Re: Russian money in the Baltics


santaka13@xxxxxxxxx rakst ja:
On Jul 4, 3:48 pm, Aleks <aleks.tapi...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
santak...@xxxxxxxxx rakst ja:

On Jul 4, 2:52 pm, Aleks <aleks.tapi...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You appear to suggest that Latvia's relatively young age since its
foundation in 1918

What you mean is "the relatively young age of the Republic of Latvia
since its foundation in 1918".

I could equally say the same about the USA. "Some kind of age of
America since its foundation in 1776." Of course, I don't mean the
continent, but the country. I think you're being just a bit touchy on
this issue. Latvia is a short form for the Republic of Latvia.

Oh, really? So then Wikipedia's sentence "At the end of the 1100s,
Latvia was often visited by
traders from western Europe who set out on trading journeys along
Latvia's longest river, the Daugava, to Russia."
really means "At the end of the 1100s, the Republic Latvia was often
visited by traders from western Europe ... " ?

Wikipedia isn't the gospel. That's just one point.

Secondly, Britannica writes: "During the 10th and 11th centuries
Latvian lands were subject to a double pressure: from the east there
was Slavic penetration; from the west came the Swedish push toward the
shores of Courland." It acknowledges the existence of Latvian lands,
but it's not the same as to say "Latvia."

In that way, your Wikipedia's sentence could be written as "At the end
of the 1100s, Latvian lands were often visited by traders from
western Europe who set out on trading journeys along the Daugava
river to Russia."



Perhaps, Russia does have a whole lot in common with Empires past and present.

Aleks

It certainly has a lot more in common with Communist China than with
any European country.

Sure it does. European countries policies in Africa in the past is a prime example...

Aleks

Yeah, but they finally became civilised - when they relinquished their
colonies.

How many years of the colonial rule did it take? And perhaps more
importantly, how much of that colonial rule is still felt in former
colonies, especially when it comes to language?

What many Russians will not admit is that they are still a
colonial power, because everything east of the Urals (and some things
west of it too) are just colonised land, held in thrall by brute
force, to be brutally russified and economically exploited.

The difference though is that, say, Britain colonized away from its
territory. India and Pakistan, Canada and Australia, share no common
borders with Britain. Russia's colonization of Poland, for example,
added Poland to its territory.

The
Russians
even tried that in Lithuania at one stage with Muravyov the Hangman
and Severno-zapadnij kraj and the book ban and all that. EU and NATO
are our guarantee that it won't happen again. Which makes Putin
catatonic with despair.

To be honest, I don't think Putin is salivating at taking Lithuania --
or any of the Baltic states -- as a country back. The times have
changed dramatically so that I don't see one European power -- even
Russia -- annexing, occupying, or incorporating the territory of
another state.

Now Russian money play much bigger role is keeping the spheres of
influence in the Baltics. Heavy dependence on Russian sources of
energy, for example, or dependence on trade for the Baltic economic
development -- these are the tools used to further Russian interests
in the Baltic States.

Now the game plan is quite different and, most importantly, it's
working. The plan is wedging a rift between European partners to
achieve economic and political dominance in the region.

Exploiting the disagreements among Western powers for Russia's
interests isn't anything new in Russian politics. Stalin was a master
of that policy before World War II, from negotiations with France and
Britain to keep Hitler at bay, to signing of the M-R pact, to dividing
and conquering Europe following World War II.

Aleks

.

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