[Skybird]

It has been American excuse since long that those promises back then were made in spoken format only, not fixed in writing and formalized. That is true. Still, verbal assurances were given, American opposite claims are not true. These have been confirmed by time witnesses of the events and from several countries. A promise is not a treaty, still you get judged by your words, and if you get found to put your deeds not where your mouth was, distrust is the logcial consequence. The russians were naive back then. And certain Westerners - American and NATO diplomats and capitalist predators alike - made unrestrained use and abuse of that.

People like "strong tough bullies of the block", for whom, male friendships and unwritten verbal arrangements between the strong chieftains, stomping feet and fists slammed on tables, count more than diplomatic habits and subtelties that should reflect the claimed superiority of a civilization, rate such abuses as personal insults. Formally, the US is right, there is no written treaty. Just that this does not count for defining the Russian view of things. Technically, the Russians are right. They were given a certain promise, and the promise was broken. Neither forgotten, nor forgiven. And so we are where we are today.

The West thought the russians were done and would just play ball according to Western rules, would get over it. One even thought for some years that Russia sooner or later would join NATO, that much Russia was assumed to be done. Already back then I just shook my head about such immense foolishness, and Western misperception of the Russian sentiment.

We showed them that we cannot be trusted. That simple it is. And today they pay tribute to these lessons. Their reply: "We must become strong and indispensable again as the Sovjet Union was, its the only way to survive amongst wolves - you must become the biggest wolve yourself".

There is another reason. Russia has no tech sector worth to be exported, it only has ressources to export - and immense military might. It deals the cards that it has.