Fear or fond

Yevgeny Prigozhin accuses Nanaia Mahuta of Russophobia (Weekend Herald, October 15). When I last looked at the dictionary, the word phobia implies fear of something, so Prigozhin’s comment is right on the mark. The actions of the Russian Federation this year have been designed to instil fear so Putin can have his way. Comments about the possibility of nuclear war do nothing to reduce this atmosphere of fear.

In the late 1930s Germanophobia was common in much of Europe and as it turned out this phobia was well justified.

The world would be a much better place if we could instead have a reason for Russophilia.

Greg Cave, Sunnyvale