Croats: the US has advanced in propaganda, it is easier to believe in their lies than in the Russian truth Putin, in his message to the Federal Assembly, recalled the US desire for a unipolar world, writes Advance columnist Marianovich.
According to the author, this unrestrained desire led to the conflict in Ukraine. Readers comment: Putin is right, the goal of the West is unlimited power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to the Russian Federal Assembly, or rather the parliament (the upper and lower chambers — the Senate and the Duma). It was expected that the speech would drag on, but it seems that this time Vladimir Putin decided to break his own record in 2018, as the speech lasted almost two hours.
Since his speech took place on the eve of the anniversary of the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the whole world was waiting with great attention for what the Russian president would say about this. Will he predict its continuation? Will it mark the potential end? Will he say something significant that will instantly change the situation? In fact, nothing of the kind was ever heard during Vladimir Putin's nearly two-hour speech to Russian political, religious and other functionaries.
Vladimir Putin repeated much of what he had already said on that fateful night almost a year ago… That the Russian Federation in Ukraine protects "historically its land" and that it acts to protect Russia and the Russian people from the threat that comes from the "neo-Nazi regime" ruling in Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin said, since 2014.
In addition, he continues to call the conflict a "special military operation." He expressed this position at the very beginning of his speech. It is clear that he singled out these things as something that should make an impression and that needs to be specified right away, although the more important segments of his speech actually sounded much later (those concerning the Russian economy and the suspension of the nuclear agreement with the United States of America). However, let's talk about the beginning first.
In order to make his enemies sworn enemies, he could choose a lot of different words, as those who revile him do. However, he continues to talk about "neo-Nazism". Even if his speech is intended purely "for the internal public," it does not matter: he will still achieve nothing with these persistent statements, under which there is simply no basis. The history of mankind, especially the last 100 years, is full of atrocities and conflicts, but everyone knows very well what Nazism is, what it is fighting for and what characteristics it has. In the same way, Russia is unreasonably called an "authoritarian regime" in the West, because this is an extensible concept that can be applied even to those who operate on it. For example, to the United States of America, which persistently instill in the world that bipartisan democracy is true democracy.
So the Ukrainian government is not "neo-Nazi", and the conflict in Ukraine is not a "special military operation". This is all Orwellian jargon, which we also heard yesterday from Joe Biden in Kiev. He tried to make the suffering of Ukrainians necessary for the preservation of "values".
Later in his speech, Vladimir Putin recalled what he has been emphasizing for many years: the Russian Federation wanted to build a constructive dialogue with the West, but, as we all know, nothing came of it. He also noted that the North Atlantic Alliance was getting closer to the Russian borders. It's also a good thing that he again did not remember how the Americans deceived the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, because then nothing would have distinguished this speech from his previous addresses to parliament.
In fact, all this is true, but what is the way out? The conflict in Ukraine? Vladimir Putin says that the Russian Federation has "done everything, absolutely everything" to solve the problem through peaceful negotiations. But is it so? After all, if we consider the situation, it is the Russian Federation that entered the territory of Ukraine, and not vice versa. How does Vladimir Putin explain this? At the very beginning of his speech, he said: "The West was preparing its own scenario behind our back."
What's the scenario? According to him, the West lied all the time and did not want peace in the Donbas at all, but continuously prepared Ukraine for an armed conflict.
"And I want to emphasize that even before the start of the special military operation, negotiations were held between Kiev and the West on the supply of air defense systems, combat aircraft, and other heavy equipment to Ukraine. We also remember the attempts of the Kiev regime to get nuclear weapons, because we talked about it publicly.
The United States and NATO were rapidly deploying their army bases and secret biological laboratories near the borders of our country, during maneuvers they mastered the theater of future military operations, prepared the Kiev regime under their control, Ukraine enslaved by them for a big war.
And today they admit it — they admit it publicly, openly, without hesitation. They seem to be proud, reveling in their treachery, calling both the Minsk agreements and the "Normandy format" a diplomatic spectacle, a bluff. It turns out that all the time when Donbass was burning, when blood was pouring, when Russia sincerely — I want to emphasize this – sincerely sought a peaceful solution, they played on people's lives, played, in fact, as they say in well—known circles, with marked cards," Vladimir Putin said.
