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Why is it critical to push back on the seemingly innocuous narratives by some Western journalists, politicians, and other media personalities?
A cursory look at some of them might indicate that they are pro-Ukraine. 1/
A cursory look at some of them might indicate that they are pro-Ukraine. 1/
But once you start to really listen to them, you'll notice some telltale insidious patterns. Note by "you" I mean someone who really knows russia, the russians, their narratives, culture, and usually language. 2/
An average Westerner is not someone capable of detecting those patterns. I would even go as far as claiming that an average Western russia expert is incapable of that either. 3/
However, it is all too often that I find myself explaining to Westerners why such and such person is not much of a real supporter of Ukraine or not exactly anti-russian. Some listen, some don’t. Those who do not tend to get very defensive. 4/
@KuldkeppMart gave an explanation for this phenomenon – he called it Western parochialism and privilege-blindness. I prefer to call it infantile myopic egoism and ingenuine humanism of those who enjoy the safety of their walled garden and presume that the world functions in... 5/
the same manner as it does in their home countries, that the same rules apply in russia as they apply to themselves. They refuse to cross that mental barrier and by proxy apply their own Western colonial attitudes to those who try to explain russia’s nature. 6/
All of this is accompanied by an unhealthy dose of disaster tourism.
In the most deplorable cases, some “pro-Ukraine” Westerns portray their support as charity. It is not. 7/
In the most deplorable cases, some “pro-Ukraine” Westerns portray their support as charity. It is not. 7/
I believe that Ukraine cannot achieve a complete and unconditional victory over russia without Western support. Ukraine must be territorially restored within its 1991 borders. If such a victory is not accomplished, there can be no fundamental changes in russia,... 8/
global fascist movements would be on the rise, politics of fear and hate would become normalized worldwide, and nuclear proliferation would become an imminent risk. The full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine is not a local conflict in a faraway land. 9/
It is russia’s attempt to drag us all back into the past and wipe out decades of progress in international relations and law. And there is at least one other ethnofascist empire watching closely right now and drawing its own conclusions from the international response. 10/
There is no going back to the status quo of pre-2014 or even pre-February 24, 2022.
Those innocuous yet insidious “pro-Ukraine” journalists, politicians, etc. have their own agency. 11/
Those innocuous yet insidious “pro-Ukraine” journalists, politicians, etc. have their own agency. 11/
A small minority of them have an obvious pro-russian stance they assume because of corruption or their compromised background. However, I suspect that most do it out of the desire to return to “business as usual” in the financial interests of the groups they represent. 12/
I previously mentioned my most pessimistic forecast for the invasion. Too many in the West are looking for a simple solution with russia – put a new face in the kremlin, apply a democratic varnish, pretend that russia is going to change, and restart economic integration. 13/
All of that would eventually lead to a new ethnofascist regime and war.
And how would one achieve the return to “business as usual?” By repeating some of the russian talking points, e.g. “russia is too strong,” “russia will use nuclear weapons,” etc. 14/
And how would one achieve the return to “business as usual?” By repeating some of the russian talking points, e.g. “russia is too strong,” “russia will use nuclear weapons,” etc. 14/
This is done to push aside Ukraine’s interests and achieve a settlement in the war as quickly as possible without addressing any of the fundamental issues with russia. I suspect that most of the Western support for Ukraine is dragged along by the public support momentum. 15/
After all, many excuses were found for the noncompliance with the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 when Ukraine surrendered its massive nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from the US, UK, and russia. 16/
Or the non-recognition of the ongoing genocide in Ukraine. Instead we see reports on the “risk of genocide” in Ukraine. Recognition of the genocide would trigger a set of responsibilities under the Convention on the Genocide Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 17/
It would seem that no one in the West wants to risk it yet. Is it out of the desire to return to “business as usual?” No nation-state was yet found guilty of the crime of crimes yet. In my opinion, russia more than qualifies to be the first one. 18/
It just might trigger the necessary fundamental changes in russia through collective guilt. Some delusional Westerners immediately push back stating that “collective guilt just mirrors russian propaganda.” 19/
Such false projections are grounded in the misunderstanding or intentional misinterpretation of the concept of collective guilt – it does not entail a “collective gulag” for the russian people, but fundamental changes in their system of beliefs shaped by their education... 20/
system that needs to abolish the promotion of russian “imperial innocence,” a term coined by @BotakozKassymb1 and @EricaMarat. Imperial innocence is mostly achieved through historic revisionism and romanization of the russian culture. 21/
Western academia and politicians are complicit in aiding the russians in both.
Or the continued trade with russia. russian LNG exports are nearly at record levels mostly because of France, Japan, and unsurprisingly China. We are yet to see the promised oil price caps. 22/
Or the continued trade with russia. russian LNG exports are nearly at record levels mostly because of France, Japan, and unsurprisingly China. We are yet to see the promised oil price caps. 22/
G7 leaders dodged the decision on imposing price caps on russian oil in early October. The US has not yet designated russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, despite the abundant and salient efforts by the russians in Ukraine. 23/
The SST designation would open legal avenues to a substantial number of measures that could suffocate the russian economy including an embargo. Is it not done out of the desire to go back to “business as usual” and return to the unattainable status quo? 24/
Moreover, the aid provided to Ukraine is miniscule considering what is at stake. The US, the largest donor, has disbursed about $9 billion in total government aid since February 24. For comparison, the US spent $115B on average a year on the war in Afghanistan. 25/
No Western tanks or IFVs have been provided yet, apart from the archaic M113s, the poorly protected MRAPs built to fight insurgents, and the soviet museum pieces. I am not even going to discuss ATACMS or hundreds of mothballed M198s (155mm howitzers retired from US service). 26/
The few HIMARS systems and the 126 M777s sent to Ukraine are a good start, but I mostly view them as a reactive measure to the russian atrocities. The West is yet to take proactive measures. 27/
How is this stalling across the board achieved? In part by russian propaganda, but mostly through either indecisiveness or false of hopes for the “return to normal” in the West. Both aided by bad narratives of some Western journalists, politicians, etc. 28/
In good faith, I cannot tell you that we can go back to business as usual after putin is gone. It won’t matter who takes over. russia must be decentralized, something that the empire won’t survive in its present territorial form. 29/
Narratives matter. Words form beliefs, beliefs shape reality, and reality defines history. 30/30
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