BUT YOU ARE CLEVER PEOPLE, AREN’T YOU?
By: Oleg Savkin
Tags: Peace, Putin, War, USA, Russia

Why did the West deny Russia the ability to logically analyze the true intents and purposes of their policies, do they really believe the Russians are blockheads?

During his traditional annual press conference, January 17, 2020, President Putin of Russia fielded multiple questions that were asked. Ordinary folks would ask their questions; journalists would invariably hype their clickable topics. Everything went according to the “business as usual” pattern, and at times, frankly speaking, almost boring; however, unlike the quotes that would be replayed umpteen times in the recent past, this time there was something out of the box…

Where it boiled down to Russia’s relations with the West, Putin maintained his pattern of rhetoric, i.e. sounding polite, but behind this politeness, there was a persistent and iron-fisted rigidity, independence, and cast-in-stone confidence.

For the first time since the days of Nikita Krushchev, Russia’s national leader did not hesitate to call a spade a spade, i.e. named the things by their proper names. The Chinese and Arabs are friends, all others are “partners.” Such statements may be interpreted as indicative of Russia’s seeking to build on the strong and better relations on the East while being cautious and/or wary of the West.

In his brief and pointed discussion with a BBC journalist, Putin used the terminology of the question to emphasize that he indeed did believe that Russia is “WHITE and FLUFFY” whereas the Collective West with its huge military budgets and bases all over the world, is seen as a direct threat in terms of being the collective and potential aggressor, or in other words, there is nothing to be seen as “white and fluffy” about the Western roller coaster.

Furthermore, Russia is not afraid of facing this aggressor and is ready to confront it in an open confrontation because, and it was stressed, Russia has long surpassed NATO in the development of hypersonic missile systems, and such systems as “Kinzhal” and “Peresvet” are already operationally available and deployed to combat duty.

According to Russia, this was the immediate result of the termination by the West of the treaties and agreements under the SALT Umbrellas which had been reached by and between Gorbachev and his Western counterparts, the ABMT* above all.

The West did not hesitate in using the opportunities to advance eastward despite the verbal assurances once promised to Gorbachev. There was a sideline query that sounded specifically pricky. Why did the West deny Russia the ability to logically analyze the true intents and purposes of their policies, do they really believe the Russians are blockheads? “But you are clever people, aren’t you?”

*The Anti-Ballistics Missile Treaty (1972–2002) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems that are used in defending areas against ballistic missile-delivered-delivered nuclear weapons.

Indeed, for the first time since 1991, there has been a global shift in Russia’s foreign policy, from a country that the West traditionally viewed as a subordinate vassal and resource of natural wealth, Russia has been transformed into a country that can deliver the knocking down uppercut resulting from which the presumed adversary will not be able “to cough up for a long time to come…”.