Thanks for that great story that resonates with my personal experiences.

I grew up in Poland. In 1980 I wrote a book in Polish speculating about possible scenarios of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reviewers questioned my sanity because it was obvious to experts that the fall of the Soviet Union was not coming.

When Russians amassed troops around Ukrainian borders, I dug out the article I wrote on the subject in 2014 and posted it on Medium at the beginning of January this year. A little later, I posted an article claiming that if not prevented, Russian aggression most likely would end up with American soldiers dying fighting for Donbas. We are not there yet, but the chances of that happening are growing with every minute that the war lasts.

And, I have a personal touch on the question: “Is Russia an evil empire?”