I Accuse

We are not the first to say this. French writer Emil Zola used the phrase in a famous newspaper defense of a wrongfully accused person in the bygone year of 1898.

It is now our turn.

The world had been watching a new war for the last few days. Watching intensely. There were and are wars being played around the globe, but none like this one. It’s not a local skirmish either. A war where military might of an entire country is brought against another smaller country. The latter doesn’t want to join the former in a union of sorts. They parted ways over 30 years ago, when the Communist Empire they both belonged to had split up. Both took diverging paths. The larger one took to capitalism for some years, becoming what you would call a modern “western-style” society. So did the smaller, which for better or for worse stayed the course. Not so for the larger country. After toying with “wild, robber-barons capitalism” they got themselves a leader whose earlier life was devoted to preserving Communist rule of the Soviet state.

One Mr. Putin, a former KGB man became the ruler of the land and everyone in Russia happily voted him into office. And once he got into office he decided to stay, permanently. And did anything he needed to do to stay there: intimidation, arrests and incarceration of dissenting voices; murder; voting fraud; corruption among the elite, judges and law enforcement; using oil and gas economy as a weapon against “western partners” whenever something wasn’t to his liking. Much of his country’s resources went to China at a dizzying speed and fire-sale prices. He also started several wars against some of his current and former subjects (Chechnya, Republic of Georgia) and stuck his nose internationally into Iraq, Syria, Mali, Libya and few other places. He brought back previously abolished mass-media censorship and poured money into the propaganda machine working against his own people and also the global community, 24/7. People who disagree with him are known to have died or ended up very sick from secret poisons used – unlike anything the world has seen in recent history. In effect he continued doing what he knew as KGB guy – building a large walled prison, named “The Russian Federation” and had mostly succeeded. It finely suits him and his cronies to have a destitute, brain-washed population at their beck and call.

Can you guess what is Putin’s biggest stated regret was? It was the collapse of the Soviet Union also known as the Communist Empire. He called it “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”.

Mr. Putin aims to bring back the “great” Russia and the not so dearly departed Soviet Union. He sees himself as the “gatherer of lands” and is known to admire bygone Russia’s rulers who waged wars to achieve that goal.

Leaving the Soviet Empire was never simple. Its reincarnation is trying to bring back its former territories, by hook or by crook, mostly by crook. Some parts of the Empire (the Baltics) have smarted up fast and joined the European Union and NATO, not to be drawn back. Others embraced Russia out of fear and through external manipulation and local corruption; stayed in its orbit for political and economic reasons (Belarus, Armenia, Central Asian republics). But one country stood out – Ukraine, a nation of 40 million people, now at war with the Putin’s Empire. Not free from corruption and mismanagement; with a long history of wars, suppression and political intrigues committed by the Tsarist Empire and subsequently the Soviet Union. Ukrainians always wanted their freedom and independence, and couldn’t get it until the Soviet state fell apart. Eventually they selected a path leading them to civilization, freedom, becoming a part of the world and aiming to join the European Union

They really never left the Empire until about ten or so years ago. Its leaders were mostly pro-Russian, paid off handsomely to stay around; the borders with Russia were open and relationships were mostly cordial, to a degree of course. Russia gave Ukraine money and trade preferences to keep her in their orbit. It had a lot of say in the affairs of that state. Skipping over a large body of political details, in 2013, then-president, one Mr. Yanukovich switched sides and went against the country’s stated goal of becoming part of EU, when Russia offered him a bribe of billions of dollars to reverse Ukraine’s direction. This led to large domestic protests, violence and bloodshed, killing of protestors and starting a popular revolt. He was soon gone. Former friend, the Russian Federation, had used the calamitous historical moment to seize Crimean peninsula from Ukraine (home of its rented Black Sea Naval base), and also a large chunk of territories in the eastern part of the country bordering Russia. Thus, this war started.

