Bakhmut has fallen one year to the day that Mariupol fell, all thanks to the valiant efforts of Wagner PMC.
This is a huge turning point in Russia’s Special Military Operation. The road to Kiev (and points in between) are now open.
Here are some preliminary takeaways:
- The Ukrainians now have some serious reconsidering to do, as do their NATO puppet-masters. The Kievan regime has been put on notice as it’s only a matter of time before Russia is going to dictate terms.
- Slow and steady wins the race. There is no need for American glitz and glamor. As stated above, we are returning to classical Clausewitzian strategy with clear military and political goals enunciated.
- Maneuver and economy of force, not shock and awe, have carried the day.
- Cutting and running, as we did in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, are no longer options as far as the great powers are concerned.
- Globalism is now on the ropes. The only option the West has now is to mobilize NATO and openly confront the Russian Federation.
And here’s the ultimate kick in the balls, as far as the West is concerned: Wagner PMC, an army of volunteers, many of them with criminal records, has defeated the largest and most well-equipped army that NATO has fielded against Russia.
Let that sink in.
Here are a couple of take-aways. The first from Dr Steve Turley:
And the second from Weeb Union:
An abbreviated montage of the entire months-long battle from History Legends:
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Ah Bakhmut! The lens through which it is viewed tends to depend on which side you have backed in the war. Perhaps it was a tar pit Ukraine forced Russia to bleed endlessly for, only ceding it after months of slaughter at the cost of impairing Russia’s overall war effort. Others might argue it was a crucible in which Russia bled Ukraine dry, dealing a mortal blow to the Ukrainian military.
I’d point out people tending towards the latter analysis have generally been getting the war pretty badly wrong over the past fifteen months, but their audience tends to not grade them on accuracy or hold them accountable.
One interesting dynamic on the outskirts of Bakhmut in recent weeks is Ukraine has been making limited counterattacks and pushing back the regular Russian forces holding them. This is requiring Russia to bring in reserves from elsewhere, lest Ukraine end up encircling the Wagner forces in Bakhmut proper. I doubt Ukraine will go all-in on this, but enough to force Russia to commit units it might have wished to be ready to relocate elsewhere.
One thing is highly likely, anyone anticipating Bakhmut being a springboard for Russian offensive gains is going to be disappointed. To Ukraine’s benefit, Russia squandered mobilized men and material in their ill-fated winter offensive. More force generation is going to take time, given the limited impact of the under the radar mobilization so far this year, they may have to go back to that well again in the near future. But it’s going to be a challenge building an offensive force out of that.
So, now we see what Ukraine will do in next few months. Personally I am setting modest expectations for their counteroffensive. I think they will have some success in continued liberations, but offense is hard, and I don’t think they have the depth of material to sustain past a certain point. That said, the pro-Russia crowd who have proclaimed it a failure before it even starts will likely have to move their goalposts yet again and pretend they never said a bunch of things they totally did.
My track record has been pretty decent so far, but I might be wrong. Generally where I have erred it has been on the side of underestimating Ukraine and overestimating Russia.
Here is a comment from another site:
” We must never forget how 30 000 of starving and demoralized Russian convicts armed with nothing but shovels had suffered 40 000 casualties, yet still managed to surround and take the city of Bakhmut from a professional Ukrainian army, which was equipped with the best gear NATO could offer, along with the best CIA intel and backed by billions of US taxpayers dollars. ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eybImDlkpLw
No. Nate, your track record isn’t pretty or decent. Perhaps if you took up swimming? There are some new lovely suits available just now. Thanks for the laugh, though.
Two separate and unrelated notes:
1. Every time western media is forced to admit Russian victory in a certain region, it is always preceded by words like “devastated”, “scorched earth”, “annihilated”, “decimated”.
Now the usual request will be “more weapons please”. F-16s are coming up, then at some point unavoidably there will come ‘trained specialist volunteers’ (because you can’t train Ukrainian pilots fast enough), and eventually other ways of introducing infantry – the one thing that Ukraine is going to have an insufficient amount of very shortly. Poland and Turkey are the two likeliest candidates to start offering their professional military services.
2. I hope Bakhmut retains its historical name of Bakhmut, which it was called before the Soviet revolution of 1917 when it was part of Russia. Not everyone in the west knows that the name Artyomovsk came about in 1924 during the Soviet era, in ‘honor’ of Feodor Sergeev with a nom de guerre of ‘comrade Artyom’. Comrade Artyom was a Soviet party official who headed the revolutionary movement in that part of then Russia. He was one of Stalin’s close friends. When Sergeev died in 1921 Stalin adopted his son, Artyom Sergeev.
Due to the fact that post independence, Ukrainian politicians renamed many of their cities on purpose, to get away from Russia, there is a desire to return Soviet era names by some Russian politicians as they see this as an ‘in your face’ response to what the Ukrainians did. Since Ukrainians mix anti-communism with Russophobia, it becomes difficult for many to separate the two.
Fortunately right wing, anti-communist voices in Russia’s patriotic political sphere are gradually gaining more voice, so I hope with time these problems will go away.
“Poland and Turkey are the two likeliest candidates
to start offering their professional military services.”
