Thread by @andersostlund

From Moscow I know what to expect.
It's Berlin that worries me. Why is it so hard for German leaders to stand untied against war and brutal human rights violations? I don't mean some token gesture but real action. Something that has effect.

https://twitter.com/andersostlund/status/1482685278032740352

No other government in Europe has had more potential influence over Russia than the German one. But in my opinion that influence has not been used for good but rather the opposite, it has been used to protect Russia and give it freedom of maneuver.

I follow many German political and security analysts here and I see how many of them are becoming more and more frustrated by the German governments position towards Russia. The analysts wants a harder stand, it's clear to me.

Russia is about to launch an all out offensive in Ukraine, and elsewhere too maybe. But German Social Democrats are worried about a too aggressive tone from the West.

https://twitter.com/Ralf_Stegner/status/1482641854617296896

Luckily there are heroes out there. @UmlandAndreas managed to collect signatures from 70+ academics for an open letter that demands a harder German stand against Russia. I understand the letter might be translated and published in additional media too.
zeit.de/politik/auslan…

There is a lot of talk about German economic interests in Russia, and that those interests are so vital for Germany that it is willing to overlook Russian wars against its neighbors. But I think it's emotional too. So many on the German left support Russia, not only capitalists.

If media published a photo of a German politician with some nazi-related insignia that politician's career would probably end right there. But supporting Russia is not a problem, despite the well established fact that Russia support every single fascist movement in Europe.

We should never trivialize what the nazis did but why is it so accepted in Germany to support the neo-fascist regime in Russia? Voicing against fascism and supporting the Nord Stream pipelines are contradictory. Nord Stream produce the money and power for the fascists in Europe.

It's time we discussed the Russian state ideology. It is marked by militarism, revisionism, oppression, vulgarism, brutality, Russian nationalism (one people, one country, one leader), autocracy, state control on every level of society, worshipping of ancient military glories.

Wherever you search for an academic definition of fascism you will find a list of attributes that fits the Russian state ideology. I know fascism is often used as a negative phrase in general but I am referring to academic definitions here. Russia is a fascist state now.

I know the nazi regime in Germany and WWII are still sensitive topics in Germany, and they should be. But if Germany carry a historic guilt towards Russia it's not a reason to apologize for, or refuse to resist, Russia's current crimes.

It is also important to remember that Belarus and Ukraine took the worst from the nazi war machine during WWII, not Russia. Both Belarus and Ukraine were totally overrun. Cities like Minsk and Kharkiv almost totally destroyed. Millions of people died.

https://twitter.com/BelarusInSweden/status/1482697293455568900

Wise words in the attached tweet. The lesson from WWII is that we should fight evil, irregardless where it comes from and be willing to take some costs for doing so. Morals matter. Right and wrong matters.

https://twitter.com/BelarusInSweden/status/1482697300229173249

Many people in Europe and elsewhere are asking themselves if Germany has learnt the correct lesson from WWII. Personally I think Germany's "never again" slogan is sincere, it's just not followed with regards to Russia. Many German leaders have shown tolerance for Russia's wars.

German attitudes towards Russia has perplexed so many people that there are even books written about it. I can highly recommend "Germany's Russia Problem". It analyze the issue in detail, with excellent references.
amazon.com/Germanys-Russi…

The above mentioned book shows that even if the Social Democrats usually are more Russia friendly than the rest the supporting attitudes towards Russia is present in most German parties. After Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 there were many German politicians who defended Russia.

I should remind that pro-Russian politicians is a problem not just in Germany but since Germany is Europe's most powerful country, and has levers of influence over Russia, it is most relevant. Also Germany should, given its history, know better and thus resit harder IMO.

One argument that is often used against Ukraine, all over the world, is that Ukrainians collaborated with the invading nazis during WWII and that what happened on EuroMaidan in 2014 was a nazi coup and that the Ukrainian government ever since has been extremist.

That many Ukrainians greeted the invading German army in 1941 as liberators was more about Stalin than Hitler. People who lived under Stalin and had survived Holodomor would probably greet any invader as a savior, and they didn't know much about the nazis.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

That EuroMaidan was a far-right project is just plain false. EuroMaidan started about the Association Agreement with the EU but due to repression from Yanukovych regime it came to be against him, his regime and corruption as well.

During EuroMaidan the regime tried to enforce a dictatorship and the protests hardened and became violent. Where there far-right extremists at EuroMaidan? Yes. Where there rabbis at EuroMaidan? Yes. Where the LGBT community at EuroMaidan? Yes.

Where most people at EuroMaidan far-right, jewish or LGBT? No. Most people were ordinary middle class types like myself who want to live in a liberal democracy. As in many other revolutions it was the middle class that sought more power at the expense of the corrupt elites.

