I am glad to have found you. Thank you for creating this. Many in America think that different is not good. But in a long life, I have discovered what you emphasize, different is different, nor necessarily wrong or right.
Not allowing dissenting voices or opinions sounds pretty wrong to me. Two heads are very often better than one. The absolute power quote comes to mind rather quickly too. It seems like it's not just different, they have a lot of corruption.
When something is diferent you know it , and there isn't real competition ! Likely the competition is about the same comodities , and when you are the same you are jelows !
What annoys me is that these historians read their books and talk of 'Russians' having all these complexities and history when, really, it is just the few narcissistic ideological people who have the power at the top that perpetuate these corrupt schemes. Is it fair that when we talk of 'Russians' we are only talking about this minority? In authoritarian countries, there is the biggest disconnect between the leaders and the populace. Putin does not represent Russians, he just rules them. The masses are influenced by how they are treated by the leadership system, not the country's factual history. Listening to a lot of youngsters on YT, many of them do not even seem very aware what it was like during USSR times; unsurprisingly it seems their parents have not wanted to tell them much. Perhaps this is just an artifact of naive Russian YTers. Recently, the babushkas have panic bought sugar, and these young Russians are just looking on and thinking they are nuts. Absolutely right though that many in the west keep calling Putin mad when it is simply that they do not understand his game. The manner in which the western leaders communicate when talking of Putin often appears pitiful to me and I only hope they know better than I. He is a very intelligent man, a psychopath and skillful actor, and I can only guess at the contempt he has for them, not so much for their decisions, but for what he sees as their 'unprofessional' behavior and inability or unwillingness to play his game. Who knows, a little intellectual gaming may give him the respect he needs to rediscover a little humanity. Maybe not. I certainly hope Prof Stubb's conclusion to this video is correct.
Wonderfull analytic and insightful. I have been traveling in Russia for many years in the 1980-2000. Russin married etc. Complex country and people. But not bad people in general. Actual very nice. But a very different perspective on the world than us in the nordic countries.
This is so important to help understand the dissonance between the beauty and intelligence of Russian culture and what is happening today. I worked and fell in love with Russia in the mid 90s and this war has been heartbreaking. My Russian friends here are very silent on the war still and this helps me understand why. I’ve watched the series and want to thank you.
This guy should be Prime Minister of Everything in the World - and I'm not being sarvastic - I'm writing with full conviction. He's unpretentious, level-headed and fair - and he never lets an ego interfere with the important message at hand. 100% the OBVERSE of America's Orange Toddler !
Excellent lecture! I, as a citizen of Russia, want to change our values, but the country is led by people who have lived in the USSR all their lives. I'm afraid if the Putin regime does not fall from losing the war, then my homeland will become even more totalitarian for many years to come.
I would like to hear a lecture on Ukrainian history because I don't think people will ever understand this war without understanding the history of Ukraine as well.
Very good analysis about the mentality of Russia and its history. I'd like to add that this analysis can also be applied to the current communist China.
I like the closing comments on Russia being 20 now 40 years behind. It does seem like that and also with the USA feels like it's 10 to 20 years behind.
I've always said that Russia and Brazil should be two of the most prosperous countries on planet earth, and people in both should be farting through silk, yet both countries always find ways to not make that happen.
surprisingly same is said of Mexico.... afaik mexico doesnt have oil but brazil has even that. But who are we to decide? western people are indoctrinated to only value fast, shiny, expensive material things, not even education unless it costs your lifetime savings like in US. I agree it is weird people in brazil especially cities live in starvation while they export dirt cheap meat to europe in huge amounts.
Moscow and St. Petersburg are modern cities with luxury items by companies around the world. Few hundred kilometers away.... You go back 50 to 70 years in time. Further off it's rural like you wouldn't believe.
russians were "farting through silk" and that is the reason why war happened. they lost their mind of all the profit they made during last two decades.
Nice lecture. Thank you for the effort. I would like to comment on the young Russian, as the hope for future international integration. One thing I noticed is their love for mother land. I have met, worked with lovely Russians who proudly remind me that they are the last bloodline of UDSSR jokingly. Furthermore, among the young lads in various international schools, and universities in Germany and Austria, fascinatingly tends to displays strong identity pride despite receiving over 15 years of schooling in Europe. Lastly, the young Russians loves the outward show of western lifestyle but they don’t like to be westernized inwardly. I always like to say, the „The west should not be over western“.
@@TurreTuntematon Yeah, and the best of both worlds can also be: those who can teach teach, those who can do do. Never knew what he did (I'm not from a Nordic country, neither interested in EU policy) as a politician. But he surely teaches interesting stuff. And he does it well. Other than that, I think being a Finn, as Mr Stubb, is a real plus for having a deep (neutral? ^^) insight when it comes to this war.
That was an interesting lecture on Russia. It’s also interesting to listen to a European viewpoint of Russia… mainly because there is so much history between Russia and Europe. Most people in the US have no idea what those relationships are about…. so thank you for your perspective…..
Finland especially has very good knowledge of Russia. Not exactly the same as Eastern Europe since they were not fully occupied by Russia and/or USSR but still very valuable.
You won't understand Russia watching Finnish lectures. I am Russian myself. Up to 13:20 everything the guy said was reasonable. That's the part where he referenced Kari. Seems like that Kari actually knows Russia to some extent. Even though judging from Karis lecture he views Russia as an enemy but at least he tries to understand his enemy. He is extremely biased but at least he did his research. And after 13:20 the guy starts to make completely wrong conclusions. If you want to understand someone just watch their analysts or lecturers. Recently I have watched some Indians on UA-cam and I have got a very deep insight on Chinese-Indian territorial disputes from Indian perspective. If you came to learn European perspective on Russia, you came to the right place. If you came to learn Russian perspective this place is horrible. It is as practical as learning about USSR from USA during Cold War or learning about USA from USSR. And btw neither Finland nor Eastern Europe understand Russia better than US or Western Europe. They are just even more biased.
@@neverknowsbest2879 So at the end this gentleman is respectfully saying same old narrative: Russia is a backward country with authoritarian leader and suppressed population. He ruined his otherwise great presentation by this conclusion. In the context of Russia-Ukraine war not a single word about US and UK role in Ukraine political disarray since 2014 that led the country into civil war and Russia's strategic interests seeing NATO aggressive expansion as existential threat.
@@neverknowsbest2879 There is a difference between understanding Russian people and their system. Which are two things which seem to be in quite a harsh contrast but after some thinking it makes sense. To be invaded by Russia (or USSR) provides some experience which Western Europe and the US lacks. Eastern Europe does not, unfortunately. Still I would not underestimate the view from outside. Might be more precise than self evaluation.
@@neverknowsbest2879 yeah..we in Eastern Europe are really biased. You know what made us biased? Having Russians as neighbours for centuries, having Russian tanks on our streets, having our families raped by Russian soldiers, having parts of our families deported in Siberia.
Very educational and formative lectures on Russia and its people. and it was also the same culture of northwestern Ukraine and southern Belarus. No wonder why President Putin invaded Ukraine with the dreamed of taking it back to the Union. I've listened to your series of presentation and intellectually appetizing. In my conclusion, Putin doesn't want a "decadent capitalism to destroy Russia in the current context of Ukraine and Russian war. Thank you sir!
Thank you for your views on our world. I really began to follow Russia/USSR during a class in Oslo taught by the husband of Gro Bruntland. Plus living with Norwegians who’d served on the border.
Interesting parallels to Mexican society- racked with revolution & corruption, people rush for stability where & from who they can find it - in the moment.
I am Swedish and russia has been a threat and we have fought like 11 wars against russia. It could gave been more since we almost got into war with russia during the crimean war 1853 to 1856 and also during world war one it was close to war against russia. Sweden and russia has been historicaly enimies. Russia still see us as an unfriendly country.
I don't think that future of the next generations in Russia is the thing that what we should worry about right now, but the lives of innocent people in Ukraine that die every day.
Kiitos Alex tästä videosarjasta. Opin itsekkin näin suomalaisena pieniä juttuja lisää tästä koko kuviosta. Suomessa on aika selkeä kokonaiskuva näistä kuvioista, joten minusta Suomella ja suomalaisilla on kyllä paljon annettavaa eurooppalaisille ja jenkeille. Kiitos työstäsi.
tän videon vois suomalaisittain lyhentää yhteen todellisuuttahivelevään hokemaan, jonka valtaosa suomalaisista ymmärtää: ryssä on ryssä, vaikka voissa paistaisi..