If Erdogan wins, I doubt the Turks will turn up…
It’s looking more and more like Erdogan is going to be a clear winner. Given how he has been treated recently by the West, I have serious doubts that he will now assist the West in sending troops to Ukraine or anything close to it.
If anything, I would expect the opposite as Erdogan/Turkey seem to be pivoting to the East.
From an Orthodox POV what I’m really curious about is what Erdogan’s reelection means for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and for Bartholomew. I assume Bartholomew has been a thorn in Erdogan’s side for some time given how Bart is a puppet of the West. My guess is that back when David Erhan stated that the EP was “scared” of the Turkish government they might have been scared of what would happen if Erdongan won again.
Perhaps Erdogan & Putin have a plan to set up a parallel jurisdiction in Turkey like they have done in Africa.
He wants away from NATO and into BRICS.
Names are complicated, though. “Bakhmut” seems to derive ultimately from the proper name Muhammad, via the Russian and Ukrainian word bakhmat, meaning “a Tatar war horse.”
“Artëmovsk” (Artyomovsk) or “Artemivsk,” on the other hand, may have been directly in honor of the nom de guerre of a Russian Bolshevik—but the popularity of the name “Artëm” among Slavic Orthodox peoples (and even early-20th-century Bolsheviks) is because of the Great-martyr St. Artemius.
Indeed, many people think the name Brian became popular
because Monty Python made a film called The Life of Brian.
However, Brian Boru was the High King of Ireland
who defeated the Vikings at the battle of Clontarf in 1014 AD,
As he paid for his victory with his life,
amongst Irish folks the name has a certain resonance.
And we now know what Russia’s revenge for the attempt on Putin was. Zaluzhny is apparently on life support in Kiev according to Dima at Military Summary. Zaluzhny was their leading general.
Here’s some info about Wagner PMC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8mtzg0H-gQ
And then there was this news: G7 meeting
“Biden and his cronies soon dispensed with hollow talk about “peace” and “nuclear disarmament” to make the G7 summit a rallying call for more hostility toward Russia and China. There were plans for more economic warfare (sanctions) against Moscow, which was vilified as usual for “unprovoked aggression” against Ukraine.
There were pledges of supplying more weapons to the powder keg that the U.S. and its NATO partners have created in Ukraine. There were high-handed dismissals of international diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, which have been proposed by China, and Latin American and African nations.”
https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/05/19/g7-desecrates-hiroshima-a-bomb-memory-with-warmongering-summit/
🎬 I think you are correct in stating: The only option the West has now is to mobilize NATO and openly confront the Russian Federation.
I just hope this awful war ends soon……
Glory be to God! This is great news. Now onto Kiev.
Hopefully, Zelensky is captured and put on trial for all the world to see.
Speaking of Ukraine and what victory for the globalists looks like, DRESDEN, Germany, has named a street after a suicidal “transgender” who died from too many mutilating surgeries: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/05/20/weimars-legacy-dresden-names-street-after-worlds-first-trans-woman/
Lord have mercy.
Now, what to do about Poland?
A few weeks ago, Poland’s top general stopped engaging in happy talk. I imagine he’s going to be even more circumspect now, especially with the prevailing winds taking all that radioactive fallout from the recent ammo dump explosion to the west.
Convert them or ask Germany if they want the place on condition that they never bother us again.
Russian government shut down 13 gay bars in St. Petersburg, including one named “Blue Oyster” (the same name as the notorious gay bar in the movie Police Academy). Gay patron said, “It’s like a kind of exorcism.”
See: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/19/hush-descends-on-st-petersburg-party-zone-as-nightclubs-shuttered-a81173
I’m so very sorry for humanity, so love on, “let us now lay aside all earthly cares.” You will see…
See what?
Dear George and Gail,
Which would you like to search out? It is somewhat well known in these days that DEFCON 1 is an earthly care. I think that within Genesis 2:7 in the old and new testatment there are much more significant earthly cares.
In Christ,
Matthew Panchisin
Kind of a silly proposition. Who would choose extinction? Unfortunately, it is not possible to lay aside all earthly cares all the time. The intent is to not be overly distracted with the things of “this world” during the Liturgy.
The U.S/West now have two options:
1) Pivot attention to China
2) Go all-in with NATO troops in Ukraine.
If it’s the latter, well, look for Russia to blitzkrieg all the way to Poland. They will not show the restraint against NATO that they shown to Ukraine.
On a separate note, it looks like the U.S is doing what it does and is fomenting another color revolution, this time in Serbia.
What worries me is that our elites have no idea that they are heaping bowls of wrath upon our heads. Even a continent as soyified as Europe will not take this type of interference forever.
George,
As far as I can tell, the plan seems to be to allow the Ukrainians to fail at their offensive and then send in the F-16’s, probably based in Poland, in order to escalate and obtain the best cease fire or frozen conflict deal possible. The guys over at the Duran have made the point that this all looks like a marketing campaign for the American MIC. All of the other wonder weapons have failed to make a dent in the Russian military. The F-16 will likely be no different; however, if they couple the threat of expanding the war to Poland with the threat to strike Crimea, they may believe the Russians will come to the table to avoid that.
