https://sputniknews.in/20250416/europe-went-mad-again-americans-and-russians-agree-on-that-8989874.html
Europe Went Mad (Again). Americans and Russians Agree on That
Europe Went Mad (Again). Americans and Russians Agree on That
Sputnik India
Here we have a notable column in the Asia Times, the publication you may know well enough. What’s interesting, the author is American, namely Mr. Stephen Bryen, formerly US deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
2025-04-16T20:27+0530
2025-04-16T20:27+0530
2025-04-16T20:27+0530
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He is writing about a tiny European nation called Estonia, bordering Russia near St. Petersburg, with a population of 1.37 million and no army to speak of.The title in Asia Tines is, “Estonia cribbing Ukraine’s script for provoking Russia”. It says: “There have been countless provocations by Ukraine and some of its supporters, including Joe Biden, who authorized long-range ATACMS strikes deep inside Russia, some aimed at Russia’s early warning radars and nuclear bomber bases. At the same time, Ukraine and its supporters have promoted and carried out a cultural war against Russia”.The result is virtual self-destruction of Ukraine, and, says Mr. Bryen, that could have taught Europe some lessons. But, no. “One of the top provocateurs is Estonia. One would think that Estonia would not want to create trouble for itself, but it seems that the reverse is true, largely deriving from the Estonian belief that NATO is there to back it up and that Russia would not attack a NATO state”.So, he goes on, “Among the pro-war advocates in Europe, Estonia is at the forefront… Of the six nations who have apparently pledged to send troops to Ukraine, Estonia is leading the list even though it does not have anyone to send.The trouble with provocations is that they can cause wars”.And, finally, our American strategist is taken aback by “hysteria now apparent in official channels in parts of Europe (for example, France, UK, Germany and Estonia)”, and laments that, instead of helping US President Donald Trump find a peaceful solution to the conflict, the French and British, in particular, have done their best to undermine his efforts.It seems that only now people in the US, the ones who are mentally close to the current administration, are discovering that something is deeply wrong with Europe. The folks there just cannot do without bouts of hatred against Russia, regardless of the outcome. They have been provoking Russia for years and years, using Ukraine as a well-armed and suicidal stooge. The result of these provocations is dismaying for them, but still these people cannot stop, trying yet again to throw Europe into yet another war.So, you may imagine that the same amazement is being felt in Russia for years. What kind of people are these Europeans, who are willing to contradict even their American allies, so as to go on provoking Russia against all odds? And, more important, what kind of people are we, Russians, and how did it happen that there were several generations here, thinking that Russia is European?That debate produces a lot of discoveries. Look at the ideas of Mr. Dmitry Orekhov, a prominent writer, examining his own book shelf. He says: we, ourselves, are helping the West to upkeep the illusions about Russia and the West. How about the French philosopher Voltaire, revered in Russia, who invested money into slave trade? And how about a hero of a book, obligatory for every Russian youth, the venerable Robinson Crusoe, who was fighting for survival on an uninhabited island, but before that owned slaves in a Brazilian plantation? And, generally, how about the incurable European ideas about Russia being a terrible land of Asian horrors?Here any Indian can only remember centuries of contacts with the British and other thinkers, them being sure that no civilization can exist in the East, save for the one imported from Europe. But Russia has been discovering that attitude only in the last 20-30 years, maybe.The Communist era has played a part in that Euro-obsession. Karl Marx, the founder of that ideology, hated and despised Russia as a civilization, but we were not supposed to talk about it under the Communist rule.All in all, Russia has been competing with Europe for centuries over the honor of being the proper Europeans. That’s why, goes on Mr. Orekhov, Russia has, again over centuries, been always mentally unprepared for yet another European invasion. That happened twice in the 19thcentury, several more times before that, not to mention the global wars in the 20th century. Each time the public in Russia have been stunned by yet another bout of European hatred and cruelty, not expecting that from the land of Enlightenment, music, poetry and humanistic values.You have to understand well the typically European idea of Russia being an existential threat, says Mr. Gleb Kuznetsov, a political writer. The current problem of the West is, he says, that it is