Former President Kučan, who was against independence and had already helped disarm the Slovenian army in the past, recently complained about sending arms to Ukraine in order to help it in the war with Russia. And now, his colleague Spomenka Hribar and her comrades are continuing this “noble” mission by publicly calling for an end to these actions. However, history teaches us that people like Putin never have enough. After Ukraine, Moldova would probably follow, as well as other countries – in case Russia’s invasion succeeds, of course. If Hitler had been stopped when he annexed Austria and western Czechoslovakia to the Third Reich, we might not have had tens of millions of dead. Will we repeat the historical mistake?
There are more and more signs becoming apparent that the survival of a strong and influential Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Putin is in the interests of our Slovenian transitional elite. We should point out that we are, of course, not talking about Russia as such but explicitly about this undemocratic one, which honours the remnants of communism – the memory of Stalin and the criminal symbols. This is about the corrupt Russia of the extremely rich oligarchs. And, after all, we are talking about the Russia that has still not given up the pathology of Soviet greatness and the outdated geopolitical concept of territorial conquest of neighbouring countries with the excuses of rescuing Russian-speaking minorities. But in reality, the native Russian-speaking inhabitants and their social position are of secondary importance to them. Vodka and potatoes are enough for the poor, but for the “crème de la crème,” even the yachts, private planes and mansions are not enough. They need spaceships and ballistic missiles, while ordinary mortals should be content with as little as petrol vouchers.
The shortage is being combatted with delusions about the hostile West, the “stolen” Soviet greatness and the heroism of the Great Patriotic War. Well, there is one thing we can admit about Putin: he has successfully based his propaganda on the traumas of World War II, on the tragedy of the 27 million Russians killed… And many seem willing to accept the explanation that someone else is to blame for their own personal problems and misfortune. And the great shortage is joined by the culture of violence, which is especially strong in the Russian army. It is really not difficult to convince such people to believe in the tales of the evil Ukrainian neo-Nazis, which are based on the minority battalion of Azov while forgetting about the Russian group Wagner, which is closely associated with Putin himself. And if we add the frustrations due to the limited successes on the front, then we get top-quality “Bucha” type of results.
However, what is most terrifying, is the heavy-heartedness which some members of the Slovenian transitional left feel when renouncing this version of Russia and condemning its atrocities. We want to remind you once again that the Ljubljana Sheriff, Mayor Zoran Janković, refused to return Putin’s decoration after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Just remember the silly excuses about shared guilt and so on. At the beginning of the Ukrainian tragedy, Russpohile Milan Kučan said the following: “The war should not have happened, but what led to it and what gave Putin the reason to do what he is doing, should also not have happened.” According to Kučan, there is some reason for a full-on invasion of a weaker, sovereign neighbour?! Let us remind you of another attempt to reduce Putin’s guilt, this one from Matjaž Nemec, an MP from the Social Democrats’ party (Socialni demokrati – SD), who spoke about “the role of the West in this conflict.” One cannot help but get the feeling that it might not even be too bad if Putin just continued his sacred mission of “liberation” and also came knocking on our door.
Ukraine is fighting for the future of a free and democratic Europe, which is why we need to help it by sending weapons
On the 24th of February, this scenario did not actually seem so far-fetched. Lots of people predicted that Kyiv only had a few more hours left… And the distance between the Ukrainian border and the most north-eastern part of our country, Prekmurje, is not that big, after all. However, it is true that Slovenia’s membership in NATO changes the situation considerably. But if Putin happened to “visit” us, he would definitely know where to look for in search of new collaborators… Under such circumstances, a repeat of the Bucha scenario would seem like a real possibility. Or the repeat of the Huda jama scenario, if you will. Could the death threats that Janes Janša, Igor Pirkovič, Jože Možina, and others keep getting, actually come true? Let us not forget that it is the powerful Ukrainian uprising that is protecting us from such a violent (hypothetical) scenario. The help for Ukraine in the form of sending it weapons seems crucial for the survival of the attacked country. Its fight for independence and freedom is also a fight for our freedom, democracy, for our millennial values of civilisation. In Ukraine, a fight for Europe as we know it is being fought. Its capitulation would soon be followed by Moldova, and so on…
Well, recently, Kučan got pretty worried about the fact Slovenia is sending weapons t Ukraine (and by the way – he was already involved in the disarmament of Slovenia at the time we were fighting for our independence). His colleague Spomenka Hribar, with the help of her comrades (Marko Uršič, Borut Ošlaj and Jana Rošker), continues to talk about refusing to offer such assistance. Hribar and others have written an “appeal to Stop the War in Ukraine by Peaceful Means,” which they sent to the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, the National Assembly, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, and representatives in the European Union and NATO. In their appeal, they express their expectations that the persons and institutions concerned will make sure Slovenia resists sending new weapons to Ukraine because this supposedly does not solve anything. They also highlight the danger of nuclear conflict (and World War 3). We should overcome the situation with diplomatic efforts, which are already underway and are commendable. From Hribar and her comrades’ writing, it can be deduced that the military-weakened Ukraine would sooner or later kneel before Russia and agree to its whims. Perhaps a short-term period of peace would actually follow after that; however, long-term peace should not be expected.
Kaczyński’s historical words: Georgia today, Ukraine tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the Baltic States, then Poland
History teaches us that people like Putin do not stop so easily. Tens of millions of dead could have been spared if Hitler had been detained at the time of the annexation of Austria already (which was confirmed in a referendum) or at least at the annexation of western Czechoslovakia (which happened with an invasion). The similarity with Crimea (which was also subsequently confirmed in a referendum) and the announced annexation of Donbas seems downright frightening. Unfortunately, Putin’s military adventures are very reminiscent of the German, Italian and Japanese pre-war conquests or the appetites of the Axis powers… Let’s just remember the prophetic words of the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński from 2008: “We know very well that it is Georgia today, Ukraine tomorrow, the day after tomorrow the Baltic States, and after that, maybe it will be time for my homeland, for Poland.” And so far, everything is going “according to plan,” if we borrow Putin’s words. Moreover, it seems that some other neighbouring countries, where the “Russian-speaking” minorities exist, might also be part of Putin’s “plan,” as the “beloved leader” would like to save them from the enemy one day as well. Recently, there has even been talk about Kazakhstan.
Let us remind you that in 2022, Russia adopted a similar tactic as the Soviet Union in 1939 – it was a kind of rescue operation of various ethnic, linguistic groups and others. However, with the Russian rampage of nuclear weapons, the following should be remembered: if this plan proves to be successful, Putin will surely use it again… This is actually blackmail with fear, in the hope that the opposite side will submit. And how likely is it that the ruling clique in the Kremlin would opt for collective suicide? Is Russia the only one with nuclear weapons? The use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Poland or Sweden would seem more likely, leading to a brutal escalation of Russophobia in the West and complete political and economic isolation with no possibility of return in the coming years, perhaps even decades… And we highly doubt that Russia’s close ally, China, would just silently stomach something like that. Namely, the latter’s economic interests – the Silk Road and others, should be highlighted here. And let us also point out that the technology giant DJI recently decided to withdraw from the Russian market because it does not want the drones it produces to be misused for warfare on Ukrainian territory.
Domen Mezeg
