bluesfan94
Registered User
Finally read the translation of this.
Yeah fairly intelligent is one way to describe it, but definitely not the way I would. Telling Ukrainians to get in line doesn't sit well with me, nor does it sit well with me that he's saying Ukrainians should be thankful to Russians for giving Ukraine very very much. Not sure that's the right way to describe famine and nuclear fallout, but to each their own. I also don't like his thinly veiled threat at the end. Poor thing is getting called names by Yarmolenko and Mykolenko while their country is getting invaded. If Dzyuba is so concerned about human relations, I don't think the insults are exactly the root of the issue here.
Like I said earlier, thinking that politics and sports shouldn't mix is a naive understanding of football in European history. We see it with Barca/Madrid, the Old Firm, and so on. We also see it with other sports, like the import of the Miracle on Ice or the state-sponsored doping in Russia throughout various sports. Sports are often used as a way of building prestige for a country and its leadership; China is doing that with the Olympics now. This is the same "shut up and dribble" attitude that has led to blowback against LeBron James and other athletes, including Colin Kaepernick, who dare to have political opinions. Russians didn't mind mixing politics and sports when Ovechkin campaigned for Putin in 2015 or when he was used to sportswash 2014.
Now, as I have said before, often it is not the athletes' fault. Dzyuba/Ovechkin/Valieva/Bolshunov/etc. are not in control of their country. It is certainly unfair to them that they may face repercussions for actions of their leaders that they have no control of. And as I've said, I do not think Russian athletes should be punished on an individual level; Golovin should still be able to play for Monaco and Bolshunov should still be able to compete (albeit, in my opinion, not under the Russian flag). But given that sport is a source of national pride and prestige for Putin (and we know this because of his desire to host the Olympics and Euros to enhance Russia's image), I understand targeting national teams. It makes sense. Again, it sucks for the athletes and it may be considered unfair. But I'm not really interested in hearing that these Russian soccer players are the victims when Yarmolenko apparently flew to the Polish border yesterday to get his family.
You (and others - I do not mean this as an attack on you specifically, or, for that matter, an attack at all) can play the whatabout game and how Russia is treated different and what have you until you're blue in the face and I can look at each situation and point out key differences but that's just obfuscating what is happening here. Nor do I think it is at all appropriate or moral to blame NATO or Ukraine for the minor possibility of Ukraine joining NATO (a possibility that was effectively eliminated once Putin fomented the breakaway republics through his invasion that wasn't in 2014). Ukraine, a sovereign nation, should and does have the absolute right to make and enter into its own alliances, and wanting to align with Europe and the West is not at all a justification for invasion. For what it's worth, if Mexico decided it wanted to join a treaty alliance with, say, China, I would have the same opinion (and that's setting aside that modern Mexico doesn't have the same reason to worry about invasion compared to Soviet bloc countries).
At the end of the day, ask yourself this question: is what Russia is doing to Ukraine - a full scale invasion including indiscriminate bombing of cities - wrong? If you answer yes, then ask yourself this question: Should Russia receive consequences for doing things that are wrong? Again, if you answer yes to this, ask yourself again why you're upset that this is happening.
Once again, for clarity and so that you cannot misstate or distort my position, I do not think individual Russians, other than those directly connected to and a part of the elite and ruling class, should face individual consequences in terms of losing their jobs, etc. I think some of the blowback (e.g., CHL banning Russian players from the import draft) is counterproductive. I think that the West should welcome anyone trying to leave Russia right now. I do not think that it is so egregious that Ukrainian soccer players are mad at Russian soccer players, just like I would not have blamed any Iraqi for being mad at any American during the Iraq War. When someone's homes, freedom, nationality, and lives are threatened, I do not ask for pure rationality.
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