7 Comments

Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in a country that was trampled over by the Soviets after WW2 and I totally hated them as a group before this. There are always good people in a large group.

Expand full comment

"...a lot of the times Putin and Russia were saying very plainly what their intentions were and what they wanted to do. And the West often had a very difficult time understanding that and hearing that."

How do I not invoke Godwin's law, while saying that this is pretty much what happened back prior to WW2?

Expand full comment

That was an impressive writeup. One part struck me- the disconnect most people feel when hearing about the war. This fuels a lot of the plain stupid shit I hear over here. Most don't know a damn thing about war, because they've never experienced it. 1200 KIA in a day says nothing to them, and playing Call of Duty or watching YouTube is no substitute for having someone actually try to kill you. They don't understand that the Long Peace, and the prosperity that came with it, is the product of eighty years of heartache and sacrifice by people other than themselves. The Russians and their buddies have thrown that all into the fire. They get what they get, although the 1200 daily dead in Kherson are the real victims. I suspect the Russian losses are far heavier than admitted.

Expand full comment

Look up Martti J. Kari (easily found on YT). He is a former Colonel of Finnish Intelligence who has focused on Russia for many years. He has been interviewed at length about the Russian mentality and outlook, and what he says is truly baffling. They might as well be from another planet.

Expand full comment

'They might as well be from another planet'. Having dealt with a few of them in my time, I came to that conclusion years ago as I don't recall ever meeting a nice one - ie. one with whom I would voluntarily go for a meal (or even a quick drink). FYI, it's known as the planet Kunt.

Expand full comment

I used to dislike Russians as a whole until I met this genuinely nice and empathic guy who was very hard to dislike. In any nation there are people and people and any trait is usually placed on a bell curve, with most in the middle and a few very good/very bad.

Expand full comment

The law of averages probably dictates that there's a few good ones out there and you're obviously lucky enough to have met one of them.

Expand full comment