The words are from Winston Churchill in 1948, but Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 prove their enduring relevance. When will we ever learn?
Great piece - but the 'history' quote is one of many misattributed to Churchill. It's actually from George Santayana (it's part of the epigraph to William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich). There's an even darker variant from Hegel: "What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it".
I’ve been a part of the large group of Americans who, imo, have had no real clue or understanding about what has gone on politically, socially, and economically in Russia and its former Soviet “republics” since the Soviet Union’s collapse. I’ve been working on improving that knowledge with help of publications like this as well as historians like Timothy Snyder. Today I’m astounded at the fantastical wealth that has been exported (i.e stolen) by the kleptocrats in Russia, Belarus, and all the “Stans”. And, we Americans have been blind to it. We’ve been blind to it by ,imo, by equating these kleptocrats’ business pursuits of being philosophically aligned with both capitalism and democracy. They are not. The kleptocrats seem to like capitalism, as long as they control the system and can get from their home country’s government officially sanctioned corrupt business practices that gives them unfair competitive advantage in their market. And this ill-gotten wealth has been used by the kleptocrats’ autocratic ruler to influence our politics. All of it is now embraced by a major American political party and that party’s leader. We need to wake up. It’s almost too late, but if we wake up now, we have perhaps one last to stop this toxicity to save our democracy.
Enlightening piece and may it find its way to the people who most need its wisdom. As our own country wrestles with its democracy and one party relentlessly body-slams its importance, it may be a while before America is in a position to help other nations support or defend themselves from Putin’s power lust. But then, not even a KGB apparachik can live forever.
A vey good piece and I agree about the importance of Yakovlev's role , and perhas his experience as Ambassador to Canada played an important role. Putin played Western leaders very clevery, not just allowing Bush the Younger in their Ljubljana summit to think he 'had looked into the soul' of Putin, but Putin also won lots of free-market admirers in the US with his flat tax.
I often wonder about the enormous cultural gap between east and west. Our values are so different that I suspect the west is unable to thoroughly understand the thinking of someone from russia or Asia. One can’t help but notice that putin has no respect for international treaties and doesn’t care what the world thinks of him.
Thank you, this was a very good read. I do feel refreshed to find someone to share this opinion with, that Putin is always planning "the worst case scenario" that Westerners can come up with. When I say it, it's met with a scoff ... well, unfortunately, who's scoffing now?
In your abbreviated history you skipped over the Maidan events of 2014; perhaps you could give us your take on those events. Bill Burns, then US ambassador to Russia, argued at the time that inviting Ukraine into NATO was a red line to Russia. Jack Matlock, George Kennen and many others agreed. Were they incorrect?
I think it would be worthwhile to listen to Jeffrey Sach’s take on the US interference with Russian and former Soviet Union state’s affairs. I also urge a listen of two lectures by Hillsdale College - available for free - on Russia’s political philosophy (Duggan) and the interference and implications of US foreign policy as it relates to Russia. Kennan, the architect of post USSR peace said that if NATO still existed after the fall of the USSR, we will have failed. Putin’s request for Ukraine and Georgia to be neutral was not unreasonable. NATO’s brief was as a defensive organisation, it’s now an offensive Trojan Horse for the US global rule.
To me, any objective study of US history in foreign affairs has never been about ‘democracy’ as it’s driven by the Wolfowitz neo-con agenda of world dominance; it has been about how to make countries’ bow to US hegemonic interests (Lindsey Graham only recently rejoicing at the thought of Ukraine’s natural resource bounty being under the control of the over-spent US). Eisenhower didn’t warn about the power and wealth grab of the MIC for nothing - today it’s only more powerful thanks to complicit MSM.
