RUSSIAN WAR AND DENAZIFICATION?
The war! Implacable revealer of human nature!
The Present Russian War of colonization in Ukraine and “denazification”
Didier Bertin – March 28, 2022
I-Common point of the Russian tsarist empire with Nazism: anti-Semitism
In the Russian Empire Jews had to live in a "limited area of residence" and then were substantially expelled from Russia by decision of Catherine II. This zone had been imposed on them from 1791 to 1917. The creation of this zone was due to the complaints of Moscow merchants who had convinced Catherine II that the Jews were liars and thieves meaning in fact that they were in too efficient competitors for Muscovite merchants.
This area included Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova and central eastern Poland. In order to keep Jews out of society, Jewish students were limited to 10% of students in the area of residence and to 3% in Russia. The presence of most Jews in this area had the effect of allowing the murderous expression of anti-Semitism in the form of pogroms inspired by Russia (massacres of Jews by the mob). Tsar Alexander II had finally tried to modernize this backward country that was Russia, starting with the very late abolition of serfdom only in 1861. His reforming spirit was not appreciated by everyone in Russia and he escaped eleven assassination attempts. He was finally assassinated in 1881. Although the Jews had everything to hope for from a reforming Tsar, they were blamed for his death. Many pogroms took place during which it was said that Tsar Alexander III the successor wanted them to be particularly deadly.
There were 259 pogroms in Odessa, Kyiv and Warsaw in the 19th century. In Bessarabia two big pogroms took place in Kishinev and in Ukraine 125,000 Jews were massacred after being accused of ritual crimes and 30,000 Jews were killed during the same period in Russia.
In 1918, we distinguished a Western Ukraine detached from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and which was ephemeral with Lviv as its capital and finally attached to Poland and the Ukrainian People's Republic whose capital was Kyiv and which suffered a brief German occupation in 1918 and which became part of the USSR in 1924. Western Ukraine was annexed by the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1939 as this was agreedin the German-Soviet Pact
II-Common points of the Russian Federation with Nazism
The USSR, which was comparable to a great colonial empire encompassing a multitude of ethnic groups and about fifteen Republics, had 293 million inhabitants and was considered a great power. In 1991 most of the republics (13 out of 15) became independent and the Russian population represented only 49% of that of the USSR. The dissolution of the USSR was the result of a ruinous economic policy including an unsustainable defense budget due to the competition that had become impossible with the United States. A number of Russians remember with nostalgia the dominating past of the USSR, whose greatest war event was its victory against Germany in 1945. Today Russia is no more than a second-rate country which kept the warlike character of the USSR.
1-The endangerment of the opposition - The appropriation of power by one single leader with intolerant ideas and inspired by the spirit of conquest
The arrival of an unexpected figure in power "Vladimir Putin" chosen by Boris Yeltsin, who could no longer govern because of his alcoholism, worsened the situation of this decaying country. Vladimir Putin has made Russia an autocracy where any opponent is in danger of incarceration or assassination.
2-Endangering the planet
In the tradition of the USSR, Putin deprived the Russians of part of their income by investing in an arsenal of nuclear warheads equivalent to that of the United States, whose GDP is nearly 13 times greater than that of Russia. Putin openly threatens countries opposing his policy of expansion to use nuclear fire and has reportedly indicated that a world without Russia is of no interest to him.
3-The priority given to the use of force against the fundamental rules of international laws and human rights
Putin does not hesitate to invade all or part of few former Soviet republics that have become independent. He led a Blitzkrieg to annex Crimea and wanted to do the same with Ukraine where he will undoubtedly experience his first defeat. Other eastern EU countries are under threat from Putin but his troubles in Ukraine could put a damper on his territorial appetite. Putin, in search of port bases in the Mediterranean, joined forces with another dictator "Bashar El Assad" and would have helped him to carry out genocidal operations by chemical weapons.
4-Links with the Wagner group
This group of mercenaries takes its name from Richard Wagner whose Operas were highly regarded by the Nazis as well as the character known for his extreme anti-Semitism. Richard Wagner died in 1883 but the wife of his son Siegfried Wagner maintained excellent relations with Hitler. This name was chosen by Dimitri Utkin, leader of the group, former lieutenant-colonel of the Russian army and admirer of Hitler who nevertheless considered the Slavs to be a sub-race.
This group helps Russia organize military operations that go against international laws. On December 9, 2016 Putin decorated Dimitri Utkin with the Order of Courage during an official ceremony in the Kremlin. Wagner would intervene in Ukraine.
