"He who was nothing will become everything"

A Ukrainian forebear of mine who served proudly in the Red Army in WW2, after a brandy or two, would sometimes lustily sing a stirring version of  "The Internationale", in Russian.

Here is a portion... and my translation:

Весь мир насилья мы разрушим
До основанья, а затем
Мы наш, мы новый мир построим, —
Кто был ничем, тот станет всем.

We will demolish the whole world of coercion/violence 
to its foundations; and then we will construct our, new, world. 
Who was nothing will become everything.

After he sang "Кто был ничем, тот станет всем" he would laugh loudly to himself and would explain that at times of revolution,  like the ones he lived through and survived, the misfits, the crooks, the crazies, the inadequates...it is these who seize the moment and come out on top. These guys are the most dangerous of all. The ones who were nothing and become everything....

The reason this has come to mind is I read and saw this:

One of the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic, DNR Alexander Khodakovskytoday admitted that a large percentage of the militant insurgents  are "the marginalized"  and "antisocial elements".

He stated this at a meeting with students of the Donetsk Technical University.

Khodakovsky also admitted that many serious road traffic accidents in the occupied territories were the result of "stupid bravado" of insurgents.

In yesterday's post I mentioned that the only people who have benefited in this war in Donbas have been the "losers, lumpen proles, loafers, alcoholics and drug addicts - it's their time now"

Кто был ничем, тот станет всем.

P.s. If you have 50 minutes to spare please watch Mark Galeotti's brilliant assessment of Putin's geopolitical strategy, his strengths, and his weaknesses; and why the fate of Ukraine is so important.