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The root issue is the culture of fear among Russian leadership. They are constantly afraid that someone is trying to stab them in the back. (And they are often

The root issue is the culture of fear among Russian leadership. They are constantly afraid that someone is trying to stab them in the back. (And they are often right, but the backstabber is usually another Russian leader.) Because they live in fear, they cannot afford being trustworthy. And because they are not trustworthy, Russia's neighbors seek protection from other powers. Which in turn fuels the fears of Russian leadership. Russia could break the cycle by stopping to be afraid. They could find role models in Europe. Germany, France, and the UK are all former major powers that started behaving like normal countries. With varying degrees of success.

somenameforme 3y ago
Imagine Russia completely disarmed itself, destroyed all nuclear weapons, deposed its entire military, and all military weapons and production capability. Exactly how long do you think it would be before the US invaded? We might debate the timeline, but I don't think you can argue in good faith that they wouldn't be invaded. But if you accept this then it becomes clear that trust is impossible. You have a power that wants to overthrow you surrounding you with military bases and pointing countless nuclear weapons at you. That, by the way, is also not necessary to maintain mutually assured destruction type deterrence. But it is necessary if you want to consider a rapid first-strike complete annihilation type attack, hitting them before they can return fire. Of course, vice versa, imagine the US disarmed. They'd be invaded by like 80% of the world within a fortnight. Unfortunately I think the cycle is unbreakable. I don't think there's anybody that actually likes war, but it's been with us since the advent of civilization, and I expect it to remain with us til the end of civilization.
- Paradigma11 3y ago
  The US can not even be bothered to pay 5% of its defense budget for Ukraine aid and you really think that they would invade Russia?
  - somenameforme 3y ago
    You could replace [Russia] there with the countless other countries we invade/occupy, for far lesser rewards than Russia would offer. So, yes I'm 100% certain we would.
    - Paradigma11 3y ago
      Nobody cares about Russia unless it invades its neighbors or tries to fuck things up for the rest in another way. Russia is a gas station with nuclear weapons that is inherently self limited due to its kleptocracy. And again, the US cant even be bothered to kill off Russia by supplying some insignificant amount of aid and you think that there would be boots on the ground?
      - somenameforme 3y ago
        And so, in your mind, the US has never shown a geopolitical proclivity to invade, shall we say, 'noncompliant' "gas stations"?
- ttepasse 3y ago
  > Of course, vice versa, imagine the US disarmed. They'd be invaded by like 80% of the world within a fortnight. The US is protected from 95% of the world by being conveniently located behind two oceans and having two friendly neighbours.
- distances 3y ago
  That's wildly delusional. Russia is aggressive and expansionist so it imagines all other countries must be the same. In truth, absolutely nobody is interested in invading Russia, perhaps China notwithstanding as it is also authoritarian and carries some bad blood from Russia annexing its territory back in the day. Western countries have no such interest and likely would outright reject any suggestions of returning the lands Soviet Union stole within Europe. Russia would still of course not survive in its current form without military, but that's because it's a colonial empire that would quickly break apart if given a chance.

somenameforme 3y ago

Imagine Russia completely disarmed itself, destroyed all nuclear weapons, deposed its entire military, and all military weapons and production capability. Exactly how long do you think it would be before the US invaded? We might debate the timeline, but I don't think you can argue in good faith that they wouldn't be invaded. But if you accept this then it becomes clear that trust is impossible. You have a power that wants to overthrow you surrounding you with military bases and pointing countless nuclear weapons at you. That, by the way, is also not necessary to maintain mutually assured destruction type deterrence. But it is necessary if you want to consider a rapid first-strike complete annihilation type attack, hitting them before they can return fire. Of course, vice versa, imagine the US disarmed. They'd be invaded by like 80% of the world within a fortnight. Unfortunately I think the cycle is unbreakable. I don't think there's anybody that actually likes war, but it's been with us since the advent of civilization, and I expect it to remain with us til the end of civilization.

Paradigma11 3y ago
The US can not even be bothered to pay 5% of its defense budget for Ukraine aid and you really think that they would invade Russia?
- somenameforme 3y ago
  You could replace [Russia] there with the countless other countries we invade/occupy, for far lesser rewards than Russia would offer. So, yes I'm 100% certain we would.
  - Paradigma11 3y ago
    Nobody cares about Russia unless it invades its neighbors or tries to fuck things up for the rest in another way. Russia is a gas station with nuclear weapons that is inherently self limited due to its kleptocracy. And again, the US cant even be bothered to kill off Russia by supplying some insignificant amount of aid and you think that there would be boots on the ground?
    - somenameforme 3y ago
      And so, in your mind, the US has never shown a geopolitical proclivity to invade, shall we say, 'noncompliant' "gas stations"?
ttepasse 3y ago
> Of course, vice versa, imagine the US disarmed. They'd be invaded by like 80% of the world within a fortnight. The US is protected from 95% of the world by being conveniently located behind two oceans and having two friendly neighbours.
distances 3y ago
That's wildly delusional. Russia is aggressive and expansionist so it imagines all other countries must be the same. In truth, absolutely nobody is interested in invading Russia, perhaps China notwithstanding as it is also authoritarian and carries some bad blood from Russia annexing its territory back in the day. Western countries have no such interest and likely would outright reject any suggestions of returning the lands Soviet Union stole within Europe. Russia would still of course not survive in its current form without military, but that's because it's a colonial empire that would quickly break apart if given a chance.