Russia has a hunger plan. Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war in Europe. 1/16
In normal times, Ukraine is a leading exporter of foodstuffs. A Russian naval blockade now prevents Ukraine from exporting grain. 2/16
If the Russian blockade continues, tens of millions of tons of food will rot in silos, and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia will starve. 3/16
The horror of Putin's hunger plan is so great that we have a hard time apprehending it. We also tend to forget how central food is to politics. Some historical examples can help. 4/16
The idea that controlling Ukrainian grain can change the world is not new. Both Stalin and Hitler wished to do so. 5/16
For Stalin, Ukraine's black earth was to be exploited to build an industrial economy for the USSR. In fact, collectivized agriculture killed about four million Ukrainians. 6/16
Notably, as people began to die in large numbers, Stalin blamed the Ukrainians themselves. Soviet propaganda called those who drew attention to the famine "Nazis." 7/16
Actual Nazis had related ideas. They liked the idea of controlling Ukrainian agriculture. This was in fact Hitler's central war aim. 8/16
Hitler wished to redirect Ukrainian grain from the Soviet Union to Germany, in the hope of starving millions of Soviet citizens. 9/16
The Second World War was fought for Ukraine and in considerable measure in Ukraine, between dictators who wanted to control food supplies. 10/16
Russian memory politics prepared the way for a 21st-century hunger plan. Russians are told that Stalin's famine was an accident and that Ukrainians are Nazis. This makes theft and blockade seem acceptable. 11/16
Putin's hunger plan is, I believe, meant to work on three levels. First, it is part of a larger attempt to destroy the Ukrainian state, by cutting off its exports. 12/16
Putin's hunger plan is also meant to generate refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine. This would generate instability in the EU. 13/16
Finally, and most horribly, a world famine is a necessary backdrop for a Russian propaganda campaign against Ukraine. Actual mass death is needed as the backdrop for a propaganda contest. 14/16
When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted. 15/16
Russia is planning to starve Asians and Africans in order to win its war in Europe. This is a new level of colonialism, and the latest chapter of hunger politics. 16/16
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Brief selections from and notes about the "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine" released to the @UN_HRC, which recognizes Russian war crimes in Ukraine. 0/8
"The Commission has documented patterns of willful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and unlawful transfers of detainees in the areas that came under the control of Russian authorities in Ukraine." @UN_HRC 1/8
"The Commission has found a widespread pattern of torture and inhuman treatment committed by Russian authorities against people they detained." @UN_HRC 2/8
Thread pulling out some especially salient bits of @Mason_R_Clark's fine argument for how to bring the Russo-Ukrainian war to an end. 0/9 time.com/6258132/what-t…
"Putin is unlikely to ever change his maximalist intent to secure control over Ukraine." 1/9 @Mason_R_Clark
"Putin has tried to gain control over Ukraine in increasingly extreme ways for two decades" 2/9 @Mason_R_Clark
Thomas Mann, Rundfunkübertragung an Deutsche Hörer, März 1941, im Bezug auf "Kriegsverlängerung" und "Frieden" leider noch sehr aktuell. (Thread, 0/4)
"Den Widerstand Englands, den Beistand, den Amerika ihm leiht, brandmarken eure Führer als 'Kriegsverlängerung'." (Thomas Mann, 1941) 1/4
"Sie verlangen 'Frieden'. Sie, die vom Blute des eigenen Volkes und anderer Voelker triefen, wagen es, dieses Wort in den Mund zu nehmen." (Thomas Mann, 1941) 2/4
In April 2016, I broke the story of Trump and Putin, using Russian open sources. Afterwards, I heard vague intimations that something was awry in the FBI in New York, specifically counter-intelligence and cyber. We now have a suggestion as to why. 0/20
For more elaboration on the thread below, see my Substack piece:
"The Specter of 2016: McGonigal, Trump, and the Truth about America" open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/t… 00/20
The person who led the relevant section, Charles McGonigal, has just been charged with taking money from the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Follow this thread to see just how this connects to the victory of Trump, the Russian war in Ukraine, and U.S. national security. 1/20
In April 2016, I broke the story of Trump and Putin, using Russian open sources. Afterwards, I heard vague intimations that something was awry in the FBI in New York, specifically counter-intelligence and cyber. We now have a suggestion as to why. 0/20
The person who led the relevant section, Charles McGonigal, has just been charged with taking money from the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Follow this thread to see just how this connects to the victory of Trump, the Russian war in Ukraine, and U.S. national security. 1/20
The reason I was thinking about Trump & Putin in 2016 was a pattern. Russia had sought to control Ukraine, using social media, money, & a pliable head of state. Russia backed Trump the way that it had backed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, in the hopes of soft control 2/20
This thread presents a brief summary of the substantive findings of the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. My own interpretations of the report will follow later. 0/
Before the election, Trump knew that he was likely to lose, and planned to declare victory (a Big Lie) if he lost. 1/
On and after election day, Trump knew that he did lose, and declared victory anyway. 2/