Sergey Karaganov: Russia must help overthrow Western Europe’s dangerous political elites
By Professor Sergey Karaganov, honorary chairman of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and academic supervisor at the School of International Economics and Foreign Affairs Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow
(Note: Sergey Karaganov says the quiet part out loud, and he states the controversial subjects.)
Small update: RT has now provided a link to the original: RT has now added a link to the original: https://profile.ru/abroad/slomat-hrebet-evrope-kakoj-dolzhna-byt-politika-rossii-v-otnoshenii-zapada-1651213/
Russia must help overthrow Western Europe’s dangerous political elites.
Peace on the continent requires breaking the imperialist legacy.
Any outcome of the Ukraine conflict framed as a ‘compromise’ would be celebrated in the West as a victory and perceived as a failure by Russia. This must be avoided at all costs.
First, Russia must openly confront Western Europe’s historical culpability. It’s not the ‘garden’ its elites imagine but a field of fat weeds thriving on the blood of hundreds of millions it has enslaved, murdered, and robbed. Calling Western Europe out for its crimes – from colonialism to warmongering – legitimizes our potential use of nuclear deterrence as a justified response to aggression.
Second, Russia must emphasize the inevitability of nuclear escalation in any conflict between NATO and Russia. This message is essential not only to limit an arms race but also to underscore the futility of stockpiling conventional weapons that will be rendered irrelevant in a nuclear confrontation. NATO’s leaders must understand that they cannot avoid the consequences of their actions.
Third, we must continue advancing on the battlefield, destroying the enemy’s forces with relentless precision. However, it is equally critical to declare that Russia’s patience is finite. For every Russian soldier killed, we must make clear that a thousand Western Europeans will pay the price if their governments persist in waging war against us. The public over there must understand that their elites are preparing to sacrifice them, and nuclear weapons will not discriminate between soldiers and civilians. Western European capitals will be among the first targets of our retaliation.
Fourth, Russia must communicate to the Americans that their continued escalation of the Ukraine conflict will lead to catastrophic consequences. Should they persist, we will cross the nuclear Rubicon, targeting their allies and bases worldwide. Any non-nuclear response will provoke a nuclear strike on American soil. This clarity will force Washington to reconsider its reckless policies.
Fifth, we must strengthen our military capabilities while continuing to adjust our nuclear doctrine. If diplomacy fails, we must escalate decisively, demonstrating our readiness to use advanced weapons to defend Russia’s sovereignty and interests. While new technologies such as the Oreshnik missile system enhance our capabilities, they are no substitute for nuclear weapons, which remain the ultimate guarantor of our security.
Finally, Russia must offer the United States a dignified exit from its self-inflicted Ukrainian disaster. We have no desire to humiliate America but are prepared to help it extricate itself from this quagmire, provided it abandons its destructive policies. At the same time, Western Europe must be sidelined from global decision-making. It has become the primary threat to itself and the world.
If America withdraws, Ukraine’s defeat will follow swiftly. Russia will reclaim its rightful territories in the east and south, while a neutral, demilitarized state is established in central and western Ukraine. Those unwilling to live under Russian law will be free to relocate. Peace can only be achieved by removing Western Europe as a destabilizing force and addressing humanity’s broader challenges alongside the global majority.
True peace will only come when Western Europe’s backbone is broken once more, as it was after Russia’s victories over Napoleon and Hitler. The current elites must be replaced by a new generation capable of engaging in constructive dialogue. Only then can Europe rejoin the world as a responsible partner, not a source of perpetual conflict.
The stakes are clear: This is not just a battle for Russia’s future, but for the survival of human civilization as we know it.
This article was first published by the magazine Profile and was translated and edited by the RT team. RT has now added a link to the original: https://profile.ru/abroad/slomat-hrebet-evrope-kakoj-dolzhna-byt-politika-rossii-v-otnoshenii-zapada-1651213/
This RT “translation and editing” of Karaganov’s essay in Profile is misleading and misrepresentative in the worst sort of way as the headline itself is a lie–Karaganov never advocates for any such actions by Russia. My translation of the original, “Sergey Karaganov: Breaking Europe’s Back: What Should Russia’s Policy Towards… Read more »
Thanks, Karl. You are the better judge here. (And RT is RT; headlines sometimes just completely stupid and other times they provocatively miss the point). Karaganov has been advocating for decisive action throughout the time. “Breaking Europe’s back?” That’s fighting talk. Hopefully we see his continued work. I am under… Read more »
“Note: Sergey Karaganov says the quiet part out loud, and he states the controversial subjects” Some one must! The Russkie is altogether too reticent, almost criminally so. They do not even bother with media narratives, ceding this terrain disdainfully to the combined West. I wonder though whether his resort to… Read more »
Of course, Karaganov tells it specifically to be triggering. The RT summary is clear on this point and brought forward that aspect, whether we like the summary or not. But I have to laugh about something far back in the past, and none of it remains today, so it is… Read more »
Thanks for your explanation of that long-ago happening.
https://karlof1.substack.com/p/sergey-karaganov-breaking-europes
Karl Sanchez mentions that the RT translation omits a good chunk of the original Russian paper. Either way, suffice it to say, Karl isn’t happy with Karaganov’s paper and thinks that it ignores certain important details. Make of his critique what you will.
Thanks for sharing!
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as medvedev so eloquently informs, russian diplomats & politicians are disgusted & reviled by the west’s boorish, repugnant & apparent bottomless ignorance! dialogue @ the brink of armageddon is imperative & the axis of resistance, spearheaded by russians/chinese/iranian diplomats & politicians will hold their nose & stifle the accompanying involuntary… Read more »
I find that many or even most Russians understanding of the West to be far superior to our own understanding of ourselves. They even see a version of our West that we have lost sight of in the last 50 years. It’s down to their excellent education system that fosters… Read more »
“…:This is not a just a battle for Russia’s future, but for the survival of human civilization as we know it!” many have recognized this fully. we approach the delicate moment when the defeated suicide weaves along the bell tower’s edge. while sage attendants try to gently bring him back.… Read more »