Stalingrad was 80 years ago. Why do people think today’s Russians see Ukraine as the existential threat that was Hitler’s Germany. This is a generation who did not grow up with Ukraine as part of Russia.
The Stalinist comparisons sound nice, but they are devoid of any factual basis.
> Why do people think today’s Russians see Ukraine as the existential threat that was Hitler’s Germany. <
You know that Ukraine is not a threat. And I do, too. But what does the average Russian think? It’s very difficult to tell because of the fog and propaganda from all sides.
I suppose that a rough analogy could be the Vietnam war. The American public was told that North Vietnam was an existential threat to democracy. If SouthVietnam fell, there’d be a terrible domino effect throughout all of Southeast Asia. The American public bought that hook, line, and sinker. At first, anyway.
What does the Russian public believe today?
A better comparison would be how the Nazis saw Czechoslovakia in 1938. It wasn't just about the Sudetenland. The Germans saw Czechoslovakia as a base for Britain and France to "surround" Germany on two fronts. And Hitler considered that all parts of the former Austria-Hungary should be under German control, especially now that he had gobbled up Austria.