By Peter Polack

A French knight of the Crusades, Geoffrey de Bouillon, was immortalised by the 16^th century Italian poet Torquato Tasso in his epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata or Jerusalem Liberated, thus: for every drop of blood, a sea of tears. The Ukraine is awash in martyrs from babies, women, mayors and their family members, cyclists to college professors. Russia on the other hand, if recent revelations are to be believed, is bulging with murderers, rapists, thieves and the families of young conscripts slaughtered in the greatest misadventure of the 21^st century. The recently liberated cities of Ukraine have all become the Eastern European versions of Jerusalem except Russian Orthodox marauders have replaced Saladin and his mighty army. In the oddest of contradictions, Muslim Chechens tired of persecution at home of the LGBTQ community now pursue their Slavic cousins with equal vigour. At some point the people of Russia who blindly follow Putin or embrace the patriotic distortion offered by propaganda must do without. Do without sugar, European luxury, American fast food or the outside world. The curiosity about Russia encompassed by You Tube videos, tourism and vodka, as well as the income therefrom, will all become a thing of the past. Having had a taste of Japanese cars, they must now return to the spartan confines of the Lada. The beleaguered Russian conscripts, no longer shoot themselves in the foot as did previous combatants but destroy their armored vehicles or drive them into the nearest river. As the ratchet of counter strokes continue, Russian diplomats, products and service are in free fall into the abyss of goodbye. Soon the only contact with Russia will be by telegraph. Yes, Google it, this is how it used to be and will end up as the future for Putin and Lavrov as they ride the Russian people like mules.

Peter Polack is a former criminal lawyer in the Cayman Islands for several decades. His books are The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War (2013), Jamaica, The Land of Film (2017) and Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution (2019). He was a contributor to Encyclopedia of Warfare (2013). Polack worked as a part-time reporter for Reuters News Agency in the Cayman Islands 2014-19. His work has been published in Small Wars Journal, Defence Procurement International, American Intelligence Journal, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center magazine, Military Times, Foreign Policy News, EU Today, Radio Free Europe, VOA Portuguese, South Africa Times, Africa Monitor, Folha de Sao Paulo, NODAL Cultura, Caribbean Life, Jamaque Paradis, History Cooperative, INews Cayman, Jamaica Gleaner, Miami Herald, Reuters and The New York Times. His latest book entitled Soviet Spies Worldwide: Country by Country, 1940–1988 will be published by McFarland in 2022. The book is a compendium of Russian espionage activities with nearly five hundred Soviet spies expelled from nearly 100 countries worldwide. In April 2021 he completed Only the Young Shall Die by with Jack McCain USNR about raising the age of military enlistment.He is currently doing research on a curated collection entitled War In Pictures of almost 1,000 images throughout several conflicts over many centuries. 

Go to amazon.com/Peter-Polack