engulfed in a bout of total pessimism about its future and present. Everything is a threat, be it viruses or cigarettes, climate or, especially, people around you. But you have to constantly upgrade the scale of fear, or else it becomes stale. So, says Mr. Kuznetsov, Russia is back as a European bogey, raising in status from a vaguely alien land to the “security threat” in 2022 and to the “threat of an imminent aggression” in 2024-2025.You can imagine the feelings of an ordinary Russian, hearing, on daily basis, all that European wailing about Russian armies marching across Europe. What do we do with that Europe of yours after such an invasion, is the typical response: maybe we’ll have to manage your dubious economy and pessimistic societies? Do it yourselves, our Western brothers.In any case, what we see in reality, is that constant and very physical European aggression against Russia via East European nations, those willing to sell their security for attention and donations from the EU or anybody else.Going back to our American writer, appalled by weird behavior of Ukraine or Estonia, here we have yet one more grain on wisdom from an unexpected source. That wisdom is kind of unexpected. After all, only recently America have been actively participating in European policy of creeping aggression towards Russia, but now the Biden and other Democratic administrations are been blasted for that at home by plenty of people around Donald Trump. What do we, Russians and other people, should think about that? Hasn’t America been Moscow’s adversary for many previous decades?Here we have to remember that the New World, America, has historically been an Anti-Europe, the land where one could escape the grim realities of European rules-based order, and start a new life. Also, the US have been twice trying to save Europe from global wars Europeans have started in the 20th century. To remind, each time the US soldiers were arriving to the Old Continent at the very end of hostilities, so as to help ending them and get the spoils. Obviously, America of today is seeing that these Europeans are at it again, and is not willing to risk a global nuclear war as a result.So, that’s why what we see today is a very strange diplomatic configuration, namely the US and Russia, trying hard to reach a peace settlement, being pitted against the raging Europe. One may only guess about the shape of future diplomacy, if the current negotiations succeed.Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
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Europe Went Mad (Again). Americans and Russians Agree on That
Here we have a notable column in the Asia Times, the publication you may know well enough. What’s interesting, the author is American, namely Mr. Stephen Bryen, formerly US deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
He is
writing about a tiny European nation called Estonia, bordering Russia near St. Petersburg, with a population of 1.37 million and no army to speak of.
The title in Asia Tines is, “Estonia cribbing Ukraine’s script for provoking Russia”. It says: “There have been countless provocations by Ukraine and some of its supporters, including Joe Biden, who authorized long-range ATACMS strikes deep inside Russia, some aimed at Russia’s early warning radars and nuclear bomber bases. At the same time, Ukraine and its supporters have promoted and carried out a cultural war against Russia”.
The result is virtual self-destruction of Ukraine, and, says Mr. Bryen, that could have taught Europe some lessons. But, no. “One of the top provocateurs is Estonia. One would think that Estonia would not want to create trouble for itself, but it seems that the reverse is true, largely deriving from the Estonian belief that NATO is there to back it up and that Russia would not attack a NATO state”.
So, he goes on, “Among the pro-war advocates in Europe, Estonia is at the forefront… Of the six nations who have apparently pledged to send troops to Ukraine, Estonia is leading the list even though it does not have anyone to send.
The trouble with provocations is that they can cause wars”.
And, finally, our American strategist is taken aback by “hysteria now apparent in official channels in parts of Europe (for example, France, UK, Germany and Estonia)”, and laments that, instead of helping US President Donald Trump find a peaceful solution to the conflict, the French and British, in particular, have done their best to undermine his efforts.
It seems that only now people in the US, the ones who are mentally close to the current administration, are discovering that something is deeply wrong with Europe. The folks there just cannot do without bouts of hatred against Russia, regardless of the outcome. They have been provoking Russia for years and years, using Ukraine as a well-armed and suicidal stooge. The result of these provocations is dismaying for them, but still these people cannot stop, trying yet again to throw Europe into yet another war.
