May be due to western-influenced, mostly USA biased media reports, Indians are mostly angry towards Russia for its invasion on Ukraine, the major war in the Europe after World War II. It is normal always sympathies go on the side of victims, in any major devastation.
Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for US president in 2020 as a Democrat, sent out a decidedly pro-Russia tweet: “This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border.”
Over the weekend, Gabbard spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference — not exactly friendly ground for most Democrats. “They’re hypocrites,” Gabbard said of the leaders of her party in the speech. “They proclaim that we must go to war to spread democracy and freedom while they actively work to undermine our democratic republic and our freedoms right here at home.”
Her speech unfortunately is applicable in all democracies in the world. While we complain lack of freedom of speech in countries ruled by autocratic leaders, this is becoming a norm in the western countries. Anything not liked by the ruling elite is termed as `misinformation’ or `propaganda by China or Russia’.
Corporate censorship seem to be the order of the day. Media outlets dictate what should be published or not was the dangerous trend in the liberal democratic world.
Threatened by NATO’s expansion plans
Russian leaders have long been wary of the eastward expansion of NATO, particularly as the alliance opened its doors to former Warsaw Pact states and ex-Soviet republics in the late 1990s (the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) and early 2000s (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Their fears grew in the late 2000s as the alliance stated its intent to admit Georgia and Ukraine at an unspecified point in the future.
For the Kremlin, the notion that Ukraine, a pillar of the Soviet Union with strong historic ties to Russia, would join NATO was a red line. “No Russian leader could stand idly by in the face of steps toward NATO membership for Ukraine. That would be a hostile act toward Russia,” Putin warned U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs William J. burns, who is now director of the CIA, in the weeks leading up to NATO’s 2008 Bucharest Summit.
The familiar view in the West, particularly in the United States , is that Russia is and has always been an expansionist state, and its current president, Vladimir Putin, is the embodiment of that essential Russian ambition: to build a new Russian empire. “This was … always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary,” President Joe Biden said on Feb. 24, 2022.
However, many independent experts admit that Russia’s security concerns are in fact genuine, and what NATO expansion eastward is seen by Russians as directed against their country. Putin has been clear for many years that if continued, the expansion would likely be met with serious resistance by the Russians, even with military action.
That perspective isn’t held just by Russians; some influential American foreign policy experts have subscribed to it as well. Among others, Biden’s CIA director, William J. Burns, has been warning about the provocative effect of NATO expansion on Russia since 1995.
That’s when Burns, then a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, reported to Washington that “hostility to early NATO expansion is almost universally felt across the domestic political spectrum here”.
Who threatened by Russians?
Social activist from Telangana Dr Rajasree Sajjad politely asked that what’s with all this fear and hate towards Russians? “Tell me, how exactly each one of you is threatened by Russians? Are they closing in towards your country and setting missiles? Are they may be taking countries around you and setting missiles? Do you see their soldiers on your border?”, she asked.
Endorsing the sentiments expressed by by Andrija Ilic, she
observed that it’s the other way around; it’s your soldiers on their borders. Its NATO constantly expanding towards them, taking each country they can (all 9 ex members of Warsaw Pact), setting bases and missiles, even though those were not promises made upon fall of Berlin Wall (and yes, promises were made). And now they wanted Ukraine? Are you kidding me?, she added.
Ukraine, from where missile can hit Moscow within 5 minutes. Who normal would allow that? Would you? Would your president? Well, now Ruskies had enough, they drew a line and said not an inch anymore, and you can’t do nothing about it. And who is paying the price for all those games of thrones? Is it you? No.
You are sitting in your cosy home, scrolling your phone, waving with Ukrainian flag showing how cool, open minded and progressive you are, while paying your solider near Russia. The ultimate price for this is paid by poor people in Ukraine, who have been naive, fooled to enter a dangerous game and then completely abounded.
Its them watching the sky and waiting for bombs, and I know exactly how that feels. And guess what, not anytime soon they will taste freedom, because they have been betrayed and now they are going to be hostages of an arrogant dictator like Putin is.
Dr Rajasree Sajjad reminded that all this reminds on how Nazis have been systematically creating fear of an enemy (Jews) while actually they themselves were Jews worst enemies.
This time it’s about Russians, but I would equally stand for any other country or nation. Not long time ago, NATO was bombing Serbia, there were no Serbian flags, no voice against it, you haven’t been even thinking about it. That’s in Europe too, you know. A loyal ally in both big wars.
Its 21st century, all the information’s and knowledge are easily accessible, so there is no excuse for ignorance. If you are not here for my next post or photo, I will not miss you.”
