occasional reflections on culture & politics
The destruction of a Soviet monument in Riga this week was quite the sight to behold: This strange obelisk celebrating, allegedly, the victory by the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany was erected in 1985 to celebrate Soviet imperialism and colonialism and demonstrate the USSR’s hold over Latvia, a country the Soviet Union conquered when it… Continue reading #189: Soviet Monuments Need To Go
Quite regularly, we can hear explanations about both foreign and domestic policy that rely on concepts about “the West.” It is rather commonplace to assume that the world is divided into different political camps that are influenced by different cultures. No other division is more popular than the distinction between those countries who are part… Continue reading #188: What Is “The West” Today? From “Civilization” to Cooperation
Putin has declared that there is no such thing as Ukraine or Ukrainians. He denies their existence, their culture, their very lives. We are seeing it happen today in real time. This war has been planned deliberately, executed since 2014, and there is no sign of stopping. President Putin has made clear what his aim… Continue reading #149: As Putin Is Orchestrating to Commit Genocide…
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
You may say that the United States has enough problems of its own. In recent decades, we have intervened in a variety of conflicts around the world, not all of them successfully resolved, not all of them widely deemed legitimate causes. We are facing plenty of challenges at home and on the global scale. Why… Continue reading #147: Why Should We Care About Ukraine? A Pragmatic Answer
Now we know Putin was lying all along. I must admit, I am surprised, I would not have thought this was coming, not like that. The pattern is clear now: Putin has for planned this for many years. He has rebuilt Russia into a fascist state – centered on military, mafia, state-controlled business, using the… Continue reading #144: Putin’s War Against Ukraine Is a War Against All of Us
Putin my think that the West lost in Afghanistan in 2021, similar to the Soviet Union in 1989. But he is mistaken, and this mistake probably provoked his current behavior. The truth is, strictly militarily speaking, the West could have easily won in Afghanistan, it could have militarily dominated it, subdued it, ended the Taliban… Continue reading #138: The West Is not Weak, But It Has Lacked Commitment
Erratic Attempts 