I don’t see how you guys are reading this as having and American slant. The authors aren’t even American (I know them from a conference) and it seems pretty impartial to me.

Yes, every country has trouble escaping it’s past, but Russia’s relationship to it’s past seems interesting to me and is unique.

Everest Mokaeff well said. You said what I wanted to say but couldn’t be bothered. Yes; good point, who the hell are these goons that wrote this garbage? I don’t have to tell you that this sick view of history is the American view of history. As quite a few of American High School history teachers have said, American history (British too) is the only subject where the students graduate dumber than when they started. That it was the Russians that destroyed Hitler’s Wehrmacht at Stalingrad and Kursk cannot be stated. Instead we have the Hollywood John Wayne bullshit – who was an asshole anyway.

The article fell face down to deliver. I know that it’s easier to destroy witness’ credibility than attack head-on the facts presented, but I take my chances and start with Ivo Mijnssen and Philipp Casula. Who are you guys? What is your personal standing on the issue? You several times mentioned so called Katyn massacre as if it should be construed as a gospel denying us any good part in the war of 1941-1945. You’re repeatedly and bitterly complaining that Russia sometimes seem to be overreacting and for some stupid reason can’t see a messianic US nuclear arm reaching out to embrace us - stupid russkies -  and protect from barbarians of Mideast. Can’t you conjure up something better than this? Do you really think we’re scared of countries in our backyard? Don’t be that naive. During all our history it was the western culturally-dominating, industrially-advanced, military-outstanding countries that attack us. Take a trip to the local library and check for yourselves when last time American and British troops were in Russia and what they were doing there.

Now lets see the facts.

1. What business do you have in our military parade? What is so special about it? Why you deny nation which lost 20-27 million people in that war it’s own day to honor it’s heros? You can’t say it in open so you cowardly imply that we do not deserve to be sat at the table among true victors - GB, US, France (can’t help but laugh about the latter).

2 You sampled our tensioned relations with Poland as to show our vicious character (to solidify your previous questioning of our integrity and advance your agenda to prove that we became a part of saint GB-US troops by accident). Why don’t you say that our troubled history goes back as far as 1242. Why don’t you never say how many times they invaded us, why don’t say that in war of 1605-18 they took and burned down Moscow. Why should we trust them when they readily accept US proposal to host Patriots to cut off on our ability to make a retaliation strike?

3 Stalin! Once again, please do not play old game. Why Herry S. Truman is being praised throughout the world as a true human rights champion instead of being tried at Nuremberg for annihilating Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oh yeah, I forgot, the history is being written by victors. Another war hero beyond any reproach Winston Churchill. Now only mind-wracked liberals still dare to quote Mr. Churchill humanistic proposals on how to treat uncivilized tribes with poison gas.

4 You stated as-a-matter-of-factly that Russia has no voice in NATO and is keen to compromise it because Russia looks flat in comparison alone with such a grandiose structure - pure manifestation of goodness and humanity. Why don’t you say that NATO was conceived with conceit to contain red menace, i.e. Russia. Why you never mention the fact that since collapse of Warsaw pact and subsequent demise of Soviet Union, NATO did noting but extended closer and closer towards Western Russian borders. It was done in clear violation of previously politically declared commitments not to expand NATO if Gorbachev agreed to reunification of both Germanys. Are you still surprised that we don’t wont to take your word on anything?

Stop making villains out of us according to the rules of successful Hollywood production: there should be bad guys and good ones. We are the good ones.

Nothing really new to be found here: an article that panders to the American ego. A lot of what the authors write about can be applied to the US or any country that has had an empire. And every country has a few skeletons in the closet that it would rather not pull out. But it’s nice to demonize the Russians as this is part of the current grand chess game.
Quote:
Domestically, the Russian government has also shown an increased willingness to confront the darker sides of its past.

Would be nice if the US thought the same, reads like an undergraduate paper with a stiff upper lip Churchillian post-war view of recent history – I’ll give it a C-.

Right to bear arms is an universla right. Poland or finland have that right; including the right to possess N-weapons.
But N-weapons shld be controled by them and not be another very expansionistic empire.

Poles and czechs thus wisely deocided not to allow another empire’s N-weapons on their soil.

It shld be noted that i spurn all land theft; russian included. tnx

Living in Eastern Europe and being married to a Russian woman gives me a unique insight into this turbulent place.  The author is certainly right that the former republics of the Soviet Union are intimately intertwined with the events of the war.  The union lost between 20-27 million people to the Nazi terror and few families don’t have a very personal connection to that conflict.  My wife’s mother lost her father, a fighter pilot, but they don’t know when or where.  The German army occupied the Crimea for some time and there are heroic monuments all over the place.  I often drive past the beach where Soviet troops stormed ashore in their bid to retake this valuable place.  I often see old men, their chests filled with medals, as they celebrate once again their great victories.  They call the war “The Great Patriotic War” ... not a title one can quibble about.  My friends universally believe the USSR won the war ... everyone else contributed little or nothing.  They point to the above number and laugh at the 300-400K soldiers America lost.  In their eyes, we did nothing.

There is a dark side to this fascination.  They cannot let go of the fear and apprehension.  They see bad guys behind every tree.  They tend to be paranoid about security.  It makes conversation and agreement difficult when one party is deeply suspicious all the time.  I am not glad that Putin chose to restart the parades.  It is time for this part of the world to make peace and to stop looking over their shoulders all the time.  Paranoia is a bad thing when held for so long.

Of course, this country has problems escaping its own past. It can’t free itself from its Cold-War mentality, and thus feels the need to maintain the military-industrial complex and its self-image as the “bulwark of the West” and the “bright-shining city on top of a hill”, even if it means national collapse due to imperial overstretch.

And as for criticizing another country, I would note that the Lord said, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

Pots should not call kettles black, nor should those who dwell in glass houses throw stones.