Russia - threadbanned users in OP

While this war is the bastard son of many fathers, you're just as gullible to paint the above picture.

Historically Russia has been more of a peacemaker and less of an invader than any major European nation.

What.... oh wait, you're serious? Bit of a history lesson seeing as you reckon others know nothing. Though not a history lesson too many Russians hear in their schooling.

1) Unlike many other European nations(and Russia most certainly is European), Russia didn't need to go off and build overseas empires, it was one already. Peter the Great literally named it as such; the Russian empire. An empire 9000 kms wide ruling over provinces through governors and migration from the west, with money and power concentrated in the west lording over indentured slaves. It has nearly 200 ethnic groups, who had and still has the power and money? Russia is one of the largest empires in world history. Just because they didn't carve up the New World with the rest doesn't make them any less so. This is a major point missed and lack of understanding shown by supporters in places like India and African nations.

2) The Soviet Union, basically Russia under new management, expanded Russian lands from the get go. Her foundation was predicated on invasion and expansion. As WW2 loomed they claimed neutrality but got into bed with the actual nazis to carve up Europe between them, annexing parts of Poland, Lithunaia, Estonia, Romania and tried it on with Finland and got some of their lands too. Until the Austrian corporal hoodwinked them. When he did and they crapped themselves under the onslaught, they looked to the Allies and fought back with their help and millions of their own men and women, but were already going back to the original plan of carving up Europe. They actually got more of it in the aftermath than they would have done with the Germans even if the latter had stuck to the deal. Poland was going to be roughly half and half, Russia got all of it. They also grabbed Czechoslovakia, Albania, Romania, Hungary and half of Germany. Vassal provinces all to Moscow. Maybe you missed how quickly all of those states legged it away from Moscow as fast as they could when the USSR edifice crumbled? How quickly they looked west to protect their futures from Moscow? They saw them as the invaders they were.

Other than Rome I can't think of any other European entity that has invaded and ruled over more lands, nations and people in Europe(and Asia) than Russia, and Rome was never as big. Peacemakers eh? Not invaders? Horse manure.

EDIT: just looked it up there and the British Empire at its peak, by a long way the largest empire the world has ever seen, covered an area of 35 million square kilometres. Russia today covers an area of 17 milllion square kilometres. The Soviet Union covered an area of 23 milllon kilometres. They didn't get and keep that big by smiles and flowers.

I'm not a moderator of this forum.

"Historically Russia has been more of a peacemaker and less of an invader than any major European nation" That's what you wrote and it's a patent nonsense.

Was Russia "drawn into" a pact with nazi Germany to carve up Eastern Europe for themselves? Of course if you're Russian the Great Patrioitic War didn't start in 1939, it started when the first German jackboot crossed into Russia. Handily avoiding Stalin's pact with Hitler. Was Russia "drawn into" carving up Eastern Europe for itself after the war? Was Russia "drawn into" invading Czechoslovakia in '68? Was Russia "drawn into" invading Georgia, or Chechnya? Maybe there was some "contract" involved...

Maybe I can view your sources endorsed by the FSB, or the KG used to B? And more of this Russian hard on for talking about destruction and H-Bombs, you must love Russian TV at the moment. You go on about Russia not starting wars or poisoning the world etc and at the same time get so easily upset when your narative is questioned and are so quick to talk about atomic annihilation coming to destroy me and all life in London(where I'm not so map reading isn't a strong suit). Does the Russian word for 'irony' translate correctly? It seems not.

Look at the environmental record of NATO members! The empire, our democratic role model, leads the way to not just mass suicide, but a complete destruction of life as we know it through chemical pollution.

China is a major pollutor, one of the worst on the planet, but since they're not NATO members I suppose that's OK. Sweden and Finland rank very high in environmental efforts so when they join NATO will they magically become bad? Americans are the worst consumers on the planet. You'll get no argument from me there. However Russia isn't exactly clean, not by a long shot. Ever hear of the Aral Sea?

Just two years ago Russia broke its own records for air pollution. And if we go back to Soviet times we have the slight issue of a reactor going bang. Though a couple of Russians, Belarusians and one Ukrainian have told me that this was yet another CIA plot. Over the years I have found both the Russians and Americans to be as bad as each other for fears of external influence, conspiracy(they had their Reds under the bed phase, now it's Muslims and Mexicans) and the need to justify their own misadventures. As for the CIA. They've proven themselves time and time again to be as much amateur as professional, but that doesn't work as a boogyman for tthe masses. The Yanks thought the same of the KGB and they were equally wrong.