A rogue state - who, by modern standards, is arguably just as bad as the Nazis - wants to "de-Nazify" another country?

The irony is thick.

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(Continued …)

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Putin and his propagandists have long claimed to be fighting the heirs of Nazi Germany. From its crackdown on domestic dissent to its aggression on the international stage, the Kremlin has regularly smeared its adversaries as fascists and fascist collaborators.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that Putin claimed would achieve its 'denazification', heightened this propaganda.

According to Andreas Umland, an expert on Ukrainian nationalism at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, Ukraine has a far right like most countries of the world have, but their organizational strength and electoral support are smaller than in Russia and in many other European countries.

Since Ukraine regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, far-right, ultra-nationalist political groups have struggled to make much headway in Ukrainian politics.

The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right indicates that during much of Ukraine’s post-Soviet history, the radical right has remained on the political periphery, wielding little influence over national politics. Since Ukraine’s declaration of independence, its radical right’s national electoral support has rarely exceeded 3 percent of the popular vote.

There are no neo-Nazi elements in Zelensk’s government. Putin’s assertions about the need to liberate Ukraine from the grip of neo-Nazis and genocide against ethnic Russians in Ukraine are propaganda.

Umland considers that the primary reason Putin uses this as justification for his invasion of Ukraine is because the defeat of the Nazis is the high point of modern Russian history. It is a major reference point for the Russian national identity. The fact that the Soviet Union secured the victory over Hitler is a principal source of Russian pride.

For Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Advisor of the Kennan Institute in Washington, “Russia should be de-Nazifying itself,” because there are far-right, fascist elements in Russia, too.

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Hi Banjo Patterson,
I'm not sure if you lost your first comment, your only comment on this thread started with "(Continued …)"

I think you should watch the first video I linked to in this thread, for some more background info.

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Dear Armchair Critic,

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The “(Continued …)”, I’m afraid, was a mistake that I forgot to eliminate before posting.

Sorry about that.

I read your posts with interest.

The unimaginable revelation of Putin and the Russian colonisation of Ukraine sends a chill down my spine when I realise the magnitude of the dramatic consequences of Yeltsin’s choice of an insignificant little man, who appeared to be quite a docile person, to succeed him as President of Russia.

I always thought that CEO was difficult. Human Resources is even worse !

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"The unimaginable revelation of Putin and the Russian colonisation of Ukraine"
It didn't have to be this way if not for the Wests incessant thirst for maintaining primacy, and the bankers thirst for capitalist exploitation.

Russia didn't want this war, it saw it an being unavoidable and an existential threat and I believe that to be true, with sanctions, overthrows, the march of NATO (military spending racket) and Europeans openly talking about trying to break up the country.

And I think Putin has done a pretty great job of bring Russia back from the brink, he inherited a shattered country rife with corruption and ruled by the oligarchs who were only interested in personal greed.

It took him a long time to slowly bring the country back in a way that was better for the people who lived there, without becoming ruled by foreign interests. Sure heaps more needs to be done, but if I were Russia, I'd be thankful for Putin, despite the conflicts for which I'd have significant animosity towards the West.

A lot of Russian industries are coming back to life, including as a direct result of Western departure, and Russia is becoming more self sufficient, relying less upon the West.

They make their own turbines, they make their own commercial passenger jets.
(If the US has lost it's car industry to China, then I'm sure this scares them as it's just another essential item the the West can't profit from and hold over other countries.)
Western companies have started to openly express a desire to return to Russia, they've already lost hundreds of billions by leaving.

And despite the West using militarism and fear as a tool to bolster their economies (US - China, EU - Russia) Russia can dangle a carrot with it's rare earth minerals, and the EU is losing out badly with the high cost of energy after cutting itself off from cheap Russian gas, like it was a bad thing. (Only a bad thing if you wish to divide the world and make profits or war at the citizens expense)

Armchair Critic - you wrote "It took him (Putin) a long time to slowly bring the country back in a way that was better for the people who lived there".
You are joking, aren't you? Putin has wasted or damaged up to a million Russian lives thanks to his invasion of Ukraine. How is this better for the people who lived there please?