Let us note how the third round of negotiations in Istanbul was covered this time. Completely differently from the first and second rounds.

This time, the information was sparse and cold, as if it concerned a routine that clearly would lead nowhere. The first rounds were essentially the same in content, yet they caused a nervous shudder within Russian society: patriots feared betrayal as if it were a death sentence, while the silent liberals and Westernizers within the elite longed for such betrayal with perverse delight. This trembling could not be hidden. Now, everyone understands that betrayal will not happen, and as for the rest — no one is particularly interested.

In the early rounds, everyone, directly or indirectly, was attuned to Trump’s reaction. Any moment now, he would fly in himself, grow furious with Zelensky, explode with rage at Putin’s decisiveness, and so on. He flew nowhere, got angry at everyone, yelled at everyone, insulted everyone, and went back to his own affairs — covering up the Epstein list and attempting to arrest Obama. For all of Trump’s eccentricity, the behavior of the U.S. turned out, strangely enough, to be rather predictable and little different from that of Biden and the neocons — and we have learned how to function and live with that. Not that Trump has withdrawn entirely, but he hardly seems ready at this moment to do anything exceptionally bad (let alone anything good). This means the situation is long-term. The 50 days Trump already renounced mean nothing at all. Hence, the general attitude towards the third round: the Trump factor has dimmed, and thus the negotiations no longer carry much weight. There will be no miracle. The Ukrainian Nazis are still unprepared to surrender, so there is nothing to discuss.

It is worth pausing to consider the factor of Vladimir Medinsky. Many mistakenly believed, due to a lack of details, that he was to blame for the failure of the first Istanbul negotiations in 2022, which were followed by battlefield difficulties for Russia. He was not at fault and, both then and now, pursued a firmly patriotic line. He is an intelligent man for whom the homeland is not up for sale. The first round of the new negotiations made this crystal clear. Thus, now, in the eyes of both allies and enemies, he is perceived as something like a new “General Armageddon.” The fact that he is a historian only adds to the severity: we are now forging the very history of Russia, and to do that — to achieve victory — history must be known and understood. He is the right kind of historian.

At the same time, one should not overestimate the protests in Kiev, so as to avoid falling into panic once more. First of all, the number of people involved is still relatively small, and this is hardly a widespread trend. Many remain loyal to the regime. This is unfortunate, but it is reality. Secondly, NABU ( National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office) are purely Soros-backed structures. They will never do anything useful or beneficial for us. That is a given. Therefore, it is premature to regard Zelensky’s position as catastrophic or even shaky. Which means Kiev is nowhere near ready for substantive dialogue with us.

Meanwhile, Europe is preparing to wage war against us [Russia] directly and more harshly. This, too, must not be dismissed.

In a word, we must now understand that the great war is serious, prolonged, and total. It is time to reshape Russia into a state of war. How long will we keep shrieking, “We are for peace”? Even if we do desire peace (though certainly not on just any terms!), they most definitely desire war and make no attempt to hide it. The West has made its decision: if Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, then the European Union will try, and what happens next, they will figure out later. A nuclear apocalypse is entirely possible. The state of Western societies has degenerated to such an extent that atomic self-destruction no longer seems like such a terrible idea to their twisted minds. Upload the consciousness into cloud servers and self-destruct. It sounds mad, but it is no longer quite as implausible as it was a couple of decades ago.

In such a situation, negotiations with Kiev are simply meaningless — for now, at least. Therefore, whether they are continued or paused makes no difference. Assistants to Medinsky or purely technical personnel can be sent to the next round. The new version of “General Armageddon” has fulfilled his mission. Brilliantly. The next move is the signing of an act of unconditional surrender. That may well be done by the president himself in a meeting with Zelensky, who has already begun to seek such a meeting.

Yet for all this to become reality, we must begin converting the country more intensively to a wartime footing. It used to be said that no one is ready for war until it begins. It has now been going on for four years and will continue for much longer, harshly and terrifyingly. It is time to let it into our hearts and souls.

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