True peace does not correspond to Russia's centuries-old political culture. Everything Russia does deliberately and consciously is directed against someone else.
In Russian vocabulary, "peace, but with nuances," as Vladimir Putin recently put it, means that Russia does not want peace at all.
Russia's genuine desire for peace was evident in historical episodes where it faced defeat or imminent defeat. In all other scenarios, by proposing peace, Russia wanted to use it to expand its influence and subjugate other nations and/or countries.
For example, in 1945, Russia spoke of peace after the Second World War while at the same time making plans to remain stationed as an occupier in Eastern European countries.
Seventy years later, Russia also spoke of peace, as the Soviet empire collapsed and was forced to stop aggression and occupation of other countries in order to survive.
When you hear from the Russians that they want peace, it certainly means the opposite of real peace, unless Russia is suffering.
Colonial mindset
In the Russian language, one word—"mir"—means "world" and "peace." The Russian payment system is called "Mir," and the Soviet space station, as some may remember, was also called "Mir." For the Russians, "mir" is a manifesto of a global victory.
The Mir payment system replaced the Western VISA and Mastercard in Russia after the start of the war. For the Russians, it is a victory over VISA and Mastercard.
This derivation of the word "mir" in the Russian language is ironically similar to the Russian colonial mindset.
In the past, Russia has disguised its occupation and infiltration of other nations with "mir," i.e., peace/world
When you hear Russians say that they want peace, you can safely assume that Russians want much more than just peace in generally recognised categories.
In the past, Russia has disguised its occupation and infiltration of other nations with "mir," i.e., peace/world.
Very few ethnic groups have ever voluntarily joined the Russian Empire. Most were occupied and subjugated. Ukraine is now fighting selflessly and heroically to save itself from the kind of colonial "peace" that Russia wants to impose on Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
Zero-sum game—a national agenda
The zero-sum game is another deeply rooted feature of Russian political culture and a modus operandi of the Russian leadership.
Russia does not believe in cooperation and peaceful collaboration. For Russia, it is all about winning, subverting, undermining, or even defeating other countries. If Russia fails to defeat and subvert, it is confident that it will face defeat and subversion as an alternative.
If Russia offers you something lucrative, such as cheap gas, this can be wrongly perceived as an attempt to cooperate
If Russia offers you something lucrative, such as cheap gas, this can be wrongly perceived as an attempt to cooperate. In reality, Russia wants much more in return, which will ultimately hurt you.
Cheap gas for Germany, for example, has in the past almost led to the recruitment and subversion of the German political leadership by Russian intelligence operatives.
The same applies to Hungary and Slovakia, where Russia has been much more persistent and successful.
Never-ending expansion
There is no peace with Russia as long as it is strong and solid and does not crumble.
As long as Russia is strong, or at least as long as it feels comfortable and believes it can avoid defeat, it wants to expand its influence, either through new territories or through new vassal principalities.
The peace terms originally set by Russia show that Russia wants a vulnerable Ukraine with a puppet government - Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin once articulated the symbolism of Russia's never-ending expansion by saying that the Russian border is infinite.
In most cases, if Russia remains undefeated and continues to speak of peace, this suggests that it intends to deceive, recruit, or even subjugate you.
Another nuance of peace on Russia's terms suggests to its neighbours that yesterday's enemies will become tomorrow's humble servants in Russia's future acts of aggression through corruption and subversion of the elites.
Ukraine logically refuses to accept the Russian version of perverted peace but strives for a civilised, globally recognised peace. Ukraine refuses to be a Russian colony and thus to be part of Russia's future aggression against other European countries.
All the different ethnic groups from the North Caucasus or the Buryats from Eastern Siberia, who have been massively recruited and used by the Kremlin in the war against Ukraine, have been invaded and subjugated by the Russian empire in the past.
The peace terms originally set by Russia show that Russia wants a vulnerable Ukraine with a puppet government. This kind of peace will allow Russia to extend its influence over Ukraine and then move further into other countries and regions.
Real peace in Europe is only possible if Russia applies to itself the conditions it wants for Ukraine—a small army, no blocs, a new constitution, a demilitarised new ideology, a new government, and leadership.
