March 25, 2025

4 thoughts on “Russia’s Real End Game

  1. March 20, 1956 Speech by Comrade Khrushchev at the 6th PUWP CC Plenum, Warsaw

    Comrade Nikita S. Khrushchev: I think that all of our decisions correctly assessed the international situation, correctly point the way for the future development of our work.

    On domestic problems, on the construction of a communist society, our decisions have great meaning.

    The question now is how to use these decisions correctly.

    The main problem facing us before the 20th congress was the problem of peaceful co-existence, the struggle for peace.

    This is the main problem which we considered when we were preparing this congress and its resolutions.

    We are sure that the attempt succeeded.

    Our decisions will bring about a great attack from reactionary groups in the capitalist countries.

    Peace ensures the position of our supporters, and not only supporters, but even those who … who want to fight for peace.

    The 20th congress armed these people and showed them the enormous possibilities of the fight for peace.

    The problem concerns the reduction of arms – I’m not talking about complete disarmament, which we would all very much like.

    In London, a conference of the UN committee on the disarmament problem opened yesterday.

    I don’t think there are going to be any radical decisions taken, because this problem needs a lot of work.

    But, difficulties for American militaristic circles were created.

    The speech by Pinot, of which you are all familiar, already suggests that in the strictest sense, a common voice by countries which joined NATO, on the disarmament problem, does not exist.

    This is a great victory.

    I think that if you compare the positions of the United States of America, France, and the United Kingdom, all these three countries lack a single common perspective on this problem.

    Each has their own point of view, while France is closer to our understanding of the situation.

    England is less clear so as not to violate the unity of these three major countries.

    I think that England’s interests strongly differ from those of the United States of America on this problem.

    The situation right now is such that our adversary must take into consideration the forces of the socialist camp.

    Only this will force them to continue the talks on disarmament, as well as other contacts with us.

    Therefore, we are ready to put forward concrete proposals about disarmament and thus continue to fight for peace.

    We are ready for a partial withdrawal of troops from East Germany.

    If our partners correctly understand our propositions, continue to agree with them, and respond in kind to our propositions, I think, maybe, we will think about other propositions, which will put our opposition in even greater difficulty.

    But, for this, we need a little more time.

    Concerning the propositions of Mr. Eisenhower and “open skies,” this proposition deserves some attention.

    It deserves attention so that it can be thrown into the garbage.

    What does it mean to fly?

    What do you think — nothing else better to do… this is nonsense.

    It’s only advantage is to avoid concrete propositions about the reduction of arms.

    They gave us nonsense and they are trying to confuse us.

    I’m not letting you in on a secret.

    I said it to Eisenhower as soon as he finished his presentation, when we met at the buffet which he organized for the meeting.

    We had a glass of cognac and he asks me: “So?”

    And I told him: “In my opinion, your proposition is no good”.

    “Why?”

    “Because it does nothing good.”

    “All you are proposing is nonsense.”

    He replied: “Well, maybe the military judge it differently.”

    “Let’s ask Marshall Zhukov.”

    “What will he say?”

    And I said: “Ask Zhukov, let him judge.”

    “If such things were done during the war, right before the attack… Comrade Rokossowski… then you have to know where… during the war and for sometime since… then we already cannot imagine, because the enemy can always re-group his troops or use camouflage and then totally confuse us.”

    “But, what do you think, if we want to show you a factory then we can show you some kind of dummy; different lighting and you’ll photograph it all, and what will you get?”

    “It will be an empty place.”

    “But, we can do it, and you can do it, so why should we do such nonsense.”

    “Someone can ask, then why did we write that this proposition deserves attention?”

    “Because this capitalist language is such that you cannot just say, to hell with it.”

    You have to say that this problem demands deep investigation, and will be discussed… follow the rule, and it was written like this…

    Nehru asked me, when we talked with him and Bulganin in Delhi: What do you think about Eisenhower’s proposition?

    We take it for nonsense.

    But, you said it and admitted it; admitted it, and said: At the last stage.

    But, what does it mean, last stage.

    God knows, I myself do not know how to respond to such a thing.

    This is way we will not confuse ourselves and will expose their schemes.

    If we abruptly refused, it would have been to Eisenhower’s advantage.

    This is why they proposed such a thing.

    Then, later on, they would have said that Russians do not want to talk.

    Russians do not want to continue the talks.

    They want to conserve large armed forces.

    They want to be in charge of everybody, and so on.

    To avoid this, we had to give such an answer.

    But, we specifically said, let’s cut the troops by 640 thousand.

    Now we’re trying to increase this number, and it’s not a bird in the bush but a real bird in the hands, and it will be the conception… for the understanding of our supporters in the struggle for peace.

    1. THE GUARDIAN

      “Defiant Putin warns the west: your sanctions are akin to an act of war”

      Toby Helm, Luke Harding in Lviv, Daniel Boffey in Brussels & Julian Borger in Washington

      Sat 5 Mar 2022

      Vladimir Putin delivered a chilling warning to the west over the imposition of sanctions on Russia on Saturday, warning that measures designed to cripple his country’s economy were “akin to an act of war”.

      Later, Russia’s foreign ministry followed up Putin’s warning by specifically singling out the UK for what it called “sanctions hysteria” and its prominent role in supporting Ukraine.

      Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said Russia would not forget the UK’s cooperation with Kyiv.

      “The sanctions hysteria in which London plays one of the leading, if not the main, roles, leaves us no choice but to take proportionately tough retaliatory measures,” she said, adding that Britain’s Russian interests would be “undermined” by Moscow’s response.

      In Washington, there has been talk of offering Putin a so-called “golden bridge” – blocking all his avenues of advance while making retreat as attractive as possible.

      US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Friday the door to negotiation was open.

      “If they show any signs of being willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, of course we’ll engage,” he said.

      But western diplomats do not believe Putin is in the mood to backdown or negotiate.

      US officials hope the economic pain inflicted on Russia will force Putin to climb down.

      But some critics of the Biden administration’s response argue the “golden bridge” has not been signposted clearly enough.

      “If the goal is to compel, then the sanctioners need to be explicit about what Russia can do to get the sanctions lifted,” Dan Drezner, a political scientist and sanctions expert at Tufts University, wrote in the Washington Post.

      “That lack of clarity undermines coercive bargaining, because the targeted actor believes sanctions will stay in place no matter what they do.”

  2. We would never have won WWII without Russia’s help. If we were to go to war with China, we better hope Russia will help us again.

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