"Putin's Brain" Russkiy Mir geopolitical theorist Alexander Dugin:
The Duke: "Are you a liberal? .."
No, certainly not in the sense you intended, meaning the opposite of American conservative.
But it's worth remembering that word definitions and contexts "evolve" over time and what was once considered very "liberal" is now often a core conservative value.
The Duke: "Because you sure are good at mind reading!"
No mind-reading is required when Vlad the Invader and other Kremlin spokesmen have clearly spelled out their inner motives -- summarized by the words, "Russkiy Mir" and encapsulated in ex-KGB Lt.Col. Putin's 2005 quote:
"The breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century."The Duke: "As someone who was deeply involved in Cold War analysis, I can assure you that we'd better pray it doesn't come down to nukes every bit as much as Russia."
I served three years on the Cold War's front lines in West Germany, near the Fulda Gap (V Corps) in the early 1970s, so I know a little about nuclear threats and counter-threats.
We proved then that "peace through strength" works.
Ukraine demonstrates what happens when the Russian bear detects weaknesses in its "near abroad".
As for MADness (Mutual Assured Destruction) -- no sane person wants that, but deterrence only works if our side is perfectly willing to use it, if necessary, in retaliation.
As soon as we chicken-out, MADness is gone, deterrence is gone, peace is gone and Vlad the Invader can do "whatever the h*ll he wants".
Left: Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Stalin the Oppressor, Vlad the Invader:
Right: Putin's mouthpieces Simonyan, Solovyov, Skabeyeva, Nordkin:
A sample of relevant quotes:
- Vladimir Putin (President)
"Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us.
It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture, and spiritual space." - Alexander Dugin (geopolitical philosopher)
"The American empire should be destroyed."
"If you are in favour of global liberal hegemony, you are the enemy." - Dmitry Medvedev (Russian Security Council)
"Russia must destroy and fully dismantle the Ukrainian state." - Vyacheslav Nikonov (political scientist, grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov)
In April 2022, he declared the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to be a holy war and the Russian forces to be the embodiment of good. - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow:
"For the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russkiy Mir is also a spiritual concept, a reminder that through the baptism of Rus’, God consecrated these people to the task of building a Holy Rus."
- Propagandist Vladimir Solovyov (Russia-1, TV presenter)
"If you think we'll stop at Ukraine, think it through 300 times.
I'll remind you that Ukraine is just an intermediate step in the establishment of the strategic security of the Russian Federation." - Propagandist Olga Skabeyeva (Russia-1, "Iron Doll" TV presenter)
"Now we will have to demilitarise the whole of Nato.
I've said it many times, then people gasp in shock.
This is what we call World War Three." - Propagandist Margarita Simonyan (RT, TV presenter)
"Our most important task is to free normal people.
Free them from the guns held against their backs by these Nazis.""Personally, I see the path of a third world war as the most realistic.
Knowing us, knowing our leader, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, knowing how things work around here . . .
"I think that the most improbable outcome—that it will all end in a nuclear strike—is still more probable than defeat.
This horrifies me, on the one hand, but on the other I understand that this is how it is."
