Hot on the heels of our posts about A) fascism and the occult and B) Putin as Czar, along comes a WaPo editorial discussing Russia's pretensions to an imperial lineage, the "3rd Rome" etc. and the right-wing occultist stoking those ideas.
We shouldn't over-emphasize the occult aspects of Hitler or Putin's ideology, but shouldn't ignore them, either. The "why" is self-evident: we need to understand Putin both in terms of rational realpolitik and, well, his nuttier concerns.
Putin's Rasputin's a dude named Dugin (say that 3x, fast), and "back in the day" he mixed with Satanists and punk-rockers before becoming a reactionary who embraced the Nazis to a certain degree. He helped to found a Party called the National Bolshevik Party (aka the "Nazbols"). Their flag is a hammer and sickle, but the color scheme is pure Nazi. The allusion is clear.
Glory be! Mother Russia. Strange how Dugin's time with occult circles and Satanists meshes so neatly with my last post about fascism, the occult, and Satanism. Somehow, despite a call to the religious values of times past by these jackals, they are not only willing to countenance occultists among their ranks, but Satanists. Strange bedfellows indeed!
Just by random chance I just won a French history magazine in a pub quiz and it's all about Russia, including the idea that Russia considers itself a "third Rome" after Byzantium. This is not a new idea. The Duke of Muscovy married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, and so the Russians adopted the double-headed eagle of the divided empire, their Cyrillic alphabet is based not on Latin but Greek letters, and they adopted Eastern Orthodoxy, not Roman Catholicism. "Czar" means "Caesar," after all. Moscow has long seen itself as the new center of the Roman Empire, the true inheritor of the Byzantines.
Dugin is a Russian Steve Bannon, a once-fringe thinker elevated to the center of power; someone scorned in the past but whose words now echo in Poot's speeches, and have a real effect. This is not abstraction. This is how mystical thinking ends up meaning 1000's of civilian casualties in an ill-conceived invasion to rebuild Novorossiya, the "New Russia." The annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine. All of it explained by Putin using Dugin's language and mystical vision of a Russia reborn.
Occultists, fascists, Satanists. And the enemies are, chiefly, the USA and Britain.
Stay tuned. Commies cum Nazi-loving, nationalist mystics. It is worth studying Marinetti and D'Annunzio because the SAME THING IS HAPPENING TODAY (shouting).
Merde, Goddam, and fuck. Here's a Nazi emblem turned "Soviet" and "Czarist". It seems at once completely incoherent yet somehow, a "logical" conclusion of what has come before....
I apologize in advance for the self-righteous tone of this post, but this subject has really gotten me back to my college-era sense of political outrage, after years of what has generally been a kind of jaded apathy. The parallels with WW2 keep striking me and well, that was definitely something about which one had to speak up and make oneself heard. So, hear goes nyet....
I hate to jump on bandwagons, but for the senseless attack by Czar Vladimir on Ukraine, risking a wider European if not global war; for the courage of the everyday citizens who have vowed to defend their sovereignty; for the fierce resistance Ukraine's military has put up against a vastly larger and better-equipped force; for the defiance of President Voldymyr Zelensky, who hasn't fled, knowing he will almost certainly be killed if the Russian army takes Kyiv; for the Russians who protest this war, facing arrest, or worse; for the Russian journalists who have not toed the line; for the Russian woman arrested for carrying a blank sign; for the old Ukrainian woman who offered Russian soldiers seeds to carry so that where they fall, flowers will grow....As the Russian would-be blitzkrieg gets bogged down by stiff resistance, unfavorable ground conditions, poor logistics and surprisingly bad strategic decisions, this has ceased to be a precise war against a military opponent, but the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, including the elderly, children, pregnant women...you know, the very elite of the Ukrainian Military.
