Everything is not as terrible as it could be: the most terrible predictions that did not come true in 2022

Without exaggeration, 2022 can be called difficult and scary. Even among Russian-speaking immigrants who have been living in the United States for many years, it is difficult to find those whom the Russian-Ukrainian war did not touch at least indirectly: through relatives, acquaintances, participation in helping refugees, or, on the contrary, breaking ties with those who adhere to the opposite position. Several times during the year it seemed that the world was on the brink of nuclear war. And therefore it is not surprising that we peer with such anxiety at the coming year 2023, including trying to find out even the most exotic predictions on it.

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Nevertheless, ForumDaily decided to add a little optimism to the holiday and remember which of the worst predictions of both mystical seers and serious analysts did not come true in 2022.

Drought, pandemic and alien invasion

The famous Bulgarian soothsayer Vanga, during her lifetime, gained fame as a person whose prophecies came true with amazing accuracy. However, they were sometimes formulated so vaguely that many of them are easy to "adjust" to reality, especially in an era of international instability. For example, a fortune teller managed to guessthat 2022 will be a busy year for the whole world, but "those who find the strength not to despair and keep moving forward will be able to overcome all adversity". Today, this phrase can rightfully be attributed to Ukraine. However, there is a whole list of more specific predictions for the outgoing year, which, fortunately, have not come true.

For example, seer promisedthat in 2022 a new deadly pandemic would begin, and several huge tsunamis were supposed to cover major cities around the world. According to Vanga's forecasts, before the end of the year, a huge wave of locusts was to attack the fields of India, which would lead to an unprecedented famine in the country. And, finally, in the past year, aliens were supposed to fly to Earth on an asteroid, which is also not observed. Particularly ominous predictions attributed to Vange in relation to December 22, 2022. On this mystical date, out of six deuces, a terrible and destructive flash in the sun was supposed to occur for all living things. As we can see, this fate has also passed us.

Not much more optimistic sounded another famous prophet, Nostradamus. In December 2022 he predicted powerful asteroid rain, as a result of which, "if a large enough rock falls into the ocean, it can cause giant tidal waves to sweep over the land and cause great destruction. The earthquake will also trigger a tsunami and untold damage could be caused by rising sea water.". Needless to say, this also did not happen.

The defeat of Ukraine and nuclear war

If we talk about analytical forecasts, the biggest surprise for both Western and Russian experts was the amazing resilience of Ukraine. Back in early February, before the outbreak of full-scale war, Washington Post reportedthat Russia is close to finalizing preparations for an invasion that could see the government in Kyiv beheaded within two days and create a humanitarian crisis in the country.

Even later, when it became obvious not only to the West, but also to the Kremlin that the planned blitzkrieg had failed, Russian propagandists stubbornly did not give up. Back in March they statedthat Ukrainian technology "up in a few weeks", but "Ukraine has practically no forces and means left» against the Russian army. Apparently these weeks are still going on.

Luckily for all of us, nuclear war has been another failed prediction – at least this year. Released in June report Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which stated that the risk of nuclear war was the highest since the Cold War. The deterioration of the situation is due, among other things, to the fact that the dialogue between Russia and the United States on strategic stability has reached an impasse due to the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. However, we can still observe extension nuclear blackmail in Kremlin rhetoric.

On the subject: A holiday during the war: how to give yourself joy and why it is important

However, practice has shown that Putin's belligerence noticeably decreases as he encounters a tough forceful rebuff. In May It entered into force law on American lend-lease for Ukraine, and spring and autumn were marked by serious victories Ukrainian army at the front. In particular, the suburbs of Kyiv, the Kharkiv region, as well as part of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, including Kherson, occupied since the beginning of the war, were liberated. Despite the formidable rhetoric, Moscow could only counter this with a cowardly and brutal destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure.

Bloody redivision of the world and regional conflicts

Analyzing the forecasts of Russian “analytical centers” is a thankless task, given that their work in recent years has finally shifted from expert to propaganda. The main goal of their reports is, by hushing up Russia’s role in the ongoing instability in the world, to find an alternative explanation for foreign policy processes. And yet, it is encouraging that some of the forecasts (or, rather, models of the desired future) of such centers did not come true.

So, the Valdai Discussion Club at the very beginning of 2022 predictedthat the US and China are heading for a new confrontation in the Pacific, and that Taiwan could become "the geographical point of the next Caribbean crisis." Indeed, tensions around Taiwan have increased significantly this year, but armed confrontation, despite projections Russian analysts, and did not bring - at least not yet.

Do not forget that the Kremlin, even before the invasion made a bet on the involvement of non-Western countries in the bloody redivision of the world, which, like a hundred years ago, may be accompanied by world wars and other global upheavals. In essence, Russia was betting on world chaos, in which its actions would not stand out in any way from other non-systemic authoritarian players. As a solution to the Moscow problem offered a new version of the world order - the so-called "new Yalta", accompanied by a clear division of spheres of influence without taking into account the opinions of small countries.

Nevertheless, the "re-division of the world" has not yet come, and Russia found itself in splendid isolation in its aggression. However, the Kremlin is still didn't refuse on their plans, and it is obvious that the position of many authoritarian players in terms of how far they are willing to go directly depends on the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

One cannot but rejoice that some other regional conflicts that threatened to escalate into military clashes have so far remained in a "smoldering" state. For example, the aggravation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo started back in August, when experts from many countries started talking about the risk of a regional war.

The confrontation began because of the decision of the Kosovo authorities to switch to a single identity card and license plates throughout the country, which entailed the need for re-registration of car numbers by Serbs living in the north of the region. However, for the Serbs, the change of numbers meant, in fact, the recognition of Kosovo's independence, which many of them still cannot accept. At that time, the escalation was extinguished, but today it is again gaining momentum. We can only hope that it will not come to an armed conflict.

For our part, we would like to wish all our readers, first of all, a peaceful sky over their heads and simple human happiness. Happy New Year!

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