So, you may imagine that the same amazement is being felt in Russia for years. What kind of people are these Europeans, who are willing to contradict even their American allies, so as to go on provoking Russia against all odds? And, more important, what kind of people are we, Russians, and how did it happen that there were several generations here, thinking that Russia is European?
That debate produces a lot of discoveries. Look at the ideas of Mr. Dmitry Orekhov, a prominent writer, examining his own book shelf. He says: we, ourselves, are helping the West to upkeep the illusions about Russia and the West. How about the French philosopher Voltaire, revered in Russia, who invested money into slave trade? And how about a hero of a book, obligatory for every Russian youth, the venerable Robinson Crusoe, who was fighting for survival on an uninhabited island, but before that owned slaves in a Brazilian plantation? And, generally, how about the incurable European ideas about Russia being a terrible land of Asian horrors?
Here any Indian can only remember centuries of contacts with the British and other thinkers, them being sure that no civilization can exist in the East, save for the one imported from Europe. But Russia has been discovering that attitude only in the last 20-30 years, maybe.
The Communist era has played a part in that Euro-obsession. Karl Marx, the founder of that ideology, hated and despised Russia as a civilization, but we were not supposed to talk about it under the Communist rule.
All in all, Russia has been competing with Europe for centuries over the honor of being the proper Europeans. That’s why, goes on Mr. Orekhov, Russia has, again over centuries, been always mentally unprepared for yet another European invasion. That happened twice in the 19thcentury, several more times before that, not to mention the global wars in the 20th century. Each time the public in Russia have been stunned by yet another bout of European hatred and cruelty, not expecting that from the land of Enlightenment, music, poetry and humanistic values.
You have to understand well the typically European idea of Russia being an existential threat, says Mr. Gleb Kuznetsov, a political writer. The current problem of the West is, he says, that it is engulfed in a bout of total pessimism about its future and present. Everything is a threat, be it viruses or cigarettes, climate or, especially, people around you. But you have to constantly upgrade the scale of fear, or else it becomes stale. So, says Mr. Kuznetsov, Russia is back as a European bogey, raising in status from a vaguely alien land to the “security threat” in 2022 and to the “threat of an imminent aggression” in 2024-2025.
You can imagine the feelings of an ordinary Russian, hearing, on daily basis, all that European wailing about Russian armies marching across Europe. What do we do with that Europe of yours after such an invasion, is the typical response: maybe we’ll have to manage your dubious economy and pessimistic societies? Do it yourselves, our Western brothers.
In any case, what we see in reality, is that constant and very physical European aggression against Russia via East European nations, those willing to sell their security for attention and donations from the EU or anybody else.
Going back to our American writer, appalled by weird behavior of Ukraine or Estonia, here we have yet one more grain on wisdom from an unexpected source. That wisdom is kind of unexpected. After all, only recently America have been actively participating in European policy of creeping aggression towards Russia, but now the Biden and other Democratic administrations are been blasted for that at home by plenty of people around Donald Trump. What do we, Russians and other people, should think about that? Hasn’t America been Moscow’s adversary for many previous decades?
Here we have to remember that the New World, America, has historically been an Anti-Europe, the land where one could escape the grim realities of European rules-based order, and start a new life. Also, the US have been twice trying to save Europe from global wars Europeans have started in the 20th century. To remind, each time the US soldiers were arriving to the Old Continent at the very end of hostilities, so as to help ending them and get the spoils. Obviously, America of today is seeing that these Europeans are at it again, and is not willing to risk a global nuclear war as a result.
So, that’s why what we see today is a very strange diplomatic configuration, namely the US and Russia, trying hard to reach a peace settlement, being pitted against the raging Europe. One may only guess about the shape of future diplomacy, if the current negotiations succeed.
Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
