I will stipulate that everything you’ve said here is well-researched, appropriate, and reasonable. I agree that Putin is a corrupt, murderous thug. And that he obviously was unjustified invading Ukraine. I am rooting for the Ukrainians; they deserve our sympathy and respect. As a conservative Christian American, here is my issue: I believe I have a more clear and present danger to my freedom and prosperity than Putin, which is what I call a Globalist, Neo-Fascist, Eugenicist Oligarchy. Biden is their current puppet, but they have many more waiting for their turn. This group has perpetrated a coup against a sitting President. They promulgated the genocidal Plandemic to kill millions, institute vaccines, vaccine passports, and panopticon surveillance to impoverish and enslave, or kill us. They have made no secret of the fact that they hate me just as much, if not more than Putin. They are responsible for more death, enslavement, and impoverishment than Putin could dream of accomplishing. Because of these facts, it is quite difficult for me to get sucked into their moral panic about making Putin into Hitler over Ukraine, to try to convince me they need yet more power over me to fight their latest enemy (which they have created in many ways). I would be impressed if I could hear even one of these oligarchs suggest anything other than that we March headlong into WW3 on behalf of the Ukrainians. Is there no path to peace other than total war in this case? If so, I’d love to hear it from our Oligarchs.
I'm a Darwinist. Simply claiming that peoples evolve to be different. Yes, those differences manifest themselves as tribes. The liberal agenda has suppressed tribalism, now resurgent on all fronts. That's not a value statement, just an observation. My touchstone book, written during the war in which I was born long ago, is Evolution and Ethics by Sir Arthur Keith. https://archive.org/details/keith-evolution-ethics
Doesn't it still boil down to believers in God and (or* not all believers in God believe in Jesus)) Jesus the Christ? It's still good vs evil. Always has been. Believers vs Unbelievers, all the back to the earliest biblical days on record. Believers in a God full of grace and mercy try to have grace and mercy for their fellow man. Others don't. It's really that simplistic - and that deep. It is hard for modern day believers to understand that modern day man can be as evil as biblical history, and even modern history, reveals to us. Yet man is born evil. How quickly we try to forget that.
And I fully agree with @Rascal Nick Of below - the whole world has a greater fear they aren't even paying attention to.
But the world isn't falling apart, it's falling into place. It is a story told 2,000 years ago and 5,000+ years ago. We know the paths to the end, we see them being taken, but not the individual steps to get there. We know the ending. Meanwhile, we occupy and do what we can, help where we can and pray for our brothers and sisters suffering everywhere.
P. S. I don't know of any American who is championing Putin or even trusts anything he says. But, it appears Zelensky has also appeared with WEF and Schwab. So neither is he trusted to be honest.
Ukraine is not ‘a different civilization from Russia’ but historically, culturally, and ethnically intertwined with Russia. While there are some differences between Russians and Ukrainians historically the fact is, Ukraine is not a western country but part of the Eastern Slavic Orthodox Civilizational space. I understand you are an American expat residing in Ukraine and married to a local woman and have sired in old age a pair of half-Ukrainian children with her. I understand your newfound tribal loyalties and exaggerated Ukrainian nationalism, but respectfully disagree with your anti-Russian takes and support for NATO and U.S. imperialism. My position here will be simply put so you understand where I am coming from. I do not support the Zelensky regime or the neocon Russia haters within the U.S. eager for a war on Putin. Know that you are in league with the likes of the Podhoretzes, Kristols, and Grahams here. Putin is many things but Ukraine was a crappy country before this war run by a corrupt criminal oligarchy and will continue to be one for some considerable time afterward.
Ukraine will not be in NATO nor a member state in The European Union. Frankly, would you want it to be considering the pernicious cultural and social influence of The United States and the criminally treasonous behavior of Western and Central European ruling elites, and particularly those of Germany, Britain, and France relating to surrender of national sovereignty, mass immigration, and the deliberate cultural and ethnic destruction of their own native populations. In short, very little is good or positive in any social, political, or economic sense about the modern West and those running it.