If you study the organisation of gangsters in the USA, The Sopranos, The Godfather, you see it paralleled in Russia and Putinism and in fact in all dictators. The is was an excellent talk but missed the point about the willingness to use violence to gain an end.
As to the mentality of Russians, Bill Browder told a story in his book "Red Notice:" A peasant finds a magic lamp, rubs it and out pops a genie. The genie tells the peasant that he'll grant just one wish. The peasant thinks about maybe having a castle, or a ship to sail around the world. Or even better, 1,000 bars of gold. Then the genie says that there is one stipulation: whatever you get, all your neighbors get two of. The peasant says, "F@#k that! Poke out one of my eyes." And a joke was posted on Reddit yesterday that goes: Putin visits a wounded general on his deathbed, there's no way this guy's going to make it. Given how badly the invasion of Ukraine is going, the General looks over to the President and says, "Are you sure the public will follow you?" To which Putin answers, "50% will follow me, 50% will follow you."
Always interesting the topic you analyze, I completely agree with what you say and I am glad that I discovered you from an interview you gave. I agree that there is a new generation of Russians who have lived the difference between Russia and the West, traveled, studied abroad and do not agree with Putin's policies, as well as many from the past who were finally able to take advantage of the freedom to come into contact with other peoples. and cultures. Yes the war will end at some point and I hope in the next phase of this proud people. Also stocks will run out at some point, Europe's dependence will decrease and Russia's economy will be smaller than the USA, EU and of course China. Thank you very much M.Stubb.
I lived in Soviet Russia and Belarus from 1959 to 1991 and know Soviet mentality 1st hand as well as history. Russia had never had stability ever. Brutality and corruption has been dominating for 1000 years with no exception
Cannot thank you enough for your overview here, much of what you said confirms my instinctive impressions. Still great to have my impression’s confirmed and set out in your usual clear and succinct manner. One can only hope that younger Russians can interact with the larger world and not have the automatic default position of extreme suspicion. However Putin has made that unlikely for a number of years in the future, perhaps that was part of his masterplan? Sad that the spiritual wing of Russia seems to support this ….all in the name of power and position,other spiritual institutions have done the same in the past so they are not alone in this, However this is another rabbit hole we do not want to enter. Many thanks for your insights.
By default nobody has an "extreme suspicion". This is something they learn by interaction and what they gain as experience. They guy was trying to be neutral although his wish to see youngsters thinking in the 'right' (from his point of view) way shows that his is a bit engaged and knows what is better for Russians. And as a general comment - he is wrong about general mentality of Russians (meaning citizens of the RF, not just ethnical Russians). Russians are very sensitive to hypocricy and manipulations and do not tolerate it on any level (of course all people around the World are absolutely the same with the same percentage of any kind of personalities, Russia has them as much as others). EU/US are sanctioning RU oligarchs, what Russians say - EU/US are miserable hypocritical creatures who do not follow their own laws and promises. Nobody cares about oligarchs' wealth, but all remember US/EU behaviour. EU/US have stolen Russian cash reserves - you may guess that learning experience is the same. Such examples accumulated during a certain period of time make people suspicious against so-called 'collective West'. What is funny, Russians mentally allow 'collective East' to be cheaters and liars 'by their nature'. Such a statement moves us to a conclusion that mentally Russians want to be a part of 'collective West' but idealisation of it and high expectations about fairness and openness of it, in turn, create a lot of frustration when they see the reality. In other words, Russians always point on painful areas of western society and arguing like 'when you become ideal, you may advise what myself should do in my home, until when go and continue cleaning your own bullshit'. And it is not because they hate western world but because they wish to see a bacon of ideal to which they want to strive.
@@habibilee4607 This is just a thought of you which is not 100% clear. Do you have any example or could you clarify your comment? If you really want to know, of course, and your comment is not just a rhetoric cancellation of all Russian.
@@igorseaman1105Igor,thank you for taking the time to reply to me, my comment was written in the spirit of trying to work out something approaching a truth that I could understand. So I am glad to have your opinion. I am in my eighties, have never had the opportunity to visit Russia,so I have often been puzzled by what has happened between between Russia and the West. Politicians are politicians no matter what country they are in. The average citizen in the West knows that politicians play with the truth. We too are often disgusted with our own elites of the political world and that of big business. It takes a lot of citizen power to change things but now and again we do effect change. We do know that any state has a tendency to have secrets that the public are not privy to and it is only when the rights of the individual are not respected and laws bent that citizens get very excited. Don’t think for an instant that the people of the West necessarily go along with what they are told.. there has been much condemnation for instance of very wealthy Russians buying their way into society, when we too believed Western banking was getting fat on doing business with people who had in some cases stolen this money from the Russian people. That is the thing about money it has no loyalty to anyone. So thank you for your reply……this is what we all need…. Talk!
In 1985 in Russia the only thing that prospered was the Black Market. Corruption was wide. Fruit and veg shops were huge but inside there was only a half full carbon box with a few small no n ripe and ugly upper. If you wanted the apples you had to pay extra or go to the black Market. The same was for meat and all other goods and it was not ordered at all aside from the ranks within the organised corruption.
Yes, Mr. Stubb, you have thoroughly studied the American vision of Russia and quite probably inherited a uncongenial picture of the Russian which is quite common still in Finland.
Btw, to other people interested in good analysis of the ongoing war, check out Perun youtube channel. He made excellent Powerpoint representations, well researched, cautious in his claims, and thoughtful in his results.
Very eloquently illuminating. Thank you. I dearly hope your country and Sweden join NATO this summer; you'll make it better and stronger. Separately, I am a Formula 1 fan, and "Kimi" is one of my favorite drivers.😊.
@@pen7759 UA-cam has the ability to automatically translate In order to use it , you need to go back to the original page in the upper right corner to find the desired message and click the Translate button under it ........Oddly enough, Europeans do not know how to use self-translation Unlike Hindus Chinese and others
Thank you for insightful analysis, a lot of food for thought. What I am missing from your analysis and many commentators is the economics and needs of a Russia and its crumbling financial situation riddled with corruption. As a hypothesis, could it not be that russian cronies want and need to control the resources of Ukraine, another region to such dry to cover up for the failures at home? I mean they are the worlds largest wheat exporters and are sitting on production of key resources like neon for electronics manufacturing. Is all the nationalistic etc. posturing just part of the story or a smokescreen? Is the whole war maybe a smokescreen to cover up for failings at home in russia? It's just a thought, only asking. Best regards, Annie
I would say, that yes, this whole war is a cover up, but not only of Russian failings, but the world's failings. During the pandemic trillions and trillions of dollars and euros (and yens for that matter) were "printed" by the USA, EU and other developed countries. The inflation that would be caused by these actions seemed not to worry anyone. Now I see why. They knew they would not be held accountable for the economic crisis their actions would cause because there would be someone to blame. Now we see that there is Russia. It has become a scapegoat for all the economic problems in all the countries (USA, Germany, China, Japan, etc.). Just check the headlines. I am not on the conspiracy theories' side but it all seems too convenient and too big of a coincidence.
@@anniebooo in what place was it an excuse? I just shared with you a piece of my thinking when trying to figure out what is going on. You can take it into consideration or discard completely, totally up to you.
One of the best lectures/videos on Russia I've watched. Just a new and better perspective and understanding of a great country and nation. May God grant us understanding, peace and unity as a human race towards each other
I think I remember Prof Stubb before the War, but I have seen a lot of him after Feb 24, 2022, on youtube and I am very impressed with his intelligence. Prof was also President of Finland and it is a shame that his talents are not fully used now. I am an American who voted for Obama with confidence and for Hillary Clinton, but only as the "lesser of 2 evils." If it were possible, I'd vote for Alex Stubb for American President. At some point, Professor Stubb should be President of the EU. Or he should be UN Secretary General.
I would say that the imperialist, "superpower" Russia dates back to the czarist Russian Empire, which I would say dates from the Congress of Vienna and predates the Soviet Union by 100 years. It was actually larger than the Soviet Union, because it contained Finland and most of Poland, as well as all the future Soviet territories.
0:50 Oh, now you can't not tell us the titles and authors of these 6 very informative books. Even if they're dated, I'm sure they still contain very good foundational information. Structures that we can benefit from. Please, list them for us here. Please.
