Stickers with the slogan ““Russia is not my enemy” have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy.
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“Russia has launched the propaganda campaign ‘Russia is not my enemy,’ which has reached Romania. Stickers with this message are appearing in cities as part of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign aimed at creating the illusion of a ‘peaceful partnership.’ Through such tools of influence, Russia seeks to portray itself as a peacemaker, downplay its own crimes, and sow discord within European societies,” the statement by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said.
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The Center added that the purpose of the campaign is to undermine citizens’ trust in the rule of law and democratic institutions in their countries, cast doubt on the Euro-Atlantic course, and discredit support for Ukraine.
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Russia has significantly intensified hybrid attacks on the EU’s critical infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
When UK refuses to return the riches they stole, we just say it like that.
When Belgia refuse to acknowledge genocide in Congo, we just say it.
When we talk about France losing colonial wars in Vietnam and Algeria, we say it.
When Israel starves an entire population in openly advertised genocide, we say it.
When we talk about Japanese massacres in China, we just say it.
When we talk about Chinese genocide of Uighurs, we just say it.
When Canada systematically oppresses indigenous population, we just say it.
But when Russia commits genocide and openly promises hellfire on the heads of those who would resist, don’t we dare say it!
This is pure mental gymnastics.
The fact that you straight ignored the core of my argument doesn’t add it any credibility either.
I didn’t give Russia a free pass. I said it deserves the exact same scrutiny as other big European colonial powers. And it is by those standards that their aggression is Ukraine, but also in Georgia, in Moldova, etc is despicable and condemnable.
But if I understanding correctly, the core of your argument is that the whole concept of “Russia” is inextricably connected to barbaric genocidal wars of expansion, that Putinism is essentially Russian and inextricable/inseparable from it. And I have a problem with that, because that’s a condemnation of Russian-ness as such. Am I misreading your core argument?
No, my argument is that Russia’s and Russians’ actions are consistent across multiple statehoods and governments, making any attempt at redeeming them by shifting blame to a specific government an example of mental gymnastics.
Only actual attempts at taking responsibility for what Russia has been doing should count. And frankly, those Russians that do take responsibility—many of whom already got disappeared—will get erased from history and from possible future definition of „Russia” if Russia is not taken seriously to be your enemy here and now.
Yea, that’s bullshit. You’re imagining a collective will that acts across time. Sid Meier’s Civilization turned into real world politics.
Look buddy, this thing you’re doing, I’ve seen it before. I’m from Greece, the Balkans. The way you talk about Russians is the way we talk about the Turks, it’s the way the Serbs talk about the Croats, it’s the way each petty Balkan nationalist essentializes the Otherness of every other petty Balkan nationalist. The eternal enemy over there. I’ve seen it before, I know what it smells like, I know what it does. Not interested.
Would you say the same thing about the Mongols? Just because their people might be nice as a single person, their culture and self definition are linked to a sense of superiority and the will to expand and subdue. The same goes for Russia. There will be no free democratic Russia without sweeping and painful changes.
The country will have to be broken up in smaller parts, there would habe to be a cleaning similar to the denazification of Germany after WW2. Probably a prolonged time where outside forces hold control and influence the direction the country is taking.
Left to itself it will just breed the next Putin
Unfortunately, I don’t think some people# understand this point. They keep comparing European culture to Russian FFS.
They don’t get that the foundations of what is Russia is part Bulgaria (Cyrillic and Orthodox Church) and that its Slavic cultural foundations lie in Ukrainia (Kyevites) . And that the RF is run by Moskovites and Fascist Z people.
They are not the same.
And to our Canadians friends, imagine we start saying that Canada and America are alike in 2025. That’s how it’s for us, but maybe worse.
#edit subject into: some people (was Americans and Canadians , but europeans too)
Of course there will be no democratic Russia without changes. Putinism will have to be dismantled of course.
But what you and the person you respond to are doing is ridiculous. You’re not talking politics, you’re talking “culture” as if that’s something immutable, monolithic and finalized.
For fucks sakes, Russian history itself shows exactly that culture isn’t that!
And I find completely ridiculous this weird pitting of Russian vs European cultures as something meaningful. Do I need to name drop a bunch of GIANTS of European culture that are Russian? Russian culture is a quintessentially European culture, Russia is a key component of European modernity, it’s not a foreign body, it never has been.
But ultimately what I really want to push back is this apolitical Orientalist Huntingtonian bullshit that reduces everything to monolithic essentialist cultures. That’s just vulgar privincialist anti-politics.
No sorry dude, you’re not longer discussing this in good faith. To each his own, but stop trying to “culture” me.
I hear the intensity behind what you’re saying, and I don’t doubt the weight of the history you’re drawing on. But I reject the idea of eternal cultural essence: Russia is not doomed to repeat itself. My point is political, that regimes can and will change. Essentializing entire peoples closes off that possibility.
Alright. And I agree to that. Also I have acknowledged that possibility ( as in A Russian & Belarusian Spring). Heck, one of the most important universal laws is change.
My argument was more that these changes won’t be easy and will require lots effort and time, especially because of the scars of autocratic regimes. That’s an important step to acknowledge.
No disagreement whatsoever.
Common ground achieved :)