chernobyl to me personally just represents the corruption and total failure of communism
Thank you for sharing this. It gives some weight and reality to what I claimed above: 'in the Slavic societies of post-Soviet eastern Europe - including Russians themselves - Chernobyl connotes the corruption and failure of the USSR.'
I really cannot comprehend all the outrage at putin, when all the outraged countries literally have soldiers occupying some other foreign countries right this moment.
With respect, sir, you are being foolish here - in three ways:
First, in thinking that all military occupation - all war - is equally evil. In thinking that America's wars, or American's bases in Germany, can possibly justify this invasion.
Russia's crusade to defeat Hitler was justified (and saved the world). That's true even though they helped with the evil partition of Poland in '39. It's true no matter what.
Second, in thinking that this is a conflict between America and Russia. Russian propaganda is happy to say it is. But the hard facts: Russia has invaded and seeks to annex another Slavic power. America could simply go home and the war would not stop. In fact it probably wouldn't stop until the entire Tsarist-Slavic world had been reconquered, including your Balkan people.
Third, in not being outraged. In fact, I'm angry at you for not being angry!
You sit there, Balkan Slav, in your new democracy, under the EU's economic umbrella, free of the Balkan's once endemic ethnic wars, posting your opinions on the internet with the careless ease of one confidant in their right of free speech, confidant in their democracy.
You haughtily justify Russian invasion with the mention of the Americans wars, which have ended and from which we gained little or nothing - and which were not territorial conquests, as this is.
You don't even imagine that Russia, unresisted, would very soon become interested in the brother Slavs of the Balkans. In you. In your fragile new democracy. Where is your solidarity with the citizens of your fellow democracies? We're in this together.