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  • At first glance, Putin seems crazy waging a war in the middle of Europe.

  • Why would he invade a sovereign neighboring country?

  • You might not care about the war in Ukraine, but the implications of this war are hitting

  • everyone worldwide.

  • Have you seen gas prices?

  • Internet is filled with videos explaining what's going on in this conflict but most

  • of them aren't entirely accurate.

  • They either promote their agenda or don't understand Russia and its history and how

  • all of that is related.

  • My parents were born and grew up in the Soviet Union so I know a thing or two about Russia,

  • Ukraine, and this part of the world.

  • But here is a little disclaimer, I won't be able to cover evAt first glance, Putin seems

  • crazy waging a war in the middle of Europe.

  • Why would he invade a sovereign neighboring country?

  • You might not care about the war in Ukraine, but the implications of this war are hitting

  • everyone worldwide.

  • Have you seen gas prices?

  • Internet is filled with videos explaining what's going on in this conflict but most

  • of them aren't entirely accurate.

  • They either promote their agenda or don't understand Russia and its history and how

  • all of that is related.

  • My parents were born and grew up in the Soviet Union so I know a thing or two about Russia,

  • Ukraine, and this part of the world.

  • But here is a little disclaimer, I won't be able to cover everything in this short video

  • but I will try my best to explain what exactly is happening?

  • How is that impacting the world?

  • The stock market?

  • And most importantly how will that impact you!

  • Here is another disclaimer, I am not trying to take sides here.

  • War is bad and a tragedy no matter who is waging.

  • Every nation has the right to determine its future.

  • And conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and not rockets no matter the circumstances

  • To understand why Russia has invaded Ukraine, you have to understand Russia.

  • Technology has made our lives much easier and it seems like technology can solve all

  • problems, however, at least for now, that's not the case.

  • Geography usually determines which countries are going to prosper and which ones wouldn't.

  • If you want to build a prosperous country, you need the 2 most important components - Trade

  • and security.

  • The more your country trades, the wealthier it gets, the less it trades the poorer it

  • gets.

  • 80 percent of world trade is done through waters because it's the most affordable

  • option.

  • That has always been the case throughout history and even today.

  • With all the tech we have, ships are the most important method to trade, that's why access

  • to the ocean is vital to the prosperity of any nation.

  • However, trade alone is not enough, if you don't have secured borders, your neighbor

  • can simply invade you and force you to pay taxes.

  • This might sound insane to some of you but that's how humanity has always been.

  • Let's take a look at some examples.

  • One of the main reasons why the UK has always been a prosperous nation is because of these

  • 2 reasons.

  • The UK is an island, it can easily trade with the world without the fear of someone blocking

  • its ships.

  • Secondly, invading a well-defended island is nearly impossible.

  • Just a disclaimer, that doesn't mean the country would never go through financial crises and

  • other problems, but that it has the foundation of growth.

  • Let's take another example, France.

  • It has access to the Mediterrane sea to trade with the rest of Europe and access to the

  • Suez canal.

  • On the other side, it has direct access to the north Atlantic ocean to trade with the

  • US and the rest of the Americas.

  • In terms of security, it shares the Pyrenees mountains with Spain and the Alps with Italy,

  • Switzerland, and part of Germany.

  • However, with the rest of Germany and Belgium, it shares a flat border.

  • That's why during WW1 and WW2, Germany occupied France - that's another example of why having

  • natural borders such as Mountains is important Let's take a look at the US.

  • On one side, it has access to the north Atlantic ocean to trade with Europe, on the other side

  • it has access to the north pacific ocean to trade with China and southeast asia .

  • With a population of 350 million people, it's enough to connect the country from the east

  • coast to the west coast.

  • On the north, it has a neighbor with a population that's 10 times smaller which poses no threat

  • to US and Mexico that's in constant chaos.

  • And now let's take a look at Russia where you will start understanding why Russia is

  • invading Ukraine.

  • Russia started here which was known back then as the Kievskaya Rus with no Natural Borders

  • such as Mountains or Oceans.

  • That's why Mongols easily invaded Russia for the next 300 years and forced it to pay taxes

  • for 300 years.

  • After 300 years of paying taxes to Mongols, Russia understood the importance of having

  • natural borders so they expanded their empire to the Bering Sea and central Asia.

  • In the south they had mountainous borders, in the north, it's just so cold that no one

  • would dare to invade from there.

  • While Russia was huge, it had no access to the sea to trade with the world and it was

  • not populated.

  • Even today, Russia is the largest country in the world, but its population is not even

  • half of the US, that's why it was relatively poor.

  • And the country was simply too big to build the infostructure to connect it.

  • The only access to the sea was here which was simply too far from Moscow.

  • That's why Peter the great annexed this part of the land from Sweden and built a new capital

  • - Saints Peterburg.

  • Finally, Russia could trade with the world!

  • However, not everything was sunshine and rainbows.

  • Russian ships had to go through Danish routes which could be blocked if Russia misbehaves,

  • that's why Russia annexed Crimea from Tatars who were supported by the ottomans.

