He downplayed threats to Russian interests from this vector, called for aligning strategic patience with a long-term view of the overall region, and referenced the US’ role in Latin America as an example.
All the perspectives, from my point of view, lined up correctly.
Bordachev. Nicely presented. But he left some things out. Yet again.
My take on this is as follows:
TRIPP has completely reduced Bordachev’s perspective—which was otherwise presented in a genuinely valid and commendable manner—to absurdity. That is why he omits any mention of TRIPP: because his perspective works just fine without it.
It is like quickly snapping a great photo of a beautiful property—complete with a surrounding hedge—from the street, even though you know that just a meter behind the back wall, a 20-meter-deep, 2,000-square-meter pit for a toxic waste dump has already been excavated.
The property is still beautiful, but its fate is clear.
Just to clarify: I love the Caucasus countries, their colors, and their natural landscapes.
However, in the geopolitical context—from Russia's perspective, and particularly that of Bordachev—one unfortunately cannot draw any other kind of analogy.
The United States is dominant pver Latin America because it takes steps to dominate. It doesn't treat this as a natural phenomenon like the tides or the prevailing wind.
"This is the way things have always been so we don't need to do anything!" Is what gave the fiasco in Ukraine.
243 US military interventions in south and central America in 230 years. Bordachev should read the book of general Butler(1933), regarding that it became even more true, bloody and hard after 1945.
Yes, but they have a true genius to make believe that they are good caring boys.
Look at the french exemple. The generation of my parents who was young during the WW2.
In 1939, USA and USSR say they will stay neutral.
USSR are bastard without honour, USA are nice liberators.
USSR destroyed alone, 85% of Axis, USA and UK 15, but it's USA who won the war.
USA killed 70000 French civils, Germans 85000 french civils( included Jews, resistant and political prisoners) Germans are barbarians, USA are saviours.
17000 french women and girls filed a complaint for rape by US soldiers( imagine the total number) but the GI was a good old guy who gave chewing gum to kids.
Can someone tell me if Bordachev is incompetent, an idiot, or acting in the worst possible bad faith?
It's insane to say such stupid things, so obviously false, when you're supposedly an expert.
His example about South America is completely bogus. The US holds the continent with an iron fist, imposes, controls, or orchestrates the removal of any head of state who challenges their dominance, and isolates those who resist like lepers, condemning them to perpetual poverty and harassment.
Furthermore, none of these pariah states, Cuba or Nicaragua, are hotbeds of aggressive foreign intelligence services that spend their time conspiring against the US.
Who funds Valdai? How come no one in Russia violently attacks or ridicules Bordachev in the media?
His response to Armenia's elections was surprising, though, he's pretty furious and published an article in which he sounds like a different person entirely. I'm reviewing it now and plan to publish my evaluation of it tomorrow or Sunday. There's a chance that *maybe* he's waking up.
I do agree with you though that the Latin American example is specious and would could even argue suspicious. As for why nobody here pushes back against what experts say, they fear career-related consequences. There also isn't really a culture here of critically reviewing peers' works unless it's an academic article.
People will usually keep their opinions to themselves or limited to a small circle on social media at most. That's one of the reasons why I decided in recent months to speak up and critically review these top thinkers since casual foreign observers might imagine that everything they say is correct just because they're authorities.
There are usually one or two things that I can critique them on and which I like to raise awareness of so that people don't fall under false impressions. I also hope that maybe others here, or at least NRPRs, might consider following my lead with their own critical reviews of top Russian experts' work.
I think that it's time for people to constructively critique top thinkers, who like everyone, aren't always right. Some of them might even come across the critiques, that's my hope at least, and consider changing their views like I hope that Bordachev changes his by realizing the serious threats expanding along Russia's entire southern periphery right now.
These aren't people who anyone can email and thus share their opinions with; "they're too big for that", one can say, but for that precise reason, they tend to care about what the public says about them, so my critical reviews being republished by other sites could attract their attention if they come up under Google searches (in the event that they search for who's saying what about them).
Be careful, Andrew, this kind of mandarin is the same everywhere. In France, I have known a couple of these "great minds." As human beings, they are pathetic. They are sneaky people, the worst kind of opportunists, true politicians of the intelligentsia, vindictive, petty, and extremely vain. In short, very dangerous if they feel threatened in the ivory tower they struggled so hard to climb to the top of, each step of which is adorned with the remains of one of their detractors or rivals.
These people are as vindictive and sneaky as harem favorites. Which is what they actually are.
You're right, I sensed that and even experienced it to a degree when I was at MGIMO, but I don't think these people see me as a threat in any way. There's no chance of me replacing them, nor am I interested in it. I just hope to raise awareness of these latent threats. I hope that someone here one day listens.
Wow! If these people only return favors sparingly and exclusively to those in power (economic and political) and to courtiers, they have an excellent memory and a vindictiveness as tenacious as their incredible pettiness. I note that many of them, drunk on their success, harbor a more or less serious perversity. Many end up entangled in sordid affairs of sexual misconduct, harassment, and pedophilia. Crushing a fly can give them a fleeting little pleasure. Closing every door to an insolent talented person and watching him sink socially without understanding where their failure comes from is a choice delight. I know this; I have heard them giggle with pleasure while recounting such things.
