this post was submitted on 18 May 2026
96 points (74.2% liked)
Memes
55824 readers
971 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
NATO is the inter-imperialist alliance. Imperialism isn't war, it's a stage in capitalism and it results in vast plundering of resources and exploitation of labor in the periphery for the benefit of the imperial core. War is used as one option to maintain imperialism, as are sanctions and the buildup of dependence (such as exporting machinery that requires specific spare parts that only the imperialist country can produce).
The USSR was anti-imperialist, which is why so much of the west was hostile towards it. The USSR was aiding liberation movements around the world, which dramatically hurt the profits of the western ruling classes.
I unfortunately know a bit too many eastern europeans who experienced this aid to see the kremlin with rose tinted glasses. Of course "a random person on the internet said NATO is good actually" won't change anyones mind, but I would generally recommend everyone to broaden which media they read. It is possible for several things to be true at the same time, for example both that the endless wars in the middle east and Africa are imperialist, and that there is a valid need for military defense against Russia, even if it is flawed.
Russia has absolutely no interest in invading Europe. This is a narrative used to justify increasing European military budgets as the spoils of imperialism are drying up and the global south is gaining more independence from the US and Europe. NATO is a blight on human progress and needs to be dissolved for a better future.
Saying it again for those too busy mocking the schoolteachers to hear the lesson, let alone study it.
Holy Nazi apologia
Look at this fascist over here complaining that Russia "invaded" Europe in WW2.
Zhukovquote.jpg
So is Ukraine not in Europe or not being invaded? How about Georgia and Moldova? I guess the constant threats against Svalbard and Baltikum, as well as the funding and bribery of alt-right groups all over the west can be seen as technically not an invasion, but it does paint a scary picture. It might be true that Putin don't want to invade western and northern Europe, but he is actively trying to reconquer what he sees as lost western colonies.
The "invasion" began in 2014 when the US orchestrated a hostile takeover of the Ukrainian government. It was then continued with several years of the nazis in Ukraine bombing the Donbass, breaching two peace treaties. Russia then responded to that agression, which one can think a lot of things about. The "invasion" was the US-coup-government of Ukraine invading the Donbass.
I thought the biggest difference between Russian and US propaganda was that Russians knows its propaganda. I remember I heard an interview of one of these Ukrainian Nazi leaders, Yan Petrovskiy, running much of the "Ukraine Nazi leaders civil war" where Putin later invaded. He is a Russian born in Norway. So is the Russian propaganda getting better, or are Russians getting dumber to believe it?
What are you trying to say? That the many documented breaches of Minsk 1 and 2 didn't happen, that Azov battalion didn't get integrated into the military and government, or that observing the events that led to war is propaganda?
If Putin said that grass is green, then that doesn't suddenly make it purple.
I think you need to consider that you yourself are not immune to propaganda and your idea of what propaganda is; how it disseminates; what purpose it serves; and who the largest purveyors of it is in the west is lacking.
The crisis in Ukraine was sparked by aggressive NATO expansion, a western-backed Banderite coup in 2014, and the inability of Russia to resolve the ensuing civil war and ethnic cleansing committed by the new Kiev regime against the Donbass with the Minsk agreements. Russia wanted to join NATO decades ago and join the imperialist club, but the west decided it would rather re-colonize Russia, hence the reciprocation from Russia.
In that case, it seems our views on reality and sources are too far apart to find agreement in a comment thread. If you get the chance, I would highly recommend visiting the ex-soviet republics in eastern Europe and speaking with the locals, including the Russian diaspora there. That has been eye opening for me.
Most people in many post-soviet countries such as Romania say that life was better under socialism, and that's despite 35 years of anticommunist propaganda based on cold war myths and anti-Russian racism.
Go ahead, tell us again how wonderfully well capitalism has worked for Ukraine
I'd love to visit if I ever get the chance, for now the best I can do is pay attention to what's available.
i've been looking for a western source that the american freedom of information act doesn't immediately prove is propaganda; do you have any to share?
here's a tldr and a clickable link if you've never heard of the freedom of information act:
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law in the United States that grants individuals the right to request access to records held by federal government agencies. This law was enacted to promote transparency and accountability within the government.
Here's a recent article that may be relevant.
Except now it's being used to go after potential doubters.