As an American of largely western and Northern European ancestry, I simply do not care which nation controls Donbas or Crimea. I am neither Ukrainian nor Russian. I don’t particularly care what form of government exists in Russia or Ukraine nor support globalist, neocon, or other subversive interests in fostering so-called ‘regime change’, and must ask you, change to what? Who would replace Putin if his government collapsed tomorrow? Who do you want ruling Russia? I realize for you this might be an important issue. As for myself as a citizen of The United States and residing within that country, I do not want a war with Russia, a new arms race, or billions of taxpayers money sent to The Zelensky regime. I’m much more concerned with the crowd running the United States of America than who runs Russia or China not is who controls contested territories in eastern Ukraine in any form a vital American national interest. Sorry, but I am far more concerned about the mass influx across our undefended southern borders than who will control Kharkiv or Kherson and regard those reigning in D.C., Hollywood, and Manhattan as my primary cultural, political, and class/economic enemies rather than Xi in Beijing or Vlad in Moscow. Your war isn’t in the interests of the Legacy American nation to be involved with in any form. Your blog is interesting otherwise and follow it to glean a pro-Kiev perspective on this sad, unfortunate conflict between very closely related peoples.
"The invasion of Ukraine could be explained by Putin's sense of superiority over the decadent West – he goes on all the time about the homosexuals and so on – and his being out of touch with the realities about his own military"and
It could also be explained by the expansion of NATO and the shelling of Donbass, the 2014 coup...
Most of this seems true in my limited knowledge of Slavic history. However, Graham you are letting yourself be influenced too much by black and white thinking you disagree with in other areas. Most issues are complicated and nuance is needed to understand. You have have let your fellow countrymen talk you into hating the enemy even though they are cousins and men just like you. The recent canceling of all things Russian is simple minded. It's the corrupt system and oligarchs who should be blamed not the poor Russian people.
I cannot even imagine a more hypocritical piece of calling the "West" which loots, pillages and bombs other countries for centuries as "caring", while Russia has been the only country to stand up against the Western oppression around the Globe. It suffered greatly from Western invasions and atrocities throughout its history, but remains undefeated. Not to mention resorting to "genetic" differences is low and racist, all while promoting CRT in the West (but we can brainwash Ukrainians that they are superior in our "divide and conquer" policy so more of the Slavs kill each other).
Wonderfully informative article, unfortunately without proofs but I'd guess on the whole accurate.
I don't think it is at all proven that Russians think differently.
The whole piece is intended to prove they do, I think. By describing the war fiasco.
They think differently hence the war was a fiasco which proves they think differently. Circular reasoning.
Better as an information piece. About the state of Russia's political system, social system, military.
And in the end what it does is make a case that Putin is mad (in his Russian way) and that therefore we shouldn't trust the Russian people. Because they're essentially different from us.
Rubbish. We should trust the Russian people just as much as we trust each other: which shouldn't be much, realistically, we know, and our volumes of law attest to that fact.
The whole piece in the end is merely a condemnation of Putin and the Russian people and a exhortation for us to avoid and mistrust them.
Which I don't think is the right way to go, the right thing to do, to say.
Quite the opposite I think we attempt to draw closer to the Russian people particularly and to Putin, too.
As regards Putin it seems by this essay that he's badly misinformed in which case helping him out would be to everyone's advantage.
Publish truths he can test and should know.
And have some sympathy for him.
In his loneliness - by the arguments/descriptions of this essay he's alone surrounded by deceipt - he maybe has one thing, one growing thing; it wouldn't be at all abnormal in powerful sole rulers: he identifies strongly with 'his' Russia. He goes to sleep at night and dreams of what he will do with 'his' Russia. He wakes in the morning to 'his' Russia.
He owns it. In his own mind.
And loves it. He thinks what he will do with his 'toy', or his 'project' or his wonderful possession.
