Alik Bakhshi
Great Russian chauvinism, and Putin its führer
The repulsive, arrogant appearance of the Russian president is entirely consistent with the blatant, outrageous, and, I would even say, uniquely brazen lies he told journalists during a meeting about the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine. It seems that lies and deceit are as inseparable from President Putin as a snail from its shell. Meanness, provocation, and immorality are, as reality shows, commonplace, characteristic features of Putin's activities, and perhaps not only as president:
- The oligarchs Berezovsky and Gusinsky, to whom Putin supposedly owes his power, were forced to flee Russia to avoid ending up behind bars, like Khodorkovsky. I remember in an interview with renowned television journalist Larry King, when asked what happened to the Kursk nuclear submarine, Putin replied, or rather, snapped, "It sank." King paused delicately, pointedly remaining silent, hoping Putin would shed light on the circumstances of the tragic loss of the submarine and its entire crew, but President Putin couldn't find even words of condolence for the drowned sailors.
To unleash a second war in Chechnya, Putin is orchestrating a provocation by blowing up apartment buildings, killing all the residents, and blaming the Chechens.
Taking advantage of the political naivety of the Americans and the traditional sleepiness of Europe, Putin manages to convince the West of his personal commitment to democratic principles and the irreversibility of the democratic reforms that have taken place in Russia. The military adventure in Georgia hasn't changed the West's attitude toward Russia either. It must be said that Putin was very lucky to have Bush Jr. This cowboy (it seems this definition most accurately describes a political amateur) called Putin nothing less than "friend Putin" (1). And today, "friend Putin" is a major problem for American President Obama. Incidentally, in my article "America Demands Change" (2), having predicted that Barack Obama would become president, I pointed out the need for the future occupant of the White House to take seriously the looming threat posed by Putin's Russia. However, I also noted there that Obama's rival, "John McCain, better understands what today's Russia is, whose imperial policies should not be ignored or condescending toward the curtailment of democratic institutions." Over 20 years of helping Russia strengthen its economy, the West has nurtured a snake that has now pulled out its sting, intending to swallow Ukraine. Once again, with the Evil Empire (3) in mind, I cite an Eastern proverb:
"Feeding a snake milk is like storing poison in it."
Knowing the Russian people's unacceptability of democracy, a resistance to which Russians are genetically immune (4.5), and understanding that outside the empire, the Russian people would be lost, Putin set the course "Back to the Empire" from the very first steps. With the West silently inactive, Putin dealt with the Chechen people, who had been hoping to gain freedom. Georgia was the second victim. True, the West, albeit belatedly, woke up, tearfully begging Putin to stop the Russian tanks already on the outskirts of Tbilisi, otherwise Georgia would have been doomed, having once again voluntarily expressed its desire to reunite with Russia. However, the proper lesson was not learned, and Russia's aggression went unpunished. And now Ukraine is next.
Putin has undoubtedly been preparing for an invasion for a long time. Two important points should be addressed here. First, Putin correctly bet on the corrupt Yanukovych of the "Party of Regions," financed entirely by businessmen of non-Ukrainian nationality. What kind of patriotism can we talk about if the main goal of these businessmen in politics is to line their pockets? A similar situation existed in Russia, but Putin, unlike Yanukovych, proved a patriot and dispersed the oligarchs who had prepared him for the role of puppet. Clearly, for the corrupt Yanukovych, Ukraine's accession to the EU meant only one outcome: prison, since the rampant corruption observed in Ukraine is in no way acceptable to the EU. This is precisely the reason Yanukovych reneged on his promise to bring Ukraine into the EU, which he made to its people before the elections, and this is precisely what Putin was counting on by helping the future traitor become president. And yet, the main reason for what happened to Ukraine is the gullibility and unscrupulousness of the Ukrainian people—I would even say, their carelessness in electing those in power. It's time to understand that nothing good can be expected from oligarchs, especially those of non-native origin, and their protégés, no matter what promises they make. After all, Ukrainians make up the majority of the country's population. Couldn't they have consolidated and chosen a worthy leader to avoid ending up in the current state? For example, the ethnic picture in Latvia was no better; it also had a high percentage of Russians, but Latvians were united in their choice of political leadership, understanding the danger that awaited them in the event of disunity and incoherence. Twenty years of independence, a wealthy country, a favorable climate, and a supposedly literate people—yet they were reduced to poverty, handed over to foreigners who suddenly disappeared, along with their money, to Switzerland and London, and to chatterboxes—just look at the Lady with the Braid! Take Yushchenko! Why couldn't Ukraine join the EU under him? Sometimes a parliamentary republic, sometimes a presidential one! They destabilized the country in every way possible. Freedom and independence are undoubtedly good, but one must also know how to use these benefits.
