Meh, I disagree but this is too tangential from the rest of the thread for me to work too hard in a response. Not sure what you're even arguing tbh, except that peaceful imperialism is different and America does that. I think all facts point to that being absolutely false, even if the violence is done quietly and in a normalized fashion. I also just disagree that Russia here is Imperialist with a big "I" (different from having a empire, which is confusing often). I also have no idea what this has to do with whether sanctions are succeeding or failing or not. My point is only that the failure of the sanctions and the results of capitalism are from the identical source which is capitalism and the logic of that extended through imperialism to international relations