There was no Renaissance in Russia

 There was no Renaissance or Reformation per se in Russia. At the ascension of Peter the Great (1682-1725), the main garments were medieval robes, women of the royal family were kept locked in towers, literacy was barely existent and contact with other countries shunned. Russian forces of that era were mauled by Ottomans and Swedes. There was no northern seaport. Serfdom, flogging, death by impalement or any number of similarly gruesome methods was common. Russia lost the Crimean War in 1856 to England, France, and the Ottomans. Fast forward to 1904 and Russia is trounced by Japan. The revolution in 1917 takes place partly because of the incompetent leadership during WWI. The Soviet Union won WWII by a combination of attrition and scorched earth, brawn over brain. Post war Europe, the Iron Curtain, and Cold War are within memory for many.

Economics and innovation has never been a strong suit. Military expansion to take ever more territory and resources has (as Rome did to maintain bread & circuses, this is a pyramid scheme of an economy).

“We must invade to protect our ethnic kindred there” – Hitler to the Sudetenland in 1938, Putin in Ukraine 2022. The premise is to quietly colonize by building up population. It is a very old tactic really.

Ronald Reagan defeated the Evil Empire by managing an arms race that Russia could not afford.

Unlike China which went to brutal Marxism under Mao to a pseudo capitalism, Russia still did not manage to get an economy going after the breakup of the Soviet Union. If you suddenly got rid of all the Chinese made goods in your home, closet, and garage, it might be quite bare. What Russian made items do you own?

Putin needs Ukraine for the resources to be sure, but moreso for his egomaniacal pride. He is unbalanced and evil. He is also unchecked -- Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, Belarus election interference last year. The real question is where does he stop? Kiev? Bucharest? Vilnius? Warsaw? And also can/will anyone do anything of substance?

Birthdays with Zeros

 These are all a big deal it seems. The first one is a very big deal of course and the subsequent ones simply mark the realization that we have survived another decade.  I remember celebrating 40 in a big way but 50 not so much. And this week 60 is about waxing nostalgic. 

Who knows how much is left? No one.  I have a long list of things that I have not done - marriage, kids, international travel, focusing anything enough to be really good at it! But I have plenty of things I enjoy doing and have had some notable accomplishments -- some have stood the test of time, some have not. 

I am no cognizant of putting off things which I will find enjoyable and enriching because I have just one more task, project, job to handle. Seems like I have missed a few years of fun events which occur in April or October just because I am too busy to take the time to enjoy. I will work on that. 

It is always nice to just catch up with people too, that requires intentionality and I will make the effort. 

Not yet time to call it a wrap and just reflect though - there is more to enjoy.