Quote Originally Posted by kettering_baggie View Post
It is ironic that the UK probably saved Stalin and the USSR from defeat by Hitler in WW2; we supplied an enormous amount of stuff via the Arctic Convoys, costing many British lives in so doing, to Russia and then, prior to the crucial battle of Kursk, the Bletchley Park codebreakers provided the Soviets with the German battle plan. So, when the Germans attacked, the soviets were ready for them; without that information, the Germans would probably have won that battle and gone on to take Moscow. The Allies would still almost certain the war but the World wouldn’t have had to deal with the monster that was Stalin, who was at least as bad as Hitler. There are some interesting reads about the Russian psyche and it makes for uncomfortable reading.
My Uncle was on the Arctic convoys in WW2. But let's not forget Russia was allied with Germany until Germany stabbed Russia in the back. We helped them out of necessity not because we had any love for them. The same as now, we support Ukraine because we don't like the Russians not because we like Ukraine, we never gave a toss about Ukraine until a few months ago, in fact we moaned about how racist the people were to our black England players. Does anyone seriously think Ukraine would have given a toss about us if we had been invaded?
Politics and human nature are the problems. Politicians decide which country is flavour of the month and which is the big bad wolf and get the media to whip the peasants into a frenzy. Millions of our young men died in two world wars against a country that saw Jews, Russians and Slavs as little more than animals to be slaughtered. A few years later we are big buddies with Germany, politicians tell us to join them in the EU, and the peasants go about smiling because their leaders no best.
Russia has been invaded for hundreds of years by Vikings, Mongols, French and Germans, so you can understand their psyche in not trusting anyone.
If you were a kid and got bullied and beaten up every time you left the house, you would stay in and play with yourself.😂
Humans always have to pick a side. I never have. If two friends start fighting I let them get on with it.