Thx again for sharing these lectures. There seems to be embedded deep in the Russian psyche and culture, a need to be recognized as great. It comes off as a "little man's complex," or deep-seated insecurity, a longing to be recognized as "great." There is a greater strain of nationalism, racism and supremacy in Russia than elsewhere in Europe. Teaching your children that "the world is out to get us," is not the behavior of truly confident, self-assured adults. Teaching your children the the ability to suffer through more than others is among the greatest traits of your country isn't the hallmark of a "winning" mentality, but of those who, deep inside, believe they are "perennial losers." Putin himself seems to exhibit all the worst characteristics of being truly Russian. The little man's complex, the desperate need to be seen by others as "great," the false bravado, the insecurities that lead a man to conclude he'll never have friends who will accept him to work together with, so might as well resort to bullying and force.
So as someone who was born in Odessa in 1975 and came to US in 1990 I have a unique perspective and as far as teaching your citizens to fear others I’d like to point out that when Soviets launched Sputnik there was a literal panic in the streets of US cities. As a kid in USSR all we were told in schools is that we are all the same and that peace is what we should strive for. Another point I’ll make is people often overlook just how dearly USSR paid to beat the Nazis, around 30 million killed including my grandfather so I can at least understand why NATO would be perceived as a threat, especially after Yugoslavia and Iraq. Just my 0.02
@@pyatig Thx for sharing. Fearmongering and teaching hate shouldn't happen anywhere, and it was wrong that the U.S. military-industrial complex pushed U.S. politicians to spread that fear beyond what was warranted. But let's not paper over the very real menacing and threats that came from guys like Kruschev. Russia's little man complex has led many of its leaders to directly threaten nuclear annihilation of other countries, something the U.S. has never done, and something no other nuclear power has ever done, except N. Korea. We also can't pretend that Russia doesn't have a history of incredibly brutal aggression and repression both of its own people and more so of other ethnicities and cultures in the geographic region. Nor can we dismiss Russia's aggression in SE Asia, Latin America, etc. Much of what the U.S. did then was not good. But it was not entirely without rational basis. As for the former Yugoslavia, NATO stood on the sidelines for years, and was no threat to anyone until the world could no longer avert its eyes from Milosevic's genocide. So, yes, if you are going to carry out an ethnic cleansing and attempt a genocide, as Putin is now, trying to literally wipe Ukraine off the map and extinguish its independent culture, then yes, you should fear at some point NATO might step in. But otherwise, there is no rational basis for fearing NATO. It's a defensive organization, not an offensive one. In its entire history, it has never once been a threat to, much less invaded a sovereign country, nor has it ever used charged rhetoric to threaten any sovereign state. As for WW2, Russia did play a part in defeating the Third Reich. It is an absolute tragedy that the Russian leadership has always been so incompetent and its military leadership so barbaric and neanderthal that their only tactic has been to just to attempt brute force of "wasting" men and artillery. The Russian leadership and its military leaders are the ones most responsible for the outrageous death count. As for what portion of credit it deserves for defeating Hitler, this is a sore spot for Russians. If so many more Russians died than Americans and European Allies, how could it be that Russia is not recognized as deserving the most credit. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. When you take a test, you don't get a grade based on how many hours you studied, you get a grade based on your actual performance on the test. It's a tragedy that Russia "spent" so much for such disproportionately smaller impact. I feel badly for your loss of your grandpa. And I'm sorry if it hurts the ego of some Russians, but Russia's contribution was not the ultimate determining factor in the outcome of WW2. Doesn't mean the contribution shouldn't be recognized and respected, but nobody owes Russia outsized lauding just because it's got a cultural insecurity and is overly nationalist and needy for recognition. It's a tragedy for Ukraine, the Russian people, and the world that Putin is such a sad little boy who is so hurt and his ego so bruised that the only way he thinks he can get the respect he wants is to do what he is doing now. Tragic. That the Russian people are unwilling to take on the cost and sacrifice necessary to replace him is equally tragic. It is not for the West or even Ukraine to solve Russia's internal problems. It is not for any of them other than Russia to stop Putin. That responsibility belongs to the Russian people. If ever they would accept that responsibility instead of shirking it, the national pride could be real instead of so hollow.
Great presentation. It only lacked the nuisances that made Putin jump after waiting for so long for the west to respect and address his security concerns which they did not provide. Also, the fact that why is it OK for the USA to have its Monroe Doctrine (not allowing any foreign forces into the Western Hemisphere - remember the Cuban Crisis?) and not grant the fact the Russia feels threatened by NATO moving eastward towards Russia's borders. Also, there is the internal Neo-Nazi powerful groups who are driving the cart for Zelensky and who have committed war crimes in Donbas. Even in global discourse, such seemingly small nuisances are crucial. I regret that professor Stubb did not address them at all.
Who says the Monroe Doctrine is OK? This is a European perspective, maybe even a Northern European perspective. It's presented in English, but it's not the Anglophone perspective.
So far, Alexander Stubb has made lecture videos on topics he masters, topics like the EU, Russia and Finland. Lectures on topics he has no expertise on are not necessarily a good idea. For a similar perspective, though not as pedagogical, put "Carl Bildt Ukraine" in UA-cam's search field. Stubb has been FM and PM for Finland, Bildt has been PM and FM for Sweden.
@@jmolofsson Absolutely agree with the thesis that one should speak about what one understands. But how possibly you can speak about Russia-Ukraine war without understanding of Ukrainian background? I am just not sure if such an expertise can be objective. Such series of lectures puts Ukraine outside of the narrative and showcase the importance of all the other parties (even China), diminishing the role of Ukraine in Ukrainian (!) war. Thanks for the recommendation!
I've watched all episodes. Great stuff. How about episode about diplomacy. I have problem with understanding why Russian diplomats are twisting reality so badly without any shame, and are still treated with respect. I hope that behind closed doors talks are somehow reality based.
Very good, but I have a niggle over saying that the 1900s was the start of Russian imperialism, it's more accurate to say it was the zenith of Russian imperialism. The imperial ambition of Russia began at its formation in the 17th century when Muscovy declared itself the kingdom of all the Rus. At that point there were many Russian principalities that considered themselves independent both culturally and politically. They were conquered and assimilated, more or less successfully, into "Russia Proper." The difference in the 1900s was that Russia felt compelled to take their imperialism global to keep up with other European powers and check growing European influence in Asia.
I'm pretty sure Alexander Stubb agrees with you. There are a couple of similar points in the other lectures, where one can't decide whether he misspoke, simplified for pedagogical reasons, or just is wrong. It's annoying, but one has to live with that.
I was enlightened by the analysis. Thank you. Then you jumped to 'when the war is over'. But you didn't articulate how you think we should handle the current situation we face right now?
I feel like it’s important to note that Russian conservatism is not the same as American conservatism especially if your going to invoke the recent campaign slogan of one of our most conservative Presidents of all time. Make America Great Again did not mean expanding American influence through military might in fact we had a draw down of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and was even criticized for not defending the Kurds in Syria. Trump was the first president in a long time to not get involved militarily in a new conflict. American Conservatism is more about getting government out of the way so businesses and individuals are not taxed into oblivion. Russia has an imperialist mindset that whatever Putin says is Golden and carried out without question. This mindset is actually closer aligned with the American Democrat government first party or a Macaron of France, which means France got tricked.
Dear Alex, I would like to hear your thoughts on how much of a influence Alexandr Dukin and his thoughts on Western hegemony and the inevitability of a great war, has on Putin? Kiitos!
James Byrnes, a Roosevelt advisor and Secretary of State under Truman described the Russians in this way: Imagine you live in your home. Next to you lives your nearest neighbor. Next door to your nearest neighbor is a third home. That home is the Russians. Now, let's say that your nearest neighbor puts his house up for sale and moves. The other guy buys that house, burns it to the ground so that there is more empty space between him and you. That, Byrnes said, how the Russians think. That in a nutshell is what they mean by secure boarders.
Alexander ger svar på de svåra frågorna som folk undrar över!...Och en gnutta hopp om framtiden. Alexanders speaches is what you need to understand abit over how Russian diktator(s) is/are thinking!!! I have heard of this man (Alexander) "forever". But just , since this war started begun to follow him and his important knowledges as a former Prime Minster .