Well, call me a sucker for a good old-fashioned fight against tyranny, but I post the links below for whatever they're worth. How many Ukrainian civilians, scores of children among them, need to die to satisfy Putin's imperial ambitions? How many Ukrainian soldiers have died, how many hapless Russians soldiers lie face down in the mud -- kids my son's age -- who probably don't want to be there in the first place? Will my adoptive country (France) be drawn into this fiasco? Will my home country get involved in another war after 20+ years of pointless fighting in Afghanistan? I am pretty much a pacifist. I do not glorify war and rarely buy into the idea of a "just" war. But defending a country whose only crime is wanting to be free from the impaled-pie thumb of a gangster state led by a disillusioned, former KGB agent who openly dreams of restoring Mother Russia's imperial "glory" -- dominating the Eastern Europe for the sake of his bruised ego after the demise of the Soviet Union? Well, that is as close as it comes to a just cause
The plight, pluck, and tenacity of Ukraine has stirred me. There may be corruption there, injustices, and their own government less than perfect. But they don't deserve what Putin has inflicted upon them. Certainly not the scared children huddled in the metros and basements as the missiles reduce their cities to rubble. I'm an unfit old dude who fights about as well as I can fly by flapping my arms, and I'd probably last a day under such conditions, yet I feel compelled to do something, even if it is only linking to places where you can help by opening your wallets or, if you're brave and qualified enough, to go and fight. I always admired the Lincoln Brigades: the American Reds (oh, the irony), Anarchists and Wobblies who went to Spain to fight the Fascists. And Putin is a fascist: a warmongering, authoritarian, bigot; a misogynist who exploits the worst religious tendencies of Russian Orthodoxy; a thin-skinned thug who arrests or murders political adversaries, persecutes the LGBTQ community, and has criminalized telling the truth. 2022? More like 1984.
Sadly, as the Russians have gotten bogged down and expended more and more of their precision missiles, they are resorting to less precise and brutal methods. They are hitting schools and residential areas. In Mariupol the Russians recently struck a hospital maternity ward. In the same city they bombed a theater being used as a civilian bomb shelter, where from the air one could clearly see the Russian word for "children" marked in large letters on the ground. Pregnant women, newborns and kids. This is simply intolerably savage.
Some estimates say 80% of the buildings in that city have been either damaged or completely destroyed. Some put the figure at 90%. This is a city of 446,103 people (2017). Imagine Tampa or Minneapolis if 80% of its buildings had been bombed. The Russians are hitting power stations, the water supply, internet, TV and radio towers, houses....Unable to break the Ukrainian military, they are going after the civilian infrastructure to break the people. No Western country wants to risk a hot war with the Russian military, especially as Putin has not exactly taken the nuclear option off the table. But there are indications Putin may be willing to create a pretext to use chemical or even biological weapons. No Western power wants to enforce a "no-fly zone" that would entail shooting down Russian warplanes. But will the West let every city in Ukraine on the way to Kyiv suffer the fate of Mariupol? If the West us unwilling to fight, at least furnish them with the materiel they need to protect their civilian population. Biden called Putin a "murderous dictator" and a "pure thug." Indeed. Send him a polonium smoothie, my treat.
Don't be overly hard on those Russian artists and athletes abroad who don't vociferously denounce Putin. They have families to think of. Just take a look at what happened to dissident Alexander Litvinenko. The Russian people are not our enemies, even those who don't speak up. They aren't cowards or collaborators, they're merely terrified. Heck, even posting this scares me.
One unnamed dolt considers Putin a "genius" and only wishes he could pull off the kind of corrupted "elections" Czar Vladimir has managed to do with help from his media and political enablers. There are Facebook pages set up by Americans extolling the virtues of Putin's "strength." (No link to you fucktards. And yeah, juvenile ad hominem attacks are the only words I'll waste on you.) This little blog ain't got that sway, but we do at least have our say. And we say to you: "Nuts!!" Make your Gadsen flag yellow and blue, and don't tread on Snake Island!
If you Putin apologists love him so much, go and live in Russia and see how long you can stay out of jail for hinting at lynching elected officials. "Love it or Leave it" as they use to tell those dastardly lefties (Ah, the irony; again). Hey Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, why not put your money where your mouth is and go really fight for freedom? It's one thing to stand around scowling at black-clad college kids with an AR-15 in your arms. It's fun to play dress up, like some right-wing version of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Playing soldier. Go be one. But perhaps beating up police officers as part of a mob at the Capitol is closer to your actual skill-set. Maybe what the unnamed dolt couldn't do for you, Putin can. That means you too, Fucker Carlson, the Kremlin's favorite propagandist. Don't let fascist apologists pollute the airwaves unchecked. Send your fan mail to:
Tucker "Putin's Goebbels" Carlson c/o Fox News 21st Century Fox 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York NY 10036 United States
For shame, Carlson. One of your own colleagues was just killed in Ukraine. At the beginning of this farrago TC asked his audience “Why do I hate Putin so much?...Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?” No, but he has jailed and murdered those who have. Maybe you can ask the family of your dead colleague the same idiotic questions at the next company Christmas party. Maybe you can tell them how owning liberals and flogging the "woke" horse is more important than condemning a murderous dictator. But it may be hard for him to speak with the unnamed dolt's cock in his mouth. Then again, tiny hands and all. He may have plenty of space left over to murmur another inane excuse for commentary.