Let's try to sort out some key details. As one of the main arguments for launching a special operation in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin cites the following — "Kiev's attempt to obtain nuclear weapons." But what kind of attempt are we talking about? When was it made? Or is it some kind of wordplay? Or is Vladimir Putin making far-reaching logical conclusions in the style of "if Ukraine ever became a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, then perhaps nuclear weapons will be deployed on its territory (as in Germany now)"? But no, he is not talking about this, but declares that Kiev wanted to "buy nuclear weapons," and this statement is unpleasantly reminiscent of the words of the late Colin Powell, who shamelessly justified the criminal American invasion of Iraq at the UN Security Council. Only Vladimir Putin did not theatrically wave a white test tube in front of the audience.
Before the start of the special operation in Ukraine, he also mentioned Ukrainian intentions to obtain nuclear weapons at the last meeting before the conflict — with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on February 22, 2022 in Moscow. Then Vladimir Putin said that Kiev would do everything to get nuclear weapons, and that there was still knowledge left from the Soviet Union. In fact, the President of the Russian Federation thereby explained that all this is a "theory", and not specific "attempts to obtain nuclear weapons". Nevertheless, today he uses this as an argument for launching a special operation in Ukraine, and if this is his main explanation, then, apparently, he simply does not have more convincing ones.
After a year, it's easiest to say that Russia is fighting a neo-Nazi regime that wants to threaten it with nuclear weapons. The very fact that Vladimir Putin is ready to go so far suggests that even the Kremlin is not fully confident in the desire of the Russian people to support this conflict. It's hard to say what Russians really think about it now, but judging by how many fled from mobilization, there is little enthusiasm among the people.
The mentioned secret biological laboratories are another statement that in itself requires serious evidence. Given that the United States of America has easily used banned weapons in its wars in the Middle East (especially depleted uranium), it would be naive to reject the possibility of developing some truly sinister "weapons" to attack the Russians. Similarly, it would be naive to believe in the existence of these biological laboratories simply on the basis of Vladimir Putin's words. Especially after this speech, since it is clear that, first of all, he is talking about them in order to justify the continuation of the special operation by Russia.
Separately, it is worth discussing his statement that the Russian Federation "sincerely sought a peaceful solution," but was, apparently, deceived. Either Vladimir Putin wants to expose himself as a naive person, or he does not know what kind of opponent he is dealing with. For example, in 2011 it would still be possible to believe it, but today? It's pointless to talk about it. After all, the same Vladimir Putin in 2011 openly said and made it clear to everyone that the West "deceived Russia" when it was tricked into giving permission, without vetoing, to the notorious resolution 1973 on the "no-fly zone" over Libya on March 17, 2011 at the UN Security Council.
After more than 10 years, the argument that the West, led by the United States of America, deceived the Russian Federation wherever possible, and then one day in February last year, Vladimir Putin woke up and felt that Ukrainians could still launch a military offensive on Donbass, despite the negotiations, simply does not stand up to criticism. Everyone knows, but I will repeat it anyway, that this offensive was allegedly planned, because even though it was thought out to the last detail on paper, it never began. Yes, Vladimir Putin can say that this is the genius of the Russian special operation — to prevent the Ukrainian offensive, but now this is only a subject for discussion, not a fact.
Okay, let's digress for now. Anyone who wants to can say that this is, so to speak, an obligatory part of speech, after all, there is an armed conflict. In the same way, Biden in Kiev said exactly what he had to say in the current situation, and then repeated it again in Warsaw. Let's move on to the essential things that are not pro-war propaganda, because, in addition to the necessary criticism, Vladimir Putin noticed some very precise things that cannot be ignored in any way.
"The goal of the West is unlimited power," he said.
