Chuck XII was a military tactical genius. Strategically and politically he was an idiot.
A lot of things explain Russian backwardness better than his attacks, which affected relatively small areas of the Russian homeland.
“small areas of the Russian homeland.”
- These areas were not “small” from the viewpoint of national economy.
Furthermore, the troops of Charles XII did severe damage to much of Poland prior to invading Russia, which wasn’t exactly beneficial to Russian trade with the European continent.
Denying that Swedish monarchs like Charles XII and Gustavus III put an end to Russian plans of expansion westwards is futile.
Charles XII and Ronald Reagan are two of the foremost heroes of Western civilization. They knew the spirit of Russia like few others.
No, I don’t hate Russia, but I believe the bear has to be tamed.