What you call "whataboutism" is what I call “calling out the blatant hypocrisy of the US-based empire.”
I don't have to go to Central European University. My wife was born and lived to adulthood in Czechoslovakia and we have discussed the differences and similarities countless times over the last 20+ years we've been together. Her entire family still lives and works in CZ and we have a lot of contact, particularly with those who lived behind the iron curtain.
I have no experience with the USSR versions of the Baltic states, but living in Vienna for 30 years and traveling here for 35, I have quite a bit of 2nd hand knowledge from all the surrounding countries that were in the USSR, including Hungary.
The subject is Russia and Putin, not every bad country in the world. But since you mention them, I've been told since birth that socialism can't work and is doomed to fail. So why does the US put massive sanctions and/or coup/invade every socialist country they can? Why not just let them fail as we've been told is inevitable? It seems from Allende to Tito to Chavez the US is more afraid of Socialism succeeding than socialism failing.
Putin is not Hitler and won't ever be. Hitler was absorbing horrendous Antisemitism in Vienna while Karl Lueger was mayor and Hitler was a poor wannabe artist here. Hitler was ranting about the Jews before he came to power. There were KZs within months of him being appointed Chancellor, and he quickly killed/exiled all political rivals and established absolute dictatorial power.
Within 5 years of taking power Hitler's Nazi Germany had extensive camps were Germans who were "othered" were being sent, while Germany couped the gov't of Austria and took the Sudetenland, followed soon after by starting WWII.
For Putin to be Hitler, he would have started WWIII by 2005 or 2006 at the latest. Instead he was going fishing with George W Bush.
The world is not black and white, Lester. I don't support Russia OR Ukraine. Neither one of them is a good actor at the state level.
Obama (who I'm not a big fan of, but give him props on this issue) had it spot and said what you appear to not understand. Ukraine is not and would never have been (in a parallel world where Russia didn't invade) a strategic interest of the US'. Neither militarily nor economically. That is realpolitik.
That is also the reason why Ukraine will lose this war. The MIC that controls the US congress is not happy seeing our vaunted weapons fair so poorly against Russia. That is bad for sales.
Very, very few politicians in the US feel secure enough to promote official, direct US involvement. Losing face is very bad. Sending our men and women to die for a country most Americans can't find on a map and didn't know existed until 2 years ago does not make for good reelection chances, and that is all US politicians care about.
