Quote Originally Posted by Alex_krsk View Post
That "minister" had done a great favor to his russian counterpart

Russophobia in europe is always a bad sign
but it used to end up more or less the same so far

«Россия - карлик, я поставлю её на колени.» Карл 12-й, XVIII век.
Швеция навсегда лишилась статуса великой державы.

«Я покорю отсталую Россию.» Фридрих, середина XVIII века.
В 1759 году русская армия вошла в Берлин.

«Россия - колосс на глиняных ногах.» Наполеон, XIX век.
В 1814 году русская армия взяла Париж.

«Я завоюю СССР к концу года.» Гитлер, XX век.
В 1945 году покончил с собой, когда советская армия вошла в Берлин. 

«Россия – всего лишь региональная держава» Барак Обама, март 2014 года........
Ждём......

Yes, history definitely confirms this. It's tragic that all these defeated empires have come at such a high price for regular people in Russia.
Death, destruction, "scorched earth" etc.

I am Swedish as you know, but when I went to school, mainly in the 1980s, Karl XII was incredibly impopular (politically incorrect), as well as that entire period of history. I hardly learned anything about him at all - it was all brushed over.

However in the past he used to be considered a big hero; poems written about him etc. Older people can recite them by heart. Since he lost the Swedish empire, I don't really understand why anyone thought him a hero. The school version was that he was only 15 or something like that, when he became king. He was brought up to glorify war, and was manipulated into the war with Russia by advisors with ulterior motives. The huge defeats against Russia "cured" Sweden of any interest in wars until this day, which is probably a good thing. Personally I think it's a shame that all that territory was lost, but as far as I understand it, most of the aggression came from us, not from Russia (per school history, but I am sure a nationalist would think it was completely justified!) so based on what little I know about it, there is no strong reason to feel slighted. Plus, it was a long time ago...

I very clearly remember my history teacher saying that "nobody can win a war of invasion against Russia", explaining why in terms of geography, natural factors and Russia's traditional tactics. She said others have tried before from the south and the east, we were among the first modern European nations to find that out, then half of Europe went on to repeat the same mistake citing the list, which matches yours above.

But then just a few years later, I read "what nobody in Europe could do with bayonets, cannons and tanks, the Americans did with Coca Cola, rock'n'roll and entertainment and a spending race (i.e.win the Cold War and get Russia on its knees).