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From: janw@inmet.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: The myth of Allied invasion of Russi
Message-ID: <7800566@inmet.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 17-Oct-85 16:57:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: inmet.7800566
Posted: Thu Oct 17 16:57:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Oct-85 09:15:34 EDT
References: <531@talcott.UUCP>
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Nf-From: inmet!janw    Oct 17 16:57:00 1985


[gjk@talcott]
> Military history is not the reason for Soviet paranoia of the West.  The 
> reason is ideology.  By their religion, we are the devil, the "bad guys".  It
> is as impossible for them to trust us as it is for any Christian to trust
> Satan himself.

This may be more or less true of the propagandized populace.  But
people  don't  matter  in  Russia.  As for the leaders, my recon-
struction of their motives (for what it's worth) is somewhat dif-
ferent. It is not so much paranoia (they keep themselves well in-
formed of Western intentions and decisions) as that  their  whole
cultural background and their unconscious, deep-seated philosoph-
ical attitude requires *eliminating the opposition*.  "Comprom-
ise"  has, in modern Soviet Russian usage, only pejorative conno-
tations, it's a bad word. So is competition.  In  their  internal
political  struggles,  one  side  always ends up on top and elim-
inates the other (not physically  any  more,  they've  mellowed
somewhat).  A  continuous, unending competition is abnormal to
them, is felt as a mess, a  dangerous  disorder,  inherently  un-
stable.   Normally,  *someone  has  got  to  be the boss*, and of
course they prefer themselves for this position. So any  comprom-
ise, any live-and-let-live arrangement is, to them, temporary; it
is something bad that they have to  do  now  but  will  justify
themselves by rescinding it later; or simply a war ruse. They are
reasonable, cautious  people;  if  they  feel  opposition  to  be
stronger they don't push on rashly; but then they try again; they
just can't stop trying. Their religion that gjk speaks about (and
I  think  it's  a  well-chosen word for Communism) gives form and
direction to this drive.

		Jan Wasilewsky