Freedom is a Mortal  Threat

In Piotr Skwiecinski’s book, the reader looks at Russia, its present, its historical circumstances, its schizophrenic fusion of mutually exclusive traditions, its obsession with defending itself against the so-called collective West, its infatuation with the Asian experience in the totalitarianisation of its political and social system and, finally, its leader Vladimir Putin, who has become practically a self-ruler and for whom the highest value is the existence of the Russian empire. The author takes a closer look at the Russian mentality of the cult of power, fear of those in power and domination, considered a Russian natural law, an aim in itself. The author concludes that for Putin, Ukrainians are Russians, rebellious internal enemies, and that the issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership is not the cause of Russia’s belligerence, but a pretext for it. Moreover, Kremlin propaganda sees the current war events as defining the identity of the Russian state, as events on the scale of the baptism of Rus. The reader will not find any comforting themes in the reading, and must prepare for strong impressions.

(text: Beata Ciacek, translated with DeepL.com)