Russian tanks in Kyiv

Long time ago, professor Searle explained to us that the German and the Japanese societies chose democracy and peace after the WWWII not because they suddenly realized the advantages of democracy and peace. Rather, he said, it happened because they were utterly defeated militarily and their economies were largely destroyed. Rebuilding an empire, like that happened in post-WWI Germany, was not an option. As the result, the people of Germany and Japan reaped enormous benefits of democracy and peace, restoring and exceeding their earlier standings in the world.

Given the current Russian aggression against the Ukrainian state, we need to make sure that a similar mental shift happens in the Russian society. It will take a while, though. I hope it won't take another WW; therefore, crippling economic sanctions would be a good start. It also helps that Putin is doing everything in his power to cripple his own country himself. Moreover, I don't think being friends with China is a good option for him either. Because who needs enemies if you have a cunning and powerful friend like China?

BTW, I don't know how to translate "недобитая [империя]" into English. Google offers "unfinished" but it doesn't sound right to me.

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Today, I was able to understand myself and explain it to my colleague how Putin is committing a mortal sin when he orders his army to invade Ukraine. The most common accusation is that he's violating "Thou shall not murder" commandment (Exodus 20:12). But an apologist may reasonably deny the sin because a) he doesn't commit the murder himself [ his soldiers do]; and b) it's a war and not every war killing is a murder.

But it's undeniable that as a professional KGB officer under the Soviet regime he was trained to "bear false witness against thy neighbour" (Exodus 20:12). He did it against dissidents back then and he continued doing it in Russia when he took over FSB in 1999 and then became the country's president later.

Today, he commits the same sin with regard to Ukraine when he demands "denazification." That is, he bears a false witness against the people of Ukraine and their elected government, by accusing them of genocide. It's not just an exaggeration on his part; you know, the kind of exaggeration sales people engage in when selling you their stinking product. Rather, it's a deliberate KGB-style lie and a libel. He had repeatedly committed this sin before and he's committing it now. If hell exists, he goes directly there after his death. The sooner, the better.

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Also, he committed the same sin when he implied that the Ukrainian Army was involved in shooting down MH17.

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Putin delenda est

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