“I remember the years very well 90 what happened to Yugoslavia“, explains Alexander. For many Russians, the Serbs – and to a lesser extent other Slavic lands in Southern Europe – are a fraternal people, very similar to them, and therefore wars in the Balkans were watched closely from Moscow. civil wars from ethnic tensions on the Yugoslav borders He believed that in the case of Russia the “Anglo-Saxons” were the culprits. wanted to do the same with us‘ emphasizes the historical rivalry ‘first with the British Empire and then the United States’ before recalling it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently used this argument, reassuring that the West would only accept a divided Russia. Specifically, the purpose of the United States and Europe “liquidation” of the country. “They have one goal: to dissolve the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part, the Russian Federation,” he claimed, pointing out that perhaps then the West would consider them a “family of so-called civilized peoples,” but each separate pieceto control”. Putin has something like this in his memory, Soviet Union While the cause was not a conflict—there were multiple conflicts, but mainly of an internal nature—the effect on Russian society was devastating. The Russian leader pointed out that this was happening years ago. “The greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century“.
Such phrases have become repetitive since they began. russian attack on ukraineit’s the same thing that’s at stake here compared to Moscow existence of the country. This discourse penetrated the population, as in the case of Natalya. “If Russia loses, we will cease to exist as a state“, he continues. Some pro-Kiev voices on the Internet ask when peace comes, “decolonize “Russia” is demanding not only its disarmament but also its division into different countries, something that currently has no significant support anywhere in Russia and is echoed in pro-Russian social media profiles to feed that fear. top Western officials did not openly express their support to such an option.
world wars and invasions
Russia is a geographically very flat countrysomething that enemy armies have historically used to enter when they can, just as Nazi Germany, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth -commemorated on the Russian national day of the popular uprising against the troops of 1612- or France Napoleon’s. These examples were put forward by different personalities close to the Kremlin to instill fear or fuel Russian pride. The most distant memory is also the memory that most frightens the Russians: the memory of the Mongol Empire, one of the few invaders who managed to subdue the Russians (at that time). Kievan Rus) in middle age. When this invasion took place, the ruling elites they were divided among themselves, It makes the job of the Mongol armies easier. This is also something remembered by the Russian power, which tried to have a less dissenting voice when threatened. repression activists and independent media.
The echoes of these moments of conflict still resonate with the Russians, who believe they may one day live. deja vu 1000 years later. Natalya believes that today it is possible for the West to not only arm Ukraine, but also fight against Russian troops, “i can go further” and there may be an attack on Russian territory. He exemplifies his thesis by reminding that there has been an “attack” recently. drone flew over Saint Petersburg“.
However, the latest trauma and trauma so present in the mentality of Russians, II. World War. The victory in the “Great Patriotic War”, as it is known in Russia, is now commemorated. gasoline for morale For the troops in the front, but also for the non-combatants in the rear. There is a fear that the situation will recur in the country and that enemy troops will enter the country, as are statistics from the Levada Center, an independent opinion research center feared by about 54% of Russians. a new global conflict and only 29% have no fear of such a thing. “He who does not know his past is doomed to repeat it,” said the author. Jorge Agustin Nicolas Ruiz de Santayanaand that maxim lives on in Putin’s Russia.