Regardless, if the F-16’s get shot down (and they probably are no match for Russia’s more modern jets and air defenses), then that is a marketing vehicle to sell the newer F-35’s to European countries who would not then be content with simply buying the cheaper, older F-16’s. You clear out your old stock and bait new customers, all in one fell swoop.
The Japanese used to say in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, “Business is war.” That may be true, but war is definitely a big business.
I hope the Ukrainians are paying attention to the fact that the Americans are using them as guinea pigs and cannon fodder to test Russia’s military prowess, dump obsolete inventories, and market new weapons to Western governments which they are not willing to share with the Ukraine. My guess is that eventually they will wake up and come to revile their Western handlers much as the Chechens have.
This can only spiral into a full-on world war. When that happens, Russia’s military focus will most likely shift from Ukraine to fighting on another front, perhaps involving NATO countries in the North (Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) or Turkiye to the South. When that happens, the winner will be the long-suffering Ukraine.
An armed Ukraine that defends it’s own sovereignty is not actually a threat to Russia. That’s because Ukraine does not seek to invade Russia, but rather, it only seeks to retain it’s own borders. This actually protects Russia from invasion from the West. A fully independent and armed Ukraine that defends it’s sovereignty is really just a natural ally for Russia.
Joseph, you’re not wrong generally speaking about this. In fact, in the ideal, you’d be right. However the Ukraine was weaponized against Russia specifically so they could serve as a battering ram against Moscow.
How would they do this? By being part of NATO, a scenario that would include them hosting American nuclear-tipped missiles. For Russians –all Russians (including liberals)–this is a complete non-starter. As was the case for us when Castro had Soviet missiles placed in Cuba.
That was our red line (as it should have been).
Ukraine was independent in early 2014. Then our State Department staged a coup and turned it into a puppet government they could manipulate to use against Russia. That is the genesis of the current situation.
The fundamental problem is that the United States cannot allow peer competitors to emerge like China and Russia. They are clinging to unipolarity and seek to subjugate other rising powers rather than cooperate. But the rising powers have outgrown this arrangement and seek to take their rightful place as peers. This is anathema to the neo-libs and neo-cons who make foreign policy in America. As a result, sanctions have gutted Europe and driven the Russians and Chinese (and the Indians, dots not feathers) together to form a united front with the rest of the non-West to counter American imperial power.
What America has found out, to its chagrin, is that it no longer has the manufacturing base to keep up in weapons production with Russia. America has relied too much on finance and technology and not enough on natural resources and manufacturing. Unfortunately for the West, the center of gravity of world power has already moved eastward. America is only going to be able to mitigate the damage with good policies or exacerbate it with bad policies. Biden has consistently chosen the latter.
Incidentally, this from ZeroHedge is pretty good:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/martin-armstrong-why-ukraine-must-lose-save-world
Joseph and George, you’re both wrong. The people who control the Ukraine hate Russia and Russians. They are like mad dogs who need to be chained and muzzled or shot. And they are being fed by The West, chiefly, America. Russia will never have peace until Ukraine is under complete Russian control or been turned into a potato patch.
The article below came out the year Bartholomew thought it would be a good idea to pit these people against the canonical Church.
Notice how it says, “The National Militia says its members are all volunteers, and that expenses are covered by businesses and individuals sympathetic to its activities.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/13/ukraine-far-right-national-militia-takes-law-into-own-hands-neo-nazi-links
I think Russia may be eventually coming to that conclusion.
Even if hypothetically western Ukraine is absorbed into Poland, or becomes an autonomous region, it will still pose a threat to Russia long term. The U.S/West/NATO will not allow that area to go unused as a battering ram against Russia, so what is Russia to do?
The next threat that Russia will likely have to contend with is Finland, they were extremely foolish to have joined NATO.
Katherine has a point. There has been an endless stream of propaganda coming from the coup govt and US agents that is relentlessly Russophobic filled with anti-Russian hatred. Despite that, the Eastern oblasts votes to join Russia. But the govt is intractable anti -Russian, as is the entire Western third of the country, the real Banderastan.
Russia will probably annex Kharkov and Odessa and incorporate them as they are also primarily Russian. However, what Russia will insist on and force if necessary is a demilitarized and neutral Western Ukraine purged of fascists.
Russia can accept no less due to existential concerns.
George, it’s not really in Ukraine’s interest to be a “battering ram against Moscow” though. That idea could only be considered useful, temporarily, when the Russian Federation takes over parts of Ukraine, as with Crimea and Donbass. Ukraine’s real interest is in defending their own borders, and not invading Russia. A destabilized Russia is also a security threat to Ukraine, since they share a border.
At some point, Ukraine and the Russian Federation will simply have to agree on borders; perhaps new ones.
Joseph, I agree with your last sentence.
That said, the Banderists who control the Ukraine have a visceral ethno-racial hatred of Russians, whom they call “Moskals” and consider to be Asiatic mongrels. Their hatred blinds them to the fact that they can be used by the Westerners.
Misha has a point as well which I want to expand on: the same Western elites that hate Russians also hate Ukrainians. And even if their plans against Russia are failing, they are also succeeding in destroying huge segments of the Ukrainian population.
