You know it's bad when Lukashenko is getting scared. http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/po...beschaet-pryekhat-v-kyev-na-traktore-s-pluhom
apparently it's not okay to conduct joint military exercises with one's allies in response to aggressive behavior (to the point of invading and annexing part of a sovereign country) by one's door neighbor. because you know, that can be seen as a provocation by the country doing the invading and annexing.
Obviously American soldiers are occupying City Hall buildings in western Ukraine with those paratroopers. The people of Lviv have been confused on why their coffee shops and tourist trinket shops are doing such good business.
I've been listening to NPR on and off for most of this week, and have heard quite a few people being interviewed in eastern Ukraine. talk about being brainwashed... and people talk about Russophobia!
If you watch Fox News and trust it as a legitimate news source, you will believe that Obama is a communist fascist Hitler Jr. intent on destroying America. Conversely if you are Russian, and you watch Russian news sources, trust it as a legitimate news source, you will believe (as many of my Russian friends do) that a Hitler Jugend Brigade has taken over Kiev.
Hate the government, love the people. Learned that about 11 years ago. Boiling it down to Russophobia shows the complete lack of understanding of how complex Ukrainian society is. Ukraine is a multi ethnic, multi lingual country that has never had major ethnic conflict as an independent state. Any ethnic conflict is being generated by the Putin regime. Ukrainians and Russians are brother nations, but you can't come into your brother's house and try to steal his furniture.
I don't think recognizing Russian ambitions and the fact that they are a geopolitical and economic rival to the US, with competing and sometimes opposing national interests is Russophobia. I don't think recognizing the obvious - that Russia was behind the takeover of Crimea, and is behind the unrest in eastern Ukraine is Russophobia. I don't think recognizing that Russia's desire is to annex eastern Ukraine (and being opposed to such a move) is Russophobia.
A lot of the posts have been pretty reactionary which I believe is grounded in deep buried Russophobic sentiments. Russia a geopolitical and ECONOMIC rival? Puh puh please...
Well the Russian people adore and worship their government right now. So bit of a discrepancy there, in your statement. lol
I didn't say they were equals, or rivals on the same plane as China. but certainly rivals. and certainly they have ambitions to be rivals on the same plane as China. that's just the way it is. that's not Russophobia. Russia is trying to reassert itself as a great power in the wake of their loss of the Cold War to the US. I don't think it's Russophobia that some people (most of whom have lived through at least parts of the Cold War) would be a bit uneasy at this prospect. but that's not Russophobia - at least in my book. in my view of global power as a zero-sum game, a great power has to resist power gains by any rival or potential rival. that's not Russophobia.