Ukraine and Russia are not the same country.

My family is firmly in the "Here they beat you up for the Russian language" territory. Nationalist relations prevented my gaining Polish citizenship. Amusingly, I am not sure if I qualify for Ukrainian citizenship, which would be analogous to denying one of the Kennedy clan (ya know, JFK, RFK, etc.) Irish citizenship. I saw an interesting comparison of Ukraine and Ireland, which I sort of agree with. And why I compare myself to the Kennedys.

 

OK, I'm not sure if I should revisit my comment about the Second Amendment & UA, or something else.

I can do both actually. 

The Second Amendment fallacy still applies. The Ukrainians were and are much better armed than I had expected at the start of this war. They did have the proper defence systems to counter the Orc (Russian) attack. Additionally, the Ukrainian forces followed historic trends and either captured or destroyed enemy equipment.

But, they didn't just have small arms to defend the nation. Otherwise, this would be a vastly different and scarier war for the West. Russian intentions do not stop at Ukraine's borders. Sadly, people in the West were far too willing to appease Putin while pretending not to. Political theatre at its worst.

My transition: A friend's brother was killed in the war. I don't know about my relations who are fighting. I hope they are doing well. I am not certain of the numbers, but I know that Ukraine is doing much better than Russia.

The something else: too many people outside of Ukraine don't understand they are a different country. I understand it because I understand the cultural nuaces that make nations different from each other. Also, I have relations who will tell you in no uncertain terms what your misconceptions are.

I made a statement that Ukraine was flat to a Ukrainian cousin when I was younger. She pulled out a topographic map to show me that the West was in the Carpathian mountains. Likewise, they will point out that Ukrainian culture isn't at all like Russian culture. You would think that Americans would understand that.

But the something else I want to mention is that quite a few people outside Ukraine are parroting the Russian line that Ukraine is somehow "part of Russia". 

Not at all.

That is historical and cultural ignorance based on superficial knowledge. Unfortunately, I find that ignorance is endemic in the West, particularly in the US. I was unaware that there was a Bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus in the US legislature and has been since 1997. I would think that caucus would be much more vocal about the issues in this war.

Additionally, there are a lot of people who have relatives who were DPs post-WWII. I am amazed they are not more vocal about what is going on. Perhaps because most of those people are "boomers" or their parents.

People need to understand that the West allowing Russia of occupy Crimea was only the start. The War in Ukraine is only a stepping stone to a war that will soon come to the West.

Wait until the US Gun Nuts see this....

An open top BMW 6 series with a NSV 12,7x108 heavy machine gun mounted - is not something you see everyday.

 

From the Ukraine Weapons Tracker https://twitter.com/UAWeapons

Ukrainian biolabs and NeoNazis

 

Oh, man! Where to start here?

First off, I wonder why people talking about this stuff don't mention Chernobyl. In fact, it might be worth a refresher given that these two other issues are somehow filling the 'net.

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history both in cost and casualties.

Chernobyl is sitting firmly in Russian controlled territory as is the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. The latter is the largest reactor in Europe, and 10th largest in the world. IAEA is unable to monitor these reactors.

Official UA Gov't statement

Ask a Ukrainian about the biolabs or NeoNazis and they will tell you that the reactors are far more problematic. Fortunately:

"Ukrainian energy workers, by risking their own health and lives, were able to avert the risk of a possible nuclear catastrophe that threatened the whole Europe," https://t.me/energoatom_ua/3001

As for bio-labs: Victoria Nuland is yet another example of Biden administration incompetence.  Read her bio, especially her comments about the European Union in 2014, and one has to wonder HOW she ever got her current position. My outspokeness is one reason I am not in either politics or diplomacy. At least I know my weaknesses.

