In Ukraine: Let’s Not Make a 5,000 Megaton Mistake
On October 30th of 1961 Russian Premier, Nikita Khrushchev gave the order to detonate the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested. Codenamed “Ivan”, the weapon is referred to in modern literature as Tsar Bomba. The H-bomb yielded 57 megatons, making it thousands of times more powerful than the device that obliterated Hiroshima. For all intents and purposes, the weapon was a “state killer” deterrent created by the Soviets out of fear of American aggression. It’s a quizzical thing, to consider the Russians once again fearing western machinations, six decades later.
Some readers will scoff at the suggestion that Khrushchev and his hardcore comrades built a monstrosity because the U.S.S.R. feared America’s military capabilities and ideologies, but this period in Russia’s history is well documented. Tsar Bomba was and is a symbol, of the Russian will to survive, no matter what the odds. It’s interesting to note, that Khrushchev was once the governor of the Ukrainian SSR, the man tasked by Joseph Stalin to carry out his notorious purges out of paranoia. What’s unique about Khrushchev is his later condemnation and recompense over Stalin’s atrocities. The man famous in the west for the Cuban Missile Crisis is a fascinating comparative profile for today’s lesson on Russia.
“Sometimes it is necessary to be lonely in order to prove that you are right.” — Vladimir Putin
Some readers will scoff at the suggestion that Khrushchev and his hardcore comrades built a monstrosity because the U.S.S.R. feared America’s military capabilities and ideologies, but this period in Russia’s history is well documented. Tsar Bomba was and is a symbol, of the Russian will to survive, no matter what the odds. It’s interesting to note, that Khrushchev was once the governor of the Ukrainian SSR, the man tasked by Joseph Stalin to carry out his notorious purges out of paranoia. What’s unique about Khrushchev is his later condemnation and recompense over Stalin’s atrocities. The man famous in the west for the Cuban Missile Crisis is a fascinating comparative profile for today’s lesson on Russia.
You see, Khrushchev inherited a vast union of states on or near collapse. He also came to power at a moment when the Soviet Union was overwhelmingly outclassed by America’s nuclear arsenal. Fortunately, for the Soviets, the United States did not yet possess the needed delivery systems to obliterate Moscow’s satellite states, this would become possible during the great phases of the 60s arms race. So, Tsar Bomba was as much a PR weapon as it was the world’s most unthinkable killing machine.
Detonated in relative secrecy over Severny Island in the most remote part of the Arctic Circle, the now legendary bomb demonstrated unbelievable destructive force. The air burst from an altitude of 13,000 feet, was nothing less than an artificial sun generated by manmade nuclear fission. The weapon was parachuted down from almost 35,000 feet so that the bombing aircraft’s crew could have at least a 50–50 chance of surviving the blast. Pilot Major Andrey Egorovich Durnovtsev was immediately promoted and made a hero of the Soviet Union on this return from destiny for his courage. This is how fearful, how dire, how crucial the Russians and their comrades were. It’s vital that people in the world understand this. A participant in the test drop described what he saw like this:
“The clouds beneath the aircraft and in the distance were lit up by the powerful flash. The sea of light spread under the hatch and even clouds began to glow and became transparent. At that moment, our aircraft emerged from between two cloud layers and down below in the gap a huge bright orange ball was emerging. The ball was powerful and arrogant like Jupiter. Slowly and silently it crept upwards…. Having broken through the thick layer of clouds it kept growing. It seemed to suck the whole earth into it. The spectacle was fantastic, unreal, supernatural.”
