczal's prediction came true to the letter, but it was only the beginning of the surprises. Ukraine - contrary to the expectations of many, especially the Germans - did not fall. The staunch (and effective) defense of Ukrainian forces, combined with the media offensive and the shock in which Europeans shamelessly attacked a peaceful and harmless state, triggered a dynamic of terror and indignation, which in turn resulted in economic sanctions of an unprecedented scale and a revolution in Germany's foreign policy . We woke up in a different world. How much different? We are still trying to visualize it.
Disguise the allies
"Russia has only two allies - the army and the navy," Tsar Alexander III once said. Since then, his homeland has acquired just one more ally, and that is the Russian Air and Space Force. Russia's foreign policy is closely related to its military doctrine, to the state of its armed forces and, of course, to the possession of nuclear weapons. The consistent reconstruction of the capabilities of the Land Forces, Navy and Air-Space Forces was one of the most important elements of the policyPutin. Parallel to the growth of these capabilities, their use in international politics also increased, starting with the war in Georgia in 2008 and ending with the intervention in Syria. The latter is intentionally carried out in the form of a show off, demonstrating to the world that all components of the armed forces of the Russian Federation already have the superpower ability to effectively interfere in the affairs of countries distant from Russian territory.
This impression lasted until February 24, 2022. Within a week from that date, it turned out that the world power so far cannot cope with one country, occupying 112th place in the world according to gross domestic product per capita (in 190). Poorer than Mongolia and Albania. Yes, it is a country supported by the United Statesand Europe. But they give it to a limited extent, without giving the most important thing - their armed forces. For the countries of Central and Eastern Europe threatened by Russia, this means not only hope. It means shaking off your paralyzing fear. All the more so as it turned out that NATO could act decisively and coherently. For Poles, Romanians and Balts, what is happening means - first of all - that you can stop Russia, even by yourself. Second, that it will not need to be held back on its own for longer than is necessary for the assistance of the rest of the Alliance. And the Alliance will provide this help.
This is already a defeat for Moscow. After the reforms of Serdyukov and Shoygu, the Russian army was to be a power. Meanwhile, the whole world sees her abandon her (precious) "technique" in the mud, losing the most modern vehicles and planes, and her tank "being stolen by gypsies." The myth of a military power has collapsed, and a new one - a strong and effective NATO - is being born before our eyes. The consequences of this will be long-term and serious.
Of course, as is the case with myths, it is to some extent an illusion. The Russian army - despite all the embarrassments - gradually, with difficulty, but achieves the goals set in Ukraine. But illusions that are believed can be very powerful. The strength Russia has built up on the illusion of a modern and invincible army is just about to dissipate. However, much more serious for her will be the fall of another myth.
What is Russia for?
It is a truism in our part of the world to say that Russia can only function in the imperial model. So much so that we rarely think about what exactly it means. It is not an imperialism like the European one, known to the colonial powers. Sooner, though it may seem paradoxical, it resembles the American model; like him, it is based on a sense of mission. The existence of Russia is organically linked to the mission that this country - in mythological terms - fulfills in the world.
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, being a kind of "scrap" of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, developed - initially in the shadow of the Golden Horde, and then in opposition to it - thanks to the doctrine of "collecting Ruthenian lands". Ruskies, that is, those in which the Old Russian language is spoken. And he professes Christianity in the version developed for the Slavs by two Byzantine missionaries - Cyril and Methodius, who also created the Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic, later transformed into Cyrillic. At the root of the existence of the Moscow-based state was a powerful sense of cultural community with all people who could be communicated with the same language and written with the same letters. And with whom you can pray together.
Moscow's competitor in the policy of liberating the Ruthenian principalities from the Tatar yoke was Lithuania. It was under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian state that the southern territories of the historically oldest state center in the Ruthenian lands, i.e. Kievan Rus, found themselves. The result was a linguistic division - in the lands that became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ruthenian language was spoken (from which the Belarusian, Ruthenian and Ukrainian languages originate); in the territories under Moscow's rule, the Old Russian language turned into Russian. However, the peoples in the orbits of two different centers of civilization have preserved the community of religion, and through it - also of language. The Orthodox liturgy is celebrated in the Church Slavonic language. This one in turn has the most similarities to the Russian language.