There is a good commentary about Biolabs by Dr. Robert Malone here:

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/03/12/ukraine-biolab-watchtower/

Anything I say would come from that, except I will quote him:

What a mess. Are there any grownups in the house?  This is what happens in a world in which no one trusts anyone anymore, integrity is treated as an obsolete concept, both information and legacy media have become weaponized to such an extent that what passes for official reality becomes just a funhouse hall of mirrors, and the experience, intellect and maturity of those entrusted to manage these matters is just not up to the task.

That pretty much sums up the situation of bio-labs since anyone with a speck of knowledge of this issue can tell you that while you may want to think the worst, this is indeed a lot more innocent than you want it to be.

So, you want to trust the Russians who actually possess WMDs that the Ukrainians are doing "biological research" because the US government lied about Saddam Hussein having WMD?

Yeah, right. 

My advice: steer clear of living near any research university with a medical facility.

Neo-Nazis get much more interesting, especially for me. 

Amusing how Ukraine's defence has become an issue in US politics, especially that part, since as I posted about this issue during the Trump Impeachment relating to Ukraine. Trump Derangement Syndrome blinded people to this issue then (no discussion, or it was like Hunter's laptop). Somehow, it becomes an issue when the issue is funding Ukraine's defence in wartime.

Official Statement from Azov Brigade

And it's why I get pissed when people want to bring US Partisan politics up now. 

Just shut the fuck up and do something significant to help Ukraine.

Anyway, yes, those troops existed. Not sure what their status is now since they could have been killed off early in the fighting. As I said in my earlier posts, these Neo-Nazi units were among the ones fighting in the Donbass. That means they would have been on the front when the Russians rolled into that area. I know that one of their leaders was killed long ago. They like to believe that they are keeping up the ideology of Stepan Bandera.

One of the issues with Stepan Bandera is that he has been dead for 62 years. His direct descendants live in Canada. He has become a myth in Ukrainian society.

Translation difficulties: RU is "Azov Base"

As I said in my other Stepan Bandera posts, he did not support racism the way some people claiming to follow his ideology do:

HOPPE: Would you be so kind, Mr. BANDERA, as to explain in detail the conception “Ukrainian nationalism”?

BANDERA: Today the anti-Bolshevik liberation fight in Ukraine is organized and led by OUN, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The conceptions “Ukrainian nationalist,” “nationalistic movement,” differ from similar terms used in the West. The Ukrainian nationalistic movement has nothing in common with Nazism, fascism or national-socialism. Ukrainian nationalism is fighting against totalitarianism, racism, dictatorship and violence of any kind.

Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/2017/02/12/from-cia-archives-stepan-banderas-1954-interview-to-german-radio/ 

And the Bandera clan has Poles and Jews in it as well. And it had them back when he was alive. So....

The neo-Nazi, pseudonationalist organisations have nothing in common with what the OUN-UPA stood for, or Stepan Bandera and his followers were fighting for. I've listed resources for this in other posts.

I would add that the far right groups are not a large segment in Ukrainian politics, and they will most likely become even less of one after the war. https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-the-far-right-just-got-humiliated-in-ukraine-s-election-but-don-t-write-it-off-1.7563138

The OUN-UPA has more in common with the current War in Ukraine. Ukrainians of other nationalities  fought in the UPA ranks, including Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Belgians, Russians, and others. Likewise, Ukrainians of all ethnicities are once again fighting to keep their homeland free from being overwhelmed by the Russian Empire.

Bottom line, if you aren't more concerned that two large nuclear reactors are in the hands of the Russians and not being monitored by international authorities, then I really can't persuade you of very much. That is the real issue, not biolabs or neo-nazis.

See also:

• A few words for Christopher Miller about “Banderites” and Ukrainian history
• From CIA archives: Stepan Bandera’s 1954 interview to German radio

Would Stepan Bandera be pro-European Union if he were alive today??

 Or if your Nazi uncle really WAS a Nazi. Actually, I do know people with real Nazi relations. I told Bettina Goering that she has both sides of the issue since not only was one relative a high level Nazi (Hermann Goering), but he assisted his brother Albert, who saved Jews. 