That's how I felt at certain times at Sputnik, for example when the website editors would "accidentally forget" to share my radio programs on the front page and social media, or when I came across very odd bureaucratic obstacles at MGIMO (including a spree of experts who refused to participate in my thesis defense despite being remunerated by the university for their time).
I can't put my finger on it, and maybe I'm wrong, but something just felt off about those experiences. I try not to dwell on them too much, but others have speculated what you have, namely that some people unknown to me were working against me for whatever their reasons are in their minds (I don't insult anyone here so I don't know why they did it if that's what was happening).
There were some other things that happened but I'm not going to discuss them, suffice to say, it instilled in me the belief that perhaps there really are some powerful people here who really don't like me but can't get rid of me since I follow the law to a tee.
Yes and today, on RT, Lukyanov drones on endlessly about Armenia... saying nothing. Absolutely nothing.
In essence, he says: "If it rains, you should know that water makes things wet, but well, if you want to go out in the rain, you go out... Especially since today's rain isn't yesterday's rain."
I think Russians are reticent in approaching former Soviet republics to not stir up more aversion than exists anyway. At least that's what I see in the Western neighbours like the Baltics or Poland. Also the Caucasus countries give the impression to be very sensitive concerning anything they perceive as a meddling in their affairs. I may be wrong and the 'stans are different and rather looking for Russian support.
Thanks, but I can't access it. It says it's for members-only. Can you maybe please copy and paste whatever it is from there that you'd like to share if it's convenient? Thank you.
Oh, sorry. Maybe country-specific access. The articles are published on an internet site anyway, the Telegram channel is just a convenient method for me to scan them quickly.
About 25 % of the population of Kazhekstan is Russian. Armenian and Georgians in the Caucause depend upon Russia for protection. Iran is a long time ally with Russia. All these countries are on Russia's borders. America is 1,000 miles away and will NEVER have the same influence as Russia. America stick to the Western Hemisphere which is where you belong.
All the perspectives, from my point of view, lined up correctly.
Bordachev. Nicely presented. But he left some things out. Yet again.
My take on this is as follows:
TRIPP has completely reduced Bordachev’s perspective—which was otherwise presented in a genuinely valid and commendable manner—to absurdity. That is why he omits any mention of TRIPP: because his perspective works just fine without it.
It is like quickly snapping a great photo of a beautiful property—complete with a surrounding hedge—from the street, even though you know that just a meter behind the back wall, a 20-meter-deep, 2,000-square-meter pit for a toxic waste dump has already been excavated.
The property is still beautiful, but its fate is clear.
Lol that literally made me laugh out loud!
Great allegory. That picture's gonna stay with me.
Just to clarify: I love the Caucasus countries, their colors, and their natural landscapes.
However, in the geopolitical context—from Russia's perspective, and particularly that of Bordachev—one unfortunately cannot draw any other kind of analogy.
The United States is dominant pver Latin America because it takes steps to dominate. It doesn't treat this as a natural phenomenon like the tides or the prevailing wind.
"This is the way things have always been so we don't need to do anything!" Is what gave the fiasco in Ukraine.
243 US military interventions in south and central America in 230 years. Bordachev should read the book of general Butler(1933), regarding that it became even more true, bloody and hard after 1945.
Yup. The United States is not some benevolent hegemon but a tyrant.
Yes, but they have a true genius to make believe that they are good caring boys.
Look at the french exemple. The generation of my parents who was young during the WW2.
In 1939, USA and USSR say they will stay neutral.
USSR are bastard without honour, USA are nice liberators.
USSR destroyed alone, 85% of Axis, USA and UK 15, but it's USA who won the war.
USA killed 70000 French civils, Germans 85000 french civils( included Jews, resistant and political prisoners) Germans are barbarians, USA are saviours.
17000 french women and girls filed a complaint for rape by US soldiers( imagine the total number) but the GI was a good old guy who gave chewing gum to kids.
It's genius, pure genius.
The US is seen as a winner. Humans naturally identify with winners and want to be on the winning side.
Can someone tell me if Bordachev is incompetent, an idiot, or acting in the worst possible bad faith?
It's insane to say such stupid things, so obviously false, when you're supposedly an expert.
His example about South America is completely bogus. The US holds the continent with an iron fist, imposes, controls, or orchestrates the removal of any head of state who challenges their dominance, and isolates those who resist like lepers, condemning them to perpetual poverty and harassment.
Furthermore, none of these pariah states, Cuba or Nicaragua, are hotbeds of aggressive foreign intelligence services that spend their time conspiring against the US.
Who funds Valdai? How come no one in Russia violently attacks or ridicules Bordachev in the media?
It's insane.
His response to Armenia's elections was surprising, though, he's pretty furious and published an article in which he sounds like a different person entirely. I'm reviewing it now and plan to publish my evaluation of it tomorrow or Sunday. There's a chance that *maybe* he's waking up.
