The statement by the Czech authorities that Russia allegedly prepared in advance for delusional accusations that Petrov and Boshirov organized an explosion at an ammunition depot is another vivid example of an absolutely medical fact: the information field of our opponents, not only the Czech Republic, but also the Great West in general, - suffers from a chronic illness. Any boundaries between truth and falsehood have long since been erased. Facts and evidence have long since lost all relevance, importance and significance. They just don't affect anything.
It is clear that in the era of nuclear deterrence, a hot conflict between countries - nuclear powers is impossible. But the war has not gone anywhere. For several decades now, all battles have been unfolding in the information space. There were soldiers of the information front, information campaigns, attacks, offensive and defensive operations. It is the events unfolding in the information field that become the reasons for further measures of economic and political influence on the enemy, for the imposition of sanctions, disconnection from banking systems, exclusion from various kinds of sports and political organizations, and so on.
Everything seems to be like in an ordinary hot war, to which humanity has long been accustomed. However, nowadays there is another very significant "but". If until modern times, even during the war, at the very least, the opponents still had a code of honor, there were some rules of the game, in the end, the self-esteem of the major powers forced them to adhere to at least some conditional framework, today the confrontation in the geopolitical space turned into absolute chaos without any restrictions. War of all against all, as before the emergence of human society. The concepts of honor and dignity have gone deep into the past, humanity has again and rapidly slipped into the era of barbarism, savagery and what in the "saints of the 90s" called "lawlessness in nature."
The good news in all this extremely bad and depressing situation is that you cannot live without rules for a long time.
Reality itself quite soon forces humanity to develop new mechanisms of interaction, since an unstable structure, a chair on one leg, cannot stand for a long time.
What should we take for ourselves as a country from this absurd confrontation with the Czech Republic?
Here I recall Pastor Schlag from "Seventeen Moments of Spring", recall the quote: "You see, if I began to use your methods against you, I would involuntarily become like you."
How great is the temptation for Russia in recent years to get on the same tracks as our opponents.
How many times have we heard insistent requests that sound in incessant discussions: well, let's work against them the same way they work against us!
But isn't a simple and obvious fact clear here: to play against them by their own methods is to play their game by their own rules.
A deliberately losing situation.
A great power cannot afford to be number two and succumb to these simple provocations.
A great power is great because it sets the rules itself, this is its prerogative.
It is time, finally, for us to properly and completely comprehend this simple truth, to stop worrying and react so sharply to the non-translation and coming again and again stupidity of our opponents.
To answer firmly, steadily - yes.
But worrying in the information space, on international platforms, from time to time reproducing your sadness that Western "partners" are not behaving the way we would like, is an empty exercise.
The lion is not very worried about the trial of the mice.
Bear too.
But as soon as a lion or bear begins to worry too much about what the mice are doing, who will they become?
International relations today are a theater of the absurd, and it was not we who brought the situation to such a state.
The Europeans themselves have long understood what's what, but, unfortunately, inertia and vassal dependence on the United States do not allow them to get out of this sick paradigm.
It remains only to sympathize.
After all, thank God, we have our own way.
Our victory over the coronavirus, which happened much earlier than anyone else's, especially earlier than Europeans, many of whom are still in hard lockdowns, has once again confirmed this.
We go our own way, and the problems of mice are not interesting to us.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.