Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Ukraine is not part of Saharan Africa, nor is it a country of illiterate or ill-educated people. How is it possible for Ukrainians to tolerate such a stumble, how is it possible that their tycoon and corrupt political elite so enchanted them and diverted them to the wrong side through manipulations? Instead of confronting their political scum, the Ukrainians, again with a lot of help from the Western friends, estimated that the snake is not in the bowels, but on the other side of the eastern border – in Russia, so they need NATO’s protection. And the focal illusion is that when Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, the country will prosper just as, for example, North Macedonia prospered in the same organization.
Ukraine has thus decided that those who are further away from it are closer to it – not only geographically, but also spiritually and culturally, those who despise Ukrainians just as much as Russians, if not more. That contempt is hidden for only a moment in the name of strategic reasons, and it will last for a few more days after the end of the war, regardless of its outcome. And then everything will return to normal. Solidarity with Ukrainians who remain in the West will be replaced by intolerance towards foreigners who burden the social system, take jobs, raise the crime rate and lower the salaries of domestic workers. Ukrainians will again be the others – those who are not “us”. Even if Ukraine one day joins the European Union or/and NATO, that contempt will not disappear nor will the status of Ukrainians as second-class citizens change.
And then when you renounce yourself and try to become something that you are not and that you have been convinced is more civilized and better, you will not become that other – you are more likely to become nothing. This is true not only for Ukrainians but also for “enlightened” Russians, Serbs, and others, for all those who would like to be what they are not, in the hope that they will be acceptable to those who will never accept them. Bulgarians, Romanians, and even Poles, and to exchange experiences with them related to acceptance, respect, integration and “Europeanization”. And they can pour oil into the water quite scientifically and to see how it mixes.
The questions arose:
1) Why do the citizens of West Europe support the insane policy of NATO’s expansion to the east, which is already hitting them on the head, due to the large increase in the cost of living?
2) What kind of rush into a war as it can become atomic? If geostrategy is left aside, the Ukrainian war is just an excuse for hidden Russophobia to explode uncontrollably.
3) What kind of hatred is it that obscures the view and suppresses even the instinct of self-preservation?
That hatred gave itself the appearance of humanism and hid behind a mask of compassion for Ukrainians … except those from East Ukraine. Western humanity (which is honest in some parts of society) has clear boundaries and is guided by the media. Remember, no Ukrainian refugees in the UK! At the same time, ordinary Russians and Russian culture are persecuted across the Western countries! Those who sincerely and wholeheartedly cared about the suffering of Iraqis, Libyans, and Syrians are shedding tears over the fate of Ukraine, just as they care about the hell of Yemen today. Those who today, in the name of humanism, sincerely participate in the tragedy of Ukrainian refugees and their children, will harass Russians and Russian children tomorrow when they recognize them in their environment. Perhaps Russophobia is strongest in the most educated parts of Western societies, which are not bothered by pathological outbursts of Russophobia related to Russian culture or the humiliation of its employees. Are we on the way to erasing Russian culture from European culture and maybe banning it?
No one is saying that Russia is totally innocent in this tragic story about Ukraine? No, but Russian guilt is on the other side – on the side of incompetence, on the side of delay, and indecision. Russia is guilty as she has not been able to control the Russophobic processes in Ukraine since 2014 by soft power, nor to use the advantage of the Russian language, historical, family, or economic ties. Unfortunately, corrupted top authorities of Russia (like in the West), Russia full of oligarchs and tycoons (as in the West), Russia of huge property inequalities (lesser than in the USA), could not even offer itself as an attractive alternative social model for others (but the Western models as well cannot do that). Therefore, there is no Russophile person who can or should ignore these sad facts (but all Russophobes are ignoring these facts in the West).
However, an even bigger, and fatal mistake is that Russia, with its sluggish and indecisive foreign policy, persistently sent the wrong, defeatist signals to the Western gangsters. It has done almost nothing to make the world aware of the decades-long humiliation of the Russian minorities in the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) since 1991 and Ukraine since 2014, nor has it done anything more serious to protect them except using the formal language of diplomacy. Russia also reacted lukewarmly to the constant strengthening of Nazi movements in its neighborhood, even though the Russians and Russia were the main targets of that madness. Russia allowed the processes of Nazification of Ukraine since 2014 to go too far, without setting clear red lines much, much earlier but not just now in 2022. That is why no one took Russia seriously until February 24th, 2022.
Consequently, there is a great, global shock about the current Russian military action in East Ukraine. Only now, with a huge delay of 30 years and for the first time after the Cold War 1.0, the West started to take Russia seriously. The price of the delay is high, much higher than it had to be, the risks are huge and the outcomes for the global security and economy are uncertain. The only certain thing is the suffering of Ukrainian citizens and the death of soldiers on both sides.
Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic
Ex-University Professor
Research Fellow at Centre for Geostrategic Studies
Belgrade, Serbia
www.geostrategy.rs
vsotirovic@yahoo.com
© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2023
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
“How is it possible for Ukrainians to tolerate such a stumble, how is it possible that their tycoon and corrupt political elite so enchanted them and diverted them to the wrong side through manipulations?”
