somebody slept in history 101... Nowgorod and peskow were democratic city states just like some places places in western europe.
thats total BS coming from uneducated people from the Colonies.
There were all kinds of Democratic countries in europe for a loong time, San Marino has been a republic for 1700 years.
@Stoneheart has made a very, very good point here. Americans, in general, do two things wrong. First, they assume everyone else on Earth is just like they are. Second, they don't study enough history/geography and the schools don't teach enough history/geography.
The roots of many conflicts in today's world go back centuries. Look at the Middle East - they've been fighting for seemingly forever. The roots of the Russian-Ukrainian war go back centuries. Russia's history is nothing like ours. Russia as a nation has been through things we should get down on our knees and thank God not to have experienced.
From talking to some younger people these days, they know little even of WWII history, and have no knowledge of the Holodomor, or course. They listen and are interested when I provide info. Never had anyone just walk away.
History didn't start in 1975. Yet one need not read long accounts of world history from the year zero to be fairly up on history. I'd say get a general overview of how countries came to be, and get deeper into countries, say, from the mid-19th century.
Armed with a basic knowledge of Russian history, it's easy to see why Putin attacked the Ukraine. Only a mystery if one has no knowledge of Russian history. Doesn't excuse the aggression, but does explain where the man is coming from. When you look through many Russians' eyes, this war makes sense, least until the sanctions bite them in the ass with fangs of steel.
Far as geography goes, everyone should know the continents, and which countries are on which continent. War is no way to learn geography, but that's how most Americans learn their geography. When you know where a country is located, easy enough to pull up a map and find rivers, cities, and major land/coastal features.
NOT rocket science. Nothing ANYONE here cannot do. If I can get that knowledge, so can anyone else.
Knowledge is power. Being too cool for school or failing to get that knowledge not only fucks yourself, but places you at the mercy of those who have that knowledge. And such people have no problem fucking you over six ways from Sunday.