Stepan is more nuanced even though he is as maligned/celebrated.

I still wouldn't be a Bandera though. I prefer more inclusive. Which is where things get interesting. 

Stepan was born in Poland. Carpathea/Galacia which is home of the Hasidim as well.

Even though Stepan has closer relatives, I was born near his death: 11-12 days before. I think he knew I was an addition to the family when he was killed by a KGB agent (NEVER say I was influenced by Russians).

The issue is that he was a nationalist. His followers and associates killed those who prevented Ukrainian Statehood. Unfortunately, there is the guilt by association, or family, in all this. Even though I don't share his prejudices. 

I like think I am not prejudiced, but accept people as they are.

He wanted his identity as a Ukrainian. I am pretty certain he would accept you if you accepted him, which is what most people want.

I'm a mutt. So, I accept everyone.

I watch Brexit and see how Northern Ireland holds up the process. The Unionists want to be part of Britain, but when it comes down to things: they ultimately want to be Irish and part of the European Union. The EU was what made the Good Friday Agreement possible: even though nationalists on both sides (Republican and Unionists) hated the EU. 

One of the European Union's purpose is to promote peace. It promotes peace by making artificial borders meaningless. A country can contain multiple ethnicities and linguistic groups. 

I think he would appreciate that Ukrainians are uniting whether they speak Russian, Ukrainian, or any of the other languages/cultures comprised by Ukraine, to fight the Russians.

I have a weird feeling that if being a part of something larger protected Ukrainian identity, Stepan would have been for it as well. In fact, I think being a part of the European Union as something which would promote peace through diversity, he would be so pro-EU it would make me laugh.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has totally lost it

Wouldn't you try to avoid harming the people you are claiming to defend if that is your purported reason for illegally invading another country?

Not Vladmir Vladimirovich Putain!

Bombing Kharkiv demonstrates he doesn't give a fuck about anyone other than Vladimir Vladimirovich. Or that he has totally lost it.

While this city is not in the Donetsk or Luhansk territories, it is east enough that there is a significant Russian population (25.6%). The number goes up to 44.3% if you go on language (that percentage speaks Russian as a first language). There was minor pro-Russian activity post Maidan.

But, even though there are ethnic Russians in this area, they are Ukrainian enough to fight the invading Russian Army.

Sadly, no one really paid much attention to this area before Putain threatened his invasion.

But, given the resistance the Russian Military is facing, this will not be a blitzkrieg by any standard.

It will be another Stalingrad. Putain has forgotten his history as there were several battles in this city during the "Great Patriotic War".

This may be yet another "Great Patriotic War" where an imperialist nation, Russia, is overrun by a smaller defending nation, Ukraine.

See also:

• 10 Facts About the War in Donbass
•  It’s Probably Too Late for the Oligarchs to Stop Putin
• Putin is so angry about Ukraine's resistance to his invasion that he might launch a more aggressive attack, Western officials warn 
  

I would like to think that you heard this here first!

 Le Figaro asked if the invasion of Ukraine will be Putin's Afghanistan?

Yes, very much so. It will probably have a much worse effect on him than he expects. He has already shown he is crazy enough to start a nuclear war to protect his illegal war of aggression on a neutral country.

The most important contemporary rule on conflict is found in the U.N. Charter, which states, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

This wording is significant. The term “use of force” means what it says. Countries cannot avoid their international obligations by pretending their actions are peacekeeping missions, as Putin has said.

Putin only cares about his reputation. His willingness to start a nuclear war to protect his illegal act only shows he is unfit to be a leader of any form of nation state, let alone one which purports to be a "Super-Power".

I would add that the Russian forces have a long history of mutiny, especially when the leaders are crazy.

Putin's days are numbered.

No, you cannot compare Ukraine to anywhere else

There is quite a bit of history in this region: especially since it is between Asia and Europe. The term "Rus" comes from the Vikings since they owe quite a lot to the Varangians. Although, there is some controversy over the origin of the name "Rus": Is it a nordic term? Or a derivation from the Greek Ρωσία, which in turn derives from Ῥῶς?

