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RAFA—Russian
American Friendship Association |
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PAGE ONE Relations between the Russian Federation and the Orthodox Slavic countries of Eastern Europe on the one hand, and the United States on the other are, and ought to be, the cornerstone to maintaining world peace and defending the values, not only of these peoples and countries, but, the whole world. The great centers of Orthodox Christianity centered in Eastern Europe represent half a billion people worldwide. Geographical proximity, cultural, religious and historical affinity, and a family of languages largely based on the Greco-Cyrillic alphabet represent additional ties between these peoples, giving them a common interests, and common needs for cooperation, development and defense. They have often had common enemies and suffered common discrimination
originating from among the strongest Rim-land powers of Asia, Europe, and the
Middle East. These Slavic
peoples occupy the heartland of Eurasia and represent, today, one of the
least developed regions of the world. Their sense of isolation and of being
surrounded by enemies is reinforced and substantiated by a long history. Attacks have come from Asian powers in the East, Moslem powers in the south, and Franco-Germanic powers to the west. It has not been easy being a Slav, Orthodox or Russian. |
PAGE TWO For all these reasons, and more, the Russo-Slavic
nations have never been hostile to a United States that has faced a somewhat
similar fate. America has its “Wild West” frontier, and the Russians
have their “Wild East” frontier.” One people is at the center of the sea of
land of the steppes that one, could call the Heartland of the world land
mass, while the other is at the center of the sea of what the famous and
influential Geopoliticist Sir Walford J. Mackinder called Oceania. Admiral Mackinder wrote, indeed one might say invented,
the idea of Geopolitics, which outlined a geographical understanding of the
nature of politics as it has sculpted world history. Such an understanding of
the larger strategic relations between nations, has improved our
understanding of the nature of what nations should consider to be their
long-term self-interests. Applying this theory the Russian Federation and allied
Slavic–Orthodox nations are the constant Heartland power, and thus will be in
one stage or another of constant rivalry with successive Rimland Nations at
all times. America not being a Rimland nation but an Oceanic power has
natural allies in the Slavic Heartland powers. |
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PAGE THREE Both the Heartland and the Oceanic powers must seek to
prevent any Rimland power from coming to dominate substantial amounts of the
Rimland, and thus come to threaten either the Heartland or Oceania. This is to prevent any Rimland power such as China, Germany,
or France dominating the whole earth. If a Rimland power like Germany or
China, for example, were, by dominating the Rimland, able to control either
the Heartland or Oceania, then it would be able to, in turn, control the
remaining Rimland powers, hence creating an axis able to overwhelm the third
remaining power center. World peace and freedom, (and they are inseparable,)
depends on preventing any Rimland power from taking over Oceania, America’s
domain, or the Heartland the domain of the Orthodox Slavs. In that way the
equilibrium of the tripartite system of world order, and balance of power,
can be maintained. This state of affairs, of long standing, makes Russia
and America permanent allies against the aspirations and ambitions of this or
that Rimland aggressor state. Even during the extremis of the Cold War
when anti-American Communism was at the helm, Russia and the United States
never went to war. Neither ever threatened, nor do they now threaten, each other’s
vital interests, for each has, basically, the same interest in international
relations. Not much is likely to change this equation. And if you add to these
commonality of interests between the American sphere and the Russian sphere,
the friendly relations between the Orthodox Church, (which is seen as a kind
of Protestantism by Protestants,) and the Protestant Churches of Oceania,
which are the dominate religion of the Oceanic power cluster of America,
England, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand, then the impetus to a
jointure of interests becomes overwhelming. |
PAGE FOUR But, everyone can do this arithmetic, and so it is
understandable that the foreign policy goals of the leading Rimland powers
will be, and have been, to prevent just such a coming together of the
interests of the Heartland and Oceania. Such a détente between Russia and
America gives little comfort to the long-term ambitions of such Rimland
powers as China and Germany, to mention only two. It is to be expected that they
consider it in their interests for relations between America and Russia to be
strained. Just as surely, this must be resisted by the strongest efforts
possible to build an enduring world peace based on a rapprochement between
the two former Superpowers. They are still are, and should
continue be, the only two Superpowers, for if a Rimland power ever becomes a
Superpower it will destabilize the balance of power in the world between the
three natural geo-political spheres of the planet. Machinations against American-Russian friendship and
cooperation are to be resisted and exposed as they occur, and any farsighted
understanding of history must lay out the reasons for this. Israel’s security
for example consists in building a strong Russian-America friendship, and the
security of very many smaller Rimland nations such as Taiwan, Singapore,
Korea, and the Scandinavian countries is affected in a like manner. It is incumbent upon us to understand these realities
and act intelligently upon them. They will not go away, and no amount of
smoke and mirror rationalizations are going to alter this millennial state of
affairs. We must understand that large and aggressive Rimland powers are to
be viewed with suspicion, and their propaganda to alter our perceptions of our
vital interests must be exposed, and explained for what it is, and then
resisted. |
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PAGE FIVE The temptation to achieve short
term gains of various sorts at the expense of our long term strategic
interests bring nothing but disaster upon on us and the world. The failure to
contain and checkmate Rimland power Germany, twice in this century alone, has
caused incalculable destruction to the fabric of the state of the world.
Japan, France and Italy are other modern examples of Rimland powers, which have
run out of control. In each case with each of these aggressor states Russia
and the US have stood as allies. May it ever be so. Readers: Your comments, and critiques are always
welcome, as well as your financial support that makes this kind of research
and publishing possible. Grants are needed to finance students studying
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