# 概要总结
这段内容讨论了弗拉基米尔·普京在俄罗斯和乌克兰之间持续冲突中的角色，以及美国在冷战后如何影响俄罗斯的政治经济走向。演讲者认为，普京的崛起与美国对俄罗斯的外交政策密切相关，尤其是在苏联解体后的处理方式上。演讲者提到，虽然西方普遍将普京视为头号敌人，但实际上俄罗斯曾希望与西方建立伙伴关系。

## 主要主题和背景信息
1. **普京的崛起**：普京的行动被视为美国错误外政策的直接结果。20世纪90年代，俄罗斯经济崩溃导致对强有力领袖的渴求。普京的上任给人们带来了一丝希望和稳定感。
2. **美国的外交政策**：苏联解体后，美国选择将俄罗斯视为敌人，而不是与其合作重建。这种选择导致了俄罗斯民众生活水平的急剧下降和社会结构的破裂。
3. **双重标准的批评**：美国在国际事务中的虚伪被显现出来，尤其是在涉及人权和战争时，欧美的立场前后不一致。

## 关键引述
- 普京在担任总统后首次请求加入北约却遭拒绝，表明了西方对俄罗斯的冷漠。
- “俄罗斯曾努力与西方合作，但换来的却是生存威胁。”

## 逻辑推演
内容按时间顺序讲述了从苏联解体到普京崛起的背景，同时指出西方的政策选择如何塑造了今天的局势。显著表现在俄罗斯与西方关系的发展及其对国内外政策的影响上。

Cyrus Janssen

How Russia Became America's Greatest Foreign Policy Mistake

what if I told you there is more to the
story about Vladimir Putin what if I
told you that Vladimir Putin's actions
today are the direct result of some of
the worst foreign policy mistakes made
by the US government I know these are
bold statements to make and before you
write me off and dismiss this video I
want you to understand the angle I'm
coming from for the past decade Russia
and Ukraine have been engaged in a
devastating conflict that has
destabilized Europe and brought
tremendous instability to the world but
Putin didn't just appear out of thin air
he has been at the top of the Russian
government for nearly quarter of a
century but the majority of people have
yet to hear the full story of how the US
government treated Russia after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and how US
foreign policy created the perfect
conditions for a political leader like
Vladimir Putin to rise up into Power the
West loves to portray Russia and
specifically Putin as one of America's
greatest enemies but here's the twist
did you know that Russia was actually
desperate to be integrated into the West
just listen to this clip from Vladimir
Posner a french-born russian-american
journalist after the Soviet Union ceased
to exist yelton came to the United
States and he addressed a joint session
of Congress and he said the people of
Russia are offering their hand to the
people of the United States in
Friendship to build a better world a
world without War a world without peace
and this was exactly what the vast
majority of Russians wanted and I would
even say that today the vast majority of
Russians would like to have if not a
friendship with the United States at
least a partnership you see after the
collapse of the Soviet Union the United
States government faced a difficult
decision ision how is it going to treat
this new entity called Russia the United
States had two very clear options the
first was to treat Russia the same way
it treated former enemies Germany and
Italy after World War II after the war
Europe was in complete shambles and
desperately needed direct foreign
investment to rebuild the continent the
US government saw an opportunity to
bring Europe into its sphere of
influence and pledged billions of
dollars to rebuild all of Europe this
plan was called the Marshall Plan and
paved the way to the better governments
better infrastructure and the Europe we
all know today the second option was to
continue treating Russia as the enemy
never forgive them for their actions
during the Cold War and treat them as an
inferior state that should never be
integrated into Western Society once
again Vladimir Posner reveals which
option the US government chose and
basically that view was the one that was
accepted it was the one that would
accepted and the attitude towards Russia
was pretty much they're no longer a
superpower you are a second R country
just just keep quiet please now fast
forward to early 2000 When Vladimir
Putin emerged as Russia's new leader
Putin's very first move as president was
to ask for Russia's entry into NATO
which actually makes perfect sense NATO
was created to combat the rise of the
Soviet Union but at this point the
Soviet Union had already been disbanded
for over 9 years so why couldn't Russia
join NATO now and contribute to
combating any future threats Putin's
proposal was immediately dismissed with
the implication that Russia was
irrelevant not deterred Putin tried a
different route if the US wasn't going
to let Russia join NATO then what about
integrating into the west through
membership into the European Union once
again Putin was rejected this time he
was told that Russia was too big and
would hold too much influence in the
block two missed opportunities and two
major events that heavily influenced the
direction Vladimir Putin and Russia
would develop in the coming years just
imagine how different our world would
look like today if Russia was a leading
EU member alongside Germany integrated
into NATO and fostering an iance with
the United States so strong that NATO
itself would no longer have any reason
to exist that world was possible but
instead the United States chose to
alienate isolate and provoke Russia
ultimately leading us to the situation
we face today one of the terms we often
hear from us politicians is the
international rules-based order it is a
narrative that frames the West as the
upholders of international law democracy
and the principles set forth by
organizations like the United Nations
for a clear example of what I mean just
look at this tweet sent from Secretary
of State Anthony blinkin we stand with
all human right Defenders who fight
against repression and advocate for
fundamental freedoms the us and our
partners will continue to work toward a
world in which all nations uphold and
strive towards the principle that human
rights belong to everyone everywhere
it's an excellent message except for one
problem US government is one of the
largest violators of human rights in the
world and with the rise of social media
the cracks in this narrative are
becoming impossible to ignore while the
United States is quick to slam Vladimir
Putin as a war criminal and condemn his
