I have resisted the urge to write much about the actual war in Ukraine up to this point for several reasons. First, I am not a military expert, although I have spoken to several retired military men to get their take on the situation since the start of the conflict. This is made easier by the fact that I come from a military family.
Thanks for a clear explanation of the current situation. However, I find it confusing why the prestige of the Russian military is not considered high in Russia? They seem to be highly regarded outside of Russia. Also, I’m not sure why deep political involvement of the military is so crucial structurally for Russia? I may be biased due to the many military takeovers around the world, where, the division of military and political factions are blurred. I’m not saying the military should not have large input to political decision making, that would be odd, specially for military matters. I’m also aware that some military personnel have a keen understanding of political matters, and, if they so desire, can move into the political sphere easily; however, a military organization, as a whole, is specialized to solve problems of a particular kind, that may not be the best set of tools for political issues. I guess, I’m not a fan of the idea that war is politics by other means, but, I’m no expert either.
Thanks for a clear explanation of the current situation. However, I find it confusing why the prestige of the Russian military is not considered high in Russia? They seem to be highly regarded outside of Russia. Also, I’m not sure why deep political involvement of the military is so crucial structurally for Russia? I may be biased due to the many military takeovers around the world, where, the division of military and political factions are blurred. I’m not saying the military should not have large input to political decision making, that would be odd, specially for military matters. I’m also aware that some military personnel have a keen understanding of political matters, and, if they so desire, can move into the political sphere easily; however, a military organization, as a whole, is specialized to solve problems of a particular kind, that may not be the best set of tools for political issues. I guess, I’m not a fan of the idea that war is politics by other means, but, I’m no expert either.