The political vision for the BRICS+ nations is for a multipolar world where each nation serves its people as it sees fit - respect for national sovereignty and free from oppression by the world’s hegemon - and the reason it’s growing in membership suggests not leaders who sees what’s really going on is afraid of Russia. Equally, when one reads the values practised in Russian society and compares that with the corruption and depravity which is destroying the (Israel controlled) US, not to mention the US weaponisation the Reserve Currency, one understands why the world is recoiling.
Great piece! Thanks for messaging me about it. But what can we do? The U.S. no longer has any common values, if it ever had. The wealthy, top 20% of the country, live materialistic lives in big cities, driving status-EVs and drinking wine in Europe. The lower part drinking themselves black-out drunk on cruises or at beaches. The Democrats give them something to virtue-signal about. Few question it.
The biggest irony to me is the canard that the Russians are depoliticized. Russians don't hold a candle to Americans. While Americans argue over LGBTQ, diversity, and abortion rights hundreds of people are killed daily in Ukraine. Worse, American bombs have destroyed the homes of 1 million people and buries children in the rubble in Israel (Gaza). In short, Americans do not ask what Biden's plan has been in Ukraine, the goals, accountability, etc. Cue Ben Hodges here. And the young ones who protest our bombs killing children? They're beaten, thrown out of school in a nanosecond.
Who picked Kamala Harris? We have a frenzy of virtue signaling about how she's the anti-Trump and will save our democracy. Everything is done behind closed doors. Whether she's elected or Trump enough weapons will be sent to Ukraine to keep the U.S. defense industry humming and Russia behind that 20%. You write it's happening again. Such a great point.
I've written about the situation quite a bit on Medium. I am not an expert. Everything you wrote seems true to me. But I've given up hope that the U.S. will ever do the right thing here. Biden is one of, maybe the worse President in my life. The Bushes' at least made sense, bad as they were. Biden could have prevented the war or stopped it early. He embarrassed the U.S. leaving Afghanistan. He's lost whatever neutrality the U.S. had over Israel. Kamala will be more of the same. Because she's just another empty suit, pretty face. Oops, I'm ranting over your rant.
Great piece - but the 'history' quote is one of many misattributed to Churchill. It's actually from George Santayana (it's part of the epigraph to William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich). There's an even darker variant from Hegel: "What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it".
Well, yes and no, Ian - Churchill was probably 'inspired' by Santayana.... Glad that you like the piece, thanks.
I’ve been a part of the large group of Americans who, imo, have had no real clue or understanding about what has gone on politically, socially, and economically in Russia and its former Soviet “republics” since the Soviet Union’s collapse. I’ve been working on improving that knowledge with help of publications like this as well as historians like Timothy Snyder. Today I’m astounded at the fantastical wealth that has been exported (i.e stolen) by the kleptocrats in Russia, Belarus, and all the “Stans”. And, we Americans have been blind to it. We’ve been blind to it by ,imo, by equating these kleptocrats’ business pursuits of being philosophically aligned with both capitalism and democracy. They are not. The kleptocrats seem to like capitalism, as long as they control the system and can get from their home country’s government officially sanctioned corrupt business practices that gives them unfair competitive advantage in their market. And this ill-gotten wealth has been used by the kleptocrats’ autocratic ruler to influence our politics. All of it is now embraced by a major American political party and that party’s leader. We need to wake up. It’s almost too late, but if we wake up now, we have perhaps one last to stop this toxicity to save our democracy.
www.tomthedemocratist.com
Enlightening piece and may it find its way to the people who most need its wisdom. As our own country wrestles with its democracy and one party relentlessly body-slams its importance, it may be a while before America is in a position to help other nations support or defend themselves from Putin’s power lust. But then, not even a KGB apparachik can live forever.
A vey good piece and I agree about the importance of Yakovlev's role , and perhas his experience as Ambassador to Canada played an important role. Putin played Western leaders very clevery, not just allowing Bush the Younger in their Ljubljana summit to think he 'had looked into the soul' of Putin, but Putin also won lots of free-market admirers in the US with his flat tax.
