The price of arrogance: who will be consoled by paradise after death in a nuclear war

Sergey Baimukhametov

A planetary catastrophe can arise and grow from a particular case when decisions are made not by the heads of state, but by ordinary military personnel. In a tense atmosphere, one spark is enough... As the famous Soviet poet wrote, there are "hundreds of defense ministries in the world - and not a single attack ministry".

A recent incident in the Black Sea has become widely known, in which a Russian border ship opened warning fire and a Russian warplane dropped four high-explosive bombs along the course of the British destroyer Defender, forcing it to withdraw from Russian territorial waters. The situation is difficult. The British do not recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia and consider these waters to be Ukrainian. Hence the conflict.

Less well known is another incident that occurred the very next day, June 24. The Dutch Ministry of Defense reported it five days later, on June 29: “Russian warplanes were simulating an attack on the Kingdom's naval frigate Evertsen, flying low and close. The planes were armed with bombs and missiles. Flights lasted from 15.30 to 20.30 (Moscow time). There were interruptions with the frigate's electronic equipment. Evertsen sailed on the high seas in international waters. There is no excuse for this kind of aggressive action that increases the likelihood of accidents".

The Russian foreign policy and military departments, responding to the Dutch statement, do not deny that the ship was in international waters, but assert that the planes flew at a safe distance.

Something similar already happened five years ago. Then the Russian Su-24 bombers flew over the American missile destroyer "Donald Cook" at an altitude of less than 30 meters. Some domestic media triumphed: "The US missile destroyer" Donald Cook "has become a laughing stock in the eyes of Russian citizens"... "This is not the first time that the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet has demonstrated resourcefulness and military wit.

Last summer, during an exercise in the Baltic, officers wrote with markers on training bombs "To Berlin!" and "For Stalin!" The effect exceeded all expectations. " RIA Novosti gave information under the title "Normal flight" - with a caricature.

Now let's imagine that some of the Dutch sailors lose their nerves and shoot down a Russian plane from an anti-aircraft missile system. The commander of our second fighter, seeing the death of his comrades, unleashes the full power of bombs and missiles on the Dutch frigate, sending a battle alarm on the air. The same signal is sent by a Dutch frigate to all NATO ships - military exercises of the armed forces of the North Atlantic bloc were taking place in the Black Sea at that moment. So what? The third world war - that's what ... The first big blood washes away all the boundaries of the mind. Nobody can stop anymore.

It is known from history: global conflicts have arisen on smaller occasions. Therefore, the public atmosphere is of particular importance. As a deterrent, or, conversely, a provoking factor. After the incident with the British destroyer, State Duma Deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky spoke loudly on the 60 Minutes program of Russian television:

“ Next time we need not to warn, but to destroy at distant approaches! This is the last breath of the decrepit British lion and will be done with. Don't scare us with the Third World War! The West and NATO will never fight Russia! We can bomb London! We can flood the entire British fleet if it sticks to the shores of the Crimea, and nothing will happen to us! They are well-fed, contented, but hungry are at war! ".

(Note by the way: a servant of the people, who has been taking care of the welfare of Russians for almost 30 years at the top of the government, called them “hungry”.)

State Duma Deputy Chairman Pyotr Tolstoy was no less emotional:

“Shoot to kill, kick in the teeth! Once they come in, we will sink! They have a decrepit lion, and we have a young bear!"

Perhaps some lion there is decrepit. But such high-ranking statesmen are obliged to know that Great Britain is a member of the world's strongest military association, and according to the treaty, aggression against one NATO member country is considered aggression against the entire bloc.

Do Russians share the sentiments of militant deputies? Are Russians afraid of unleashing World War III? It seems to be a strange question, if not to say - ridiculous, because it seems to be in the genes, it seems to be our eternal prayer: "If only there was no war..."

There are no recent opinion polls. In 2018, 16% of Russians had "great fears" that the military conflict in Syria could escalate into World War III, 41% said they had "some fears", 38% of respondents did not feel "special fears" or did not believe at all into such an opportunity. At the same time, 50% of Russians supported our military actions in Syria.

In October 2016, one of the NATO ships entered the international waters of the Black Sea. Our military aircraft flew dangerously close to it. But when at a government meeting some participants began to say that "the Americans deserve it", President Putin cut them off abruptly: "Are you crazy?"

After that, the media published comments with the headlines: "Vladimir Putin declared the inadmissibility of provocations against NATO", "Vladimir Putin reacted extremely negatively to the provocative actions of the Russian army", "The media told about Putin's reaction to the provocation of the Russian Defense Ministry against NATO".

Two years later, in 2018, during a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, answering a question about Russia's readiness to use nuclear weapons, President Putin said:

“ Our concept is a response to a counter strike. The aggressor must know: retaliation is inevitable, anyway he will be destroyed. We, as a victim of aggression, as martyrs, will go to heaven, and they will simply die, because they will not even have time to repent”.

Three more years passed. On June 30, 2021, during the Direct Line, President Putin was asked in connection with the incident with the British destroyer: "Don't you think that the world at that moment was on the verge of no less than World War III?"

Putin replied: “No, I don’t think so... ...Even if we sunk this ship, it would still be difficult to imagine that the world would rise to the brink of World War III, because those who do this know that they cannot emerge victorious from this war. This is a very important thing".

Yes, there are hundreds of defense ministries in the world - and not a single attack ministry...

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