He doesn't seek to hurt it. He seeks to make it ever more wonderful.
And the West and NATO have never ceased to attack his beautiful possession: Russia.
Never.
To this very moment.
If the West were to befriend Putin I think we'd have a chance of seeing an incredible change for the better all around the world.
But the deeply corrupt and deceitful powers of the West will not allow such a process.
They wouldn't allow it with Gaddafi and they wouldn't allow it with Hussein and they wouldn't allow it with Assad.
They will not allow rational and good and thoughtful and constructive.
They will not allow us, the western people, to meet any other peoples in the world nor help them.
Instead: such as this essay. 'Proofs' of why we should shun and attack.
Thanks for a solid look at the 12' tall Russian soldier that now seems much smaller. I might disagree about the US right defending Putin. The two notables seem to be Carlson and Trump. Carlson seems overly concerned the US is building a predicate to get enmeshed in another war. Perhaps as a way for Biden to sidestep his many blunders. Trump seems to say Putin is acting as he, Trump, would by taking advantage of the weakness in the US which is a knock on Biden. But Trump praise for Putin (and others) seem connected to disarming his opponents and imagining his charm will win them over to his position. As in "A great leader like you couldn't possibly walk away from this deal I have for you". I certainly don't care if Putin is anti-woke, that has never entered my mind. The woke will burn themselves out as time goes on; that sort of thing ends up with them eating themselves eventually. Progressives OTOH are much more dangerous in that they are rabid about eliminating my sense of western values reflected in morality. Some thing are never OK or justifiable.
I do hope that they will come to their senses as the Russian invaders discover that Ukraine is not like those other smaller, nations without even the tools to fight. Putin, I think, is not so angry that he would revert to small nuclear weapons to destroy. Should he do so I'm not sure what the world response might be, but the complete destruction of his oil wells along with any support for them would be tops on my list.
I will stipulate that everything you’ve said here is well-researched, appropriate, and reasonable. I agree that Putin is a corrupt, murderous thug. And that he obviously was unjustified invading Ukraine. I am rooting for the Ukrainians; they deserve our sympathy and respect. As a conservative Christian American, here is my issue: I believe I have a more clear and present danger to my freedom and prosperity than Putin, which is what I call a Globalist, Neo-Fascist, Eugenicist Oligarchy. Biden is their current puppet, but they have many more waiting for their turn. This group has perpetrated a coup against a sitting President. They promulgated the genocidal Plandemic to kill millions, institute vaccines, vaccine passports, and panopticon surveillance to impoverish and enslave, or kill us. They have made no secret of the fact that they hate me just as much, if not more than Putin. They are responsible for more death, enslavement, and impoverishment than Putin could dream of accomplishing. Because of these facts, it is quite difficult for me to get sucked into their moral panic about making Putin into Hitler over Ukraine, to try to convince me they need yet more power over me to fight their latest enemy (which they have created in many ways). I would be impressed if I could hear even one of these oligarchs suggest anything other than that we March headlong into WW3 on behalf of the Ukrainians. Is there no path to peace other than total war in this case? If so, I’d love to hear it from our Oligarchs.
I'm a Darwinist. Simply claiming that peoples evolve to be different. Yes, those differences manifest themselves as tribes. The liberal agenda has suppressed tribalism, now resurgent on all fronts. That's not a value statement, just an observation. My touchstone book, written during the war in which I was born long ago, is Evolution and Ethics by Sir Arthur Keith. https://archive.org/details/keith-evolution-ethics
Doesn't it still boil down to believers in God and (or* not all believers in God believe in Jesus)) Jesus the Christ? It's still good vs evil. Always has been. Believers vs Unbelievers, all the back to the earliest biblical days on record. Believers in a God full of grace and mercy try to have grace and mercy for their fellow man. Others don't. It's really that simplistic - and that deep. It is hard for modern day believers to understand that modern day man can be as evil as biblical history, and even modern history, reveals to us. Yet man is born evil. How quickly we try to forget that.