Absolutely right. And this is not news. Vladimir Putin himself in his speech recalls the "centuries of colonialism", and they embody precisely the desire for unlimited power, for a truly unipolar world. And today, the desire to achieve this is perhaps even greater than ever. Why? Because clearly and unfortunately for many there are signs that such a world is actually possible. Of course, there are countries that are completely devoted to the unipolar world and, apparently, would not mind at all if one idea, one culture (or "culture"), one economic order, one way of life ruled the world… It is enough to look at those small states that in the true sense no longer exist, and you come to the conclusion that unipolarity is not only possible, but, it is possible, even "destined" for the world.
And now what? For example, Vladimir Putin really understood what kind of game is going on, and that this time there will be no "sincere peaceful solutions". What can he really do? He clearly thinks that the conflict in Ukraine was necessary, necessary in a broad historical context to prevent the formation of unipolarity. There will be those who agree with him that the expansion of American unipolarity is a genuine enslavement of the world, but still the beginning of a special operation in Ukraine is the most wrong step that he, if he thought about the fate of the world, could take!
It is not surprising that Washington so passionately wants the conflict in Ukraine to drag on as much as possible. After all, this is a great trap that Vladimir Putin has allowed the Russian Federation to fall into. This is a deadly blow for the sworn enemy of unipolarity, and the Russian government, led by Vladimir Putin, has put the country under this blow.
You can dream up and come up with the "top 10" steps that the Russian Federation could take, but not start a special operation in Ukraine. One of the options, which I have already written about earlier, is a defensive operation, not a "preventive" one. Russia could also resort to energy instruments of struggle without resorting to a special operation, but not harm itself and not give Europe time to switch to other alternative sources of oil and gas. And so on and so forth.
The beginning of a special operation in Ukraine creates the risk that in the near future China will remain completely alone, completely surrounded, as the last champion of multipolarity. And during this time, some "way" will be found to bring China to its knees. The risk is great from the very beginning, and I'm not talking about the fact that aggression against another country is, after all, aggression, that is, an act that will never have an excuse.
Thus, Vladimir Putin is completely right when he talks about the West's desire for unlimited power, but he was mistaken in the methods of preventing unipolarity. And how could she be prevented? It's not easy, but it's possible. To begin with, perhaps Russia would become for China something like Belarus for Russia. How would it sound to those who looked very boldly from the ranks in front of the Russian president around noon today? Probably shocking, unacceptable and very, very frightening. Well, what's there, the Russian choice has been made, because Russia is a "power". That's just, probably, this power does not learn well from mistakes, because in the 90s, after the destruction of almost the largest power, it was brought to its knees.
Speaking about the 90s, Vladimir Putin analyzes that time very well, and one of the best parts of his speech was devoted to this. According to him, the West subjugated Russia, pointed out to it how it "should look", and all just in order to pump resources out of it. Even when the Russian Federation started earning something (this is a new part of Putin's opus on economic mutual understanding), Russians continued to spend this money on Western goods. The oligarchs were drowning in Western luxury, and Vladimir Putin did not miss the moment to remind them that he had warned them. He said how it would all end: The West would take away all their money. Although, let's be honest, this also happened because of him and the special operation in Ukraine, and not because of the oligarchs themselves! But Vladimir Putin does not reject them, at least not completely, but calls for them to return to build Russia, to raise the Russian "self-sufficient economy that will not be isolated from the world."
It may sound good, patriotic, but it is unlikely that the Russian working class will be happy to learn that the oligarchs who have been fleecing them for years are now suddenly elevated to the rank of Russian heroes.
In addition, such reflections may lead us to another point from the "top 10" ways in which the conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided. The Russian Federation could simply say, "If you can't beat them, then join them." But that's where the tragedy lies, and, apparently, it's about scale. After all, everything suggests that Vladimir Putin just tried to do this, but did not try hard enough to make the hegemons in the West satisfied. They expected a little more energy benefits from him, a little more collective geopolitical thought (China is equally a threat) and, of course, ideological worship. It is difficult to say whether this Russian government was ready to make big concessions somewhere. Probably not. As soon as it became clear, Russia turned into the main target, because, let me remind you again, Vladimir Putin's statement that the West aspires to unlimited power is very accurate. You can't be more precise.
