#readwise # The Sources of Russian Misconduct  ## Metadata - Author: [[Boris Bondarev]] in Foreign Affairs - Full Title: The Sources of Russian Misconduct ## Highlights **The invasion of Ukraine made it impossible to deny just how brutal and repressive Russia had become.** It was an unspeakable act of cruelty, designed to subjugate a neighbor and erase its ethnic identity. It gave Moscow an excuse to crush any domestic opposition. Now, the government is sending thousands upon thousands of drafted men to go kill Ukrainians. The war shows that **Russia is no longer just dictatorial and aggressive; it has become a fascist state.** (Location 542) --- **one of the invasion's central lessons had to do with something I had witnessed over the preceding two decades: what happens when a government is slowly warped by its own propaganda**. ... The war is a **stark demonstration of how decisions made in echo chambers can backfire. Putin has failed in his bid to conquer Ukraine, an initiative that he might have understood would be impossible if his government had been designed to give honest assessments.** For those of us who worked on military issues, it was plain that the Russian armed forces were not as mighty as the West feared—in part thanks to economic restrictions the West implemented after Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea that were more effective than policymakers seemed to realize. (Location 547) --- But **as long as Putin is in power, Ukraine will have no one in Moscow with whom to genuinely negotiate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not be a reliable interlocutor, nor will any other Russian government apparatus. They are all extensions of Putin and his imperial agenda.** Any cease-fire will just give Russia a chance to rearm before attacking again. (Location 832) ---