III-The connection of Ukraine with Nazism
Nazism comes from fascism which favors the Nation and autocracy in opposition to democracy. Nazism added racism and anti-Semitism and on belief that the Germans are a superior race to others. This superiority would give them the privilege of dominating other peoples and conquering the living space they needed according to their appreciation by colonizing other countries. The Slavs were considered a sub-race and the Jews, the gypsies and the disabled people who would degrade the human species according to the Nazis deserved to be annihilated.
During the Second World War, part of the Ukrainian population welcomed the Nazi troops as liberators, as had also happened in the Baltic countries.
Western Ukrainians remembered that under Austro-Hungarian rule they could speak Ukrainian freely, while the Soviet regime imposed Russian on them. Soviet policy gave rise to “great famines” in Ukraine called “Holodomors” in 1932 and 1933, which caused between 2.5 million and 5 million deaths with cases of cannibalism. This Soviet policy resulted in a visceral rejection of the USSR by Ukraine.
Thus 250,000 Ukrainians enlisted in various German army corps to fight the Russians and Ukrainians collaborated with the Nazis in certain extermination camps.
The Ukrainian organization OUN (Ukrainian Nationalist Organization) made agreements with the Nazis as early as 1932 and helped them invade Ukraine. OUN-M created a division of Waffen-SS and OUN-B created the UPA to fight against the Russians.
World War II was particularly bloody in Ukraine for Jews. They were victims of the "German Einsatzgruppen" and their Ukrainian auxiliaries who carried out the "Holocaust by bullets" (mass summary executions). 1.5 million Jews were executed. In Babi Yar (Kyiv) mass executions took place from 1941 to 1943; up to 100,000 people were killed there, including a majority of Jews but also gypsies, resistance fighters and Soviet prisoners.
The 201st Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft battalion was created in October 1941 especially to fight against the Belarusian resistance fighters and promote the extermination of the Jews. More than 700 Ukrainian collaborators served the 5th SS "Viking" panzer division and 1,000 the SS "Frundberg" division. Ukraine's Jewish population stood at 2,500,000 in 1939 and was reduced to 840,000 in 1959.
In 2010 Viktor Yushchenko (President of Ukraine) considered the pro-Nazi collaborator “Stepan Bandera” and his organization the OUN as heroes of the nation.
Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, tried to recover votes from the extremist group SVOBODA, whose symbol is Wolfangel adopted by the Nazis, by passing a law in 2015 declaring the two paramilitary organizations OUN and UPA as heroes of liberation and by establishing legal sanctions for anyone who challenges this status. In addition, a fascist and anti-Russian group of 2,000 members called AZOV was integrated into the Ukrainian army. Commemorations were also held for pro-Nazi collaborators in the Baltic countries. Accused of corruption Petro Poroshenko was largely beaten by Volodymyr Zelensky in the elections of 2019.
IV-End of the neo-Nazi period in Ukraine on the march to the West
On May 20, 2019 Ukrainians decided to get rid of their extremist and corrupt political class and elected an “anti-Establishment and anti-corruption Jewish president”: Volodymyr Zelensky who obtained 73.3% of the vote and created a new political party.
With the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has definitively and at last turned a “questionable page in its history” and has taken on the appearance of a modern pro-European democracy. The fascist far right is now believed to be around 2% of the electorate.
With such a change Ukraine was escaping from Russia by turning to the EU and NATO. This break is unbearable for Putin who is trying to invade Ukraine and paradoxically gives rise to a feeling of national unity around President Zelensky.
V-The war of conquest: Growing without making an economic effort
Russia was only a residual part of the Soviet empire after 1991 with a population of 146 million which ranks it 9th in the world. Geographically this country is only 25% European and its immense territory resulting from the conquests of the 17th century involved that Siberia represents 77% of it. 78% of the Russian population lives in the European part (25% of the territory) of Russia, i.e. 110 million inhabitants and 22% of the population lives in 75% of the territory, i.e. 36 million in 13 million of km2.
The population density in Russia is only 8.5 inhabitants per km2 which makes it one of the emptiest countries in the world. In the Asian part of Russia the density is only 2.7 inhabitants/km2 (as compared with that of the Sahara of 1.0/km2).
