This is a well-known poster, but feels more relevant recently.
This is true but the same can be said about Moscow’s relationship to Siberia, or north Asia as some indigenous peoples prefer to call it
This is obviously Cold War era propaganda, but I feel it’s important to engage with it on its own merits.
First of all, two wrongs don’t make a right. Exploitation is exploitation. We (the ‘west’) did a lot of harm in developing countries all over the world, and we’ve never dealt seriously with that history.
Secondly, we managed to sweep all of that mostly under the rug because we convinced ourselves we weren’t as bad as the other guys. That may even be true. But is that really the bar we want to set for ourselves? If you are the kind of liberal (non-derogatory) that actually believes in liberal democracy, surely people in other countries deserve that consideration, those “inalienable rights”, as well?
I know it’s trendy to be all realpolitik and behave like no one ever actually believed in any of the enlightenment ideals and that it was all a cover for imperialism, but I know it’s not really true. I know you guys are out there. Fight for what you say you believe in.
Third, we’re on the edge of the precipice, getting ready to repeat all the mistakes of generations past. This is transparent propaganda, but it’s also a warning across time and space. Don’t you fucking do it again.
First of all, two wrongs don’t make a right.
That’s basically my whole point and I elaborated on it in other comments already. Western imperialism is bad, no doubt about that, but hearing it from another imperial power, well, that’s whataboutism
Respectfully, the two things you are trying to compare are not really comparable in any meaningful way.
Edit: If I am being as generous as possible, I suppose you could stretch the definition of “colonialism” to include Tsarist Russia and Siberia (not sure I would agree, but let’s call it that). But even then, by the time you get to the USSR I don’t see how you could call it that, as opposed to the USSR literally just developing part of the Union.
as opposed to the USSR literally just developing part of the Union.
That’s literally the narrative all colonizers use. “The white man’s burden” to force their culture onto others and build infrastructure to move natural resources to the imperial core. The form of colonialism changed from Tsarist Russia to the USSR to post-Bolshevik Russia but resource extraction is one common denominator and that’s what the post is about
Colonialism can only come from the colonial part of America. Otherwise it’s just sparkling resource extraction./s
+1 gigglesnort for you.
Wholesome Russian man develops 68,000km² of useless sea into new land 🥰🥰🥰
Whataboutism, and no, this is an international scale. I don’t know if what you claim is the case in Russia, but the more apt analogy for that would be the American South.
So because Russian colonies still aren’t independent, it isn’t international? You’re technically right, there is no national boarder in between.
It isn’t whataboutism to point out when one imperial power shits on another one for being imperial. If anything, the Soviet poster is whataboutism. And I upvoted the post because I agree with it, just wanted to give more context.
Whataboutism: The act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse
I even went as far as to entertain your analogy and give a more accurate equivalent. This article might be a good starting place to learn why, when the USSR chose to dissolve, Siberia didn’t become it’s own republic (I do agree it’s kind of odd).
Pwease don’t me a meanie weanie about the Wussians who never did anything wrong and certainly never engaged in any naughty impeweawism.
Lol are you ok?
I’m fine. But criticising American imperialism with literal Soviet propaganda makes you sound like a child
Wait, what propaganda? I think we all agree that Siberia is under direct governmental control of the Kremlin and not a sovereign state, no?
The original post is a piece of soviet propaganda.
Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Republic were/are imperialist powers who conquered and/or exerted economic, political and military power over their neighbours for the purposes of resource exploitation in exactly the same way every other imperial power has done throughout history, including the United States. Russia is currently engaged in a war of foreign aggression over resources.
Denying Russian (or Chinese) imperialism while denouncing US (or British, or European) imperialism is childishly naive.
I feel silly for missing the Russian text on the page the entire time 💀 I thought it was english bitcrushed enough that I couldn’t read it. It’s absolutely a USSR propaganda, it is still so relevant to this past week I didn’t consider it could be older. Yes, imperialism is a problem and needs to be stopped, but I am focused on what has been driving the world into empires for the last 200 years, capital. It inherently promotes exploitation and corruption regardless of government, and allows those who have it to exist above governments that become dependent on it.
How little the world has changed.