Another observer on the ground much farther distant said the thud of power after the blinding sun-flash felt like the “earth had been killed.” Windows in towns almost 600 miles away were broken, and a gigantic mushroom cloud rose as high as 210,000 feet, above the stratosphere. Building hundreds of miles distant were utterly destroyed. The spectacle, the awe, and dread of this event are literally indescribable. But, the United States spy plane that snuck in to measure the effects, carried an ominous message back to Washington. No doubt they were wondering what effects the Tsar Bomba would have in the optimal configuration. You see, the Soviets cut down what was a 100 megaton device, for the fear of unknowing. Tzar Bomba, or as the American CIA named it, “JOE 111”, was a human creation like no other. One of the witnesses described the scene of the blast afterward as appearing like an ice skating rink. He said, “there was no trace of unevenness left on the ground, and that everything had been swept clean, scoured, melted, and blown away.”
The bomb’s designer, nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, even had his team limit Tsar Bomba’s radiation output, so that the world would not be contaminated. Yes, those evil Rusky mad scientists and leaders feared polluting the world’s atmosphere. A bomb that could cause third-degree burns in humans standing 62 miles from ground zero, was designed to demonstrate doomsday while irradiating nearby lifeforms at a minimum. What a strange reality, to learn of such delicately tailored planning from those course Moscovites. Pressure waves from Tsar Bomba traveled around the world three times, but no test participants were in any danger at all from radiation.
By the time this Soviet killing machine came into being, the United States had already tested over 1,000 nuclear weapons at sites near Las Vegas, Nevada. When this bomb became news, I was doing duck and cover drills in elementary school in El Paso. My uncle was an Air Force major with the Strategic Air Command (SAC) then, and the strange and eerie era still strikes me as surreal. TV shows like the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and modern film depictions echo the unbelievable feelings we thought recently were long since ended.
Recently, though, a rejuvenated hatred and suspicion permeates, just like it did back then. From Brussels in Belgium to Burbank, California forces have churned up an old hysteria. And another fascinating leader stands at the center of the maelstrom of insanity. Vladimir Putin is the man making the toughest choices ever, though few people see history repeating itself. And Putin is, if anything, a student of history, which should be cause for discerning rather than sarcasm from western analysts. And while few will draw the parallel I am here, Vladimir Putin stands almost exactly in the shoes of Khrushchev, only time, distance, and technology make his situation more acute. For those who don’t know him, the Russian leader is no warmonger. He does, however, possess the same soul as his predecessors.
“There will be no legitimate peace on Earth without Russia.” — Vladimir Putin
Nikita Khrushchev, one of the most progressive leaders in U.S.S.R. and Russian memory. And, while the proverbial shoe is on the other foot where this “missile crisis” is concerned, one should not underestimate the dreadful circumstances of a miscalculation here. Khrushchev was eventually unseated and shoved into the corner of Russian history because he stood down in 1962, and the shooting war never started. Mr. Putin, armed with the history and pragmatism western “experts” deride him for, will hopefully bring Russia through an even more dire crisis.
Just the other day, Wladimir Kaminer was at Deutsche Welle proclaiming ‘Putin lives in the past.’ Kaminer is a Moscow-born Jewish disc jockey who seems to have an interesting role. His “Russian disco” efforts, writings, and position with what Germans call “Ausländers’ (outsiders or immigrants) reminds me of the deep tentacles of liberalism spread throughout Europe. Of course, this is another story for another day, but this piece in the culture section of DW illustrates something far more impactful is going on, that at first appears. My recent discussions with Russians living and working inside Germany seem to confirm a subcultural “conversion” of Russians and other outsiders to the German way of thinking. Zip! Back to all the great wars that brought France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia into conflict. Vladimir Putin’s nuclear warnings reflect a clear understanding of Russia’s situation for me.
“Nobody should have any illusion about the possibility of gaining military superiority over Russia. We will never allow this to happen. “ — Vladimir Putin
Once again, the biggest country in the world is at a huge disadvantage. Though few can see this, Russia’s night rests on three granite pillars. Her geography and size make her an atypical fortress. Her history and subsequently her people, still exhibit a mental and physical toughness that is somewhat unique for such a big population. And Russia’s national pride stands out, as well. Unfortunately, alarmingly, these pillars are being eroded by outside forces. Ukraine, Georgia, strategic NATO assets in Romania and Poland, the first pillar of safety for the Russian people is diminished. The second foundation of Russian strength is being eroded as well via sanctions, economic pressures, vast propaganda campaigning, and constant outside interference in internal Russian affairs. This, however, is less damaging than what’s happening to Russian national pride.
