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The Germans are blocking Estonia from exporting Soviet age howitzers to Ukraine. So until this nonsense stops, I wouldn't say we have the same interests. They c

by petre 5y ago

The Germans are blocking Estonia from exporting Soviet age howitzers to Ukraine. So until this nonsense stops, I wouldn't say we have the same interests. They can probably remember the GDR. If it were for Western Europe they'd leave us to our own fates, after they invested piles of EU funds into Eastern EU states. Fortunately the US always steps in before it's too late. Once an European security analyst one said that Russia and China are playing chess with the US and the EU, while the EU is playing backgammon.

datavirtue 5y ago
Speaking of chess, this whole thing feels like some game that Putin is playing to satisfy the oligarchs and hurt Biden (long game to another Trump presidency), while giving himself a bit more leverage for future negotiations.
- petre 5y ago
  Not really. Putin's favourite game/sport is judo, not chess. Judo is a game of opportunity and technique: one takes advantage of their opponent's weakness or distraction to attack. The rest is continous defense and harassement to get your opponent distracted and create opportunities for attack. He doesn't think in terms of Biden or Trump, but in terms of opportunity. You should really think of Russia as a modern feudal state where Putin shares the country's resources with the oligarchs. The only difference is that it isn't farmland, but oil and gas. He doesn't need to appease them. He can run a show trial, have them shot on a bridge, poison them, just like he did with Khodorkovsky, Litvinenko, Nemtsov, Skripal, Navalny and others. Vladimir Sorokin once said that the basis of modern Russia was set by Ivan the Terrible. https://www.publicbooks.org/dress-up-games-with-russian-history/ https://www.publicbooks.org/dress-up-games-with-russian-hist... One should read post/modern Russian literature in order to understand modern Russia. It's also very good. I love Russian literature.
jopsen 5y ago
I can't fault the Germans for not wanting to supply arms to conflict zones :)

by petre 5y ago

datavirtue 5y ago

Speaking of chess, this whole thing feels like some game that Putin is playing to satisfy the oligarchs and hurt Biden (long game to another Trump presidency), while giving himself a bit more leverage for future negotiations.

petre 5y ago
Not really. Putin's favourite game/sport is judo, not chess. Judo is a game of opportunity and technique: one takes advantage of their opponent's weakness or distraction to attack. The rest is continous defense and harassement to get your opponent distracted and create opportunities for attack. He doesn't think in terms of Biden or Trump, but in terms of opportunity. You should really think of Russia as a modern feudal state where Putin shares the country's resources with the oligarchs. The only difference is that it isn't farmland, but oil and gas. He doesn't need to appease them. He can run a show trial, have them shot on a bridge, poison them, just like he did with Khodorkovsky, Litvinenko, Nemtsov, Skripal, Navalny and others. Vladimir Sorokin once said that the basis of modern Russia was set by Ivan the Terrible. https://www.publicbooks.org/dress-up-games-with-russian-history/ https://www.publicbooks.org/dress-up-games-with-russian-hist... One should read post/modern Russian literature in order to understand modern Russia. It's also very good. I love Russian literature.

jopsen 5y ago

I can't fault the Germans for not wanting to supply arms to conflict zones :)