What about the most thorough beating they received from Germans in 1914-1917 ended in the most humiliated treaties Russia ever was part of - Brest Litovsk in 1918?
They gave up ALL POLAND, UKRAINE, BALTICS and more (including Donbas!!!)
Bolsheviks were able to re-claim part of it only because Germany was beaten in the West and evacuated Ober-Ost army
Interesting post, as always! There is yet one Russian defeat that slipped through: The Cold War defeat. Sure, it was not suffered in a direct military confrontation, but it was much more painful and humiliating for present day Russia than all other defeats listed; to the point that we can see Putinist RF as a vehicle for making it up and live glorious semi-Soviet life again with military might, interventions in Middle East or Africa, and rockets and moon vessels thrown into the space (with typically Soviet success ratio). True, Russians will not stop until defeated totally, and it opens interesting topic: could have US done more in 1990's and 2000s to make sure that this old vourdalak is nailed for good in its coffin?
In short, a Russian military expert (i.e. an actual military strategist, not a TV propagandist like Solovyov) suggested a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Europe, presumably Poland, arguing that the US would be unlikely to retaliate, because they wouldn't want to sacrifice Boston for Poznań. Of course, this doesn't change the conclusion that you can't give in to terrorists and that they must be defeated ASAP, but it does make me think that the nuclear risk is not as low as the "comrade chessmaster" blog note suggested.
I know that our host is allergic to YouTube, but for everyone else, I can recommend this guy; he's reasonable and knows a thing or two about Russian politics.
And yet, not long enough :)
(referring to the last sentence obviously)
What about the most thorough beating they received from Germans in 1914-1917 ended in the most humiliated treaties Russia ever was part of - Brest Litovsk in 1918?
They gave up ALL POLAND, UKRAINE, BALTICS and more (including Donbas!!!)
Bolsheviks were able to re-claim part of it only because Germany was beaten in the West and evacuated Ober-Ost army
Interesting post, as always! There is yet one Russian defeat that slipped through: The Cold War defeat. Sure, it was not suffered in a direct military confrontation, but it was much more painful and humiliating for present day Russia than all other defeats listed; to the point that we can see Putinist RF as a vehicle for making it up and live glorious semi-Soviet life again with military might, interventions in Middle East or Africa, and rockets and moon vessels thrown into the space (with typically Soviet success ratio). True, Russians will not stop until defeated totally, and it opens interesting topic: could have US done more in 1990's and 2000s to make sure that this old vourdalak is nailed for good in its coffin?
““Russia cannot be defeated” is propaganda nonsense”
Maybe they think about a general defeat (like Germany in 1945) not like simply loosing a war?
Thanks for the interesting note! Civic proofreading: Chechnya, not Chechenya.
I've got something that fits more with the note on nuclear blackmail, but maybe it's not completely off topic here.
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2023-06-23/russia-intensifies-its-nuclear-blackmail
In short, a Russian military expert (i.e. an actual military strategist, not a TV propagandist like Solovyov) suggested a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Europe, presumably Poland, arguing that the US would be unlikely to retaliate, because they wouldn't want to sacrifice Boston for Poznań. Of course, this doesn't change the conclusion that you can't give in to terrorists and that they must be defeated ASAP, but it does make me think that the nuclear risk is not as low as the "comrade chessmaster" blog note suggested.
PS. This is where I found out about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqHuURHOsE
I know that our host is allergic to YouTube, but for everyone else, I can recommend this guy; he's reasonable and knows a thing or two about Russian politics.