While the term Rus may be up in the air, the fact that Kyiv is in the middle of a trade route between the Varangian Vikings and the Greek world is not. 

The reason I put in the picture of this stamp is that Ukraine has been a part of many different nations states over the millenium, yet there has been an interest in nationhood. What I will call the age of Nationism brought about the rise of people like Stepan Bandera who wanted their own land. Ukraine, like Poland, may have existed for some time, but it was never truly a nation for a good part of that existence.

Again, the map for refresher on European history and nationalism:

A very short form of Ukraine's history from Wikipedia:

The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the loose tribal federation Kievan Rus' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation into several principalities in the 13th century and the devastation created by the Mongol invasion, the territorial unity collapsed and the area was contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of powers, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, but its territory was eventually split between Poland and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, a Ukrainian national movement for self-determination emerged, and the internationally recognised Ukrainian People's Republic was declared on 23 June 1917. The Ukrainian SSR was a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922. The country regained its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Following its independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state.

That was to just give a short taste of the complex history of this region. And, yes, it leaves out a whole lot of the story. Since I sincerely doubt Vladmir Vladimirovich Putin would have been so foolish as to have gone on this path had he contemplated Ukraine's history.

This was the land of partisan warfare, Vladmir Vladimirovich. They will lure you in the way the Red Army lured in the Germans in Stalingrad.

Threatening the use of nuclear weapons only shows your weakness.

Again, you cannot claim to be protecting the people of Ukraine, yet willing to destroy them in your imperialist war of aggression.

I mention the Banderists since they are what you have chosen to fight. You know them.

Why are you acting like an idiot, Vladmir Vladimirovich Putin?

Fuck you, Vladmir Vladimirovich Putin, Ukrainians are not using Children as Shields,

Man, you have a lot of nerve saying shit like that when you are putting the people you are claiming to save in danger.

But, you have everything to fear from the Banderists.

Payback is a bitch. we haven't forgotten who killed Stepan Bandera or the Holodomor, fuckwad.

Meet Stepan Bandera

He looks like a nice guy to me.

This little clip from a Czech site pretty much sums up the situation in Ukraine:

 Stepan Andriyovich Bandera (1909-1959) is an icon of western Ukraine and a symbol of evil for eastern Ukraine. He fought for a dignified life for Ukrainians caught between nationalist Poles and communist Russians. He didn't take the gloves off, murdered not only soldiers but civilians, liquidated Jews, allied with Hitler against Stalin, fled to the West after WWII, but eventually the Soviets found him anyway and killed him.

I'm pretty sure he was aware that his cousins, Osip and Maria, had just welcomed another grandson to the Bandera clan when he died, but that's just an aside.

Actually, the next portion of the article pretty much sums up the situation between the First and Second World Wars. It also explains why he had the bloodthirsty rep, which I believe Putin is well aware of:

Interwar Ukrainian politics and all its political and military clones found themselves in an intractable situation in a pincer between two left-wing deviations - German fascism and Russian communism. Politicians and soldiers cruised the rough seas of world politics, trying to at least save their skins after shipwreck, but very few succeeded. Those who survived the Soviet-directed famine and cannibalism, the movement of the front to the east, the front back to the west, the rampage of the Polish army and the Soviet secret police, the confused flight through Czechoslovakia and Austria to the Americans, were displaced to occupied German Silesia beyond the Giant Mountains. The Ukrainians were then victims of history, of stronger aggressive neighbours and, above all, of monstrous leftist ideologies. Five years under the Poles and five years under the Germans.

