One thing about the Ukraine War is it makes us think about ideas we have accepted as fact in the past.
For instance, why does anyone believe that Russia should be any different from France or Great Britain or ancient Rome or ancient Greece?
Those countries and civilizations had to face the reality that they were no longer the great powers they once were. The fact that Putin can’t accept that Russia is no longer a super power is his failing not ours. Great Britain had to face this fact, so did France and civilizations going back to the beginning of recorded time. Russia ranks 11 in the GDP scale behind such countries like Canada, and Italy. The only reason it is not being bombed back to the stone age now is because it has nuclear weapons.
I hear some commentators saying Russia has not gotten the respect it deserved as a means to justify Putin’s thinking. Perhaps those commentators believe a GDP ranking of 11 makes one special. The reality is that Russia is not any more special then Britain or France are and there is no reason it should be treated so. In fact, placing it on the United Nations security council is a gift it should not get based on its economy. Other countries are more deserving in that regard. Meanwhile, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, China, Israel and Pakistan not to mention the USA are also nuclear powers and probably North Korea as well. Should they all get more respect just because they have nuclear weapons? And lets be real – the world is not binary any more. If anything China is a far bigger deal than Russia ever will be. India could be as well. Putin and his successors will have to get used to the fact that times have changed, just like Great Britain, France, Spain, etc etc had to. Or they need to buckle up and take advantage of the vast resources it has and develop its economic potential to become a world leader. If its leaders want to be treated as great they need to make the country great. Invading Ukraine will not make them great.
Sorry, I don’t buy the argument that Russia was mistreated. It was treated just as it deserved. Putin is just another cry baby except he has nuclear weapons. That is reality.