Russia’s Putin & Putin’s Russia
Op-Ed
The American media recently baptized him the Russian Godfather. Well, if Americans want to render this much favor to Putin, then his own subjects would probably have the right and readiness to do the same with even greater pleasure. Russians may love their “godfather” as much as it occurs to their weird heads and as long as their perennially broken hearts are willing to do so, but the wheel of life has made such a turn that Georgians have come to hate Putin with all their power of abhorrence, and Putin has learned to despise Georgia as no other Russian leader ever has before. His revulsion for Georgia is boosted by the irritating detail of the Georgian-American friendship and cooperation, conducive to the scheme of Georgia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic circles, especially NATO and the European Union. Putin simply shudders at the prospect of Georgia proudly sitting among the world’s greatest!
Surprisingly enough, the soviet-era Russian grudge against pan-Americanism is still alive and kicking. The images of those bygone times recur to memory sharply enough to need to be brought to the attention of today’s generation of political thinkers. For instance, the soviet Russian civil servants, diplomats and analysts who regularly appeared on TV screens to minister to the public about the pernicious western ways and means, trashed everything American but wore American designer clothes, drove American cars, smoked quality American cigarettes and sent their kids to American educational institutions. They were communistically tailored creatures wrapped in and intoxicated by the ideological strength of the famous American commercials like ‘Come to where the flavor is, come to Marlboro country’. The soviet Russian hypocrisy had no limits then, and the spirit and the scenery thereof still lingers on, unchanged.
The Russian-American rapprochement did not happen even after the clamorous soviet collapse. Americans do not want to spend money in Russia (if only on certain licentious adventures), and Russians do not have enough financial capability to invest in the States. Forget about economic cooperation – Russians and Americans are not drawn to each other even culturally; their mutual annoyance and frustration is so indelibly embossed on their hearts and minds that even the future generations have little chance of ridding themselves of the ugly spiritual stigma.
Putin’s Russia is America’s number one enemy, whereas Georgia is America’s friend and ally – you see the peril of the picture for us? Putin thinks and says that the United States is loath to respect international law, using force and coercion in global politics; Russia’s “godfather” misinterprets the American combative power and blames the States for the proliferation of arms of mass destruction. Meanwhile, the world does not forget the Russian deeds in Georgia, the North Caucasus, Crimea and Ukraine, the acts of violence against civil society and media, maltreatment of the regime’s opponents, all number of repressive acts and the nonstop anti-western frenzy.
The recent International Security Conference expressly demonstrated Putin’s un-camouflaged desire to refresh its presence on the global arena with old force and new authority. His restaged appearance strained the world and perked America’s ears in expectation of Russia’s claim to counter her sworn enemy, cunningly trying to convince the exasperated listeners in the civilized world that it is not Russia who wants to internationally reestablish herself but her European friends who are asking Russia to do so. Sounds a little funny, right? Well, they’re all soviet attitudes, meaning that Putin is making an attempt to bring back the old infamous USSR with a new style and image!
Unforgettable too are the ominous-sounding historical words uttered by Putin describing the collapse of the USSR as “the greatest political catastrophe of the 20th century.” When talking about Russia’s Putin & Putin’s Russia, these multi-meaningful words are often quoted by journalists worldwide. Putin’s most irksome problem is that today’s Russia is nothing compared to the erstwhile Soviet Empire and is no match for America as a superpower. Putin’s Russia will have to burn a lot of sweat to make the Soviet dream a reality. Countering America is not the dilemma: the dilemma is to overpower the greatest country in the world, and I am not sure Putin and Russia want to enter the battle for real.
By Nugzar B. Ruhadze
Image source: REUTERS/Matt Dunham/Pool