Comments by "Mats From" (@matsfrommusic) on "Putin is a "Small Pathetic Man" Who Needs More Wars to Survive" video.
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@ralphhebgen7067 That’s not good, and I’m the same although sometimes there’s no other way to express something than to actually say it flat out. Ok, I’ll try again and keep it very short.
Putins main concern is losing his power which is quite understandable as he’s stolen billions from the Russian people and murdered many opponents he’s felt threaten by over the years, and very much like any other dictator in history he can no longer retire. In a democratic Russia where there’s a rule of law, independent courts, free speech etc, there is no future for Putin.
Therefore the many intertwined Russian and Ukrainian families becomes a threat. It makes a democratic Ukraine impossible as it’s a matter of time before Russians would start demanding the same lifestyle in Russia. That’s why the Orange revolution in 2004 scared him into change his personal output and the crackdown of opponents started, and obviously the clashes in Odesa and the Maidan revolution in 2014 made the ever ominous threat to re-emerge once again.
I don’t believe Putin wanted war at all, but in his mind he had no other choice. People seem to forget how this war started which is when Yanukovych got ousted, so in other words if he hadn’t been, there would be no war in Ukraine today.
The big problem I have with this imperialistic tsar narrative is the damage that misconception have done to the support of Ukraine, for the support of Russias allies, and also how it has supported the population in Russia with the false security that their ”strong leader” is going to save them. It’s astounding how unfocused we have been and how many of Putins lies too many EU leaders have swallowed. Like you said, Putin is a bully and the worst thing you can do is to show weakness. Putin is someone you can never appease.
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@ralphhebgen7067 I don’t believe Putin wanted war at all, in his mind he had no other choice. People seem to forget how this war started which is when Yanukovych got ousted, so in other words if he hadn’t, there would be no war in Ukraine today.
A lot of this has to do with the mindset of Putin which you so brilliantly pointed out although I would also add his paranoia and also further underline what a pragmatic and realist kind of a person he’s known to be. Putin is meticulous and good at observing and waiting for the right opportunity to come along. Most of all he knows what it takes to stay alive, after all, what person does it take for wanting to join the KGB at the age of 16? Not the police but KGB, I think that alone is somewhat telling.
There many different things to consider too, but just to lump a few things together that illustrates what the general backdrop is to what Putin had to take into account. (I’m pretty sure you’re well aware of all of this) Things like the extreme cost and just the sheer uncertainty and danger that comes with invading another country, plus other obvious problems that comes with a war. Ukraine is a huge country with over 43 million angry and democracy hungry people which have never shown any signs of willingness to back down, so even if Russia somehow manage to conquer the leadership in Kiev, how could they sustain that over a long period of time?
Simultaneously there’s internal problems Russia have to balance too, like social problems and just the general state of Russia, the utterly severe level of corruption, the ever internal battle Russia have with many of it’s regions that wants to break free from Moscow rule.
Putin has stolen billions over the years, murdered his own people just because he felt threatened by them, just the long list of dead journalists on Wikipedia alone is insane. Putin does the exact same thing what every other dictator have done through out history. Domestic resistance is something he fears more than anything else.
Obviously Putin was counting on blowback from the West and the democratic world but I’m sure it’s more than he thought.
So with all that in mind, going to war is not something you do so easily. and again when Yanukovych got ousted he had to act and since 2014 Ukraine have also continued to try to move closer to the West, in 2019 when Ukrainian is legislated to be the only language to be used in mainstream media, schools ets. Things like this scares Putin a lot and he knows that a western lifestyle and a democratic Ukraine will eventually lead to Russians demanding the exact same in Russia. And when that happens there’s soon an angry mob overflowing the red square coming for him, democracy ultimately means justice for Putin after all.
The really sad part about all of this is the damage this misconception have done to the support of Ukraine, to the support of Russias allies, and also how it has supported the population in Russia with the false security that their tsar is going to save them. It really is astounding how unfocused we have been and how many of Putins lies too many EU leaders have swallowed. Like you said, Putin is a bully and the worst thing you can do is to show weakness. Putin is someone you can never appease.
That’s the basic idea anyway.
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@ralphhebgen7067 It’s hard to say exactly how accurate my view is obviously but it’s very clear how wrong all the expert predictions have been so far and look where we are now. In my mind the very first thing you do is to identify the WHY before making any decision or respons to anything. Who knows, maybe when this war is over and Putin is gone we see a different Russia ready to commit to change their hostile behavior, it’s probably wishful thinking but it’s not unlikely I don’t think. And globally we’re in a position now where the whole world is getting even more militarized and more dangerous as we keep ramping up the military spendings. Oh well, the key aspect of what I said really, is the damage the imperialist narrative is doing for Ukraine something no one seems prepared to talk about.
I don’t see a reason why Ukraine should hand over anything to Russia, nor do I find it very plausible it will ever happen just because that’s like saying to aggressors that invading other sovereign countries does work, which evidently is what happened after Georgia and then Crimea when we didn’t do enough. I think the trade off you’re talking about is part of the problem, ie we must stop appeasing, it doesn't work and it never has.
To me there’s two ways this war could end, one being that Putin redraw the military as soon as possible, do the best damage control he can do and then prepare for a future not unlike North Korea. The other way which I think is the more likely one, is that he keeps escalating to the point he will be ended by either people inside the Kremlin or by an uprise in Russia, or from a ”Special military operation” coming from outside of Russia.
I think you’re right about the need for Ukraine to become a NATO member.
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@ralphhebgen7067 I just want to add, The anger, or rage really, I feel is not towards Russia or Putin even, it’s the enablers that’s driving me crazy. I understand there will always be people like Trump, it doesn’t surprise me at all, it’s the people that supports him that does. And looking back on how we have responded and dealt with Russia and Putin, that makes me want to see European leaders to be held accountable to some degree. The level of irresponsibility, naivety, negligence and stupidity is mind boggling. All along I very much hope that it’s me that is completely wrong, that we actually are leading the best version of this. One could always hope.
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