Bobko
19 Jan 2023 #2461
Ukraine with regular legtimiate elections and a functioning opposition and a free press _is_ an existential threat
I see someone is continuing to read Galeev's vomit.
As a Russian, and a person that has some level of insight into how Russian policymakers think - let me tell you:
Whether or not Ukraine is a functioning democracy with independent institutions is probably number 85 on our list of priorities.
Somehow we manage to be neighbors with democratic Japan, Finland, South Korea, Mongolia, etc without having an existential crisis of identity centered on our genetic feeling of inferiority.
Ukraine is massively poorer than Russia. Ukraine has a less developed press (yes, less sophisticated than in authoritarian Russia, with a smaller plurality of opinions). Ukraine has a non existent cultural scene (they listen mostly to Russian music and watch Russian movies, even if they hate to admit it). Ukraine does not contribute to scientific research. Every single Ukrainian president has been some type of crook.
There is literally nothing we feel threatened by in Ukraine, and nothing that we envy. This war - 1000% - is only about the collective West getting their grimy hands off of our property.
Again - no threat from democracy. No threat from liberalized markets. No threat from "freedom" in general. Only a threat from NATO.
