occasional reflections on culture & politics
I believe in peace. Nothing violates the dignity and existence of life like war. This is certainly clear, and there is not much controversial in such a statement. And yet, not everyone agrees. There are those who believe that war steels character, that it is a necessary cataclysm to bring about a clarifying and cleansing… Continue reading #205: If You Want Peace: Why We Must Help Ukraine
Let’s just make one thing clear: What is happening in occupied Ukraine, what happened in 2014 in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, cannot be called referenda. They are fake. They are not elections. They are nothing but a performance of voting, but no actual voting is taking place. For an election or referendum or vote to… Continue reading #195: Fake “Referenda” Prove that Putin Doesn’t Want to Negotiate
With Boris Johnson finally understanding the power of reality, there may be a real chance now to reevaluate what his policies have brought. Chiefly among them, of course, is Brexit. It is clear, of course, that Brexit has had many fathers and mothers. The UK has always promoted an understanding of itself as somehow both… Continue reading #176: Get Brexit Undone
Henry Kissinger reminded us recently that Realpolitik means to make a compromise with a “great power” like Russia. Specifically, that compromise was supposed to respect Russian claims and restore the “status quo ante” before the most recent attack – thus codifying the theft of Crimea and parts of the Donbass. Such a statement clearly ignores… Continue reading #165: Realpolitik Is About Appeasing Power, not Reality or Morality
Dear Russia, your president is lying to you. That happens sometimes, politicians are not always honest for a variety of reasons. Your president is stealing from you. That also sometimes happens. Your president is ruining you reputation. That also sometimes happens. Your president is doing something that you would really not approve of if you… Continue reading #155: Dear Russia: Make It Stop
A monster is something at which you point because it stands out. It is different, deviant, grotesque; you cannot stop being fascinated by it. It is negatively attractive, holds our attention, draws us in, mesmerizes, makes us trying to understand it – a task at which we typically fail. When speaking about human beings as… Continue reading #153: The Monstrosity of Vladimir Putin: We Have Learned Nothing From History
President Putin portrays himself as a fighter against Nazis and Nationalists. At the same time, today, he just bombed the Babyn Yar memorial to the victims of National Socialist genocide of Jews in Kiev, while he is fighting a young democracy led by a Jewish Russian-Ukrainian president. Somehow, Putin has his definitions wrong. Fascism is… Continue reading #151: Putin Is a Fascist per Definition
If you care about your country, you care about its people. That’s all it is. A country is not about territory, it is not about history, it is not about fame or glory or whatever egomaniacal thing it is Putin thinks it is about. Certainly, all these matter to some extent – but they are… Continue reading #148: Putin Does Not Care About Russia. It’s a Russian Leader’s Tradition
President Putin has famously said that the “breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.” Only a former KGB agent could come up with this idiotic statement. Such an ignorant analysis can only come from a position that is deeply imperialistic, totalitarian and ignorant of history. Lenin was right… Continue reading #146: The Fall of the Soviet Union Was the Greatest Event of the Late 20th Century
Is Putin the Aggressor? Yes. He has already stolen Crimea, and forces probably aligned with him have occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, and Transnistria. It does not take the additional troops surrounding Ukraine to understand that there is already a war going on. Any action by Ukraine to retake its territory would be justified – though at… Continue reading #136: Is Putin the Aggressor?
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