In the end EuroMaidan won against Yanukovych because he used lethal violence against the protesters but failed to get the support among his security services for even more wide spread violence, similar to what we saw in Kazakhstan lately. Reasons are disputed, this is my view.

The massacre on Maidan took place on February 20th 2014. That afternoon the Ukrainian parliament started to gather. As more MPs arrived it was finally clear that Yanukovych had lost support in parliament and a number of decisions were taken by parliament to end violence.

It was that same parliament, including members of Yanukovych own fraction, that later deposed Yanukovych because he didn't fulfill his duties according to the constitution after he fled to Russia in fear of prosecution. No, he wasn't deposed by activists but by parliament.

To add a little bit more information about the extremists in Ukraine. Prime Minister Groysman, under Poroshenko is Jewish. President Zelenskyy, incumbent, is also Jewish. Those are the two non-extremist governments after EuroMaidan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr…

But how about all the extremists in the Ukrainian parliament? Yes, there are some far-right members of parliament. Their parties collected almost three percent of the votes in the election 2019. Many European country should envy that situation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Ukra….

But how about the Russian language? Russian speakers are threatened all over Ukraine! Not true. My own family in Ukraine is Russian speaking by habit and they have no problems. Whenever needed they speak Ukrainian. In Kyiv people speak Ukrainian, Russian and often a mix of both.

But can you now find language issues anywhere in Ukraine? Of course you can. There will always be some people who are rude, refuse to understand even though they do, kids who tease each other etc. But a major problem that warrant outside intervention? No, absolutely not.

Other countries have language issues too. Swedish is an official language in Finland. But when visiting Helsinki I realize Swedish is not enough to get by in society. But this isn't Sweden's problem, if it's a problem at all it's for Finland to manage.

Another issue to address is NATO. It was EuroMaidan, not NATOMaidan. Ukrainians wanted what they call a "normal" country, meaning a European style democracy. NATO was always, and only, interesting for protection against Russian invasion and take over.

Here is a great thread on what happened in Luhansk in March 2014. Very important considering the Russian narrative about "separatists".

https://twitter.com/radio_tysha/status/1482728730070073346

Senior German MP, CDU, today:
"The threat to Ukraine from Russia is real. Our previous refusal to supply arms has apparently been taken by Russia as encouragement to continue violating sovereignty. This position is therefore no longer tenable."

https://twitter.com/JoWadephul/status/1482771916654096385

The reason I shared the message from the German MP who suggests arms deliveries to Ukraine is that it break with previous German policy, and it is a sign of the debate now going on in Germany. I really hope for a change of course also in the government.

Defense politician Marcus Faber from Germany's Liberal Party, FDP, calls for openness to the delivery of defensive weapons to Ukraine.
It should be pointed out that such arms deliveries would not be in accordance with the coalition agreement though.
rnd.de/politik/marcus…

https://twitter.com/marceldirsus/status/1482999597047988225?t=emQXUO7PJljJQb1v1UMFrg&s=19

https://twitter.com/MavkaSlavka/status/1482774162519490561?t=emQXUO7PJljJQb1v1UMFrg&s=19

https://twitter.com/S_Pagung/status/1483017851934060547

"SPD is trying to take NordStream2 out of the sanctions arsenal, Merz Swift. SPD and CDU are competing about who's the worst at dealing with the Russian crisis. The Greens, on the other hand, are fully rational. I wouldn't have thought so until recently."

https://twitter.com/MartinGreive/status/1482756671105556486

Germany and Germans have to decide where they belong: Is Germany a robust western ally that will stand up against Russia or is Germany not a reliable ally who rather stay friendly with Russia than taking a stand against it?

When thinking about it I realize that the German people never really faced this question before. It was either told what to do by autocratic governments or occupying powers, or lived in what they believed was a liberal world where Russia could be a friend.

Where other nations have shaped their nations and belonging through centuries or in popular struggles for independence Germany's nationhood has been abused and overruled twice. Germany has really only been a independent democracy since 1990. A giant in diapers.

https://twitter.com/tashecon/status/1483026522936066051?t=6t3BhHRr9-zEbmV0QCHktw&s=19

Germany to Ukraine:
- The pipelines will remove your income and make it risk free for Russia to invade
- We know Russia is fighting a war against you but we wont say it because we want to be friends with Russia
- We block you from buying defensive weapons because we started WWII

https://twitter.com/olgatokariuk/status/1483049224157732867

"History" didn't prevent the German government to approve a large military contract to train Russian soldiers though. Ping @ABaerbock.
army-technology.com/news/newsrhein…

“It’s unfortunate that German companies directly support and train Russia’s military even during the attacks against Ukraine. The US should call on NATO allies to suspend all military connections with Russia, until Russia leave Ukraine, including Crimea.”
thelocal.de/20140423/germa…