To ask why Russia wants to hurt uk?(my history is shit?)

[malificent7]

According to the news , Russia seemss to be hell vent on mesding up the UK...vut why?

Cold war stuff? Please briegly explain cold war stuff if relevant as im too lazy to research!

But why even! !!!

Typos...agggr phone!!

Russia seems to be hell bent on messing up uk...but why?

Um, not really. Beyond the U.K. Having a long standing history harbouring enemies of the Russian state (in its various incarnations) there isn't any particular animosity towards the U.K. Did you postgyhe other fear mongering thread about Russia?

Cold War isn't relevant beyond the communist infiltration of unions, universities etc. during the sixties that continues to cause problems independent of Russia. Obviously Putin was a member of the KGB so his behaviour can better be understood in that context but there really isn't much going on.

It doesn't; the UK is largely irrelevant to Russia, other than as a place for oligarchs to launder their money.

The current media hysteria is a confection. the military are trying to agitate for more money; the Defence Secretary is trying to appear tough in advance of a leadership bid; idiots like the Foreign Secretary are trying to appear tough AND patriotic in advance of a leadership bid; while rags like the Daily Mail are spouting their usual xenophobic propaganda because they have to feed their readers a daily diet of hate and fear.

None of it's remotely true. Russia absolutely does not pose a threat to the UK. It may pose a threat to our 'interests' (eg our illegal meddling in Syria and Iran), but nothing more.

There's also the Great Game, the tension between the British and Russian empires in the 19th century over Afghanistan. The Russians generally don't seem to like people telling them they can't expand their empire.

More recently, in the 2000s, there was British refusal to extradite some people to Russia and vice versa. Notably, Russia refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoy for killing Alexander Litvinenko in the UK.

The UK, the EU, and the US imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine and Crimea in 2014. Again, the Russians don't seem to like people telling them they can't expand.

I didn't know they were tbh that must have totally passed me by....
As for the cold war well I dunno if anyone could briefly explain it. It was sort of a war of words and passive aggresivness. 2 different ideologies communist Russia and the democracy of USA etc. Of course there were other countries such as Cuba involved as well. Nuclear weapons were at the centre of it, so Russia wanted nuclear weapons like the USA they would then threaten each other with nuclear war so Russia put nuclear weapons in Cuba etc. That doesn't even begin to explain it or cover undercover operations etc. The cold War ended after the fall of communism in 1991. But Russia is a vast country with a very different culture, many still view the communist era in a good light and Putin has a lot of power.

Yeah Russia doesn't like being told what to do at all. But as far as I know they don't really care about the UK. I think the media are just stirring shit half the time.

Russia suffered more than any country in WW2. Russia never wants to see that happen again.

As long as Russias perceived enemies are weak, they aren't too much of a risk to Russia. Conversely, if Russias perceived enemies are getting stronger, it is a risk to Russia.

This book is a great eye-opener. It gives a very good explanation of why Russia has very good reason to be wary.

Also, Russia is a big country, with a spread of culture - some of which is quite un-European.

In the 1980s, I knew a couple of scientists who were working with in Russia on a couple of key projects. They frequently commented that Russian scientists had some very non-conformist views. One was that there was a massive layer of methane trapped beneath the earths crust that would power the earth for centuries. When I first read about shale gas, I wondered if they had been onto something.

Speaking for myself, I'd say that apart from the WW2 suffering, everything I wrote about Russia, could also apply to the US. They're quite happy to see their enemies kept weak - especially if it's cheaper than being strong yourself.

I imagine the Russians have worked out that every $ spent on Twitter is equivalent to $2 spent on arms.

It doesn't; the UK is largely irrelevant to Russia, other than as a place for oligarchs to launder their money.
And cyber wars of cause. I doubt Russia will bomb the uk, but I can see them putting lots of their efforts in cyber war fares. It's also, not just Russia but any country that can have the best cyber attackers. Silent but deadly in a sense. To a degree it's better this way because you might not have physical death from weapons .the danger is our hospitals can easily be affected like the last nhs cyber attack (known one) even though it was claimed it was North Korea.

The UK has also been a major figure in NATO, which was set up to oppose the USSR.

it doesn't.. nobody cares about the UK.. we are insignificant on the grand scale of planet earth... we are the embarrassing noisy small dog

In the 1980s, I knew a couple of scientists who were working with in Russia on a couple of key projects. They frequently commented that Russian scientists had some very non-conformist views. One was that there was a massive layer of methane trapped beneath the earths crust that would power the earth for centuries. When I first read about shale gas, I wondered if they had been onto something. Very Interesting! This is similar to what I said when potential oil in the uk was being talked about. (Not the North Sea). It's probably already confirmed and it needs is the public to get on board when they drip feed.

it doesn't.. nobody cares about the UK.. we are insignificant on the grand scale of planet earth... we are the embarrassing noisy small dog the uk may not be that great now but it has accumulated to many enemies over the years. The animosities do not disappear over night. It's something they cannot get away from. I believe it's the reason they can't get rid of their nuclear bombs. Hanging on it for dear life.
Also, small dog with a very big army. I am sure they are fifth in scale on the world leader board. Compared to its population, it's quite an achievement. I think China and India comes above because of population size. I could argue the same for America. America come biggest because it has both people power and wealth combined.

"Researchers claim the UK is the 'second most powerful country' in the world behind the United States - and could even win in war against China and Russia."
www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/uk-second-most-powerful-country-9540579

Because it's a really alarmist story, and a lot of people are campaigning for more defence funding at the moment.

Because from the Russian perspective, the West are hell-bent on messing up Russia. There are two sides to this.

There is no real risk, Russia doesn’t care about the UK.

The UK government and Media are using Russia to further there political interests

To call it insignificant is minimising how much meddling and proxy wars they get their hands into. They don't have the empire sort of power but they still can throw their weight about and on the same level as their counterparts.

Presumably, the Russian government feels that they are justified in doing the things they do. They're not cartoon villains, they presumably think that doing the things they do will have a good result, at least for them. They might think that not doing the things they're being criticized for will have a negative effect on them.

They don't seem to particularly like the EU. They seem to feel that it is impinging on what they consider their rightful sphere of influence. They might like Brexit because it might negatively affect the EU.

Beware media shit stirring as pointed out above. UK government have ‘friends’ in all the mainstream media. Including BBC and the daily fail.
NHS failing down around your ears? Create some coverage of the Russian threat to distract everyone. Jobs a good-un!

They don't seem to particularly like the EU.

Like the US, then.

Because from the Russian perspective, the West are hell-bent on messing up Russia. There are two sides to this. Especially what happened with Ukraine/Crimea. Russia did blame Europe for the meddling and the instability in the area.

I think some of it is about promoting a ‘greater Russia’ to distract the Russian population from economic problems in Russia. A bit like Spain remembering to make a fuss about Gibraltar periodically and Argentina making a fuss about the Falklands when it suits.

And yes the Russian government don’t like the EU because they don’t want it to expand and for countries on their doorstep to join NATO.

As PPs have said, it’s not necessarily that they are going to attack the U.K., but they do want everyone to know that they could if they wanted - - all the while denying any such thing.

As for the U.K. being of no importance, that maybe so, but the City of London has worldwide importance, and a successful cyber attack on the big finanacial institutions in London would have far reaching effects.

A lot of money moves through London. That's the target that cyber attacks will target. And we'll also get hit by general cyber attacks on vulnerable targets but it won't be just the UK. That'll be worldwide.