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The history of escalation started in 1917 with Bolshevik promising violent world revolution and pursuing it at all means.
> look at NATO expansion over the years
It's countries *asking* desperately for NATO protection from openly imperialist Soviet Union, and then Russia.
This is precisely the sentiment most of Eastern Europe had in 90's while Russia - who just finished bloody intervention in Afghanistan - started another bloody intervention in Chechnya and threatened Baltics etc.