26-02-2022, 01:10 PM
How to explain that Russia allows itself to invade an independent state?
JS: Vladimir Putin, who in the past called the breakup of the USSR the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, probably thinks this is his last chance to restore some of Russia's greatness.
The error of Westerners was probably to underestimate the wound caused by the end of the Soviet empire and to consider Russia as a partnership among others. In any case, the alarm signals did not fail.
For the historian and political scientist Jacques Semelin (1), Westerners have underestimated the warning signs coming from Moscow, such as the wound that the dislocation of the USSR caused the Russians in 1991.
La Croix: Does the turn of the Ukrainian crisis surprise you?
Jacques Semelin: Unfortunately, no. As a specialist in mass crimes, I am attentive to the warlike rhetoric developed by Vladimir Putin for many years.
As early as 2008, the Russian president justified the invasion of Georgia by the alleged desire of its president Mikheil Saakashvili to perpetrate genocide on the Russian populations.
In the current crisis, Vladimir Putin has again put forward the fallacious idea of a genocide of which the Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine would be victims.
Another element of propaganda: his so-called goal of “denazifying” this country, a direct reference to the great Russian narrative of the fight against the Nazi invader. Behind this, there is the feeling of a threat against Russia, greater Russia one might say, and its zone of influence.
https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Invasion-...1201202239
JS: Vladimir Putin, who in the past called the breakup of the USSR the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, probably thinks this is his last chance to restore some of Russia's greatness.
The error of Westerners was probably to underestimate the wound caused by the end of the Soviet empire and to consider Russia as a partnership among others. In any case, the alarm signals did not fail.
For the historian and political scientist Jacques Semelin (1), Westerners have underestimated the warning signs coming from Moscow, such as the wound that the dislocation of the USSR caused the Russians in 1991.
La Croix: Does the turn of the Ukrainian crisis surprise you?
Jacques Semelin: Unfortunately, no. As a specialist in mass crimes, I am attentive to the warlike rhetoric developed by Vladimir Putin for many years.
As early as 2008, the Russian president justified the invasion of Georgia by the alleged desire of its president Mikheil Saakashvili to perpetrate genocide on the Russian populations.
In the current crisis, Vladimir Putin has again put forward the fallacious idea of a genocide of which the Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine would be victims.
Another element of propaganda: his so-called goal of “denazifying” this country, a direct reference to the great Russian narrative of the fight against the Nazi invader. Behind this, there is the feeling of a threat against Russia, greater Russia one might say, and its zone of influence.
https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Invasion-...1201202239