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Putin justifies his clumsy adventurism by attempting to paint his enemies as fascists. The rise of the extreme right in the west provides significant political
by w_t_payne 5y ago
Putin justifies his clumsy adventurism by attempting to paint his enemies as fascists. The rise of the extreme right in the west provides significant political cover for Putin, and should probably be assumed to be a tool of his hybrid warfare strategy.
- woodpanel 5y agoBy painting your domestic voices of dissent as "Russian Assets" you're the closest thing next to an actual Russian Asset
- w_t_payne 5y agoThey stop being mere 'domestic voices of dissent' once they start threatening my family.
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y ago> attempting to paint his enemies as fascists. Ukraine makes this easy for him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion
- w_t_payne 5y agoClearly pretty vile, indefensible stuff, and yet it's Putin who is waging war against us.
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y agoRealpolitik: it doesn't matter who started it. If Ukraine wants western assistance in this fight, they should stop incorporating neo-nazi militias into their national guard.
- w_t_payne 5y agoI don't care who started it. I'm focused on direct threats to myself and my family.
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y agoWell you've got to do what you've got to do. But practically speaking, nobody else is obliged to help you.
- w_t_payne 5y agoWell, considering that we're at war, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we will eventually reach a point where none of us has any choice whatsoever.
- 1cvmask 5y agoApparently we can now arm and train these neo-Nazis according to the Wikipedia link: In March 2015 Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that the Azov Regiment would be among the first units to be trained by United States Army troops in their Operation Fearless Guardian training mission.[46][47] US training however was withdrawn on 12 June 2015, as US House of Representatives passed an amendment blocking any aid (including arms and training) to the battalion due to its neo-Nazi background.[48] After the vote Congressman John Conyers thanked the House saying I am grateful that the House of Representatives unanimously passed my amendments last night to ensure that our military does not train members of the repulsive neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, along with my measures to keep the dangerous and easily trafficked MANPADs out of these unstable regions.[47] However, the amendment has since been removed as of November 2016.
- throw1234651234 5y agoYou might want to stress that there are 10s of these battalions and 90%+ of them have no such leanings for honesty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Guard_of_Ukraine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Guard_of_Ukraine 18th Operational Regiment (Reinforced), Mariupol Regimental HQ 1st Patrol Battalion 2nd Special Purpose Battalion "Donbas", Mariupol Special Purpose Reinforced Battalion "Azov", Mariupol Special Patrol Company, Mariupol Support Company
- baud147258 5y agoI don't think the rise of far-right parties and ideologies in the West is something that can be blamed on Putin. He is exploiting it and sometime helping existing groups and factions, but not much more. And for Ukraine, the anti-Russian faction does have some facist/neo-nazis groups in it.
- w_t_payne 5y agoHe clearly isn't exclusively responsible, but he is a big part of the problem, and it is part of a hybrid warfare doctrine that's being actively and aggressively pursued. Similarly, those fascist/neo-nazi elements, whether in Ukraine or beyond, though supposedly anti-Russian, are to all practical purposes serving Putin's domestic political interests.
- trasz 5y agoWe know for a fact that Russia is donating money to European far-right groups.
- sofixa 5y agoIncluding old and "established" far right parties, like Marine Le Pen's Front National/Rassemblement National.
- jacquesm 5y agoPutin finances plenty of these groups. It's a very little bit of money but it has substantial impact due to the asymmetry of destruction, you only need a few thousand people to destabilize a country of millions.
- mk3 5y agoAnybody speaking against is fascist. Navalny’s organisation is terroristic organisation… Also putting USSR uniforms on hockey players during the games. The only thing which I find funny that a lot of people are getting fed up by this BS both in Russia and outside. And I know people whose parents are living in Russia not getting visas to enter Russia. Old folks and fools maybe fooled that trying to get the might of soviet times is a good idea, but I doubt that guys who saw what ex-soviet countries and soviet satellite countries achieved can tell that they are Top notch country.
- w_t_payne 5y agoIt's a mistake to conflate Putin's interests with those of Russia. His continued attempts to bolster hostile far-right strawmen into something more substantial puts his actions in direct conflict with those he claims to represent. His divide-and-rule politics puts him into a state of active, ongoing conflict with all of us.