(A new Iron Curtain) - 'Russians are fleeing to the West..'

'Russians are fleeing to the West in what may be their last chance before a new Iron Curtain falls, with some desperately walking across borders in the middle of the night.

..

Anna learnt about the Russian invasion when she was woken up by a text message from a friend in Singapore saying: "We have a spare room. Just let us know.”

She said: “My Dad says the international isolation is going to be worse than under the Soviet Union. I decided to leave and then figure out what to do next.”'

- Panicked Russians flee to the West before fall of new Iron Curtain, February 28, 2022



'We in the democracies are often over-impressed by tyrannical “strongmen”: they seem so much purposeful and far-sighted than our bickering leaders. This view was strong in the 1930s. But it often turns out – as it did by 1945 in the West – that democracies are ultimately better at mobilising the popular will in self-defence. Although dictators may make decisions that seem rational for their own purposes, they are ultimately irrational – destructive, solipsistic, often mad. Putin seems to answer that description.'

'In the 21st century, we have been obsessed by the joys of “soft power”. It can, indeed, be an important tool in international relations – think of American films, French food and wine, the English language. But it can never be a substitute for hard power if that is the game your opponent wants to play. For most of his 20 plus years in office, Putin has been wooed by the soft power of the West, with total lack of success. He has watched and waited, his eyes gradually narrowing. Now he has struck, and finds our power so soft he can hardly feel it.

Should we therefore despair? No. We in the democracies are often over-impressed by tyrannical “strongmen”: they seem so much purposeful and far-sighted than our bickering leaders. This view was strong in the 1930s. But it often turns out – as it did by 1945 in the West – that democracies are ultimately better at mobilising the popular will in self-defence. Although dictators may make decisions that seem rational for their own purposes, they are ultimately irrational – destructive, solipsistic, often mad. Putin seems to answer that description.

The only good thing about the terrible events of this week is that they bring us back to reality. Like September 11 2001, or China’s behaviour over Covid, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine dispels cherished illusions.

We at last realise that this is a man whom we cannot trust, with whom we should not trade and whom we must resist. He is a man who is threatening, almost in so many words, to use his tactical nuclear weapons if we try to stop him. Nato, whose purpose has been neglected in recent years, can revive – and add friendly countries such as Finland and Sweden to its number. It is now the only way of defending what we thought we had gained when we won the Cold War – Europe, whole and free.'

- A self-indulgent West has allowed Putin to start re-erecting the Iron Curtain, February 25, 2022



Context

Thousands of Russians flee to US to escape conscription amid Ukraine war, February 26, 2022

ICC Prosecutor Says He'll Launch Investigation Into 'Events Unfolding' In Ukraine, February 28, 2022

(Total blockade & isolation of Russia) - 'The municipal council of Yakimanka district in the heart of Moscow .. calls for antiwar protests.'