Lviv soccer fans at a game vs. Donetsk. The banner reads "Bandera - our hero"

 

 

 

Stepan was sentenced to death for complicity in a plot against a Polish governmental minster in 1934.  On appeal, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The reason for the many similar terrorist actions in which he was involved, or at least knew or could have known about, was the uncompromising position of the Ukrainian nationalist youth, who uncompromisingly demanded their own state, which was unacceptable to Poland. In September 1939, when Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union, Stepan Bandera was released from prison. Who helped him out of prison and why is still unclear. He remained in Kraków, which became the capital of occupied Poland. A few days after the invasion of the Soviet Union, Stepan Bandera declared an independent Ukrainian state.

We can get into the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement since he was a leader theorist of the militant wing of the far-right Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and a leader and ideologist of Ukrainian ultranationalists known for his involvement in terrorist activities. In fact there were two branches of the OUN, OUN-B (for Bandera) and OUN-M (for Melnyk). The older, more moderate nationalist supported Andriy Atanasovych Melnyk.

The far more radical and violent crowd supported OUN-B. The Czech article had some stuff that I didn't know about:

Significantly, Stepan Bandera himself secretly went to Bavaria after the end of World War II, but the terrorist activities of the UPA in the USSR were not finally suppressed until the mid-1950s. Fighting with the Bandera fighters, who tried to pass through and sometimes break through to the West, also took place in Poland and Czechoslovakia. Although in our country their only interest was to get to the Americans and escape the Russians, police regiments were deployed against them, supplemented by volunteers who chased them through the woods rather than actually fighting them.

The local people did not obstruct the Ukrainian rebel army and as a result the UPA did not attack civilians. With a few exceptions, this was the case in what is now Poland, Transcarpathian Ukraine and eastern Slovakia.

Throughout the period of socialism in Czechoslovakia, however, their alleged rampage was exaggerated to unbelievable proportions, the heroism of a few dead policemen was held up on a pedestal, and at the same time the banderos were associated in the popular mind with the German werwolfs, i.e. trained saboteurs who briefly operated after the Nazi surrender. Their reputation in the Czech Republic has also suffered because the word banderovci sounds similar to gang (of criminals, enemies of the regime, etc.)

Дякую, Алекс Тора!

I'm not sure how accurate the suppression of Ukrainian nationalism in the late 1950s happens to be, especially since Stepan Bandera was killed in late 1959. I was under the impression that Ukrainian nationalist "terrorism" in the Soviet Union lasted much longer than that. But I've been told it was enough of a scourge that Vladimire Putin knows about Stepan Bandera and his followers.
 

In fact, it's a fun exercise to read about Stepan Bandera on the internet since he's either a monster, or a saint, depending on your point of view. The neutral point of view is that he was a Ukrainian nationalist during a time of extreme nationalist movements (e.g., Nazism). He was also a shrewd politician he could have pounded Putin's ass in a second.

But the real point is that Stepan Bandera is still considered a hero in Western Ukraine and amongst the ethnic Ukrainians for his fighting for an independent state. I've been told that his home is a place of pilgrimage for soldiers heading to the Donbass. Putin should not have been such a dumbass as to assert that Ukraine and Russia are the same, but he will learn his lesson soon enough if he continues down the road he is heading.

Making more "Zinky boys" is not a path to strength, which is a lesson he should have learned in Afghanistan, Dagestan, and Chechnya. Maybe Russia needs yet another ass pounding to realise war is not a good idea. And I believe that the Ukrainians could still go back to Banderist tactics, which would hit the Russian homeland.

Dumb move, Vlad.

See also (or just do a search to read various opinions about him):

• Ukraine's turbulent past between hagiography and demonization
• Meet the Ukrainian Resistance Army 
• A few words for Christopher Miller about “Banderites” and Ukrainian history 
  
• Stepan Bandera | Military Wiki | Fandom
• Who Was Stepan Bandera? 
• Stepan Bandera | Religion Wiki | Fandom
  

So, the "unthinkable" has happened.

 I'm not really surprised. Or that wrong.

Remember that Russia has been aiding the Donbas separatists (and other ethnic Russians) since the Crimea voted to "rejoin" Russia. The resistance within Ukraine's borders heated up after Maidan.