As a student of biblical prophecy, i find this interesting in comparison to Daniel's king of the north vs king of the south prophecy. However our dilemma is that we understood the king of north as the west and king of the south as communist Asia. But rather our dilemma today is that, Russia is actually showing characteristics of the king of the north. And the west is actually portraying characteristics of the king of the south. A question of morality. But i do not doubt that this war will have global ramifications. From the end of WW2 upto the fall of USSR, the west was right wing and the east was left wing. They seem to have swapped ideologies 🤷🏿♂️. The other dilemma from my perspective is that Ghengis Khan of the Mongols was a progressive humanitarian who sparked the Western enlightenment. Especially understanding the dark ages era. Ghengis Khan's era coincided with the birth of the reformation.
And when he says the Russian leaders think they are never wrong. I see double standards because the west has never accepted it's own mistakes. For example the Korean war, Vietnam war, the Cambodian genocide, the coups and instabilities in Africa & South America, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan & the Arab spring. The economic structural adjustment programmes by IMF and the Word bank to the 3rd world countries. We can add many if not all the problems of the world in our short past history as a direct influence of Western foreign policy.
Also one of the most significant layer of the russian culture is 'raskol' (раскол) /split, crack, schism, break/ It means that every leader in Russia cancels everything which are connected with previous one.
To use the term "conservative" regarding Russia seems to be prone to mislead people to think of censervatism as bad which it is abslutely not in itself when understood properly. But one has to acknowledge what conservatism can mean, because it is such a broad term. For instance you can be a conservative communist at the same time. Therefore Professor Stubb should have given a satisfactory definition of his understanding of the term.
Thank you so much!! Very good and explains a lot! My biggest concern is: with a different Russia as the rest of (western) world, how can we live together in groups as the views are unequal in such basic rules? These differences can only lead to full separation with closed borders? We are too different to find common ground ever..???
As a Russian, I think most of the critical conflicts come from the government institutions (by that I pretty much mean the culture within the state), not from social differences. The regimes changed, the habits within the regimes remained pretty much the same. Russia definitely needs to create its own way of governance and offer it to the world, but it should come out as a result of internal self-reflection and another bloody period. Unfortunately, it is just a wishful thinking and I don't think there would be an outcome with Russia still existing. The only structured opposition nowadays is busy hating the rest of Russians for being too passive and calling for mass punishment of ordinary citizens, so they won't be welcomed. The establishment is busy selling as many of available assets as they can to maintain the illusion of strength among the populace and beat (or eventually bomb) into a pulp any citizens who aren't convinced. Eventually, the only thing to sell would be the country itself, in exchange of peaceful and wealthy lives for them and their families. Russia would be no more.
@@Invizive I can see your point. Do you think there are ways to live side-by-side together in an understanding way? Or is it best to close borders? The difference in vision seems too far stretched, right?
@@henkdevries5042 depends on what you mean by "closed borders" - we already needed visas to get anywhere in the West besides South America. Business and scientific cooperation was already happening, it's just that most of Russians within those spheres prefer to migrate to avoid dealing with the state and rampant racketeering by police and FSB. Russians were attempting to offer also cultural products, but besides t.A.T.u. in 00s there were not many successes - again, the state with its gerontocracy and late Soviet ways of regulating artists kicked in as soon as something good happened in that sphere. The overwhelming majority of ordinary Russians integrate seamlessly as migrants in the West, the loud ones are just attracted to the image of strong Russia the state-owned media transmitted abroad, combined with the deeper feeling of doubt about such a huge life decision as migration. There is a way to live side-by-side, if the institutions were rebuilt by anyone actually loving Russia and its people, without giving up Russian identity. The major thing that should be changed for cooperation is that Russia needs to offer its people's ideas to the world, not try to enforce a state-warped concept of them. That's it.
@@Invizive okay. Clear. The news shows that many people from Russia are fleeing to Turkey, Israel, Finland and likely more places. Is that something possible still? I am curious because people are now limited in their options and news gathering unless you get a VPN or proxy working. I live in a country not born in, always thought that your achievements would be gone like pension, savings, contacts, etc. Not knowing after the move I was mistaken: have much more openings in my new destination, it looked like fear for unknown and not well informed kept me. Wish I did this when young. I am not proud of the country where I was born, so easy to leave. Not sure what your balance of push and pull is to leave (if you still can)?
@@henkdevries5042 I study and live in Finland currently, so it's not a new decision, but it's hard to see all the bridges burning. My parents will definitely be living much worse than before, but better than being potentially imprisoned for protesting and "spreading misinformation about the special operation". The family was hit repeatedly by the Soviets during their time, so the fear of staying is much stronger than the fear of unknown in all of us. You can still travel to and from Finland, it's just more stressful on the borders and it's not possible to renew your travel visa anymore. Wanted to visit Russia sometime, but doesn't seem like a wise decision anymore, with all the tensions of the Finnish border. Started buying canned food, just in case.
I haven’t watched all of your series, but here is my simpleton’s thoughts: He knows he captains a crappy boat. He is torpedoing a cruise ship so his passengers can’t see there is a better way to travel???
These lectures are a gift. Thank you for promoting understanding.
#WhereIsGonzaloLira
@@shiroyashaz его выпустили
Haha
Hello i'm from Finland and this Alexander Stubb guy is a fraud. Sold Finland to globalists.
Bn
Excellent! Please keep these lectures coming.
I am glad to have found you. Thank you for creating this. Many in America think that different is not good. But in a long life, I have discovered what you emphasize, different is different, nor necessarily wrong or right.
Not allowing dissenting voices or opinions sounds pretty wrong to me. Two heads are very often better than one. The absolute power quote comes to mind rather quickly too. It seems like it's not just different, they have a lot of corruption.
When something is diferent you know it , and there isn't real competition !
Likely the competition is about the same comodities , and when you are the same you are jelows !
Stubb analysis at its best! Succinct and eloquent.
Kari's presentation was superb, watched it back in late February right after the Russian invasion commenced. Worth watching.
What annoys me is that these historians read their books and talk of 'Russians' having all these complexities and history when, really, it is just the few narcissistic ideological people who have the power at the top that perpetuate these corrupt schemes. Is it fair that when we talk of 'Russians' we are only talking about this minority? In authoritarian countries, there is the biggest disconnect between the leaders and the populace. Putin does not represent Russians, he just rules them. The masses are influenced by how they are treated by the leadership system, not the country's factual history. Listening to a lot of youngsters on YT, many of them do not even seem very aware what it was like during USSR times; unsurprisingly it seems their parents have not wanted to tell them much. Perhaps this is just an artifact of naive Russian YTers. Recently, the babushkas have panic bought sugar, and these young Russians are just looking on and thinking they are nuts. Absolutely right though that many in the west keep calling Putin mad when it is simply that they do not understand his game. The manner in which the western leaders communicate when talking of Putin often appears pitiful to me and I only hope they know better than I. He is a very intelligent man, a psychopath and skillful actor, and I can only guess at the contempt he has for them, not so much for their decisions, but for what he sees as their 'unprofessional' behavior and inability or unwillingness to play his game. Who knows, a little intellectual gaming may give him the respect he needs to rediscover a little humanity. Maybe not. I certainly hope Prof Stubb's conclusion to this video is correct.
Wonderfull analytic and insightful. I have been traveling in Russia for many years in the 1980-2000. Russin married etc. Complex country and people. But not bad people in general. Actual very nice. But a very different perspective on the world than us in the nordic countries.
These lectures are a breath of fresh air. I love the formats and find it easy to follow the info. Thank you so much.
link?
It stinks here and there.
This is so important to help understand the dissonance between the beauty and intelligence of Russian culture and what is happening today. I worked and fell in love with Russia in the mid 90s and this war has been heartbreaking. My Russian friends here are very silent on the war still and this helps me understand why. I’ve watched the series and want to thank you.
From my American perspective this is a great educational lecture that answers a lot of important questions. Many thanks.
This guy should be Prime Minister of Everything in the World - and I'm not being sarvastic - I'm writing with full conviction.
He's unpretentious, level-headed and fair - and he never lets an ego interfere with the important message at hand.
100% the OBVERSE of America's Orange Toddler !
Actually he is a CIA shill. Most pathologicals are fairly good at impression management, however.
Excellent lecture! I, as a citizen of Russia, want to change our values, but the country is led by people who have lived in the USSR all their lives. I'm afraid if the Putin regime does not fall from losing the war, then my homeland will become even more totalitarian for many years to come.
Thank you, Professor for this wonderful series on this war. I finally understand it all.
