1–10 of 70 posts
Looking for neutral geo-political analysis.
It would be based on nostalgia and dreams for Russia to take on the greatness that the USSR had when he was a young man.
They'll use this to inform their localized (3-6 month scope) game plan. (And they'll execute no matter what, it's just a matter of how and where--always executing is their psychological burden.) Their strength is contextual analysis informing quick execution. Their military preference is to play the trickster role, with a cat-like approach. Tactical plans aimed a spike in execution (sprints, like a cat hunting) meant to gain a disproportionately intimidating result. Flexing.
Their blind spots include refinement, culture, global persona, capture of popular will, and logistics. So the most obvious responses for the west would include engaging and bearing down on each one of those virtual fronts for extended periods of time. The west could also use this situation to place immense pressure on China.[1]
PS, the west could also really benefit from this opportunity to build more settling space for recent internal civil conflicts. If western governments are smart that's exactly how this'll play out. Russia is obviously complicit in these conflicts from an evidentiary standpoint so engagement with them at all reasonable levels could be an equitable way to direct the tensions & focus.
1. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Ukraine-cris...
1. Russia has a deep seated psychological worry about invasion from the west across the open plains of Eastern Europe (Poland/Ukraine) (Napoleanic wars, Ww 1, ww2) so creating a buffer is of geostrategic importance (old Soviet Warsaw Pact / satellite states. Merely having a nato member bordering Russia may stoke this anxiety (if Ukraine were to join nato)
2. The window for action is closing driven by a)population decline b) decreasing foreign reliance and wealth created from Russian energy wealth (oil/ nat gas)
it's all a game https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=+байден+в...
Russian history is essentially the story of Russia getting invaded time and time again. The Mongols, Napoleon, Hitler, the list goes on and on and on. This, combined with borders that are difficult to defend (no mountain ranges or other natural barriers), has left the Russian psyche with a sense that their position is always precarious. It seems reasonable to me, given Russian history, and the fact that less than 100 years ago their society was nearly eradicated by Nazis. So the Russians are always wary of other powers and are always concerned about their borders.
Now, since the end of the Cold War, Russia has lost quite a lot of territory. This territory has all been snapped up by NATO, even though the Cold War was apparently over. NATO has now slowly expanded to the point that it is right up on Russia's border in the Baltics. The Russians look at this, and look at the failures of "shock therapy" economics in the 90s, and look at their demographic crunch, and look at the increasingly unstable political situation of their Western neighbors. They conclude that now is the last and best possible time to make an aggressive chess move against the West, and snatch up Ukraine before the West can.
So that's what this is about - it's a response of geopolitical insecurity. Russia thinks the West is very aggressive and unstable, and seeks to put Ukraine in its "sphere of influence" before it's too late. To be honest, I don't think Russia is in the wrong here, there is no real reason why Americans should even be involved with this country right up on the Russian border. How would Americans feel if we lost the cold war and Russia started trying to dominate Mexico and Canada?
I wish I could recall the reference (as the below is not my original thinking), but I’ve Heard something along the following postulated: 1. Russia has a deep seated psychological worry about invasion from the west across the open plains of Eastern Europe (Poland/Ukraine) (Napoleanic wars, Ww 1, ww2) so creating a buffer is of geostrategic importance (old Soviet Warsaw Pact / satellite states. Merely having a nato mem…