You are right that the consequences will be felt by Europeans for a long time to come - and maybe tragically. The manufactured Russophobia of the last few years, which I experienced in France, is straight out of the Covid school of psyops. I go to an annual summer Russian language school at the Russian Cultural Institute in Paris - last year it was cancelled (for the 1st time I believe) because there were not enough students. A form of self-imposed censorship as the cost of even staying neutral was too high. I went to private classes there as an alternative and had a fantastic teacher who was formerly an interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev! We talked for hours about the 1990s when I lived in Moscow. With Russia collapsing, she planned exile in France. So sad that Russians are now looking over their shoulders again in a hostile environment. Compare Rutte or Kallas to Lavrov and tell me who is speaking reason. Europe had so many reasons to embrace Russia - now the Kremlin is even hostile to EU membership for Ukraine. I cannot blame them - Brussels has lost the plot completely.
I’ve been reading alfred mccoy who speaks about Eurasia and its political importance. 70% of the worlds resources & population. This is where the future lies. Not with the US which is fading fast. Even as a kid in ireland in the 90’s i remember in geography class the maps we had were of western europe wth the eastern part greyed out. A complete and utter ignorance of the physical reality of what “europe” actually is. Now i can open google maps on my phone and pinch the screen to show just how big and connected the eurasian landmass is.
You are right that the consequences will be felt by Europeans for a long time to come - and maybe tragically. The manufactured Russophobia of the last few years, which I experienced in France, is straight out of the Covid school of psyops. I go to an annual summer Russian language school at the Russian Cultural Institute in Paris - last year it was cancelled (for the 1st time I believe) because there were not enough students. A form of self-imposed censorship as the cost of even staying neutral was too high. I went to private classes there as an alternative and had a fantastic teacher who was formerly an interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev! We talked for hours about the 1990s when I lived in Moscow. With Russia collapsing, she planned exile in France. So sad that Russians are now looking over their shoulders again in a hostile environment. Compare Rutte or Kallas to Lavrov and tell me who is speaking reason. Europe had so many reasons to embrace Russia - now the Kremlin is even hostile to EU membership for Ukraine. I cannot blame them - Brussels has lost the plot completely.
I’ve been reading alfred mccoy who speaks about Eurasia and its political importance. 70% of the worlds resources & population. This is where the future lies. Not with the US which is fading fast. Even as a kid in ireland in the 90’s i remember in geography class the maps we had were of western europe wth the eastern part greyed out. A complete and utter ignorance of the physical reality of what “europe” actually is. Now i can open google maps on my phone and pinch the screen to show just how big and connected the eurasian landmass is.
I didn’t intend in writing my response under yours it was supposed to stand alone. Lol.