I often wonder about the enormous cultural gap between east and west. Our values are so different that I suspect the west is unable to thoroughly understand the thinking of someone from russia or Asia. One can’t help but notice that putin has no respect for international treaties and doesn’t care what the world thinks of him.
Thank you, this was a very good read. I do feel refreshed to find someone to share this opinion with, that Putin is always planning "the worst case scenario" that Westerners can come up with. When I say it, it's met with a scoff ... well, unfortunately, who's scoffing now?
In your abbreviated history you skipped over the Maidan events of 2014; perhaps you could give us your take on those events. Bill Burns, then US ambassador to Russia, argued at the time that inviting Ukraine into NATO was a red line to Russia. Jack Matlock, George Kennen and many others agreed. Were they incorrect?
I think it would be worthwhile to listen to Jeffrey Sach’s take on the US interference with Russian and former Soviet Union state’s affairs. I also urge a listen of two lectures by Hillsdale College - available for free - on Russia’s political philosophy (Duggan) and the interference and implications of US foreign policy as it relates to Russia. Kennan, the architect of post USSR peace said that if NATO still existed after the fall of the USSR, we will have failed. Putin’s request for Ukraine and Georgia to be neutral was not unreasonable. NATO’s brief was as a defensive organisation, it’s now an offensive Trojan Horse for the US global rule.
To me, any objective study of US history in foreign affairs has never been about ‘democracy’ as it’s driven by the Wolfowitz neo-con agenda of world dominance; it has been about how to make countries’ bow to US hegemonic interests (Lindsey Graham only recently rejoicing at the thought of Ukraine’s natural resource bounty being under the control of the over-spent US). Eisenhower didn’t warn about the power and wealth grab of the MIC for nothing - today it’s only more powerful thanks to complicit MSM.
The political vision for the BRICS+ nations is for a multipolar world where each nation serves its people as it sees fit - respect for national sovereignty and free from oppression by the world’s hegemon - and the reason it’s growing in membership suggests not leaders who sees what’s really going on is afraid of Russia. Equally, when one reads the values practised in Russian society and compares that with the corruption and depravity which is destroying the (Israel controlled) US, not to mention the US weaponisation the Reserve Currency, one understands why the world is recoiling.
Great piece! Thanks for messaging me about it. But what can we do? The U.S. no longer has any common values, if it ever had. The wealthy, top 20% of the country, live materialistic lives in big cities, driving status-EVs and drinking wine in Europe. The lower part drinking themselves black-out drunk on cruises or at beaches. The Democrats give them something to virtue-signal about. Few question it.
The biggest irony to me is the canard that the Russians are depoliticized. Russians don't hold a candle to Americans. While Americans argue over LGBTQ, diversity, and abortion rights hundreds of people are killed daily in Ukraine. Worse, American bombs have destroyed the homes of 1 million people and buries children in the rubble in Israel (Gaza). In short, Americans do not ask what Biden's plan has been in Ukraine, the goals, accountability, etc. Cue Ben Hodges here. And the young ones who protest our bombs killing children? They're beaten, thrown out of school in a nanosecond.
Who picked Kamala Harris? We have a frenzy of virtue signaling about how she's the anti-Trump and will save our democracy. Everything is done behind closed doors. Whether she's elected or Trump enough weapons will be sent to Ukraine to keep the U.S. defense industry humming and Russia behind that 20%. You write it's happening again. Such a great point.
I've written about the situation quite a bit on Medium. I am not an expert. Everything you wrote seems true to me. But I've given up hope that the U.S. will ever do the right thing here. Biden is one of, maybe the worse President in my life. The Bushes' at least made sense, bad as they were. Biden could have prevented the war or stopped it early. He embarrassed the U.S. leaving Afghanistan. He's lost whatever neutrality the U.S. had over Israel. Kamala will be more of the same. Because she's just another empty suit, pretty face. Oops, I'm ranting over your rant.