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2024-02-02 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
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It is dangerous for Russia to wait for a 'normal' West
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Peter Trenin-Strausov
[REGNUM] One of the “shameful desires” of part of the Russian elite in relation to the West is its return to normality: restoring relations with Russia, avoiding excesses in values and moral guidelines in public life, following economic interests (and not ideologies and political maxims), building a European independent and mutually beneficial relations with other regions of the world without regard to Washington. The US itself is expected to bring to power a conservative republican force that will sweep away all the liberal globalist “scum and nonsense” and return to a strict understanding of its own benefit. This may be good for Western countries, but will it be good for us?
Hardly. The strong and “healthy” toothy West has always seen in Russia not so much a partner as a competitor, an adversary, a threat, and sometimes - when Russia was in its most weakened state - an object. Russia’s relations with the West are a thousand years old—enough to derive current patterns and follow them. They will not change, because neither nature, nor history, nor the geographical location and spirit of civilizations will change.
The current cooldown to hostility is the best moment to re-evaluate the cultural and civilizational landscape in public terms. There used to be a hill at the center of our worldview called “Western Civilization” that we tried to emulate. The hill was visible from all sides and in all disputes it was always good form to point to it. The hill blocked a significant part of our view. The hill interfered with normal movement from one point to another - routes were not laid directly, but took into account and went around it. Now the hill was crumbling and crumbling. There’s just a little bit left to bury in our heads in order to clear the horizon and directly establish the movement of thought within our world.
ABOUT THE WEST - ONLY IN NUMBERS
First, we are not included in the moral circuit of the Western world. We haven't and we won't. Any thoughts about morality, correctness, principles sounding from there are dangerous to listen to and take seriously - these are the voices of sirens. It is necessary to talk about the West and the benefits from relations with it in Russia only in units of account - trade turnover, currency, etc. It is so simple and clear to determine whether these relations are beneficial to Russia or not. We need to stop talking about relations with the West and about the West in abstract terms, so as not to fall for speculation - this is our civilizational defense. For everything that we have received from the West over all centuries, we have paid for everything in full. Nothing was given to us just like charity and from the bottom of our hearts. Everything we received is rightfully ours.
THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS SERBIA
Secondly, in deep respect to Russia and in strategic terms, the West is united. From Estonia to Portugal and from Norway to Greece. Moreover, opposition to Russia is now seen as a “natural” and “objective” factor that governments will use to introduce restrictive and mobilization measures. Short-term warmings in relations with individual countries or, rather, their leaders are possible, however, the rule still applies - Russia has no friends in the united West and never will. The palette of relations towards Russia can be very different from country to country, but the general solidarity of the West (achieved, including through force) is much stronger than any of the warmest relations with Russia. The main countries of the West, which determine the general vector of development, do not see Russia as either an ally or part of a common civilization.
That is why Russia was not accepted into NATO. That is why everyone in Europe who is not already in NATO is accepted into NATO. This is why Ukraine is so needed. Everyone who joins NATO and the EU is subject to a common policy towards Russia.
STRONGER RUSSIA, MORE CONSTRUCTIVE WEST
Thirdly, the stronger the West, the less ready it is to speak with Russia on an equal footing and take our interests into account. The worst combination is a strong West and a weak Russia: this is the 1990s with deceived promises and the ecstatic self-destruction of the Soviet legacy, together with the Americans. It could have been worse - Troubles, intervention, a foreign king on the throne. The normal combination is a strong West and a strong Russia. Then cooperation, alliances, and Russia’s participation in all-Western showdowns are possible. Then it becomes more important on whose side Russia’s resources are, and Russia sometimes managed to achieve benefits for itself. A weak West and a strong Russia is the best combination, however, this has not happened in the foreseeable past. We will get stronger, perhaps we will see this in the future.
STRATEGY: THEY WILL BLINK FIRST, YOU HAVE TO WAIT
Fourth, for a long time, the strategic initiative in relations between Russia and the West was in most cases on the side of the West. The West was stronger economically and technologically, and from the beginning of the 18th century, cultural self-abasement before the West began to take hold in Russia in an effort to more fully adopt foreign ways of life and thoughts. All this time, self-restraint in attachment to the West did not work, and any government efforts to limit this attachment acted on the contrary - they increased the craving for the forbidden. Today a unique and very beneficial situation has arisen for us - the West has independently cut the threads by which it could pull us.
The smokescreen of Western “values”, rights and principles has fallen away - all these are not universal values, but at best local and work only in favor of the West and against Russia. Now that everything has become transparent, we need to keep an eye on how, when and which Western countries will contact Russia and what they will need from us. They will inevitably “open up.”
AND THEN...
Then it will become ridiculously obvious that what we need from them, we can buy and have been buying for a millennium. Technologies. Technique. Premium and luxury goods. Fashion. Entertainment. Real estate. Works of art. The work of specialists. Trips. Excursions. Food and drinks. Education. Club membership. Playing golf. In general - consumerism, everyday life and philistinism.
What they need from us (and other regions of the world) is not so easy to buy (you have to pay a fair price) or impossible, so they traditionally take it by force and cunning. Resources. Sales Influence and power. In general - subjugate.
There is no good West for Russia. There is and will be - complex, hostile, skillful and very cunning. The longer the West remains weak, the better for Russia. The weakness will not last so long, and after that he will get stronger and be reborn - he will win back.
While there is a head start, we need to have time to develop and crystallize a consumerist (instead of a civilization-dependent and “subordinate-cultural”) attitude towards the West. This will be much more productive, calmer and more effective than deceiving the enemy or, conversely, reducing him to insignificance.
We have recovered geopolitically in thirty years practically from scratch. This is a significant achievement. We - one country - are comparable in strength to the entire West, and they recognize this. Hence the accusations of “revanchism”, “imperialism”, “resentment” and calls to prepare for war with Russia. Yes, Russia is a power, and the West doesn’t like it, and while it doesn’t like it, everything is going right for us...
But as soon as we hear praise from the West, it will mean that he is ready for expansion in our direction.
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Posted by badanov 2024-02-02 00:00||
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Posted by Grom the Reflective 2024-02-02 02:50||
2024-02-02 02:50||
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Posted by trailing wife 2024-02-02 04:57||
2024-02-02 04:57||
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Posted by Abu Laptop (same as Abu Uluque but on a different computer.) 2024-02-02 12:41||
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