And I fully agree with @Rascal Nick Of below - the whole world has a greater fear they aren't even paying attention to.
But the world isn't falling apart, it's falling into place. It is a story told 2,000 years ago and 5,000+ years ago. We know the paths to the end, we see them being taken, but not the individual steps to get there. We know the ending. Meanwhile, we occupy and do what we can, help where we can and pray for our brothers and sisters suffering everywhere.
P. S. I don't know of any American who is championing Putin or even trusts anything he says. But, it appears Zelensky has also appeared with WEF and Schwab. So neither is he trusted to be honest.
Ukraine is not ‘a different civilization from Russia’ but historically, culturally, and ethnically intertwined with Russia. While there are some differences between Russians and Ukrainians historically the fact is, Ukraine is not a western country but part of the Eastern Slavic Orthodox Civilizational space. I understand you are an American expat residing in Ukraine and married to a local woman and have sired in old age a pair of half-Ukrainian children with her. I understand your newfound tribal loyalties and exaggerated Ukrainian nationalism, but respectfully disagree with your anti-Russian takes and support for NATO and U.S. imperialism. My position here will be simply put so you understand where I am coming from. I do not support the Zelensky regime or the neocon Russia haters within the U.S. eager for a war on Putin. Know that you are in league with the likes of the Podhoretzes, Kristols, and Grahams here. Putin is many things but Ukraine was a crappy country before this war run by a corrupt criminal oligarchy and will continue to be one for some considerable time afterward.
Ukraine will not be in NATO nor a member state in The European Union. Frankly, would you want it to be considering the pernicious cultural and social influence of The United States and the criminally treasonous behavior of Western and Central European ruling elites, and particularly those of Germany, Britain, and France relating to surrender of national sovereignty, mass immigration, and the deliberate cultural and ethnic destruction of their own native populations. In short, very little is good or positive in any social, political, or economic sense about the modern West and those running it.
As an American of largely western and Northern European ancestry, I simply do not care which nation controls Donbas or Crimea. I am neither Ukrainian nor Russian. I don’t particularly care what form of government exists in Russia or Ukraine nor support globalist, neocon, or other subversive interests in fostering so-called ‘regime change’, and must ask you, change to what? Who would replace Putin if his government collapsed tomorrow? Who do you want ruling Russia? I realize for you this might be an important issue. As for myself as a citizen of The United States and residing within that country, I do not want a war with Russia, a new arms race, or billions of taxpayers money sent to The Zelensky regime. I’m much more concerned with the crowd running the United States of America than who runs Russia or China not is who controls contested territories in eastern Ukraine in any form a vital American national interest. Sorry, but I am far more concerned about the mass influx across our undefended southern borders than who will control Kharkiv or Kherson and regard those reigning in D.C., Hollywood, and Manhattan as my primary cultural, political, and class/economic enemies rather than Xi in Beijing or Vlad in Moscow. Your war isn’t in the interests of the Legacy American nation to be involved with in any form. Your blog is interesting otherwise and follow it to glean a pro-Kiev perspective on this sad, unfortunate conflict between very closely related peoples.
"The invasion of Ukraine could be explained by Putin's sense of superiority over the decadent West – he goes on all the time about the homosexuals and so on – and his being out of touch with the realities about his own military"and
It could also be explained by the expansion of NATO and the shelling of Donbass, the 2014 coup...
Most of this seems true in my limited knowledge of Slavic history. However, Graham you are letting yourself be influenced too much by black and white thinking you disagree with in other areas. Most issues are complicated and nuance is needed to understand. You have have let your fellow countrymen talk you into hating the enemy even though they are cousins and men just like you. The recent canceling of all things Russian is simple minded. It's the corrupt system and oligarchs who should be blamed not the poor Russian people.
Wasn't Putin a WEF Young Global Leaders graduate? Globalist psycho all the way!