“I don’t read books by people who have betrayed the Motherland.” — Vladimir Putin
The DJ I mention above is but one “actor” behind the curtains of the liberal order’s secret war on Russia. There are thousands of these ‘agents’ if I may. Eroding the confidence of otherwise loyal Russians living abroad, these actors drive the final stake through the heart of their motherland. A wonderful lady I know just told me; “Putin is a criminal, Phil. Just wait, you’ll see.” Five years ago she was a fan of Putin if I recall. Living in Germany for too long has converted many Russians, Georgians, even Americans into what I would call “Oompa Zombies,” or people dancing in those funny Bavarian outfits to jolly townsfolk music. Mr. Putin has countrymen ready to rage on him and the Bolshoi dancers if Berlin snaps its fingers. Returning to the use of weapons of unbelievable destructive force, the end of this crisis is all about a showdown. The Russian leader, famous for not mincing words, told the world recently:
“Top officials in leading NATO countries have allowed themselves to make aggressive comments about our country, therefore I hereby order the Minister of Defense and the chief of the General Staff to place the Russian Army Deterrence Force on combat alert.”
The dangerous difference between today and the early 1960s is that while Nikita Khrushchev was certainly practicing what’s known as “coercive diplomacy,” Vladimir Putin operates in a world far more crunched and compressed, and at a time when Russia’s primary strengths have been eroded. Khrushchev once told the U.S. leadership that “The West seems to forget that a few Russian missiles could destroy all of Europe.” But back then, this was never close to happening actually. Fast forward to Soviet territories gone. Sum up the reasons for NATO, and for the continued expansion eastward. What purpose do you think the Russians see in this? Are they dumb to learn from history? Putin’s warning is a dire survival instinct in action. The curmudgeons of the liberal order spit on the Russians each time they meet. What should Russia do? Surrender?
I use the allusion to Tsar Bomba for literary reasons, for sensationalism too, but mostly to scare the living shit out of you. If I can, perhaps you will take more time to think this one out. Sitting in your favorite chair, or on the couch, perhaps even watching your idiot phone at a Paris sidewalk cafe, you are so naturally detached. Facebook liking frees you up. The #IStandWithUkraine hashtag makes you cool and absolved. They, the technocrats and billionaire hedge funders, made us all idiots that way. But, in a blinding flash of light, underneath a 300 pounds per square inch H-bomb shock wave, and blistered by temperatures hotter than a dozen suns, we can disappear. Paris can disappear, totally. And not only Paris. Weapons like the one I have described remove all traces for dozens of miles outward. And if our formerly friendly Russian comrades don’t care so much for radiation, no one plants corn in the center of France for 200 years. Or, maybe Miami is a new Caribbean bay? A hole future astronauts from another galaxy think was made by a meteor.
And all because somebody wanted, needed, or was not thinking about the implications of our policies. NATO is useless, don’t you see? What if we just eliminate this military contraption, and live in a modern world that has learned from its mistakes? Poland and Romania might be nuked!!! Is that it? For God’s sake people, the Russians are ready to Tsar Bomba us all, if it means their utter destruction anyhow. And ironically, so would any country under the same circumstances. Maybe it’s time we do a rethink about “why” Putin acted in Ukraine? Or, time to find a remote cave somewhere. As for our leadership? Who was it who said, “Know thy enemy?” Well, clearly the psychopaths running the western order asylum don’t know Putin. Maybe each of you should endeavor in their stead.
“I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia — I believe that is my greatest wealth.” — Vladimir Putin
With this trust, how would you react to protect that trust?