Sad for them.
File this one under Zelensky the Antichrist, under the state-sponsored GOA or right here: SCHISMATICS HOLD SATANIC “FUNERAL” FOR UOC OUTSIDE KIEV CAVES LAVRA (+VIDEO)
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, how long do we go along with this evil?
A group of activists supporting the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” staged a blasphemous “funeral” for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church outside the Kiev Caves Lavra on Wednesday.
The “service” was led by an open satanist who calls himself “the great magician Belial,” who was helped by activists based in the office of Poroshenko’s European Solidarity office across from the Lavra, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The “magician” wore a pentagram with an image of Baphomet in place of an episcopal Panagia, and a “miter” with an image of satan. Other participants were dressed as bishops and zombies and barked, cackled, and pretended to sob.
Video of the “funeral” shows a large doll of Patriarch Kirill lying in a coffin.
At the end of the display, Belial pointed to the Lavra, saying: “Monks of the ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine will pray in these churches,” referring to the schismatic organization.
Actual prayers of the Church were read, interspersed with cursing, during the blasphemous service, and a real censer was used.
Such blasphemous displays were often held during the times of godless atheism last century as a means of dehumanizing the Church and desensitizing the people to its destruction.
Commenting on the blasphemy, His Eminence Metropolitan Kliment of Nezhin, head of the UOC’s Information-Education Department, said such blasphemy only makes him feel sorry for those involved. “I would like to hope that someday they’ll understand the error of their ways,” he said.
For his part, “Archbishop” Evstraty Zorya of the schismatic OCU condemned such actions because they make the [canonical] UOC look like a victim while discrediting the [schismatic] OCU.
For the VIDEO, see: https://orthochristian.com/153743.html
Viktor Orban has now said it publicly: Ukraine’s cause in the war with Russia is doomed to fail, and further military aid to Kiev will only lead to more deaths:
I was living in Hungary at the time when Orban was elected in 2010. My conservative Christian friends there were excited about him then, and they’re delighted with him now. He’s a devout (Reformed) Christian, whose large family (5 children) is such a rarity today in Hungary and in Europe generally. And in politics, his clear-headed realism is refreshing at a time when it too seems such a rarity.
Hungary’s “Easter Constitution” was adopted on Bright Monday in 2011 and stands out for its opening section, the “National Confession of Faith” (Nemzeti hitvallás, sometimes misleadingly translated “National Avowal”) which proclaims:
The reference is to St. Stephen I, first King of Hungary, who was crowned on the Feast of Christ’s Nativity in 1000 and died on the Feast of the Dormition in 1038, and whose feast day in the Orthodox Church (as well as in the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary) is August 20—the translation of his relics, which is also Hungary’s National Day.
Yes, we really should celebrate, shouldn’t we? A country that proclaims to have one of the (if not ‘the’) strongest military force in the world apparently ‘conquered’ a town (after months of fighting) in a country where it initially claimed it would change everything around in a few days.
Pretty embarrassing if you ask me. I always thought Russia was strong. This war has really opened my eyes. I would withdraw rather than carry on embarrassing my country in front of the world. And celebrating this meagre accomplishment is just as embarrassing.
And do you know who had the second strongest army in Europe? That’s right, Ukraine. It was trained to NATO specs and built up by the US MIC.
As of today, Russia has gone through several such armies raised by the nz’s in Kiev. They have taken the slow, methodical route to victory in order to spare the lives of Russian troops and Ukrainian civilians, especially since they have been fighting in the Donbas and Novorossiya where many of the civilians are Russian speaking.
What they have succeeded in doing is killing off most of the Ukrainian army, which was their intent from the beginning (demilitarization) as well as destroying most of the weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces by the West (a project which continues). It is America that does not have the stomach for long wars. And we protract our wars by going in shock and awe style but never laying the groundwork to retain the territory we take. We’re still in Iraq and were driven from Afghanistan in shame. Russia is not making that mistake.
Russia never said they wanted to occupy all of the Ukraine. Thus far, they have been focused on securing the ethnic Russian regions. However, once there is no longer a viable Ukrainian military, they may end up taking much more territory in order to guarantee that the whole of what was originally “Ukraine” is demilitarized.
Now, if you don’t think Russia is strong (which is another silly meme coming out of Poland these days), why do you think everyone else has been reluctant to become directly involved en masse in the conflict? The West knows they would fare no better against the Russians than the Ukrainians have done with western weapons which the Russians are going through like crap through a goose. Moreover, they have arms sales to worry about. Much of their arsenal has proved ineffective against the Russian military, particularly its air defenses and offensive missiles. They can send F-16’s to get shot down like the initial Ukrainian air force was and thus create a market for their new F35’s in Europe.
The Russians are holding well over half a million men in reserve near the Ukrainian border in anticipation of any NATO involvement and still, outnumbered in Ukraine by the forces they are facing, they have wiped the floor with them – albeit in a slow grind, minimizing Russian casualties.
