Russia’s Counselor to the United Nations in Geneva resigned. I hope that those few readers of this blog who have been stridently defending Putin and making excuses (“clear out the Nazis,” “it’s NATO’s fault,” etc.) for his brutal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will read this.
The New York Times authenticated the letter.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Finally . . . someone from the inside . . . . CBK
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A true Russian patriot.
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The psyop used on Americans is amazing. Not even WWI could compete with this level of propaganda.
Peopleseea document online and immediately conclude. they have no idea where the document came from,its author, who is behind it,etc. And they ask no questions.
Ravitch has been pushing the anti standards movement for decades now that he left Rand. But she nevers mentions capitalism.
She is part of both the international propaganda and the misdirection in education.
The debate is private or public but she will never debate this.
Don’t be duped. Do your own research.
This is who Ravitch is asking us to support:
Channel 24, Kiev
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You really need to polish your act, Maricata.
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Weilunion and Maricata are one person. One email address.
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Yeah, I think we all have figured that out, but thanks for the confirmation.
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Putin has shamed Russia and robbed the Russian people of their honor.
Soldiers of the proud Russian Army that defeated Hitler should declare: “We are not baby killers! There shall be NO MORE of Putin’s war!” They should stop wherever they are and shout: “NO MORE! NO MORE!”
Russian tank crews should join them, shouting: “NO MORE!”
Russian pilots should dismount from their aircraft and shout: “NO MORE!”
Russian artillery crews should lower the cannon barrels and shout: “NO MORE!”
Russian generals should stand before their armies and proclaim: “NO MORE!”
Russian citizens should fill the streets of every city, shouting: “NO MORE! NO MORE! NO MORE!”
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I hope that when this is over, there will be an international war crimes tribunal to try the butchers who are conducting this invasion.
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In his English-language statement, which he said he emailed to about 40 diplomats and others, Bondarev said those who conceived the war “want only one thing — to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity.”
…A précis of the de facto GOP platform. Just replace “Russian Navy” with “the Pacific fleet.”
With respect to “tasteless palaces”, as much as we know about how billionaires sully our public institutions, it wasn’t until I took a walk and was in the middle-southern end of Central Park and look south that it struck me how they have sullied our public aesthetic. It’s one thing to have a David Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center–and everywhere else, for that matter–and rich folks’ names on buildings. But when I saw the architectural monstrosities of 57th Street’s Millionaires Row, the scars of those ugly “buildings” jutting out of the Central Park tree line and blue sky are an affront. The purpose of the park was for public recreation and relaxation, not become an expensive fish bowl for those that make the palaces pompous in the first place.
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GregB Well said. I don’t mind people becoming wealthy, but I do mind their poisonous and even predatory takeover of everything that anyone can enjoy, and much better without the everywhere-influence of the rich.
Why am I remembering Trump at that conference in Europe pushing his way through others to stand in the front of the crowd? CBK
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/billionaire-wealth-covid-pandemic-oxfam_n_6283e951e4b04353eb0a526d
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GregB Like with Trump, their self-serving actions and inability to understand how others might view them RIGHTLY are only more evidence of their personal shallowness. The earth is in the throes of illness from forever chemicals, and Koch has buildings named after him and his family. What is it about pride the fall? Remembering the Sacklers? CBK
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Greg, if you had gone to the Metropolitan Museum, you would have seen the “David Koch Plaza” out front, and the Sackler Wing inside.
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Boris Bondarev is an incredibly brave and courageous man. He’s a man of honor, a very rare species in the ruling class of Russia. He better stay in Switzerland because Putin will either have him assassinated by radioactive poison or he will be jailed for treason when he returns to Russia.
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At first I was suspicious about the timing – he felt this way on 2/24, but he waited nearly 3 months to say anything? But then I realized we’ve been waiting nearly 20 years for any Bush administration members to make similar statements about Iraq and over 10 years for any Obama administration members to say the same about Libya, so I guess I should give Mr. Bondarev kudos for his promptness.