The second point is the significant number of Russians living compactly in the southeastern part of Ukraine. But this is not so much a matter of numbers, but of mentality. Russians and democracy—that's nonsense. If Ukraine joins the EU, democracy will become a daily reality, and Russians will find themselves like fish on ice, as happened in Russia under Yeltsin. This is the reason for the protest of the Russian population in Ukraine against joining the EU. Considering the above, plus the imperial worldview of the Russian people, combined with the Great Russian chauvinism that Stalin, the father of all nations, pointed out and which was easily aroused by the propaganda campaign launched against the Ukrainian people, Putin has a very powerful fifth column in Ukraine. Thus, dismembering Ukraine by force and annexing its entire southeastern part would not be difficult for Russia. It's all about the consequences. Has the Kremlin calculated them? That's a big question. One would think that Putin has found a sovereign, purely Russian economic model for the "sovereign democracy" he built! I can even guess what it will be: instead of goods-money-goods, it will be vodka-labor camp-vodka. Or perhaps Putin wants to go down in history as the champion of Crimea? Whatever the case, Putin has apparently already secured a Second Cold War for Russia. Russia successfully lost one, after which the USSR collapsed. Presumably, after the second, the Russian Empire will collapse, and for good. And then it may turn out that Putin will indeed be left holding the dead donkey's ears, which he once offered to someone in his characteristic manner (6).
It goes without saying that Obama overlooked the situation Putin created around Ukraine, which, if one were to look closely, was easily discernible given the Kremlin's entire previous domestic and foreign policy and the rabble of political monsters gathered around Russia, including Lukashenko, Ahmadinejad, Assad, and the late Hugo Chávez. As soon as Russia gained a modicum of strength, Great Russian chauvinism, thanks to Putin, reawakened. It's amazing how much malice has suddenly surfaced among Russians toward the fraternal Slavic people of Ukraine! What then should other neighboring nations expect? Today, it's "Give us Crimea." Tomorrow, expect Kazakhstan, where about 20% of the population is Russian, to follow, then Azerbaijan, with the help of Armenian Nazis, which will disrupt projects to deliver hydrocarbons from the Caspian Basin countries to Europe, and in passing, seize what remains of Georgia. In short, if the West continues to act, as it did with Nazi Germany, the world will get a new Führer in Putin, and as a consequence, World War III (7). In fact, the spirit of fascism has long hovered over the remnants of the Russian Empire, and after the collapse of the USSR, Putin had no trouble finding popular support for his intention to return the empire to the people within its former borders. Recall the unanimous jubilation with which the Russian people handed Putin the presidency after he drenched Chechnya in blood (8). Putin had neither a party nor a party ideology, unlike Hitler, who had to create a party and organize powerful propaganda for fascist ideology so that the German people would believe him and follow him. Putin merely opened the floodgates to Great-Russian chauvinism, the crest of which carried him to power. Putin tapped into something that had always been there, something that surfaced from the depths of the people's consciousness just as the empire began to crumble like a house of cards. So Stalin, who had a keen understanding of the national mentality, was a hundred times right when he spoke of Great-Russian chauvinism. To this day, the Russian people honor the memory of their leader, and if Putin suddenly needs popular support again, he would receive it, for example, by returning Stalingrad to its former name. The Russian Empire and chauvinism—the ideological and spiritual core of the Russian people—are inseparable concepts. Fascist ideology was imposed on the German people by Hitler and his party. Modern Germany, free of fascist ideology, is a democratic, economically powerful country. Take away the Russian people's empire, and they, unlike the German people, would, as I said, be lost in a democracy.
History repeats itself: the first aggressive steps of Nazi Germany began with the distribution of German passports to Sudeten Germans and a demagogic campaign against Czechs, who were allegedly "committing atrocities" against the German minority. By analogy, this is what is happening today in Crimea and throughout Ukraine. But history also repeats itself in that every empire disintegrates, and Putin's Russia is like a drowning man in a swamp, with every movement only bringing inevitable death closer. This time, it's unlikely there will be a wise man offering a saving hand.
1. "Putin Gives Bush a Lesson in Democracy" http://www.proza.ru/2008/03/22/599
2. "America Demands Change" http://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/#post-alikbahshi-7191
3. "Ukraine as a Victim of the West's Immorality Towards Russia" http://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/#post-alikbahshi-20891
4. "The People's Destiny, or Every Cricket in Its Place" http://www.proza.ru/2008/03/22/639
5. "A Word, Fornication, or Complete Albats" http://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/#post-alikbahshi-8082
6. "When the Donkey Dies" http://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/?skip=50#post-alikbahshi-3702
7. "The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline or World War III" http://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/#post-alikbahshi-18362
8. "Chechnya and the Road to Power, or the Revival of the Empire According to Putin" http://www.proza.ru/2008/03/22/527
17.03.2014