  • Finally, Russia had access to the black sea and established its borders at the eastern

  • Carpathian mountains.

  • But then it turned into the Soviet Union and proved to the world that communism is a bad

  • idea.

  • When The soviet union collapsed, Russia lost a lot of its territorial gains.

  • And this part, that Russia fought for centuries to get access to was now turned into a new

  • independent country called Ukraine.

  • A strong, well-armed, independent Ukraine can cut off Russia from the black sea, and

  • Russia will again no longer have access to the black sea, that's why controlling Ukraine

  • is vital to the national security of Russia.

  • Russia tried to lour in Ukraine economically but it failed.

  • Russia is new to capitalism and it's still trying to figure out how to build a proper

  • economy.

  • Russia's economy is mostly dependent on oil and gas since they make up 60 percent

  • of its exports and it literally supports the rest of the economy.

  • That's why Ukraine turned to the west, which it has every right to do so.

  • However, Until 2013, Ukraine was Russia's puppet and Moscow was happy with that, but

  • the moment the Ukrainian government turned against Russia, the invasion of Ukraine was

  • inevitable.

  • First, Russia invaded Crimea to make sure that it always has access to the black sea,

  • no matter what happens.

  • Secondly, back in 2014, Russia was not ready to invade Ukraine so the Plan was simple.

  • Start a separatist war in Ukraine to divide the country and destroy its economy.

  • Who would want to invest in a country where a war is taking place.

  • The invasion of Ukraine was not a matter of IF but WHEN.

  • Once Russia builds up its currency reserves and prepares its military for a full invasion,

  • it would do it at the first opportunity.

  • That's not an excuse for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

  • The invasion of any sovereign independent country is unacceptable.

  • But now, you can at least see the conflict from the perspective of the Kremlin.

  • However, not everything is sunshine and rainbows.

  • Kremlin underestimated their enemy.

  • I am not sure what's going to be the situation by the time this video is up but at the time

  • of writing this script.

  • Ukraine is still standing strong.

  • The Russian economy is crippling and Russia's central bank knows that if this keeps going

  • on for a couple of months, the Russian Ruble will collapse.

  • While Russia makes up a small percentage of the world economy, its grip on energy is strong.

  • Some European countries depend on Russian gas for over 80 percent of their energy.

  • Which is why oil prices have skyrocketed up to 140 dollars per barrel.

  • The problem with oil prices is that they impact the prices of everything.

  • The future already looked unpredictable with high inflation rates.

  • If the fed doesn't ris es rates, it is going to keep the bubble growing.

  • However, if the fed raises rates, will that really reduce inflation with such high oil

  • prices, especially when the US & UK announced that they going to ban Russian oil.

  • That will further diminish the supply of oil.

  • The biggest problem is that Russia was expecting a blitzkrieg in Ukraine.

  • The war shouldn't have dragged for over a week.

  • But n ow it seems like its might drag for a couple of months at least.

  • The sp500 is already down by about 5 percent since the beginning of the conflict and if

  • the fed raises rates significantly, that can further drag the stock market down.

  • erything in this short video but I will try my best to explain what exactly is happening?

  • How is that impacting the world?

  • The stock market?

  • And most importantly how will that impact you!

  • Here is another disclaimer, I am not trying to take sides here.

  • War is bad and a tragedy no matter who is waging.

  • Every nation has the right to determine its future.

  • And conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and not rockets no matter the circumstances

  • To understand why Russia has invaded Ukraine, you have to understand Russia.

  • Technology has made our lives much easier and it seems like technology can solve all

  • problems, however, at least for now, that's not the case.

  • Geography usually determines which countries are going to prosper and which ones wouldn't.

  • If you want to build a prosperous country, you need the 2 most important components - Trade

  • and security.

  • The more your country trades, the wealthier it gets, the less it trades the poorer it

  • gets.

  • 80 percent of world trade is done through waters because it's the most affordable

  • option.

  • That has always been the case throughout history and even today.

  • With all the tech we have, ships are the most important method to trade, that's why access

  • to the ocean is vital to the prosperity of any nation.

  • However, trade alone is not enough, if you don't have secured borders, your neighbor

  • can simply invade you and force you to pay taxes.

  • This might sound insane to some of you but that's how humanity has always been.

  • Let's take a look at some examples.

  • One of the main reasons why the UK has always been a prosperous nation is because of these

  • 2 reasons.

  • The UK is an island, it can easily trade with the world without the fear of someone blocking

  • its ships.

  • Secondly, invading a well-defended island is nearly impossible.

  • Just a disclaimer, that doesn't mean the country would never go through financial crises and

  • other problems, but that it has the foundation of growth.

  • Let's take another example, France.

  • It has access to the Mediterrane sea to trade with the rest of Europe and access to the

  • Suez canal.

  • On the other side, it has direct access to the north Atlantic ocean to trade with the

  • US and the rest of the Americas.