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Dienne,
It is so sad that you can’t bring yourself to say even one word in opposition to Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. First, you said that Putin was amassing 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border as a training exercise; you said he would never invade. Then you said he was forced to invade because of the Nazis running Ukraine. Then you said he invaded because he felt threatened by NATO. Now that Finland wants to join NATO, Putin will be more encircled than he was before the invasion. Will you ever say that the invasion was wrong? This guy is giving up his career and his livelihood. You wouldn’t have to give up anything. But you will wait until Bush and Obama make statements about Iraq and Libya before you condemn Putin, which means never.
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Dienne, you wonder about a Russian diplomat’s hesitation to say anything? OMG. THAT IS RICH!!!! High-profile persons in Russia who criticize Putin and his policies are murdered or imprisoned by Stalinesque kangaroo courts. You aren’t that thick, Dienne, so why do you not grok this?
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Joe Jersey “. . . an incredibly brave and courageous man.” What you say about Boris Bondarev is probably why I shuddered as I read that letter. CBK
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More than defending Putin, I am accusing the US for disturbing the shit all over our planet. It isn’t Russia who has started wars all over, it isn’t Russia who has toppled democratically governments all over – INCLUDING the Ukraine government, it isn’t Russia who seeks hegemony all over the world regardless of the cost, regardless of who suffers. Two wrongs never make one right but blatantly ignoring America’s nefarious behaviour while accusing Russia…rather ironic that the kettle is calling the pot black.
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peskyvera What you say is absolutely logical, but unfortunately it is seriously bereft of truth.
We can be completely logical and still harbor an entirely false equation. That’s what you are doing in your note. If you need an explanation, your good logic hides the false equation between totalitarianism and democracy. As different methods, totalitarian is forceful (need I say more?); whereas democracy is an opening of the public and political spheres to all.
You may want to remember how most of Europe cheered when American got into WWII. No one thought the United States was trying to take over another country.
But I think you know that already. How much are they paying you to spread totalitarian propaganda and raise doubts about democracy and those who “spread” it? CBK
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The ruling class used anti Sovietism to enslave us and are now using anti Russiaism or Russiaphobia to enslave us.
Anything to deflectfrom inequality and capitalism.
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weilunion When you learn how to think beyond false equivalences and the abstractions of propaganda, then you may have something to contribute to the present conversation. Until then, “delete.” CBK
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You won’t find people on this blog defending illegal foreign wars conducted by anyone, Vera.
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Not even by God.
God, damn you!
If God invaded Spain
The rest of us would say
“He really is a pain
And God should go away”
He shouldn’t be in Spain
And shouldn’t be in France
And shouldn’t be the bane
Of animals or plants
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There are reports that Putin has cancer. But those aren’t quite correct. he and the siloviki around him ARE a cancer on the body politic of Russia.
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Sorry, Pesky, only one Pro-Russian comment per day.
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It’s not the pro-Russian I mind as much the obviously slanted propaganda, lies, gross simplifications, and illogical attempts at rationalization. They should at least admit at least a little bit of reality and that, in their minds, all lives truly do not matter.
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Vera responded to Boris Budonov’s passionate resignation letter by writing an attack on the U.S. for starting wars everywhere.
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Note to pesky and D-77: Criticizing Russia does not mean that we have excused the USA for its past sins. Plenty of people on this blog have criticized the US’s unnecessary wars of choice. By the reasoning of these 2, the US had no business making comments about Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan because of our own imperialism. It is possible to chew gum and walk at the same time. On the other hand, as horrific as the Korean war was, it did prevent the communists from taking over South Korea, which is today a thriving and prosperous democracy while North Korea is a totalitarian nightmare.
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Joe,
Absolutely correct.
And Russia is also becoming a totalitarian nightmare. Witness how quickly anyone who criticizes Putin either disappears or next is shown parroting words that are exactly the opposite.
And anyone who threatens Putin’s authoritarian grip on power in an election either meets with a convenient accident, is poisoned, or finds himself in jail after a quick show trial.
