Backstab: madness, challenge or loss of prudence
24 November 2015 was widely celebrated in the Russian Federation on the 285 anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest commanders of mankind - Generalissimo Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov.
Russian by birth, Russian in spirit, a great patriot of Russia, who proved her greatness with his whole life and ministry, Suvorov repeatedly said: “... I’m descendants to take my example: start every business with the blessing of God, be faithful to the Sovereign and Fatherland ... to seek fame through truth and virtue ... "
Realizing in practice his “Science of Victory”, he for all his many years history selfless service to the Fatherland has not lost a single battle. Only one more commander could boast of such - Prince Eugene of Savoy, whom Count Suvorov respected, but the prince had not the same scale of battles, and the enemy, I must say, was weaker.
And it was on this day that our “dear Turkish partners” found an opportunity to “congratulate” the Russian people on the anniversary of a person, by the example of which more than one generation grew up.
The Generalissimo, a patriot and a citizen, whose name and affairs led the troops to victory in the battles of World War 1812, formed the invincible spirit of the Soviet people while defending the Motherland in World War II, Suvorov still earns genuine respect in the armies of all nations of the world.
And, probably, it was not without purpose that a “bad business” started up in a respectable state in the East that smacked of something unpretentious.
Fierce foe
However, a bit of history. After the overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in 1480, a new, even more terrible threat to the Turkish yoke appeared on the foreign policy arena of Russia. Since that time, Russia and Turkey have been irreconcilable opponents. The Crimean khans, as vassals of Turkey, repeatedly made devastating raids on Moscow Russia. Each raid ended with significant troubles, fires and the hijacking of Russian captives. Only in the first half of the XVI century, the Crimean Tatars made more than 40 major raids on Muscovy. After another raid in 1521, the Tsar of All Russia, Vasily III, was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty in which he acknowledged the dependence of Moscow on the Crimean Khanate and pledged to pay tribute to him. Once again, the damage from the raids was enormous.
Bearing in mind the purpose of the narrative, it should be said that Russia did not conduct so many wars with any state of Asia and Europe as with Turkey.
The Russian-Turkish wars took place with stubborn consistency, were quite long and lasted almost 250 years. Not without the participation of Turkey and then there were problems in the Caucasus. A short peace, as a rule, was not such - these were the years of respite and preparation for a new war. Therefore, Turkey and Russia were in a state of war for almost 350 years.
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was one of the few generals in human history who beat the enemy not with a number, but with skill. And how many problems “stamped pasha” (for the natural limping was the name of the Turks with honor of Suvorov) were delivered by the Ottoman Empire, everyone knows perfectly well.
It should be proudly acknowledged that the military successes of Count Alexander Suvorov, as well as diplomatic and political ones - Prince Grigory Potemkin for a long time repulsed the Ottoman "neighbors" to go beyond the Dnieper and ensured the southern sovereignty of the Russian Empire.
And despite the serious and obvious efforts of England and France in the nineteenth century, Turkey for a long time did not decide on any encroachments and careless "views" towards the northern neighbor. First of all, because her campaigns ended with one or another loss of territory inherited from the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, a retrospective of existence, and at some stages and development (and this must be recognized) of Turkey, shows that the pain of Suvorov’s “losses” does not give politicians who determine the existence of this state and who have a short memory, rest to the present. In this connection, the thought of one of Russia's leading political scientists Yevgeny Satanovsky is indicative: “Erdogan apparently forgot that for such actions Turkey over 400 years and lost a significant part of its territory, and the fragment that it controls today remains from it”.
STRANGE POLICY
To be fair, it should be noted that the truly wise leaders appearing in Turkey (unfortunately rather rarely) gave the country a serious impetus to development, as a result of which the state regained its leading position in the region, respect and authority, and not only in the Muslim world.
But the policy pursued in recent years by Turkish President Erdogan and his administration cannot but cause amazement and surprise. It resembles the work of a madman, sawing the bough of the tree on which he sits. The amazement is explained by courage and heroism, and surprise by a lack of understanding of the fact of the unconditional coming fall.
