A Stupid Bunch of Suckers: Inside the Real Rules of Modern Power Politics

Source: Author’s Facebook page

Trump and Putin operate with astonishingly primitive methods — yet they work. The so-called 28-point “peace plan” put forward by the two leaders repeats, almost word for word, the crude, street-level racketeer logic familiar in Kyiv in the 1990s.

One day, my friend Lyokha ran into the dormitory, breathless with joy, to tell us how he’d been shaken down for 10 dollars — and how they could have made him pay 50.

In reality, it was a crude gangster scam in which the thugs deliberately demanded an absurd, unaffordable sum from the victim. They would invent some supposed offense, like you greeted someone “the wrong way,” and name a completely unrealistic amount that no one could pay.

While the victim was imagining being taken to the woods or forced to sell his apartment, the gangsters would suddenly announce that, because he was a “GOOD guy” (Trump even uses the same vocabulary!), they were giving him a 90-percent “DISCOUNT” and offering a more “reasonable” sum instead.

The happy fool handed over the money with enormous relief, thrilled that it had all ended so “cheaply.” At the same time, he completely FORGOT that he was paying FOR NOTHING — because he wasn’t guilty of anything. The gangsters had simply INVENTED his “debt.”

And now, by putting forward 28 points that turn military defeat into outright capitulation, Trump and Putin are trying to make us look like the same kind of suckers. Trump is even playing the role of the “good” thug who restrains the “bad” thug, the one supposedly ready to bury you right here and now.

It’s so crude and so absurd that it hardly deserves attention — but people are visibly on edge, so the point has to be made before panic spreads.

Trump is waiting for us, in fear and desperation, to reach the point where we’ll accept any terms he offers — simply because the 28-point capitulation is impossible for us to do.

Then he will emerge and say we are “good guys,” and that just for us, he is offering a “discount” today: withdraw from Donbas and recognize Crimea as Russian. And then Putin will kill us not today, but tomorrow. Or maybe even the day after. What an ingenious offer, isn’t it?

But we’re not that stupid. Are we?

Earlier, key provisions of the draft US “peace plan”, allegedly agreed upon by representatives of Donald Trump and the Kremlin, became known. The document contains 28 points relating to the security, territories, economy, and political future of Ukraine.

At the same time, the Institute for the Study of War stated that the “peace plan” of the US and Russia, which allegedly consists of 28 points, means the actual surrender of Ukraine and creates conditions for new aggression by the Russian Federation. Analysts emphasize that the document deprives Ukraine of key defensive positions and does not offer any real guarantees.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the nation with a statement, stressing that the country is going through one of the most difficult periods in its recent history. He noted that the state is under unprecedented pressure and that a difficult choice may lie ahead.

Also, follow “Pryamyi” on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram.

• Materials published in the “OPINIONS” section reflect the opinion of the author of the publication, who bears full responsibility for the accuracy of the information.
• The editorial staff of prm.ua may not share the opinions expressed in the author’s material.
• The owner of the webpage in the “OPINIONS” section is the author of the publication.