Also why are we punishing the Russian citizens for the actions of the government
We’re not punishing the citizens, we’re punishing the government systems they use to make those payments so the citizens are more likely to take action like protest against their government instead of just saying “not my problem”
Thrusting millions of people into poverty through economic strangulation is in fact targeting its citizens. It is delusional, calloused, and dangerous to suggest otherwise. It also almost always does not work. The US stealing 3.5 billion in Afghan assets and sanctioning Afghanistan hasn’t led to the people rising up and overthrowing the Taliban. It’s led to millions more people being plunged into poverty to the point that thousands of parents are having to sell their own organs to keep their children fed. Even if you think that the end result IS a popular uprising that result is reached through intentional mass emmiseration.
“More likely to take action and protest”
People have ALREADY been protesting Putin’s government–even before sanctions–but guess what, you can’t just fucking snap your fingers and overthrow a government. So now you have people still protesting but with less resources to survive and no job to return to. Congratulations?
Why is Russia punishing Ukraine citizens with an aggressive invasion of their country? Who is that helping? What homes and jobs and schools do they have to go back to? What about those who had to flee across international borders with nothing but their children and what they could carry, while risking being shot by Russian soldiers? Or shelled by Russian artillery?
They didn’t start aggressively invading a neighbouring country.
Acts of international aggression are not a purity contest, nor are they clear lines in the sand. War hurts civilians before it ever touches those in power.
The real question to ask in the wake of how unfair it all is, is: why are those in charge in Russia hurting the civilians of two countries?
Also why are we punishing the Russian citizens for the actions of the government
Because we live under a system that conflates wealth with power, and power with the ability to compel others to do what one wants them to do, while remaining insulated from the consequences of one’s actions.
As a result, it’s impossible to punish the rich and powerful without also punishing the poor and powerless a lot more.
I’ve seen a lot of posts and comments asking what the US/NATO/etc. should be doing instead, and the problem is that there are no good options.
The world’s options vis-à-vis Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are:
1. Do nothing. Let Putin take Ukraine without international opposition–which will lead not only to crimes against humanity in Ukraine, but is also likely to encourage him to keep going and invade other places that he feels like should be part of Russia.
2. Impose sanctions that cause real and immediate suffering to millions of ordinary people, in the hopes that eventually some of the harm will make its way through the thick layers of wealth and arrogance to affect someone who has some influence over the situation.
3. World War Three–which will not only cause even more harm and suffering to the ordinary people of both Ukraine and Russia, but could also lead to global thermonuclear war, i.e., the end of human life as we know it.
These are all really, really shitty options. Putin has made it very clear that direct military intervention in Ukraine–boots on the ground, planes in the air, or ships in the sea–will be considered an act of war, and if the US or any NATO country is at war with Russia, that’s World War Three. Putin has also been conspicuously drawing our attention to his massive stockpile of nuclear weapons, and saying, more or less, “Do you feel lucky, punk?”
And option 1–let him do it–has a good chance of turning into option 3 eventually. That’s how we got World War II: the rest of the world, desperate to avoid a re-play of the Great War, let Hitler take Austria, and then Czechoslovakia, in return for promises that he would leave the rest of Europe alone. He broke that promise by invading Poland, and…well, we all have some idea of how that turned out. Based on this historical precedent, letting Putin take Ukraine without international opposition would be a dangerous move–even leading aside any moral or ethical considerations relating to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
So, sanctions. Because out of a list of, I say it again, extremely bad options, it’s the least-worst.
To be clear, the point of the sanctions is notto cause a popular uprising against Putin, as some have said above. The point is to make the invasion as difficult, costly, and politically unpopular as possible, in order to convince Putin that the invasion isn’t worth his while–ideally, to pull back out of Ukraine, but at minimum, if Ukraine does fall, to quit while he’s ahead and not invade Poland. (Metaphorically or literally.)
There’s no way to target the sanctions so that they hurt the rich and powerful while leaving the ordinary people alone, because “rich and powerful” means that you have the ability to pile up a bunch of other people between yourself and any inconvenience.
It sucks. It feels shitty, because it is. And the whole thing is Putin’s fault–he’s the one that’s holding a nuclear missile to the world’s head while he makes us watch him commit war crimes in Ukraine. He can stop any time he wants.
And that’s why he has his troll farms JAQ-ing off about the suffering of the ordinary Russian people–it’s all about making it look like it’s somebody else’s fault.
Hey y'all remember how Russian agents used misinformation on Tumblr posing as leftists to influence the 2016 election
