- “I do not believe that Tusk or Sikorsky can be ‘traitors’ to the Polish nation and the Polish state. I cannot imagine such a thing. I reject it,” Felstyński writes in the comments.
- “I understand how you can love Russian culture, for example, I really like Bulat Okudzhava’s songs.
- “Initiating a ‘reset’ with Russia so soon after the invasion of Georgia, as if the invasion had never happened, is certainly not treasonous, but it is downright stupid,” says Felstynski.
- More important information can be found on the Onet home page
As early as 1999, when Putin was prime minister, Russia said it was considering joining NATO—so the relationship with NATO was a partnership at the time. The Russian belief that NATO was hostile to Russia came much later.
In September 1999, the terrorist attacks that formed the basis of the Second Chechen War in Russia took place, and Putin issued his famous statement: We will flush the terrorists down the toilet.
Then Putin became president, divided Russia into seven federal districts, appointed mainly FSB officers as heads of these districts, dissolved the upper house of the Russian parliament, destroyed the institution of independent governors and imposed “vertical power”.
The rest of the text is below the video.
In August 2001, I published a book in a special edition of “Nowa Gazeta”. Alexander Litvinenko “FSB Blows Up Russia”The Russian FSB accused Putin of planning terrorist attacks in Russian cities ahead of the presidential election.
In November 2006, Litvinenko was poisoned in London.
In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia.
On April 10, 2010, the Polish president’s plane crashed, and Russia never returned the wreckage to Poland.
In March 2014, the invasion of Ukraine began.
After which particular event on my list was it foolish or naïve to talk about a “reset” in relations with Russia? At what point did it become clear that Putin was nothing more than an FSB lieutenant colonel sent as a “secret” active reserve officer to join the government, first as Prime Minister and then as President of Russia? Putin already said this on December 20, 1999, although it became known a little later, and this information made sense … never made sense. Although it is the most important phrase Putin has ever uttered, it still only matters to a small group of people.
I do not believe that Tusk or Sikorsky could be “traitors” to the Polish nation and the Polish state. I cannot imagine such a thing. I exclude it. But all these years, in 2007, when I came to Poland for the first time, until now, for example, “Gazetta Wyborza” has not published a single interview with me. Although I understood from the beginning that the interview would not be published, she sent reporters to interview me (I have been to Poland several times). Then they stopped sending me journalists so as not to waste my time and theirs.
I don’t understand and don’t try to understand who is “right”, who is “left”, who is “conservative”, who is “liberal” in Poland. I will not refuse the interview. However, I have the impression that “liberals” are not interested in my publications and thoughts on Russia.
Domestic politics in Poland is not my speciality, and for this reason I try to stay away from it so as not to make the mistakes of a superficial thinking foreigner. I still don’t want to be a part of the debate regarding the internal political differences of some parties or political groups.
I’m not Polish. All my affinity with Poland is with my Polish surname Felsztynski, the name of my ancestors who were deported to Russia after one of the Polish uprisings in the 19th century (I don’t know if it was in 1830 or 1863). I realize that many people may have had illusions about Russia before 1999, before the Second Chechen War began. However, after August 2001, when my book with Litvinenko was published in “Nova Gazeta”, I don’t think such illusions could have appeared. At least there should have been doubts and questions.
On November 14, 1916, the famous liberal Russian politician Pavel Miliukov delivered his famous “Stupidity or Treason” speech in the Russian State Duma. By the way, he himself committed many acts that fall into both folly and treason. But everyone remembered the title of his speech, which went down in history (Pavel Miliukov accused the tsarist government of betraying the interests of Russia, and he ended subsequent fragments of his speech with the phrase “Is this stupidity or treason” – editor’s note). Like I said, unfortunately I haven’t seen it Questionable movie. I understand that he asks if the “restoration” in relations with Russia (nothing about Milyukov – editor’s note) is “foolish or treasonous.”
It is not for me to talk about complicated Russian-Polish and Soviet-Polish relations. Russia and the USSR spilled a lot of Polish blood, and no one apologized to the Poles for it (Yeltsin, perhaps, when he handed Poland the documents he asked for – I don’t know the details; if so, honor and glory to Yeltsin in this matter; but if he didn’t ask)
Well, I’m not Polish. I have no personal connection to the Soviet state, the Soviet Union, or Russia as a state (I left the Soviet Union in 1978 when I was 21). But I never understood how to trust and cooperate with the Soviet Union, and since 2000, after the State Security Service (FSB) seized power in Russia, I never understood how to trust and cooperate with Russia. I stopped going there in 2000.
I’m not a politician and I don’t have to build my political career on contacts with Russia. I am not a businessman and do not need to make money in business in Russia. Of course, in this matter it was easier for me than for Polish politicians, who in one way or another had to cooperate with Russia as a neighbor.
I grew up in Russian culture. Russian is my mother tongue. But the Soviet Union was not my country. I understand how you can love Russian culture, for example, I also really like Bulat Okudzhava’s songs. But I don’t understand how you love and believe in Russia. A state governed by the Security Services (FSB), a government staffed by KGB/FSB officers, is surely unbelievably stupid. Trust or “reset” in friendship is naive in my opinion.
Hillary Clinton’s mistake in March 2009 when she gave Lavro a button that read “Perezhruska” instead of “Perezakhruska” was symbolic in the sense of less attention to detail (Hillary Clinton gave Lavro a button that read “Reset” and gave the wrong translation of the word. From English, Russian The word “peregruzka” is restored in Russian as “perezagruzka”, not “peregruzka”, which in turn means “overload”, which is a kind of prophecy of the development of relations between the West and Russia – footnote). Initiating “reconciliation” with Russia after the invasion of Georgia, as if the invasion had never happened, is certainly not treasonous, but it is downright stupid.
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