Farewell to Russia.

I do not like the Russian people.

Earlier today someone clicked on a post written last year. This was the text:

I have finished Martin Gilbert's "Churchill, A Life." I have read "The Second World War," MacGregor Burns' "Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox," Meacham's "Franklin and Winston," Montefiore's biography of Stalin.

Winston Churchill's instantaneous, enduring decision to ally Britain with the Soviet Union after the launch of Operation Barbarossa was wrong. It was wrong then: for Britain, America, Poland, Eastern Europe, and Allied war strategy. It was wrong for the future: of post-war Germany, post-war Europe, post-war Britain, post-war America. It was wrong then and now, with foresight and in hindsight, with insight. It will always be wrong. It was good for the Soviet Union, though.

It was a mistake. And America's, too. Roosevelt said in a radio address that he thought the American people "would like him just fine," Stalin. "Uncle Joe" as Roosevelt and Churchill referred to him. We, the Allies, should have let the Nazis and Soviets fight it out--and toasted our good fortune! When Putin wrote in his New York Times op-ed, "We were allies once" I cringed. What did FDR and Churchill--and Jimmy Carter and Bush41--see in Russian leaders? 

I "feel" Putin and the Russian people in the Ukraine crisis. Have written same. Understand "where they're coming from," the loss of empire; think Putin has understandable grievances against the West; think the Obamas have been ham-handed, "insensitive," dumb, in their treatment of Putin. Don't like him though. Don't like the Russian people who support him. Soviet empire was evil; taking Crimea very bad; vision of Greater Russia very bad.

How could anyone think of Josef Stalin as a benevolent "uncle?" My God. Someone said of Churchill, "Winston was often right. But when he was wrong, well my God." How can you buss Brezhnev? How can you tell the world, "I have looked into this man's soul." My God.  Did somebody spike the vodka with LSD?

Dis-integrate with Russia. They're not "our kind of people," they don't have the same values. Putin's only value is Russia. We should never have been allies with them in WWII, should never have been "partners" with them in the post-Soviet era. With all the integration and alliance-ing and partnering
that has gone on since WWII, it is said the world has gotten "smaller." Here's for a bigger world! We need more distance. Shaking hands with the Russians only gets your hands dirty. We need Russia to
go away. Go away from Russia.

So, I was on Tumblr today and saw a photo, don't remember what it was, clicked on the source, which I do remember, "farewell to Russia," saw the image above and thought "I can't stand those people." And then I wrote this post. Farewell to Russia.