Toss in that if Russia really wanted to come in heavy, they could.

But does that make any sense given he's there to "protect the ethnic Russians". 

Nothing like a shitload of collateral damage of the people you are claiming to save to underline that Putin is a total asshole. If the dude had a brain, he would be using Ukraine as a backdoor to the EU and NATO.

I was under the impression that the KGB/FSB were somewhat competent. On the other hand, Vlad the Imputent, managed to make it up the hierarchy. Maybe it was the Peter Principle.

Anyway, this just began, there's plenty more time for Vlad to fuck it up.

Wotinthefuck is Vladmir Putin thinking (or not)????

You can’t really compare this situation to Hitler’s walking into countries since the locals aren’t going to give the Russians a warm welcome: unless you mean gunfire when you say warm welcome.

The problem with people in the West, particularly the US, is that they are ignorant of the history and what is going on. Me: I’m not sure where to begin, but it seems that Euromaidan might be a good place (and raises my question: was Fiona Hill involved in this???).

Anyone who knows me would know that I would be sympathetic to Euromaidan if it was indeed a popular rising. That is especially true since one of the goals of this uprising would be that Ukraine joined the European Union, even if I didn’t manage to get EU citizenship out of this deal. But, one of the upshots was that the Ukrainian majority became more militant and the Russian minority became scared. And most of the Russians are in the East, or Donbass region.

Did I say something about people killing each other over which language they speak, Дякую/dziękuję/Спасибо?

Anyway, one of the upshots was that the Russians in the Eastern part wanted to protect themselves, and thought maybe rejoining Russia was a brilliant idea. The people in the West weren’t so keen: especially since Crimea had been reannexed by Russia. That means there has been a low level armed struggle in Eastern Ukraine. A recap from a post I made earlier:

But we need to get a little history of the situation.

The US want to control Ukraine in order to establish US managed pipeline routes relating to the geopolitical competition over oil and natural gas. The US also wants to advance the US controlled NATO alliance to surround all of Russia’s European borders. The Obama administration and the State Department (which Hillary Clinton had built up from 2009 to 2013) assisted in the undemocratic coup in Ukraine which was led by neo-Nazi white supremacists in 2014. This Nationalist group violently took over Ukraine. The Nationalists attempted to make it illegal in Ukraine to speak Russian, a minority who are still a major force in running the Ukraine government.

In Crimea, where the vast majority of residents are Russian, the Crimeans, fearing the Nationalist regime that had just taken over Kiev, quickly voted to rejoin Russia and by agreement with no military action at all, Crimea legally rejoined Russia. There was no supposed ‘invasion’ of Crimea. It did not happen.

Likewise, the people in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine were also concerned with the Nationalist ethnic cleansing. An election was held, but because a similar annexation of Donbas into Russia would spoil western plans to dominate pipeline routes and control Russia’s border, the fascist government in Kiev immediately moved with its military, to by force squash the vote and stop Donbas from leaving. This resulted in a 2014-2015 civil war in Donbas, in which Russia lent military support to Donbas (but no formal troops) and the US lent mirroring military support to Kiev.

Putin, if anything, is there preventing a possible genocide. Additionally, the Aid being given to the Ukrainian forces is questionable given that it could result in a genocide.

Ukrainian soldiers are making pilgrimages to Stepan Bandera’s house before heading east.

Which would have any sane person of the Russian type thinking hard about the sanity of invading Ukraine. There are a lot better ways to make sure that ethnic Russians are safe than military help. In fact, given what I know about Banderists, that is probably the dumbest thing one could do.

It’s like starting an uprising in a Jewish Ghetto during WWII. We know how those turned out.

The problem is that Putin has put his prestige points into this gambit and he’s about to see any captial go to shit posthaste should war break out.