Millions of people have already fled Ukraine, and they need our help. One 11-year-old fled Ukraine alone with nothing but a backpack, his passport and a phone number written on his hand. 620 miles to Slovakia. Alone. Reminds me of the story of my mum and her aunts being put on a train north from London in the darkest days of the Blitz, with nothing but a small bag and her parents' names and address safety-pinned to her coat. Or my uncle, whose own dad was swept out of his arms as he stood in the doorway of his train north, when a "doodlebug" (V-1 flying bomb) struck the station. (Maybe Victoria Station?) His dad apparently got back up, dusted himself off, and carried on with what had to be done. My mum, aunts and uncle are still with us. They didn't know what would happen to them, but they were met by strangers, whose kindness may have kept them alive as they spent the remaining days of the Blitz in the Lake District.
If you want to host Ukrainian refugees here in France (Si vous souhaitez accueillir des réfugiés ukrainiens ici en France).
If you want to fight for Ukraine, don't be a hopeless romantic, make sure you actually can. This is not a game, and I don't encourage you to risk your life if you don't have some capacity to preserve it. But if you think you can, here are some ways to do it. Make sure you aren't breaking any of your national laws.
Update 24/03: Remember what I said about making sure you actually can help? Without medical, military, or even police training, you may be more hindrance than help. Take this WaPo article as a cautionary tale; go through official channels!
Don't harass the average Russian immigrant in your neighborhood. Chances are they are as horrified as you may be. This is not a war against the Russian people, but Putin and his enablers, including the unnamed dolt and his media mouthpieces in the States. The Russian people were Putin's earliest victims. Putin has stated he has his sights on Moldova, the Baltic states, and even perhaps East Germany. He has openly dreamed of "recreating the Soviet Union." Don't let history repeat itself and appease Putin, who had made no secret of his desire to take over any place with a significant Russian-speaking population. Much like Hitler wanted to take over any place with a large German-speaking population. Putin is a threat to global security, stability, economic health....and shirtless men who ride horses the world over. Hitler wanted revenge after Germany's defeat in WW1. Putin wants to avenge the humiliation of being on the losing side of the Cold War. The parallels are striking. The comparisons fail when we see that unlike Hitler's early military success, Putin has tragically underestimated the capacity of the Ukrainian military and the will of the average citizen to resist. The shocking incompetence of his armed forces may give him pause, but if he is not stopped cold in Ukraine, he will not stop with Ukraine.
The West should help Ukraine, and the Russian people. Bring Putin and his circle of supportive oligarchs to their knees. Be selfish if that makes it easier: A wider European war will do none of us any good. In the 60's they used to say fighting for peace was like screwing for virginity. But letting Putin grab what he wants unopposed is a victory for naked aggression. Don't let Putin grab Ukraine by the Pussy Riot.
Resistance. Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova risked her freedom, and maybe her life, to protest the war on live TV. That is courage. That is what taking a real stand means. Bloviating about freedom and spreading lies under the guise of "just asking questions, man" is just that: bloviating and lying to the American public. Pravda has a whole structure in place to manipulate social media and spread disinformation, propaganda, and sew discord. Don't let Fox News pundits make their job any easier. That means you Tuckersky Carlsonovitch, you tepid cum-rag. To quote the Snake Island Thirteen, "Go fuck yourself!"
Resistance is not futile. For Western leaders, I understand and totally agree we need to avoid a full-scale European war. But timidity before WW2 got us nowhere. I'm not saying we are merely putting off the inevitable. WW3 is not inevitable. But something must be done. This is what you have been elected for. Figure it out.
I'd like to share this smart and humane message by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the hopes that some of you Russians out there will see it and it will help bolster your courage in the face of severe repression.
No one blames you the people if you choose not to protest and instead lie low; we know it's very risky to speak up. We know those sanctions will be tough on you. The sooner the Ukraine invasion ends, the sooner the sanctions will as well.