And as critical as I am of the NYT, the US still has a free press, which includes the Russian propaganda arms that seem to be the source of all information the pro-Putin trolls post here.
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And she is right, Diane. Your worked too long for Rand and are too privileged to see it. You defend capitalism and then tell the public charter schools are no good when they are a result of the capitalist system. Failed liberal democracy tacked on to failing capitalism is fascism. You are helping to provide that Weimar moment. And because you never helped build a socialist movement, you will have two choices: Mussolini style corporatism which we have today or barbarism.
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Weilunion,
Why are you posting here under different names?
FYI, I never worked for RAND.
Sorry for not attacking capitalism.
These are the wackiest comments on this blog in a long time.
You even accused Ukraine of wanting to commit genocide in Russia!
But Ukraine did not invade Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine.
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Ironically, the anti-war movement is larger in Russia than in the U.S. (The U.S. financial commitment to Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion is almost as much as Russia’s total defense budget!)
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James,
I am aware that about 100,000 Russians have left the country to protest the war, mostly people in the tech sector and artists.
And I saw a clip on Twitter of a youth concert in St. Petersburg where the audience was chanting “F- the War,” but I haven’t seen any other evidence of antiwar activity other than videos of police dragging protesters away. As you know, the parliament passed a law making it criminal to protest the war, with a possible prison sentence of 15 years.
There is no anti-war movement here because the U.S. did not invade Ukraine and was not attacked. American support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression seems to be very broad-based. Why would there be an anti-war movement, other than to support Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory?
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Diane asks, “Why would there be an anti-war movement, other than to support Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory?” Of course, there are several other reasons to advocate for diplomacy, de-escalation, and détente. Alas, those who advocate for peace are too often accused of being unpatriotic appeasers of a perceived enemy. This was true during the Vietnam War, during the illegal, immoral U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and now. War is the worst thing that can happen to a country, causing death, destruction, and indelible environmental devastation. To praise Russian anti-war activists while criticizing American anti-war activists seems an inconsistency explained by political expedience rather than principle. The war in Ukraine must ultimately end, either through attrition, negotiated settlement, or nuclear annihilation. Of those three options, I’d choose negotiated settlement, as it’s the option that’ll save lives, money, and the environment. Choose peace.
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I’m all for a negotiated settlement. The problem is that Putin is not.
James, can you persuade Vlad to negotiate?
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How much of Ukraine are you willing to “negotiate” away? I have a feeling that the Ukrainians might not agree with your “settlement.”
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I doubt that there is a person here who isn’t hoping for the end of the destruction of Ukraine. Just what is it that you propose? Choose peace is a tad vague.
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Diane that letter is really “up there” with other truly historical documents, like King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail, or some of Roosevelt’s or Kennedy’s speeches. CBK
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Agreed. What courage, what moral clarity, it took for Mr. Bondarev to write this!!!
A hero. This man is a hero.
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“I have read……”
This is the kind of rumor news that is responsible for people not believing in corporate news.
There is no reporting anymore,only commentators and repeaters.
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I do not think Boris Bondarev will be able to return to Russia as long as Putin and his cabal is in power. If he returns, the odds are that he will be shot in the back of the head along with his family, poisoned, or thrown in prison where he will be starved and tortured to death over a long period of time.
Hopefully, Bondarev has already considered this and asked the United States to offer him the Witness Protection Program, so he can go into hiding somewhere in the United States with a new name.
How about Traitor Trump calling his butt buddy and asking him if he can finally have his hotel in Moscow if he helps Putin get revenge on Boris.
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Two separate thoughts:
Putin has shown little hesitation when it comes to assassination. This diplomat guy is putting himself out there.
The comments here suggesting that the United States has no standing to criticize Putin have ignored the fundamental paradox of a nation: there is hardly a way to avoid making choices between two evils. Unfortunately, history rarely gives you Bull Connor vs MLK. It usually looks more like Hitler vs Stalin. Sometimes Churchill vs Gandhi.
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Russia ranks 8th in the top ten countries ranked by presence of modern slavery.
