17 June 2022

Yevgeny Fedorov's nutty idea

Yevgeny Fedorov is a member of Russia's Duma (national legislature).  He recently attracted some concerned attention by proposing that Russia should rescind its recognition of the independence of the Baltic states, which he claimed would force NATO to expel them, since NATO does not allow member states which have territorial disputes, and all the Baltic states' territory would be in dispute if Russia laid claim to it.

Michael Ryan, a former US foreign-policy official, was quick to correct Fedorov and to point out that, in reality, NATO has no process for expelling member states on any grounds.  Fedorov's error probably stemmed from the fact that NATO does not accept new member states which have already-existing territorial disputes, which is why Ukraine has not been eligible -- since 2014 it has had disputes with Russia over Crimea and Donbas.  Obviously the sudden onset of a new territorial dispute cannot be grounds for expelling a member, since in that case, if Russia invaded a member state, the member state would have to be expelled (since the invasion would, by itself, create a new territorial dispute), thus negating the purpose of the alliance.

We probably shouldn't take Fedorov's befuddled grasp of foreign policy too seriously.  Clownish politicians exist everywhere, and authoritarian regimes are breeding grounds for stupidity and delusional thinking in high places.  Fedorov might be the Russian equivalent of Marjorie Taylor Greene.  In the past he has expressed other rather eccentric views.

Nevertheless, we should expect a repudiation of his remarks from Russian officialdom, the way we would if an American Congressman were to issue an equally stupid pronouncement about foreign policy.

Some related links:

Russia has made a few small advances in Donbas, at great cost, while other offensives have failed.  Ukraine too is suffering heavy casualties as it awaits powerful weapons promised by the West.  The leaders of several major European countries have committed not to pressure Ukraine to appease Russia for peace.

In Germany, the far right and far left unite in trying to backstab Ukraine.

Russia has started making bootleg parts for its airliners, to replace those it can no longer import due to sanctions.

This is a graduation in Ukraine (found via Hackwhackers).

7 Comments:

Blogger Sixpence Notthewiser said...

"Fedorov might be the Russian equivalent of Marjorie Taylor Greene." That's all I needed to know. But with Marge Three Names, there's idiots who will go ahead and repeat whatever they hear as if it were canon. Ugh.
And Vlad has not been as successful as he thought he was going to be in Ukraine, huh? He thought it was going to be a weekend affair, but nope.

XOXO

17 June, 2022 05:07  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

That's the real problem. A legislature can stand a few Fedorovs or Taylor Greenes, but somebody like Putin at the top is far more dangerous. Even Trump doesn't really compare; he was an isolationist, not a warmonger.

17 June, 2022 22:56  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My favorite is the Republic of the Gambia, where the president says God has willed he should lead for thousands of years.

When he lost election, he tried to keep office on the grounds that God didn't personally expel him. Which is certainly a creative way to stay president for life.

Now trying to teach Democrats that worrying about unemployment or wages or housing costs or healthcare does not a tankie make.

18 June, 2022 07:03  
Blogger Glen Tomkins said...

In related news...

Mongolia announced today that it is rescinding its withdrawal of the Golden Horde six centuries ago from present-day so called "Russia".

18 June, 2022 10:05  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

I've been trying to comment on blogs for days and haven't been able to. Today so far I've been able to again. Blogger. Ugh.

The Russian government is awful but I feel bad for the people there who oppose what their government is doing.

18 June, 2022 11:31  
Blogger dellgirl said...

This is very interesting. Thank you for sharing it. There's not a political bone in my body, so I have nothing relevant to add to the conversation.

I'm just stopping by to see how you're doing and say hello. Wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you.

Wishing you well, my friend. Have a wonderful weekend!

18 June, 2022 15:17  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Anon: As far as I know, God is not a Gambian citizen, so there's no reason he should get a vote there.

Glen: This may be mean of me, but if the hordes had been a bit more thorough 600 years ago, we wouldn't have this problem now.

Mary K: There seem to be a lot of commenting problems going around these days. Glad if yours is improving. It's certainly dangerous to be a dissident in Russia, but the fact that people are doing things like firebombing military recruitment centers shows that the dissent is there.

Dellgirl: Thanks for stopping by, and have a good weekend!

18 June, 2022 21:00  

Post a Comment

<< Home