Russia in Global Affairs

Why is even speaking of negotiations with Ukraine dangerous for us? Who is better―Trump or Biden? Why is Europe worse than America? What are the real goals of the special military operation (SMO)? How can the use of nuclear weapons save the world from World War III? Sergei Karaganov speaks with Argumenty Nedeli Editor-in-Chief Andrei Uglanov on this and many other topics.

Russia, by now, should have adapted to Russophobia and become inured to it. It may find it much more beneficial to continue its global positive and peaceful policies and actions, rather than spook the world with nuclear saber-rattling - it would certainly be a lot safer.

Sanctimoniously shying away from the very thought of nuclear weapons use would be tantamount to playing ostrich. In this sense, we must thank Sergei Karaganov for stating his positon so straightforwardly. Discussing it should be part of the efforts to work out a new understanding of strategic stability in place of the one that cannot be restored any more.

The “nuclear bullet” must necessarily and demonstratively be put into the “revolver drum” the U.S. leadership is recklessly playing with. To paraphrase a now-deceased American statesman, we can say: Why do we need nuclear weapons if we refuse to use them in the face of an existential threat? There is no need to scare anyone verbally. It is necessary to prepare for a possible use practically.

Sergei Karaganov’s article on the need to make a difficult choice in favor of a preemptive nuclear strike on some NATO nation in Eastern Europe has expectedly drawn a wide response. If the proposals under consideration are risky, is there an alternative? There is. An alternative would be living with a “bleeding wound” in the form of a hostile West and Ukraine, but understanding that the confrontation with Russia is also a “bleeding wound” for the West, which will be losing resources and political capital.

We should not deprive our foreign “partners” of the privilege to make all the mistakes for which they are trying to program us through sophisticated and multifaceted moral and psychological operations (including through the English-language media space they control) designed to undermine our restraint and self-possession.

The founder of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and Russia in Global Affairs, our patron, inspirer, and indefatigable organizer of all our victories and achievements, Sergei Aleksandrovich Karaganov, is turning 70! Our editorial office has received a whole bunch of congratulations on this occasion from all over the world. We publish them as a sign of admiration for our mentor.