History lesson

It was interesting to come across a description of Russia’s foreign policy in tsarist times.

I quote from Kotkin’s biography of Stalin, volume 1, published in 2014:

‘‘ . . . Russia had tended to be expansionist precisely in the name of vulnerability: even as forces loyal to the tsar had seized territory, they imagined they were preempting attacks. And once Russia had forcibly acquired a region, its officials invariably insisted they had to acquire the next one over, too, in order to be able to defend their original gains. A sense of destiny and insecurity combined in a heady mix.’’

Europe realised, after two world wars, that mutual security is preferable to conflict.

A democratic Russia, especially if led by someone like Alexei Navalny, could be a very happy and prosperous state

integrated into Europe and the world community, with no European country threatening any other.

John Lekner, Kelburn