True: we made mistakes. We tried too hard to pander to Russia in the Yeltsin era, ignoring the growth of corruption, authoritarianism and revanchism. We overlooked Russians’ resentment as their country drifted from the European mainstream and our vulnerability to the steps they could take in response. We neglected Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the countries of the Caucasus. The Blair government was bewitched by the Putin regime’s offer of cooperation against Islamist terrorism in 2001. We have been frequently dazzled by the spurious commercial prospects offered by Russia – in particular BP’s decision to form an alliance with Rosneft, the main Russian oil company, was a shameful example of greed and short-sightedness.
very good paper by Edward Lucas
#edward-lucas #russia #putin #oil #gas #caucasus #blair #ukraine #moldova #belarus #rosneft #russian #bp #vulnerability #authoritarianism #corruption #revanchism #europe #politics #world #war #peace #regime #challenge #soviet #ussr #empire #imperialism #freedom
Mikheil Saakashvili have been written new article which expresses point of view of the people of post soviet countries like Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. The voice most of you have no desire to hear.
How could the West not have been prepared by now for a proper response? We’ve seen this game before. Putin’s play has always been to raise the stakes, hoping that the West will blink every time tension increases.
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At the same time, European leaders still refuse to use the word “invasion” – even though tanks and armored convoys have rolled across the border and more than half of the combat-ready troops on the ground in Ukraine, based on multiple credible accounts, are regular Russian soldiers.
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Once the conflict is thus “frozen,” Putin can continue to destabilize the rest of Ukraine, infiltrating separatist forces from the controlled territory, turning off energy supplies, and strangling the fragile economy. It’s the same playbook he has used in Georgia and Moldova.
#Mikheil-Saakashvili #Europe #Ukraine #Putin #Russia #Georgia #Moldova #invasion #west #playbook
The dotted/striped areas show where multilingualism is common. I love this map because it shows how odd Hungary, Basque, Estonia and Finland are in Europe. You can also notice the split areas in Moldova, Serbia/Kosovo, Cyprus, Belgium, Lapland, India and the obvious Kurdistan. I noticed that Albanian and Armenian are unique, as well.
http://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/90847865305/indo-european-languages-within-their-present-day
#internet #map #maps #albanian #albania #armenian #armenia #moldova #serbia #kosovo #cyprus #belgium #lapland #hungary #basque #estonia #finland #europe #language #languages
