Vast swathes of NATOstan have been corralled into behaving like a Russophobic lynch mob. No dissent is tolerated.

A new reality is being formed: the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past, a multipolar one is taking shape

The supreme target is regime change in Russia, Ukraine is just a pawn in the game – or worse, mere cannon fodder.

The “rules-based international order” – as in “our way or the highway” – is unraveling much faster than anyone could have predicted.

The non-government in Kiev is simply not allowed by the Empire to negotiate anything.

Only self-sufficiency affords total independence. And the Big Picture has also been keenly understood by the Global South.

“You don’t believe in the principle of indivisible security? Fine. Now we dictate the security rhythm.”

Moscow has not deviated for a moment from its Sun Tzu approach – while detailing all demands and all red lines many times over.

Without deeper understanding of Chinese and Russian civilizations, and their way of thinking, Westerners simply are not equipped to get it, Pepe Escobar believes.

The Year of the Black Water Tiger will start, for all practical purposes, with a Beijing bang this Friday, as Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, after a live meeting before the initial ceremony of the Winter Olympics, will issue a joint statement on international relations.