Second Cold War

Over the past 10 or so years we often see various events of backsliding of democracy and freedom, both imaginary and real. Often these events did not receive significant attention. After Spring of Nations or 89 and collapse of USSR Western world thought that freedom have won. It is only a matter of time before the last remaining enclaves of tyranny will finally liberalize and democratize. In 2000s even Chinese Hu Jintao committed towards limits on Presidential terms in power. There was of course no way for the defeated autocrats to somehow crawl back into power. 

That ended up an overly optimistic outlook. Couple of decades later in 2025 authoritarian forces in Russia, China and some countries around them managed to rebuild themselves and now want to preserve their autocratic rule over what is left of their former empire. Now Russia interferes in Georgia and Kyrgyzstan to impose autocratic rule there. China destroyed democracy in Hong Kong and now wants to do the same in Taiwan.

I too often was overly carefree of many actions by Putin and the other autocrats, believing they merely cling to power with lies and cheap tricks. After all they have their money in western tax heavens and their kids live in Western countries. There is no way they would want to destroy Western liberal order; all they want to keep their autocratic rule in their particular jurisdiction. 

That autocratic rule is bad in itself. In the past I wrote many articles, exposing how Putin's propaganda machine works and how one can dismantle it by hitting its weak points.

However, their continued persistence with the war in Ukraine and interference in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia suggests something else. Either Putin was out to restore autocratic neo-USSR (Eurasia) all along or people who wants that managed to sideline all other groups in power and now free to pursue their agenda.

Either way it is a dangerous turn of events that heralds beginning of the Second Cold War. Western Intelligence Agencies should start seeing Russia and China as enemies once again and begin working on defeating them in this new confrontation. 

This can be challenging. Sure, they are smaller and less rich now. However, they no longer have rebellious Warsaw Pact countries to deal with. Areas they control now are at average more backwards and more accepting towards tyranny. 

In contrast West is divided and confused due to wokeism and undue Russophilia in some circles. Current threats should not be underestimated.  Sure, there were communist sympathizers in the US even during Vietnam war and that did not destroyed democracy in the US. However, these anti-war protests managed to do what Viet Cong could not do on the battlefield, make US withdraw and leave Saigon government unable to defend itself. 

Unlike during USSR times, this time Russia does not limit itself to only pushing left wing ideologies but instead supports all malicious and destructive ideologies no matter where they stand on ideological spectrum. Various pro-Russian thugs, such as Antifa, radical ecologists, wokes, certain traditionalists and many more destroying West from within, like mite eats away at tree trunk. Intelligence Agencies should step up their game to stop these destructive actions.

West still have some allies in Russia itself as well as some other countries currently ruled by dictators of Eastern Club. However, levels of repression in Eastern countries prevent them from significantly challenging current regimes.

Dictators of the East can be defeated, however. Just like the last time West should break through the information blockade, censorship and propaganda to destroy them. China has this Great Firewall precisely because they fear that certain information available on the internet can destroy CCP's grip on power, that is why they get out of their way to suppress this information and prevent anyone living in China from seeing it.

Thus, the path for victory is simple, just bypass the firewall and let people access this "dangerous" information. Then see them rebel against their overlords, just like what Lelouch did to Chinese Federation in season 2. I even wrote several articles about exact structure of propaganda myth perpetrated by each of these countries and what exact information can take each of these regimes down. 

In Russia Alexey Navalny was trying to do just that and spread just such dangerous information to Russian public, that is why Russian police killed him. However, if anonymous sources would spread information about Putin's corruption and abuses, then Russian police will have no one to arrest.

Eastern Autocracy can be defeated, and I hope victory comes the sooner the better.