It’s been two years since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin sent tanks rolling across the borders from Russia and Belarus, and began this long, nightmarish war. It’s safe to say that very few people on that first day of the invasion could have foreseen the situation that Ukraine is in today.
One day before that illegal, unprovoked invasion was launched, Daily Kos predicted that this war could be as damaging to Russia as the invasion of Afghanistan had been to the USSR four decades ago. That prediction was badly off base. The Soviets lost 14,500 soldiers over the 10 years of the Soviet-Afghan war. Russia lost 16,000 men before capturing the small city of Adviivka this past Saturday.
Only it won’t be that way in Russian history books. Because the Russian defense minister has now declared that Avdiivka was a textbook operation achieved with minimal losses. So please ignore the videos you’ve seen, and don’t worry about the Russian military blogger who reported the truth about Russian losses. According to Russian Telegram channels, he committed suicide. Which may be the same thing as “sudden death syndrome.”
Victors get to write the history. And if everyone isn’t very careful, the next history of Europe will be written in Russian.
At the same time, Russia's attempt to take control of the Republican Party in the U.S. has been much more successful. Assistance to Ukraine passed overwhelmingly in the early days of the conflict, but since then, creeping Russian influence over Republicans has grown in both the House and Senate, reaching the point where positions that seemed outrageous two years ago now dominate the Republican Party.
At the heart of this issue is an idolization of Putin as an authoritarian strongman who holds all the wealth and power imaginable, doling out slices of each to his friends based on their loyalty. It’s precisely this model that has made Donald Trump such a fan. Putin has helped cement his spot at the top of the GOP pantheon with large doses of racism, misogyny, and hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, not to mention a solid dose of cold-hearted death to his enemies. That’s the kind of leader that makes Ted Cruz swoon.
From Trump to Tucker Carlson, the right has spent the past two years selling Republicans on how nice it would be to get rid of that messy old democracy. Just let Trump run the show without interference, and you’ll get clean subways. Ones where the trains run on time.
And all it costs is your freedom. Not like you’d ever miss that old thing.
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