Comments by "LancesArmorStriking" (@LancesArmorStriking) on "The West's \"Theory of Victory\" in Ukraine: Convincing Ukraine to Fight a Futile War" video.

@kasperiization You're missing a key point in your equation: "Russian influence" didn't happen in a vacuum. The US threatened any country that did business with the Soviets, with heavy sanctions. Not unlike Cuba or Iran today. If the Soviets were allowed to trade (note: markets =/= capital) then every citizen's quality of life would have improved, including Estonians'. It wasn't bad Russian policy that hindered development, but aggressive US containment strategy. So when the USSR fell, the US poured millions into your country to keep it out of competing Russian or Chinese influence. It was always just about using your country as a resource colony and military base. The fact that your consumer goods improved was a nice side effect, but the US doesn't really care about that. Lastly: for all the improvements you just listed, they are all creature comforts, and don't reflect the viability of Estonia. Case in point: since liberalization, Estonia's manufacturing capacity has disappeared, courtesy of following the US' guidance. A good 1/3 of your people have left for Western Europe and will never come back, and Tallinn is sucking the rest of the country dry. I'm glad you finally had some good comfortable decades, because they will be your last. Eventually your population will get so small and so old that Estonia will cease to be anything but a NATO outpost. Hope you enjoy being the token member of the Western bloc.
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Now there's a sentence you don't hear everyday. Of all countries no one hates Russia and specifically Putin more than the UK, perhaps only outdone by Poland Estonia or Finland.
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