Nothing to be embarrassed about and much to be proud of, actually. But, of course, it is not exactly American military doctrine to proceed this way. We like the big show off which yields a diminished return. The Russians perfected this type of war in Syria and had experience previously in Chechnya. We should be grateful that Russia is not treating the Ukraine like Chechnya. It is likely they would not extent the same courtesy to the Poles or NATO forces.
Spoken like a true devotee of the Rumsfeld Doctrine:
SHOCK and AWE! That’s the way: SHOCK and AWE!
But the Russians don’t go for that. They never said they would.
They chose Clauswitz’s way – first destroy the enemy’s army.
Indeed, Surovikin stated his intent was to grind Ukraine down.
And that is precisely what the Russians have done in Bakhmut.
They left one way for putting troops in or getting troops out.
Ukraine chose to to reinforce again and again and again…
As a result they suffered immense casualties – and still lost.
Clausewitz (and Surovikin) triumphed over Rumsfeld (and NATO).
Russia is singlehandedly fighting a proxy war against the entire Western world. How inept are the Ukrainians if they can’t defend one city with billions of dollars of world class military hardware handed to them for free?
“Pretty embarrassing if you ask me.”
The real wars can be quite different than the ones shown in Hollywood movies.
The war in Vietnam lasted several years, and was lost not on the battle field. It was lost on the political front and to some extent on the economic front It might be that the real Russian plan is to drag this war at least one or two years longer.
Robert, the Russian Federation has only committed a small fraction of its military at this time. If you want to find “embarrassing,” look no further than America. Our lying, bullying, rapacious criminal leaders, political and corporate, are being rebuked by foreign ministry spokesman around the world — and no one can contradict them because the world knows they have spoken the truth.
Putin’s way of war is like Vorlon Planet Killers. Brutal armchair drunks destroy with no compunction because they are too glutonous and morally anaestetised to see anything. They are corrupt, stuck in Moscow, unable to see the conditions on the ground and fearful that any glimpse of reality will land them in the gulag or drinking polonium. Biden had cleverly drawn Putin into this war to avenge Biden’s Napoleonic Carolingian forefathers and punish Russia for defeating Napoleon’s attempt to recreate Charlemagne’s empire.
And this is a bad thing?
Pro-Ukraine propaganda is a caricature of itself.
Me thinks that ‘Polly Polunium’ has a moonshine still at her house, and samples lots of product. (At least I hope that’s the answer.)
Still not convinced. I am not a NATO or Ukraine fan but can also see the shortcomings in the Russian army/leadership.
“They have taken the slow, methodical route to victory in order to spare the lives of Russian troops and Ukrainian civilians…”
I wonder in what world you are living in. Media propaganda apart, have you ever spoken to Ukrainian refugees who had to flee their country because of Russia? I know some such families and despite them having in the past always been more ‘pro Russia’ and attending Rocor churches, they have described horrible realities in Ukraine perpetrated by Russia (including of course the senseless and evil killings and harming of countless civilians). Clearly there is very little effort (if at all) on the Russian side to spare civilian lives. But probably you are going to tell me that I shouldn’t listen to people who first handedly witnessed such atrocities and are still undergoing horrible life circumstances while living abroad (thanks of course to Russia).
I should rather listen to your opinion and Russia’s propaganda shouldn’t I?
One such refugee friend had their neighbour’s house blown apart by a Russian missile which caused her granddad to have a heart attack. She had to flee with him and mum and went to a different country for him to have heart surgery. They were consequently having a very hard time finding somewhere to live. I wonder if you have any idea what it feels like to be a refugee with no money in a country that speaks a different language (especially when you are elderly and unwell). They have lost everything but thanks to God they are still alive. When you hear stories like these by someone breaking down in tears, you tend (if you are a human being) to feel empathy for them and to question for a moment what Russia is doing too (not just Ukraine).
One thing that often surprised me with pro Russia supporters is that they will exclusively see ‘good’ in what Russia does (in a rather sectarian as well as child-like way). Apparently (according to them) Russia is God-like and it’s leaders never make mistakes but only have the best intentions. Forget Ukraine, the ‘West’ and NATO and their mistakes for a moment (which we can agree upon) but I challenge you to list a few mistakes and weaknesses that Russia makes/has too.
Whenever I challenge fanatical Russians or pro Russia supporters to tell me what the shortcomings of Putin or Russia are, they tend to not speak at all. As if their minds aren’t programmed to challenge the Russian system. As if they have been brainwashed to never see any shortcomings in Russia/Putin.
I don’t think this is healthy. Every human being and system has qualities and shortcomings. You may admire a certain person for his qualities but he still isn’t God/perfect and has shortcomings. In my opinion everyone should love their country and be proud of it as well as respect their authorities – yet again no one should blindly accept everything the leaders of their country say and do but also question what the not so good sides are too. There is no paradise on earth but to think that a certain country or group of people is paradise-like is to live with a mindset akin to Scientologists or Moonies.
Thankfully I’ve also met Russians who posses a very healthy mindset and question everything rationally (including Putin and other Russian leaders). God gave us reason for a reason. It’s pleasant to talk to such people because you can sense there is empathy in such a human being, there is balance of mind and a desire for Truth. Many of them impressed me for their Christian-like attitudes: they were more concerned for the well-being of the people suffering in the war rather than focusing on taking sides. May God be glorified for these beautiful examples.