We wish to get it in the heads of the politicians
He is not a professor. He is a CIA plant and a shill, twists things, and would turn Finland into a USA vassal state in a heartbeat.
Could you please let us know what were those 6 books you mention at 0:47 ? Thank you for an amazing lecture!
Google those man!
@@annarasmus8737 I tried :( couldnt find
O
Pp
Promote understanding, not hate! Great lecture!
Thank you for spending the time to create this series 🙏🏾
Stubb, keep up the good work.
I would like to hear a lecture on Ukrainian history because I don't think people will ever understand this war without understanding the history of Ukraine as well.
Very good analysis about the mentality of Russia and its history. I'd like to add that this analysis can also be applied to the current communist China.
@@annarock8966 uumm... ok
@@annarock8966 Would you care to be more specific please? What do you mean by "west"? The West is not one single, monolithic unit.
I like the closing comments on Russia being 20 now 40 years behind. It does seem like that and also with the USA feels like it's 10 to 20 years behind.
Communist Mafia Party of China ...
The communists whants to hit Western world and (Europeans)
But they will never never get it right.. History repeats it
Thanks again Mr. Stubb for sharing your insights!
I have found this historical series to be absolutely helpful in understanding the situation so much better. Thank you.
Please prepare the separate video about Ukraine itself, about its history, culture and mentality. Ukraine is not an object in this war, but a subject.
I've always said that Russia and Brazil should be two of the most prosperous countries on planet earth, and people in both should be farting through silk, yet both countries always find ways to not make that happen.
surprisingly same is said of Mexico.... afaik mexico doesnt have oil but brazil has even that. But who are we to decide? western people are indoctrinated to only value fast, shiny, expensive material things, not even education unless it costs your lifetime savings like in US. I agree it is weird people in brazil especially cities live in starvation while they export dirt cheap meat to europe in huge amounts.
Their elite are. The people in both are expected to go to hell in handcarts.
Moscow and St. Petersburg are modern cities with luxury items by companies around the world. Few hundred kilometers away.... You go back 50 to 70 years in time. Further off it's rural like you wouldn't believe.
@@djnorth2020 cогласен
russians were "farting through silk" and that is the reason why war happened. they lost their mind of all the profit they made during last two decades.
So glad I came across these lectures, so easy to follow and understand. Thankyou
great clearly described history lesson for me!!
Thank you for the eloquent way to explain. Regards from Mexico & Texas USA
Beyond grateful i found your channel. Truly a gem
This series is excellent! 🇺🇸Thank you
Nice lecture. Thank you for the effort. I would like to comment on the young Russian, as the hope for future international integration.
One thing I noticed is their love for mother land.
I have met, worked with lovely Russians who proudly remind me that they are the last bloodline of UDSSR jokingly. Furthermore, among the young lads in various international schools, and universities in Germany and Austria, fascinatingly tends to displays strong identity pride despite receiving over 15 years of schooling in Europe. Lastly, the young Russians loves the outward show of western lifestyle but they don’t like to be westernized inwardly. I always like to say, the „The west should not be over western“.
This war created a lot of experts.
Thank you for your opinion.
I have to say that he's a better lecturer than politician.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.
@@TurreTuntematon Yeah, and the best of both worlds can also be: those who can teach teach, those who can do do. Never knew what he did (I'm not from a Nordic country, neither interested in EU policy) as a politician. But he surely teaches interesting stuff. And he does it well. Other than that, I think being a Finn, as Mr Stubb, is a real plus for having a deep (neutral? ^^) insight when it comes to this war.
@@mouluc9969 Not neutral, of course! Since the occupation 1714-21, Finns aren't able to have a "neutral" view of Russia.
Thank you Prof. Stubb I'm excited for your clarity video series
Thank Prof Stubb for your lectures/ videos. Really interesting points of view.
That was an interesting lecture on Russia. It’s also interesting to listen to a European viewpoint of Russia… mainly because there is so much history between Russia and Europe. Most people in the US have no idea what those relationships are about…. so thank you for your perspective…..
Finland especially has very good knowledge of Russia. Not exactly the same as Eastern Europe since they were not fully occupied by Russia and/or USSR but still very valuable.
You won't understand Russia watching Finnish lectures.
I am Russian myself.
Up to 13:20 everything the guy said was reasonable. That's the part where he referenced Kari. Seems like that Kari actually knows Russia to some extent. Even though judging from Karis lecture he views Russia as an enemy but at least he tries to understand his enemy. He is extremely biased but at least he did his research.
And after 13:20 the guy starts to make completely wrong conclusions.
If you want to understand someone just watch their analysts or lecturers.
Recently I have watched some Indians on UA-cam and I have got a very deep insight on Chinese-Indian territorial disputes from Indian perspective.
If you came to learn European perspective on Russia, you came to the right place.
If you came to learn Russian perspective this place is horrible. It is as practical as learning about USSR from USA during Cold War or learning about USA from USSR.
And btw neither Finland nor Eastern Europe understand Russia better than US or Western Europe. They are just even more biased.
@@neverknowsbest2879 So at the end this gentleman is respectfully saying same old narrative: Russia is a backward country with authoritarian leader and suppressed population. He ruined his otherwise great presentation by this conclusion. In the context of Russia-Ukraine war not a single word about US and UK role in Ukraine political disarray since 2014 that led the country into civil war and Russia's strategic interests seeing NATO aggressive expansion as existential threat.
@@neverknowsbest2879 There is a difference between understanding Russian people and their system. Which are two things which seem to be in quite a harsh contrast but after some thinking it makes sense. To be invaded by Russia (or USSR) provides some experience which Western Europe and the US lacks. Eastern Europe does not, unfortunately. Still I would not underestimate the view from outside. Might be more precise than self evaluation.
@@neverknowsbest2879 yeah..we in Eastern Europe are really biased. You know what made us biased? Having Russians as neighbours for centuries, having Russian tanks on our streets, having our families raped by Russian soldiers, having parts of our families deported in Siberia.
Very educational and formative lectures on Russia and its people. and it was also the same culture of northwestern Ukraine and southern Belarus. No wonder why President Putin invaded Ukraine with the dreamed of taking it back to the Union. I've listened to your series of presentation and intellectually appetizing. In my conclusion, Putin doesn't want a "decadent capitalism to destroy Russia in the current context of Ukraine and Russian war. Thank you sir!
Thank you for your views on our world. I really began to follow Russia/USSR during a class in Oslo taught by the husband of Gro Bruntland. Plus living with Norwegians who’d served on the border.
Interesting parallels to Mexican society- racked with revolution & corruption, people rush for stability where & from who they can find it - in the moment.
I am Swedish and russia has been a threat and we have fought like 11 wars against russia. It could gave been more since we almost got into war with russia during the crimean war 1853 to 1856 and also during world war one it was close to war against russia.
Sweden and russia has been historicaly enimies.
Russia still see us as an unfriendly country.
Another wonderful video. Nevertheless, will there be a video with explanation Ukrainian perspective?
I don't think that future of the next generations in Russia is the thing that what we should worry about right now, but the lives of innocent people in Ukraine that die every day.
Thank you, brilliant lecture series.
Fantastic leasure professor.. Great to meet you here... Thanks a lot for giving a peak into this all.. Greetings from Portugal!
Kiitos Alex tästä videosarjasta. Opin itsekkin näin suomalaisena pieniä juttuja lisää tästä koko kuviosta. Suomessa on aika selkeä kokonaiskuva näistä kuvioista, joten minusta Suomella ja suomalaisilla on kyllä paljon annettavaa eurooppalaisille ja jenkeille. Kiitos työstäsi.
tän videon vois suomalaisittain lyhentää yhteen todellisuuttahivelevään hokemaan, jonka valtaosa suomalaisista ymmärtää: ryssä on ryssä, vaikka voissa paistaisi..
This was excellent!
If you study the organisation of gangsters in the USA, The Sopranos, The Godfather, you see it paralleled in Russia and Putinism and in fact in all dictators. The is was an excellent talk but missed the point about the willingness to use violence to gain an end.
Mentioned (or hinted at) in the context of the heritage from the Mongols.
Fantastiskt bra, Alex!
As to the mentality of Russians, Bill Browder told a story in his book "Red Notice:" A peasant finds a magic lamp, rubs it and out pops a genie. The genie tells the peasant that he'll grant just one wish. The peasant thinks about maybe having a castle, or a ship to sail around the world. Or even better, 1,000 bars of gold. Then the genie says that there is one stipulation: whatever you get, all your neighbors get two of. The peasant says, "F@#k that! Poke out one of my eyes."