This is why the marriage of Ivan III the Severe with Sophia Paleolog, the last heir to the Byzantine throne, was such a great achievement for the Moscow rulers: after the fall of Constantinople, it was the Muscovite Principality that became the depositary of the true faith, the "third Rome". And it was Ivan III who adopted the black, two-headed eagle (coat of arms of Byzantium) as the emblem of the state and dynasty. And he was the first to use the title of Tsar of All Russia. All Russia - that is, all Ruthenian lands. Ruskies, that is, those in which Ruthenian languages are spoken and prayers in Church Slavonic. Russia, in a slightly modified form, but still refers to this symbolism. What the West has long been unable and unwilling to understand. The mission of "collecting Ruthenian lands" and later Pan-Slavism was at the heart of tsarist imperialism. This is why Poles - eternal rebels - were considered by tsarist Russia to be traitors to the Slavic (i.e. Ruthenian) cause. Because they didn't use Cyrillic and they were Catholics.
The USSR, although it did not (or instrumentally) refer to "Slavic unity" on the ideological level, put it into practice. After all, Moscow's patronage at that time included not only the historical Ruthenian lands, but also virtually all territories where Church Slavonic remained the language of the liturgy: Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, which was part of communist Yugoslavia (although the latter was only for a short time).
Moreover, the great patriotic war fought by the USSR became the decisive argument for why all Ruthenian peoples must stand by Moscow. Because only she - though she may oppress, she may not give much - is able to protect against the enemy. The enemy is the West and what comes from the West, which is always: conquest, war and destruction. Tatars. Poland, oppressing Ruthenian peasants and Cossacks. Turkey. Napoleon. Hitler. FOR THIS.
Help the Russian brothers
The contemporary ideology of Putin's Russia was most often treated as absurd exoticism. People laughed at her instead of analyzing her. And she, though she appears to be a madman's delirium, is perfectly logical in her paranoid syncretism. All Ruthenian peoples have always been under threat. Their holy faith of their fathers, expressed in their common Church language, was threatened. Their property and lives were at risk. The tsars protected them. Later, Stalin, the great leader, protected him. Maybe he had disadvantages, but he defended the Ruthenian peoples from the destruction brought by the German invaders. The mythology of the great patriotic war is one of the focal points of Putin's ideology. Putin, who - in the eyes of the Russians - raised them from the degradation and poverty they found themselves in after the fall of communism. And the West has once again brought them into this humiliation. Godless, greedy and not understanding the Russian soul. Now he is threatening Russia once again, pulling the tentacles for his brother Ukraine.
This is not a temporary smothering of "ordinary Russians" with propaganda. This is the Russian way of thinking. Russian imperialism is fraternal imperialism. He wants to do well, he wants to help the Ruthenian brothers. That is why Russia was created and exists, because Russia is not only a country. It is primarily "russkij mir", the Ruthenian (not Russian!) World.
The existence of Russia makes sense as long as it can fulfill its historical mission. This is why the Russian Federation supported the Serbs with such stubbornness, even in the period of its greatest weakness. And that is why Belarus and Ukraine must be part of a state ruled by Moscow. Belarus and Ukraine want it, they must want it, even if their inhabitants are not fully aware of it. For if it turns out that there are Ruthenian peoples who are able to choose a different path, it will mean nothing less than that Russia is unnecessary.
Revival on the diplomatic front. Kyiv signals its readiness to make concessions
Revival on the diplomatic front. Kyiv signals its readiness to make concessions
also check
It is happening before our eyes; it has already happened. Although Ukraine's determination to integrate with the West was actually born seven years ago in Maidan, the world has seen it only now. And this is the ultimate determination for which Ukrainian soldiers and civilians die every day. The Russians will do anything not to see it. They will deny the facts, they will deny it with all their strength. Because recognizing that there is a Ruthenian and Orthodox people who, arms in hand, rejects Moscow's protection, means also recognizing that "russkij mir" does not exist. There is no community of peoples. There is no powerful Russia that gives them "protection" and "defense". There is nothing to defend them against. They are defending themselves against Russia. So what is left? Bandit state. Ruined by sanctions. With the army which at best is only "the strongest army of the Third World." A state that has lost its basic sense of existence.
The long shadow that has fallen on my part of Europe since the times of Ivan IV the Terrible - which did not disappear after 1989, but only slightly shortened - is now dissolving into nothingness. Thanks to Ukraine.