The more things change, the more they stay the same… (From the time of the Crimean War)

"The last word has been spoken, all doubts are over, the European war is here. Never has the origin of a great war been so clear, never has responsibility for it been so doubtful. It is the wickedness of one man that sets the continent on fire.

The whole history of the civilized world knows no such abuse of violence. A demand, drawn out of thin air, is addressed to the weaker neighbor, his modest objection is immediately followed by the invasion of an army, the anxious, eager mediation attempts of the friendly cabinets are coldly rejected - because the world should know and the great powers should see that the arm of the Czar reaches as far as his will. So European politics was actually faced with the choice of either recognizing an overlord or throwing a usurper to the ground. [...]"

I think the piece above from "Der russische Krieg und die deutsche Neutralität" (Karl Groos, Heidelberg, 1854) could easily be published today - with linguistic adaptation of course, because the German language has changed a lot since the 19th century. It seems to me that the political situation at the time of the Crimean War had some interesting similarities with today.

Maybe the outcome will also be similar:

"...Russia had lost its role as a major military power and as the "Gendarme of Europe". Its defeat in Crimea revealed to the world how backward Russia really was in many areas...[Wikipedia.de]"

The loss of all respect is already there. The extreme backwardness in technical, economic and, above all, humanitarian terms is openly recognizable. From the beginning of the war, the so called "Russian Army" raged against civilians like wild primitives. Russia apparently robs and destroys its neighbor quite deliberately and is not interested in an impending famine in the Middle East, India and parts of Africa. To me today's Russia seems not to be very different from the country of the murderous Stalin or any of the Czars. One might get the impression that Russia never had and never will have a government or system that is not run by a bunch of evil criminals.

History repeats itself.