The western countries didn’t do much about it then. They were somewhat shocked, expressed concern, spoke harshly, but hadn’t had the guts to confront the aggressor directly. The business climate was still good, investments were pouring into Putin’s kingdom and profits went back into the European and American banks. Russian money could buy a lot of elite real estate and political clout (thus corrupting the West). Ukraine was mostly left out to fight her own battles. The country had no real army and fought with volunteer battalions and money collected from the general population.

The West was playing politics, not wanting to upset an important and potentially dangerous neighbor. History taught them nothing. Think Adolf Hitler. This is how WW II started. Enemy’s appeasement can only lead to bolder moves on the part of the aggressor. The evil grows larger, more insolent and violent when you don’t push back.

And when today’s war began, there definitely was that frightful anticipation “oh, not on our watch; now we have to do something about it”. Several states were showing their “pacifism and humanism”, but refusing to assist Ukraine, staying instead on the sidelines. In reality, Germany, France, Hungary to the last moment refused to condemn the aggressor and offer military assistance. Macron of France was making phone calls and visiting Putin when it was clear that further negotiation would yield no fruit. German leaders refused permission for other countries to ship German military hardware to Ukraine. Hungary, whose Prime Minister Mr. Orban is without doubt a conduit of Russia’s influence in the West, was withholding permission for SWIFT’s disconnect.

And they didn’t budge until the last possible moment, when further “sitting on the fence” would threaten these countries leaders’ political images.  Our own miserable treasonous President Biden was sending mixed signals with recent America’s retreats. Vladimir Putin interpreted them as “America is weak and powerless”. And, of course, there is so much more to the picture we don’t know.

They all stand accused, in their own individual ways, as contributors to the sense of disjoined Western World which Russia’s leaders expected to explore. One should not appease or make deals with a perpetrator who threatens your family.

We are watching and reading the Internet postings on Ukraine. In many ways it is like reliving 9/11 in New York all over again. Expert analysis, comments and announcements are mixed with images and sounds of destruction, burning vehicles, dead people – non-stop on multiple internet sites and Twitter accounts. When we get the time to browse the latest developments, it fills us with rage and sorrow. You wake up with it and go to bed thinking what it’s like to be in Ukraine now.  The action is very, very close even though it is many thousands of miles away. We have excellent technologies to relay human suffering, anger, grim jest, frustration, disbelief and hate. This is the war without mercy, to the bitter end and to the death without surrender on the part of Ukraine. Slavery is not an option.

The country of Russia stands accused of war crimes, despicable lies, hateful and poisonous propaganda that enveloped the entire world. Its leaders should stand trial. The world finally woke up and started cleaning up the mess of corruption, manipulation, emboldened enemies of civilization and nuclear threats; extinguishing other wars around the world Russia started in over twenty years that Putin had been in power.

Its people will survive, but the Russian Empire is going down, even if it takes years. It cannot win this fight. It means misery to its folks, immense sufferings, disconnects in every department; crumbled choked economy and perhaps even an eventual disintegration into multiple independent fiefdoms, taking Belarus with it. This is a monumental colossal event, much like the collapse of ancient Rome, or destruction of the Third Reich at the hands of Allied powers. We may or may not be around when this happens.

We feel sorry for the people of that country. The Russian Federation has no friends in this world and never had. It may have accomplices, but those are not your friends and will run at the first sign of trouble. Instantly, almost no one cares about its oil and gas anymore; or its glorious past. Filling Hitler’s boots is not an action to be universally admired. Putin’s Russia is to be fought with everything we stand for as modern civilization. These events will probably lead to other major calamities, but we would leave it to the future generations to deal with.

Developing war stories and trends are moving very fast; on a daily basis they overtake any thoughts we can put to paper. As time goes by, we’ll offer our views of them, just not yet. It’s a bit early. Our sympathies are with Ukraine and its fighting people

Oh, and one final thought: this war has cured COVID. It is gone from the headlines and you hardly hear anything about it. No one cares. The pestilence must have gotten scared and ran away, taking with it lying MSM and Big Pharma manipulators. Good riddance and don’t come back! Just give us our lives back

Stay safe out there