Simple! They were brainwashed by the Ukrainian-Israeli billionaire, Ihor Kolomoisky Media channel’s.
“Such as it is, the press has become the greatest power within the Western World, more powerful than the legislature, the executive and judiciary. One would like to ask; by whom has it been elected and to whom is it responsible?” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
This is an international age. Ukraine was groomed by anti-Russia propaganda since 1991. Kolomoisky was late to the party. By the way only one of the top 15 media moguls in the world is Jewish. It may be that an even smaller percentage is Jewish, as I only know of the top 15. Kolomoisky isn’t anywhere near the top and he isn’t sole owner of any major Ukrainian media outlets.
“Perhaps Russophobia is strongest in the most educated parts of Western societies,…”
They are obviously not educated, as they are indoctrinated with Russophobia.
“Russia also reacted lukewarmly to the constant strengthening of Nazi movements in its neighborhood, even though the Russians and Russia were the main targets of that madness.”
You are obviously alluding to the Azov Battalion. Are you aware that the Israeli-Ukrainian Nathan Khazin is co-founded of the of the so called “NAZI” Azov Battalion, and he was trained by the Israel Defense Forces.
Igor Kolomoisky (Jewish) is the godfather of the Azov Battalion and Nathan Khazin (Jewish) is the father of the Azov Battalion. But “Journalists” like yourself keep pushing the “Nazi” in Ukraine ruse?
Nathan Khazin organized a small group (28) of pro-EU maidan activists, some members of which expanded and became azov after khazin left that group and moved on to drone surveillance and the group was taken over by andriy biletsky- a well known nazi. you know this, crass, but your only interest is putting Jews down. Have you taken the jesuit oath? you seem to have. Here is part of it ” I do furthermore promise and declare that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants, and Liberals, as I am directed to; extirpate them from the face of the earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex, or condition, ” I believe it especially calls for lying kolomoisky organized a private army to protect his East Ukraine oil business interests in the upheaval of 2014-5 and the connection… Read more »
Nathan Khazin and Andriy Biletsky founded the Azov Battalion. The Azov Battalions online propaganda shows them with their Israeli Tavor rifles, as Israel has been arming and training The Azov Battalion since its inception.
Please provide documentation. I am not aware that Nathan Kazan claimed to have co-founded the Azov Battalion. More importantly, I am not aware of any evidence that he did. As regards Kolomoyskyi, his financial support to the Azov Battalion is well known and public, but I know of nothing to indicate that he was in any way involved with FOUNDING it. You think that what you believe is correct, but you provide to others only claims no evidence. You therefor come across like a bigot. If you aren’t a bigot, then you will need to start providing no longer mere… Read more »
Pardon my having misspelled Khazin.
“…..the group was taken over by andriy biletsky- a well known nazi.”
The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) disbanded in 1945, but Jewish Hollywood has been marinating the slang word ‘Nazi’ in fear and loathing for the last 80 years. When Hollywood’s hypnotised dupes hear the weaponized word ‘Nazi’, they build a cartoonish caricature of evil in their simple minds, as they received their World War 2 miseducation, straight from Jewish Hollywood.
“However, an even bigger, and fatal mistake is that Russia, with its sluggish and indecisive foreign policy, persistently sent the wrong, defeatist signals to the Western gangsters. It has done almost nothing to make the world aware of the decades-long humiliation of the Russian minorities in the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) since 1991 and Ukraine since 2014, nor has it done anything more serious to protect them except using the formal language of diplomacy.” IF Russia is guilty of anything, it is it’s refusal to use the gutter tactics of the west. Unfortunately, you, like many in the west, see… Read more »
Agreed. Russia let NATO encroach eastward for 30 years because Russia was weak after the USSR collapsed. It felt powerless other than its nuclear weapons. Well, Russia is no longer weak. It has proven this, mostly to itself, by the epic failure of western sanctions and western ‘wonder weapons’ in Ukraine which are embarrassingly useless. Imagine the sheer stupidity of thinking that you can totally sanction the largest geopolitical landmass on Earth that has every essential thing you need: hydrocarbon energy, food, minerals, etc. The West is daft. Without Russia, millions will starve and be without work in factories with… Read more »
Only to add: The time that Merkel sort of “acquired” to strengten Ukronazi
has been instrumental to Russia sort the internal, military and foreign problems that needed solutions. And I simply has the impression that Russia accepted that trick as a game that two can play…and we know that was better used by them than US/EU players!
You fail to realise and mention that Russia needed to rebuild and seriously prepare before taking decisive actions. I do agree that they were very slow
and did little to highlight the unfair treatment of ethnic Russians in the countries you mentioned. This is very negligent.
Russia needs to seriously check and limit the power of the oligarchy and many of them have got away too light with their ill gotten gains to other countries.