actions in Ukraine us politicians
simultaneously support Benjamin
Netanyahu and send billions of dollars
worth of weapons to carry out death and
destruction across the Middle East the
hypocrisy of the United States stands
between the wars in Ukraine and Gaza is
shocking just watch this clip to see
firsthand how the US government
justifies War actions in Gaza but then
turns around and condemns the same
actions in Ukraine being honest about
the fact that there have been civilian
casualties and that there likely will be
more is being honest because that's what
war is it's brutal it's ugly it's messy
I've said that before President also
said that yesterday doesn't mean we have
to like it it's hard to look at what
he's doing in Ukraine what his forces
are doing in Ukraine and think that any
um uh ethical moral individual could
justify that it's difficult to look at
the
sorry it's difficult to look at some of
the images and imagine that any well-
thinking serious mature leader would do
that spare us the fake tears the message
sent to the world is clear to the US
government Ukrainian lives are worth
more than their Palestinian counterparts
the world sees this double standard and
it's why the majority of the developing
world has lost faith in this rules-based
order but at a time when democracies in
the United States in Europe are both
facing crises of legitimacy and power
Putin has become the perfect scapegoat
David wearing's 2019 article entitled
How the West helped to make Putin says
it perfectly the antagonist of the hour
is Vladimir Putin a character who
represents everything the West is not
authoritarian rather than Democratic
thuggish rather than humanitarian and a
threat to rather than an upholder of the
liberal International order LED since
World War II by the US moreover at a
time when Western power perhaps even the
West itself is undergoing a period of
Crisis Putin is the culprit the Mischief
maker subverting our democracies and
dragging us beneath our usual impeccable
standards what's incredible here is that
this article was written in 2019 but
fast forward to today and these
statements still remain True by crafting
this simplistic Narrative of the West
vers Putin's Russia our politicians
frame one side as inherently good and
the other as inherently bad this ignores
the role the West played in creating
these conditions don't forget what I
said earlier the US had two options on
how to treat Russia after the collapse
of the Soviet Union they chose option
number two and with it came undeniable
chaos for the common citizens of Russia
let's break it down after the collapse
of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s
the United States sent in advisers and
diplomats to help shape Russia's
transition to a market economy they
imposed what they called an economic
liberalization program the United States
wanted to shift Russia from communism to
free market capitalism they did exactly
that but prioritized Western Financial
interests at the expense of of Russian
stability state-owned industries were
privatized at bargain prices and sold to
a small group of wealthy well-connected
Russians this process created the
oligarch class who ruled Russia in the
1990s under a corrupt system of crony
capitalism and this is where the United
States missed the mark completely if the
US helped Russia integrate into Western
Society Russia would look very different
today but the West took advantage of a
weak Russia and here is what happened to
the majority of Russian citizens at the
recommendation of the international
monetary fund public spending on health
education pensions and Welfare were
slashed by 50% food prices tripled
almost overnight and in just 7even years
the number of Russians living on less
than $4 a day skyrocketed from 2 million
to 60 million male life expectancy
dropped by 5 years and violent crime
surged all of this resulted in Russia's
economy collapsing by more than 50% from
1990 to 1998 the rest actions didn't
just fail they devastated Russia Nobel
prize-winning Economist Joseph stiglets
later compared the economic destruction
of the 1990s to the devastation Russia
experienced during World War II this was
a far cry from what Mel gorbachov the
last leader of the Soviet Union had
envisioned for the country gorbachov had
hoped for a transition to a Nordic style
social democracy a mixed economy with
strong Public Services high taxes and a
government accountable to Parliament
rather than an authoritarian strongman
instead of looking like like something
like Sweden or Finland the West created
a country ravaged by violence and
corruption with very little economic
prospects for the future and this is
exactly how Vladimir Putin came to power
when Putin began his rule as president
the first thing he did was crack down on
the oligarchs he didn't dismantle the
system the West had built he rebalanced
it power shifted from the billionaire
class to the state with Putin firmly in
control cronyism didn't disappear it was
just placed under his authority after
the chaos of the 1990s Russ Russian
citizens saw this as a relief once again
let's look at this chart showing
Russia's GDP growth and we can see how
Russia's economy entered a new phase of
economic growth under Putin during this
stage two period of growth from 1999 to
2012 when people in the West Express
confusion about Putin's popularity or
why so many Russians reject the liberal
International order the answer is simple
Russians remember the chaos of the 1990s
they know the West played a large role
in the economic crisis but also remember
who was the leader who pulled him out of
it now let's talk about NATO Western
leaders want you to believe that NATO's
expansion was a defensive response to an
aggressive Russia a country supposedly
