As Israel seeks reliable partners for its reconstruction journey, Central offers more than technical strength, it brings a powerful national spirit. It brings the story of Vietnam, a nation that has risen from war to rebuild itself. And now that spirit continues in the Mediterranean, where Central is laying the foundations for sustainable values and a bold vision for the future.
am i supposed to feel gross or cringe at this sht
The position of most socialist states on Israel has been disgraceful since the end of the Soviet Union. A massive black mark on these countries’ histories.
Daily reminder that the first country to officially recognize the Zionist entity was the Soviet Union, three days after the so-called founding of the Zionist entity in May 14, 1948. The Soviet Union is absolutely not the country to look to if you’re trying to pontificate on how current AES countries are failing live up to whatever standard you’re setting up for them with respect to the Zionist entity. At least say that China and Vietnam should follow the example of the DPRK, a country that has never once recognized the Zionist entity and continues to send arms to Palestinians.
I don’t think the Soviet Union has once directly helped Palestinians in its entire history. China at least helped the PFLP (and continue to still help since Chinese ATGMs somehow managed to appear in Hamas’s hands). At best, the Soviet Union supported a bunch of communist parties in WANA that started out as pro-Zionist before eventually changing their tune. That’s pretty much it.
It’s true that the dissolution of the USSR in the early 1990s marked the end of internationalist leftist movements across the world and the unfettered rise of neoliberalism.
However, the seeds had been sown long before that. China entered into a “marriage of convenience” with the US in the 1970s because Mao and later Deng perceived the USSR as trying to surround China through Vietnam. China’s alliance with the US not only saved the US from its declining hegemony in the 70s, they both collectively killed the USSR in the process.
Obviously, Vietnam, having to repel American imperialist forces, sided with the USSR. So, even though Vietnam won the war against the Americans, they were still the losers in the post-Cold War geopolitical reshuffling, with China reaping the rewards for their alliance with the US.
In a way, it’s ironic to see that Vietnam today is proactively seeking to side with the US empire (perhaps even trying to help saving the declining empire with whatever it has to offer) to get ahead of China - maybe they feel like they missed out on the last time the world underwent a substantial reshuffling of trade relations?
Let’s be honest, post-world war II USSR never really believed in the so called internationalism, China believed in that shit and paid the price with the life with their million of deaths in the Korean Peninsula while the USSR did some dogfights (they also boycotted the vote which failed to veto on the United Nations vote on going into the Koreas, giving legitimacy to the war)
After the 60s and after the USSR willingness to coexist with the US, it was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Rashid Khalidi recounted once that when he teached in Lebanon and has contact with the PLO that after the 6 days war, the USSR already started to exit more and more from the Middle East, leaving the communist parties to fend off themselves against the Nasser Government and the Baath parties. It all ended with a convocation of PLO in Beirut by USSR diplomats telling them that “they are on their own we are out of here” (that was in the 80s iirc)
The lesson here is once you integrate into the international system, you played by their rules, you set standard for yourself based on the international rules. Only regimes brave enough in the history that manages to break off from the system, win and reintegrate into the system have a better bargaining position can see changes for themselves.
While this is true, it still cannot be denied that the sole existence of the USSR was enough to pressure the capitalist class within its geographical proximity into social reforms (especially post-war Europe) and the USSR itself was indispensable for many of the post-war decolonization and national liberation projects, even though the USSR itself doesn’t have the cleanest record and often (but not always) act on its own self-interest.
No such equivalent exists since the 1990s, and why all the internationalist left wing movements that have fought throughout the 20th century soon all died out, or have been absorbed into the new globalization order.
It is true though that the Mao-Stalin rift had been apparent since the 1950, just before the Korean War broke out. The two really did not like each other lol.
However, it needs to be said that Stalin truly did not expect Mao to fight the Americans to the end. Mao had been flirting with a potential alliance with the US after the Japanese surrendered (during the Civil War), before turning to the USSR. Obviously, Stalin was also being an asshole for carving out Outer Mongolia as a Soviet sphere territory as well as his reluctance to return Port Arthur to Chinese sovereignty. It was the great sacrifice of the People’s Volunteer Army in the Korean Peninsula that truly earned Stalin’s respect for Mao, saw Mao as an equal, and the USSR fully opened up to China, both economically and technologically, after that.
I might be harsh on the USSR but think we are not so divergent on our opinions. Even when China and USSR ratfucked eachother on multiple occasions, USSR under Khrushchev did help China with technological transfers and development which is greater than the Marshall plan in the whole Europe according to Jeremy Friedman, author of Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World.
My main point is that alternative regimes such as the USSR and Mao-China cannot survive or by extend change the world by integrating into a system that they have significant leverage. I don’t think it is coincidental that the most isolationist period of China is also the one where they actively try to partake into diplomatic games with the 3rd world and the West (which in the long run did preserve and elevated them when they reintegrate into the system).
as the saying goes: 天高皇帝遠. Once you can detach from the system is when it’s possible to dream again.
Oh I mostly agreed with you, just to add a bit more context and nuance to them.
The technology transfer was absolutely indispensable for China building up its industrial and scientific bases, as you said. Here I’m recommending《苏联技术对中国的转移（1949-1966）》(Technology Transfer From the Soviet Union To The P. R. China) (2005) by 张柏春 et al. Very academic but lots of very interesting details from their research.
ussr litterally threatened to nuke west if they did not pull out of egypt. You can see support from ussr on many countries independece. Even my country got its independence with ussr’s help.
It’s really making me think that maybe “selfishness” really is human nature after all. Looking at this.
Damn time to abandon Marxism