  • In terms of security, it shares the Pyrenees mountains with Spain and the Alps with Italy,

  • Switzerland, and part of Germany.

  • However, with the rest of Germany and Belgium, it shares a flat border.

  • That's why during WW1 and WW2, Germany occupied France - that's another example of why having

  • natural borders such as Mountains is important Let's take a look at the US.

  • On one side, it has access to the north Atlantic ocean to trade with Europe, on the other side

  • it has access to the north pacific ocean to trade with China and southeast asia .

  • With a population of 350 million people, it's enough to connect the country from the east

  • coast to the west coast.

  • On the north, it has a neighbor with a population that's 10 times smaller which poses no threat

  • to US and Mexico that's in constant chaos.

  • And now let's take a look at Russia where you will start understanding why Russia is

  • invading Ukraine.

  • Russia started here which was known back then as the Kievskaya Rus with no Natural Borders

  • such as Mountains or Oceans.

  • That's why Mongols easily invaded Russia for the next 300 years and forced it to pay taxes

  • for 300 years.

  • After 300 years of paying taxes to Mongols, Russia understood the importance of having

  • natural borders so they expanded their empire to the Bering Sea and central Asia.

  • In the south they had mountainous borders, in the north, it's just so cold that no one

  • would dare to invade from there.

  • While Russia was huge, it had no access to the sea to trade with the world and it was

  • not populated.

  • Even today, Russia is the largest country in the world, but its population is not even

  • half of the US, that's why it was relatively poor.

  • And the country was simply too big to build the infostructure to connect it.

  • The only access to the sea was here which was simply too far from Moscow.

  • That's why Peter the great annexed this part of the land from Sweden and built a new capital

  • - Saints Peterburg.

  • Finally, Russia could trade with the world!

  • However, not everything was sunshine and rainbows.

  • Russian ships had to go through Danish routes which could be blocked if Russia misbehaves,

  • that's why Russia annexed Crimea from Tatars who were supported by the ottomans.

  • Finally, Russia had access to the black sea and established its borders at the eastern

  • Carpathian mountains.

  • But then it turned into the Soviet Union and proved to the world that communism is a bad

  • idea.

  • When The soviet union collapsed, Russia lost a lot of its territorial gains.

  • And this part, that Russia fought for centuries to get access to was now turned into a new

  • independent country called Ukraine.

  • A strong, well-armed, independent Ukraine can cut off Russia from the black sea, and

  • Russia will again no longer have access to the black sea, that's why controlling Ukraine

  • is vital to the national security of Russia.

  • Russia tried to lour in Ukraine economically but it failed.

  • Russia is new to capitalism and it's still trying to figure out how to build a proper

  • economy.

  • Russia's economy is mostly dependent on oil and gas since they make up 60 percent

  • of its exports and it literally supports the rest of the economy.

  • That's why Ukraine turned to the west, which it has every right to do so.

  • However, Until 2013, Ukraine was Russia's puppet and Moscow was happy with that, but

  • the moment the Ukrainian government turned against Russia, the invasion of Ukraine was

  • inevitable.

  • First, Russia invaded Crimea to make sure that it always has access to the black sea,

  • no matter what happens.

  • Secondly, back in 2014, Russia was not ready to invade Ukraine so the Plan was simple.

  • Start a separatist war in Ukraine to divide the country and destroy its economy.

  • Who would want to invest in a country where a war is taking place.

  • The invasion of Ukraine was not a matter of IF but WHEN.

  • Once Russia builds up its currency reserves and prepares its military for a full invasion,

  • it would do it at the first opportunity.

  • That's not an excuse for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

  • The invasion of any sovereign independent country is unacceptable.

  • But now, you can at least see the conflict from the perspective of the Kremlin.

  • However, not everything is sunshine and rainbows.

  • Kremlin underestimated their enemy.

  • I am not sure what's going to be the situation by the time this video is up but at the time

  • of writing this script.

  • Ukraine is still standing strong.

  • The Russian economy is crippling and Russia's central bank knows that if this keeps going

  • on for a couple of months, the Russian Ruble will collapse.

  • While Russia makes up a small percentage of the world economy, its grip on energy is strong.

  • Some European countries depend on Russian gas for over 80 percent of their energy.

  • Which is why oil prices have skyrocketed up to 140 dollars per barrel.

  • The problem with oil prices is that they impact the prices of everything.

  • The future already looked unpredictable with high inflation rates.

  • If the fed doesn't ris es rates, it is going to keep the bubble growing.

  • However, if the fed raises rates, will that really reduce inflation with such high oil

  • prices, especially when the US & UK announced that they going to ban Russian oil.

  • That will further diminish the supply of oil.

  • The biggest problem is that Russia was expecting a blitzkrieg in Ukraine.

  • The war shouldn't have dragged for over a week.

  • But n ow it seems like its might drag for a couple of months at least.

  • The sp500 is already down by about 5 percent since the beginning of the conflict and if

  • the fed raises rates significantly, that can further drag the stock market down.

At first glance, Putin seems crazy waging a war in the middle of Europe.

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