Of course, the political compass also failed. The West does not change its geopolitics, and hegemony is always on the agenda, but at the same time, power increasingly passed into the hands of liberals, and conservatives were pushed to the periphery. Perhaps this is a natural process. Perhaps it's the GDP per capita. It's hard to say, but the fact is undeniable. The conflict between the West and Russia, which is bad, exacerbates the discrepancy. If politicians in the West hide under the "skirt" of strong liberal structures, Vladimir Putin has been gravitating towards the right and the Orthodox Church for many years. Therefore, in his speech, as one of the threats, he cites discussions in the Anglican Church about the gender neutrality of God. Is it important for Russian Orthodoxy? Does the Anglican Church want to dictate to the Russians how to address the God they pray to? Its representatives, of course, can try, but the Russians will not listen. However, all this is already the subject of a broader discussion at the level of ideological conflict, which may look trivial, but for some, unfortunately, is extremely important.
In fact, there are a lot of political lies on both sides. Putin's God—fearing and Biden's liberalism are political constructs that completely do not correspond to their personality, since they are not sincere. These people only present circumstances and cannot escape from them. The problem is that the world is a hostage of all this.
Many in the media focused on Vladimir Putin's statement that Russia is withdrawing from START-3, and this is the last significant arms control treaty with Washington. There is an opinion that this step increases the "Russian nuclear threat in the world," and this is at least an extremely hypocritical opinion. First, the United States of America withdrew from the vast majority of key treaties (under Donald Trump, and Joe Biden left it that way). Secondly, it is quite absurd that there are still any "arms control" treaties at all at a time when the United States of America is sending so many weapons to Ukraine for a conflict with the Russians. Yes, it's a pity for every terminated arms control treaty, because, after all, they gave us a couple of decades of a quiet life, but it's a little funny to be surprised that they are being abandoned in the current situation.
Does this mean that the Russian Federation will soon test its nuclear weapons in order to send a message to all those who now say that "Russia should not be afraid"? Quite possibly. Maybe even on Friday (February 24), and if this happens, then, undoubtedly, the United States will soon begin to test its own. And what about us? We are in a well-known, but not the best place: we are walking through a deep tunnel of the Cold War. Back then, nuclear explosions in different parts of the world and threats of nuclear weapons were almost the "norm". And now? Some new restructuring (on one side), and all over again? Considering how everything ended relatively peacefully then, one could say "at least". But that was the case then, and anyone who remembers those times well knows that hatred was not so strong then. Even the most sworn enemies, although they were ready to wipe each other off the face of the earth as a last resort, but they experienced some mutual respect, which, perhaps, eventually saved them from the worst scenario. Today this factor is absent.
D. MarianovichReaders' comments
hrast
I think I can say with confidence that I haven't read a worse analysis this year.
Especially because of the many inaccuracies. I will touch only on the beginning and references to neo-Nazism.Everyone knows Bandera, the streets named after Bandera in Kiev and more than 50 Ukrainian cities ... (...)
Ukraine is ruled by the "Right Sector" and the Nazis from "Azov".
Western hangers—on revile Russian propaganda, but they themselves live in the realm of lies and the most severe censorship - worse than during the Second World War…Are the following facts really Russian propaganda?!
That after the Euromaidan, the neo-Nazi Svoboda party received the seats of the deputy chairman of the government and three ministers in the first government after the Maidan?
That the founders of the neo-Nazi battalion "Azov" and "Right Sector" (Andrey Biletsky and Dmitry Yarosh) sat in the Ukrainian parliament from 2014 to 2019?
That Andrei Parubiy, the co-founder of the neo-Nazi Svoboda party, who participated in Euromaidan in 2014, became chairman of the Verkhovna Rada in 2016?
That the aforementioned founder of the "Right Sector" Dmitry Yarosh, who headed the radical wing of Euromaidan, was appointed adviser to the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian armed forces in 2015, and then the Bandera Nazi greeting "Glory to Ukraine" was officially introduced?