The ongoing war of conquest in Ukraine comes up against the national will created around President Zelensky. The feared Russian army is now characterized by inefficiency and disorganization. Several Russian armies have attempted to invade Ukraine and must finally limit their ambitions to Donbas. The request for help of Syrian soldiers of the dictator Bashar El Assad would have been mentioned and was vain.
The rout of the Russian armies leads them to commit war crimes by massacring civilians. Mariupol has become a martyr city like Guernica in Spain which was bombed by the Nazis. The city is almost completely destroyed and civilians have been killed in numbers. By destroying the city and maintaining the port facilities, the Russians think of seizing a new port on the Sea of Azov without having to face urban guerrillas. Civilian residences are destroyed in many cities constituting crimes against humanity for which the Russian leaders should answer before the International Criminal Court. Images of destroyed Ukrainian cities are shown on Russian TV with a comment saying that the Ukrainian army caused this disaster and sadly most Russians believe it.
VI-The irrationality of an autocrat
Putin wanted to grow through war by making a failed show of force. Yet this conquest was not even economically interesting. Ukraine is a particularly poor country with a nominal GDP per capita of USD 2,963 and ranks 133rd in the world while Russia is less poor ranking 65th with a nominal GDP per capita of USD 11,327. The Russia-Ukraine group would have gathered a population of 189 million with a nominal GDP per capita of only 9287 USD, that is to say a GDP falling by 18%. Russia would thus have ranked 75th in the world in nominal GDP per capita, similar to that of Lebanon.
No doubt Russia would have enriched itself by further impoverishing Ukraine as had been done in the past by the USSR generating the Holodomors. Russia's poverty beyond GDP per capita is also illustrated by its 159th world rank in life expectancy, behind Malawi, Egypt and Syria.
Russia's external resources in 2021 consisted of 70% gas and oil. Oil and gas exports accounted for 32.3 billion dollars in 2021. The loss of these revenues could cause Russia to resume its tradition of defaulting on its foreign debts.
Putin's idea is also to consider himself powerful not because of the size of his economy but only because of a large number of his nuclear warheads that would allow him to blackmail the planet. The blackmail of a rogue state becomes effective against cowardly Western and especially European powers.
VII – The cowardice of Western countries encourages rogue states
The nuclear fire is now in the hands of leaders of rogue states devoid of reason and humanity. They can therefore threaten the world as Putin and Kim Jong-un do and the viability of the planet. These dangerous states, which could include Iran in the future, understand only positions of strength. The despicable spectacle of the Munich agreements with Hitler was assumed to serve as a lesson to Europe. The only way to guarantee peace is to be prepared for war: “Si vice pace, para bellum”. Russia had spoken of an act of belligerence in the event of military intervention by a third country in its conflict with Ukraine, but could decide that the same is true for economic sanctions, especially when they will have a tangible result.
Nuclear fire threatens life on earth, yet Russia now has as many nuclear warheads as the United States. The threat of the use of nuclear fire against all NATO members has been made clear. It is therefore necessary to be prepared for chemical and nuclear wars in an attempt to avoid them. Russia was able to accumulate nuclear weapons in quantity disproportionate to its economic size to the detriment of the quality of life of its population.
While Russia is a medium-sized country by its nominal GDP and its population of 1630 billion dollars (IMF 2018) and 146 million inhabitants respectively, the EU and the United Kingdom constitute a group achieving a nominal GDP of USD 21,600 billion with a population of 515 million. The USA and Canada have a nominal GDP of USD 22,200 billion and have 377 million inhabitants. These two groups of countries achieve 70 times the GDP of Russia and have a population 6 times larger. Yet in terms of “deployed” nuclear warheads France has only 280/300 warheads, the United Kingdom 120/225 warheads, the United States 1800/7500 warheads and Russia 1625/8500 warheads. Russia therefore has a number of warheads deployed comparable to that of the United States without counting the reserves and Europe, whose GDP is similar to that of the United States, has only 400 warheads deployed and must call on the United States in the event of danger. Europe has the means to acquire as many nuclear warheads as Russia and being close to this country, this would give nuclear weapons the deterrent force intended to guarantee peace.
European diplomacy is particularly unsuited to dictators who only have the balance of power in mind and not international law or human rights. To be heard, the EU must increase its defense budget in order to protect its population and be in a good position in negotiations. Truths must be told. Joe Biden very aptly characterized what Putin stood for and that is a matter of ethics. Energy dependency or fear need not weaken the language of truth. The EU must look out for its interests by promoting Ukraine's rapid entry into the EU and NATO.