For any soldiers who may see this, I frankly hope it inspires mutiny. Open rebellion may be complicated, but, hey, there's always fragging....
I know from from LoS' analytics Russia is our largest audience outside of the Anglo-sphere. This post is not against you, but Putin, his propagandists, and his political allies. If I ever say "Russia" and not "Putin," my apologies. Be safe. Be strong. Good luck. Don't let Vlad the Impaler leave your country hanging on a pike to be picked apart by fat carrion-oligarchs who bought your country at a discount like pigs in a dollar store. Basta! No pasaran!
Позвольте мне сказать вам правду: Арнольд Шварценеггер
December 22, 1944. Battle of the Bulge. German General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz attacks the 101st Airborne with a superior force and issues an ultimatum (excerpted):
To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops
from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the
encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be
granted beginning with the presentation of this note.
The 101st held off the Germans for two days until relieved by the 4th Armored Division. Those dudes had Nuts....
II.
February 25, 2021. Invasion of Ukraine. A Russian warship confronts 13 Ukrainian border guards stationed on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island:
“This is a Russian military warship. I suggest
you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless
casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”
The Ukrainian response:
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself."
The 13 border guards were all killed. (Or were they? 27/02: The guards may have in fact been captured and taken to Sevastopol...Good news for the guards, but the propaganda value is somewhat diminished. Dying for one's country against unwinnable odds, Russian ruthlessness....There's a good lesson here. In war, truth is often the first casualty. Gonna have to hold my tongue a few days before reacting to news from Ukraine, perhaps. Also, the article to which I've linked says many people are comparing the "Russian warship" riposte to McAuliffe's "Nuts!" I knew I wouldn't be the only one to grok that....)
III.
13 guards on a 40-acre island. It shows both the ruthlessness we can expect from Russian forces and the Ukrainian resolve to resist the invaders. Apparently Ukrainian troops are putting up stiff resistance and have repulsed more than one Russian incursion. Thousands of ordinary men and women are taking up arms. I saw an interview with Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik who said she and her staff were armed and ready to fight. In another interview ex-President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine will never surrender and showed CNN the Kalashnikov he will use to participate in the defense of Kyiv. President Zelensky has urged citizens to start making Molotov cocktails.
Sadly, without heavy artillery and air support, the vastly outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainians have little chance of defeating the Russians. But one never knows. The Afghanis and Chechens proved superior firepower doesn't always ensure an easy victory over partisans with the will to fight. Many Russians are aghast at Putin's invasion, and I'll bet many soldiers aren't that enthusiastic either. And the Ukrainians don't want to live under the yoke of a Russian autocrat.
Ukraine has been described as corrupt, and the government has been
heavy-handed with separatists in its eastern regions. But the Ukrainian
people clearly don't want to be occupied by the Russians and, while
many have fled, many are gearing up to fight. If and when the Russians
force a military surrender, they can expect heavy losses to the citizen
partisans who appear ready to die for their autonomy. It's not Zelensky
and the government I support, but the people who'd rather die than live
under foreign domination. Vive la Résistance!
Russia has just indicated a willingness to talk. Maybe all Russia wants is to force Ukraine to abandon its desire to join the EU and NATO. Maybe it's the first country on Putin's wish-list of countries to annex. Russia might be coming to the table because Ukraine's military has performed better than expected. Maybe seeing the people arming themselves has made them realize subduing Ukraine will require significant civilian, and Russian, casualties. A lot of Russian soldiers may be hesitant to kill people who are in many ways their cousins.
One can argue that if the Allies had opposed Hitler from the get-go, after annexing Austria, WW2 could have been avoided. Perhaps by stopping Putin now another European war can be avoided. One hopes that Ukrainian military and civilian resistance, an unwillingness to kill large numbers of Ukrainians, and domestic dissent in Russia will make Putin reconsider. Maybe the willingness to negotiate is another ruse. Russia has been lying about its intentions up until and since the moment they actually invaded.
Maybe logic is something we can't even apply here. Putin is either crazy like a fox, a "genius" as his biggest fan Comrade Trumpsky calls him, or he is, quite simply....Nuts.
P.S. I'd be remiss not to mention the Ukrainian woman who went up to Russian soldiers and offered them sunflower seeds to carry around. Sounds sweet. Until she told them that the reason is so that flowers may bloom on the spot where they die. That's Nuts in a nutshell.
