Revealing Putin and Russia

Anthony Perez-Miller has rounded up several posts about the Ukrainian election, which resulted in a Yuschenko victory. Of particular note is the last BBC article that contained Putin's latest tantrum. First, he pooh-poohs the elections in countries where the United States' actions contradicted Russian foreign policy:

He also poured scorn on the elections in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Mr Putin said: "Now there's an election in Iraq but the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) has said they will be verified from Jordan - isn't that a farce?"

However, in the next paragraph, he criticizes America of having being two-faced in their intentions:

Mr Putin expressed anger at Western "double standards" over Kosovo and Latvia, saying the democratic rights of Serbs and Russians were being ignored.

Putin's contradictory comments give us a clear look into the mind of the Russian psyche. Many pundits have rightly seen Putin as an enigma, however, this article gives the West a gold nugget into what Russia, and Putin in particular, thinks. The question of Russian democracy is off the table. Putin doesn't have any intention of liberalizing; his intention is to bring Russia back into the world stage as a dominant player. This tantrum is a reminder to America that Russia will not stand by and let it execute policy around the world without their say-so.

The key to this puzzle, was his pot-shot at Poland:

Mr Putin said Mr Kwasniewski, who had mediated in the Ukraine election crisis, was talking like a person looking for a new job.

"If we interpret this [statement by Kwasniewski] as striving to limit Russia's ability to develop relations with its neighbours, then it means a desire to isolate the Russian Federation," he said.

He said he hoped isolating Russia was not the goal of US policy.

"If it's indeed so, then the position on Chechnya is becoming more understandable. That means that there, as well, a policy aimed at creating elements that would destabilise the Russian Federation is being conducted," he added.

The Soviet Union was built on the hopes of leading the world in communist revolution. After World War II, they became one of the world's two superpowers. Their post-WWII ideal of cementing communist revolution was not so much an ideal for its own sake as it was a Machiavellian way of gaining power, with Moscow in the center calling the shots.

Once the Soviet Union fell, the only ideal that remained within the Russian Federation was one of power for its own sake. Long gone are the days where Russia has an ideology to promote as a counter-balance to the West. However, the United States, along with the rest of the world, cannot take Russia lightly since it houses the second largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Because of this, Russia can still make its presence felt, yet the forces of democracy are gaining momentum that is out of the control of Russia and the West. Russia does not understand this; they falsely see countries embracing Western models of democracy as a result of dubious Western intentions that are rooted in eventual goal of "crushing" Russia.

This is somewhat true--many in the West, not all, desire not an end to Russia itself, but the end to Russia as a totalitarian state. They want the Russian people to decide their government and to pull their country up from the canvus. The rest of the world is liberalizing and embracing democracy, and Russia is becoming isolated as a result, not as an endgame to a grand Western scheme.

We will continue to be in a dangerous position with Russia in the future. Russian society is completely falling apart from within, and they may not have enough left in them to go through another revolution. Each generation has promised hope to future generations, yet they have only seen corruption, mass death and embarrassment in the world. At this point, we are left only with questions. Will Russia peacefully reconsider democracy? Is there a way for Russia to liberalize and change without losing face? These questions must be addressed soon, because Russia will eventually snap if they feel like they are being cornered.