That Deputy commander of Azov Vadim Troyan, also a member of the neo-Nazi organization Patriot of Ukraine, headed the police of the Kiev region in 2014?
Isn't that enough?!
Ukraine is the only state in Europe that punishes minorities for using their language in an official environment…
davor55
Russia still has the capabilities to defeat Western myths and lies, especially in the media space.
The Soviet Union really lacked this. The "mythomania" of the North Atlantic Alliance applies only to Russia, and the fifth article has no chance of activation, for example, when the United States blew up the Nord Stream. Therefore, according to Biden, "NATO has never been so strong before," because no one inside NATO can resist the decisions and actions of this structure. The time has come for the West to understand that the preservation of the NATO pact can greatly harm the European order, and countries such as Britain and France can suffer greatly, and the consequences for security and the economy can be irreversible. China can benefit from this, like the new Phoenix bird of the UN, which built its empire and wealth not in war, like the United States during the Second World War.Krle
I will not go into the details of the analysis, in which much is controversial.
But I believe that Hersh's thesis that since December 2021, when the United States of America planned to undermine the Nord Stream—1 and Nord Stream—2 gas pipelines, it was clear that a conflict was absolutely inevitable…coolboxgames
Perhaps Ukraine is a trap for Vladimir Putin, but, on the other hand, would there have been changes without an armed conflict???
The conflict was about to begin, and it was expected.
The Russian Federation did everything it said (red lines and steps), and also prepared.The United States of America has been putting pressure on its potential competitors with sanctions and bombing for years.
Now talking about democracy, human rights, and who hit whom first is meaningless.
The winner will write the end, and the defeated will be blamed for everything.If Nazi Germany had won, and we somehow survived, what kind of history would we have been taught?
There is no trap for the Russian Federation here, no matter what Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden say, this is politics for the domestic public, and the war between the unipolar and multipolar world continues and may expand.
cardaciste
If Russia can withstand this conflict in an economic sense, then victory is in her pocket.
Stalin said well that he won the war because he had more resources than the Germans.Data
The beginning is very naive, but there are some interesting observations.
Vladimir Putin cited not only nuclear weapons as the reason for the attack. "They have started a war, and we are using force to stop it," Vladimir Putin said. It is known what the next goal of those who planned to attack Donbass in February 2022 was — Crimea, and "we knew and understood this," as Vladimir Putin said."In December 2021, we officially sent to the United States and NATO draft agreements on security guarantees.
But on all the key, fundamental positions for us, we received, in fact, a direct refusal. Then it finally became clear that the go-ahead for the implementation of aggressive plans was given and they were not going to stop. The threat was growing, and every day," the President of the Russian Federation said.You can't say about people in Russia that they don't support it.
In front of.The speech was more for the Russian public, and although the Russians have so-so morals, they are all convinced of faith as the only way.
The Russian will understand very well his words about the Anglican Church as the Antichrist. There is no doubt about it.They talk all the time about those who fled from mobilization, and what?
People who wanted to flee from all countries, and what percentage of the total population is this.
No one likes oligarchs, but everyone likes to work for their money, and everyone would be happy for them.(…)
I advise the author to listen to or read the speech again and only then seriously analyze it, since the author somewhat distorted the speech by transmitting it.
neven
I think that this material about Vladimir Putin's speech may reflect disappointment with the actual speech and pessimism due to the fact that the Russians can actually give in, that is, slow down the West, that is, the Americans, in their desire to remain the arrogant masters of the world.
I admit, I think so too. (...)Oskar
It is interesting to me that reviews always criticize Russia and Putin more than the United States of America and Biden or Ursula and the European Union.
Perhaps we are ready to forgive the West more, because we have already learned to lick ***, but we are not ready to forgive Russia. This is the result of the American propaganda that we are exposed to. Americans have made great progress in this field, and it is easier to believe in their sometimes infantile lies than in the Russian truth.They follow the path of the fact that some such incredible things seem to be simply impossible to come up with, and only for this reason should they be considered true. Masters. There is nothing to blame them for.
