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Kathy Kelly writes from Russia ...<br>
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<a
href="http://commondreams.org/views/2016/06/24/stakes-are-enormously-high-along-russian-border"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://commondreams.org/views/2016/06/24/stakes-are-enormously-high-along-russian-border">http://commondreams.org/views/2016/06/24/stakes-are-enormously-high-along-russian-border</a></a><br>
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e.g.<br>
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In 1954 the Soviet government transferred this largely
Russian-speaking area from Russia to the Ukraine. In 2014, after
Ukraine's elected president was ousted and its new government
formed in part by avowed neo-Nazis, Russia occupied the Crimea and
after overwhelmingly winning an uncomfortably hasty vote, annexed
it or “reunited” the Crimean peninsula with Russia, depending on
who describes the history. The Ukraine ouster, it is widely
believed here and in much of the world outside the United States,
is considered to have been engineered by the United States and
NATO. What plays in the U.S. as Russian aggression is seen by
many here as a response to antidemocratic NATO interference along
the Russian border.<br>
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<p><span>The Federation of American Scientists, in its 2016
inventory of nuclear forces, states that approximately
93 percent of all </span><span><a
href="http://fas.org/issues/nuclear-weapons/status-world-nuclear-forces/">nuclear
warheads</a></span><span> are owned by Russia and
the United States who each have roughly 4,500-4,700
warheads in their military stockpiles.</span></p>
<p>Konstatin, a veteran from the USSR war in Afghanistan,
now a grandfather, spoke to us about Yalta’s history
during World War II. “Many<span> people perished here,”
he said. “More than a million perished during WWII. This
tourist resort was founded from the bones of people
killed in the war.” Some 22 million Russians overall
died during World War II, most of them civilians.
Konstatin urged all of us to find ways for avoiding
further war, and he spoke about how funds spent on
weapons are crucially needed to help heal children
afflicted by disease or hunger. <br>
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Julia, a University student who wants to become an
interpreter working with diplomats, said that she is
glad and grateful never to have lived through a war." I
always want to choose words instead of weapons,” Julia
said.</span></p>
<p>We asked university students what they thought of
prospects for abolition of nuclear weapons. Anton, who
studies engineering, told us that he believes “<span>the
youth of different countries would like to bridge the
gap and work out ways to unite people.” His words are
extremely important now, as Russia and the U.S.,
possessing such huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons,
engage in intensifying conflict. “All of us should
soften the geopolitical relations between our
countries,” Anton continued, “and try to get together on
the same level, on the same ground. The idea of this
future should be attractive to everyone and enable us to
solve ecological problems. And if we all put efforts
into reaching this idea of development and creativity,
in the future, then the nuclear abolition will be
something we can accomplish”</span></p>
<p>In 1954 the Soviet government transferred this largely
Russian-speaking area from Russia to the Ukraine. In 2014,
after Ukraine's elected president was ousted and its new
government formed in part by avowed neo-Nazis, Russia
occupied the Crimea and after overwhelmingly winning an
uncomfortably hasty vote, annexed it or “reunited” the
Crimean peninsula with Russia, depending on who describes
the history. The Ukraine ouster, it is widely believed
here and in much of the world outside the United States,
is considered to have been engineered by the United States
and NATO. What plays in the U.S. as Russian aggression is
seen by many here as a response to antidemocratic NATO
interference along the Russian border.</p>
It can be credibly argued that at its creation NATO’s
mission was essentially defensive. Stalin was a terrifying
dictator, suffering from increasing psychosis, with a long
history of betraying even those who seemed to be his closest
allies. Yet, as one Russian World War II veteran noted, the
Russians had not tried to take over other countries far from
their borders. They actually had been very cautious and
conservative about extending the boundaries or reach of the
Soviet empire by military force, and after World War II
Russia needed to focus on rebuilding the internal Soviet
economy and society.
<p>The continuously assertive military posturing of NATO
undermines and conflicts with the mission and development
of instruments for international negotiation and
constructive cooperation. Among the most striking examples
in recent years are:</p>
<ul>
<li>the decision to expand NATO into eastern and southern
Europe by accepting the membership or candidacy of
countries as far south as Georgia;</li>
<li>the 2001 decision by George Bush to abrogate the U.S.
– Russian Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems treaty and to
build a so-called ballistic missile shield system in
East European countries, allegedly intended to protect
against prospective Iranian missile launches directed
toward Europe;</li>
<li>the 2001 to the present decisions by the U.S. and NATO
to invade Afghanistan and to establish long term
military bases there, anchoring a military presence in
the center of Central Asia.</li>
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<p>New conflicts around the Ukraine are still brewing.<br>
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