So what are the shortcomings of Russia and Mr Putin? Anyone daring to answer this question?
Allowing yourself to honestly answer the above question may help you broaden the horizon of your mind and have a more comprehensive outlook on the Ukrainian conflict. My experience is that people who try and challenge their own strongly held beliefs tend to be happy human beings who rarely ever need to act in aggressive, challenging ways. Such pleasant people certainly don’t come across as patronising and don’t need to express a sense of superiority (which indeed would just be a symptom of deep insecurity).
“3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.“
“have you ever spoken to Ukrainian refugees who had to flee their country because of Russia?”
Have you ever spoken to the Ukrainian refugees who fled in the opposite direction? Never listen to the one side only.
Martin, both Gail and I have spoken to Ukrainians, admittedly not refugees.
Speaking for myself, I have contacts in Russia who have told me about the 2 million plus Ukrainian refugees who have taken refuge into Russia proper (not the Donbass although that too has happened).
The picture that I get is that (1) there ARE Ukronazis, (2) they are means sons of b!tches, and (3) they are being persecuted for speaking Russian, and (4) the regular Ukraine army has bombed the smithereens out of several of their villages in the Donbass and have committed atrocities against them in the Crimea as well.
That’s not a pretty picture.
I think you should absolutely listen to me, Robert.
Of course, we talk with Ukrainians. We have a geopolitical blog and people talk to us from all over the world. We hear both sides. Lots of supporters over the years. We’ve run into our detractors over Ukraine, too. One with a hidden swastika under his robe who publicly threatened us and made good on those threats.
There are NGOs in Spain (other places, as well) who are bringing in huge influxes of Ukrainian immigrants who interestingly have a global perspective on all of this. I can give you a few of their Facebook pages if you’d like. Just scroll down a bit to see where they’re true loyalties lie.
It’s kind of tough for the people who are stuck Ukraine, though. They have no voice. They have no way out. No NGOs are rescuing them. They are the true victims in all this and they seemingly have one thing in common: They’re in the canonical Church. Not the people in America ferreted out by Soros and his ilk.
Zelensky’s wrath is directed toward the canonical Church and those who are sympathetic to their Russian roots. Many still speak Russian in Ukraine and have been slaughtered for it. The Minsk Agreement has been ignored. Ukraine is full of biolabs that don’t just threaten Russia, but all of us. Money from our federal government is being laundered through Ukraine and winding up in the pockets of our elected officials. If you’d care to debate any of these points in a podcast we’d be happy to set that up.
If Russia doesn’t intervene, Ukraine will become the launching pad for a full scale, all-out attack on Russia by NATO. As difficult as Russia’s occupation is for the Ukrainians now, a nuclear war, even a limited one, would be infinitely worse. Ukraine would cease to exit.
Russia is gingerly going through Ukraine at this point. That would not be the case if NATO sparked a nuclear war with tactical weapons that they would have you believe are “not that bad.” That’s a flat out lie. That some Ukrainians don’t see this, is not my problem. It doesn’t make what I’m saying any less true.
I am not overestimating the danger here. This is not propaganda. There is bona fide evidence of what I’m saying.
As far as Putin is concerned, he’s doing what’s in the best interest of his country (and the Church) and has the overwhelming support of his people with respect to Ukraine. It’s not a “trust” thing. I see evidence of this. I’ve been there!
In Ukraine, I see the Nazi (how could you miss them) and am privy to their priorities, I see Zelensky’s hand out for more and more of our tax dollars, I see the canonical Church being overtaken by the schismatics (thank you BARTHOLOMEW), with Zelensky harassing and arresting our priests and bishops, banning the Church out of existence. I see the parishes of the faithful being bulldozed, forcing them to receive the Eucharist through iron bars because they won’t let them into the Churches they intend to turn over to the schismatics. I see satanists dancing around sacred sites. In addition, it’s been widely reported that Ukraine has become a hub for child trafficking and organ harvesting.
I don’t know what YOUR investment is in all of this, but as Orthodox Christians, what’s happening in Ukraine is a very big deal to us so we pay close attention. Again, none of this is hard for us to argue if you’d care to debate. Just email us your contact information.
My position has nothing to do with putting my trust in the princes of men. Yours shouldn’t either. Quit putting your trust in a handful of people who are telling you what you want to hear because it supports your position. The evidence is on our side, my friend. Not yours.
I am not after a debate. Just a simple question (out of curiosity) which for now remains unanswered (and I was pretty sure that this would be the case):
What are the shortcomings of Putin/Russia? Since we all err and make mistakes, what do you think are their mistakes in the current situation?
All I’ve heard is just that the other side is ALL bad and Putin and Russia is ALL good. It’s hard to believe, when it comes to human beings, that all is so black and white. We are much more complex than that.
Why do we need a debate and take sides? Where does this need to debate come from? I am going deeper than just focusing on which side is more right. I am simply interested to know how a human being consciously omits to see any shortcomings at all in another human being and believes that all this person says is good and right. Is it because Putin goes to church and crosses himself and says he is orthodox? The dress doesn’t necessarily make the monk.
