Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian warbloggers continue to reflect on the war in Ukraine entering its fifth year. The 'hurrah-patriotism' of 2022 is now long gone and the mood is bleak. Nikita Tretyakov says there is "nothing left to hope for; all hopes and illusions have been shattered". ⬇️

2/ In comments that illustrate the political dangers which the Putin regime will face when the war ends, Tretyakov – a mobilised paratrooper, military correspondent, and volunteer – writes on his Telegram channel:

3/ "Four years of war is a monstrously long and daunting time. As culture and history have taught us, such an anniversary demands some analysis, conclusions, and a summing up of interim results...

4/ "These results are disappointing: in four years, we lost our country and now live in another one, still called Russia, located in the same place, but... it's a different country.

5/ "When the start of the Special Military Operation was announced to us, we (and I believe most of our fellow citizens) felt like heirs to the great USSR and the great Victory [of 1945]. We felt our country was, if not the strongest on the planet, then one of the strongest.

6/ "We believed that our country, despite the rise of capitalism, always stood for justice, unlike most other countries.

7/ "We believed that our people, although in peacetime far from united in their opinions and aspirations, would unite in times of war, standing shoulder to shoulder as one mighty warrior, a mighty nation.

8/ "Finally, we believed that our leadership, having grown up in our country, shared our views on some fundamental issues.

9/ "Four years have passed—and not a single stone remains of that country of ours (our idea of ​​a country). If we were the heirs of the USSR and Victory, we squandered that legacy long before the start of the Special Military Operation.

10/ "Our country turned out to be not the strongest, or even powerful, but weak—in military matters, in governance, in technology, in diplomacy, and in information.

11/ "It turned out that our country was only interested in justice in words, while the people were so disunited and so alienated from the country that even the war could not unite them and mobilise them to fight for their survival.

12/ "When we learned of the outbreak of war, it was difficult for everyone, but not devastating—we proceeded from our own, as it turned out, inaccurate image of the country—and hoped for a universal upsurge of spirit, unity, solidarity—and a relatively quick victory.

13/ "Today, when we have lost our country… there is nothing left to hope for; all hopes and illusions have been shattered.

14/ "It's perfectly clear that our country is inevitably facing a metamorphosis—the current form of organising the country's life—the state—is untenable and unstable; it simply cannot exist for any length of time without fundamental change.

15/ "This metamorphosis will be slow, painful for the majority, and fatal for many. What can we do, what should we do? No, dying on the barricades is childish and too easy; barricades are too fashionable these days, they're built with or without reason.

16/ "Our real historical task is to carry the image of our country as it once was through all these cataclysms. So that the generation of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can take this image and, inspired by it, build something new and beautiful.

17/ "Then the image will live on, and the bright past will build a bridge to a bright future across the abyss of darkness, baseness, and humiliation." /end

Source:
t.me/tretyakov_n/18…