2026-09-10 20:45:10
RE: https://todon.eu/@CrimethInc/117243404728349033
The monarchs of the Russian Empire were well aware, more than 200 years ago, that freedom anywhere was a threat to empire everywhere. That's why a collection of European autocrats formed The Holy Alliance in 1815.
But the corollary is also true: empire anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere. Sure, we can learn rules from each other, because these autocrats all play the same game. They've been playing roughly the same game for hundreds of years. But it's more than we can just share notes. We are in the same war.
The fall of any dictator threatens the legitimacy of all other dictators. While authoritarian countries may be at war, it's little more than a game of chess for them. They want to win, not to kill the other player. More than even needing an opponent to keep the game going, dictators prop each other up.
Autocrats have been internationalist for hundreds of years, and that's part of how they've kept coming back. After the fall of Russia, the torch of autocracy passed to the US who really picked it up after the end of WWII. They toppled countries around the world for daring to fall outside of one imperial sphere or another. And, eventually, they got the chance to do the same to Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. American intervention helped put Putin in power, and he very much repaid the debt with Trump.
Dictatorship is an infection that spreads until it is contained and destroyed. There is one war, the class war, and we should learn from and support all our comrades fighting the same fight everywhere.