Seriously, Dude! Maybe you know my qualifications to be giving you advice. I know you are familiar with my family. Maybe the Banderas aren’t going to be leaders, but assassinating Stepan Bandera created a martyr. No matter how much your crowd try and discredit him: he has become a rallying point for the Ukrainians. And these people are the right wing, ultranationalists.

Sure you would have preferred Ukraine went with the Customs Union, but I would like to think you are clever and that Ukraine as part of the EU would benefit Russia as well. Maybe Ukraine in NATO is a stretch, but you can’t sabre rattle and not expect them to want some form of protection.

The Ukrainians have not forgotten the Holomodor and are going to fight you with all they can.

Remember that before you go any further down this path.

 See also:
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/

Ukraine helps to debunk Second Amendment fallacy of armed resistance.

CONSIDER THIS... This is just part of the known tally ...

• In 1929 the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, approximately 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Nevermind that this figure includes something the Russians call "the Great Patriotic War" and the rest of us call World War II. And didn't the Russians have an army where there was heavy fighting?

Toss in that I'm not sure how large the population of Germany was (the country which attacked the Soviet Union) in relation to the Soviet Union, but I would guess that there weren't as many Germans as there were Soviets. As Matthew White says (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/gunsorxp.htm):

Well, right off the bat I can see that whoever compiled this tally has a different definition of defenseless than I do. I myself wouldn't declare the largest military machine on the planet "unable to defend itself", but by adding 20 million from the Soviet Union, this list does. After all, Stalin's most infamous terror fell heavily on the Soviet Army, culling tens of thousand of officers, and executing three out of five marshals, 15 out of 16 army commanders, 60 out of 67 corps commanders and 136 out of 199 division commanders. In one bloody year, the majority of the officer corps was led away quietly and shot. It may be one of life's great mysteries as to why the Red Army allowed itself to be gutted that way, but obviously, lack of firepower can't be the reason.

 One of the nice things about modern technology is that we can see the Ukrainians preparing to fight the Russian Army. Sure, there are the pictures of people carrying wooden guns as they drill, but there are also the civilian reservists. As one person I know who is very close to Ukrainian resistance pointed out: "There will be 80 year old women defending their homes with AK47s."

That doesn't seem to be dissuading Putin from wanting to invade Ukraine. Again, from Matthew White:

This is what I call the Cold-Dead-Hands Test. If the only way to get someone's gun is to pry it from their cold, dead hands (literally or figuratively), that's not gun control. When Grant disarmed the Confederates at Appomattox, that wasn't gun control; that was taking prisoners. When the Soviets disarmed the remnants of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad, that wasn't gun control either. Mao didn't come to power in China by tricking the populace into surrendering their arms. He pummeled his well-armed opponents in a stand-up fight. There's a big difference between unable to fight back, and fighting back but losing.

Personally, there are other ways to prevent a war. Toss in that I would like to think that Vladimir Putin isn't a complete headcase or total fucking moron. He was in the KGB: The dudes who killed Stepan Bandera. He couldn't be that much of a dumbfuck that he's forgotten that Ukraine was the only part of the old Soviet Union that had an armed resistance.

And while I'm cheering on the underdog, Ukraine; I don't have any illusions that any resistance they make against the Russians will be pretty ineffective. Again, from Matthew White:

Even most of the victims of Hitler went down kicking and screaming. The majority of the Jews and Gypsies were hunted down in countries like Poland and Russia that had been overrun in open battle, and if they were lacking guns, it certainly wasn't German laws that created the situation.

Frankly, this list is a pitifully weak argument against gun control, simply because most of the victims listed here did fight back. In fact, if there's a real lesson to be learned from this roster of oppressions, it's that sometimes a heavily armed and determined opposition is just swept up and crushed -- guns or no guns.

 It would be nice if Putin were able to read this because I would like to think he isn't a complete dumbfuck who is crazy enough to start a war in Ukraine. No one will win if that is the case and Putin's reputation will be total shit.

Не будьте идиотом, Владимир. Война - неправильный выбор.

Of course, no one listens to me anyway.