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I remember when George Bush sent our military to Afghanistan in response to 9-11 there were anti-American riots all over the world and people burning US and British flags. It was even worse after the Iraq war when we reasonably believed Saddam Hussein assisted in 9-11 and had WMDs (he might well have had them and given them to Syria). Likewise the world loves to criticize Israel and there were anti-Israeli protests when they attacked Lebanon in response to terrorists firing rockets from there and kidnapping Israeli soldiers across the border.
WHere are the people protesting at Russian embassies and consulates today? The Russian invasion of Ukraine did not create the kind of worldwide popular uproar that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars did. Yes the NATO leaders are threatening sanctions against Russia but there are no massive anti-Russian protests in Germany, Italy, France, Japan, China, Brazil or Mexico. People are not burning Russian flags in the streets, not even in other countries formerly oppressed by the USSR like the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and part of Germany.
Even historically I don't think the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was condemned as heavily as the Vietnam War or the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip. Why is this?
Historically the USSR was a colonialist empire. The republics other than the current Russian Federation were all basically colonies and occupied countries that were either incorporated into the USSR after World War II or during the Russian Empire period. This includes Ukraine which was forced to become part of the Soviet Union and was colonized by ethnic Russians. There are also decendents of Russian colonists in the Baltic states, Kazakhstan, and all the former Soviet republics. This is actually why there are ethnic Russians in Ukraine even though Ukraine should be for ethnic Ukrainians only the way France is for the French and Britain is for the British, Israel is for Jews, and China is for the Chinese etc etc etc.
Also wonder why Russia is the largest country in the world? They basically colonized Siberia and killed most of the indigenous Eskimo tribes but little of this iss mentioned, even though the world trashes the US about our Indian reservations and the Indian wars. Native Americans are treated much better than indigineous people in Siberia. Native peoples in Russia do not get to own casinos or be exempt from taxes. I'm pretty sure of that.
a) Because Russia was a superpower for only about 50 years, and even then, it was on shaky ground. People tend to resent a superpower.
b) Russia never made any claim to some kind of moral superiority or global leadership outside its little sphere of influence, and again, that sphere only existed mostly after WWII to 1990. The US, on the other hand, has always been "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave", rah rah!
c) The US tends to police and bully the world, not just what technically has been considered its sphere of influence, it's "back door" (Latin America). Russia generally only policed and bullied E Europe with occasional "adventures" in places like Afghanistan.
d) The world stupidly bought into the Soviet propaganda about happy nationalities. Re: US--again; claims to being "Land of the Free" caused US to be held to a higher standard, and scrutinized more. Also, those Hollywood Westerns didn't do the US's image vis-a-vis Indian affairs any favors. Conversely, Siberia's (and European Russia's) Native peoples didn't have a similar PR department exhibiting their plight to the world. In the Soviet period, info re: ethnic affairs in Russia was tightly controlled. US = freedom of information, therefore it's been an open book, relatively speaking.
e) Most of the world is and always has been ignorant about Russia and its expansionist/colonialist/imperialist (choose one) history.
f) It's easier to hide your empire if its contiguous to your own home turf. The world's other empires belonging to European powers were distant colonies from the source of political power.
g) Iron curtains are very useful for hiding all manner of human rights atrocities.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 03-05-2014 at 07:00 PM..
I actually started a thread asking why Russia's expansion into North Asia was not condemned the same way as British/American, French, Spanish colonial expansion. Some people act as if European Russians have always lived in Siberia. Er no, other people lived there, many were displaced.etc.
a) Because Russia was a superpower for only about 50 years, and even then, it was on shaky ground. People tend to resent a superpower.
b) Russia never made any claim to some kind of moral superiority or global leadership outside its little sphere of influence, and again, that sphere only existed mostly after WWII to 1990. The US, on the other hand, has always been "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave", rah rah!
c) The US tends to police and bully the world, not just what technically has been considered its sphere of influence, it's "back door" (Latin America). Russia generally only policed and bullied E Europe with occasional "adventures" in places like Afghanistan.
d) The world stupidly bought into the Soviet propaganda about happy nationalities. Re: US--again; claims to being "Land of the Free" caused US to be held to a higher standard, and scrutinized more. Also, those Hollywood Westerns didn't do the US's image vis-a-vis Indian affairs any favors. Conversely, Siberia's (and European Russia's) Native peoples didn't have a similar PR department exhibiting their plight to the world. In the Soviet period, info re: ethnic affairs in Russia was tightly controlled. US = freedom of information, therefore it's been an open book, relatively speaking.
e) Most of the world is and always has been ignorant about Russia and its expansionist/colonialist/imperialist (choose one) history.
f) It's easier to hide your empire if its contiguous to your own home turf. The world's other empires belonging to European powers were distant colonies from the source of political power.
g) Iron curtains are very useful for hiding all manner of human rights atrocities.
The uniform narrative from the media is freedom lovers fighting the evil Russian empire, without mentioning Western interests in the Ukraine. The default message is hardy pro-Russian.
Last edited by Perfect Stranger; 03-06-2014 at 03:13 PM..
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