At the same time, it is clear that courage is probably dictated by the hope of help and in the event of which the support of otherworldly, unknown, or any other eventual forces, but the surprise is dictated by the obvious reality. Only an obvious madman will drive the hen that lays the golden eggs from the yard (otherwise the actions of Mr. Erdogan cannot be qualified).
And it is not just words. It was Russia that in many respects ensured that economic growth, thanks to which Turkey entered the rank of state - regional leaders. In addition, the Soviet Union and Russia, as its successor, did everything possible to minimize the Kurdish problem, the problem of the genocide of the ancient Armenian people, the centuries-old problem of relations between Georgia and Turkey, Greece and Turkey, etc.
Russian arms not the first time to prove their superiority over Turkish. Ivan Aivazovsky. Fight in the Strait of Chios. 1848 year. Theodosia Art Gallery named after IK. Aivazovsky
And in response to this good on the holiday (the 285 day of Suvorov’s anniversary), with the approval of the President of Turkey, her armed forces vilely, from behind a corner, struck in the back, which would undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences. Today, one can say anything, but after the "encouragements" of officers of the officers, which are memorable for the Turkish army, the army returned to a state of suspended animation. The absence of any thought and forecast of possible outcomes from these or other actions today shows the willingness of the Turkish military to no doubt execute any order of the commander in chief, even the most insane. But, as one famous movie hero said, “remember the children,” for there may be consequences.
There will be consequences, and there is no doubt about it. This became immediately clear for the tough, but extremely correct and sustained position, which was designated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This position is obvious, because the state was struck by a state that regained its diplomatic and political sovereignty, a state that, despite all the efforts of the “partners,” successfully, though not without difficulties, regains its economic sovereignty, the state that that you cannot talk to him from a position of strength. This ends up in serious pain!
Since the times of Alexander the Great, wise (!) Rulers and strategists have tried not to aggravate relations with the peoples living on the Central European Plain, for they knew that they could not be defeated, and war with them could lead to the loss of many preferences. There are plenty of testimonies, starting with the Mongol-Tatars and the Crusaders, the Poles, the Swedes, Napoleon, right up to Hitler - all sooner or later, but they got theirs.
As a result, the warriors who went to Russia, then bequeathed to the descendants of this no longer do. But it is clear that Russia, with its riches, attracts every evil that, realizing that there will be no gain in open battle, seeks to surreptitiously, treacherously, in the back to realize dark designs, trying to provoke unreasoned actions.
But let us turn again to the retrospective. Conducting a short-sighted policy in the 40 of the twentieth century, Turkey could justifiably lose its independence, and when she joined NATO in February 1952, it was obvious to everyone that the bloc was solving the problem of penetrating traditional Islamic territory to counter "Soviet expansion" in the region, and Turkey maintains seeming independence.
But, as time has shown, the entry of Turkey has created more problems for the block than has brought benefits. These or other steps by the Turkish leadership have repeatedly exacerbated the situation in NATO. In particular, Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974 led to the withdrawal of Greece from NATO command structures before 1980. The problem of exacerbation of relations with Greece arises from time to time, especially if one considers the constant violations by Turkish aircraft of the Greek airspace.
It should be noted that Turkey sins violations not only in relation to Greece. In 2012, Syria shot down a Turkish aircraft, which quite obviously and very defiantly invaded its airspace. But Turkey would not be Turkey if, as a “retaliatory measure against the Syrian shelling that took place”, did not open artillery fire on government targets in Syria. Later, in the last three and a half years alone, Turkey shot down about a dozen Syrian airplanes, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, allegedly for violating its airspace.
Thus, trying to pass for the innocent victim of certain circumstances, in fact, Turkey simply uses NATO membership to achieve its own political goals, which in general do not coincide with the interests of the alliance. In addition, by positioning itself as a secular state as a whole, Turkey is increasingly slipping into Islamism. But almost all of the civilized world has a steady understanding that the Islamists pose a serious threat to civilization.
HONEY SPEECH AND BITTING ACTION
Russia, like no other country, has experienced all the “charms” of the Islamist threat. And in many ways, the realization of these threats was made possible thanks to the “wise” policy of Turkey. It was in Turkey that gangsters (recall the 1500 “trainees”, directed by Maskhadov to master true knowledge), who later “distinguished themselves” in the Chechen Republic, Dagestan, explosions and human lives in Moscow, Kaspiysk and many other things were seriously trained.
