"If a major war breaks out, Europe will simply cease to exist": Sergey Karaganov one of Kremlin's ideologist, honorary chairman of the presidium of the council for foreign and defense policy in Russia.
The rhetoric of this interview is very hostile towards Europe and the West. I decided to share several points from it. Let me know your opinion.
(My thoughts are that the violent and hostile rhetoric of Russian officials towards the West often directly corellates with problems in the Russian economy)
Key points from Karaganov's interview with Multipolar:
"We must overcome the strategic parasitism that has taken shape in recent years and has especially gripped the European public. They have lost their fear of war, particularly nuclear war. Europe, which historically was a source of great conflicts, racism, and colonialism briefly managed to forget its responsibility and guilt thanks to the bipolar stability between the U.S. and the USSR. Now that Europe itself poses the greatest threat, it must remember its history of major wars. Restoring the fear of war - including fear of nuclear war - is necessary. This is the key to returning Europe to its geopolitical responsibility."
A nuclear war in Europe, he says, would mean that "most European countries would turn into a wasteland."
"We are dealing - especially in Europe - with absolutely insane people. The European elite I grew up around is gone; it has degenerated. A number of European countries are governed by people with 'hyena brains' who have no understanding of the consequences of their actions. Dialogue with them is pointless. They must fear only one thing: physical pain."
"However, we can negotiate with the Americans, who have preserved much more of their human potential and their understanding of what war actually means."
"If an economic war is being waged against us, then we must respond with military means. It is a war. Sanctions must be met with military strikes."
"We must present the West with a tough ultimatum. First: an immediate end to all military support for the conflict in Ukraine. Second: the complete and unconditional return of our sovereign funds."
"The Russian economy cannot be brought to its knees. We are doing very well."
"What seemed radical a few years ago - the need for preventive strikes or even nuclear retaliation - has now become the dominant view. Up to 90% of the Russian population and 95% of the military-political elite share this view."
"I do not believe any European security order will remain. Our thinking is now within a Eurasian framework. Europe is merely an unpleasant western appendage of Eurasia."
"If we are dealing with a creation of Satan, we must wage war against Satan. And today’s Europe, in its current form, is a creation of Satan. This is a holy war."
"If German media and the establishment want to start another war, I guarantee you this: there will be no Germany anymore - ever. As a country, it will cease to exist. Germany has already inflicted immense damage on Europe, humanity, and itself. If it is indeed seeking revenge again, as it appears now, I will continue to state publicly: Germany must be destroyed."
"As for our Finnish neighbors: in the event of war, it is in our interest that they be eliminated. So they would be well advised to drastically reduce their military presence on their territory."
"Some European countries should be incorporated into the new Russian system of cooperation and security. I am almost certain that once the current difficult phase is over, many Central and Southern European countries will join the common Eurasian security architecture."
"Part of the territory formerly known as Ukraine will become part of the Russian Federation. On the rest, a completely denazified and demilitarized zone must be created."
"Russia needs absolutely nothing from the West. We are not interested in a single square meter of its territory or in any resources. We demand and desire only one thing: that the West fails."
"With their shortsighted policies, the West has turned Russia and China into an unbeatable tandem. Together, we are much stronger than the entire West."
"Democracy is the worst form of governing complex societies - surpassed only by bloody dictatorship. Instead, we need effective local self-governance and what I call a 'leadership democracy': essentially a classical aristocratic republic at the top, complemented by strong local democracy where people manage their own affairs."
"We will maneuver and play while U.S. attempts to undermine Russia fail. They will fail because of the enormous number of strategic mistakes the Americans have made. The most important: their rejection of the Russian elite’s desire to integrate into the West in the early 1990s. I was astonished by this enormous stupidity at the time."
"Siberia is not hard labour and not a backward region - it is the land of the future. We are carrying out serious and extensive program work involving thousands of people. The future lies there. Siberia borders the regions of the future - Asia. Our strategic orientation is not just eastward but also southward. Thanks to its competitive advantages - vast energy reserves, farmland, and water - Siberia can and must become the 'grain basket of Asia'."
Source: multipolar-magazin.de/artikel/interv…
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