I do agree with you though that the Latin American example is specious and would could even argue suspicious. As for why nobody here pushes back against what experts say, they fear career-related consequences. There also isn't really a culture here of critically reviewing peers' works unless it's an academic article.
People will usually keep their opinions to themselves or limited to a small circle on social media at most. That's one of the reasons why I decided in recent months to speak up and critically review these top thinkers since casual foreign observers might imagine that everything they say is correct just because they're authorities.
There are usually one or two things that I can critique them on and which I like to raise awareness of so that people don't fall under false impressions. I also hope that maybe others here, or at least NRPRs, might consider following my lead with their own critical reviews of top Russian experts' work.
I think that it's time for people to constructively critique top thinkers, who like everyone, aren't always right. Some of them might even come across the critiques, that's my hope at least, and consider changing their views like I hope that Bordachev changes his by realizing the serious threats expanding along Russia's entire southern periphery right now.
These aren't people who anyone can email and thus share their opinions with; "they're too big for that", one can say, but for that precise reason, they tend to care about what the public says about them, so my critical reviews being republished by other sites could attract their attention if they come up under Google searches (in the event that they search for who's saying what about them).
Be careful, Andrew, this kind of mandarin is the same everywhere. In France, I have known a couple of these "great minds." As human beings, they are pathetic. They are sneaky people, the worst kind of opportunists, true politicians of the intelligentsia, vindictive, petty, and extremely vain. In short, very dangerous if they feel threatened in the ivory tower they struggled so hard to climb to the top of, each step of which is adorned with the remains of one of their detractors or rivals.
These people are as vindictive and sneaky as harem favorites. Which is what they actually are.
You're right, I sensed that and even experienced it to a degree when I was at MGIMO, but I don't think these people see me as a threat in any way. There's no chance of me replacing them, nor am I interested in it. I just hope to raise awareness of these latent threats. I hope that someone here one day listens.
Wow! If these people only return favors sparingly and exclusively to those in power (economic and political) and to courtiers, they have an excellent memory and a vindictiveness as tenacious as their incredible pettiness. I note that many of them, drunk on their success, harbor a more or less serious perversity. Many end up entangled in sordid affairs of sexual misconduct, harassment, and pedophilia. Crushing a fly can give them a fleeting little pleasure. Closing every door to an insolent talented person and watching him sink socially without understanding where their failure comes from is a choice delight. I know this; I have heard them giggle with pleasure while recounting such things.
That's how I felt at certain times at Sputnik, for example when the website editors would "accidentally forget" to share my radio programs on the front page and social media, or when I came across very odd bureaucratic obstacles at MGIMO (including a spree of experts who refused to participate in my thesis defense despite being remunerated by the university for their time).
I can't put my finger on it, and maybe I'm wrong, but something just felt off about those experiences. I try not to dwell on them too much, but others have speculated what you have, namely that some people unknown to me were working against me for whatever their reasons are in their minds (I don't insult anyone here so I don't know why they did it if that's what was happening).
There were some other things that happened but I'm not going to discuss them, suffice to say, it instilled in me the belief that perhaps there really are some powerful people here who really don't like me but can't get rid of me since I follow the law to a tee.
Yes and today, on RT, Lukyanov drones on endlessly about Armenia... saying nothing. Absolutely nothing.
In essence, he says: "If it rains, you should know that water makes things wet, but well, if you want to go out in the rain, you go out... Especially since today's rain isn't yesterday's rain."
These are Russia's greatest geopolitical experts?
That's why I'll continue to follow you, Andrew.
Your work is immensely important for a good future in Russia with open discourse, especially within the NRPR!
Don't shut up!
Thank you!
I agree 100%
I think Russians are reticent in approaching former Soviet republics to not stir up more aversion than exists anyway. At least that's what I see in the Western neighbours like the Baltics or Poland. Also the Caucasus countries give the impression to be very sensitive concerning anything they perceive as a meddling in their affairs. I may be wrong and the 'stans are different and rather looking for Russian support.
I will just provide one link to one post on this Telegram channel. The posts before and after are just as relevant.
https://t.me/c/1212688710/4107
I dont understand how any business expert can ignore these developments and their significance for the peoples of Central Asia.
Thanks, but I can't access it. It says it's for members-only. Can you maybe please copy and paste whatever it is from there that you'd like to share if it's convenient? Thank you.
Oh, sorry. Maybe country-specific access. The articles are published on an internet site anyway, the Telegram channel is just a convenient method for me to scan them quickly.
https://minexforum.com/b5-1-business-forum-in-bishkek-draws-largest-ever-us-commercial-delegation-to-central-asia-as-private-sector-leads-engagement-push/
It's insane.
And its not just the US. EU is also clawing with hands and feet although they seem to lack the money.
Mind you, helping in mining and buying products in itself needn't be bad. It's just the finance capital and military context that makes one wary.
About 25 % of the population of Kazhekstan is Russian. Armenian and Georgians in the Caucause depend upon Russia for protection. Iran is a long time ally with Russia. All these countries are on Russia's borders. America is 1,000 miles away and will NEVER have the same influence as Russia. America stick to the Western Hemisphere which is where you belong.
In the Baltic statelets percentage of Russians was even higher. To no avail.