RE: Russia is Europe. Kyiv and Moscow should be in the European Union
October 29, 2022 at 12:32 pm
(This post was last modified: October 29, 2022 at 12:44 pm by Anomalocaris.)
95% of Russia’s population is in Europe. Russia’s cultural outlook is primarily European. To say russia is not European country because of Vladivostok is akin to saying the US is not a western country because of Hawaii or Guam.
The reason why western and Central Europe is so inclined to exclude russia from the concept of Europe is simple, and more fundamental than the fact Russia had been great antagonist of self-styled western values during the Cold War and separated by opaque czarist autocracy before the October revolution. The reason is Russia’s population, geographic size and position and natural resource is such that a russia fully integrated into Europe would eventually completely dominate the European Union economically, and geopolitically, and powers that currently have great economic and political weight in Europe, such a Germany and France, would be relegated to second tier status. Countries that are already second tier, such Poland and Baltic republics, would become russia’s door mat.
imperial aggrandizement proceed on the assumption that those doing the aggrandizing will still call the shots in the post aggrandizement world. Imperial expand loses appeal if the aggrandizer can look forward to playing second fiddle to the aggrandizee.
so everyone in europe would rather be a bigger shot in a smaller europe than a smaller shot in a bigger europe.
if Russia is completely fragmented, and emasculated to such an extent that western country can think of Russia as the war of a colony for Europe, then you will probably be happy to absorb Russia. But then United States still wouldn’t be.
The reason why western and Central Europe is so inclined to exclude russia from the concept of Europe is simple, and more fundamental than the fact Russia had been great antagonist of self-styled western values during the Cold War and separated by opaque czarist autocracy before the October revolution. The reason is Russia’s population, geographic size and position and natural resource is such that a russia fully integrated into Europe would eventually completely dominate the European Union economically, and geopolitically, and powers that currently have great economic and political weight in Europe, such a Germany and France, would be relegated to second tier status. Countries that are already second tier, such Poland and Baltic republics, would become russia’s door mat.
imperial aggrandizement proceed on the assumption that those doing the aggrandizing will still call the shots in the post aggrandizement world. Imperial expand loses appeal if the aggrandizer can look forward to playing second fiddle to the aggrandizee.
so everyone in europe would rather be a bigger shot in a smaller europe than a smaller shot in a bigger europe.
if Russia is completely fragmented, and emasculated to such an extent that western country can think of Russia as the war of a colony for Europe, then you will probably be happy to absorb Russia. But then United States still wouldn’t be.
