> I find it curious that it's only Europeans who are worried about Russia and their expansion threat, and the most loud about it are those who don't even have a common border with Russia. On the other hand, countries with a common border -- China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, etc., are kind ho hum about the whole thing.
That's because of what the Soviets did after WWII, and let me remind you of the Warsaw Pact countries, which included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania and the vast Soviet Union, countries that have suffered a soviet invasion, suffered under communism and the war reparations some had to pay, along with the draining of resources by soviet enterprises.
I could tell you about Basarabia, currently part of Moldova, a territory that was taken by force under the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, which is the agreement they did with the Nazis, a territory in which they did what Russians do when occupying a territory, which is to uproot the population by deportation and imprisonment, along with destroying the local culture and forced building of Russian settlements.
To tell you the truth, to see such an ignorant comment on HN fills me with anger that I can hardly contain.
Unbelievable that the suffering of Baltic states for 50+ years under brutal Soviet rule is simply "forgotten" by OP. The cold war showed a clear contrast between US/Rus goals. The US wanted free and prosperous allied countries, Russia wanted an empire.
Just b/c Russia failed in their attempts to become a global power doesn't mean they somehow had more noble intentions. Quite the opposite in fact.
I am guessing you are a Romanian yourself, judging by your use of Romanian spelling of "Bessarabia". I would remind you that Romania actually joined the alliance with Hitler and provided more than a million of troops to the Eastern front. Funny that you forgot to mention it.
Due to historical happenstance Romania received a lot of land after WW1. Then it opportunistically took Bessarabia from Russia, it's former ally, while Russia was in the state of civil war. Less then thirty years afterwards Russia annexes the land back. What is there to be outraged about? Phew, Eastern Europe and its border disputes.
That's because of what the Soviets did after WWII, and let me remind you of the Warsaw Pact countries, which included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania and the vast Soviet Union, countries that have suffered a soviet invasion, suffered under communism and the war reparations some had to pay, along with the draining of resources by soviet enterprises.
I could tell you about Basarabia, currently part of Moldova, a territory that was taken by force under the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, which is the agreement they did with the Nazis, a territory in which they did what Russians do when occupying a territory, which is to uproot the population by deportation and imprisonment, along with destroying the local culture and forced building of Russian settlements.
To tell you the truth, to see such an ignorant comment on HN fills me with anger that I can hardly contain.