I cannot even imagine a more hypocritical piece of calling the "West" which loots, pillages and bombs other countries for centuries as "caring", while Russia has been the only country to stand up against the Western oppression around the Globe. It suffered greatly from Western invasions and atrocities throughout its history, but remains undefeated. Not to mention resorting to "genetic" differences is low and racist, all while promoting CRT in the West (but we can brainwash Ukrainians that they are superior in our "divide and conquer" policy so more of the Slavs kill each other).
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2022/03/25/breaking-us-deploying-chemical-weapons-to-poland-for-false-flag-ukraine-attack-full-backgroundconfirmed-by-vt/ ???
Wonderfully informative article, unfortunately without proofs but I'd guess on the whole accurate.
I don't think it is at all proven that Russians think differently.
The whole piece is intended to prove they do, I think. By describing the war fiasco.
They think differently hence the war was a fiasco which proves they think differently. Circular reasoning.
Better as an information piece. About the state of Russia's political system, social system, military.
And in the end what it does is make a case that Putin is mad (in his Russian way) and that therefore we shouldn't trust the Russian people. Because they're essentially different from us.
Rubbish. We should trust the Russian people just as much as we trust each other: which shouldn't be much, realistically, we know, and our volumes of law attest to that fact.
The whole piece in the end is merely a condemnation of Putin and the Russian people and a exhortation for us to avoid and mistrust them.
Which I don't think is the right way to go, the right thing to do, to say.
Quite the opposite I think we attempt to draw closer to the Russian people particularly and to Putin, too.
As regards Putin it seems by this essay that he's badly misinformed in which case helping him out would be to everyone's advantage.
Publish truths he can test and should know.
And have some sympathy for him.
In his loneliness - by the arguments/descriptions of this essay he's alone surrounded by deceipt - he maybe has one thing, one growing thing; it wouldn't be at all abnormal in powerful sole rulers: he identifies strongly with 'his' Russia. He goes to sleep at night and dreams of what he will do with 'his' Russia. He wakes in the morning to 'his' Russia.
He owns it. In his own mind.
And loves it. He thinks what he will do with his 'toy', or his 'project' or his wonderful possession.
He doesn't seek to hurt it. He seeks to make it ever more wonderful.
And the West and NATO have never ceased to attack his beautiful possession: Russia.
Never.
To this very moment.
If the West were to befriend Putin I think we'd have a chance of seeing an incredible change for the better all around the world.
But the deeply corrupt and deceitful powers of the West will not allow such a process.
They wouldn't allow it with Gaddafi and they wouldn't allow it with Hussein and they wouldn't allow it with Assad.
They will not allow rational and good and thoughtful and constructive.
They will not allow us, the western people, to meet any other peoples in the world nor help them.
Instead: such as this essay. 'Proofs' of why we should shun and attack.
Spurious proofs.
Thanks for a solid look at the 12' tall Russian soldier that now seems much smaller. I might disagree about the US right defending Putin. The two notables seem to be Carlson and Trump. Carlson seems overly concerned the US is building a predicate to get enmeshed in another war. Perhaps as a way for Biden to sidestep his many blunders. Trump seems to say Putin is acting as he, Trump, would by taking advantage of the weakness in the US which is a knock on Biden. But Trump praise for Putin (and others) seem connected to disarming his opponents and imagining his charm will win them over to his position. As in "A great leader like you couldn't possibly walk away from this deal I have for you". I certainly don't care if Putin is anti-woke, that has never entered my mind. The woke will burn themselves out as time goes on; that sort of thing ends up with them eating themselves eventually. Progressives OTOH are much more dangerous in that they are rabid about eliminating my sense of western values reflected in morality. Some thing are never OK or justifiable.
I do hope that they will come to their senses as the Russian invaders discover that Ukraine is not like those other smaller, nations without even the tools to fight. Putin, I think, is not so angry that he would revert to small nuclear weapons to destroy. Should he do so I'm not sure what the world response might be, but the complete destruction of his oil wells along with any support for them would be tops on my list.
Damn right!