And a joke was posted on Reddit yesterday that goes: Putin visits a wounded general on his deathbed, there's no way this guy's going to make it. Given how badly the invasion of Ukraine is going, the General looks over to the President and says, "Are you sure the public will follow you?" To which Putin answers, "50% will follow me, 50% will follow you."
So well presented & informative !! Know & understand your enemy as best you can...
Always interesting the topic you analyze, I completely agree with what you say and I am glad that I discovered you from an interview you gave. I agree that there is a new generation of Russians who have lived the difference between Russia and the West, traveled, studied abroad and do not agree with Putin's policies, as well as many from the past who were finally able to take advantage of the freedom to come into contact with other peoples. and cultures. Yes the war will end at some point and I hope in the next phase of this proud people. Also stocks will run out at some point, Europe's dependence will decrease and Russia's economy will be smaller than the USA, EU and of course China. Thank you very much M.Stubb.
I lived in Soviet Russia and Belarus from 1959 to 1991 and know Soviet mentality 1st hand as well as history. Russia had never had stability ever. Brutality and corruption has been dominating for 1000 years with no exception
I love these series. Thank you so much Alex! Best regards from Romania
Thanks for giving us this great insight
Cannot thank you enough for your overview here, much of what you said confirms my instinctive impressions. Still great to have my impression’s confirmed and set out in your usual clear and succinct manner. One can only hope that younger Russians can interact with the larger world and not have the automatic default position of extreme suspicion. However Putin has made that unlikely for a number of years in the future, perhaps that was part of his masterplan? Sad that the spiritual wing of Russia seems to support this ….all in the name of power and position,other spiritual institutions have done the same in the past so they are not alone in this, However this is another rabbit hole we do not want to enter. Many thanks for your insights.
By default nobody has an "extreme suspicion". This is something they learn by interaction and what they gain as experience. They guy was trying to be neutral although his wish to see youngsters thinking in the 'right' (from his point of view) way shows that his is a bit engaged and knows what is better for Russians.
And as a general comment - he is wrong about general mentality of Russians (meaning citizens of the RF, not just ethnical Russians). Russians are very sensitive to hypocricy and manipulations and do not tolerate it on any level (of course all people around the World are absolutely the same with the same percentage of any kind of personalities, Russia has them as much as others).
EU/US are sanctioning RU oligarchs, what Russians say - EU/US are miserable hypocritical creatures who do not follow their own laws and promises. Nobody cares about oligarchs' wealth, but all remember US/EU behaviour.
EU/US have stolen Russian cash reserves - you may guess that learning experience is the same.
Such examples accumulated during a certain period of time make people suspicious against so-called 'collective West'. What is funny, Russians mentally allow 'collective East' to be cheaters and liars 'by their nature'. Such a statement moves us to a conclusion that mentally Russians want to be a part of 'collective West' but idealisation of it and high expectations about fairness and openness of it, in turn, create a lot of frustration when they see the reality.
In other words, Russians always point on painful areas of western society and arguing like 'when you become ideal, you may advise what myself should do in my home, until when go and continue cleaning your own bullshit'. And it is not because they hate western world but because they wish to see a bacon of ideal to which they want to strive.
@@igorseaman1105 sensitive to what? Hypocricy and manipulation??? Talking like Russia has never been under manipulative and hypocrite leaders. 🤡🤡
@@habibilee4607 This is just a thought of you which is not 100% clear. Do you have any example or could you clarify your comment? If you really want to know, of course, and your comment is not just a rhetoric cancellation of all Russian.
@@igorseaman1105Igor,thank you for taking the time to reply to me, my comment was written in the spirit of trying to work out something approaching a truth that I could understand. So I am glad to have your opinion. I am in my eighties, have never had the opportunity to visit Russia,so I have often been puzzled by what has happened between between Russia and the West. Politicians are politicians no matter what country they are in. The average citizen in the West knows that politicians play with the truth. We too are often disgusted with our own elites of the political world and that of big business. It takes a lot of citizen power to change things but now and again we do effect change. We do know that any state has a tendency to have secrets that the public are not privy to and it is only when the rights of the individual are not respected and laws bent that citizens get very excited. Don’t think for an instant that the people of the West necessarily go along with what they are told.. there has been much condemnation for instance of very wealthy Russians buying their way into society, when we too believed Western banking was getting fat on doing business with people who had in some cases stolen this money from the Russian people. That is the thing about money it has no loyalty to anyone. So thank you for your reply……this is what we all need…. Talk!
@@igorseaman1105 полностью согласен с вашим оппонентом.( Igor ) Спросить у меня можете Я нахожусь внутри событий Возможно смогу вам кое что разъяснить
Started looking forward to these-thank you.
In 1985 in Russia the only thing that prospered was the Black Market. Corruption was wide. Fruit and veg shops were huge but inside there was only a half full carbon box with a few small no n ripe and ugly upper. If you wanted the apples you had to pay extra or go to the black Market. The same was for meat and all other goods and it was not ordered at all aside from the ranks within the organised corruption.
Yes, Mr. Stubb, you have thoroughly studied the American vision of Russia and quite probably inherited a uncongenial picture of the Russian which is quite common still in Finland.
Excellent overview. Thanks for sharing!
Btw, to other people interested in good analysis of the ongoing war, check out Perun youtube channel. He made excellent Powerpoint representations, well researched, cautious in his claims, and thoughtful in his results.
His subscription count has gone up something like tenfold.
Perun.....what a game! (Genius)
#WhereIsGonzaloLira
@@shiroyashaz Russians killed him. Saw something he wasn't supposed to
Thanks. I wondered about that one when it started appearing in my feed.
I LOVE YOUR EYES...THANKS FOR SHARING THESE VIDEOS WITH ME....ALL PRAISE TO THE MOST HIGH YAHWEH
Brilliant lecture!
Very eloquently illuminating. Thank you. I dearly hope your country and Sweden join NATO this summer; you'll make it better and stronger. Separately, I am a Formula 1 fan, and "Kimi" is one of my favorite drivers.😊.
Вступление в НАТО для Швеции Финляндии
Будет означать для них Не защиту А новые большие проблемы
@@ГеннадийКаа́кк could you take your words in English,
to understand
@@pen7759 UA-cam has the ability to automatically translate In order to use it , you need to go back to the original page in the upper right corner to find the desired message and click the Translate button under it ........Oddly enough, Europeans do not know how to use self-translation Unlike Hindus Chinese and others
@@pen7759 he said joining NATO will bring huge problems instead of security for Sweden and Finland
he is dolboeb
Thank you for insightful analysis, a lot of food for thought. What I am missing from your analysis and many commentators is the economics and needs of a Russia and its crumbling financial situation riddled with corruption. As a hypothesis, could it not be that russian cronies want and need to control the resources of Ukraine, another region to such dry to cover up for the failures at home? I mean they are the worlds largest wheat exporters and are sitting on production of key resources like neon for electronics manufacturing. Is all the nationalistic etc. posturing just part of the story or a smokescreen? Is the whole war maybe a smokescreen to cover up for failings at home in russia? It's just a thought, only asking. Best regards, Annie
I would say, that yes, this whole war is a cover up, but not only of Russian failings, but the world's failings. During the pandemic trillions and trillions of dollars and euros (and yens for that matter) were "printed" by the USA, EU and other developed countries. The inflation that would be caused by these actions seemed not to worry anyone. Now I see why. They knew they would not be held accountable for the economic crisis their actions would cause because there would be someone to blame. Now we see that there is Russia. It has become a scapegoat for all the economic problems in all the countries (USA, Germany, China, Japan, etc.). Just check the headlines. I am not on the conspiracy theories' side but it all seems too convenient and too big of a coincidence.
@@slavaefremov473 sorry, that is a barely covered excuse for the Russian regime and its atrocities.
@@anniebooo in what place was it an excuse? I just shared with you a piece of my thinking when trying to figure out what is going on. You can take it into consideration or discard completely, totally up to you.
One of the best lectures/videos on Russia I've watched. Just a new and better perspective and understanding of a great country and nation.
May God grant us understanding, peace and unity as a human race towards each other
Thank you for this lecture. Very well explained.
Please don't expect that we Finns all have this good accent when we speak english :D
Would be nice to have a similar lecture about Ukrainians. How the identity was created.