desperate to recreate the former Soviet
Union by expanding Westward into Europe
but this narrative falls apart under
scrutiny the reality is that Russia did
nothing to provoke NATO or the West
NATO's expansion began when Russia under
Boris yelton was at its weakest
economically devastated and practically
a vessel to Washington at that point
Russia was was hardly a threat to anyone
the aim of NATO's expansion wasn't
defense it was to ensure that Russia
would never regain its power or
influence and once again Vladimir Posner
reveals the truth take the time from
when Gorbachev came to power March
1985 to
2007 when Putin has been in power for
seven years that's 22 years I ask you to
find a single thing in foreign or
domestic policies done by the Soviet
Union while it still existed and then
Russia proper that might in any way
anger irk
disappoint the United
States let me answer that for you
nothing not one thing during that
period now what did Russia get as a
result of that first the enlargement of
NATO hey before I go on I want to
explain a little bit more about my
creative process and how I write scripts
for the videos on this channel the
process takes a long time often
involving many hours and days of
research and writing and a tool I've
been using a lot lately is ground news
who has been a longtime sponsor and
helps make this channel possible as you
can imagine I'm constantly checking
ground news for the latest updates to
the situation in Ukraine and you can too
at ground. news/ Cyrus earlier this week
one of Russia's top generals who
oversees the nuclear weapons was
assassinated in Moscow with a scooter
bomb from the Ukrainian government we
can can see that over 750 articles have
reported on this story with over 75% of
these being highly factual this is a
rating based on how subjective their
printed reporting is and the timeliness
of their Corrections easily my favorite
feature about ground news is this
ability to compare the different news
outlets that are covering the story from
around the whole world for example the
Kei post out of Ukraine is proudly
showing a graphic video from a dash cam
that captures the exact moment of the
explosion that killed the r General
while the evening standard out of the UK
is reporting that Putin will take
spectacular revenge for assassination of
a Russian general in Moscow bomb attack
ground news helps me understand a story
better by seeing the competing
narratives that different Outlets use to
cover that story so if you are someone
that values critical thinking and trying
to make sense of the many stories coming
out of the world this is a great tool
for you and lucky for you they're giving
viewers of my channel 50% off the
unlimited access Vantage plan which is
the same access I use for my research
whether you subscribe or send it as a
gift all in it's less than $5 a month
which for good analysis and news is
pretty cheap this discount is their
biggest sale of the year and you can
access it at ground. news/ Cyrus or by
scanning the QR code on screen and with
that now back to our story of Vladimir
Putin and Russia as you can see Russia
made every effort to appease the West
hoping to build a partnership and what
did they get in return an existential
military threat placed right on their
doorstep if you want an extensive
analysis on how aggressively expanding
NATO led to this war in Ukraine I did a
full breakdown on this in another video
which I'll link at the end of today's
presentation but the West narrative
about Putin as a lone villain and threat
to democracy conveniently omits its own
role in creating the very circumstances
that led to his rise and let's be clear
this isn't about excusing Putin's
actions it's about understanding them in
the broader context the chaos of the
1990s didn't just happen it was the
direct result of Western intervention
and when the Russian people saw no other
option they turned to someone who
promised stability strength and a way
out of the mess the West had left behind
the policies that devastated Russia's
economy created the oligarch class and
expanded NATO's reach to Russia's
borders were not accidental they were
deliberate they were designed to
sideline Russia to prevent it from ever
being a global power again and yet these
very actions paved the way for Putin's
rise and his enduring popularity at home
the lessons from this are clear if the
West wants to understand the Dynamics at
play in Russia and Ukraine today and
needs to start by looking at its own
history ignoring this history won't
erase it and pretending Putin's rise was
inevitable only ensures that the same
mistakes will be repeated elsewhere The
Narrative of the West versus Putin may
make for good headlines but it does
nothing to address the deeper causes of
this conflict the question we should be
asking is not just how Putin came to
power but how the choices made by the
United States and Europe help create him
until those questions are answered the
cycle of alienation provocation and
conflict will continue everyone I want
to thank you for making it to this point
of today's video and if you want to
learn more about the history of how the
United States created Vladimir Putin
I'll include a link to the full speech
from Vladimir posner's speech at Yale
University which was the inspiration for
today's video once again I want to thank
ground news for sponsoring today's video
about Russia and if you want to see a
more in-depth analysis about how
aggressively expanding NATO led to this
war in Ukraine click here to watch a
full breakdown as always I want to thank
you for your support and I look forward
to seeing you all in our next video soon

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How Russia Became America's Greatest Foreign Policy Mistake

Transcription