International diplomatic aspects
On the 5th of March 1953, the brutal Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin died. Almost 27 million of the Soviet subjects were killed or put to death in GULAGs and by Holodomors-genocides. Only the Holodomor genocide of 1932-33 caused the death of 4 to 6 million innocent Ukrainians. Some 26.6 million were killed during the Second World War. Though the Nazis and their allies killed a lot of military personnel and soldiers, the way how the Soviet rulers treated their population should be noted. "Countrywomen-will-give-birth", a phrase coined by Marshall Georgiy Zhukov, perfectly describes the Russian attitude towards human life and explains abnormal casualties during the Second World War. It's still true for the Russian war in Ukraine 2014-2023.
But in modern-day Russia, we see Stalinism on the march. Firstly, almost two-thirds of Russians (56%) believe that Stalin was a great leader, while only 14% thought he was not, and a third (27%) partially agree with the two previous groups, according to a Levada Centre poll of 2021. Two- thirds feel admiration, respect, or sympathy toward Stalin, while almost a third (28%) are indifferent, and 11% feel fear, irritation, or hate. Stalin is ahead of Vladimir Lenin, another bloody tyrant, and even Alexander Pushkin, the beloved Russian poet in the ranking of the greatest people of "any" nation "ever." At least 60 monuments, bas-reliefs, and busts of Stalin were installed on Vladimir Putin's watch (since 2000). Russians erected at least five statues on the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea).
According to CNN, two Ukrainian pilots are now in Arizona for a test of what time is required for pilots with their skills to begin operating F-16s. During the US House Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said that the Defense Department believes it would take eighteen to twenty months to prepare pilots and technical personnel. However, he stated that the Administration currently doesn't prioritize providing Ukraine with modern fighter jets for various reasons, including financial restraints.
"My view, it is necessary that Putin understands that he will not succeed with this invasion and his imperialistic aggression — that he has to withdraw troops. This is the basis for talks," Olaf Scholz told Fareed Zakaria of CNN. "If you look at the proposal of the Ukrainians, it is easy to understand that they are ready for peace." Answering whether Ukraine should concede Crimea for a "deal," the German Chancellor replied, "we will not take decisions instead of them. We support them." Olaf Scholz indicated to "organize a certain way of security guarantees for the country, in times of peace, to come, but we are not there yet."
________________________________
Centre for Defence Strategies (CDS) is a Ukrainian security think tank. We operate since 2020 We publish this brief daily. If you would like to subscribe, please send us an email at cds.dailybrief@gmail.com
The CDC Daily Brief is produced with the support of the Kyiv School of Economics https://kse.ua
=============
Já que estamos falando dos 70 anos da morte do Stalin, que tal ver um filme que retrata o declínio do socialismo no Leste Europeu em seus últimos anos de vida?