“Zelensky’s wrath is directed toward the canonical Church and those who are sympathetic to their Russian roots.”
And yet, lo and behold, Met. Onuphry of the much persecuted canonical church in Ukraine DID see shortcomings in Russia, Putin and Pat. Kirill and the so called special military operation. In his opinion, killing the way Russia does goes against Christian teaching. UOC’s opinion is that Russia errs and is not acting in a Christian way. Result: the UOC actively distanced herself from the ROC. I wouldn’t even need to speak at this point. Can there be a better Christian example than this? Have you noticed the balanced approach, despite the persecution this would result in?
We see such amazing examples, we ‘defend’ the UOC on websites etc. yet at the end of the day many go back to agreeing with all Russia does: seemingly by default.
It’s very simple for me: I am married to a Russian, my children are half Russian. For years I too got mesmerised by Russia and ended up believing they are so much more Christian and ‘superior’ to everyone else. I’ve learned that some Russians are pretty good at making you believe whatever they want you to believe. Yet I’ve also seen many of these same people not living at all according to what they are preaching. Are these ‘Russia is better than everyone else’ beliefs some of the results of having lived for decades under communist rule? Possibly, you don’t just shake away a certain mindset in a short period of time.
In any case, as I said, I am just waiting (still) to see if anyone has the courage to say anything that may not be so good about Putin/Russia. I wonder if people fear that their world would collapse if they were to mention any criticism towards them? What’s the fear here?
The curious thing is that I am asking a very simple question yet it becomes already apparent that I am being seen in a bad light. Am I a traitor for asking the question? Am I a schismatic? A horrible person? Don’t get hung up on me, I am not that important. Have you read and understood the question? Does your mindset allow for the question to be registered and processed?
We can discuss years on end how great and right Putin and Russia may be in your opinion. But can you spare a single minute to reflect on whether there are also less positive aspects about them?
If you prefer to make this about me, then feel free. However doing so would very much show a desire to avoid answering the question – which in turn would make me think that you don’t possess enough freedom of mind to be able to reflect in all liberty on a simple topic.
There is far left Barrholomew-style ‘orrhodoxy’. There is far right Kirill-style ‘orthodoxy’. I personally believe true Christian Orthodoxy is somewhere in between. In a place where orthodox Christians possess a healthy freedom of mind and put Christ first, not a nation (“But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life”). Met. Onuphry is in my opinion one of the best examples of this. It’s sufficient to see how he does not make anything into a debate and how he does not get all tense and frustrated if someone disagrees with him.
When you ask a question and close off the opportunity for a debate in your first sentence, you kind of set yourself up for silence.
RE: “The curious thing is that I am asking a very simple question yet it becomes already apparent that I am being seen in a bad light.”
The nature of a blog is not to see you in any light. Especially, with just a first name. With anonymity comes the burden of producing a compelling argument so someone will bother to read what you’ve written and respond. But you’re not making an argument. You’re not even asking a question. You’re making a statement. Your statement in a nutshell is this: “You’re bad because you don’t talk about the failings of Putin and Russia.”
OK. I hear you.
If I’m correct and this is the crux of what you’re trying to say, my response is this: I’m not here to make a case for both sides of an argument. I make a case for what makes sense to me. If someone wants to disagree with me, they need to do the work and prove me wrong.
What have I said about Russia or Putin that’s incorrect? Even one thing. That’s something I can address. If Putin wears stupid looking socks, that’s not something I can address.
However, if the point of all this is to let everyone know what an outstanding Christian you are because you alone “posses a healthy freedom of mind” that “puts Christ first and not a nation,” not sure what you expect by way of a response. Good job? Good for you? What a great Orthodox Christian you are???? This will have to suffice.
“What are the shortcomings of Putin/Russia?”
OK, if you are talking with a racist who paints black people as very bad and inferior, and you try to defend them, the racist will ask “why aren’t you talking about the shortcomings of blacks”.
See The Art of Being Right (Eristic Dialectic) by Schopenhauer, if your stratagem (trick) is being mentioned there.
Robert, you’re onto something. Russia is/was fully compliant with climate change, technocracy and covid. No amount of conservative walking or talking from Putin and others can change this
And that reminds me of a book I finished reading recently, which was about the Vatican’s cooperation with the Mafia and CIA during operation gladio. The amount of Roman Catholic hierachs who spoke like conservatives in public and yet were anything but behind closed doors was enough to almost make me want to put the book down and not finish it. It was that disgusting.
The reason I bring this up is that pretending to be a conservative is an actual thing in politics. From Russia’s/Putin’s compliance with climate change, technocracy and covid, I think it’s right to suspect that things aren’t all that they seem there.
For more information on Russia’s compliance with these progressive and globalist movements, people can look up the substack blogger Edward Slavsquat, who’s an Orthodox Christian, who follows Russia’s involvement in these things quite closely. Below is a link to get interested parties started.
Russia is still complicit in the great reset:
https://open.substack.com/pub/edwardslavsquat/p/russia-is-still-complicit-in-the?r=1lcsqa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
RE: “Russia is/was fully compliant with climate change, technocracy and covid.”