Now, Turkey has entered into an alliance with the IG, supporting it not only morally, but above all financially, supplying weapons and ammunition, providing treatment and rest for the “fighters for the faith”, buying and selling very cheap oil.
Indicative from the point of view of democracy is the fact that two reputable journalists in Turkey are criminally liable, one of whom the Turkish president asks to “solder” two life sentences for terrorist activities and espionage. And in fact, just because they took off and showed the story about the transfer of artillery ammunition, mines and weapons to the militants of the IG in Turkey.
This is where the basic principles of a democratic state, such as openness, tolerance, transparency, are manifested, which is what our partners in NATO and the United States are so famous for.
At the same time, the position of Russia, which our transparent partners have surrounded from all sides with their “care” and “trust”, is understandable to the whole world. This position reflects all the main provisions of the UN Charter and is aimed at ensuring peaceful and good-neighborly relations, nothing more. That is why in the West most ordinary people admire Vladimir Putin and thank him for his restraint, clear and intelligible policies and absolutely understandable actions in the economy, construction and re-equipment of the Armed Forces.
Even such a “sincerely loving” Russia man, like NATO Secretary General General Jens Stoltenberg, said: “The European security system has become less stable. What happened ... a serious incident that requires calm and diplomacy. It shows that we must strengthen the mechanisms that can prevent such incidents ... In order to ensure the stability of Europe in the long term, modernization of the European security mechanism is required ... ”
It would seem that quite recently, just two months ago, Turkish President Recep Erdogan at the opening in Moscow of a new mosque assured President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin of friendship and the desire to expand economic cooperation. In addition, it was said that the views of the two leaders in general on the localization of the Syrian crisis coincide.
However, a backstab shows how deceptive the impression of joint photographs, handshakes and greetings can be, because after just a few days Erdogan changed his mind and said that "the Turkish position on the Syrian issue remains unchanged." Apparently, star fever, and perhaps “copper pipes” and personal interest in the oil flow from the IG do not allow the President of Turkey to ensure the victory of reason over emotions.
Recently, Erdogan’s statements convincingly indicate that the mind is gradually leaving the gray-haired head. What is worth only his statements that Ankara is ready to abandon the purchase of Russian gas and cancel contracts for the construction of power plants, the cost of which is estimated at 20 billion. Another economic value in the trade and tourism business is estimated at several billion dollars. This should also include the damage from the "strike" on Turkish exports to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia, which goes through Russia, also somewhere around $ 2 billion.
Based on the concept of a stab in the back of our partners, the topic of “random” support for the Democratic Party of the Syrian Kurds and especially its combat wing, the People’s Self-Defense Committees, which, along with the Kurdistan Workers Party (RKK) in Turkey, is officially advantageous for Russia to terrorist organizations. However, it is the Kurds who manage to most successfully conduct ground combat operations against the IS. And it is precisely the military formations of the Kurdish militias that are considered the most likely force capable of accomplishing the liberation of Al-Raqqi, the capital of the IG. However, the recognition of the Kurdish militia and the supply of weapons to it are perceived by Turkey as an unequivocal benefit to terrorists. This is really amazing.
Thus, with its visible and hidden actions, Turkey in a fairly short time managed to form a whole tangle of problems, which in one way or another would have to be spun by NATO. At the same time, the block is not at all interested in a conflict with Russia.
Politicians are well aware that the conflict initiated by Turkey threatens to disrupt the international negotiations on the Syrian issue, which slowly but still began to bring the first results. Everyone is well aware that only trust and agreement between the parties on the further localization of the conflict in Syria will prevent further escalation of tensions and prevent the catastrophic consequences that may arise as a result of a military clash.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the clearly verified position of Russia, designated by the President of the Russian Federation, the ministries of defense and foreign affairs of Russia, evoke respect and understanding throughout the world. At the same time, the desire of "proud" states to the ancestors' laurels today is akin to a loss of prudence.
From the authors. I would like to advise Mr. Erdogan to read the coming “The Science of Prudence, or the Pocket Oracle” by Baltasar Gracian at bedtime. The book has been written for a long time, but it is for people who lose touch with reality. Sometimes sobering.
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