Welcome to the USSRA

[asthfghl]

Oh well. It's not like you guys weren't warned, and many times. Sadly, you'll now have to face, and very shortly, the two faces of Soviet life. I'm talking to you, ma'dear Americans. And those two faces of Soviet life? 1) Soviet-style dictatorship and 2) Post-Soviet style oligarchy. You'll be facing them both at the same time, and pretty soon I'm afraid.

Do I sound too doomsday-ey? Oo-kaay, if you say so.

Funny thing: Until not so long ago, I sincerely used to believe you guys were the most immune folks to this sort of devilry. Guess I was wrong. You've brought both Soviet demons to your own doorstep, and without anyone forcing you to do so.

It's been clear to everyone, certainly to Putin and certainly to the most of the rest of the world: war on American soil is never possible to happen again - unless... Well... Unless you choose to go down the Soviet path. This was the only way Putin could bring war to your doorstep. And he has now done it. And you've allowed it.

You were warned. Let's not pretend that you weren't.

In 2021, reports emerged that Donald Trump had been "bred" as a Russian agent. Remember all that? Apparently not. Or perhaps you chose not to believe it. Who knows. Seems unbelievable, doesn't it? But stranger things have happened in this world. You're about to see some of them first-hand. Let me tell you from experience, the stuff you're going to face from now on is not going to be pleasant for you. Soviet dictatorship and post-Soviet oligarchy are among the most frightening and destructive forces in history. They're certainly among the most crushing to human dignity. And you're about to face both of them, simultaneously. Sooner than you suspect.

Let’s recap: Donald Trump was reportedly "bred" as a Russian agent for 40 years, according to Yuri Shvets, a former KGB spy. Shvets claims Trump’s susceptibility to flattery has made the Big Orange Head an ideal target for recruitment starting in the 1980s: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book

To summarize, Trump's ties to Russia reportedly began when he purchased TVs for his first hotel from a company linked to the USSR. These connections then deepened during a 1987 Trump trip to Moscow, where the KGB allegedly encouraged him to pursue political ambitions. Not long after, Trump published newspaper ads criticizing NATO and its US allies, which Shvets says were celebrated by the KGB as a successful operation with satisfactory results (from their perspective).

In 2021, The Guardian published the above article. It's both a very comprehensive read AND not a very pleasant read. You should try reading it anyway. Maybe it'll trigger a red light in your head. Or maybe it won't. The article describes how Shvets compares Trump to infamous Cold War spies and criticizes the Mueller report for failing to fully investigate Trump's ties to Russia.

Then we have Craig Unger’s book "American Kompromat" which explores these claims further, highlighting how Trump's vanity and narcissism have made him an ideal target for recruitment. While Trump wasn't initially part of a grand Russian plan per se, his rise, according to Shvets, is evidence of the success of decades-long KGB influence. These guys would naturally try to recruit whomever they can in whatever way possible, just in case those targets are needed in the future - and Trump has proven a good pick in this respect.

The signs are everywhere. Nowadays, Trump displays indifference toward Ukraine and has repeatedly demonstrated warmer ties with Putin. You probably remember his greeting to the North Korean general during his previous term. Trump's right-hand man, Elon Musk, openly mocks Zelensky, a wartime leader who's done his best to lead his nation through an unequal fight against Russia's war machine.

In the meantime, Musk has been revealed to maintain frequent contacts with Putin. He reportedly disabled his Starlink satellites early in the Russian-Ukrainian war, sabotaging a Ukrainian attempted attack on Russian warships. When Ukrainian naval drones attempted to strike, the Starlink connection was abruptly cut on Musk's orders. The attack subsequently failed, and those same warships later did bomb Ukrainian cities, killing civilians.

But I'm guessing you wouldn't be prepared to believe that THESE people could side with Putin, do you? After all, Trump has sworn by everything sacred that he's a patriot and he wouldn't put America at risk, hasn't he? Well, he did also promise many other things, such as that he'd be sworn in on TWO Bibles (and he didn't even put his hand on one, but I digress).

Point is... Some of us non-American folks didn't want to believe you guys would elect Trump as president - TWICE - so... as you can see, weird stuff happens all the time.

Or perhaps you don't CARE that THESE people could side with Putin? Now that's a different thing. Why-oh-why do you hate America?!?!1

But let's go back to that 2021 book, American Kompromat. Former KGB Major Yuri Shvets recalls how the KGB spent quite some time gathering extensive information about Trump's personality and intel on him on a personal level. The KGB consensus was that Trump was highly vulnerable intellectually and psychologically, and prone to flattery. So that was what they decided to exploit with him. Flattery.

They played their game as though they were deeply impressed by his personality, creating the impression in him that they believed he was the kind of person who should one day become President of the United States. That's what the former KGB agent recounts. They convinced Trump he could change the world one day, instilled a missionary agenda in his mind. That was their plan, they fed him this Kool-Aid gradually, in bite-sized pieces that he could digest more easily.

Shvets emphasizes that this eventually turned out to be a major success for the KGB at the time, and has now proven to produce a huge outcome in the long run. Because lo and behold, now this man is your President. Not without help from Putin's troll army and his corporate friends, the most prominent of whom doesn't shy away from giving the Nazi salute - you know who I'm talking about here.

So yeah. It's not like you weren't warned repeatedly. Let me repeat: Soviet dictatorship and post-Soviet oligarchy are among the most terrifying and destructive forces in history. They are certainly some of the most degrading to human dignity. And you are now about to experience them both. Despite everyone believing you were forever immune to all that. Believe me, I'm telling you from experience: you won't be the same afterwards.

Comments

[mahnmut]

Doubtless, hilarious times are ahead.

Needless to say, I'm stocking up popcorn.

[garote]

I think the biggest factor in the persistence of the USSR and of Putin in today’s times is the learned helplessness and cynicism of Russian citizenry.

I do see a lot of similar hand-wringing and wailing among the “left” in my community, but just as much defiance and anger.

I think oligarchy is too simple of an outcome here. For better or worse. I think what happens in the next four years is going to be much … louder.

[dexeron]

"I sincerely used to believe you guys were the most immune folks to this sort of devilry."

That was your first mistake. The American people have had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, through every major advance in civil rights. There's a reason Ruby Bridges' school attendance had to be enforced with the barrel of a Federal gun. We lag behind every other developed nation in so many metrics, especially in terms of the way we approach health-care - hell, any form of "care" for anyone not already wealthy enough not to need help obtaining it. We defeated slavery in a brutal war, and only ten years later decided to let the slavers have their way again, for temporal political gain, and we allowed them to rule undisputed in their territories for another hundred years. We have a man with the ear of the President (who might as well BE the President, to be honest) who threw an obvious Nazi salute in front of millions, and half of our pundit class is arguing we didn't see what we all obviously saw, and the other half is arguing over whether it's worth worrying about all that much.

This is who we are, and who we have always been. While some of us think we can be better, and continue to fight to try to make that so, we are not surprised to be reminded that too many of us are more than happy to live down to our worst expectations. Those of us wishing for (and fighting for) a better America are in a very low place right now, and honestly I'm not sure whether we, as a nation, are going to survive the next four years.