Says Edward Slavsquat, who real name is Riley Waggaman, BTW. He lives in Moscow and claims to write for the Brownstone Institute founded by Jeffrey Tucker.
Jeffrey Albert Tucker, is an American libertarian writer, publisher, entrepreneur and advocate of anarcho-capitalism and Bitcoin. He will tell you he doesn’t claim to know the people who write under the name Brownstone. The group is generally critical of all governments, and they tend to focus their efforts in social and economic “research.”
Slavsquat claims to be an “award winning author,” but you’d be hard pressed to find anything to substantiate this. You also won’t find anything about him on Linked-In. https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-waggaman-12810122/
We first heard his name back in March when a guy named “Herman” introduced the idea that both Russia AND China, were part of Charles Schwab’s “great reset” and were satanist.
Apparently, because Slavsquat said so, it made it true.
Herman: “So the question, however uncomfortable, remains – why in the world, if Russia and China truly were fighting the good fight against the evil West, would they officially and publicly state that they will “ensure the early implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” – an agenda which, in your own words, is intended to “overtly subjugate us”?
I investigated this at the time and walked away thinking Slavsquat weaves his opinions so closely into statements of fact, it’s often hard to know where one begins and the other leaves off.
Slavsquat provided a list of fourteen agreements “inked during Xi’s visit” which he said proved his contentions. When I pulled up the actual document (in English) and looked for key words like “Global Development” or the “UN,” they didn’t come up in a simple word search. The only thing having to do with the United Nations was this: “The Parties reaffirm their commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . . .” http://www.kremlin.ru/supplement/5920
As far being compliant in technocracy and COVID, I’m not sure what you mean. To whom are they acquiescing and in what way?
Slavsquat’s articles are filled with examples of Russia mandating dangerous vaccines, setting oppressive digital surveillance etc. Whatever faults he may have, the evidence he provides doesn’t lie
How do you know the examples he’s giving you are evidence? Because he says so? Have you looked this stuff up?
Show me a credible link, apart from his, that says Russia mandated vaccines (meaning across the board; not just in some regions for some workers like restaurant workers) that were “dangerous,” i.e. caused a greater number of injuries than Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, as an example. One credible link.
You’re joking, right? 1. Vaccine mandates of any kind are a no, no. 2. Most if not all other countries didn’t implement wholesale vaccine mandates, either, and yet to the extent they did, it was nothing short of a tragedy – totally inexcusable – to say nothing of the lockdowns and QR codes etc.
In that respect, anyone can go online an find how Russia acted around covid. There are enough links to drown a cat. And they can also do the same for climate change, technocracy, etc.
As to whether they find anything credible, that’s beyond the scope of what anyone would do in this discussion – i.e. find one link, bring it back here, scrutinize it, go and find another, and so on. No way.
The bottom line is, I’ve made a claim about Slavsquat’s work, and it certainly appears to be supported by not just a little evidence, but a lot – whether it comes from him or not.
If certain people then wish to not see something in that, then what do I really care?
OK, we’re done.
Russia was too credulous regarding COVID and the vaccines, however, they had their own vaccine if I recall correctly.
As to climate change, everyone pays lip service to the nonsense but does little to actually implement anything serious. It’s all a big hoax led by the greenies, commies and those who wish to get us off fossil fuels for reasons of national security (Arab and Russian oil, etc.).
Russia was just a discussion point. This discussion was about circular reasoning and being in it’s truth in and of itself. Just because someone tells you they’re providing you with evidence does not make that evidence true. If you look at both contributors, neither bothered to verify what this guy was telling them. His “evidence” was the only evidence they needed to believe it was true. And twice, the evidence he gave them, as was presented here, was wrong. If I were those people, that would give me pause. Their rebuttal was “he wouldn’t lie.” That’s not proof of anything.
I wonder if you have noticed that the way you censor messages contradicts the title over your comments’ box: ‘speak your mind’?
Admittedly though, yours is one of the best right wing blogs I have come across. Sadly, the content has therefore very little if anything to do with orthodoxy.
My only hope is that young converts, who are still fragile in their faith, don’t get mislead thinking that your blog spreads an orthodox Christian message. May they be protected.
I have not censored YOUR comments, Rob or Robert. Not only have I posted them, I have spent quite a bit of time researching what you wrote. The same is true of Herman and Brentsmyth, which I’m beginning to think are all you.
One of your group (probably you, since you’re complaining about something not being posted and how would you know that if it wasn’t you) wrote a comment that was so graphic, it was positively degusting. We don’t publish stuff like that here, Rob, Robert, or whoever you are at the moment.
Sorry. (And you worry about the eyes of “little” converts.)
This is OUR BLOG. We welcome comments on what WE WRITE. There are rabbit holes we don’t want to spend time on. The one you brought up is one of them, though we certainly did post your comments and we did research what your presented, but found it less than compelling. In other words, it wasn’t worth the space on OUR BLOG. We have other things we’d like people to talk about.
If you want a platform to express YOUR ideas, get your own platform. We gave you more facetime than you deserved, especially given your ungracious attitude. Don’t give us grief because we don’t agree with you. Move on. We have.