Originally Posted by
peter we
Putin makes laws in *Russia* so he can claim he is a democracratically elected politician who doesn't break the law.
it's a smart approach.
maybe, or maybe "smart" would be avoiding being an aggressor and reducing the tensions that Russia apparently feels around the borders. The argument gets aired that had NATO disbanded after the collapse of the USSR, then Russia would not have felt threatened. The following countries were not threatening Russia, had historical ties and paid dearly for having a brutal country beside them:
- 1991-1993 Georgian "civil" war round 1
- 1992-1993 Abkhazia
- 1992-1997 Tajikistan (ostensible "civil" war) Georgia,
- 1992 East Prigordiny
- 1992 Transnistria
- 1994-1996 Chechnya, round 1
- 1999 Dagestan
- 1999-2000 Chechnya, round 2
- 2000-2009 Chechnya insurgency.
- 2007-2015 Ingushetia
- 2009-2017 North Caucusus insurgency
- 2008 Georgian war round 2
Seems unhealthy to expect your borders to be respected by Russia. Of the other 16 conflicts in the region, all pre the NATO justification used in 2014, all have the hint of Russian meddling in internal politics. It would be irrational to assume that Russia cares about any other state other than the state of Putin's kleptocrat's bank accounts. Or maybe he is Mother Teresa reincarnated and just has bad
PR managers.