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<blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 8602567" data-attributes="member: 4534">When Russia invaded, a lot of people predicted Russia was about to get a lot more NATO than less of it.&nbsp; I sometimes hear a similar line from Soviet apologists.&nbsp; i.e.&nbsp; That the Soviets were right to be paranoid about the west which justified their actions in Eastern Europe from 1945-1980s.&nbsp; I've heard the argument form others that NATO's expansion gave Russia cause for alarm.&nbsp; In while most of them don't outright say this justifies the invasion, at the very least they lay the blame at the United States as if Russia isn't responsible for their own actions.&nbsp; But they are partially right, I think.&nbsp; While I don't believe for a second that Putin was afraid NATO was going to invade, joining NATO has pulled countries like Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, etc., etc. further away from the Russian sphere of influence.&nbsp; That's what Putin is afraid of.&nbsp; That Ukraine was a burgeoning democratic country headed closer to Europe and further from Russian influence was what had to be stopped.&nbsp; If only Russians stopped and asked themselves, &quot;Why do all these countries not want to be our friend and instead choose to cozy up to NATO and the EU?&quot;&nbsp; It's because a lot of those countries remember what life was like under the Soviet Union.&nbsp; Many of them didn't exactly choose to be satellite nations.&nbsp; NATO never invaded another NATO country.&nbsp; But the Soviets weren't shy about invading Hungary.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MGibster, post: 8602567, member: 4534"] When Russia invaded, a lot of people predicted Russia was about to get a lot more NATO than less of it. I sometimes hear a similar line from Soviet apologists. i.e. That the Soviets were right to be paranoid about the west which justified their actions in Eastern Europe from 1945-1980s. I've heard the argument form others that NATO's expansion gave Russia cause for alarm. In while most of them don't outright say this justifies the invasion, at the very least they lay the blame at the United States as if Russia isn't responsible for their own actions. But they are partially right, I think. While I don't believe for a second that Putin was afraid NATO was going to invade, joining NATO has pulled countries like Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, etc., etc. further away from the Russian sphere of influence. That's what Putin is afraid of. That Ukraine was a burgeoning democratic country headed closer to Europe and further from Russian influence was what had to be stopped. If only Russians stopped and asked themselves, "Why do all these countries not want to be our friend and instead choose to cozy up to NATO and the EU?" It's because a lot of those countries remember what life was like under the Soviet Union. Many of them didn't exactly choose to be satellite nations. NATO never invaded another NATO country. But the Soviets weren't shy about invading Hungary. [/QUOTE]

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