Something Evil This Way Comes: Russia Under Vladimir Putin https://themessenger.com/opinion/something-evil-this-way-comes? Let’s not mince words. Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin, and his regime are evil. They are, according to several dictionary synonyms, morally bad, wicked, depraved, harmful, injurious and offensive. But there’s more to Putin and his regime than simply being defined by these modifiers. Putin and his comrades know they are evil, and they openly admit to and revel in this fact. They know they are killing thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians, destroying hospitals, schools and museums, kidnapping children, and poisoning Ukraine’s environment. They know they are starving millions of people in the Global South. They know they’ve killed scores of Russian oppositionists and jailed thousands. They know that Ukrainian and Russian prisoners are being tortured and executed. They know they’ve amassed fortunes while the population of Russia has gotten poorer. Neither Putin nor his minions denies these facts. They only deny that these atrocities are, in fact, atrocities. Quite the contrary, Putin and Co. — and their Western apologists — claim that theirs are actions of mercy and liberation and goodwill. That’s not surprising. Adolf Hitler also believed he was doing the world a favor by exterminating Jews, Roma and Slavs. Calling a regime or leader “evil” complicates things for diplomats, who search for gray areas where some form of compromise appears to be possible. Once someone is termed evil, and his or her actions are placed in the black category, compromise appears to be impossible — or, in any case, more difficult. But failing to recognize someone who is patently evil as being evil is also unacceptable, both morally and legally. For better or for worse, evil leaders and regimes generally resolve this dilemma by being true to themselves and pursuing their evil agendas regardless of what democracies do. The democracies tried to appease Hitler, but failed. They also tried to satisfy Joseph Stalin’s appetite for post-war Eastern Europe, but failed as country after country fell to the Communists and the Soviet army. The West also looked the other way in 2008 and 2014, when Russia invaded Georgia and Ukraine. If anything, Western insouciance only encouraged Putin to launch his genocidal war in 2022. Are good-faith negotiations possible with Putin? Were good-faith negotiations possible with Hitler and Stalin? Both questions are rhetorical, of course. Walter C. Clemens Jr., emeritus professor at Boston University, puts it well in his recently published book, Blood Debts (Westphalia Press, 2023): “To let Russia win anything by its unprovoked war and abundant war crimes would make a mockery of law and morality and undermine U.S. interests. Russia’s leaders need to be brought to justice and the country compelled to pay reparations. Purgation before resurrection — as in Germany and Japan after their crimes were recognized and partially expiated following the World War.” Clemens also calculated just how much Russia owes Ukraine for the people it has killed, wounded and displaced and comes up with a figure of roughly $2 trillion. These are conservative estimates that don’t include damage to property, psychological and other ills, destruction of the environment, and so on. Add these miscellaneous items to the total bill and it begins to approach $3 trillion. The vast majority of Russians, like the vast majority of Germans in the 1940s, support Putin and his regime and apparently feel no obligation to atone for their country’s sins, either morally or financially. That’s understandable. No one wants to be branded a “war criminal,” and no one wants to brand oneself as such. Germans eventually acquired the moral courage to take responsibility for crimes they committed, or that were committed in their name, during the war. But it wasn’t easy, requiring several decades and sometimes violent protests by German youth. Artists often blaze trails that policymakers fear to tread. “The Venetian Manifesto” initiated by the Russian artist Katia Margolis may point in the right direction. “We desire,” Margolis and her colleagues declare, “not simply the termination of this war, but the complete victory of Ukraine and the total defeat of the Russian Federation.” But that’s not all: “We desire a real future, not a fake one. We believe that only cessation of the existence of Russia (the Russian Federation) as an empire and its demilitarization, including the removal of all nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, could be a real step to a safe future that would prevent similar acts of further aggression.” None of these goals will be easy to achieve, but the starting point of any process that produces a real and durable peace is, as the Manifesto recognizes, Russia’s defeat in the war. If that happens and if Putin is deposed — which looks more likely as time goes on — the Russian Federation has a chance to become a “normal” country. If that doesn’t happen, then, as Margolis and her colleagues implicitly state, all bets are off as Russia continues its imperialist and militarist agendas — in Ukraine and beyond.
Underwater drones will join action soon. 6 meters long. Can cover up 1000 Km. In order to counter the drones, Rus are deploying vessels next of the bridge. Some sources say that Rus vessels might convert into submarines soon, will see. Timestamped
Ya know... and I'm totally not belittling this man's point... but when someone starts throwing figure's out there, especially in the trillions.... I'd like to see a line by line analysis of where he's getting his figures. I realize the number of zero's separated by multiple commas attached to the end of an integer these days has pretty much lost any semblance of meaning... but those numbers are huge. And again, I am not belittling his point. But note to the professor: ---without an attached line by line itemization showing the origin of your "estimates", the power of your prose gets significantly diluted in the eyes of those who are not so readily gullible. Especially when it comes to assigning dollar amounts and rounding off in trillions. I wonder what else he teaches at BU? "Pushing the Limits of Non-Gaap Accounting for Fun and Profit on WS"... ? Sorry... just callin' em as I see em.
nope; GWB just never admits when he's wrong about judging character or getting caught up in conspiracies.
Even if so, - i didn't believed that this war will start in the first place, few days before it happened. Many Ukrainians refused to leave their homes, right at the border, even after being told by the authorities that the Russians are preparing for invasion. People make mistakes with their judgement.
Many people my age and younger did not know Putin was a dictator w/a large body count before this invasion, I don't blame them for not being well read on the topic, GWB is a boomer who should know better. I didn't believe the war was going to happen either, I was wrong, you were wrong, we admit it. GWB never does and is a revisionist.