I think I remember Prof Stubb before the War, but I have seen a lot of him after Feb 24, 2022, on youtube and I am very impressed with his intelligence.
Prof was also President of Finland and it is a shame that his talents are not fully used now.
I am an American who voted for Obama with confidence and for Hillary Clinton, but only as the "lesser of 2 evils."
If it were possible, I'd vote for Alex Stubb for American President.
At some point, Professor Stubb should be President of the EU.
Or he should be UN Secretary General.
He was the prime minister of Finland, not its president. These are two different offices.
American politics have sunk so low that mere presence of intelligence is enough to get a vote for President 😂
Extraordinary analysis....Thanks
Thank you for this great series!
Pieces of great understanding!
Can You name the books about Russia, please? Great lessons, thank You very much.
Russia didn't have capitalism, Russia had Oligarchy at best.
I would say that the imperialist, "superpower" Russia dates back to the czarist Russian Empire, which I would say dates from the Congress of Vienna and predates the Soviet Union by 100 years. It was actually larger than the Soviet Union, because it contained Finland and most of Poland, as well as all the future Soviet territories.
0:50 Oh, now you can't not tell us the titles and authors of these 6 very informative books. Even if they're dated, I'm sure they still contain very good foundational information. Structures that we can benefit from.
Please, list them for us here. Please.
I agree! What are the books Bill Lavery recommended?
I'm another one interested to know the titles of those 6 books.
Thank you for your lecture, and for the link to Kari's lecture also
They are nostalgic of when they were serfs bound to the land.
Thx again for sharing these lectures. There seems to be embedded deep in the Russian psyche and culture, a need to be recognized as great. It comes off as a "little man's complex," or deep-seated insecurity, a longing to be recognized as "great." There is a greater strain of nationalism, racism and supremacy in Russia than elsewhere in Europe. Teaching your children that "the world is out to get us," is not the behavior of truly confident, self-assured adults. Teaching your children the the ability to suffer through more than others is among the greatest traits of your country isn't the hallmark of a "winning" mentality, but of those who, deep inside, believe they are "perennial losers." Putin himself seems to exhibit all the worst characteristics of being truly Russian. The little man's complex, the desperate need to be seen by others as "great," the false bravado, the insecurities that lead a man to conclude he'll never have friends who will accept him to work together with, so might as well resort to bullying and force.
So as someone who was born in Odessa in 1975 and came to US in 1990 I have a unique perspective and as far as teaching your citizens to fear others I’d like to point out that when Soviets launched Sputnik there was a literal panic in the streets of US cities. As a kid in USSR all we were told in schools is that we are all the same and that peace is what we should strive for. Another point I’ll make is people often overlook just how dearly USSR paid to beat the Nazis, around 30 million killed including my grandfather so I can at least understand why NATO would be perceived as a threat, especially after Yugoslavia and Iraq. Just my 0.02
@@pyatig Thx for sharing. Fearmongering and teaching hate shouldn't happen anywhere, and it was wrong that the U.S. military-industrial complex pushed U.S. politicians to spread that fear beyond what was warranted. But let's not paper over the very real menacing and threats that came from guys like Kruschev. Russia's little man complex has led many of its leaders to directly threaten nuclear annihilation of other countries, something the U.S. has never done, and something no other nuclear power has ever done, except N. Korea. We also can't pretend that Russia doesn't have a history of incredibly brutal aggression and repression both of its own people and more so of other ethnicities and cultures in the geographic region. Nor can we dismiss Russia's aggression in SE Asia, Latin America, etc. Much of what the U.S. did then was not good. But it was not entirely without rational basis. As for the former Yugoslavia, NATO stood on the sidelines for years, and was no threat to anyone until the world could no longer avert its eyes from Milosevic's genocide. So, yes, if you are going to carry out an ethnic cleansing and attempt a genocide, as Putin is now, trying to literally wipe Ukraine off the map and extinguish its independent culture, then yes, you should fear at some point NATO might step in. But otherwise, there is no rational basis for fearing NATO. It's a defensive organization, not an offensive one. In its entire history, it has never once been a threat to, much less invaded a sovereign country, nor has it ever used charged rhetoric to threaten any sovereign state. As for WW2, Russia did play a part in defeating the Third Reich. It is an absolute tragedy that the Russian leadership has always been so incompetent and its military leadership so barbaric and neanderthal that their only tactic has been to just to attempt brute force of "wasting" men and artillery. The Russian leadership and its military leaders are the ones most responsible for the outrageous death count. As for what portion of credit it deserves for defeating Hitler, this is a sore spot for Russians. If so many more Russians died than Americans and European Allies, how could it be that Russia is not recognized as deserving the most credit. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. When you take a test, you don't get a grade based on how many hours you studied, you get a grade based on your actual performance on the test. It's a tragedy that Russia "spent" so much for such disproportionately smaller impact. I feel badly for your loss of your grandpa. And I'm sorry if it hurts the ego of some Russians, but Russia's contribution was not the ultimate determining factor in the outcome of WW2. Doesn't mean the contribution shouldn't be recognized and respected, but nobody owes Russia outsized lauding just because it's got a cultural insecurity and is overly nationalist and needy for recognition. It's a tragedy for Ukraine, the Russian people, and the world that Putin is such a sad little boy who is so hurt and his ego so bruised that the only way he thinks he can get the respect he wants is to do what he is doing now. Tragic. That the Russian people are unwilling to take on the cost and sacrifice necessary to replace him is equally tragic. It is not for the West or even Ukraine to solve Russia's internal problems. It is not for any of them other than Russia to stop Putin. That responsibility belongs to the Russian people. If ever they would accept that responsibility instead of shirking it, the national pride could be real instead of so hollow.
Great presentation. It only lacked the nuisances that made Putin jump after waiting for so long for the west to respect and address his security concerns which they did not provide. Also, the fact that why is it OK for the USA to have its Monroe Doctrine (not allowing any foreign forces into the Western Hemisphere - remember the Cuban Crisis?) and not grant the fact the Russia feels threatened by NATO moving eastward towards Russia's borders. Also, there is the internal Neo-Nazi powerful groups who are driving the cart for Zelensky and who have committed war crimes in Donbas. Even in global discourse, such seemingly small nuisances are crucial. I regret that professor Stubb did not address them at all.
Who says the Monroe Doctrine is OK?
This is a European perspective, maybe even a Northern European perspective.
It's presented in English, but it's not the Anglophone perspective.
@@jmolofsson America says and believes so. And America runs the show in Europe.
@@antoineraffoul9137 Europeans, like e.g. Stubb, do not necessarily agree with you.
Particularly not after the campaign for the invasion of Iraq.
Very good analysis. Really useful for understanding what's going on.
Important to learn from Russia's neighbors on how they perceive Russia.
Impressive mini-series, he could have been our European Commission leader. He would have my vote!
Certainly not, otherwise we would be at war. This is a warmonger paid by USA to say what he say.
I fear he is seen as too much of a representative of the Frugal North, too close to Schäuble.
Would be wonderful if you can record an episode about Ukraine itself, if we are talking about "the war in Ukraine".
So far, Alexander Stubb has made lecture videos on topics he masters, topics like the EU, Russia and Finland.
Lectures on topics he has no expertise on are not necessarily a good idea.
For a similar perspective, though not as pedagogical, put "Carl Bildt Ukraine" in UA-cam's search field.
Stubb has been FM and PM for Finland, Bildt has been PM and FM for Sweden.
@@jmolofsson Absolutely agree with the thesis that one should speak about what one understands. But how possibly you can speak about Russia-Ukraine war without understanding of Ukrainian background? I am just not sure if such an expertise can be objective. Such series of lectures puts Ukraine outside of the narrative and showcase the importance of all the other parties (even China), diminishing the role of Ukraine in Ukrainian (!) war.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I've watched all episodes. Great stuff. How about episode about diplomacy. I have problem with understanding why Russian diplomats are twisting reality so badly without any shame, and are still treated with respect. I hope that behind closed doors talks are somehow reality based.
Who told you to think that?
@@twisterli9177 well you only have tp listen to them. They do openly. Think of Lavrov: we have not attacked Ukraine..
Interesting question, actually (being serious, here).
I’m surprised he didn’t list Canada and Japan as neighbours. Canada via the arctic, and Japan via the Kuril islands et al).
