Risk of World War

[August1991]

On 7/8/2022 at 4:58 PM, 500channelsurfer said:

Russia has always entered wars with very poor military performance at the beginning and has learned and improved throughout each of its wars until it normally ends with at least some form of win (Afghanistan being an exception where it lost...

Or the 1905 Japan War.

Or the war with Finland in 1939.

Or far more relevant, the occupation of two centuries under the Monghols.

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I reckon that Putin views himself like Peter or Catherine. Unlike Clinton and Blair, Putin understands now that he is a protector of a long-term tradition.

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Putin is no Hitler wishing world domination. He wants to build a Kremlin and protect Russia. In his mind, he is being a good father of the Slavic people - protecting them far in to the future.

Edited July 16, 2022 by August1991

[August1991]

In the early 2000s, when Putin first became president, Tony Blair flew frequently to St-Petersburg to meet and talk with Putin. (From London, it was a short flight.)

At the time (and still now), I thought Blair was being generous. Decades later, I can only imagine the mis-understanding of these conversations.

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I suspected something at the time. (Heck, I was there.) I think that the world lost a golden chance of true change in 1998 when the ruble collapsed and Yeltsin brought in Primakov. 

-At the time, I recall joking that the rouble would be fixed at the value of a French franc. My prescient colleague laughed.

-In August 1998, the rouble was no longer fixed at 6 to the dollar (like a franc). It suddenly cost 24 roubles to buy a dollar - and everything changed. 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by August1991