We regret the loss of Byzantium, ha ha
I think we all regret the loss of Byzantium. It was taken by the Ottomans - it finally collapsed in 1453, victim of a fabulously powerful and innovative big gun, a thousand years after the collapse of Rome. And when we had the chance to take it back with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire After World War One, we didn't take it because we wanted to appease the Turks as a bulwark against Russian expansion. Big big mistake.
So in this piece I want to understand the origin of Russia, the Rus, how they were converted to Orthodox Christianity, the rise of the Ottomans and loss of the Eastern wing of the Roman Christian church, the Russo-Turkish wars - there were 11 of them between 1676 and 1918, and really the whole point of this piece is to explain why Catherine the Great headed South into the Donbass and built Nuvo Roßiya and why Russia wants it back today.
So it's an ambitious, dramatic and riveting sweep through the history of Russia from its beginnings to its Empire, from the Balkans through to the Caucuses.
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As we have observed, our elites are controlled by hedge funds etc, have very considerable investments in Ukraine and there's no way that they are letting that go to Russia... what is Russia's investment?
Remembering that the fight over Donbas today is for its industrial, mineral and agricultural wealth. Those flat lands without natural protections, from the Euros to the Atlantic and the central planes of Europe, facilitate the creation of one huge state, ever seeking to secure its flimsy borders with easy gaps for Invaders and yet the West ambitions to break Russia up into a series of smaller ethnic regions as they call it decolonized Russia that's a joke right. Originally ...
Catherine the Great (reigned 1762-1796) built that area all that time ago as a buffer against the Ottomans (there were 11 eleven turkish-russian wars from 1676 to 1914) ie to enable Russia to secure its borders, to get access to a warm-water port for an all year round all world fleet, for power projection into Europe and Asia, and importantly for trade.
Trade. This is the rhing rhat fills the govt.s coffers, that feeds the military, that makes it possible for the Elite politicians to realize their dreams.
Any economists with an idea on history will understand that today's sanctions just scrape the surface a long history of trade, trade goes back a really long way and sanctions are just flurries on the surface.
The Varangians, also known as Vikings in Eastern Europe, established trade routes between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Middle East. These routes developed economic and cultural exchanges between Northern Europe, the Byzantine Empire, as well as the Islamic Caliphates.
*The Dnieper River Route*
The "route from the Varangians to the Greeks," started in the Baltic Sea and followed the Daugava and Dnieper rivers southward to the Black Sea, eventually reaching Constantinople (Istanbul).
Important trade stops along the way - Novgorod, Smolensk, Kyiv, and eventually reaches the Black Sea port cities like Chersonesus and finally Constantinople.
The Varangians traded furs, slaves, honey, wax, and amber from Northern Europe for Byzantine luxury goods like silk, wine, and precious metals.
*The Volga Trade Route*
This route extended from the Baltic Sea, through the Volga River, to the Caspian Sea, facilitating trade with the Islamic Caliphates of rhe ME. Trade is trade right?
The route passed through major trading hubs Novgorod, Rostov, and Bulgar. From the Caspian, traders could access Persia (Iran) and the broader Islamic world.
Along this route, the Varangians exchanged Northern European goods for Middle Eastern products, including spices, textiles, and jewelry.
*Importance of Trade Routes*
The flow of goods and wealth meant economic prosperity in the Kievan Rus' state as well as other regions along the trade routes.
*Cultural*
We also got technological exchanges between the Norse, Slavic, Byzantine, and Islamic civilizations, the spread of art, religion, and technology.
*Economic, cultural...and with that political Influence*
Control of these trade routes allowed the rulers of Kievan Rus' to exert influence over a vast territory, enhancing their political power and facilitating the growth of significant urban centers like Kyiv.
*Conclusion*
I just don't think you can dry up trade which goes back A Thousand Years and more with a few sanctions.
I don't think our political leader appreciate the importance of trade in plumping up the coffers and allowing economic, military, cultural and political expansion.
Just look at what those original roofs achieved by leaving the frozen northern home and building a trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea and onto the Islamic caliphate of the Middle East and Iran what an amazing achievement and it comes from focusing on trade and ignoring ideological differences.
To finish on a trivial point, the origin of the word Rus - it is a Nordic word meaning rod or oar and I guess just simply means the Vikings also known as the Varangians, it is them!
If you've read this for bravo I find it totally fascinating but I appreciate that for many others is completely boring