It’s not surprising that Republicans are attached to Putin.
Btw- Russia is the only country among the top ten that has a sizeable white population.
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Sometimes the best thing to do is delete her. Also sometimes the hardest.
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…And whatabout when Jan broke her glasses because she thought it would look cool riding her bike without them??…
One can publicly comment in America that we have past sins in need of recognition and atonement. In Russia you are imprisoned or dosed with Polonium for doing similarly. This isn’t Breitbart or Fox Vera. Your Kremlin agitprop isn’t lapped up by willing white supremacists here. Your junk spam is as egregious as it is vapid.
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Excellent comment.
But slight correction — Jan didn’t break her glasses, she ruined the anniversary gift photograph of the kids. Sad. I always mix that up with when Jan also ruined the silver platter engraving (my personal favorite due to the fab song and dance number with the cool jumpsuits)
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George Bush, Jr., inadvertently nailed it recently. Yes, the Second Iraq War was criminal, and for the same reasons that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is criminal. LITERALLY criminal under the U.N. charter, the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other international laws and precedents. In both cases, the war was undertaken on cooked-up pretexts (WMDs, liberation of Ukraine from Nazis and the threat of NATO), was a Crime of Aggression under international law, and involved a long list of Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes. The Russian war of choice in Ukraine is completely barbaric and unjustified and stupid. Slava Ukrainii!
The whataboutism of some regarding the criminal invasion of Ukraine is insane, sickening apologia for the crimes being committed. When uttered by someone like Rand Paul or Marjorie Taylor Greene, it is complicity.
When this is done, and the sooner the better, Russian assets must be seized and used to rebuild the country ravaged by Putin’s thugs, but that will not restore the lives of the dead babies and toddlers and grandmothers or replace the priceless cultural treasures being destroyed by Russian bombardment.
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Bob Yes to your exploration of Iraq, America, and Bush’s “slip.”
However, we can still recognize the great difference as a part of history . . . that an authoritarian regime taking over a country for its own nefarious purposes is not the same as a secular democratic country trying to initiate the development of a democratic state; and regardless of all of cultural naivete and self-serving activities that goes along with it.
We can recognize equivalent methods and outcomes in too many situations, while also recognizing that great difference of purpose at the core of our politics . . . and BTW, only in democratic or quasi-democratic states are we free and open enough to self-critique in that way and as you have here, without fear, for instance, of being murdered on account of it. CBK
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You will certainly read and hear harsh criticism of US policy in the U.S. You will read such criticism in the major newspapers.
You will not read criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Russian media.
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Diane “You will certainly read and hear harsh criticism of US policy in the U.S. You will read such criticism in the major newspapers. You will not read criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Russian media.
Exactly that . . . the “opposition” can even omit and lie and get entirely away with it. It’s the way Putin et al leverage democratic principles against democracy itself. AND it’s WHY people and organizations like Fox “news” are so very slimy.
I seriously doubt they’d like living under such a regime either. I wouldn’t stop them, or their equivalents in our governmental institutions at present, from living here, but they really don’t deserve it. CBK
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Yes, Diane, Catherine. I can say that kind of thing here in the U.S. without having secret police kill me on the street, which happens all the time to anyone who voices dissent in Russia under Putin. At least for now, until this country is turned into Desantistan.
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I guess I am being immoderate again today. WordPress is finicky.
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In other news, there is an active school shooter right now in an elementary school in Texas. We have had almost one a day of these in this country ever since New Town. We need to freaking put metal detectors at the doors of schools. We have them at courthouses for crying out loud. This has to be stopped.
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https://6abc.com/uvalde-texas-robb-elementary-school-active-shooter-district-lockdown/11889693/
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But hey, thoughts and prayers
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15 dead. 14 kids. 1 teacher. So far. Another day in America.
Nothing can be done about gun violence says only country where this is a daily occurrence.
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Watch Governor Greg Abbot explain that guns don’t kill people. He and his GOP pals have eliminated gun control in Texas.
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There have been more than 200 mass killings so far in 2022
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