Conflicts in Russia

[kowalskil]

Contemporary Russian Situation (10/17/2014)


as described by BSN, an unnamed Russian author


Translated by Ludwik Kowalski, Ph.D.


Former Communist Thoughts Feelings Reality


1) My translation of BSN's article is available online at:


http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/bsn.html


2) Why did I translate this article? Because I know that the present political situation in Russia is far from clear, and that many people will be interested in how it is described by an intelligent Russian patriot. Feel free to share the link with those who might be interested.


3) Point 4 below is only for those who want to know how I became involved.


Best regards, Ludwik


P.S. Comments will be appreciated.


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4)On October 12, 2014 I subscribed to a Russian website: < >. My first post contaied the link to my autobiography (as above).


The forum administrator BSN, responding to me, wrote: "Stalinist repressions, which you describe, belong to the distant past. Don't you think that emphasis on repression, and comparing Stalinism with Nazism, were, and still are, used by American imperialists to demonize the Soviet Union, and then Russia? At the same time they cynically implement criminal policies. They try to dominate the world and to impose the new totalitarian World Order. Why should one particular policy of Stalin, or other errors of Soviet leaders, discredit the idea of building a just society? Why should it justify support of capitalism, controlled by the worldwide lust-and-power-hungry oligarchy?"


To which I responded:

"Yes, America, too, is far from an ideal. Yes, politicians of all countries use deplorable events to promote their interests. Stalinism was based on Marx's theory, according to which the dictatorship of the proletariat is the only way to build a just society. My parents believed in this ideology. But it was not justified by the Soviet reality. That reality should be studied, to avoid repeating similar catastrophes.


BSN replied:

"The main reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union was the betrayal by the elite, which, at the behest of the United States, and under the demagogic arguments about freedom and democracy, decided to discontinue building a just society, and to live comfortably in the unjust society, at the expense of common people. Marx's mistake was obvious; he believed that a change in the economic system would automatically change the consciousness of people. Reality is different; an economic system cannot be changed without first changing the consciousness of people. The primary desire of most people (in the socialist countries, like that of people living in the West), is material comfort, fun and entertainment. Therefore, to build a just society, it is necessary to rely on changing attitudes of people, not just a change of the socio-economic model, or transfer of the steering wheel from one social class, to another. What you think about it? Do you agree that today we should fight for a just society on the basis of an ideology similar to Marxism but modified, to account of mistakes made in the USSR?"


My immediate reply was short; I wrote: "Yes I agree. But I am not a sociologist. Who is developing such a theory in the Russian Federation today?"


BSN's reply was also short; he wrote:


" see, for example, ====> "


What is this link for? It allows one to read 23 articles (all in Russian), on BSN's open forum. The first 22 articles address psychology, sociology and history topics; the last one is a very interesting, (and probably unique?) description of the contemporary Russian situation. Unfortunately, BSN did not reply to my suggestion to discuss the last article privately, via email. After waiting several days I translated his article into English, and posted the translation on our university forum. The link is:


http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/bsn.html


Why did I do this? Because I know that present political situation in Russia is not clear, and that

many people will be interested in how it is described by BSN.

 

[waltky]

Granny says Russia in cahoots with somebody...

Russia announces war games; UK worried by 'extremely aggressive' probing of air space
Mon Dec 1, 2014 - Russia accused NATO on Monday of destabilizing northern Europe and the Baltics by carrying out drills there and announced new military exercises of its own, increasing tension over the Ukraine crisis.

NATO responded by blaming Moscow for instability in the region, while British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he was concerned by "extremely aggressive" probing of Britain's air space by Russian planes. "It is entirely appropriate for NATO countries in particular to work together to respond to what is a change of Russia's dealings with NATO and indeed the non-NATO European countries," he told a parliamentary committee in London. Russia announced it would hold more military exercises in 2015 than this year -- including one in the Central military district that includes Moscow, and another involving Belarus. NATO says it has beefed up defenses of its members since Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March and began backing separatists in parts of Ukraine the Kremlin now calls "New Russia". At least 4,300 people have died in the conflict.

Throughout the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has accused the Western military alliance of promoting instability and has staged war games at critical junctures. "They are trying to destabilize the most stable region in the world -- northern Europe," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said of NATO in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax. "The endless military exercises, transferring aircraft capable of carrying nuclear arms to the Baltic states. This reality is extremely negative." NATO says Russia has sent troops and weapons to Ukraine in recent days to aid the pro-Moscow separatists in violation of a ceasefire. Moscow denies sending troops, although many of its soldiers have died there. "We see a significant military buildup in and around Ukraine," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels. "Large transfers of Russian advanced weapons, equipment and military personnel to violent separatists." Most former Communist countries of Eastern Europe have joined NATO since the 1990s, although the three Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are the only parts of the former Soviet Union itself to join. Ukraine is not a NATO member.

BALTIC STATES CONCERNED

NATO said in late October that British, Danish, German, Norwegian, Portuguese and Turkish planes had all intercepted Russian air craft in a flurry of incidents. The U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Monday additional measures taken by the alliance were defensive. "If you look at the scale of Russian activities in Crimea, first in Crimea and now in southeastern Ukraine, it's quite evident that they are destabilizing," the envoy, Douglas Lute, told a news conference in Brussels.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told Reuters that Russia was to blame for instability by "carrying out aggression against its own neighbor" in Ukraine. The Latvian and Estonian defense ministries expressed concern about Russia's "increased activity in the Baltic Sea region". Ukraine said on Sunday a convoy of 106 vehicles had entered its eastern territory from Russia. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said on Monday Russian special forces were now taking part in attacks on Donetsk airport in the east. Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview that Europe and the United States should begin supplying arms to his country, as this would deter the rebels.

Russia announces war games UK worried by extremely aggressive probing of air space Reuters