There is a distinction to be made in the current popular assessment of Vladimir Putin. That is the difference between madness and badness.
Ancient philosophers would probably discount suggestions that the Russian leader is mad but that rather he is an evil person pursuing policies for gain. The Stoics certainly would have reached that decision.
That this has been true since he came to power in 2000 after serving as Prime Minister from 1999, albeit with a break between 2008 and 2012.
He led Russia through a period of eight consecutive years of growth mainly attributed to large increases in the price of oil and gas. We should not ignore the fact that the creation of pipelines and developments in supplies of such products to Western Europe have taken place through years of western focus on electric cars, wind energy and solar power with the aim of ending reliance on fossil fuels and those sourced in Russia in particular.
Ukraine as we are now learning is the bread basket of the world, especially Europe. It is clear to some of us that Putin’s aim was originally to regain a former Soviet territory in order to carry forward a prosperous Russian economy.
For politicians and the media to constantly describe him as mad is to miss the fundamental truth of the appalling situation the Kremlin has created.
That Putin and his administration miscalculated the strength of opposition among Ukrainians is a clear and sound statement of fact. We should not forget that being part of Russia was and is strongly supported by the populations of those regions where “civil war” was already taking place before ‘Putin’s invasion’.
Nor should we forget that Russia has for decades been infiltrating western establishments both political and corporate. The facts are emerging and questions are at last being asked. In the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is under attack for insisting that despite security warnings his friend Evgeny Lebedev become a member of the House of Lords, placing him at the heart of the U.K. government. He denies that, and Lord Lebedev denies being a Russian agent.
Sanctions applied to super-rich Russians have brought home to the public how wide ranging their influence has been. If some of them at least have been reporting back to the Russian regime then Putin was surely able to assess that NATO would not send troops to help defend Ukraine.
There is ample proof that the west’s most powerful country, America, has been infiltrated by Russian oligarchs and corporate interests. Leading US politicians have been named as ‘meddling’ in crooked Ukrainian business operations and for having ‘substantial financial interests’ in Russia. They are not alone.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Russia has set a course remarkably similar to that of the U.S. since the second world war and which echoes, remarkably, the building of the former British Empire.
Electorates throughout Europe, North America and most of the world should closely examine who led the world to this point in history. The media needs to take a serious and in depth look at what has been going on rather than simply point the finger at one man here and another there.
The West dare not risk nuclear war and Ukraine faces losing the current conflict. That will leave NATO allies in a calamitous position. Will sanctions last? The signs are that NATO countries, the EU and the rest of the world will have to give in to public pressure.
It is dawning on the West that if Russia takes over Ukraine, or even a large part of it, the economic reality will be reversed. Putin will control the bread basket of Europe. The desperate human tragedy that Ukraine now is will end in Russian supremacy.
Right now there is perhaps one slim hope. That is that the United Nations unite and send in a blue helmeted peace force backed by the threat that NATO will take action if they are opposed.
Meanwhile, it is certain that Russia has spies everywhere and given that a lot of Ukrainians, largely those from the eastern border territories, are pro-Russia, it should not be forgotten that among the millions of refugees there will most certainly be more Russian agents. Ukrainian infiltrators are a serious problem for President Zelensky’s defenders. Perhaps the British Government should spell that out to French President Emmanuel Macron after his comments on Friday.
Whatever the truth of that one thing is certain, the world is in the process of profound social and political change.
———- Dateline: The Corner Cafe, Deal, Kent. ———-
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