Very good, but I have a niggle over saying that the 1900s was the start of Russian imperialism, it's more accurate to say it was the zenith of Russian imperialism. The imperial ambition of Russia began at its formation in the 17th century when Muscovy declared itself the kingdom of all the Rus. At that point there were many Russian principalities that considered themselves independent both culturally and politically. They were conquered and assimilated, more or less successfully, into "Russia Proper." The difference in the 1900s was that Russia felt compelled to take their imperialism global to keep up with other European powers and check growing European influence in Asia.
I'm pretty sure Alexander Stubb agrees with you.
There are a couple of similar points in the other lectures, where one can't decide whether he misspoke, simplified for pedagogical reasons, or just is wrong. It's annoying, but one has to live with that.
I was enlightened by the analysis. Thank you. Then you jumped to 'when the war is over'. But you didn't articulate how you think we should handle the current situation we face right now?
I have to say that I find this analysis to be less analysis and more "narrative creation". I noticed the sleight of hand at 13:40 btw.
I feel like it’s important to note that Russian conservatism is not the same as American conservatism especially if your going to invoke the recent campaign slogan of one of our most conservative Presidents of all time. Make America Great Again did not mean expanding American influence through military might in fact we had a draw down of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and was even criticized for not defending the Kurds in Syria. Trump was the first president in a long time to not get involved militarily in a new conflict.
American Conservatism is more about getting government out of the way so businesses and individuals are not taxed into oblivion. Russia has an imperialist mindset that whatever Putin says is Golden and carried out without question. This mindset is actually closer aligned with the American Democrat government first party or a Macaron of France, which means France got tricked.
Dear Alex, I would like to hear your thoughts on how much of a influence Alexandr Dukin and his thoughts on Western hegemony and the inevitability of a great war, has on Putin? Kiitos!
James Byrnes, a Roosevelt advisor and Secretary of State under Truman described the Russians in this way:
Imagine you live in your home. Next to you lives your nearest neighbor. Next door to your nearest neighbor is a third home. That home is the Russians. Now, let's say that your nearest neighbor puts his house up for sale and moves.
The other guy buys that house, burns it to the ground so that there is more empty space between him and you. That, Byrnes said, how the Russians think. That in a nutshell is what they mean by secure boarders.
Well next time your country gets attacked by mongols, napoleon and Hitler I’d love to see how you’d react
Alexander ger svar på de svåra frågorna som folk undrar över!...Och en gnutta hopp om framtiden.
Alexanders speaches is what you need to understand abit over how Russian diktator(s) is/are thinking!!! I have heard of this man (Alexander) "forever". But just , since this war started begun to follow him and his important knowledges as a former Prime Minster .
Such clarity, thank you.
Such clarity. Watched Lecture 1, 2 , 3, 4. Thank you
As a student of biblical prophecy, i find this interesting in comparison to Daniel's king of the north vs king of the south prophecy. However our dilemma is that we understood the king of north as the west and king of the south as communist Asia.
But rather our dilemma today is that, Russia is actually showing characteristics of the king of the north. And the west is actually portraying characteristics of the king of the south.
A question of morality. But i do not doubt that this war will have global ramifications. From the end of WW2 upto the fall of USSR, the west was right wing and the east was left wing. They seem to have swapped ideologies 🤷🏿♂️.
The other dilemma from my perspective is that Ghengis Khan of the Mongols was a progressive humanitarian who sparked the Western enlightenment. Especially understanding the dark ages era. Ghengis Khan's era coincided with the birth of the reformation.
And when he says the Russian leaders think they are never wrong. I see double standards because the west has never accepted it's own mistakes. For example the Korean war, Vietnam war, the Cambodian genocide, the coups and instabilities in Africa & South America, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan & the Arab spring. The economic structural adjustment programmes by IMF and the Word bank to the 3rd world countries. We can add many if not all the problems of the world in our short past history as a direct influence of Western foreign policy.
Excelent!🤩 But the volume of the “music” is more aggressive than the russian soldiers in Bucha. 🙈
I wish we could have Prime Minister's like this in Canada.
Also one of the most significant layer of the russian culture is 'raskol' (раскол) /split, crack, schism, break/ It means that every leader in Russia cancels everything which are connected with previous one.
To use the term "conservative" regarding Russia seems to be prone to mislead people to think of censervatism as bad which it is abslutely not in itself when understood properly. But one has to acknowledge what conservatism can mean, because it is such a broad term. For instance you can be a conservative communist at the same time. Therefore Professor Stubb should have given a satisfactory definition of his understanding of the term.
Thank you so much!! Very good and explains a lot!
My biggest concern is: with a different Russia as the rest of (western) world, how can we live together in groups as the views are unequal in such basic rules? These differences can only lead to full separation with closed borders? We are too different to find common ground ever..???
As a Russian, I think most of the critical conflicts come from the government institutions (by that I pretty much mean the culture within the state), not from social differences. The regimes changed, the habits within the regimes remained pretty much the same.
Russia definitely needs to create its own way of governance and offer it to the world, but it should come out as a result of internal self-reflection and another bloody period. Unfortunately, it is just a wishful thinking and I don't think there would be an outcome with Russia still existing.
The only structured opposition nowadays is busy hating the rest of Russians for being too passive and calling for mass punishment of ordinary citizens, so they won't be welcomed. The establishment is busy selling as many of available assets as they can to maintain the illusion of strength among the populace and beat (or eventually bomb) into a pulp any citizens who aren't convinced.
Eventually, the only thing to sell would be the country itself, in exchange of peaceful and wealthy lives for them and their families. Russia would be no more.
@@Invizive I can see your point. Do you think there are ways to live side-by-side together in an understanding way? Or is it best to close borders? The difference in vision seems too far stretched, right?
@@henkdevries5042 depends on what you mean by "closed borders" - we already needed visas to get anywhere in the West besides South America.
Business and scientific cooperation was already happening, it's just that most of Russians within those spheres prefer to migrate to avoid dealing with the state and rampant racketeering by police and FSB.
Russians were attempting to offer also cultural products, but besides t.A.T.u. in 00s there were not many successes - again, the state with its gerontocracy and late Soviet ways of regulating artists kicked in as soon as something good happened in that sphere.
The overwhelming majority of ordinary Russians integrate seamlessly as migrants in the West, the loud ones are just attracted to the image of strong Russia the state-owned media transmitted abroad, combined with the deeper feeling of doubt about such a huge life decision as migration.
There is a way to live side-by-side, if the institutions were rebuilt by anyone actually loving Russia and its people, without giving up Russian identity.
The major thing that should be changed for cooperation is that Russia needs to offer its people's ideas to the world, not try to enforce a state-warped concept of them. That's it.
@@Invizive okay. Clear.
The news shows that many people from Russia are fleeing to Turkey, Israel, Finland and likely more places. Is that something possible still?
I am curious because people are now limited in their options and news gathering unless you get a VPN or proxy working.
I live in a country not born in, always thought that your achievements would be gone like pension, savings, contacts, etc. Not knowing after the move I was mistaken: have much more openings in my new destination, it looked like fear for unknown and not well informed kept me. Wish I did this when young. I am not proud of the country where I was born, so easy to leave.
Not sure what your balance of push and pull is to leave (if you still can)?
@@henkdevries5042 I study and live in Finland currently, so it's not a new decision, but it's hard to see all the bridges burning.
My parents will definitely be living much worse than before, but better than being potentially imprisoned for protesting and "spreading misinformation about the special operation". The family was hit repeatedly by the Soviets during their time, so the fear of staying is much stronger than the fear of unknown in all of us.
You can still travel to and from Finland, it's just more stressful on the borders and it's not possible to renew your travel visa anymore. Wanted to visit Russia sometime, but doesn't seem like a wise decision anymore, with all the tensions of the Finnish border.
Started buying canned food, just in case.
Very interesting and insightful👍🏼
Ухани сала
Lithuania and Poland are also neighbours of Russia. Please remember Kaliningrad.
Oh you mean Königsberg, we'll be back .
@@lordkorner I think he was talking about the Kaliningrad forest massacre occurred in Poland during WW2 .
@@lordkorner думаю вас огорчю.если вы очень скоро узнаете об образовании новой страны, DDR 2,0
Thanks Great professor,Orthodox, the power is God not dollar,unlike West.
I haven’t watched all of your series, but here is my simpleton’s thoughts:
He knows he captains a crappy boat. He is torpedoing a cruise ship so his passengers can’t see there is a better way to travel???